Hindustan Socialist Republican Association

Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) was a revolutionary organisation established in 1928 at Feroz Shah Kotla New Delhi by Chandrasekhar Azad

Chandrasekhar Azad

Chandra Shekhar Azad , was one of the most important Indian revolutionaries who reorganised the Hindustan...

, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev

Sukhdev

Sukhdev Thapar was born in Ludhiana, Punjab. He was an Indian freedom fighter who lived from 15 May 1907 to March 23, 1931) who was involved with Shaheed Bhagat Singh andShivaram Rajguru in the killing of a British police officer J.P...

and others. Previously it was known as Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) whose written constitution and published manifesto titled The Revolutionary was produced as a witness in the Kakori conspiracy case of 1925. Likewise the Hindustan Republican Association, HSRA. was also a revolutionary organisation which worked more dangerously from 1928 to 1931 in the Indian subcontinent to uproot the British Raj

British Raj

British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...

from the country through armed struggle.

Background

The Non-cooperation movement

Non-cooperation movement

The non-cooperation movement was a significant phase of the Indian struggle for freedom from British rule which lasted for years. This movement, which lasted from September 1920 to February 1922 and was led by Mohandas Gandhi, and supported by the Indian National Congress. It aimed to resist...

of 1920 led to large scale mobilisation of Indian population against the British rule. Though intended as a Nonviolent resistance

Nonviolent resistance

Nonviolent resistance is the practice of achieving goals through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, and other methods, without using violence. It is largely synonymous with civil resistance...

movement, it soon turned violent. After the Chauri Chaura

Chauri Chaura

Chauri Chaura is a town near Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. The town is known most for an event in February 1922 during the British Raj when a police chowki was set on fire by a mob of angry citizens, killing 23 policemen inside.-Background:In the early 1920s, Indians, led by Mahatma Gandhi,...

incident, Mohandas K. Gandhi suspended the movement to prevent escalation of violence. This disillusioned a section of nationalists who felt the suspension was premature and unwarranted. The political vacuum created by the suspension led to the formation of revolutionary movements by the more radical amongst those who sought to overthrow British rule.

Opposition of Gandhi in Gaya Congress

In February 1922 some agitating farmers were killed in Chauri Chaura by the police. The police station of Chauri Chaura was attacked by the people and 22 policemen were burnt alive. Gandhi, without ascertaining the facts behind this incident, declared an immediate stop the non-cooperation movement without consulting any executive committee member of the Congress. Bismil and his group of youths strongly opposed Gandhi in the Gaya Congress of 1922. When Gandhi refused to rescind his decision, the Indian National Congress

Indian National Congress

The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...

was divided into two groups - one liberal

Liberalism

Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...

and the other for rebellion. In January 1923, the rich group of party formed a new Swaraj Party

Swaraj Party

The Swaraj Party, Swarajaya Party or Swarajya Party, established as the Congress-Khilafat Swarajaya Party, was a political party formed in India in 1922 that sought greater self-government and political freedoms for the Indian people from the British Raj. It was inspired by the concept of Swaraj...

under the joint leadership of Pt. Moti Lal Nehru and Chittranjan Das, and the youth group formed a revolutionary party under the leadership of Bismil.

Yellow Paper constitution

With the consent of Lala Har Dayal, Bismil went to Allahabad where he drafted the constitution of the party in 1923 with the help of Sachindra Nath Sanyal

Sachindra Nath Sanyal

Sachindra Nath Sanyal was a famous Indian revolutionary and the founder of Hindustan Republican Association that was created to carry out armed resistance against the British Empire in India. He was the mentor for revolutionaries like Chandrashekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh...

and another revolutionary of Bengal

Bengal

Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...

, Dr. Jadugopal Mukherjee

Jadugopal Mukherjee

Jadu Gopal Mukherjee was an eminent Bengali Indian revolutionary who, as the successor of Jatindranath Mukherjee or Bagha Jatin, led the Jugantar members to recognise and accept Gandhi’s movement as the culmination of their own aspiration.-Early life:Jadugopal or Jadu was born at Tamluk in the...

. The basic name and aims of the organisation were typed on a Yellow Paper and later on a subsequent Constitutional Committee Meeting was conducted on 3 October 1924 at Kanpur in U.P. under the Chairmanship of Sachindra Nath Sanyal.

Sharing responsibility

This meeting decided the name of the party would be the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA). After a long discussion from others Bismil was declared there the District Organiser of Shahjahanpur and Chief of Arms Division. An additional responsibility of Provincial Organiser of United Province (Agra and Oudh) was also entrusted to him. Sachindra Nath Sanyal, was anonymously nominated as National Organiser and another senior member Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee

Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee

Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee was an Indian freedom fighter, revolutionary and member of Rajya Sabha .-Short biography:...

, was given the responsibility of Coordinator, Anushilan Samiti

Anushilan Samiti

Anushilan Samiti was an armed anti-British organisation in Bengal and the principal secret revolutionary organisation operating in the region in the opening years of the 20th century. This association, like its offshoot the Jugantar, operated under the guise of suburban fitness club...

. After attending the meeting in Kanpur, both Sanyal and Chatterjee left the U.P. and proceeded to Bengal for further extension of the organisation.

Publication of "The Revolutionary"

A pamphlet titled "The Revolutionary" was published in January 1925 under a fictitious name, Vijay Kumar and was circulated all over India. It was a pamphlet of four pages wherein the programme or manifesto

Manifesto

A manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. Manifestos relating to religious belief are generally referred to as creeds. Manifestos may also be life stance-related.-Etymology:...

of the revolutionaries was declared with a promise to Indian public for equal opportunity to every man irrespective of social status high or low, rich or poor. Policies of Mohandas Gandhi were openly criticised and youths were called to join the organisation. The police were astonished to see the language of pamphlet and sought its leader in Bengal. Sachindra Nath Sanyal

Sachindra Nath Sanyal

had gone to despatch this pamphlet in a bulk and was arrested in Bankura

Bankura

Bankura is a city and a municipality in Bankura District in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bankura District.-Etymology:...

, West Bengal. Before Sanyal's arrest Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee

Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee

Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee was an Indian freedom fighter, revolutionary and member of Rajya Sabha .-Short biography:...

had also gone in the hands of police at Howrah railway station of Calcutta in Bengal.

Objectives and ideology

The stated objective of the HRA was establishment of a "Federated Republic of the United States of India by an organised and armed revolution". Armed struggle, terrorism and retaliatory strikes were the favored tactics in the attempt to defeat the British empire. This manifesto had very clearly declared their objectives and idiology:
and
The HRA was also socialist in its attitude and was inspired by Bolshevik

Bolshevik

The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. The manifesto stated,
Amongst other goals stated by the manifesto are Universal Suffrage

Universal suffrage

Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...

, supremacy of the legislature and religious freedom.

Early activities

From 1924 to 1925, the HRA grew in numbers with the influx of new members like Bhagat Singh, Chandrasekhar Azad

Chandrasekhar Azad

Chandra Shekhar Azad , was one of the most important Indian revolutionaries who reorganised the Hindustan...

, Sukhdev

Sukhdev

and Ram Prasad Bismil

Ram Prasad Bismil

Ram Prasad Bismil Ram Prasad Bismil Ram Prasad Bismil (Hindi: राम प्रसाद 'बिस्मिल', Gujarati: રામપ્રસાદ બિસ્મિલ, (Malayalam: രാം പ്രസാദ് ബിസ്മിൽ, Tamil: ராம் பிரசாத் பிஸ்மில், Born: 11 June 1897, Executed: 19 December 1927) was an Indian revolutionary who participated in Mainpuri Shadyantra of...

. The Kakori train robbery

Kakori train robbery

The Kakori train robbery was a train robbery that took place between Kakori and Alamnagar near Lucknow, on 9 August 1925 during the Indian Independence Movement against the British.German-made Mauser C96 semi-automatic pistols with wooden stock were used in this historical event by the Hindustan...

was the first well known action by the HRA. On 9 August 1925 the members of the group looted government money that was being transferred in a train. The Kakori conspiracy case led to the hanging of Ashfaqullah Khan, Ram Prasad Bismil, Roshan Singh

Roshan Singh

and rohanThakur Roshan Singh was an Indian revolutionary who was sentenced in the Bareilly Goli Kand in the Non Cooperation Movement of 1921-22...

and Rajendra Lahiri

Rajendra Lahiri

Rajendra Lahiri , also known as Rajendra Nath Lahiri,, was a Bengali Hindu Brahmin revolutionary, who participated in various revolutionary activities of the Hindustan Republican Association aimed at ousting the British forever from India.-Brief life sketch:Rajendra Lahiri was born on 23 Jun 1901...

. Sanyal and Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee were sentenced to life imprisonment. The Kakori arrests decimated the leadership of the HRA and dealt a major blow to its activities. Of the original conspirators, only Azad and Kundan Lal Gupta escaped. During this period the HRA splintered into various factions based in Kanpur, Lahore and Bengal. In 1927 a new group of revolutionaries like Jatindra nath Sanyal (brother of Sachindra), Phanindra Nath Ghosh and Bhirendra Nath Bhattacharjee emerged as active members. Ghosh was behind the attempted assassination of Rao Bahadur JN Banerjee in Benares in 1928. BN Bhattacharjee was the prime accused in the Deogarh Conspiracy Case.

Prominent members of HRA

Name	Involved in	What happened to him
Ram Prasad Bismil Ram Prasad Bismil Ram Prasad Bismil Ram Prasad Bismil Ram Prasad Bismil (Hindi: राम प्रसाद 'बिस्मिल', Gujarati: રામપ્રસાદ બિસ્મિલ, (Malayalam: രാം പ്രസാദ് ബിസ്മിൽ, Tamil: ராம் பிரசாத் பிஸ்மில், Born: 11 June 1897, Executed: 19 December 1927) was an Indian revolutionary who participated in Mainpuri Shadyantra of...	Mainpuri Mainpuri Mainpuri is a city and a municipal board in Mainpuri district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Mainpuri district and is situated to the north-east of Agra.-Geography:... Conspiracy (1918) & Kakori conspiracy (1925)	Absconded in Mainpuri Case; Sentenced to death in Kakori Case.Hanged in 1927 at Gorakhpur Gorakhpur Gorakhpur is a city in the eastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, near the border with Nepal. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur District and Gorakhpur Division. Gorakhpur is one of the proposed capitals of the Purvanchal state which is yet to be formed... Jail.
Ashfaqullah Khan	Kakori conspiracy (1925)	Sentenced to Death in Kakori Case. Hanged in 1927 at Faizabad Faizabad City of Faizabad , previous capital of Awadh, is the headquarters of Faizabad District and a municipal board in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, situated on the banks of river Ghaghra . Faizabad has a twin city of Ayodhya, which is considered to be the birthplace of Rama... Jail.
Rajendra Nath Lahiri	Kakori conspiracy (1925)	Sentenced to Death in Kakori Case. Hanged in 1927 at Gonda Gonda Gonda may refer to:* Gonda district* Gonda, Uttar Pradesh* Gonda * Gonda, Aligarh... Jail.
Thakur Roshan Singh	Kakori conspiracy (1925)	Sentenced to Death in Kakori Case. Hanged in 1927 at Naini Allahabad Allahabad Allahabad , or Settled by God in Persian, is a major city of India and is one of the main holy cities of Hinduism. It was renamed by the Mughals from the ancient name of Prayaga , and is by some accounts the second-oldest city in India. It is located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh,... Jail.
Sachindra Nath Sanyal Sachindra Nath Sanyal Sachindra Nath Sanyal was a famous Indian revolutionary and the founder of Hindustan Republican Association that was created to carry out armed resistance against the British Empire in India. He was the mentor for revolutionaries like Chandrashekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh...	Kakori conspiracy (1925)	Sentenced to life in Andaman Cellular Jail Cellular Jail The Cellular Jail, also known as Kālā Pānī , was a colonial prison situated in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. The prison was used by the British especially to exile political prisoners to the remote archipelago... ; died of Tuberculosis Tuberculosis Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body... at Bhowali Bhowali Bhowali is a town and a municipal board in Nainital District in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It lies close to Ghorakhal, known for Golu Devta temple and Sainik School Ghorakhal.- Geography :Bhowali is located at... T.B. Sanitorium in 1943
Shachindra Nath Bakshi Sachindra Bakshi Shachindra Nath Bakshi was a prominent Indian revolutionary belonging to Hindustan Republican Association that was created to carry out revolutionary activities against the British...	Kakori Conspiracy (1925)	Sentenced to Life in Kakori Case; Released in 1937 and became active in Congress but left the party after independence. He was elected M.L.A. on Jansangh party ticket
Yogesh Chandra Chatterjee Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee was an Indian freedom fighter, revolutionary and member of Rajya Sabha .-Short biography:...	Kakori conspiracy (1925)	Sentenced to Life in Kakori Case; Became a Member of Parliament Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of India. Rajya means "state," and Sabha means "assembly hall" in Sanskrit. Membership is limited to 250 members, 12 of whom are chosen by the President of India for their expertise in specific fields of art, literature,... after independence
Govind Charan Kar	Kakori conspiracy (1925)	Sentenced to Life in Kakori Case
Mukundi Lal	Mainpuri Mainpuri Mainpuri is a city and a municipal board in Mainpuri district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Mainpuri district and is situated to the north-east of Agra.-Geography:... Conspiracy (1918) and Kakori conspiracy (1925)	Sentenced to 7 years rigorous imprisonment in Mainpuri Mainpuri Mainpuri is a city and a municipal board in Mainpuri district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Mainpuri district and is situated to the north-east of Agra.-Geography:... and Life in Kakori conspiracy Case, Died in October 1972
Manmath Nath Gupta Manmath Nath Gupta Manmath Nath Gupta was an Indian revolutionary writer and author of autobiographical, historical and fictional books in Hindi, English and Bengali. He joined the Indian independence movement at the age of 13, and was an active member of the Hindustan Republican Association...	Kakori conspiracy (1925)	Sentenced to 14 year rigorous imprisonment in Kakori Case; Later on became a journalist/writer; died in 2000 on the day of Deepavali
Vishnu Sharan Dublish	Kakori conspiracy (1925)	Sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment in Kakori conspiracy which was converted later into a life sentence after Naini jail case. Joined Indian National Congress, Freedom movement activities in Western U.P., become a Member of Parliament.
Suresh Chandra Bhattacharya	Kakori conspiracy (1925)	Sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment in Kakori Case
Ram Krishna Khatri	Kakori conspiracy (1925)	Sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment in Kakori Case
Raj Kumar Sinha	Kakori conspiracy (1925)	Sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment in Kakori Case
Prem Krishna Khanna	Kakori conspiracy (1925)	Sentenced to 5 years rigorous imprisonment in Kakori Case. He became an M.P. from Shahjahanpur Shahjahanpur Shahjahanpur is a municipal board, town and district headquarters of Shahjahanpur District in Uttar Pradesh, India.-History:During the reign of Shahjahan, Mughal forces demolished the city of Kant...
Ram Dulare Trivedi	Kakori conspiracy (1925)	Sentenced to 5 years rigorous imprisonment in Kakori Case
Bhupendra Nath Sanyal	Kakori conspiracy (1925)	Sentenced to 5 years rigorous imprisonment in Kakori Case
Pranvesh Chatterjee	Kakori conspiracy (1925)	Sentenced to 4 years rigorous imprisonment in Kakori Case
Ram Nath Pandey	Kakori conspiracy (1925)	Sentenced to 3 years rigorous imprisonment in Kakori Case
Banwari Lal Banwari Lal Banwari Lal was a prominent Indian revolutionary who became an Approver in the historical Kakori conspiracy case of 1925.He hailed from Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh....	Kakori conspiracy (1925)	Sentenced to 2 years even after being an aprover in the Kakori Case
Chandrashekar Azad	Kakori conspiracy (1925), J.P. Saunders Assassination (1928)	Absconded in the Kakori case, living underground he reorganised the HRA and was killed while choosing not to surrender his handgun in a shootout with police at Allahabad Allahabad Allahabad , or Settled by God in Persian, is a major city of India and is one of the main holy cities of Hinduism. It was renamed by the Mughals from the ancient name of Prayaga , and is by some accounts the second-oldest city in India. It is located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh,... 0n 27 Feb 1931.

The Hindustan Socialist Republican Association

In September 1928, the Lahore faction (Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev) and Kanpur faction (Azad, Kundan Lal Gugta) of the HRA merged with the Bengali revolutionary faction led by Phanindra Nath Ghosh to form the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association(HSRA). This amalgamation came into existence at a meeting of the various factions at Feroz Shah Kotla grounds in Delhi

Delhi

Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

. Bhagat Singh declared socialism

Socialism

Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...

as their ultimate goal and that their party's new name should reflect that. Azad was appointed as the Commander-in-chief and Bhagat Singh placed in charge of ideology. The HSRA's manifesto titled Philosophy of the Bomb was written by Bhagawathi Charan Vohra.

Assassination of JP Saunders

The HSRA decided to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai

Lala Lajpat Rai

Lala Lajpat Rai was an Indian author, freedom fighter and politician who is chiefly remembered as a leader in the Indian fight for freedom from the British Raj. He was popularly known as Punjab Kesari or Sher-e-Punjab meaning the samem and was part of the Lal Bal Pal trio...

in a police lathi charge (a form of crowd control in which the police use heavy staves or `lathis' in Hindi) in November 1928 by assassinating J A Scott, the Superintendent of Police, Lahore who had ordered the lathi-charge. The plan was to be executed by Bhagat Singh, Shivram Hari Rajguru, Azad and Jai Gopal. The assassination attempt was carried out on 17 December 1928 in Lahore. It was planned that Jai Gopal would give a signal to Bhagat Singh and Rajguru as soon as Scott came of his office. However, Jai Gopal misidentified J. P. Saunders, the Assistant Superintendent of Police as Scott and gave the signal. Saunders was shot dead by Bhagat Singh and Raj Guru. A head constable was also killed while trying to chase the shooters. The next day the HSRA acknowledged the assassination by putting up posters in Lahore that read

Assembly bombing

The next major action HSRA carried out was the bombing of the Central Assembly in Delhi

Delhi

. This was done to protest the introduction of the Public Safety Bill and the Trade Disputes Bill. The HSRA decided to bomb the Assembly while the bills were being introduced to arouse public opinion against them. On April 8, 1929 Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt

Batukeshwar Dutt

Batukeshwar Dutt was an Indian revolutionary and a freedom fighter in the early 1900s. He is best known for having exploded a few bombs, along with Bhagat Singh, in the Central Legislative Assembly in New Delhi on 8 April 1929...

threw bombs at the empty treasury benches. They made no attempt to escape and courted arrest while shouting Inquilab Zindabad (Long Live the Revolution) and Samrajyavad ko nash ho (Down with Imperialism). Their rationale for the bombing was explained in a leaflet titled "To Make the Deaf Hear" (paraphrasing the words of Édouard Vaillant

Édouard Vaillant

Marie Édouard Vaillant was a French politician.Born in Vierzon, Cher, son of a lawyer, Édouard Vaillant studied engineering at the École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, graduating in 1862, and then law at the Sorbonne. In Paris he knew Charles Longuet, Louis-Auguste Rogeard, and Jules Vallès...

). This leaflet was also thrown in the assembly and was reproduced the next day in the Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded in 1924 with roots in the Indian independence movement of the period ....

. No one was killed in the bombing as it was designed as a propaganda operation. On April 15, 1929 police raided the HSRA's bomb factory in Lahore and arrested Kishori Lal, Sukhdev and Jai Gopal. The Assembly Bomb Case trial followed and Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged on 23 March 1931 for their actions.

Later activities

In December 1929, the HSRA bombed the special train of Viceroy, Lord Irwin

E. F. L. Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax

Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax, , known as The Lord Irwin from 1925 until 1934 and as The Viscount Halifax from 1934 until 1944, was one of the most senior British Conservative politicians of the 1930s, during which he held several senior ministerial posts, most notably as...

. The viceroy escaped unhurt. Later the Lahore faction of HSRA broke away and formed the Athisi Chakar (Fire Ring) party under the leadership of Hansraj 'Wireless'. They carried out a series of bombings across Punjab

Punjab (British India)

Punjab was a province of British India, it was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British rule. With the end of British rule in 1947 the province was split between West Punjab, which went to Pakistan, and East Punjab, which went to India...

in June 1930. On 1 September 1930, the Rawalpindi

Rawalpindi

Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...

faction made a failed attempt to burgle the Office of the Controller of Military Accounts. During this period the leading members of the HSRA were Azad, Yashpal, Bhagwati Charan Vohra and Kailash Pati. In July 1930 the HSRA robbed the Gadodia stores in New Delhi

New Delhi

New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...

and carried away 14,000 Rupees. This money was later used to fund a bomb factory. In December 1930, an attempt was made to assassinate the Governor of Punjab, which wounded him in his arm.

Decline

By 1931, most of the HSRA's main leaders were either dead or in jail. Kailash Pati was arrested in October 1930 and turned approver (witness for the prosecution). On 27 February 1931, Chandrasekar Azad shot himself during a gunfight with the police in a famous incident of Alfred Park. Bhagat Singh, Sukdhev and Rajguru were hanged in March 1931. After Azad's death there was no central leader to unite the revolutionaries and regional differences increased. The organisation split into various regional groups and they carried out bombings and attacks on Indian officials without any central coordination. In December 1931 another attempt was made to revive the HSRA at a meeting in Meerut. However this attempt failed with the arrests of Yashpal and Daryao Singh in 1932. This effectively ended the HSRA as a united organization though the various regional factions kept up their armed struggle till 1936.

Criticism

The association's methods were diametrically opposite to that of Gandhi's Nonviolent resistance

Nonviolent resistance

movement. The revolutionaries and their methods were severely criticized by Gandhi. Responding to the attack on Lord Irwin's train, Gandhi wrote a harsh critique of the HSRA titled "The Cult of the Bomb" (Young India
Young India
Young India was a weekly journal published in English by Mahatma Gandhi from 1919 to 1932. Gandhi wrote various quotations in this journal that inspired many. He used the Young India to spread his unique ideology and thoughts regarding independence....

,2 January 1930). In it he declared that bomb throwing was nothing but froth coming to the surface in an agitated liquid. He condemned the HSRA and it's actions as "cowards" and "dastardly". According to Gandhi, the HSRA's violent struggle had its hazards. Violence led to more reprisals and suffering. Also, it would turn inward as "it was an easy natural step" from "violence done to the foreign ruler" "to violence to our own people". The HSRA responded to this criticism with its own manifesto 'The Philosophy of the Bomb', in which they defended their violent methods as being complementary to Gandhi's non violent methods.

Prominent members of HSRA

Chandrashekar Azad	Kakori conspiracy (1925), J.P. Saunders Assassination (1928)	Absconded in the Kakori case, reorganised HRA by living underground later he was martyred without surrendering in a shootout with police at Allahabad 0n 27 Feb 1931.
Bhagat Singh	J.P. Saunders Assassination (1928), Central Assembly Bomb Case (1929)	Sentenced to Life in Assembly bomb case; Sentenced to death in Second Lahore Conspiracy Case; hanged in 1931
Shivaram Hari Rajguru	J.P. Saunders Assassination (1928)	Sentenced to death in Second Lahore Conspiracy Case; hanged in 1931
Sukhdev Thapar	J.P. Saunders Assassination (1928)	Sentenced to death in Second Lahore Conspiracy Case; hanged in 1931
Batukeshwar Dutt Batukeshwar Dutt Batukeshwar Dutt was an Indian revolutionary and a freedom fighter in the early 1900s. He is best known for having exploded a few bombs, along with Bhagat Singh, in the Central Legislative Assembly in New Delhi on 8 April 1929...	Central Assembly Bomb Case (1929)	Sentenced to Life in Central Assembly bomb case; released in 1937
Bhagavati Charan Vohra	Central Assembly Bomb Case (1929)	Killed in a bomb blast (1930)
Kailash Pati	Gadodia Store Robbery (1929)	Arrested in 1930. Turned approver
Phanindra Nath Ghosh	Leader of Bengali faction	Arrested in 1930. Turned approver; killed in retaliation (1931)
Yashpal Yashpal Not to be confused with Yash Pal Yashpal was a Hindi author renowned for झूटा सच Jhutha Sach , which is regarded as one of the best Hindi novels ever written...	Viceroy train bombing (1929)	Arrested in 1932. Sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment; became an award-winning novelist
Jaidev Kapur	Central Assembly bombing (1929)	Sentenced to life in Second Lahore Conspiracy Case;
Sheo Varma	Central Assembly bombing (1929)	Sentenced to life in Second Lahore Conspiracy Case;
Bejoy Kumar Sinha	Central Assembly bombing (1929)	Sentenced to life in Second Lahore Conspiracy Case;
Gaya Prasad	Central Assembly bombing (1929)	Sentenced to life in Second Lahore Conspiracy Case;

Background

Opposition of Gandhi in Gaya Congress

Yellow Paper constitution

Sharing responsibility

Publication of "The Revolutionary"

Objectives and ideology

Early activities

Prominent members of HRA

The Hindustan Socialist Republican Association

Assassination of JP Saunders

Assembly bombing

Later activities

Decline

Criticism

Prominent members of HSRA

See also