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
The Anushilan Samiti, however, failed to make any significant impact in its early years, as was the case for similar Calcutta groups. In 1903, Aurobindo Ghosh sent his younger brother Barindra Kumar Ghosh to Calcutta to rally the nascent organisation. Barindra, however, was forced to return to Baroda that same year following differences with Jatindranath Bannerjee. The society fragmented as a result of the clash, and may have led to the early demise of the still evolving movement. However, the events around 1905, when the controversial plan to partition Bengal was proposed, veered the course otherwise. The plans, implemented by the Viceroy, Charles Hardinge, drew widespread criticisms throughout Bengal. The local population, led by social figures and leaders of the Indian National Congress, refused to accept the Raj's argument that the partition was necessary for improving the administration in the province. It was seen as an attempt to divide Bengal on religious lines to stem the tide of political and nationalist work that was emanating from the region. The Raj argued that the opposition to the partition was motivated by the Hindu middle-class Bhadralok, who feared a loss of their government positions and influence in the administrative set up to the larger Muslim population of eastern Bengal. Opposition to the partition took shape in the Swadeshi movement, where imported goods were boycotted in Bengal and throughout India. These boycotts were enforced by groups of "volunteers" recruited from the youth "Samities". The patronage of the extremist Bengalee politicians in the Congress, including the likes of Bipin Chandra Pal and Brahmabandhab Upadhyaya, helped "Anushilan" stem the decline and rejuvenated its influence and reach, and this in turn helped consolidate the position of the former as radicals within Congress. The unprecedented popular resistance to the partition plans also gave "Anushilan" fertile grounds to preach its cause and bring new recruits to its folds.