The Alipore Bomb Case ebook

The Alipore Bomb case was just one of those incidents which got me an extra credit for being 'aware and well-read' in my Class X History paper. The incident was not mentioned in the one chapter covering the period of Indian History connected with the Independence Struggle of Indian Nationalists against the colonial British. My fascination for details took me to other text books for higher classes but even that gave me an incident to be quoted in just one sentence, to my academic advantage. But for those enthusiasts who just cannot get enough of the facts of this episode, here is a book which shells out plenty of details of the incident and in interesting sequence too.

Indian History's most dynamic period was also its most united, and the Alipore bomb case victims were innocents and not the choleric variety of the colonial masters. These two factors makes the book set off on its own pace, interesting indeed. The plight of the 'criminals' is dealt with in a matter-of-fact way which takes care of over-flowing prejudices; it's usual in a book like this to be overtly 'nationalistic' or 'patriotic'. The book balances the two and deals out empathies onto the right plates in the right proprtions. Good read, I should say.

Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chakki two teenaged revolutionaries who threw bombs at a carriage in Muzzafarpur, Bihar, thinking that the hated magistrate Douglas Kingsford was in the carriage . Instead two ladies who were bridge partners of Kingsford were killed. Khudiram Bose, a young man of 18, was hanged. Prafulla Chakki shot himself to prevent his capture. It was one of the most sensational trials in the history of the Indian independence movement. Forty-nine accused and 206 witnesses appeared in court. Four hundred documents were filed and 5000 exhibits were produced including bombs, revolvers and acid. The English judge, CB Beechcroft had studied with one of the accused at Cambridge. The Chief Prosecutor, Eardley Norton displayed a loaded revolver on his briefcase during the trial. Young lawyer Chittaranjan Das who would later become a major figure in the independence movement, appeared for the defence. It set in motion a chain of events that would eventually gain India its freedom.

The book is an inspiring account of the revolutionary secret societies that formed the forerunner of India's independence movement. Guided and aided by intellectuals and spiritual stalwarts like Aurobindo Ghose and Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, the nationalist movement sounded the bugle for a colonised India's determination to gain complete independence from the oppressive British rule. A highly informative read, The Alipore Bomb Case: A Historic Pre-Independence Trial recreates, through a tale relayed by extracts of the real trial, a crucial chapter of India's independence movement. It is a well-researched book but it does not bring out the political policy of the Bengal revolutionaries or their inspiration from other revolts of the people.