https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Delhi_conspiracy_caseDelhi conspiracy case - Revision history2026-07-31T03:40:29ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Delhi_conspiracy_case&diff=472565&oldid=prevMittie94U89577 at 16:06, 8 November 20252025-11-08T16:06:26Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|1912 assassination attempt in British India}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}<br />
{{Anushilan Samiti}}<br />
[[File:An assassination attempt on Lord Charles Hardinge.jpg|thumb|right|An illustration of the assassination attempt on Lord Charles Hardinge]]<br />
The '''Delhi Conspiracy case''', also known as the ''' Delhi-Lahore Conspiracy''', refers to an attempt made in 1912 to assassinate the then [[Governor-General of India|Viceroy of India]], [[Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst|Lord Hardinge]] by throwing a local self-made bomb of [[Anushilan Samiti]] by [[Basanta Kumar Biswas]], on the occasion of transferring the capital of [[British Raj|British India]] from [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] to [[New Delhi]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Heehs |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G4JuAAAAMAAJ |title=The Bomb in Bengal: The Rise of Revolutionary Terrorism in India, 1900-1910 |date=1993 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-563350-4 |pages=246–47 |language=en}}</ref> Hatched by the [[Revolutionary movement for Indian independence|Indian revolutionaries]] underground in [[Bengal Presidency|Bengal]] and Punjab and headed by [[Rash Behari Bose]], the conspiracy culminated in the attempted assassination on 23 December 1912, when a homemade bomb was thrown into the Viceroy's [[howdah]] as the ceremonial procession was moving through the [[Chandni Chowk]] suburb of [[Delhi]].<br />
== Bomb thrown ==<br />
The Viceroy and vicereine were sitting on an elephant and entering the city.<ref name="emiko">{{cite news |last1=Jozuka |first1=Emiko |title=he Indian revolutionary who fought to overthrow British rule while living in Japan |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/09/asia/japan-indian-freedom-fighter-hnk-intl/index.html |access-date=12 August 2021 |agency=CNN |date=10 May 2020}}</ref> [[Basanta Kumar Biswas]], a revolutionary from Nadia village, threw a homemade bomb at the Viceroy who was seated on an elephant. Although injured in the attack, the Viceroy escaped with flesh wounds, but the servant behind him holding his parasol was killed. Lady Hardinge was unscathed; as was the elephant and its [[mahout]] (handler). Lord Hardinge himself was injured all over the back, legs, and head by fragments of the bomb, the flesh on his shoulders being torn in strips.<ref>{{cite news|title=India Truly Loyal, Says Hardinge|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/05/20/104675740.pdf|newspaper=New York Times|date=20 May 1916}}</ref> Viceroy and Vicerine were making their ceremonial entry to new capital of India, Delhi.<ref name="mor">{{cite web |title=Viceroy of India is injured by Bomb Attendant killed. |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=MP19121224.2.42&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1 |website=UCR Centre for Bibliographical studies and research |publisher=UCR |access-date=12 August 2021}}</ref> The howdah in which they were travelling was blown into pieces and there was some difficulty to remove the Viceroy from the back of elephant on which they were travelling. The servant behind him was dead as observed by the Vicerine.<ref name=mor/> The man killed was an umbrella bearer and he acted in that capacity to previous viceroy Lord Curzon also.<ref name=mor/><br />
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==Injuries to Viceroy==<br />
Viceroy Hardinge suffered several injuries due to piercing of screws filled in the bomb and they penetrated back and shoulders of Viceroy.<ref name=mor/><br />
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In the aftermath of the event, efforts were made to destroy the Bengali and Punjabi revolutionary underground, which came under intense pressure for some time. [[Rash Behari Bose]], identified as the person who threw the bomb, successfully evaded capture for nearly three years, becoming involved in the [[Hindu–German Conspiracy#February 1915|Ghadar Conspiracy]] before it was uncovered, then fleeing to [[Imperial Japan|Japan]] in 1915.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hoda |first=Noorul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cBEBEAAAQBAJ&dq=basanta+kumar+biswas&pg=PT203 |title=The Alipore Bomb Case |date=2008-02-01 |publisher=Niyogi Books |isbn=978-81-89738-31-0 |language=en}}</ref><br />
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==Aftermath==<br />
A reward of Rs.10,000 (approximately $3,300) was announced for the arrest of bomb thrower, since the identity of the assassin was not immediately known to Government agencies.<ref name=mor/> The investigations in the aftermath of the assassination attempt led to the Delhi Conspiracy trial. The case was filed against [[Lala Hanumant Sahai]], [[Basanta Kumar Biswas]], [[Bhai Balmukund]], [[Master Amir Chand|Amir Chand]] and Awadh Behari. On 5 October 1914 Lala Hanumant Sahai was sentenced to life imprisonment in the [[Andaman Islands]], and the other four were sentenced to death for their roles in the conspiracy. Basanta Kumar Biswas was hanged on 11 May 1915 at Ambala Central Jail in Punjab aged twenty and became one of the youngest people to be executed during the Indian revolutionary struggles during the 20th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sengupta |first=Nitish K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kVSh_TyJ0YoC&dq=basanta+kumar+biswas&pg=PA329 |title=Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal from the Mahabharata to Mujib |date=2011 |publisher=Penguin Books India |isbn=978-0-14-341678-4 |pages=329 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=NANDI |first=SOUMITRA |date=2017-10-20 |title=Story of Basanta Biswas, penned by Ujjal Biswas, to be portrayed on celluloid |url=http://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/story-of-basanta-biswas-penned-by-ujjal-biswas-to-be-portrayed-on-celluloid-267293 |access-date=2022-03-15 |website=www.millenniumpost.in |language=en}}</ref><br />
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==See also==<br />
*[[Rash Behari Bose]]<br />
*[[Basanta Kumar Biswas]]<br />
*[[Assassination of Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo]]<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
<br />
==Bibliography==<br />
*{{Citation<br />
| surname1 = Gupta <br />
| given1 = Amit K.<br />
| year = 1997<br />
| title = Defying Death: Nationalist Revolutionism in India, 1897–1938|volume=25|issue=9/10. (Sep.–Oct., 1997|pages=3–27<br />
| journal= Social Scientist<br />
| doi = 10.2307/3517678<br />
| jstor = 3517678<br />
}}<br />
*{{Citation<br />
| surname1 = Hopkirk <br />
| given1 = Peter<br />
| author-link = Peter Hopkirk<br />
| year = 1997<br />
| title = Like Hidden Fire: The Plot to Bring Down the British Empire<br />
| publisher= Kodansha Globe<br />
| isbn = 1-56836-127-0<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040920053932/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2004/08/02/stories/2004080200420200.htm The revolutionary of Chandni Chowk]. ''[[The Hindu]]''.<br />
*[http://in.news.yahoo.com/070818/32/6jm8o.html Sourced from] ''[[Hindustan Times]]'', 19 August 2007.<br />
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061231120404/http://www.aicc.org.in/some_prominent_martyrs_of_%20india%E2%80%99s_freedom_struggle.php Indian National Congress].<br />
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070928051504/http://www.ststephens.edu/StStephens/httpdocs/alumni/hof.htm St Stephens College, notable alumni].<br />
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{{Indian independence movement}}<br />
{{Indian Revolutionary Movement}}<br />
[[Category:Revolutionary movement for Indian independence]]<br />
[[Category:Indian independence movement]]<br />
[[Category:1912 in India]]<br />
[[Category:1912 crimes in India]]</div>Mittie94U89577