Khudiram Bose death anniversary: Why was India’s young revolutionary executed?

Khudiram Bose was a freedom fighter who laid down his life for India’s Independence from British rule. On August 11, 1908, he was executed by the British Colonial state for his involvement in the Muzaffarpur Conspiracy Case.

As India is all set to celebrate its 75th Independence Day on August 15, 2021, it is important to acknowledge the sacrifices made to achieve that Independence. Read more about Khudiram Bose and what inspired him to sacrifice himself at such young age.

Who was Khudiram Bose?

Khudiram Bose was born on December 3, 1889, in Mohobani Village of West Bengal’s Medinipur (then Midnapore) district. He was just 18 years old when he was executed by the British Colonial State.

Khudiram Bose was just 6 years old when he lost his mother and his father passed away one year later. Bose then came in contact with the revolutionaries such as Barindra Kumar Ghosh of Calcutta.

He later became a volunteer in the freedom struggle when he was only 15 years old.

The British rulers had nabbed Khudiram for distributing the anti-British booklets to the local people. When he was just 16 years old, Bose also targeted the British Colonial States’ Officials and participated in planting the bombs near police stations.

Khudiram Bose: What led to the execution of a young revolutionary?

Khudiram Bose, in April 1908, along with his fellow revolutionary Prafulla Chaki threw a bomb on a carriage in Muzaffarpur, with an intention of assassinating the Chief Presidency Magistrate Douglas Kingsford.

However, the duo erroneously killed two women who were traveling in the carriage.

Prafulla Chaki shot himself before being caught by the police while Khudiram Bose was arrested and put on trial.

He was later sentenced to death after being held guilty of making an attempt on the life of a British judge.

On August 11, 1904, Khudiram was executed at the Muzaffarpur jail. Newspapers, at the time, reported that 18 years old Bose went to the gallows with Bhagavad Gita in his hands and a smile on his face.