The Mother made these comments while being shown the photos of martyred revolutionaries in the book 'The Roll of Honour', in conversation with Mona Sarkar.
By jailing several members of the Nationalist press and ordering the caning of young Sushil Sen for a tussle with a policeman, magistrate Douglas Kingsford incurred the wrath of the Bengali people. Aware of threats of revenge, the Government transferred him to the remote district of Muzaffarpur, Bihar, in March 1908. But by then, Barin Ghose, with the approval of other revolutionary leaders, had resolved to assassinate him.
For this mission Barin deputed two young men, eighteen-year-old Khudiram Bose and nineteen-year-old Prafulla Chaki, an accomplice in the earlier attempts upon the lives of Sir Bampfylde Fuller and Sir Andrew Fraser. Armed with three revolvers and a small dynamite bomb, they went to Muzaffarpur towards the end of April and observed the judge's activities for a few days. On the evening of the 30th, they stood by a tree near the road across from Kingsford's house and waited for him to return from his club. At 8.30 a horse-drawn carriage approached which they took to be his; in it in fact were two Englishwomen, Mrs. Kennedy and her daughter Grace. Khudiram ran up and hurled the bomb into the carriage. A loud explosion shattered the vehicle and mortally wounded both its occupants. Kingsford, travelling just behind them in a similar carriage, had been saved from death. Unaware of the tragic mishap, the two boys fled from the spot and decided to split up. The police put out a widespread alert, with instructions to arrest any suspicious young Bengalis and offered a reward of Rs. 5000 for information.
Khudiram Bose walked through the night without food or drink and arrived the next morning, tired and exhausted, at the small town of Waini. There he was arrested by an alert policeman and sent back to Muzaffarpur to stand trial. Khudiram did not contest the case. He told his lawyer that there was no question of pleading innocent; he had thrown the bomb that had killed two innocent women and he was responsible for his act. He regretted that the ladies had died, but he also regretted that Kingsford still lived, for he considered the judge to be the greatest tyrant in India. The lawyer asked Khudiram if he was afraid to die. No, he replied, he has no reason to fear, for he had read the Gita well. During the proceedings Khudiram looked on passively, betraying no emotion.
When the death penalty was read out, he remained so expressionless that the judge asked him if he understood the verdict. The boy's face brightened and he nodded his head yes.
Two years earlier, at the age of sixteen, Khudiram had been arrested for distributing an inflammatory pamphlet, but the Government dropped a court case for sedition because he was so young. This time there was no reprieve. At six in the morning of August 11, he walked firmly and cheerfully to the gallows erected at Muzaffarpur Jail. Before the cap was pulled over his head, he smiled. Having served his country faithfully, the young patriot was ready to die.
After parting with Khudiram, Prafulla Chaki walked all night and part of the next day. In the afternoon he reached Samastipur Junction on the railway line to Calcutta and purchased a ticket for Mokameh Ghat. His appearance attracted the attention of an off-duty police sub-inspector, who wired to his superiors for instructions and then boarded the train with his suspect. At Mokameh Ghat orders came to arrest him. The sub-inspector tried to detain Prafulla, but the muscular lad tore himself free from the policeman's grip and bolted down the railway platform, closely followed by a constable and a plain-clothesman. Prafulla pulled out his revolver and fired at his pursuers, but the shot missed. As the men closed in, Prafulla put the revolver to his own throat, pulled the trigger twice, and died instantly. The police decapitated the young revolutionary, packed his head in spirits, and sent it to Calcutta for identification. A few days later the C.I.D. established the identity of Prafulla Kumar Chaki of Rangpur who had sacrificed his life for the sake of his nation.
[Prafulla] used to say taking a revolver in his hand, "I for one am not going to live on if they get hold of me. I shall neither be tortured by the police nor let their offers of confession tempt me. Look, this is the way I am going to finish myself." He would then open his mouth wide, push in the revolver muzzle and press the trigger with his fingers, adding, "This is the one sure way. In the other methods, one merely wounds oneself, very often with no serious danger to life. But it is much more risky to live on after getting wounded, isn't it?" Prafulla committed suicide after the Muzaffarpur bomb affair in exactly the way he had rehearsed - I should not say "suicide", for it was really an act of martyrdom.
The terrible repression of the people of Bengal at the hands of the police and ruthless suppression of outlets of public resentment to Government measures forced the movement to go under- ground. The secret political organisatiods that had hitherto come into existence but was in a moribund condition decided upon meeting force with force irrespective ofthe consequences. Removal of brrtally oppressive Government officials, of which there was precedent at Poona (June 22, 1897), was given a high priority in the programme of revolutionary action in Bengal.
Indications were very clear that Indian nationalism had been entering upon a new and portentous phase the ultimate significance of which was at that time very difficult to gauge. It literally started with, (The Statesman: May 4, 1908) "the partition of Bengal, the crowning folly of Lord Curzon's regime" and " different spirit had manifested itself whose weapons are apparently to be bombs and dynamite." Fuel was added to this spirit by the judgments of Kingsford, Chief Presidency Magistrate of Calcutta, from August 1904 to March 1908, inflicting merciless punishments to all who showed signs of patriotism in their action and or in their writings. The Government had been feeling nervous about Kingsford's safety and he was transferred from Calcutta as the District and Sessions Judge of Muzaffarpore on March 28, 1908.
It was decided upon by the leaders that Kingsford must die and for this reason his track should be followed wherever he might go. Two young boys were selected for the purpose and sent to Muzaffarpore with the necessary weapons for the murder of Kingsford.
Commissioned with their task Prafulla Chaki and Khudiram Bose reached Muzaffarpore at the end of the third week of April, 1908 and put up in a room in a Dharamshala. They ran short of funds and took a loan from a local gentleman, an influential employee of a local Zemindar, with whose help, they could also find shelter in the Dharamshala. They received a money order from Calcutta through this gentleman who was later hauled up before the Court for rendering help to these boys.
The two young heroes waited for a week for a suitable opportunity. Kingsford did not move out of his quarters and go anywhere except to the Courts. They once visited the place but desisted from taking any action because of the chance of a large number of innocent lives getting involved.
On April 30, 1908, the two friends reached a place in front of Kingsford's house at about 8 p.m. and kept waiting under a tree for their victim.
While Prafulla and Khudiram had been waiting in ambush Mr. and Mrs. Kingsford and Mrs. and Miss Kennedy h a dbeen playing bridge at the club at about 8-30 p.m. They left for home in two separate open 'carriages both very similar in appearance and each drawn by a single horse. The house of Kingsford was situated very close to the Club and Kennedy's, a mile away.
The vehicle in which Mrs. and Miss Kennedy were seated preceded that of their friend's Victoria by a few seconds. As the first carriage drew level with the first entrance of Kingsford's grounds, Prafulla and Khudiram sprang from the shadow of one of the tall trees that lined the broad thoroughfare separating the residential buildings from the maidan.
At the time they had in their possession three revolvers and one bomb. Evidently if the bomb had failed m its purpose, they would have to take recourse to the use of the revolvers to complete their job.
The psychological moment arrived and Khudiram ran deliberately towards the carriage and poising the bomb in his out-stretched arm above the head threw it with full force at the carriage which he believed to have been carrying Kingsford in its hold. The sound of the explosion startled the town. Both Mrs. and Miss Kennedy and the syce were seriously injured, The carriage was shattered and nothing but the ribs of splintered woodwork was left of the rear portion torn and rent and charred by the explosion. Miss Kennedy died within a few minutes of the explosion, and Mrs. Kennedy a little later.
It was sheer good luck that saved Kingsford from a sure death. Incidentally it may be mentioned that an attempt was made to kill him while he was in his Garden Reach house in Calcutta through a novel bomb pladed inside a book. It was a tin case of picric acid concealed inside the body of the book of 1200 pages, 600 of which had been scooped out to accommodate it. Springs were set in such a manner thaton the cutting of the string with which the book was tied up, the cover would fly open and a detonator of fulminate of mercury would be struck by a nail.
The 'book bomb' was sent to Kingsford and the chaprasi put it on the table of the sahib, who in turn placed it among his other books on the idea that it was returned by some friend who had taken it on loan. The book was hunted up in connection with the case. The spring was rusted but the explosive was found intact.
The two assailants immediately left the place leaving their shoes at the place which indicated that they had been going bare-footed. Thus the shoes supplied a valuable clue to their arrest. There was also found a tin can near the football posts on the maidan. It served as a container of the bomb that was carried to the scene of occurrence. After covering a long distance they parted company one running towards Samastipore and the other in another direction.
An alarm was sent forth to different quarters for the apprehension of the culprits. The District Superintendent of Police sent two Sub-Inspectors down the railway line, one to Bankipore and another to Mokameh with instructions to leave constables at each station along the route and to arrest all suspicious or suspected persons. Among the men thus sent two were despatched to Waini station by train.
From the place of occurrence Prafulla Chaki reached Samastipore, a railway station on the B. & N. W. Railway on May 1, 1908 and took an inter class ticket for Mokameh Ghat. He had in the meantime changed his dress and was at the time wearing new clothes and a new pair of shoes. He attracted the notice of a Sub-Inspector of Police, Nandalal Banerjee, who on the expiry of his leave had taken the train from Muzaffarpore to rejoin his duties at Singhbhum.
The appearance of Prafulla aroused suspicion of the Sub-Inspector who suspected him as having some connection with the outrage at Muzaffarpore of the previous evening. He got into the same compartment with Prafulla and started conversation with him on various matters.
Prafulla got down at Semuriaghat and proceeded towards the Ganges to allay his thirst. He came back but because of his disgust at the other man's inquisitiveness, Prafulla got into another compartment. Alighting at MokamehGhat he purchased another inter class ticket for Howrah.
The Police Officer here tendered apologieg and again became friendly with him. Meanwhile he had telegraphed his suspicions to Muzaffarpore and at Mokameh Ghat received a telegram directing him to arrest the suspected person. On the strength of this message Prafulla was arrested, but because of his great physical fitness he was able to wrench off and dash down the platform pursued by two constables who had by previous intimation been kept there on guard. Almost at the end of the platform after finding that escape was impossible he turned back and fired a shot at the constable nearest to him. The bullet missed and the constable closed up with his victim.
Prafulla somehow managed to release his hand with great effort and fired two shots at himself from his Browning pistol, one of which entered under the chin and the other passing through his left collar bone. Death was instantaneous.
On May 1, 1908, at about 6 p.m. the second martyr in the cause of freedom, the first being Prafulla Chakrabarti, sacrificed his life at the Altar of the Motherland. The Hitakari (June 15, 1908) commented:
"His soul has now flown tu a higher tribunal where kings and beggars, revolutionists and their rulers stand on the same level and no distinction is made of their respective positions in the dispensation of Justice."
The head of Prafulla was severed from his body and was brought down preserved in spirit of wine, to Calcutta, for identification.
Prafulla was a remarkable lad when he joined the revolutionary party. He possessed enormous physical strength and an iron constitution. In this respect he was the best boy in the Rangpur National Institution. During a visit to that district on a secret mission, Barindra Kumar Ghose was very much impressed with Prafulla's qualities of head and heart and his courage marked him out for the first deadly venture that was to strike terror into the heart of every oppressive ruler. It was unfortunate for the country that this attempt misfired and ended in a grim disaster.
Khudiram dashed towards the railway line with the idea of reachitig a station and thence proceed to Calcutta. He reached Waini, a station on B. & N. W. Rly., a distance of twenty-four miles from Muzaffarpore. He was barefooted and quite exhausted due to the strain of the journey of such a long distance without food and drink.
He strolled into the bazar a few yards from the Waini Station and was seen at about 8 a.m. eating a handful of parched rice near a shop. When just going to drink, he was arrested by the police.
He was elaborately questioned by the Police Officer. In reply, apparently evasive, he said that he was on his way tö Bankipore. When it was pointed out to him that in such a case he ought to have alighted at Muzaffarpore and not at Wain, all he could say was that he felt extremely thirsty and got down at Wain to quench his thirst. At the time of his examination he once tried to ship away but he was firmly held and pinioned. He tried to draw a revolver from his coat, carried under his arm, but was prevented from giving effect to his desire.
When arrested Khudiram had in his possession two revolvers, one of which was fully loaded, Rs. 30 in notes and coins, 37 rounds of ammunition, an Indian railway map and cuttings from a local time-table.
The suspect was brought back to Muzaffarpore by the evening train; the station was densely crowded by people anxious to have a look at him.
When he alighted from the train his appearance did not betray the slightest sign of agitation or fear. He was calm and collected and had even a cheerful look, but without any trace of bravado. As he seated himself in the carriage for the police station he shouted Bande Mataram. But for the undaunted look in his eyes, no one could even dream that the slender faint looking lad of 18 or thereabouts to be the performer of an act, the sound of which echoed andre-echoed till it reached the horizon.
In his statement before the District Magistrate he said that he had intended to kill Kingsford as he looked upon the latter as the greatest tyrant in India and that he threw the bomb on the carriage on April 30, in the belief that it had been carrying Kingsford and not two innocent and unfortunate ladies.
The Muzaffarpore Bomb Case was opened on May 21, 1908. The prisoner's non-chalance was remarkable. He did not, as fi seem to realise the ultimate end awaiting him. During the proceedings the accused looked as unmoved as stone and during part of the trial he was seen to dose. He gained two pounds in weight during the undertrial period and he betrayed no emotion whatsoever.
The accused was committed to the Sessions on May 25, and the trial commenced on June 8, 1908. The prisoner pleaded guilty. The case ended on June 13 with a verdict of death. When the Judge addressing the prisoner enquired whether he had understood the implication of the sentence passed on him, he nodded and smiled. His face brightened up: it seemed that he had had nothing to do with it.
On June 11, 1908, he had an informal talk with his lawyer in the course of which he said:
"I am a resident of Midnapore Town and have no father, no mother, brother or uncle, paternal or maternal. I have got a sister, my elder, who has got many children, the eldest being about my age.
I read up to the Second Class. I gave up my study two or three years ago. Since then I began to take active part in the Swadeshi Movement.
I wish to see Midnapore for once and my sister and her children. I have no trouble in my mind.
I am treated fairly well in jail. The food is coarse and quite unsuited to me which has told upon my health. Otherwise I am not ill-treated. I am confined in a lonely cell, where I am kept day and night. I am allowed only once to come out, when I go to bathe. I am tired of being alone."
To a question by the lawyer Khudiram replied that he had no cause of fear. He had read the Gita perfectly well. There was no question of his pleading not guilty as he felt fully conscious of his responsibility in the matter and he was sorry that Kingsford was still alive and that two innocent ladies had been killed instead.
The stoic attitude of Khudiram was not relished by the trying Judge who remarked:
"I am unable to find on the face of it any ground for mitigating the penalty, and I need not prolong the prisoner's agony and suspense, if indeed he feels, as I would leign hope himcapable offeeling by saying one word more.'
An appeal was preferred in the High Court on July 6, 1908. After a short hearing the sentence was conflimed on July 13, 1908.
Khudiram's execution took place on August 11, 1908, punctually at 6 a.m. in the Muzaffarpore Jail.
He walked to the gallows firmly and cheerfully and even smiled when the cap was drawn over the head.
A quiet funeral on the Gandak finished a stormy career that had from adolescence served the Motherland with unflinching devotion unmoved by the frowns of the minions of foreign Government holding India with brute force. (Vide Appendix 'B')
Kingsford did not die but the shock and fear of life were so great that he fell ill and left for Mussoorie with the entire family on May 3. His enthusiam displayed in the trial of political cases in Calcutta left him for good and for all practical purposes he was dead to Indian administration though living in flesh and blood.
The Empire (an evening daily) published the following editorial on August 11, 1908:
"Khudiram Bose was executed this morning.... it is alleged that he mounted the scaffold with his body erect. He was cheerful and smiling.... It is said that when his pleader visited him in the jail the day before the execution, Khudiram told him that he would die as fearlessly as the Rajput women of old did on funeral pyres."
A few among the revolutionists expressed their sorrow at the death of two innocent ladies in the belief that their future efforts might fail by the curse of God. The Yugantor (article reproduced in The Englishman' June 9, 1908) tried to dissipate the nervousness fo such faint-hearted fellows with the following exhortation:
"If any youth aspiring to freedom has really said so, then he has not yet become fit to obtain freedom. Hard-heartedness is necessary to trample the enemy under foot. When during the Treta-yaga, the Rakshasas were perpetrating frightful oppression in the Dandaka forest, Rama extirpated the whole race of the Rakshasas, Lakshman Thakur cut off the nose and ears of Surpanakha, the beautiful sister of Ravana, and then let her go. It is not necessary to give illustrations if in the attempt to destroy the enemy a woman is accidentally killed. Then God have no cause of displeasure like the English. Many a female demon must be killed in the course of time in order to extirpate the race of Asuras from the breast of the earth. There is no sin in this; no mercy; no affection!" (Vide Appendix 'B', p. 169).
The 'Bande Mataram', (August 16, 1908, editorial for August 12, 1908) presents before its readers the spiritual side of the action that transcended the fears and misgivings of the flesh:
His last wish was to partake of the 'Prasad of the local deity by way of receiving its blessing. In the prison he was absorbed all day in the study of religious and patriotic literature. He was preparing to die and his conduct on the scaffold. ... shows how complete was the preparation. He has completely falsified the theory that it was an artificial enthusiasm that supplied him with the motive of his action. He all along knew to what extent he was responsible for the crime. But that he was prepared to bear his full share of responsibility cannot in the least be doubted. His ambition was perhaps to die for his country like the Rajput women on the funeral pyres. Beautiful as he was like a fairy nobody could suspect him to be an assassin. During his trial at Muzaffarpore a Beharee gentleman came to scoff but remained to doubt his crime and admire his conduct. But now that he died so fearlessly the assassin is totally merged in the hero. It is not given to every man to overcome the weakness of flesh in this way. People can never forget how the Spirit got the better of the flesh in this young man. We are really reminded of the spiritual strength of yore.
The Roll of Honour > Pg. 160
Khudiram Bose was born on December 3, 1889 in the small village of Habibpur situated close to the town of Taluk in Midnapore district of Bengal. Khudiram Bose was the fourth child in a family of three daughters. His parents, Trailokyanath Bose and Lakshmipriya Devi had two sons before the birth of Khudiram but both of them died prematurely. Following the tradition of the yesteryear superstitious society, his mother decided to give up possession of a male child to avoid further deaths in the family. According to reports, her baby boy was sold to her eldest daughter Aparupa in exchange of a measure of food grain, also known as 'khud' in Midnapore. After selling her son to her daughter, the mother abandoned all rights to take care of her son. He was thus named Khudiram as he was bought in exchange of 'khud' and henceforth was taken care of only by his sister. Thus, it was right after his birth that Khudiram Bose lost all contact with his mother and father.
Khudiram had even in his younger days no fear of the police or for his sufferings at their hands.
On April 1, 1906, an Industrial Exhibition was opened at Midnapore in the presence of the District Magistrate when shouts of Bande Matarom were raised by some boys and everybody was struck with terror because of the consequences of this unpardonable offence. On the closing day of the mela (fair), a leaflet was distributed containing abusive language against the English rulers in India.
Previous to this on February 28, a mere boy of 15 was arrested by a Head Constable for having in his possession three copies of the offending leaflet. The boy who was no other than the hero Khudiram, was ready lo go wherever he was wanted to by the police, but he insisted on having his hands free as his offence had not yet been proved or even cited. He must be treated as an honourable citizen. He was insulted by the same constable for his attitude and he tried to drag him by force to the local Police Station. Khudiram felt indignant at this treatment and he wrenched his hand by force and left the place.
From the next day, i.e., March 1, 1906, police investigation was started with great vigour and several respectable gentlemen, together with an informer, were summoned to the Magistrate's quarters where they were shabbily treated. On the top of it, a Government employee of some standing was served with a notice of dismissal.
Khudiram, because of his leanings towards Swadeshi, had to leave his family and to take his residence in a boarding house attached to the local weaving school.
On May 31, 1906, two Sub-Inspectors and about ten constables forced their entrance into the boarding house at 1 a.m. and arrested Khudiram from amongst a number of other boys sleeping there.
Experience of the lock-up thus started with Khudiram from this tender age. Bail could not be secured in spite of the best efforts. He bore the trial patiently and heroically.
On April 4, 1906, Khudiram was released on bail. On April 17, he was committed to the Sessions on the ground that "on or about 28th February at Midnapore old jail compound he attempted to bring the Government into hatred or contempt" (Section 124A I.P.C.) and "with intent to incite or which was likely to incite the native community against the European community and thereby committed offence under section 506 I.P.C (criminal intimidation) by circulation of leaflets.
He was brought before the Court with his hands firmly hand-cuffed as if he had been a hardened criminal with records of escape from custody behind him.
He was allowed bail on April 18 and his case was, on the ground of his tender age, withdrawn on May 16, 1906.
This early lesson laid the stone of a solid foundation of a service and sacrifice in future.
Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki from Jugantar party were sent by Barindra Ghose to the town of Muzaffarpur in Bihar to carry out the killing of Kingsford, the magistrate of Calcutta Presidency. The two revolutionaries went to Muzaffarpur, adopted the code names of Haren Sarkar and Dinesh Roy respectively, and took shelter in the 'Dharmashala' of Kishorimohan Bandopadhyay. Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki wanted to avoid unnecessary bloodshed of innocent people. Therefore they decided to shoot him when he was on his way from the European Club to his home or vice versa. On April 30, 1908, Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki took position outside the European Club and targeted the carriage of Kingsford as it moved out of the club at around 8:30 in the evening. The bomb hurled by Khudiram hit the carriage. Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki immediately fled the spot thinking that their task were complete, only to be informed later that it was the wife and daughter of barrister Pringle Kennedy who were traveling inside Kingsford's carriage. The duo decided to split up. However, the police caught them soon after the incident took place.
The Muzaffarpur incident took place at 8:30 in the evening. People were made aware of the killing on the same night and security consisting of armed police constables was stationed at all crucial positions around the country, especially the railway stations. In addition, the British government had also announced Rs 1000 cash prize for the person who could trace the attackers or assist the police in doing so. Knowing that the police would be behind him, Khudiram Bose decided to walk his way to Medinipur rather than board a train. However, ill fate was waiting for him in Oyaini, where he stopped for a glass of water. Constables were immediately by his side when Khudiram Bose stopped at a tea stall to ask for a glass of water. They were suspicious and wanted to know the reason which made him walk such a long way. A search which ensued revealed that Khudiram Bose was armed with two revolvers and 37 rounds of ammunition. On May 1, 1908, Khudiram Bose was put under arrest for his involvement in the Muzaffarpur Bomb-throwing incident. The arrest failed to dampen his nationalistic spirit. The young boy gave the cry of 'Vande mataram' even after the entire town of Muzaffarpur gathered in front of the railway station to take a look at the boy who could commit such a daring act. After being taken to the magistrate's office in Muzaffarpur, Khudiram Bose took the complete blame for the incident which led to the deaths in Muzaffarpur just a day ago. No attempts would make him reveal the name of either his partner Prafulla Chaki or his revolutionary group in Medinipur. However, police produced before him the lifeless body of Prafulla Chaki. He could not suppress his shock at the sight. The police authorities working under the instructions of the British proved how inhuman they could be when they cut off the head of the dead Prafulla Chaki and sent it to Kolkata for further confirmation on his and Khudiram Bose's revolutionary links.
Khudiram Bose was put behind bars on May 2, 1908 and the court trial began on the 21st of May. Binodbihari Majumdar and Mr. Mannuk were the prosecutors for the British government, while Upendranath Sen, Kalidas Basu and Kshetranath Bandopadhyay were the defense lawyers. Narendranath Lahiri, Satishchandra Chakraborty and Kulkamal Sen also joined the team of defense lawyers for Khudiram Bose as the trial progressed. The entire team fought his case for free. On May 23, 1908, Khudiram Bose had to give his first statement in court. Following the advice of his lawyers, Khudiram Bose denied any involvement in the bombing that led to the death of the two British women in Muzaffarpur. The trial progressed slowly with the judge announcing that the final verdict would be delivered on June 13. It was on the date of the verdict that the prosecutors in the Khudiram Bose case received an anonymous letter warning that bombings would soon take place in Kolkata and this time it would be the Biharis rather than the Bengalis who would be behind the attack. The defense board was now sure that the letter would convince the judge that people other than Khudiram Bose may be involved in the killings in Muzaffarpur. The chief intention of the defense board in the case was to prevent the pronouncement of a death sentence for Khudiram Bose. However, the British Raj was not prepared to let go off an Indian who had already been declared as a revolutionary. The death sentence was pronounced for Khudiram Bose. Khudiram Bose embraced the sentence with dignity. In fact he also refused to appeal to the High Court, a practice which existed during those times, saying that he was destined to be hanged to death. It was his defense lawyers who convinced Khudiram Bose to make the appeal to the High Court arguing with him that a life sentence instead of a death sentence would mean that Khudiram Bose could live on to serve his motherland. The hearing at High Court took place on July 8, 1908. It was Narendrakumar Basu who fought on behalf of Khudiram Bose in the July High Court trial. He presented several arguments with the aim of avoiding the death sentence for a revolutionary who had become an overnight hero for young nationalists in India. The judge at the High Court said that July 13 would be the date for the final verdict in the case. The arguments put forward in the High Court by Narendrakumar Basu could have turned the case in favor of Khudiram Bose and could have saved his life. But the British government had already decided their course of action. An appeal was made to the Governor General but it was also turned down and the death sentence for Khudiram Bose was pronounced public on August 11, 1908. The sentence led to a huge uproar among people, young and old, who accumulated in front of the courthouse to shout slogans of protest against the sentence. The local press was vociferous in making the sentiments of the Indians heard. But it was Khudiram Bose who surprised many by embracing his death gracefully by going to the gallows on August 11, 1908 with a smile on his face.
1889: Khudiram Bose was born on December 3. 1904: He shifted from Taluk to Medinipur and took up revolutionary activities seriously. 1905: He joined political party Jugantar. 1905: He planted bombs in a police station to kill government officials. 1908: He gets involved in the Muzaffarpur killings on April 30. 1908: He is arrested for the killings on May 1. 1908: His partner in the Muzaffarpur killings Prafulla Chaki kills himself. 1908: The Khudiram Bose trial begins on May 21. 1908: He gives his first statement in court on May 23. 1908: June 13 is announced as the date of verdict. 1908: The trial starts in High Court on July 8. 1908: Final verdict of death sentence announced on July 13. 1908: Appeal to Governor General thwarted and final verdict announced on August 11. 1908: Khudiram Bose is hanged to death on August 11th.
Khudiram Bose in Police custody
Khudiram Bose in the Courtroom
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