Political history of Sri Aurobindo
Anushilan Samiti was founded as an attempt to organize Bengali youth through a program of physical fitness and spiritual training for a nationalist program. By 1902, Calcutta had three societies working under the umbrella of Anushilan Samity, a society earlier founded by a Calcutta barrister by the name of Pramatha Mitra. These included Mitra's own group, another led by a Bengali lady by the name of Sarala Devi, and a third one led by Aurobindo Ghosh. The Anushilan Samiti had Aurobindo and Deshabandhu Chittaranjan Das as the vice-presidents, Suren Tagore the treasurer. Jatindra Nath Banerjee (Niralamba Swami), Bagha Jatin, Bhupendra Nath Datta (Swami Vivekananda's brother), Barindra Ghosh were among other initial leaders.
By 1905, the work of Aurobindo and his brother Barin Ghosh allowed Anushilan Samity to spread through Bengal.
Emperor vs Aurobindo Ghosh and others
Political consciousness and opposition to British raj in Bengal had grown steadily over the last decades of the 1800s. By 1902, Calcutta had three secret societies working toward the violent overthrow of British rule in India. These included the "Anushilan Samity", founded by a Calcutta student named Satish Chandra Basu with the patronage of the Calcutta barrister Pramatha Mitra, another led by a Bengalee lady by the name of Sarala Devi, and a third one founded by Aurobindo Ghosh. Ghosh was one of the strongest proponents of militant nationalism at the time. Having forsaken a potential career in the Indian Civil Service, Ghosh had returned to India and taken up an academic post under the patronage of the Maharaja of Baroda. Here he came to develop a close relationship with Indian Maratha nationalist Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and through him the nationalist network in Maharashtra. Inspired by the histories of Italian and Irish nationalism, Aurobindo began preparing the grounds and network for an Indian nationalist revolution, in which he found support in Tilak. Aurobindo sought for source of military training to prepare for a revolution in future. His younger brother Barin joined Aurobindo in Baroda. Baroda offered Barin to obtain training in military strategies and armed conflicts.In 1903, Aurobindo Ghosh sent his younger brother Barindra Kumar Ghosh to Calcutta to rally the nascent organisation. By 1905, the controversial 1905 partition of Bengal had a widespread political impact: it stimulated radical nationalist sentiments in the "Bhadralok" community in Bengal, and helped "Anushilan" acquire a support base among of educated, politically conscious and disaffected young in local youth societies throughout Bengal. The works of Aurobindo and his brother Barin Ghosh allowed "Anushilan Samity" to spread through Bengal. "Anushilan" began a program of slowly building a support base, preparing slowly and steadily for a nationalist uprising, on the lines of the Italian "Carbonari".