Kakori Incident – The Train Hold-up that shook India

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Ashfaq froze, the sledge hammer in his hand weighing down on the iron safe. It was the unmistakable sound of an approaching train. But how did the British know about the plan so quickly and bring in military reinforcements? Was there a traitor in their midst? A fire fight and the shooting down of all the revolutionaries seemed imminent. For the brave sons of mother India, time stood still as the train approached like an all conquering avalanche devouring everything in its path, its clickety-clackety sound seemingly pronouncing their death sentence.

The Kakori incident was one of the most glorious chapters in the annals of the Indian freedom movement. Ten revolutionaries of the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) shook the British establishment to its foundation by hatching and successfully executing a plan to steal the collection money from the British Indian railways. This is a story of devotion to country, valor, dedication, trust and friendship and remains one of the most memorable events during our long fight for independence from British rule.

The Revolutionary landscape

By the middle of the 19th century, the British were the pre-eminent military-political power in India. The ‘benevolent’ British empire had been unfurled over India and its tentacles had spread to every nook and corner of the country. The colonial British policies were highly exploitative in nature and India was slowly becoming the golden goose that would sustain the British empire and its prestige worldwide.

The first attempt at a military overthrow of the British rule – the first war of Independence in 1857 – saw pitched battles all through northern and central India, but eventually fizzled out in the face of the might of the British military. It became amply clear that a face to face military overthrow of the British was next to impossible – an alternative method had to be found. Low intensity warfare – attacks on British authorities, institutions and supporters – was more realistic. Young educated men and women, driven by nationalistic zeal, set out to form revolutionary groups and conduct hit-and-run campaigns against the British throughout the country.

Early revolutionaries

In particular, Pune and the province of Bengal became the hotbed for armed revolution against British imperialism. The Chapekar brothers of Pune had lighted the spark of revolution in 1897 by gunning down British officers who were torturing the common populace. In 1905, the Bengal revolutionaries – inspired by Swami Vivekananda and Aurobindo – fought valiantly against the British decision to partition the state on religious grounds.

The onset of the first world war further accelerated revolutionary activities in the country. At the heart of the revolutionary movement in Bengal was the Anushilan Samiti, whose leading light Rash Behari Bose was to later on form the Indian National Army (INA) and hand it over to another of his compatriot from Bengal, Subhash Chandra Bose. Another leader of the Samiti was Sachindranath Sanyal who later broke away and formed the Hindustan Republican Association, or the HRA. And it is with the HRA that the story of Kakori starts.

Hindustan Republican Association

When Gandhiji called off the Non-Cooperation movement in 1922 after the Chauri Chaura incident, anger and resentment arose amongst the younger members of the Congress. They felt that Gandhiji withdrew the movement as per his wishes without consulting others and this would eventually weaken the freedom struggle. All efforts for mass mobilization that went into the Non-Cooperation movement was wasted, they felt. An open conflict arose between the moderates and the revolutionaries, and the young men who wanted to act, instead of giving speeches, started leaving the Congress.

With the failure of the Ghadar conspiracy, Rash Behari Bose had escaped to Japan leaving Sachindranath Sanyal as the senior most revolutionary leader left back in India. He advocated a more active and violent resistance to British imperialism and to help support his ideology founded the HRA. Joining him as co-founders of the HRA were two young men from Shahjehanpur, in present day Uttar Pradesh – Ramprasad Bismil and Ashfaqulla Khan.

Did you know…
Sachindranath Sanyal is a forgotten name in independent India. He is one of the very few people to have been awarded transportation for life to the Cellular Jail in Andamans twice and would eventually pass way with tuberculosis in jail. He nurtured the fledgling revolutionary activities in the country and was the guide and mentor for Bismil, Ashfaq, Chandrashekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh.

The Conspiracy

Sanyal and his colleagues, through their untiring efforts, gradually built up the HRA. The manifesto of the HRA, ‘The Revolutionary‘, helped draw many young men across north and central India into the party. Varanasi, Saharanpur, Shahjehanpur, Calcutta, Dakshineswar, Lucknow, Agra, Allahabad and Kanpur teemed with revolutionary activities. Many of the young joinees were involved in manufacturing bombs and guns, while others worked as informers and spies. While the non-violent struggle led by the Congress was slowly taking shape, a climate of armed revolution was being built in parallel amongst the educated youth.

For the revolutionaries, unlike the moderates, money was was always in short supply. Unlike the mainstream Congress, the HRA could not openly ask for financial support from merchants and traders for manufacturing bombs and shooting down British officers! Some of the revolutionaries under the leadership of Bismil undertook looting of government treasuries in villages. While the money collected from these lootings was meagre, the risk of getting caught was significant. Shortage of funds in the HRA meant that Bismil & co. had no option but to continue such activities.

8-down from Shahjehanpur

Ever on the lookout for new ways of obtaining funds for their activities, Bismil was traveling by the 8-down train from Shahjehanpur to Lucknow. He was, of course, disguised so that the British secret police would not recognize him. Along the way, Bismil noticed that at each stop the station master would hand over the station’s daily collection to the train guard. The money thus collected along the entire line would then be deposited at Lucknow.

Now that was too good an opportunity to let go. An idea started to form in Bismil’s mind – if the HRA could find a way to steal the money from the guard’s cabin, it would surely ease the financial troubles of the party. And how do you ‘convince’ the train guard to hand over the money – storm the train, hold the guard at gun point and run off with the money bags.

Bismil put the proposal for discussion in front of his colleagues. All sorts of idea flew around. Some of the members, who were itching for a gunfight with the British, embraced the idea immediately. Others, such as Ashfaq, advised caution. An attack on the train and the looting of the treasury was guaranteed to receive widespread publicity amongst the masses and hence the British would be sure to hunt them down. Bismil’s views eventually prevailed and the plan was given a go ahead with the condition that no lives – British or otherwise – were to be taken and the aim of the mission was to be strictly restricted to stealing the money.

They Lived Dangerously

The mission was fraught with dangers and uncertainty, and there was enormous risks involved during and after the raid. Only the most trusted and committed men could be enlisted for the mission. After a careful selection, ten men were chosen:

• Ramprasad Bismil (aged 28 years) – already a marked man by the British, Ramprasad was the de-facto leader of the HRA and the natural leader of the mission
• Ashfaqullah Khan (aged 25 years) – Ramprasad’s closest companion and the number two in the mission
• Rajendra Lahiri (aged 24 years)- HRA’s leader based out of Benaras, former post-graduate student of history at Benaras Hindu University
• Chandrashekhar Azad (aged 19 years) – the prince of Indian revolutionaries, Azad was a rising star in the HRA and a key planner for the mission
• Sachindra Bakshi (aged 21 years) – one of the founders of the HRA, based out of Benaras
• Manmathnath Gupta (aged 17 years) – based out of Benaras and a close associate of Azad. Decades later Gupta was to, in his monumental book, ‘They Lived Dangerously‘, detail the entire account of the Kakori incident.
• Mukundi Lal
• Murari Sharma (aged 24 years) – his real name was Murari Lal Gupta and would elude the British police till the very end. From Shahjehanpur and an associate of Bismil.
• Keshab Chakravarthy
• Banwari Lal

Kakori Incident

On the chosen day, 8 August 1925, the plan was put into action. Bismil and team walked up to the nearest train station with the intent of boarding the 8-down when it halted there. Just as they were close to the station, the 8-down from Shahjehanpur thundered past the station en route to Lucknow. The young freedom fighters could only stand watching as their plan went up in smoke even before it could be put into action. An alternative approach had to be quickly chosen. On the very next day, 9 August 1925, Bismil and his friends were to commit an act that would forever secure them a place amongst India’s bravest.

The modified plan was very simple – make sure that the revolutionaries board the 8-down train at a point well ahead of where they wanted to loot the treasury. Accordingly, Bismil & team took a train from Lucknow to one of the intermediate stations that the 8-down was scheduled to stop. They had reached there well in advance and there was no chance of any mistakes now.

Kakori’s claim to fame

The 8-down soon thundered into the station and, as planned earlier, the group split into two and boarded different compartments. Ashfaq, Lahiri and Bakshi boarded the second class compartment, while the rest boarded the third class compartment. Once on board, they spread out so as to avoid any suspicion. Sunlight was gradually fading as the 8-down pulled out of the station, slowly making its way into history.

As per plan, once the train crossed Kakori station, the revolutionaries in the second class carriage pulled the emergency brake bringing the train to a screeching halt. Bismil and the rest of the team got out of their carriage as if to check why the train stopped suddenly. With the ten brave hearts out on the track, they took out their Mauser pistols and announced to the passengers in Hindi that they should keep inside the train and not step out.

Darkness had set in by then and it was impossible for any of the other passengers to make out who was holding up the train. In any case, bullets were fired once in a while to ensure co-operation and that no passenger would try to come in the way.

The guard was overpowered, and the iron safe containing money was pushed out. It was impossible to have carried the safe with them as it was way too heavy and would have slowed them down during their escape. Keeping this possibility in mind, Bismil had arranged for a hammer and chisel to pry open the safe. Attempts were now made in that direction, but it was a slow and time consuming operation. Time was running out – they either had to open the safe quickly or abandon the entire project.

A sudden scare

Just when they were close to breaking open the safe, Ashfaq froze, the sledge hammer in his hand weighing down on the iron safe. It was the unmistakable sound of an approaching train. But how did the British know about the plan so quickly and bring in military reinforcements? Was there a traitor in their midst? A fire fight and the shooting down of all the revolutionaries seemed imminent. For the brave sons of mother India time stood still as the train approached like an all conquering avalanche devouring everything in its path, its clickety-clackety sound seemingly pronouncing their death sentence.

Everyone turned towards Bismil, their leader. Should they retreat from the scene or have one last stand and fight it out to the finish? At that moment, Bismil noticed the parallel railway track next to where the 8-down had stopped. The train that was approaching was the Punjab Mail and not the British police. He instructed the rest of the team to conceal their weapon – in a flash the Punjab Mail thundered past the 8-down and disappeared into the darkness. Bismil and his team were safe!

In a few moments, Ashfaq finished opening the safe and the money was collected in a big sheet. Job done, the revolutionaries disappeared into the darkness. The team reached Lukcnow in two’s-and-three’s and after spending the night there dispersed to different hiding places. Bismil and his fellow revolutionaries had pulled off their audacious plan – the ball was now in the British court to react to the train hold-up at Kakori.

In the name of King Emperor

Did you know…

So how much did Bismil and his colleagues manage to steal from the treasury – eight thousand rupees. Most of this money was in coins, this being the fares collected from the common passengers for third class compartments. The revolutionaries strongly believed it was their duty to take away the money that the British was stealing away from their fellow countrymen. While 8000/- rupees may not seem much today, this was huge money in the 1920’s and would have funded Bismil and his colleague’s plans of a revolution against the British rule.

The Kakori incident was a huge blow to the prestige of the British government, police and secret service. As soon as news got out, the local media and common citizens rejoiced knowing fully well that the freedom fighters had a role in it. The British equally understood this, but it was a loss of face for them to publicly acknowledge it. Caught in a tight spot, they activated all their resources – informers, secret police, influential leaders – to nab down the culprits. The Indian revolutionaries did their best, in the face of such overwhelming odds, but Bismil and his team knew from the very beginning what was in store for them.

The Arrests Begin

The arrests started within a month. Manmathnath Gupta was picked up from Benaras in September. Azad had disappeared into thin air and was nowhere to be seen. A bigger blow to the movement was the arrest of Bismil from Shahjehanpur in October. Along with Bismil, Thakur Roshan Singh (who did not have a direct role in the Kakori incident) was also picked up.

Rajen Lahiri, who had gone from Lucknow to Calcutta and enrolled himself in a course in bomb making, was arrested there. So was Sachindranath Sanyal, the doyen of revolutionaries at that time.

Betrayal and escapades

Many of the revolutionaries were betrayed by people close to them. Ashfaq, in particular, was let down by one of his friends. After Kakori, Ashfaq had disappeared from the scene and reached Bihar where he worked in an engineering company for ten months. With a desire to leave India and continue revolutionary activities from a safer location, Ashfaq reached Delhi. Here a friend of his met him in the market and, as the story goes, begged him to come home. Unfortunately for Ashfaq this ‘friend’ was also a spy for the British and once his identity was established Ashfaq was arrested in December 1926.

Bomb was the symbol of the revolutionary party, just as the spinning wheel was the symbol of Gandhism

One of the many memorable quotes from Manmathnath Gupta’s, ‘They Lived Dangerously’

Only Azad and Murari Sharma escaped the British net. Murari Sharma, in fact, could never be traced by the British mainly because his real name was Murari Lal Gupta. Only later in 1997 when his son disclosed this news would this mystery get solved.

All the arrested were charged, in the name of King Emperor, for dacoity and waging war against the empire.

Did you know…

‘Desh Ke Navratna Giraftar’ (the nine jewels of the country arrested) screamed the headlines of Kanpur’s ‘Pratap’ newspaper. Pratap and its editor, Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, were ardent supporters of the cause of the freedom fighters and never hesitated in being their mouthpiece. The British government tried its best to clamp down on the paper and imprisoned Vidyarthi many a times, but this only made the paper and its editor more determined to stand up against the unjust British.

The Trial

With all the key conspirators arrested, the trial of the Kakori incident started in earnest. All the freedom fighters were brought to Lucknow where the case was being heard. Their case had received wide spread coverage and the leading firebrand leaders of the time, including Lala Lajpat Rai, extended their support. Motilal Nehru and Gobind Ballabh Pant helped arrange finance and legal support.

मेरा रंग दे बसन्ती चोला….

हो मेरा रंग दे बसन्ती चोला….

इसी रंग में रंग के शिवा ने मां का बन्धन खोला,

यही रंग हल्दीघाटी में था प्रताप ने घोला;

नव बसन्त में भारत के हित वीरों का यह टोला,

किस मस्ती से पहन के निकला यह बासन्ती चोला।

मेरा रंग दे बसन्ती चोला….

हो मेरा रंग दे बसन्ती चोला….

Ramprasad Bismil composed ‘Rang De Basanti Chola‘ while in Lucknow Jail, this song would go on to become a big hit across the revolutionaries.

Arguing the case for the British was barrister Jagat Narain Mulla. Mulla was related to Jawaharlal Nehru via his wife and Motilal Nehru had tried to enroll his services for Bismil and friends. While Mulla was pondering on this request, the British government gave him a much more lucrative offer and he agreed to argue on behalf of the crown. To add to this, Mulla was the barrister in an earlier case against Bismil and had an axe to grind against the ring leader of the revolutionaries. Now was the time to settle some old scores. Over the course of the entire case the barrister and family were to be richer by several lakh of rupees.

Hunger Strikes

The British government wanted to paint the revolutionaries as mere train robbers and dacoits. Facilities offered to them in prison were minimal, and did not meet their status as political prisoners. Within a few weeks after their arrival in Lucknow prison, Bismil and his colleagues went on a hunger strike. Their demand – to be treated as political prisoners and be given newspapers and books to read, and pen and paper to write, and be allowed visitors as per jail rules and a better diet. The jail authorities clamped down on the revolutionaries and force feeding was started to break the hunger strike.

Every night during the hungerstrike I had dreamed only of sweets and delicacies

Manmathnath Gupta, ‘They Lived Dangerously’

All the attempts of the jailers to end the hunger strike failed. Here was the very first instance in the Indian freedom struggle where a large number of prisoners had together gone on a hunger strike to press for their demands. After sixteen days, the government relented and agreed to treat them as political prisoners and provide better food. The victory may have been small, but it set the tone of further such incidents from Lahore jail (where Bhagat Singh was imprisoned) to Cellular jail/Kaala paani (where Veer Savarkar and many others were imprisoned).

All through this period, the Kakori trial continued unhindered. The British police did their best to cook up evidence to implicate the revolutionaries. Banwarilal, one of the participants in the train hold-up, turned approver. The British finally had a water tight case against Bismil & co.

Escape plans

Bismil knew well what this meant for him – the British were sure to hang him. Rajen Lahiri also faced the same fate, having already been accused of making bombs at Calcutta. It was felt that the same fate awaited young Manmathnath Gupta. Secret planning commenced on how to escape from prison.

One option considered was to have Azad and others, who were outside the police net, hijack the police van which carried the revolutionaries to court. Azad even did a small trial run to see how effectively the plan could be implemented, but the British smelt something fishy and started providing additional security to the vehicles.

In another plan, a hypnotic chemical Chloral was to be smuggled into the prison and mixed in the food and given to jail officers: when they fell asleep, the revolutionaries would escape. This was tried out in right earnest, but it turned out that the Chloral that was passed on to them was contaminated and ineffective.

Did you know…

The British tried their time tested policy of divide and rule with the revolutionaries, especially with Ashfaq. A British agent reached out to Ashfaq and asked him how could he be so foolish as to be in the company of Hindu revolutionaries who wanted to create a Hindu regime. Ashfaq’s response: I do not believe this is a conspiracy of the Hindus and if it were I would prefer Hindu regime to British regime.

One by one, all escape plans collapsed and the revolutionaries knew that their moment of reckoning had arrived.

King Emperor versus Ramprasad and others

6 April 1927 was fixed as the day of judgment. In grandiose terms, the British called it ‘King Emperor versus Ramprasad and others’. The night before the verdict was celebrated in the prison as ‘Qatl Ki Raat‘ – ‘night of murder’. The writing was on the wall for the accused – the band of revolutionaries who conducted the most daring act against British imperialism were never to be together again.

The Verdict

Judge Hamilton read out the verdict the following day, the relevant parts being:

• Ramprasad Bismil, Thakur Roshan Singh and Rajen Lahiri – sentenced to death
• Sachindranath Sanyal – transportation for life to Cellular Jail
• Manmathnath Gupta – 14 years in jail
• Sachindra Bakshi – 14 years in jail
• Mukundi Lal – 5 years in jail
• Banwari Lal – 2 years in jail

After the verdict was announced, a group photograph of all prisoners was taken and then they were marched off to different cells in Lucknow prison. Within few days, all the revolutionaries were split up and moved to different jails. Bismil was moved to Gorakhpur jail, Roshan Singh was sent to Allahabad jail while Lahiri was moved to Gonda jail.

Ashfaqullah Khan was tried separately and the same verdict was given – sentenced to death. He was moved to Faizabad jail.

Did you know…
Right after announcing the verdict, Judge Hamilton immediately left for London right from the court. He was probably scared of other revolutionaries attacking him in retaliation for the sentences he handed out.

Martyrs for the Motherland

Many prominent citizens of the country tried to intervene on behalf of the accused in order to reduce the sentence. Vidyarthi’s paper, Pratap, carried many editorials and exhorted the people to stand up against this injustice. All the appeals unfortunately fell against deaf ears and the British went ahead with executing the sentences.

Bismil was hanged in Gorakhpur in December 1927. He was 30 years old.

Roshan Singh was hanged in Allahabad in December 1927. He was 35 years old.

Rajendra Lahiri was hanged in Gonda in December 1927. He was 26 years old.

Ashfaqulla Khan was hanged in Faizabad in December 1927. He was 27 years old.

It was now December 1927 – 30 months since the Kakori incident – and while the revolutionaries may not have been successful in their fundamental aim of stealing money to further their activities, the entire trial and verdict had helped unify a nation and brought more youngsters to the path of armed revolt. Many more valiant freedom fighters including Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Batukeshwar Dutt and Rajguru were to carry forward the legacy of the martyrs of Kakori. And still roaming free outside was the new ring leader of the Indian revolutionary movement – Bhagat Singh’s mentor, Chandrashekhar Azad.

Gandhi always went out of his way to congratulate the viceroys whenever they escaped the bombs of the revolutionaries, but for revolutionaries, when they were victims of British atrocities he had nothing to say.

Manmathnath Gupta, “They Lived Dangerously”

Further Reading

The most authentic source of information about this glorious chapter of the freedom struggle is Manmathnath Gupta’s book, ‘They Lived Dangerously‘. Insightful, filled with anecdotes, and authored by a man who participated in the Kakori incident, this book is a must read.

Just two days before he was hanged, Bismil completed his autobiography. The original Hindi version of the book can be read here. It contains, in addition to a full account of Kakori incident and the trial, some wonderful poems he had penned.

हाथ जिन में हो जुनून, कटते नहीं तलवार से सर जो उठ जाते हैं वो झुकते नहीं ललकार से और भड़केगा जो शोला सा हमारे दिल में है सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे दिल में है

हम तो घर से निकले ही थे

बाँधकर सर पर कफ़न

जाँ हथेली पर लिए लो बढ चले हैं ये कदम ज़िंदगी तो अपनी मेहमां मौत की महफ़िल में है

सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे दिल में है

Snippet from ‘Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna’, originally penned by Bismil Azimabadi. Ramprasad Bismil’s rendition during the Kakori trial was to make it immortal.