Khudiram Bose
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Khudiram Bose (Bengali: ক্ষুদিরাম বসু) (1889-1908) was a Bengali Indian freedom fighter, one of the youngest revolutionaries early in the Indian independence movement.
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[edit] Early life
Bose was born on December 3, 1889 in the village Mohobony in Medinipur district of Bengal. His father Trailokyanath Basu was the revenue agent of the town of the Nadazol prince. His mother Lakshmipriya Devi was a pious lady, who was well known for her virtuous life and generosity.
[edit] Revolutionary activities
Bose was inspired by his readings of the Bhagavad Gita, which helped him embrace revolutionary activities aimed at ending the British Raj. He was especially disillusioned with the British following the partition of Bengal conflagration in 1905. He joined Jugantar - the party of revolutionary activists.
At the nascent age of sixteen, Bose was defying police after planting bombs near police stations and targeting government officials. He was arrested three years later on charges of conducting a series of bomb attacks. The specific bombing for which he was sentenced to death resulted in the deaths of 3 persons: a Mrs. Kennedy, her daughter and a servant.
[edit] The Muzaffarpur killing
Khudiram and Prafulla Chaki were sent to Muzaffarpur, Bihar to assassinate Kingsford, the Calcutta Presidency Magistrate, and later, magistrate of Muzaffarpur, Bihar.
Khudiram and Prafulla watched the usual movements of Kingsford and prepared a plan to kill him. On the evening of April 30, 1908, the duo waited in front of the gate of the European Club for the carriage of Kingsford to come. When a vehicle came out of the gate, they threw bombs and blew up the carriage. However, the vehicle was not carrying Kingsford and instead two British ladies - Mrs and Miss Kennedy (the wife and daughter of barrister Pringle Kennedy) were killed. The revolutionary duo fled. Prafulla committed suicide when cornered by police at the Samastipur Railway station. Khudiram was later arrested.he was the first youngest freedom fighter.
[edit] Death
On this Muzaffarpur bombing and other charges of bombings carried out by him, a pretense of trial was carried out for two months. Although the leading Calcutta advocate Narendra Kumar Basu mounted a stout defense of Khudiram's actions in defense of his motherland (without charging any fees), Khudiram was sentenced to death. The sentence was carried out, and he was hanged on August 11, 1908. But the one thing that surprised everyone was that as he was hanged he was still smiling. And to this the Bengali poet Kaji Najrul Islam wrote a poem to honor him.
