History of the Anushilan Samiti
Around 1902, Aurobindo Ghosh arranged for Bannerjee to return to Calcutta to begin organisational work, where he began a gymnasium and a youth society. It was at this time that Bannerjee came in touch with Vibhuti Bhushan Bhattacharya, Sarala Devi Ghoshal and Pramathanath Mitra. In Calcutta, a few clubs and societies were still active at the time. Most notable was a gymnasium in Ballygunge Circular Road run by Sarala Devi herself, a second was an organisation named "Anushilan Samiti" founded by Satish Chandra Basu with the patronage of Pramathanath Mitra. A third one was a youth club called "Attōnnōti Samiti" (Self-improvement society) in central Calcutta.
History of the Anushilan Samiti
The early "Anushilan Samity" drew its members largely from the young student fraternity in Calcutta. New recruits were required to swear an oath on the "Gita", and practiced the worship of arms in front of the image of Goddess Durga. These were however technical reasons why Muslims were not accepted. The members trained in Drill, practiced swordplay, boxing, wrestling, and other exercises. Nationalist spirit and moral development was inculcated through weekly classes, and interactions with leading social figures of the likes of Rabindranath Tagore, Bipin Chandra Pal, Gurudas Bannerjee.