Khudiram Bose was an Indian revolutionary born in a Kayastha family on 3 December 1889, in the village of Midnapore district, Bengal Presidency, British India. He was a member of the Jugantar group, an underground Bengal revolutionary group. He was arrested and sentenced to death for his involvement in the Muzaffarpur bomb case, in which two British women were killed. He was hanged on 11 August 1908. He was the youngest martyr of the Indian independence movement.
Early Life:
Khudiram Bose was an Indian revolutionary born on 3 December 1889 in the village of Midnapore, Bengal Presidency, British India. His father, Trailokyanath Bose, was a schoolteacher and a Tehsildar in the Nerojal. His mother, Lakshmipriya Bose, was a homemaker. Khudiram was the youngest of four children; he had two brothers and three sisters. His mother died when he was 6 years old, and his father died after a year. His elder sister Aparupa Roy raised him. Khudiram attended the Midnapore Zilla School, where he excelled in his studies. He later enrolled in the Bengal Technical Institute, where he studied electrical engineering. Khudiram was active in the revolutionary group when he was a teenager and became a volunteer at the age of 15. He joined the network of Barindra Kumar Gosh and Anushilan Samiti. He planted a bomb near a police station and targeted the government officials at the age of 16.
First Attempt to assassinate:
A book bomb was designed, by Hemchandra, to kill Kingsford. A pound of picric acid with three detonators was packed in an empty tin of Cadbury cocoa. This was wrapped in brown paper and delivered to the house of Kingsford by Paresh Mallick, a young revolutionary. Kingsford put this packet on his shelf to open it later. In March 1908, he was promoted to the district judge and went to Muzaffarpur with all his belongings and the book bomb.
Police suspicious:
Anushilan Samiti determined to kill Kingsford. Prafulla Chaki came to Muzaffarpur with a new boy, Khudiram Bose. The Calcutta police uncovered the plans for Kingsford’s life. The Superintendent of Police in Muzzafarpur ignored, and four men were deployed to guard the magistrate’s house. The two revolutionaries, Prafulla Chaki and Khudiram Bose, successfully hide their identities for over three weeks. On the evening of 29 April, they decided to execute their plans. The British Club where Kingsford used to come was situated opposite to the Muzaffarpur Park, they pretended as they were schoolboys. They surveyed frequented by Kingsford.
Assassination attempts at Muzaffarpur:
One day, Kingsford and his wife were playing with the daughter and wife of Pringle Kennedy, who was a barrister. They decided to go home at 8:30 PM. The two ladies were in a carriage. Their carriage reached near the gate of the European club. Prafulla and Khudiram threw a bomb. An explosion ensued, and the two ladies sustained injuries. One died within one hour, and the other died after a day.
Escape:
Khudiram and Prafulla chose two different ways to escape their capture. Khudiram walked 25 miles and reached the station of Waini. On a tea stall, he asked for a glass of water. There are two armed constables suspected. After some interrogation, their suspicion became stronger. They detained Khudiram. On the other hand, Prafulla traveled for long hours, and a civil named Trigunacharan Ghosh saw him coming his way. He had heard the bomb blast news and felt that he was the other revolutionary. He decided to save him and let him take a rest. He arranged for him a train ticket to go to Kolkata. He boarded a train in which a sub-inspector was traveling. He realized the Prafulla was the other revolutionary. He sent a telegram to the concerned police station. The sub-inspector tried to arrest him, but after some fight for running away, Prafulla failed to do so and shot himself in the mouth at the end. Khudiram was brought to the court on 1 May, where he had to give a statement to the magistrate. He took full responsibility for the blast unknown about the death of Prafulla. Firstly, he did not ready to sign his statement. But the other day, he signed it on the saying of his lawyer.
Hearing:
The trial started on 21 May 1908. Judge Corndoff, Nathuni Prasad, and Janak Prasad were on the jury. After hearing the judge pronounced the death sentence. Immediate repose of the Khudiram was to smile. The judge asked whether he knew the meaning of the sentence. He replied that he knew it very well as to what it meant.
High court hearing:
On 8 July 1908, a high court hearing took place. Narendra Kumar Basu was for Khudiram’s defence. He concentrated all his experience on legal skills, and in this case. He wanted to save a boy who had overnight become a hero for the entire country. He raised many doubts about the verdict passed by the session court and challenged the sentence. However, Khudiram did not want to appeal to the high court. Narendra Kumar Basu said that Prafulla was the bomb expert. He likely threw the bomb. After the hearing, the two high court English judges announced another date for the final verdict.
Judgment:
On 13 July 1908, the lone statement of Khudiram was the only foundation for the entire case. Since Narendra Kumar Basu put forth all the legal arguments which were believed to be technically correct. On a historical day, the high court judges confirmed the same conviction and sentence passed by the session court. They also dismissed the appeal.
Death:
The scheduled time for his execution was on 11 August; at 6 AM, the region around the prison became along with a large crowd. The People were holding flower garlands standing in the front rows of the crowd. A close lawyer-journalist (Upendranath Sen,) to Khudiram reached the venue by 5 AM, with all the necessary funerary arrangements and clothes. It is reported that he was smiling when a cap was put on his head at the time of his execution. After the hanging, the crowd kept throwing flowers at the body as the carriage passed. The people processed in the whole city. Police guards held back the procession all along the central artery street. Although he was only 18 years old at the time of his death, his martyrdom inspired other independence activists and served as a symbol of hope for the future of India.
Summary:
Khudiram Bose was an Indian revolutionary born in the Midnapore district of Bengal on 3 December 1889. He was the third child of Trailokyanath Bose and Sundari Devi. Khudiram was a bright child and was admitted to the Midnapore Collegiate School at the age of eleven. He was an average student but was very good at boxing and swimming. Khudiram became involved in the freedom movement at a very young age. When he was just sixteen years old, he was arrested for involvement in the Maniktala bomb case. His lawyer tried to reduce his sentence, but his sentence was later commuted to transportation for life. Khudiram was sent to the cellular jail in Andaman, where he remained for eleven years. After his release, Khudiram went to Calcutta and became active in the Jugantar movement. He was soon arrested again and, this time, sentenced to death. Khudiram was hanged on 11 August 1908. He was just eighteen years old.