Who Was The First Martyr of the Indian Freedom Struggle?

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who was the first martyr of the Indian freedom struggle

The first Martyr of the Indian freedom struggle was Khudiram Basu in the year 1908, at the young age of 18 years old. He along with his friend planned to throw bombs on the carriage to assassinate the British Judge, Magistrate Kingsford. Khudiram belonged to the Bengal Presidency and clearly opposed the Britishers. He was accompanied by Parfulla Chaki, his friend, in the Muzaffarpur Conspiracy Case. This was the case he was hanged to death. It also made him one of the youngest Indin nationalist freedom fighters. 

Khudiram Bose- A Young Revolutionary

He was the second-youngest revolutionary in India with the age of 18 years, 8 months, 11 days, and 10 hours old when he was hanged to death. 

Khudiram Bose AspectsDetails
Group Anushilan Samiti
Age at first arrest15
Activity at 16Planting bombs, targeting officials
TargetDouglas Kingsford (Chief Magistrate)
Reason for targetAnti-revolutionary actions
Assassination attempt 1Book bomb (failed)
Assassination attempt 2Throwing a bomb into the carriage
Date of Attempt 2April 29, 1908
CasualtiesWife & Daughter of Pringle Kennedy
Khudiram’s arrestMay 30, 1908
Prafulla Chaki’s fateSuicide
Khudiram’s sentenceDeath penalty
Age at execution18 years, 7 months, 11 days
Date of executionAugust 11, 1908

The Final Moments of the Khudiram

As per the news articles published after his death, all of them stated that he died the death of a lion with pride and a smile on his face. 

The Empire wrote, “Khudiram Bose was executed this morning…It is alleged that he mounted the scaffold with his body erect. He was cheerful and smiling.”

Another Bengali poet wrote, “একবার বিদায় দে মা ঘুরে আসি।, হাসি হাসি পরব ফাঁসি দেখবে ভারতবাসী।,” meaning “Mother bid me farewell once, I will be back soon: Whole of India will watch me While I wear the noose smiling.”

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This is everything about the first martyr of the Indian freedom struggle.  For more such interesting and informative topics on Indian History and more, stay tuned to our General Knowledge section.

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