Latest / The Hidden History of Bengal: Kingdoms, Empires, and Revolution — Fexingo History / Chittagong Armoury Raid: Bengal's First Armed Uprising
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about Bengal's economic history, the sultans, the Mughals, the British takeover. But one thing we haven't touched yet is the armed revolutionary movement — not the nonviolent Swadeshi stuff, but the people who believed in taking up guns. Luna: You mean like the Chittagong Armoury Raid? Lucas: Exactly. That's the big one. 18 April 1930. A group of young revolutionaries led by Surya Sen — known as Masterda — simultaneously raided the police armoury and the auxiliary forces armoury in Chittagong. They cut telephone lines, derailed a troop train, and seized a huge cache of arms. And then they raised the Indian flag over the police armoury and declared a Provisional Revolutionary Government. Lucas: Now Chittagong — today in Bangladesh — was a major port city, and the British had a significant military presence there. The raid was incredibly audacious. But the real story starts long before that night. Luna: How did Surya Sen get into this? Was he always a revolutionary? Lucas: He was a schoolteacher, actually. Born in 1894 in Noapara, Chittagong. He was deeply influenced by the nationalist fervour of the early 20th century, particularly the partition of Bengal in 1905. But unlike many of his contemporaries who leaned towards Gandhi's non-cooperation, Sen believed that armed struggle was the only way to overthrow the British. He started recruiting young men — mostly students and former soldiers — and by 1929, he had formed a group called the Indian Republican Army, Chittagong Branch. Lucas: The planning took almost two years. They even set up a secret training camp in the forests of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. And the group included women too — Pritilata Waddedar, Kalpana Datta, and others. That was quite radical for the time. Luna: Absolutely. Women in armed combat roles was almost unheard of in India then. Lucas: The raid itself went off largely as planned. About sixty revolutionaries split into two groups. One attacked the police armoury, the other the Auxiliary Forces armoury. They also cut the telephone and telegraph lines, but they missed a key line — the one to the Telegraph Office. So the British were able to alert reinforcements from the neighbouring hill districts. By dawn, the revolutionaries had to retreat into the surrounding hills and forests. Lucas: For the next sixteen months, they waged a guerrilla campaign. The British brought in the army and police from across Bengal. There was a famous battle on Jalalabad Hill on 22 April 1930 where twelve revolutionaries were killed, but they held off a much larger force for several hours. Surya Sen himself was wounded but escaped. Luna: What happened to him eventually? Lucas: He was captured in February 1933, after a tip-off. The British tried him and sentenced him to death. He was hanged on 12 January 1934 in Chittagong Jail. But even after his capture, the movement didn't end. Kalpana Datta and others continued the struggle. There was a spectacular jailbreak in 1933 where some of the imprisoned revolutionaries escaped. Luna: And this is where we might pause for a moment. Lucas, I know this is a history show, but I think it's worth noting something about how we're able to make these episodes. Lucas: Sure, go ahead. Luna: So we keep Fexingo ad-free because a handful of listeners chip in monthly through Buy Me a Coffee. It's literally just at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. And that small support is what lets us keep digging into these stories — whether it's medieval sultans or 20th century revolutionaries. Lucas: Right. It's a quiet thing, but it makes a real difference. Anyway, back to Chittagong. So after the initial raid, the revolutionaries split into small groups to evade capture. Some crossed into the Chittagong Hill Tracts, where the local tribal populations helped them. Others went to Calcutta. But the British were relentless. Lucas: One of the most tragic events was the death of Pritilata Waddedar. She was a young, educated woman who led an attack on the Pahartali European Club in 1932. The club had a sign that said 'Dogs and Indians not allowed'. She and her team set it on fire. But surrounded by police, she took cyanide rather than be captured. Luna: That story is incredible. And it's not as well-known as it should be. Lucas: Exactly. The Chittagong Armoury Raid is remembered in Bangladesh and India as a major event, but internationally it's obscure. And it's important because it shows that Bengal's independence movement wasn't just about petitions and boycotts — there was a fierce, armed underground as well. The British response was also brutal: they passed the Bengal Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance to try these revolutionaries in special tribunals without juries. Luna: How did mainstream leaders like Gandhi react to the raid? Lucas: Gandhi condemned it. He was firmly committed to nonviolence. He wrote articles in Young India criticizing the Chittagong revolutionaries, saying they were misguided. But many young Indians saw them as heroes. The Indian National Congress as a body did not officially support armed struggle, but individual Congress leaders like Subhas Chandra Bose had sympathies with the underground. In fact, Bose had earlier organized the Bengal Volunteers, which had links to revolutionary groups. Lucas: The trial of Surya Sen and his comrades attracted huge attention. They used the courtroom as a platform to declare their love for the motherland. One of them, Lokenath Bal, famously said, 'I am proud to be hanged for my country.' And they went to the gallows singing Vande Mataram. Luna: So the raid didn't achieve its immediate goal of liberating Chittagong, but it became a symbol. Lucas: Exactly. It inspired a generation of revolutionaries across India. And it's a reminder that the road to independence was not just paved with salt marches and negotiations — it also had blood and sacrifice. In Bangladesh today, Surya Sen is considered a national hero. There are schools, roads, and even a university named after him. And every year on 18 April, people commemorate the raid. Luna: I'm glad we covered this. It fills a gap in our understanding of Bengal's hidden history. Lucas: Absolutely. And there's so much more we could explore — the role of women, the international connections, the links to the Bengali diaspora. But that's for another episode.