The Agni Yug of the Indian freedom struggle was a momentous period in our noble liberation struggle,
The Indian freedom struggle against the British Raj was a period when thousands of freedom fighters sacrificed everything to free their motherland.
They invested their blood, toil, tears and sweat to the cause.
A manifestation of the steely spirit of the youth marked the Agni Yug.
The Indian freedom struggle can be divided into different phases depending on the influence of the political sections of different parties.
This piece will discuss the period known as the ‘Agni Yug’.
It set a strong precedent for other countries to emulate.
Revolutionary Nationalism
‘Agni Yug’ refers to the period from 1906-1931 that saw the youth of Bharat undertake individual heroic actions.
The actions were undertaken to shake the very foundations of British Empire.
It was a manifestation of revolutionary nationalism that gripped the psyche of the Indian youth.
‘Agni Yug’ literally had the adherents fired in patriotism ready to take the fight to the Raj.
The prime drivers of the ‘Agni Yug’ were the youth who were inspired by the strong urge to liberate their country from the clutches of the evil Raj.
What caused the Agni Yug?
The inception of the Agni Yug was caused by several reasons-
- The British Raj had become increasingly repressive, for instance the Barisal conference of 1906 was ruthlessly dispersed by the Raj’s police.
- Indians were subject to merciless racial discrimination, economic pauperisation and institutional discrimination.
- The alien British rule had used a battery of repressive measures to close all avenues of peaceful discontent.
Ideological inspiration
The youth at that time were heavily inspired by the activities of the Russian revolutionaries, Irish nationalists who were fighting againt imperialism.
Indian freedom fighters like Aurobindo Ghosh, Bipin Chandra Pal, Lala Lajpat Rai and Bal Gangadhar Tilak instilled in the youth a sense of selflessness.
They urged them to internalize the cult of the bomb to liberate the country by armed means.
A key ideological fuel was provided by the brand of revolutionary nationalism advocated by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.
He inspired the youth via his novel Anandamath.
Activities
In Bengal, Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki manifested that spirit. Jatindranath Mukherjee was involved in the Zimmerman plan.
Some of the organizations were Anushilan Samiti, Ramosi peasant force (Maharashtra).
Aurobindo Ghose, Barindra Nath Ghose were involved in bomb making at their Manicktala residence.
This subsequently came to be known as the Muraripukur bomb conspiracy case by the British.
In Maharashtra, the Chapekar brothers assassinated Rand, the Plague Commissioner in 1897.
Veer Savarkar was involved in the formation of the Abhinav Bharat society.
In Punjab, Ajit Singh, the uncle of Bhagat Singh formed the Anjuman-e-Mohibban-eWatan.
In the 1920s Bhagat Singh and his comrades were involved in a number of revolutionary activities, the pinnacle of which was the heroic neutralization of Saunders, who led the charge against Lala Lajpat Rai.
Other activities included throwing a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly in 1927.
Hence, the Agni Yug of the Indian freedom struggle period continues to inspire the youth of our country to make selfless sacrifices for the sake of our country.