KAKORI CONSPIRACY CASE
- June 12, 2021
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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KAKORI CONSPIRACY CASE
Subject : History
Context : Union Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel on Friday said it was important to inform future generations of the legacy of freedom fighter Ram Prasad Bismil, who was martyred in 1927 for his role in the Kakori conspiracy to protest against British rule
Concept :
The Kakori Conspiracy
- In August 1925, an armed robbery took place on board the Kakori Express, going from Shahjahanpur to Lucknow, carrying money that had been collected at various railway stations and was to be deposited in Lucknow.
- In this planned robbery, carried out to fund the activities of the HSRA, Bismil, Khan and over 10 other revolutionaries stopped the train and fled with the cash they found in it.
- Within a month of the robbery, many members of the HSRA were arrested.
- In September 1926, Bismil was arrested however Khan was on the run and was later arrested.
- The trial for the case went on for about 1.5 years. It ended in April 1927, with Bismil, Khan, Rajendra Lahiri and Roshan Singh sentenced to death, and the others given life sentences.
Ram Prasad Bismil
- Ram Prasad Bismil was born to a Municipality employee Muralidhar and his wife. He learnt Hindi at home and Urdu from a Moulvi. In spite of his father’s objections, he was admitted to an English medium school.
- He also joined the Arya Samaj founded by Dayananda Saraswati. This had a profound influence on him.
- On reading Parmanand’s death sentence, he composed a Hindi poem titled ‘Mera Janm’ (My Birth). He also translated English and Bengali works into Hindi.
- Bismil was involved in the Mainpuri Conspiracy of 1918 in which police found a few young people including Bismil selling books that were proscribed by the government. Bismil escaped arrest by jumping into the Yamuna River.
- He also attended the 1921 session of the Indian National Congress at Ahmedabad.
- Bismil was one of the chief founders of the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) along with Sachindra Nath Sanyal and Jadugopal Mukherjee.
- The organisation was founded in 1924 and its constitution was drafted chiefly by Bismil.
- The HRA produced many pamphlets which sought to inspire people to fight the government through revolutionary activities.
- Bismil is perhaps most remembered for the Kakori Conspiracy Case. He was the mastermind behind the plan which was to loot a train carrying government money. The incident occurred on 9th August 1925 at Kakori, near Lucknow.
- While lodged in Gorakhpur Central Jail, Bismil went on a hunger strike demanding to be treated as a political prisoner.
- Bismil was hanged on 19th December 1927 at Gorakhpur Jail. He was just 30 years old.