Which among the following organisations was responsible for throwing a bomb at Viceroy Lord Hardinge in Delhi?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — D, Anushilan Samiti. On 23 December 1912, during Viceroy Lord Hardinge's ceremonial procession into the new capital of Delhi, a bomb was hurled at his elephant-borne howdah, wounding him and killing an attendant. This 'Delhi Conspiracy Case' (Delhi-Lahore Conspiracy) was organised by Rash Behari Bose with Sachindra Nath Sanyal; the bomb was thrown by the young revolutionary Basanta Kumar Biswas, who belonged to the Anushilan Samiti revolutionary network of Bengal. Biswas was later hanged (1915).

Why the other options are wrong — (a) This was a loyalist body founded by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1888) to oppose the Indian National Congress — not a revolutionary organisation, and unconnected with the Hardinge bomb.  (b) A trade-union-sounding name with no link to the 1912 Delhi conspiracy; it was not a revolutionary bomb-throwing society.  (c) Yugantar (Jugantar) was a genuine Bengal revolutionary society, but the Hardinge bomb plot is attributed to Rash Behari Bose's Anushilan Samiti-linked network, not to Yugantar — this is the intended trap, as both are Bengal revolutionary outfits.

Concept: Early-twentieth-century revolutionary nationalism in Bengal produced two major secret societies — the Anushilan Samiti (with a strong Dhaka wing) and Yugantar (Jugantar). The Anushilan network's reach extended beyond Bengal; Rash Behari Bose carried it into Punjab and Delhi and organised the 1912 attempt on Viceroy Hardinge. The Delhi Conspiracy Case trial followed, and revolutionaries including Basanta Kumar Biswas, Amir Chand, Avadh Behari and Balmukund were executed.

State PCS 2023 Q34 — History PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2023 Q34 — History PYQ with Answer