Kakori Conspiracy- Events, Impact Of Kakori Train Action
By Balaji
Updated on: February 17th, 2023
The Kakori train robbery was the biggest train robbery in the history of India, which is also known as the Kakori conspiracy case. The theft was organized by HRA members Ram Prasad Bismil and Ashfaqullah Khan subsequently called Hindustan Social Republican Association. The Kakori conspiracy took place on August 9, 1925. This group was established to engage in Revolutionary actions against the British government in an effort to attain independence. The objective of the Kakori conspiracy was to get money for the organization’s weapons purchases. Bismil and his crew planned to steal the train running on Saharanpur Railways. The Kakori Kand has been renamed as the Kakori train action by the Uttar Pradesh Government.
Although the Kakori conspiracy caused the revolutionaries in Northern India a serious setback, it was not a catastrophic blow. The Kakori train robbery will be covered in this article which is part of modern Indian history. Aspirants preparing for the IAS exam can download the Kakori conspiracy PDF to lead a comprehensive preparation for the exam.
Table of content
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1. What Is Kakori Conspiracy Case?
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2. Objectives of Kakori Train Robbery
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3. Events of Kakori Conspiracy Case
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4. Impact of Kakori Conspiracy
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5. Sequence of Events In Kakori Train Robbery
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6. Kakori Conspiracy Trial
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7. Kakori Conspiracy Conclusion
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8. Kakori Conspiracy Case For UPSC
What Is Kakori Conspiracy Case?
The Kakori conspiracy case is a very famous robbery marked by Indians in the British era. The train’s eventual destination Lucknow was approximately 16 km to the northwest of Kakori, where the incident occurred. Money that was to be deposited in Lucknow was on board the train and had been gathered from several Railway stops along the way.
- Ram Prasad Bismil led a group of 10 revolutionary militants, and in a well-planned attack, they halted the train, disarmed the guards and passengers within, smashed open the guard’s quarters safe, and made off with the money inside.
- The riders belonged to the recently formed Hindustan Socialist Republican Association, which was a militant group committed to bringing about revolutions in India, including military uprisings. The Hindustan Republican Association conducted rates, including train heists, to pay for its operations.
Objectives of Kakori Train Robbery
The newly formed HRA, later known as the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association, was a Revolutionary group whose goal was to free India from British rule through a revolution that included armed rebellion. The raiders in the Kakori conspiracy were known to be members of the HSRA group. Primary there were two objectives of the Kakori train robbery-
- By extorting money from the British administration for which the Hindustan Republican Association raises funds.
- Attack a high-profile British government target while causing the least amount of collateral harm to promote the HRA among Indians.
Events of Kakori Conspiracy Case
The 8-number down train was travelling to Lucknow from Shahjahanpur on August 9, 1925. Rajendra Lahari, one of the revolutionaries, pulled the emergency change to stop the train as it passed Kakori and other revolutionaries, then overcame the guard as a result. Only bags that were kept in the cable of God were robbed by the revolutionaries, which contained roughly 8000 rupees. Check here the events of the Kakori train robbery.
- The Kakori rail heist is called the Kakori conspiracy. It took place close to Lucknow and is also called the Kakori train robbery.
- The highest was planned by the Hindustan Republican association on 9th August in which a revolutionary pulled the emergency change to halt the train and overtook the guard as it approached the town of Kakori on the number 8 down train from Shahjahanpur to Lucknow.
- The cabin of the guard was objective since it was bringing money to Lucknow from many other Railway stops. Revolutionaries of Kakori train incident who fled to Lucknow only stole those suitcases which had more than 1 lakh.
- Ahmed Ali who was a passenger on the train was murdered in the crossfire among revolutionaries and Guards despite the fact that no passengers were specifically targeted by the revolutionaries. Hence despite being the rebellious group who was against timing or killing human beings because of this incident, the Kakori conspiracy case was classified as manslaughter.
- The theft was orchestrated by Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaq Ullah Khan, Chandrashekhar Azad, Rajendra Lahari, Sachindra Bakshi, Keshav Chakravarti, Mukundi Lal, Banvari Lal, Kundan Lal, Pravesh Mukharji, Swarn Singh, etc.
- The HRA was to be financed with the money taken from the British government according to the robbery’s stated objectives. Another objective of HRA was to promote a positive perception of itself among Indians in order to attract public attention.
- After the incident, the British government began a large manhunt and detained many revolutionaries who were members of HRA or allies.
- On 26 October 1925, the commander Ram Prasad Bismil was taken into custody in Shahjahanpur, and on December 7, 1926, Ashfaqullah Khan was taken into custody in Delhi.
Impact of Kakori Conspiracy
During the Kakori incident, by that time, all the people of India understood the need for independence and were in search of some other methods to get it. Some followed the way of peace, like Mahatma Gandhi, whereas some leaders, like Chandrashekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh, followed this method.
- Although the intended strike might have seemed fragmentary, it really had a much bigger effect on the British Empire.
- After the Kakori conspiracy, the British administration became the target of multiple coordinated attacks.
- The revolutionaries’ executions provoked protracted demonstrations all around the nation.
- The empire’s hold over India soon deteriorated as a consequence of these small-scale organized demonstrations and disruptions, and it became very challenging for them to maintain control over incensed India.
Sequence of Events In Kakori Train Robbery
Ashfaqullah Khan and Ram Prasad Bismil plotted the robbery on the train. It was a group of many revolutionaries, including Murari Lal, Rajendra Lahari, Mukundi Lal Gupta, Sachindra Bakshi, and Manmathnath Gupta. The target of revolutionaries was to overpower the cabin of guards that had cash gathered from different train stops for deposit in Lucknow. The events that happened in the sequence of the Kakori train robbery are as follows-
- On August 8, 1925, the HRA decided to plunder the government’s coffers in order to purchase weapons.
- On August 9, 1925, revolutionaries derailed the 8-number down train which was traveling from Shahjahanpur to Lucknow at Kakori and attacked the table of guards, and ransacked 8000 rs.
- The British government starts a quest to find and capitalize the revolutionaries.
- Ram Prasad Bismil was detained by colonial officials on September 26, 1925.
- On May 21, 1926, the Kakori train incident trial continued at the Hamilton Session Court.
- After the trial was over, Ashfaqullah Khan and sir Chandra Bakshi were taken into custody in the middle of 1926.
Kakori Conspiracy Trial
After the Kakori incident, all the revolutionaries were caught, and a trial was initiated against them in which the leaders of HRA were sentenced to death, whereas many of the revolutionaries were sentenced to a term of imprisonment.
- The Kakori conspiracy trial started on May 21, 1926, on 28 members of HRA. There were many lawyers who were defending revolutionaries like Ajit Prasad Jain, Govind Vallabh Pant, R.M. Bahadur Ji, Gopinath Shrivastava, Chandrabhanu Gupta, B.K. Chaudhary, Kripa Shankar Hajela, and Mohanlal Saxena Ram Prasad Bismil are quite famous for defending their case on their own.
- In July 1927, the Kakori kand‘s final decision was delivered by the British government. Due to a lack of evidence, the court released about 15 persons. Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaq Ullah Khan, Thakur Roshan Singh, and Rajendra Lahari received death sentences. Sachindra Bakshi and Sachindranath Sanyal were sentenced to be deported to the islands of Andaman and Nicobar cellular jail in Port Blair.
- The other defendants of the Kakori train robbery received jail terms of varying lengths- Manmathnath Gupta received a 14-year jail term, Yogesh Chandra Chatterjee, Ramkrishna Khatri, Mukundi Lal, Govind Charankar, and Rajkumar Singh were each given a 10-year jail term. Both Vishnu Sharan Dublish and Suresh Charan Bhattacharya received 7 years imprisonment. Keshav Chakraborty received a 4-year prison term.
- Following the verdict, the revolutionaries who had been imprisoned in various facilities went on hunger strikes to protest the circumstances there and to call for their recognition as political prisoners.
Kakori Conspiracy Conclusion
The Kakori conspiracy brought changes in the system. Under the direction of Chandrashekhar Azad, many young revolutionaries like Sukhdev, Shiv Verma, and Jaidev Kapoor set out to recognize HRA. Finally, on September 9 and 10, 1928, the majority of the leading young revolutionaries from northern India gathered in Delhi at the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground to form a new collective leadership, declare socialism as their primary objective, and rename the Hindustan Republican Association as the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. The Kakori conspiracy has been renamed to Kakori train incident by the Uttar Pradesh Government.
Kakori Conspiracy Case For UPSC
The Kakori conspiracy case is a part of modern Indian history. Aspirants should read more about the numerous revolutionary activities that took place in India during the liberation movement, advise aspirants. From the perspective of the UPSC syllabus, the beliefs that revolutionaries advocated are significant.
Especially if they choose history as an optional subject, candidates may be questioned about these incidents during the interview. In fact, along with the UPSC exam, the Kakori train robbery case can also be part of many other exams, like all the state exams of UPPSC. Therefore this topic is important from many perspectives.
Kakori Conspiracy Case UPSC Questions
Kakori conspiracy case as a part of modern Indian history notes. It is essential to learn about the Kakori train robbery because a number of leaders were involved in it. History topics should be well prepared with names and dates. Following are two sample questions as references for preparation.
Q1. Put the following events in our chronological manner
- Kakori Conspiracy
- Armoured Raid in Chittagong
- Lahore-Delhi Conspiracy
Choose the correct code from the options given below
- 1, 3, 2
- 1, 2, 3,
- 3, 2, 1
- 3, 1, 2
Answer- Option C
Q2. In the Kakori conspiracy, who was the government’s attorney?
- Ashfaqullah Khan
- Ram Prasad Bismil
- Krishna Bahadur
- Prabhat Chandra
Answer- Option C