-05_Documents in the Life of Sri Aurobindo

I have the honour to submit a report describing the course of events prior and subsequent to the outrage at Muzaffarpur, which occurred at about 8-30 P.M. on the night of the 30th April 1908, so far as they affected the Calcutta Police. Mr. Plowden received certain information in connection with the enquiry into the Midnapore outrage on His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor's train. This information was confidentially communicated to me by the Chief Secretary; but I was requested to take no action in Calcutta, as it was feared that the conspirators might take alarm and re-form at another centre which would not be known, and would therefore presumably be the more dangerous. I consented of course to this arrangement in the public interest, although the centres of intrigue and conspiracy lay in Calcutta as well as in Midnapore, Nadia, Jessore, and other places. In the course of conversation I received hints from the Chief Secretary and from the Deputy Inspector-General of Police from time to time that further information was coming in and that certain persons were being watched. The Chandernagore outrage occurred on the 14th April 1908. I received information of this from the Maire, Mons. Tardival, on the 15th April 1908, and at his request I sent up to Chandernagore two officers to assist the French Police. Mr. Plowden then informed me that he believed he had reliable information as to the culprits. I withdrew the Calcutta Police officers engaged, and the matter was taken up by the Bengal Criminal Intelligence Department officers. Mr. Morshead, Mr. Plowden, and I had a consultation on or about the 20th April 1908; but the Officiating Inspector-General and Mr. Plowden still pressed the fact that they were not prepared to search houses in Calcutta, the suburbs of Calcutta, and in other districts. Mr. Plowden and myself, however, met the Governor of Pondicherry, the Administrateur de Chandernagore, and the Maire, Mons. Tardival, at the Howrah station on the 21st April, and promised to render all assistance. Mr. Plowden arranged to send for the bomb thrown into Mons. Tardival's house and for its analysis by Major Black, Chemical Examiner to Government. I have not seen this report, but I understand picric acid and other high explosives were found in the bomb.

2. On the 20th April Deputy Superintendent Rai Ramsadoy Mukharji Bahadur saw me, and informed me that he had received information that two persons had left Calcutta for the purpose of killing Mr. Kingsford at Muzaffarpur. He was unable to say whether these persons were Bengalis, their description or age; but it was surmised that they were Bengalis and youths. One of the Deputy Superintendent's officers was at once sent to the District Superintendent of Police, Muzaffarpur, with a letter informing him of the facts so far as known and recommending search and precautions.

May 1908 from the Superintendent of Police, Muzaffarpur, that a bomb, evidently intended for Mr. Kingsford, had been thrown at the wrong carriage, killing one lady and dangerously wounding the other. The offer of Rs. 5,000 reward was also telegraphed and a very rough description of the Bengali lads suspected, who were said to have absconded. I went over with the telegrams to Mr. Plowden and saw him; wired to the Chief Secretary that we had heard of the outrage and were in consultation as to action to be taken; wired Muzaffarpur to intimate further details in cipher. I saw Mr. Dring, the Agent, East Indian Railway, and arranged that he should send a European to Lillooa to supervise all tickets taken for Calcutta; he also received what description of the offenders we could give. I deputed officers to Howrah and Sealdah, and telephoned to the Assistant Inspector-General, Howrah. Mr. Plowden arranged for further watching officers up the line through the Superintendents of the Railway Police. A consultation was held by Mr. Plowden, the Deputy Superintendent of the Criminal Intelligence Department, Inspector P.C. Biswas, and myself. Mr. Plowden wished, if possible, to postpone searching the centres of the conspiracy for three days, as some of these centres were in Midnapore or elsewhere. I was personally averse to this. In the end the Empire newspaper got word, though direct from Muzaffarpur, to the effect that it was known there that two boys had been followed from Calcutta to Muzaffarpur. The Editor was good enough to suppress this fact in the evening issue, but it finally decided us that the searches in Calcutta and the suburbs of Calcutta must be made at once and the Midnapore searches must be directed by wire and left to take their chance. The same afternoon the police officer deputed to Muzaffarpur returned from Muzaffarpur with a letter from Mr. Armstrong, the Superintendent of Police, saying that the men had not, he thought, arrived in Muzaffarpur. This Criminal Intelligence Department officer had left Muzaffarpur only some six hours prior to the outrage.

4. This decision having been come to, no time was lost. I with Mr. Plowden, the Deputy Superintendent, Criminal Intelligence Department, and Inspector P.C. Biswas drove at about 5 P.M. to the Court where the Officiating Chief Presidency Magistrate, Mr. Thornhill, had waited on a telephone message to hear our application. Search warrants were taken out on the sworn testimony of Inspector P.C. Biswas for the following houses:—

(1) 32, Muraripooker Road, Manicktollah Garden, suburbs of Calcutta. (This was an oversight, as the Chief Presidency Magistrate's warrant does not run in the suburbs. The search was, however, legal without warrant for the arrest of the accused and the discovery of the arms and ammunition.)

them, as detailed in Form A attached;¹ and arrangements were made as to where these officers were to meet, the force of European and other Police that should accompany each search party, where they should be picked up, where the prisoners were to be placed after arrest, and where the property when found was to be lodged. The searches were to be simultaneously made at 5 A.M. at each of the places named in the warrants. Mr. Superintendent Haultain had charge of the European Sergeants and the Constables at Lall Bazar who were to accompany each party, and made arrangements quietly during the evening to collect 30 ticca gharries there. He did his part of the mobilization effectively. The searches, as arranged, took place without any hitch; and the result of these searches, as shown in the search lists attached, marked B — there are seven of these — was eminently successful and reflects credit both on the Police who collected the information and on those who conducted the searches. The houses were in every instance completely taken by surprise. The most important finds were at 134, Harrison Road, where 3 boxes and a bag containing 6 live bombs, a large quantity of dynamite detonators, fuses and about 400 rounds of rifle and revolver ammunition were found; and at the garden of Arabindo Ghosh and his brothers at Muraripooker, Manicktollah, in the suburbs of Calcutta, where 3 rifles, 2 double-barrel guns, 9 revolvers, 3 bombs and a quantity of explosives were found in a house, buried in the garden and in a temporary mat shed in the grounds of the house.

5. Twenty-nine arrests in all were made that night, as detailed in the attached list, marked C. One further arrest was made on the 3rd May 1908 of one Din Dayal Bose. His name is shown last in the list marked C, with other details.

3rd May 1908. — Four of the prisoners made statements to the Police incriminating themselves as well as other members of the conspiracy.² Their names are (1) Barindra Kumar Ghose, (2) Ullaskar Dutta, (3) Upendra Nath Banerjee, (4) Indoo Bhusan Roy, (5) Bibhuti Bhusan Sircar. Their statements were recorded in writing by the Police.

8 a.m. — The Commissioner of Police interviewed all the accused persons in the Lall Bazar lock-up.

3.30 p.m. — Din Dayal Bose, another member of the conspiracy, was arrested at the Sham Bazar Tramway Depot, where he was employed as a clerk. His house at 80, College Street, was searched, and some incriminating letters were found.

4th May 1908. — Thirty prisoners were placed before the Commissioner of Police, who questioned each prisoner individually; and in compliance with the request of the Deputy Inspector-General of Crime, who stated that he was not then in a position to formulate charges against the conspirators arrested in the Manicktollah Garden, 14 of these persons, as shown in Form C, were sent to the District Magistrate, Alipore, for disposal under section 54, Criminal Procedure Code. Four arrested persons, viz., the 2 garden malis and 2 lads who entered the garden after the

1 This and the items referred to below as B, c and D were not reproduced in the printed Home Department report.

2 Five names are mentioned in the next sentence. Eventually five more confessed: Sudhir Sarkar, Biren Ghose, Hrishikesh Kanjilal, Kristo Jiban Sanyal and the future informer, Narendra Nath Goswami. Photographs of eight of the ten appear in Plates 2 and 3.

search and were arrested on suspicion, were released on bail, as there was no evidence of their complicity in the conspiracy. The District Magistrate of Alipore had, on a communication from myself, expressed a wish that the cases of these persons should not be sent, as would be usual, to the Sealdah Court, but should be forwarded to him for disposal.

6. The following accused who were placed before the District Magistrate of Alipore made statements before him implicating themselves and others:—

I have not got copies of these statements; they are with the Deputy Inspector-General, Crime, in whose hands, owing to the ramifications of the conspiracy throughout Bengal, I have entirely left the prosecution of these members.

7. 5th May 1908. — The following officials arrived in Calcutta from Simla and Darjeeling:—

A conference was held, at which it was arranged that Major Smallwood should examine the explosives, bombs, etc., at the Park Street police-station, Mr. Superintendent Bowen and Inspector Chamberlain assisting. Major Black, Chemical Examiner to Government, further personally assisted Major Smallwood, who speaks in high terms of the gratuitious and valuable help thus given by this officer. A copy of Major Smallwood's report is attached, marked D.

8. To Mr. Denham was entrusted the examination of the whole of the correspondence, papers, books, etc., seized. Mr. Macrae, Deputy Commissioner, Port Police, was detailed to supervise a further and careful search of the Manicktollah Garden, including the tanks. I sanctioned the utilization of one of the Fire Brigade steam engines to pump out two of these tanks; Chief Engineer Fulthorpe was assisted by Mr. Haultain and the Fire Brigade staff. Mr. Macrae emptied two tanks and thoroughly dug up the entire garden with bands of coolies. An old horse pistol only was found in one of the tanks, but some pieces of paper of some importance were found showing the vows taken by the occupants of the garden, etc. These with all other papers and documents were made over to Mr. Denham. Although this further search proved infructuous, it was undoubtedly essential. The plan-maker was directed to prepare plans of the Manicktollah Garden and 134, Harrison Road. It was decided that the further search of this garden should not be made until the plan of the first search was completed. Meanwhile an armed guard and European Sergeants were placed on duty over the premises. Inspector Percy proceeded to photograph objects of interest at the Manicktollah Garden. Copies attached marked E.

9. 10 a.m. —The 12 prisoners who had been remanded for further enquiry on the 4th instant were again placed before the Commissioner of Police. Of these

12 prisoners, 5 were arrested at 134, Harrison Road, in connection with the seizure of bombs, etc. Their names are —

The remaining 7 prisoners were arrested by the Police in connection with the other search warrants taken out on the 1st instant. Their names are —

Nos. 1 to 5 arrested at 134, Harrison Road, and Ullaskar Dutta were placed by order of the Commissioner of Police before the Chief Presidency Magistrate for trial under sections 19 (f) and 20 of the Arms Act. Prisoners Nos. 6 to 12 were forwarded by the Commissioner of Police to the Chief Presidency Magistrate, Calcutta, with a request that they should be transferred to the Court of the District Magistrate, Alipore, for trial under sections 143, 144, 150, 157, 121, 121A, 122 and 124, Indian Penal Code.

This was done. The conduct of this case in Court was handed over to the Inspector-General of Police who had the evidence of conspiracy.

Arabindo Ghose was further charged under sections 19 and 20 of the Arms Act. Up to this date there are thus 13+7=20 prisoners arrested in Calcutta and the suburbs before the Alipore Magistrate and 6 prisoners before the Chief Presidency Magistrate, Calcutta.

10. I may add that copies of the search lists, the form showing prisoners arrested and arresting officers, with full details of the houses searched and the results, have been made over from day to day as the investigation progressed to the Director, Criminal Intelligence. Mr. Stevenson Moore has also taken voluminous notes from Mr. Denham, who is examining the mass of correspondence, books and pamphlets the Police have seized.

11. I have personally not yet examined Mr. Denham's notes on the correspondence seized both in Calcutta and elsewhere. He will doubtless submit a full report as to the result of his enquiries when they are completed.

Letter F.L. Halliday, Commissioner of Police, Calcutta, to the Chief Secretary to the Government of Bengal, 16 May 1908

"MEMORANDUM OF THE DISCOVERIES MADE IN CALCUTTA CONCERNING THE ANARCHIST SOCIETY OF BARINDRA KUMAR GHOSE"

train near Kharagpur last December, it was known that the question of assassinating Government officials by means of bombs was being freely discussed by a section of the extremist agitators, chiefly men connected with the Yugantar, Sandhya, and Navasakti newspapers, and it was more than suspected that practical steps were being taken to carry out these designs. The conspirators, however, showed great caution and suspicion of outsiders, and the information which could be obtained about them was of a vague and apparently untrustworthy character. More recently, however, the information had taken a more definite shape and the police had actually been able to warn the authorities at Muzaffarpur that it was believed that emissaries had been sent to that station to attempt the assassination of Mr. Kingsford. When news was received of the outrage at Muzaffarpur, it was decided to search the premises which were supposed to be used by the conspirators, and eight separate parties were detailed for this duty in the early morning of May 2nd.

The garden house in Maniktolla, which has been found to belong jointly to Arbindo Ghose of the Bande Mataram, his brother Barindra, who was the head of the anarchist gang, and two other brothers, is in a secluded quarter of the suburb. The house itself is dilapidated and the surrounding grounds neglected and overgown with trees and shrubs; in the garden there are two tanks of stagnant water.

The premises were surrounded in the early hours of the morning of May 2nd and the raid was apparently entirely unexpected, as the leader of the gang and about a dozen members were found within and arrested. Buried underground at various places in the garden were found a few guns and sporting rifles and about eight revolvers, as well as a forge and other machinery for making bombs, and large quantities of acids for preparing explosives. There was also one finished bomb ready for use, besides large quantities of picric acid already prepared, dynamite cartridges, and 25 lbs. of dynamite. In addition there was a large amount of printed matter and correspondence which has not yet been completely examined; it included books upon explosives and military training. Marks of revolver bullets on targets of whitewash on the trees of the garden showed that revolver practice was also indulged in.

The search in short that the garden was a regular school for practical instruction in revolutionary methods and in the manufacture of explosives, and a text-book was found which was compiled apparently in imitation of similar books which are used by European anarchists.

No. 134, Harrison Road is a small shop separated only by a partition from a genuine chemist's shop next door, and it had been open for about two months in a similar character. In the outer room a few bottles of medicine were kept on the shelves, but in the inner room there was large stock of explosives, six large bombs ready for use, and a quantity of electrical and chemical apparatus. Some of the explosives were kept in steel trunks and in one of these there was a picture from a London illustrated weekly paper of the attempted assassination of the King and Queen of Spain on their wedding day, on the back of which there was a sketch of the bomb

used on that occasion. In another box was found a mass of correspondence and some anarchist literature.

This shop appears to have been used as a store-house for explosives and completed bombs, while the work of manufacturing the various infernal machines was carried on in the Maniktolla garden. One of the men arrested, however, informed the police that the explosives, etc., found in the shop were deposited by him there in three trunks and a canvas bag, four or five days before the search was made, for safe custody, as the gang thought the police were after them.

General description of bombs used. — Of the bombs found eight were loaded and six unloaded. The larger bombs are about the size of a cricket ball with projecting spikes all round; it seems probable that these spikes are in contact with a fulminate inside so as to explode the bomb on percussion. The result of the expert examination of the bombs and explosives has not yet been received, but it appears that the main charges were of dynamite, and picric acid was used for the fuses.

Persons arrested. — The following persons were arrested in the garden at Maniktolla on May 2nd. It appears that except the two gardeners they were all members of the secret society, and the approximate date of their initiation is given according to the statement of Upendra Nath Banneriji (no. 14): —

14. Upendra Nath Banerji and two Uriya malis (gardeners), named Panu and Nidhu, who were afterwards released on bail.

26. Din Doyal Bose, a clerk in the Sham Bazaar tramway depot, was also arrested. He is the brother of Sailendra Nath Bose above mentioned.

The most important members of the gang have made statements to the police which they have repeated without any material variation before the District Magistrate of Alipore, confessing their share in three attempts to blow up the Lieutenant-Governor's train, in the attempt to murder the Maire of Chandernagore and in the attempt to murder Mr. Kingsford at Muzaffarpur. Other matters have come to light in the papers seized which show the connection of the gang in the attempted murder of the missionary, Mr. Hickenbotham, at Kushtea.

The leading members of the gang³ — Barindra Kumar Ghose (no. 1), as admitted by himself, and confirmed by the statements of the other persons arrested, was the head of the organisation. He is 28 years of age, the son of the late Dr. K.D. Ghose, Civil Surgeon of Khulna town, and was born at Croydon, England. He was educated at Deogarh H.E. School, passed the Entrance examination of the Calcutta University, and studied up to the F.A. standard. While his brother Arabindo (no. 20) was professor at the Gaekwar's College at Baroda, he lived with him for a year and studied "politics," returning to Calcutta in 1902. He helped to start a number of akharas for lathi play at several centres in Bengal, and in the middle of 1903 again returned to his brother at Baroda, where he stayed for a year more. They discussed politics together, and he states that their opinions were the same, but that his brother "did not participate in his mission."

He returned again to Calcutta in 1904, but his revolutionary work proper, after a period of preparation regarding which he refuses to give details and which was presumably spent in collecting money and consulting his friends, began with the publication of the Yugantar newspaper, which he started in 1906 along with Bhupen-dra Nath Dutt, at present undergoing a sentence of one year's rigorous imprisonment for publishing sedition as editor of this paper, and Abinash Chandra Bhat-tacharji (no. 21). In the same year Arabindo abandoned his appointment on Rs. 400 a month in Baroda and accepted a post in the National College, Calcutta, on Rs. 150 a month. About this time, too, the Bande Mataram newspaper, in the direction of which Arabindo has been all along the leading spirit, was started.

The secret society with its head-quarters at the garden house in Maniktolla was started in 1907, and Barindra recruited, he says, 16 members, namely, nos. 2 to 14 above, with in addition Nirmal Roy (no. 24), Kanai Lal Dutt (no. 25), and Profulla Chandra Chaki, the youth who shot himself at Mokameh station when an attempt was made to arrest him for complicity in the Muzaffarpur case. There may have been other members of the gang as Barindra, and the other persons arrested have been careful in their statements to give as far as possible the names only of persons known to them to be already implicated.

In the garden the members of the secret society used to live together, discuss the regeneration of the country, and hatch revolutionary schemes for getting rid of the British Government. Barindra was responsible for the collection of arms, ammunition and explosives, and he states that he arranged in what manner and by

whom all the attempted outrages were to be carried out, and himself took part in three of them.

Upendra Nath Banerji — Another leading member of the society was Upendra Nath Banerji, a resident of French Chandernagore, who gives his age as 29. His education began at the Dupleix College, Chandernagore, and he studied in the Medical College, Calcutta, for two years and again after an interval attended the B.A. classes at the Duff College, Calcutta, for two years more. Thereafter he was a disciple of a certain Swami Swarupanand in the Adwitya Asram at Almorah in the United Provinces for about two years, and there he was instructed in Hindu and Western philosophy and underwent a course of training in Yoga according to the principle of Hinduism.

In 1906 he joined the Bande Mataram staff and was a regular contributor to the Yugantar. In 1907, according to his own statement, he thought of freeing the country from the foreign yoke by starting a religious institution or joining one if such an institution existed, and for this purpose between September 1907 and February 1908 he visited in quest of a sadhu or an institution the following places: Benares, Allahabad, Mirzapur, Chitrakote, Bombay, Baroda, and Nepal, returning occasionally to Calcutta. His search was, he says, unsuccessful.

He joined the secret society in July 1907 and used to assist Barindra in selecting boys suitable for working members. He had no part in collecting money or bombs and explosives, as he says that was Barindra's work. His occupation was to train the boys in political economy, political science, and Hindu religion. He admits, however, that he was consulted about the attempt to derail the Lieutenant-Governor's train near Kharagpur, and that he knew that the purpose of the society was to overthrow the British Government and to take the life of officials who hampered the national work.

The manufacture of explosives. — The work of bomb-making was at first carried out by Ullash Kar Dutt who was afterwards assisted by Hem Chandra Das. The former has made statements to the police and to the Magistrate from which it appears that he joined the society in 1907, and that even before that he had made a study of explosives and experimented with various chemicals such as nitro-compounds at the house of his father, a professor of agriculture at Shibpur. He gives his age as 22, and he was educated at the Comilla Zillah School from which he passed the Entrance examination, and after studying in the Presidency College for two years failed in the FA. examination in 1903. He then went to Bombay and went through a course of instruction in the cotton industry for a year and a half at the Victoria Technical Institute. His part in the various revolutionary outrages is detailed below.

Hem Chandra Das has not yet made any statement. Barindra's account of him is that he went to Paris about the middle of 1907 to learn mechanics, and, if possible, also about explosives, and returned three of four months ago, and this has been confirmed from other sources. Both Barindra and Upendra state that Hem Chandra and Ullash formed the explosives department of the society, and this is confirmed by the statement of Ullash.

Revolutionary attempts. — The following revolutionary acts attempted by the secret society have been described by Barindra, whose statement is corroborated by other members to the extent noted below: —

near Chandernagore as he was proceeding to Ranchi. Barindra says he himself did. not go, but he sent Ullash Kar Dutt (no. 6 above) who took with him a dynamite mine with a fuse and detonator; he was disturbed, however, while laying the mine and came away unsuccessful, leaving a few dynamite cartridges which exploded under the train without doing any damage. Ullash corroborates this statement, and adds that he made this mine himself.

2. A second attempt to derail the Lieutenant-Governor's train was made shortly afterwards, also near Chandernagore, apparently on the return journey. On this occasion Barindra himself went, accompanied by Profulla Chandra Chaki and Bibhuti Bhusan Sarkar, and they waited near the line from 4 P.M. till morning. Finding, however, that the train was not coming that way they did not lay the mine, and returned to Calcutta. On this occasion also the mine was prepared by Ullash Kar Dutt.

3. The third attempt on the life of the Lieutenant-Governor was made on December 5th near Kharagpur in Midnapur district. On this occasion, too, Barindra went in person and took Profulla and Bibhuti with him. They carried a mine containing six pounds of dynamite with a fuse and detonator of picric acid which was also prepared by Ullash Kar Dutt. The mine was laid under Barindra's supervision, and before midnight Barindra left the place, returning to Calcutta by the last train, and leaving the two younger men to place the fuse on the line. This they did at 2-30 A.M., and they had walked a distance which Bibhuti estimates as two miles towards Midnapur when the explosion took place with the result already known. The whole account is fully corroborated by Bibhuti.

4. The next attempt made was against the Maire of Chandernagore on April 11th by Birendra accompanied by Indu Bhusan Roy and Norendra Nath Gossain of Serampore, who was arrested on May 5th in consequence of the information give by Birendra.

This bomb was made by Hem Chandra Das and thrown by Indu Bhusan Roy. Only the detonator and not the main charge exploded, and Barindra explains that they afterwards found that the picric acid which they bought in the bazaar was not good. Both Indu and Norendra have admitted before the District Magistrate of Alipore their complicity in this affair.

5. The last outrage was at Muzaffarpur. This was arranged by Barindra, who, after consulting Upendra, sent out Khudiram Bose, a Midnapur youth introduced to him by Hem Chandra Das, his fellow-townsman, along with Profulla to kill Mr. Kingsford. The bomb used was made by Hem Chandra Das and Ullash Kar Dutt and thrown apparently by Khudiram Bose.

From Government of India, Home Political Department A. Proceedings, May 1908, Nos. 112-150.

The Alipur Bomb Trial, "the first State Trial of any magnitude in India",¹ is still remembered as a landmark in India's freedom struggle. The arrest of Sri Aurobindo and 32 other Bengalis of "respectable families" in connection with a faraway murder was possibly the biggest news in Calcutta since the Black Hole. Day after day the Bengalee ran reports on the investigation under the headline THE GREAT CALCUTTA SENSATION Other papers, from every part of the country, Anglo-Indian as well as Nationalist, followed suit.

The investigation, which kept the Bengal police busy for weeks and even months, turned up as evidence over 4000 documents and 300 to 400 material objects — bombs, tools, revolvers, etc. 277 witnesses were examined in two separate preliminary hearings in the court of the District Magistrate of Alipur (24-Parganas District). After three months he committed the accused to the Sessions Court, where "altogether 206 witnesses were examined and cross-examined at length", after which "both sides argued the case at great length".² Both defence and prosecution were represented by outstanding barristers — Eardley Norton, the "Lion of Madras Corporation", and C.R. Das, the future nationalist leader, whose fame was established by his securing of Sri Aurobindo's acquittal.

It would not be possible in one or even in several instalments of these Notes to give a full account of this famous trial. We will instead concentrate on a few interesting sidelights.

In retrospect the most remarkable thing about the case is the fact that Sri Aurobindo was acquitted. The contentions of the prosecution were, after all, correct. Sri Aurobindo and the others were charged with "waging war against the king".³Barin and several others confessed to being members of a "secret society" (gupta samiti) formed for this purpose. None of the confessions mentioned Sri Aurobindo. The prosecution maintained that although he kept aloof from overt actions, he was the "mastermind" behind the whole organisation. This is, of course, exactly what he was. And despite the care taken to keep Sri Aurobindo's name in the clear, enough evidence was found in May 1908 to convince the police that they could convict him.

1 Bijoy Krishna Bose, ed. Alipore Bomb Trial (Calcutta: Butterworth and Co., 1922), p. i. An official letter (Duke to Norton 28 November 1909) in a file of the Government of Bengal (No. 109 of 1909) calls the trial "a prosecution of a new order and probably of a more serious character than we have ever had, in Bengal".

3 The actual charges were multiple and complex. Under Section 122, the accused were charged with having "collected men, arms or ammunition, or otherwise prepared to wage war against the King-Emperor"; the charge under Section 121 was that they "did wage war against the King, attempted to wage war against the King and abetted the waging of war against the King". Under Section 121-A came conspiracy to wage war against the King. There was another charge under Section 123 and some talk, at least, of Section 124. (Those accused found in possession of bombs etc. were charged separately under the Arms Act.) Section 121, if proved, would have been quite sufficient. Corresponding to High Treason, it is, after murder by a life convict, the "most serious" charge in the Indian Penal Code; the sentence provided for guilt — " to be hanged by the neck until dead" and forfeiture of all property. (Alipore Bomb Trial, pp. 52-54, 184-85)

The Government decided against deportation without trial — a course that would have aroused hostile public opinion — and poured out its resources in a tremendous effort to find him guilty. How was Sri Aurobindo able to escape the gallows?

Just luck, perhaps. It certainly was lucky that no arms or bombs were found in his house when he was arrested. There was every possibility they might have been. In 1940 Sri Aurobindo told some of his disciples:

Barin was very reckless. On the eve of the search he brought two bombs to my house. I told him, "Take them away. Don't you know that the house is going to be searched? And remove the things from Maniktala." He took the bombs away but didn't do anything at Maniktala.⁴

In fact Barin did try to do something. As Nolini Kanta Gupta has written, that night Barin and his companions decided "to remove all traces, by burning or hiding away or whatever other means, of anything that might raise a suspicion against us". And

the very first thing that came to our heads was this. There were two or three rifles in the house where Sri Aurobindo lived. They were in the custody of Abinash (Abinash Bhattacharya) who lived with him and looked after Sri Aurobindo's affairs. Those rifles must be removed at once, they could on no account be left there.... The rifles were brought back, they were packed in two boxes bound with iron hoops, together with the few revolvers we had and all the materials for the making of bombs, and hidden away underground.⁵

It is hard to see exactly how this account fits in with the statement of Sri Aurobindo quoted above. The sequence of the events is not certain. At any rate steps were taken to see that Sri Aurobindo's house was free from incriminating materials.

What the police did find at 48 Grey Street were documents — mountains of them. Among the hundreds of letters, notebooks and papers were two items of particular interest — the "sweets letter" and the "scribblings". The first of these was a note found with an envelope addressed "A. Ghose, confidential":⁶

Now is the time. Please try and make them meet for our conference. We must have sweets all over India readymade for imergencies [sic]. I wait here for your answer.

The important word is "sweets". It could hardly, the prosecution maintained, mean "sweetmeats".⁷ Indeed one of the conspirators told the court: "We used to

4 Nirodbaran, Talks with Sri Aurobindo, Part II(Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1971), p. 246.

5 Nolini Kanta Gupta, Reminiscences (Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1969), p. 22.

call bombs Rashogullas. sweetmeats."⁸ "The suggestion of the prosecution", in the words of Justice Beachcroft, "is that sweets means bombs. The term would be a not unnatural one to use." Was not another document found in which Kingsford, the intended Muzaffarpur victim, was referred to as the "bridegroom", and revolvers itemised under "marriage expenditure"?⁹ 27 December 1907, the date borne by the letter, was the second day of the famous Surat Congress. (The Bengali delegation stayed together at Surat in a "camp" near Agit Singh's.) The prosecution argued "that the Extremists, having won a victory on the first day of the Congress, were so elated that Baren [sic] sent this letter to Arabinda to have immediate action all over the country on the lines followed in the garden and No. 15 [Gopimohan Dutt's Lane, where explosives were manufactured and stored]."¹⁰

It is a known fact that Barin went to Surat principally to interest Nationalist leaders in his terrorist schemes. There is reason to believe that the letter was just what the prosecution declared it to be.¹¹ The defence called it a forgery; Justice Beachcroft said that "if it is, it is a splendid specimen of the forger's art".¹² Nevertheless he finally found it "of so suspicious a character that I hesitate to accept it".¹³ The document had been questioned by the defence on the ground that a proper record of its finding had not been kept. Then there was the problem of the form of greeting and signature. Would a younger brother have addressed the older as "Dear brother" and signed his full name? All in all, it was fishy business, and the judge was forced to conclude, throwing out the letter as evidence: "Experience tells us that in cases when spies are employed documents do find their way into houses of suspected persons in a manner which cannot be explained by the accused."¹⁴

There was always something fishy about the evidence. As C.R. Das pointed out in his defence address: "The particular feature of this case is that where the prosecution associated Aurobindo with the conspiracy, there we find some sort of difficulty with evidence."¹⁵ Take the "scribblings", a few pages in one of Sri Aurobindo's notebooks in which the names of some members of Barin's group are mentioned, and vague reference is made to some "attempt". The text is incoherent and the handwriting strange, almost feminine, but the writer of the document was certainly in the know about the activities of the society. Was the writer Sri Aurobindo? In fact it was. The scribblings, which still exist,¹⁶ are an example of his automatic writing. The handwriting, however scribbly, is recognisably his. It was not possible in an English court of law to say that the recipient of an automatic writing could not not be held responsible for its contents, that he was merely a scribe and not the writer. What the defence did maintain was that this, too, was a forgery. Justice Beachcroft was not convinced. "I look upon this piece of evidence as the most difficult point

11 On 2 November 1981, Nolini Kanta Gupta, one of the Alipur undertrials, said that he believed the letter was not genuine.

in this case,"¹⁷ he wrote in his judgment. But finally, after considering all the evidence, Beachcroft concluded: "I should hesitate before saying that his complicity in the conspiracy can be considered established on these facts."¹⁸

Beachcroft had not even heard the really damning evidence against Sri Aurobindo — the testimony of the approver, Narendranth Goswami. Goswami's second confession was specially arranged to show his connection with Sri Aurobindo, and Sri Aurobindo's active involvement in the society. The approver mentioned several attempted dacoities and bombings that Sri Aurobindo not only knew about, but helped to plan. Such evidence, if accepted, would have proved Sri Aurobindo a conspirator. It would indeed have shown him to be the principal figure in the conspiracy, for Goswami stated that he often reported to Sri Aurobindo "because he is our leader".¹⁹

Goswami was rendered pardon for his confession, a circumstance which makes it suspect. Recently Nolini Kanta Gupta stated that he thought the approver's testimony was a tissue of lies, that no one in the society had the free access to Sri Aurobindo that Goswami claimed to have.²⁰ Certainly much of the testimony was outright falsehood, for example the information given about members of a great all-India conspiracy that did not exist. The police, certain that a countrywide uprising was planned, asked their approver to find out who was behind it. It is told in Sri Aurobindo's Karakahini and Upendranath Bannerji's Nirbasiter Atmakatha how Hrishikesh, always a good one for a gag, made up a set of names and divulged them to Goswami, saying that he, too, wished to become an approver. How the boys must have laughed when Goswami solemnly declared:,

There are societies in connection with our society in Bombay, Guzrat, Satara. I don't remember others. There is also one in Madras. Upen told me of one Madras man, I think his name was Bisambar Pillay. I never saw him.

I am not aware of any society at Bangalore. At Baroda there was a man named Kishnaji Rao Bhau who shared our views.²¹

The bulk of Goswami's evidence, however, was no laughing matter. The statement that Sri Aurobindo was the leader was as incriminating as it was true. Most of the boys in the society, even those that had never seen Sri Aurobindo, knew he was the chief, their "Karta" or "Bara Karta". These code-names appear on certain documents found in the garden. The defence had stories ready to explain them; it was unsettling when Goswami said to the magistrate:

I have heard the name "Bara Karta" applied to a member of our society: it was applied to Arabindo Ghose: Karta means a "leader".

The name "Chhota Karta" is applied to Barendra Kumar Ghose. If the word Karta was used without either "Bara" or "Chhota" it would refer to the "Bara Karta," viz., to Arabindo Ghose.

19 Government of India. Home Political-A. Proceedings, September 1910, Nos. 33-40, p. 23.

21 Government of India. Home Political-A. Proceedings, September 1910. Nos. 33-40, pp. 32-33. In Nirbasiter Atmakatha Upendranath says that he gave the names to Hrishikesh, who gave them to Goswami. From Goswami's statement it would seen that Upendranath revealed at least some of the "secrets" himself.

I do not remember whether I know Arabindo Ghose's writing. I can't say whether I should recognise it if I saw it.²²

Nevertheless he was able to identify some 18 documents as being "in Aurobindo's handwriting".

Goswami's confession, recorded before the magistrate in June, July and August 1908, was a virtuoso performance. It effect was bound to be decisive. On 31 August 1908 he was shot to death in the jail hospital. His testimony, never subjected to cross-examination, was invalidated.

Subsidiary works. The distinction between primary and subsidiary works was explained in the last issue. The line between the two is sometimes indistinct. Chi-trangada, reproduced from the Sri Aurobindo Circle in 1949, has been considered a primary title, while The Birth of the War-God, reproduced from the same journal in 1952, has been considered subsidiary. One deciding factor here was the presence in the first case and absence in the second of a reverse-title (imprint) page. (However, some books having imprint pages have been considered subsidiary, for example The Life Divine: A Commentry on the Isha Upanishad.) The decisive factor was that Chitrangada was published during Sri Aurobindo's lifetime.

Correspondence. The subsidiary list has been divided into two parts; the first consists of collections of letters. As noted in the last issue, collections prepared under Sri Aurobindo's direction have been placed on the primary list; those considered subsidiary "owe their form more to the disciple whose correspondence they chiefly or wholly contain than to Sri Aurobindo". Some letters of Sri Aurobindo have appeared in books written by disciples, e.g. Dilip Kumar Roy, Sri Aurobindo Came to Me (Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1952), and Yogi Sri Krishnaprem (Bombay : Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1968); R.S. Agarwal, Yoga for Perfect Sight (Madras: Dr. Agarwal's Eye Institute, 1974).

Reprints. The second part of the list consists principally of reprints of short works originally printed in periodicals. Almost all of Sri Aurobindo's works, primary as well as secondary, appeared in periodicals before being published as books; the form of those considered primary was either determined by Sri Aurobindo during his lifetime, or (as in the case of Sonnets) suggested by indications left by him. Titles considered subsidiary were generally created without Sri Aurobindo's authorisation and have proved to be too ephemeral to be considered primary.¹ Certain reprints have been excluded even from the secondary list, viz: (1) separate issues of pages from periodicals without printed cover or imprint page, e.g. The Maid in the Mill (1962); (2) undated separate issues of pages from the Centenary Editions of various works or parts of works, e.g. Ideals and Progress, The House of Brut, The Prince of Mathura, The Divine Body; (3) reprints of primary works issued under special circumstances, e.g. Sri Aurobindo on Ideals and Progress (Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo's Action, 1977). All compilations have, of course, been excluded.

Miscellaneous titles. A few titles fall into no particular category, for example, Sri Aurobindo: A Life Sketch, Sri Aurobindo and His Ashram, Yogic Sadhan. Footnotes explain the history of these works.

1 The ephemeral nature of many subsidiary works makes it impossible to ensure that all books that might have been included are listed. Five editions are shown for Dayananda the Man and His Work; more may have been printed.

Archives No.	Title Edition/Impression	Printed Designation	Publication Data

S1	Correspondence with Sri Aurobindo [Part I]¹
Sl.l	First Edition
S1.la	First Series	("First published")	Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1954
S1.lb	Second Series	("First published")	Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram. 1959
S1.2	Second Edition	("First Combined	Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1969
		Edition")
S2	Correspondence with Sri Aurobindo: Part II¹
S2.1	First Edition	("First Edition")	Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram. 1972
S3	Correspondence [with Sri Aurobindo]: Part III (Sri Aurobindo's Humour)²
S3.1	First Edition	("First Edition")	Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1974
S4	Guidance from Sri Aurobindo: Letters to a Young Disciple [Volume I]³
S4.1	First Edition		Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Society, 1974
S5	Guidance from Sri Aurobindo: Letters to a Young Disciple:		Volume II³
S5.1	First Edition		Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1976
S6	Life-Literature-Yoga⁴
S6.1	First Edition	("First Edition")	Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1952
S6.2	Second Edition	("Revised & Enlarged	Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1967
		Edition")
S7	Light to Superlight⁵
S7.1	First Edition		Calcutta: Prabartak Publishers, 1972
S8	My Pilgrimage to the Spirit⁶
S8.1	First Edition	("First Published")	Pondicherry: Dipti Publications, 1974
S8.2	Second Edition	("Second Revised	Ahmedabad: Gift Publications, 1977
		Edition")
S9	"Overhead Poetry": Poems with Sri Aurobindo's Comments⁷
S9.1	First Edition	("First Edition")	Pondicherry:Sri Aurobindo International
			Centre of Education, 1972
	Sri Aurobindo's Humour see Correspondence [with Sri Aurobindo]: Part III

2 Compiled by Nirodbaran. Actual printed title: "Sri Aurobindo's Humour: ( Correspondence Part III)".

S10	Anandamath⁸
S10.l	First Edition		Calcutta: Basumati Sahitya Mandir, n.d.
S11	The Birth of the War-God⁹
S11.1	First Edition		Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1952
S12	Dayananda: The Man and His Work¹⁰
S12.1	First Edition	("1st Edition")	Kangri: Gurukula Vishvavidyalaya,
			Samvat 1977 [c. 1921]
S12.2	Second Edition		Calcutta: Tract Publishing Society.
			Dayanandabda 102 [c. 1927]¹¹
S12.3	Third Edition		Lucknow: Sanyukta Arya Samaj, n.d. [1935]
S12.4	Fourth Edition		Delhi: International Aryan League, n.d.
			[c. 1935]¹²
S.12.5	Fifth Edition		Santa Cruz (Bombay): N.K. Kapadia.
			1939¹³
S13	The Four Aids¹⁴
S13.1	First Edition		Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1945
S14	The Life Divine: A Commentary on the Isha Upanishad¹⁵
S14.1	First Edition	("First published")	Calcutta: Sri Aurobindo Pathamandir, 1981
S15	Messages of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother [First Series]
S15.1	First Edition	("First published")	Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1949
S16	Messages of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother (Second Series)
S16.1	First Edition	("First Published")	Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1952
S17	An Open Letter to His Countrymen¹⁶
S17.1	First Edition		Calcutta: Manomohan Ghose, n.d. (1909)
S18	The Seven Upanishads¹⁷
S18.1	First Edition		Poona: Ashtekar & Co., 1920
S19	Sri Aurobindo: A Life Sketch¹⁸
S19.1	First Edition		Calcutta: Arya Publishing House, 1937

8 "Translated from Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's famous Bengalee novel"; reprinted from the Kar-mayogin. "Up to 15th Chapter of Part I translated by Sree Aurobindo. Subsequent pages translated by Sree Barindra Kumar Ghosh." The editors of the Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library have considered only chapters 1-13 to be by Sri Aurobindo.

10 This title was used for three of the five known editions of this reprint of two (or one) articles first published in the Vedic Magazine (Lahore), viz.: "Dayananda the Man and His Work", and "Dayananda and the Veda".

11 An incomplete edition, entitled Dayananda and the Veda and consisting only of the essay having that title.

12 An incomplete edition, consisting only of the essay "Dayananda the Man and His Work".

14 "Being the first chapter of the Yoga of Works in the Synthesis of Yoga"; followed by a selection of letters on yoga.

17 Marathi title: सार्थ उपनिषत्संग्रह. 408 pages of Sanskrit text and Marathi commentary followed by 45 pages of English translation. "The translation of Isha, Kena and Mundaka is by Aurobindo Ghose."

18 The author of this pamphlet (reprinted with some alterations in SABCL Vol. 30. pp. 1-5) is not

S20	Sri Aurobindo and His Ashram¹⁹
S20.1	First Edition	("First Edition")	Calcutta: Arya Publishing House, 1948²⁰
S20.2	Second Edition	("Second Edition")	Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1951
S20.3	Third Edition
S20.3.1	First Impression	("Reprinted")	Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1964
S20.3.2	Second Impression	("Reprinted")	Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1969
S20.4	Fourth Edition	("Fifth Edition	Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1975
		(revised)")
S20.5	Fifth Edition	("Fifth Edition")	Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1981
	Swami Dayananda Saraswati see Dayananda		the Man and His Work
S21	Two Lectures of Sriyut Aravinda Ghose²¹
S21.1	First Edition		Bombay: Bombay National Union, n.d.
			(1908)
S22	Two Plays²²
S22.1	First Edition		Calcutta: Sri Aurobindo Pathamandir, 1962
S23	What a Sadhak Must Always Remember²³
S23.1	First Edition		Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, n.d.
			(1951)
S24	Yogic Sadhan²⁴
S24.1	First Edition		Srirangam: Sri Vani Vilas Press, 1911
S24.2	Second Edition	("Reprinted")	Pondicherry: Modern Press, 1920
S24.3	Third Edition	("THIRD EDITION"/	Calcutta: Arya Publishing House, 1923
		"Only Authorised Edition")
S24.4	Fourth Edition	("Fourth Impression")	Calcutta: Arya Publishing House, 1933

known. Possibly the text was written by a disciple of Sri Aurobindo and revised by Sri Aurobindo. At least one passage (the first footnote) is known to have been written by Sri Aurobindo. It may be, however, that the whole life-sketch was written by Sri Aurobindo, or so thoroughly revised by him that it could still be attributed to him. Conclusive data are lacking.

19 See footnote 60 to the first part of this Outline Bibliography (A & R, April 1981, p. 108).

20 Part I, "A Short Biography",consisted of part of Sri Aurobindo: A Life Sketch, a note on Sri Aurobindo's political life written by Sri Aurobindo, and a note on Sri Aurobindo's spiritual life not written by Sri Aurobindo but incorporating extracts from his writings. Part II, "The Ashram and the Teaching", was a reprint of The Teaching and the Asram of Sri Aurobindo. Each succeeding edition was revised, material being added, rewritten or removed.

21 "Advice to National College Students", reprinted from The Dawn, and "The Present Situation ", reprinted from Bande Mataram. Sri Aurobindo's speeches were often reprinted during the period. The India Office, Madras, reproduced "Srijut Arabindo Ghose on the Present Situation" in 1908. Marathi and Gujarati translations of the speeches made by Sri Aurobindo in western India in 1908 (including "The Present Situation") are known to exist.

22 Two incomplete plays, The Maid in the Mill and The House of Brut, "reprinted from Sri Aurobindo Pathamandir Annual".

24 This book was "received" by Sri Aurobindo as automatic writing. Although once widely considered to be his own composition, it was always disclaimed by Sri Aurobindo. He wrote, referring to himself in the third person, on 28 October 1934: "The 'Yogic Sadhan' is not Sri Aurobindo's own writing, but was published with a note by him, that is all." The note, an "Editor's Epilogue", gave "a few words . . . necessary in conclusion". The editor, called on the title page "The Uttara Yogi", was Sri Aurobindo.