Anushilan Samiti
By 1902, Calcutta had three secret societies working toward the violent overthrow of British rule in India. One was founded by Calcutta student Satish Chandra Basu with the patronage of Calcutta barrister Pramatha Mitra, another was led by Bengali woman Sarala Devi and the third was founded by Aurobindo Ghosh. Ghosh was one of the strongest proponents of militant Indian nationalism at the time. By 1905 the work of Aurobindo and his brother, Barin, enabled Anushilan Samity to spread throughout Bengal. Nationalist writings and publications by Aurobindo and Barin, including "Bande Mataram" and "Jugantar", had a widespread influence on Bengal youth. The 1905 partition of Bengal stimulated radical nationalist sentiments in Bengal's Bhadralok community, helping Anushilan acquire a support base of educated, politically-conscious and disaffected members of local youth societies. Its program emphasized physical training, training its recruits with daggers and "lathis" (bamboo staffs used as weapons). The Dhaka branch of Anushilan was led by Pulin Behari Das, and branches spread throughout East Bengal and Assam. More than 500 branches were opened in eastern Bengal and Assam, linked by "close and detailed organization" to Pulin's headquarters at Dhaka. It absorbed smaller groups in the province, soon overshadowing its parent organisation in Calcutta. Branches of Dhaka Anushilan emerged in Jessore, Khulna, Faridpur, Rajnagar, Rajendrapur, Mohanpur, Barvali and Bakarganj. Estimates of Dhaka Anushilan Samiti's reach indicate a membership of 15,000 to 20,000. Within two years, Dhaka Anushilan devolved its aims from the Swadeshi to that of political terrorism.
History of the Anushilan Samiti
Among the first revolutionary organisations founded with an organised programme in Bengal was that led by Jatindranath Bannerjee and Aurobindo Ghosh. Ghosh was the grandson of leading Bengali reformer, Rajnarayan Bose. Schooled at St. Paul's and a graduate of King's College, Cambridge, Ghosh returned to India in 1893, undertaking a short career in political journalism in Bombay. He criticised the Congress's elitist politics which he argued was confined to the middle-class and effectively ignored the Indian masses of the lower classes. For Ghosh, the discussions engaged by the Congress members were frivolous, he argued for a radical and revolutionary movement for achieve political goals. Under pressure to tone down his criticisms, Ghosh withdrew from his writings altogether, which held for a good decade or so. In 1897, Aurobindo Ghosh took up the position of lecturer in French at Baroda College and was appointed acting Professor of English at the college in 1898. In 1899, Ghosh met Jatindranath Bannerjee. Both Bannerjee and Ghosh were members of a Bombay secret society that B.G. Tilak was associated with. Both Ghosh and Tilak shared thoughts on a program of revolution. Both envisioned an organised and disciplined uprising different from the terrorist tactics favoured by secret societies. Ghosh's thoughts were turned towards a military insurrection through Guerrilla warfare, aided by general revolt and popular resistance to which, if possible, the Indian Army was to be drawn in revolt. The grounding of such a program was to be "revolutionary propaganda and recruiting" and young Bengalees were to be trained in activities that would be helpful when the moment came. Ghosh emphasised activities riding, physical training, athletics of various kinds, drill and organized movement. He foresaw the program occupying up to thirty years before India was ready to rise. With the help of Tilak and some two others associates of the names Khasi Rao Jadav and Madhav Rao, Ghosh was, in September 1899, able to arrange for Jatindranath Bannerjee to enrol in the armed forces of the Princely State of Baroda with false papers. Tilak himself tried to arrange for Madhav Rao to obtain admission to a Russian military school, and ultimately was able to get him admitted to the Swiss Military Academy at Bern. Ghosh had worked close to the Gaekwar of Baroda, and in 1902, he establish contacts with men with similar views in Western India.