Chittagong Armory Raid

The Chittagong armoury raid, also known as the Chittagong uprising, was an attempt by armed Indian independence fighters led by Surya Sen on 18 April 1930 to raid the Chittagong armoury of police and auxiliary forces in the Bengal Presidency of British India (now Bangladesh). The raiders were members of the revolutionary Indian Republican Army, which advocated for armed uprisings to free India from British colonial rule. They were inspired by the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland.

 

• Sen devised a plan to cut Chittagong off from Calcutta by capturing the two main armouries, destroying the telegraph and telephone office, and kidnapping members of the European Club as hostages.

• Imperial banks in Chittagong were to be looted in order to raise funds for future uprisings, and various imprisoned revolutionaries were to be released.

• A group of revolutionaries led by Ganesh Ghosh captured the police armoury in Dampara's Police Line, while another group of ten men led by Lokenath Bal took the Auxiliary Forces armoury (now the old Circuit House).

• A total of 65 people were involved in the raid, which was carried out in the name of the Indian Republican Army, Chittagong Branch. They were unsuccessful in their search for ammunition, but they were successful in cutting telephone and telegraph wires and disrupting train movements.

• The police tracked down some of the revolutionaries after a few days. On the afternoon of April 22, 1930, revolutionaries were surrounded by thousands of troops as they sought refuge in the Jalalabad hills near Chittagong Cantonment.

• The Battle of Jalalabad Hills resulted in the deaths of over 80 troops and 12 revolutionaries.

• Sen dispersed his men in small groups to neighbouring villages, allowing some to flee. Some fled to Calcutta, while others were apprehended.

• The resistance was brutally suppressed. Ananta Singh surrendered in Calcutta after fleeing Chandannagar.

• A few months later, Police Commissioner Charles Tegart surrounded their hideout, and Jiban Ghoshal was killed in the ensuing firefight.

• Debi Prasad Gupta and other revolutionaries led by Pritilata Waddedar attacked the Pahartali European Club on September 24, 1932, killing one woman and injuring several police officers. The plan, however, was not entirely successful.

• After the attack, the revolutionaries fled, but Pritilata, who had been wounded, took cyanide to avoid being arrested and killed herself. 

• Between 1930 and 1932, revolutionaries assassinated 22 officials and 220 others in separate incidents. The brother of Debi Prasad Gupta was sentenced to life in prison.

• The mass trial of those detained during and after the raids ended in January 1932, and the verdict was handed down on March 1, 1932.

• Ganesh Ghosh, Lokenath Bal, sixteen-year-old Ananda Gupta, and Ananta Singh were among the twelve people deported to Andaman.

• Surya Sen was arrested by the police in February 1933 as a result of a tip from Netra Sen. In January 1934, he was tried and hanged.

 

• In 1930, Surya Sen and the AnushilanSamiti organisation formed the Indian Republican Army, which lasted only a few years.

• The army was formed with the intention of liberating Chittagong, Bengal Presidency, from British rule, in order to spark a nationwide uprising.

• After Surya Sen was hanged, the movement died.

 

• Surya Sen was born in Noapara, Chittagong, Bangladesh, on March 22, 1894. His father worked as a schoolteacher.

• In 1916, as an undergraduate student, he learned about the Indian freedom movement and was immediately drawn to revolutionary ideas.

• He became a member of Bengal's Anushilan Samiti, a revolutionary organisation. He finished his studies in 1918 and began working as a math teacher in Chittagong.

• He taught and groomed young people on how to use weapons and make bombs. He devised a plan to raid the government and seize arms and ammunition, cut off communication with the rest of India, and isolate Chittagong. The Chittagong Armoury Raid was named after this incident.

• Ganesh Ghosh, Lokenath Bal, Ananta Singh, and others were among Sen's associates in the plan.

• Following the failure of the Armory Raid, Surya Sen sought refuge at Netra Sen's, but Netra Sen informed the British.

• He was arrested by the police in February 1933. Other revolutionaries later assassinated Netra Sen in retaliation for the betrayal.

• Surya Sen was tortured by the police until he was hanged on January 12, 1934. He was 39 years old at the time.

• Along with Sen, the authorities hanged Tarakeswar Dastidar, who had attempted to free Sen from prison.

• Postage stamps honouring the great martyr have been issued by the Indian and Bangladeshi governments.

 

There were two incredible women among the Raid volunteers: Pritilata Waddedar and Kalpana Datta.

 

• Pritilata Waddedar approached Surya Sen and asked if she could join the Chittagong armoury raid, despite the fact that women were rarely involved in dangerous revolutionary activity. When her degree in philosophy was delayed by British authorities at Calcutta University, she experienced a surge in anti-colonial sentiments, and she had become increasingly involved in anti-colonial groups since then.

• Following the Raid, she led a force of 40 men against Pahartali European Club. She was wounded during the attack, but instead of surrendering to the British, she chose to commit suicide by ingesting cyanide at the last moment.

• Pritilata had complete control over her own life until her final breath. She was the first Bengali woman to take up arms against the British, and she wanted to die on her own terms, true to her fighting spirit. Pritilata is still known as the Iron Lady of Bengal, a woman who gave her life in the service of her country.

 

• Kalpana's story is one of survival, strength, and resilience.

• She was an active member of the Chhatri Sangha, a semi-revolutionary student organisation. She met Pritilata through this group, who later introduced her to Sen.

• Kalpana was in charge of transporting explosives and other supplies, but she excelled in the preparation of gun cotton, a type of explosive agent. In some ways, she was able to contribute to the cause by applying her scientific knowledge.

• Kalpana also aided Pritilata in the raid's planning. However, she was apprehended by the British a week prior to the raid.

• After being released on bail, she went underground to help Pritilata carry out her plans to torch the European Club.

• She was later apprehended along with the other rebels, but was released six years later as the British lost control of India.

• She later told her daughter Manini Chatterjee about her ordeal, who was so moved by her mother's story that she wrote a non-fiction book called Do and Die: The Chittagong Uprising (1930-34).