Rodda company arms heist
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The Rodda company arms heist took place on 26 August 1914 in
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
,
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
. Members of the ''Jugantar'' faction of the Bengali revolutionary organisation ''
Anushilan Samiti Anushilan Samiti ( bn, অনুশীলন সমিতি, , bodybuilding society) was an Indian fitness club, which was actually used as an underground society for anti-British revolutionaries. In the first quarter of the 20th century it su ...
'' intercepted a shipment of Mauser Pistols and ammunition belonging to Messrs Rodda & co., a Calcutta gun dealer, while these were en route from the
Customs house A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting ...
to the company's godown, and were able to make away with a portion the arms. In Bengal, the revolutionaries achieved a major success in August 1914, when a large consignment of 50 Mauser pistols and 46,000 rounds of ammunition was appropriated by them from the Rodda firm in Calcutta through a sympathetic employee. The heist was a sensational incident, being described by ''
The Statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...
'' as the "Greatest daylight robbery". In the following years, the pistols and ammunitions were linked to almost all the incidences of nationalist struggles in Bengal. By 1922, the police had recovered most of the stolen arms.


Background

Western Anushilan Samiti in the aftermath of Manicktala Conspiracy found more prominent leader in Jatindra Nath Mukherjee which emerged distinctly as the ''Jugantar group''. Meanwhile, Rash Behari Bose, described later as "the most dangerous revolutionary in India" extended the groups reach into north India, where he found work in the Indian Forest Institute in
Dehra Dun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislativ ...
. Mukherjee took over the leadership of the secret society to be known as the
Jugantar Party Jugantar or Yugantar ( bn, যুগান্তর ''Jugantor''; lit. ''New Era'' or ''Transition of an Epoch'') was one of the two main secret revolutionary trends operating in Bengal for Indian independence. This association, like Anushi ...
. He revitalised the links between the central organisation in Calcutta and its several branches spread all over Bengal,
Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...
,
Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of S ...
and several places in U.P., and opened hideouts in the
Sundarbans Sundarbans (pronounced ) is a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Padma, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Baleswar River in Bangladesh's division of Khulna to the Hooghly R ...
for members who had gone underground The group slowly reorganised guided by Mukherjee's efforts, aided by an emerging leadership which included
Amarendra Chatterjee Amarendranath Chatterjee ( bn, অমরেন্দ্রনাথ চট্টোপাধ্যায়) (01July 1880 – 4 September 1957) was an Indian independence movement activist. In charge of raising funds for the Jugantar movement, ...
,
Naren Bhattacharya Manabendra Nath Roy (born Narendra Nath Bhattacharya, better known as M. N. Roy; 21 March 1887 – 25 January 1954) was an Indian revolutionary, radical activist and political theorist, as well as a noted philosopher in the 20th century. Roy ...
and other younger leaders. In the aftermath of the
Howrah-Sibpur Conspiracy case The Howrah-Sibpur Conspiracy case refers to the arrest and trials of 47 Bengali Indian nationalists of the '' Anushilan Samiti'' that followed in the wake of the murder of Inspector Shamsul Alam on 24 January 1910 in Calcutta. Alam was Deputy s ...
, Jatin and the leadership of ''Jugantar'' formulated their course of action to destabilise the Raj. Through the next two years, the organisation operated under the covers of two seemingly detached organisations, ''Sramajeebi Samabaya'' (The Labourer's Cooperative) and Harry & Sons. Two centres were established, one was the Sramajibi Samabaya ... and the other in the name of S.D. Harry and Sons ... Naren committed several dacoities to raise funds, for poliiical activities. At around this time, Jatin began attempts to establish contacts with the 10th Jat Regiment then garrisoned at Fort William in Calcutta. Narendra Nath carried out through this time a number of robberies to obtain funds. In 1912, Jatin met in the company of
Naren Bhattacharya Manabendra Nath Roy (born Narendra Nath Bhattacharya, better known as M. N. Roy; 21 March 1887 – 25 January 1954) was an Indian revolutionary, radical activist and political theorist, as well as a noted philosopher in the 20th century. Roy ...
the Crown Prince of
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
during the latter's visit to Calcutta, and obtained an assurance that arms and ammunition would be supplied to them. It has been alleged that during the visit of the Crown Prince of Germany to Calcutta in 1912, Narendra Bhattacharji and Jatin Mukharji had an interview with him and that he had given them an assurance that arms and ammunition would be supplied to them. With the clouds of war gathering in Europe, plans were emerging of a pan-Indian revolution with German help. Rash Behari attempted to coordinate with expatriate Indian groups from USA and Canada, planning for a coordinated uprising in February 1915. Jatin was intimated of Rash Behari's work through Niralamba Swami while on a pilgrimage to the holy Hindu city of
Brindavan Vrindavan (; ), also spelt Vrindaban and Brindaban, is a historical city in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in the Braj Bhoomi region and holds religious importance in Hinduism as Krishna spent most of his childho ...
. Returning to Bengal, Jatin began reorganising his group. Rash Behari had gone into hiding in
Benares Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic tra ...
after the 1912 attempt on Hardinge, but he met Jatin towards the end of 1913, outlining the prospects of a pan-Indian revolution. ''Jugantar'' raised finances by robberies, carrying out a number of sensational raids on wealthy Bengali families. Now, more desperately than ever, ''Jugantar'' required arms.


Heist

Rodda & Co. was a prominent British-owned gun store situated at the time in Vansittart Row in Calcutta. Among its employees was Shrish Chandra Mitra alias Habu, an active member of Anushilan. Mitra was aware of a major consignment of arms and ammunitions being shipped to the firm in August 1914. Informed of the impending arrival, a group of ''Jugantar'' members headed by Anukul Mukherjee met on 24 August 1914 in Bowbazar suburb of Calcutta. Among those present in the meeting was
Naren Bhattacharya Manabendra Nath Roy (born Narendra Nath Bhattacharya, better known as M. N. Roy; 21 March 1887 – 25 January 1954) was an Indian revolutionary, radical activist and political theorist, as well as a noted philosopher in the 20th century. Roy ...
, who dissented from the plan and left. 26 August was fixed as the date of the heist. On the day of the 26th, Mitra headed to the Customs house in Calcutta to receive the shipment on behalf of Rodda & Co. With him were seven
bullock carts A bullock cart or ox cart (sometimes called a bullock carriage when carrying people in particular) is a two-wheeled or four-wheeled vehicle pulled by oxen. It is a means of transportation used since ancient times in many parts of the world. They ...
. Haridas Dutta, another member of a branch of ''Jugantar'' called ''Mukti Sangha'', was dressed as the cart-driver for one of the carts Mitra took with him. Of the total of 202 boxes received by Mitra, 192 were loaded between the first six carts, while the remaining 10 boxes were taken to the Dutta's cart. Walking along with Dutta's cart were two other revolutionaries Srish Pal and Khagendra Nath Das. On exiting Customs house with his cargo, Mitra led his convoy while Dutta's cart was last. As the rest of the train headed for the company's godown, The trio of Dutta, Pal and Das broke off and headed to Mononga lane suburb of Calcutta via Mission row. The successful heist handed ''Jugantar'' 50 Mauser pistols and 46,000 rounds of ammunition.


Aftermath

The news of the arms heist became sensational. ''
The Statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...
'', in its edition on 30 August 1914 described the heist as "The greatest daylight robbery". Haridas Dutta was arrested in September 1914, and served prison sentences for his role in the heist, along with Kalidas Basu, Bhujanga Dhar and Girindranath Banerjee. In the following years, these arms were linked to the majority of revolutionary crimes in Calcutta and Bengal till 1917, including
Bagha Jatin Bagha Jatin (; ) or Baghajatin, born Jatindranath Mukherjee (); 7 December 1879 – 10 September 1915) was an Indian independence activist. He was the principal leader of the Jugantar party that was the central association of revolutionary i ...
during his last stand at the banks of
Budhabalanga River The Budhabalanga River (ବୁଢାବଳଙ୍ଗ ନଦୀ) (also called Balanga River) flows through the districts of Mayurbhanj and Balasore in the Indian state of Odisha. Course The Budhabalanga, meaning old Balanga, rises in the Simili ...
. By 1922, the police had recovered most of the stolen arms.


Commemoration

Mukherjee, the planner of the heist, along with Bannerjee, Dutta, and Bipin Bihary Ganguly are commemorated in Calcutta today, with their statues of their busts erected in Mononga Lane.


Notes and references


Notes


References

* * * * {{Indian Revolutionary Movement Anushilan Samiti 1914 crimes in India