RASH BEHARI BOSE --- THE HARDINGE BOMBING

The great Indian revolutionary, Rash Behari Bose, was born on this day in 1886. He was the mastermind behind the bombing of Lord Hardinge, Viceroy of British India, in 1912 in New Delhi. He was the leader of the aborted Ghadar Mutiny in 1915 which plotted to overthrow the British.

Rash Behari Bose, Basanta Kumar Biswas and Abodhbihari had on 23 December arrived at Chandni Chowk in New Delhi and taken up their respective positions to carry out the attack on Hardinge. Two bombs from Bengal had arrived with them in cigarette cans. Basanta carried one and Bose the other.

Basanta dressed up as a young North Indian lady and took up position on the balcony of a house whereas Abodhbihari stood leaning against a tree on the ground with the other bomb. Rash Behari was also in the crowd, revolver in pocket. The Viceroy was to march through to the Durbar Hall.

In 1911 the Partition of Bengal had been annulled and the British had in consequence shifted capital from Calcutta to New Delhi. The Viceregal celebrations were at the Durbal Hall this day to officially give sanction to this shift of administrative base. Bengal was too hot to rule.

But the revolutionaries were in no mood to relent and decided to carry out their attack right in the heart of the new capital of the Raj. The Viceroy would be riding a bedecked elephant and Basanta and Abodhbihari would hurl the bombs at him successively and then slip off in the prevailing chaos.

Rash Behari, revolver in pocket, would survey proceedings from nearby. An hour to go and plans had to be radically altered. It struck them that Basanta had practised bomb-throwing from ground-level all along but was now attempting it from a high balcony. Evidently, he would miss his mark.

Accordingly, Basanta slipped off into the bathroom of the house and re-changed into men's clothes and then came down to merge in the crowd. Rash Behari also switched roles with Abodhbihari and was now armed with the other bomb. Hardinge's procession closed in and was now within striking range.

Suddenly, an explosion. The Viceroy fell to the ground with deep injuries in his neck and was unconscious. The Vicereine was unhurt but fell unconscious too. The mahout had been killed. Operation successful, Basanta, Rash Behari and Abodhbihari slipped off in the melee unnoticed.