The Kakori train robbery

The Kakori train robbery was a watershed event in the annals of Indian revolutionary movement. The sheer audacity and courage of this assault and its successful execution gave an impetus to the fledgling rebellious activities being waged across the country. Frontline leaders of the Hindustan Republican Association, an underground rebel outfit, such as Ashfaqullah Khan, Ramprasad Bismil and Chandrasekhar Azad were the lynchpin of the Kakori train robbery.

The mastermind behind this daredevil dacoity was Ramprasad Bismil who first conceived the plot while traveling from Shahjahanpur to Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh by the Number 8 Down Train. He noticed that at every station moneybags were being taken into the guard's van and being dropped into an iron safe and despite the valuable bounty security arrangements were lax and virtually non-existent inside the train. At a meeting with his fellow revolutionaries, Ramprasad laid bare his plan.

The members of the HRA approved this audacious plan and decided that the looted money would be used to garner arms and ammunition for the movement. August 9, 1925 was chosen as the D-day and a select group of ten including Ashfaqullah Khan, Ramprasad Bismil and Chandrasekhar Azad was entrusted the responsibility for execution. As the train was approaching the Kakori town, one of the revolutionaries stopped the train by pulling the chain and the rest overpowered the guard. After breaking into the guard's van the rebels escaped with the loot.

Repercussions of this robbery were swift and lethal. The government used all its resources in launching a massive manhunt and one by one all the revolutionaries fell into the police dragnet. After a farcical trial, Ashfaqullah Khan, Ramprasad Bismil, Roshan Singh, and Rajendra Lahiri were hanged. But the eternal survivor that he was, Chandrashekhar Azad managed to elude the police and continued his fight for many years to come.