The fitness club that operated as an underground revolutionary network

Cultures · Published 30 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In 1902, a collection of Bengali gyms and youth groups merged to form the Anushilan Samiti. While appearing to focus on physical training, this association secretly orchestrated a campaign of bombings and assassinations to dismantle British colonial rule in India.

The Anushilan Samiti, or 'Practice Association,' functioned as a dual-purpose organization. On the surface, it was a network of 'akhara' (gyms) dedicated to physical strength. Beneath this veneer, it operated as a militant nationalist society. The group eventually split into two primary arms: the Jugantar group, centered in Calcutta, and the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti, which grew to include an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 members across East Bengal and Assam.

The Samiti’s tactics were characterized by high-stakes political violence. Leaders like Aurobindo Ghosh and Barindra Ghosh utilized publications such as Jugantar Patrika to spread radical ideologies. Their operations included the 1907 derailment of a train carrying the Bengal Lieutenant Governor and the 1912 attempt to assassinate the Viceroy of India, which left Charles Hardinge seriously injured. Members even sought international expertise, such as Hemchandra Kanungo traveling to Paris to study explosive chemistry from Russian revolutionaries.

The British response was equally intense, leading to the creation of the Special branch of the Calcutta Police to monitor the group. Legislative measures like the Defence of India Act 1915 and the subsequent Rowlatt Act were specifically designed to suppress such uprisings. While the Samiti’s violent phase saw a decline in the 1920s due to the rise of Gandhian non-violence, its radical legacy persisted through the 1930s via the Kakori conspiracy and the Chittagong armoury raid, before the organization eventually dissolved or integrated into broader political movements.

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