Sachindra Nath Sanyal (3 June 1893 — 7 February 1942) was an Indian revolutionary, freedom fighter, and founding member of the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA), later the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA). Born into a Bengali migrant family in Varanasi, he became active in the Anushilan Samiti and was a close associate of Rash Behari Bose. Sanyal played a key role in the 1915 Ghadar Conspiracy and mentored revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh and Chandra Shekhar Azad. Twice sentenced to the Cellular Jail, he remained committed to India’s liberation through armed resistance. He died of tuberculosis while under internment in

Gorakhpur Gorakhpur is a city in the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the West Rapti River, Rapti river in the Purvanchal , Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometres east of ...

in 1942.

Early and personal life

Sachindra Nath Sanyal's parents were Varendra

Bengali Brahmins Bengali Brahmins are the community of Hindu Brahmins, who traditionally reside in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, currently comprising the Indian state of West Bengal and the country of Bangladesh. The Bengali Brahmins, along wi ...

. His father was Hari Nath Sanyal and his mother was Kherod Vasini Devi. He was born in

Benares Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges, Ganges river in North India, northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hinduism, Hindu world.* * * * The city ...

, then in

North-Western Provinces The North-Western Provinces was an Presidencies and provinces of British India, administrative region in British Raj, British India. The North-Western Provinces were established in 1836, through merging the administrative divisions of the Cede ...

, on 3 June 1893 and married Pratibha Sanyal, with whom he had one son.

Revolutionary career

Sanyal founded a branch of the Anushilan Samiti in

Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...

in 1913. In 1912 Delhi Conspiracy Trial Sanyal with Rashbehari Bose attacked the then Viceroy Hardinge while he was making entry into new capital of Delhi after annulment of Bengal Partition. Hardinge was injured but lady Hardinge was unscathed. He was extensively involved in the plans for the

Ghadar conspiracy The Ghadar Mutiny, also known as the Ghadar Conspiracy, was a plan to initiate a pan-India mutiny in the British Indian Army in February 1915 to end the British Raj in India. The plot originated at the onset of World War I, between the Ghadar Pa ...

, and went underground after it was exposed in February 1915. He was a close associate of Rash Behari Bose. After Bose escaped to Japan, Sanyal was considered the most senior leader of India's revolutionary movement. Sanyal was sentenced to life - term imprisonment for his involvement in the conspiracy and was imprisoned at Cellular Jail in the

Andaman and Nicobar Islands The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India comprising 572 islands, of which only 38 are inhabited. The islands are grouped into two main clusters: the northern Andaman Islands and the southern Nicobar Islands, separated by a ...

, where he wrote his book titled ''Bandi Jeevan'' (''A Life of Captivity'', 1922). He was briefly released from jail but when he continued to engage in anti-British activities, he was sent back and his ancestral family home in Benaras was confiscated. Following the end of the

Non-cooperation movement Non-cooperation movement may refer to: * Non-cooperation movement (1919–1922), during the Indian independence movement, led by Mahatma Gandhi against British rule * Non-cooperation movement (1971), a movement in East Pakistan * Non-cooperatio ...

in 1922, Sanyal, Ram Prasad Bismil and some other revolutionaries who wanted an independent India and were prepared to use force to achieve their goal, founded the Hindustan Republican Association in October 1924. He was the author of the HRA manifesto, titled ''The Revolutionary'', that was distributed in large cities of North India on 1 January 1925. Sanyal was jailed for his involvement in the Kakori conspiracy but was among those conspirators released from Naini Central Prison in August 1937. Thus, Sanyal has the unique distinction of having been sent to the Cellular Jail in

Port Blair Port Blair (), officially named Sri Vijaya Puram, is the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India in the Bay of Bengal. It is also the local administrative sub-division (''tehsil'') of the islands, the headqu ...

twice. He contracted

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

in jail and was sent to

Jail for his final months. He died on 7 February 1942.

Beliefs

Sanyal and

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

engaged in a famous debate published in '' Young India'' between 1920 and 1924. Sanyal argued against Gandhi's gradualist approach. Sanyal was known for his firm Hindu beliefs, although most of his followers were

Marxists Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, and ...

and thus opposed to religions. Bhagat Singh discusses Sanyal's beliefs in his tract '' Why I am an Atheist''. Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee was a close associate of Sanyal. He was also supplied with guns by Maulana Shaukat Ali, who was at that time a supporter of Congress and its non-violent methods but not with the same fervor for non-violence that was expressed by his organization's leader, Gandhi. Another prominent Congressman, Krishna Kant Malaviya, also supplied him with weapons.

Death

Sanyal participated in anti-British programs, which resulted in a second

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

term and government

seizure A seizure is a sudden, brief disruption of brain activity caused by abnormal, excessive, or synchronous neuronal firing. Depending on the regions of the brain involved, seizures can lead to changes in movement, sensation, behavior, awareness, o ...

of his

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, re ...

. He died of

while serving his second term in prison on 7 February 1942.

References

External links

Shaheed from Varanasi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanyal, Sachindra Nath 1893 births 1942 deaths Anushilan Samiti Hindu–German Conspiracy Revolutionaries from Varanasi Hindustan Socialist Republican Association Indian people imprisoned on terrorism charges Revolutionary movement for Indian independence