Bose the boy who went to the gallows with a smile

Anupama Nair

www.mediaeyenews.com

In the last part, I spoke about Kudiram Bose and his early life. Today, I am going to talk about how he killed Kingsford and his friends. Now read on…

It is said “on a fateful day, Kingsford and his wife were playing bridge with the daughter and wife of Pringle Kennedy, a British author, and barrister. While heading home, Kingsford and his wife were in a carriage identical to the one carrying Kennedy and his family. As their carriage reached the eastern gate of the compound of the European Club, Khudiram and Prafulla ran towards the carriage and threw the bombs into the carriage. A loud explosion ensued and the carriage was taken to Kingsford's house. It was shattered and the Kennedys sustained terrible injuries. Miss Kennedy died within an hour and Mrs. Kennedy died on 2 May”.

Khudiram Bose was arrested on the morning of 30th April, in Wani station, where he went by walking 25 miles. “He was suspected by two police constables when he asked for a glass of water at a tea stall. His disheveled look led the constables to suspect that something was amiss, and later they found in his possession 37 rounds of ammunition, Rs. 30, a railway map and a page of the rail time table, sealing his fate”. Prafulla Chaki committed suicide while trying to escape from the police. The Wani station is now known as Khudiram Bose Station.

“As Bose was brought handcuffed to the police station at Muzaffarpur, the entire town crowded around to take a look at the teenaged boy”. The following morning’s Statesman carried a vivid account of the scene as it reported, “The Railway station was crowded to see the boy. A mere boy of 18 or 19 years old, who looked quite determined. He came out of a first-class compartment and walked all the way to the station, like a cheerful boy who knows no anxiety, on taking his seat the boy cheerfully cried ‘Vandemataram’. Bose took full responsibility for the incident”.

On July 13, 1908, Bose was finally sentenced to death. When the English judge asked him if he understood the meaning of the sentence, Bose is known to have smiled and calmly said, “Yes, I do and my lawyer said that I was too young to make bombs. If you allow me some time before I’m taken away from here, I can teach you the skills of making bombs too.” Soon after, the streets of Calcutta swelled up in large protests for several days. He was executed on August 11, 1908.

“Khudiram Bose sacrificed his life ‘with a smile when he was just at the cusp of adulthood. Stories about the love he had for his motherland have been shared over generations, through popular folktales in Bengal. But outside the state, his name remains largely in the shadows. This could be because Bose never received the limelight that other freedom fighters got. Even after his death, his story never made it to popular culture, be it in films, biopics, TV shows, or well-known books based on India’s freedom movement”. This is really unfortunate. We need to recognize the efforts of such selfless people.

Our Union Home Minister Mr. Amit Shah visited his village in Midnapore and met his family. He said, “Khudiram Bose belongs to all of India and not just West Bengal”. I fully agree with his statement and I thought to write about him today – “the boy who went to the gallows with a smile”. Vandemataram.