RAS question
The Howrah-Sibpur Conspiracy Case (1910) was against:
Correct answer: (A) Revolutionary groups in Bengal (Jugantar).
The Howrah-Sibpur Conspiracy Case of 1910 was directed against Bengal's Jugantar revolutionaries, including Jatindra Nath Mukherjee, also known as Bagha Jatin.
Explanation
The case belongs to the Bengal revolutionary phase centred on Jugantar, not to later revolutionary or wartime organisations. Several people, including Jatindra Nath Mukherjee, were arrested after the murder of Police Inspector Samsul Alam in Calcutta on 24 January 1910. That prosecution became the Howrah-Sibpur Conspiracy Case, in which the prisoners were tried for treason, waging war against the Crown, and tampering with the loyalty of Indian soldiers. In the exam-relevant frame, 47 accused were tried, and Bagha Jatin later died in the Balasore encounter in 1915. This is why option A, revolutionary groups in Bengal linked with Jugantar, is the substantive answer.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) HSRA is a later revolutionary organisation, so it cannot be the target of a 1910 Bengal conspiracy case centred on Jugantar and Jatindra Nath Mukherjee.
- (C) The Ghadar Party was connected with revolutionary activity among immigrants in North America, while the Howrah-Sibpur case arose from Jugantar activity and arrests in Bengal.
- (D) INA belongs to the Second World War era, whereas the Howrah-Sibpur Conspiracy Case began in 1910 around Bengal revolutionary prosecutions.
Concept
This tests the revolutionary-nationalist strand of Modern Indian History, especially Bengal's secret societies and colonial conspiracy cases. RAS repeatedly asks such questions because they link organisations, leaders, trials and chronology.