Ganesh Ghosh

On the night of 18 April 1930, a band of young men struck at the heart of British power in Chittagong. One of them led the attack on the police armoury.

His name was Ganesh Ghosh. He spent about 14 years in the Andaman jail. Then he walked out and won elections.

1Who was Ganesh Ghosh?

Ganesh Ghosh was born on 22 June 1900. Wikipedia places his family in Binodpur, now in Magura district, Bangladesh. Some other accounts name Chittagong as his birthplace. Sources differ here, so treat the exact village with care.

In 1922 he joined the Bengal Technical Institute in Calcutta. Later he became a member of the Chittagong Jugantar party. This group believed that arms, not appeals, would free India.

The group was led by Surya Sen, a teacher known as Masterda. Ghosh became one of his closest lieutenants. Other leaders were Lokenath Bal and Ananta Singh.

• Born: 22 June 1900; village disputed.
• Studied at the Bengal Technical Institute, Calcutta, in 1922.
• Party: Chittagong Jugantar.
• Leader: Surya Sen, called Masterda.

2What happened on 18 April 1930?

The plan was bold. Surya Sen wanted to seize the two main armouries in Chittagong. The group would also cut the telegraph and telephone lines. Rail links to Calcutta were to be broken as well.

The raid began at about 10 pm on 18 April 1930. Ganesh Ghosh led the group that captured the police armoury. A separate group of ten men, led by Lokenath Bal, took the Auxiliary Forces armoury. About 65 people took part, in the name of the Indian Republican Army, Chittagong Branch.

The raiders did not find the ammunition they wanted. But they did cut the telegraph and telephone wires. They also disrupted train movements.

Outside the police armoury, Surya Sen took a military salute. He hoisted the national flag. He proclaimed a Provisional Revolutionary Government. Before dawn the group left Chittagong town and headed for the hills.

Another party tried to take the European Club. It was Good Friday, and few members were there. But the Europeans raised the alarm, and troops came.

• Date: 18 April 1930, about 10 pm.
• Ghosh led the police armoury group.
• Lokenath Bal led the Auxiliary Forces armoury group of ten.
• About 65 raiders; name: Indian Republican Army, Chittagong Branch.
• No usable ammunition found.
• Provisional Revolutionary Government declared.

3How was he caught?

Ghosh was not with the main group at the later fight in the Jalalabad Hills. He and a few others were elsewhere. They were almost caught at Feni railway station. But they escaped.

They then hid in a house in Chandannagar, in Hooghly. After a few weeks, police commissioner Charles Tegart traced the hideout. His men surrounded it. In the exchange of fire, a young revolutionary named Jiban Ghoshal was killed. Ghosh was arrested.

Notice the difference with other raiders. Some fought and died in the hills. Ghosh was taken alive in Chandannagar. His story therefore turns on a long prison term, not on a battle.

• Escaped from Feni railway station.
• Hid at Chandannagar, Hooghly.
• Police chief Charles Tegart raided the hideout.
• Jiban Ghoshal was killed in the raid.

4What was his sentence?

A mass trial followed. It ended in January 1932. The judgement came on 1 March 1932. Barrister Birendranath Sasmal defended the accused, after earlier help from Sarat Chandra Bose.

Twelve defendants were sentenced to deportation for life. Ganesh Ghosh was one of them. So were Lokenath Bal, Ananta Singh and the teenager Ananda Gupta. Two others got three years. The remaining 32 were acquitted.

Ghosh was sent to the Cellular Jail at Port Blair in the Andaman Islands. He was freed in 1946, after about 14 years. By then the end of British rule was near.

Surya Sen did not live to see that day. He was arrested on 16 February 1933 after a betrayal. He was hanged on 12 January 1934.

• Judgement: 1 March 1932.
• Twelve sentenced to deportation for life, including Ghosh, Bal and Ananta Singh.
• Jail: Cellular Jail, Port Blair, for about 14 years.
• Freed in 1946.
• Surya Sen was hanged on 12 January 1934.

5How did he enter politics?

After his release in 1946, Ghosh joined communist politics. He became a member of the Communist Party of India. After independence he became a leader of the party.

The party split in 1964. Ghosh sided with the new CPI(M). He won the Belgachia seat in the West Bengal Assembly in 1952, 1957 and 1962. In 1967 he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Calcutta South.

In 1971 he stood again from Calcutta South. This time a young Congress candidate, Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, defeated him. Ghosh died on 16 October 1994.

His path was not unusual. Many Chittagong raiders turned to the left after independence. Prison and the Soviet example had shaped their thinking. The raid group was already influenced by communist ideas.

• Joined the CPI after 1946; sided with CPI(M) after 1964.
• MLA: Belgachia, in 1952, 1957, 1962.
• MP: Calcutta South, 1967.
• Lost in 1971 to Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi.
• Died 16 October 1994.

6What are the exam traps?

Examiners like to swap names here. Keep these points clear.

• The raid leader was Surya Sen. Ghosh led only the police armoury group.
• Lokenath Bal led the Auxiliary Forces armoury attack.
• Date: 18 April 1930, a Good Friday.
• Ghosh was not at the Jalalabad Hills fight; he was arrested at Chandannagar.
• Jail: Cellular Jail, not Yerwada or Alipore.
• Read about Surya Sen.
• Read about Pritilata Waddedar.
• Read about revolutionary nationalism.