Ram Prasad Bismil
India's Revolutionary Poet and Kakori Mastermind
HRA Founder | Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna | The Full Story
Ram Prasad Bismil — Indian revolutionary, poet and HRA founder. Hanged at Gorakhpur Jail, 19 December 1927. (Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons)
Quick Facts — Ram Prasad Bismil
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Born |
11 June 1897, Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh |
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Died |
19 December 1927 (age 30), Gorakhpur Jail |
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Masterminded |
Kakori Train Robbery (9 August 1925) |
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Founded |
Hindustan Republican Association (HRA), 1924 |
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Famous Poem |
Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna (popularised by Bismil) |
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British Bounty |
₹20,000 (enormous sum in 1925) |
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Trial |
Kakori Conspiracy Case — 26 months |
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Co-conspirators |
Ashfaqulla Khan, Chandrashekhar Azad, Rajendra Lahiri |
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Hanged with |
Ashfaqulla Khan, Roshan Singh (all 19 Dec); Rajendra Lahiri (17 Dec) |
9 August 1925 — The Train That Changed History
Kakori, 8 Down Train — travelling from Shahjahanpur to Lucknow. 10:25 PM. The train slows near Kakori station.
On the roof and inside the carriages: 10 revolutionaries led by Ram Prasad Bismil. Among them — Rajendra Lahiri, Ashfaqulla Khan, Chandrashekhar Azad.
A signal is pulled. The guard yanks the emergency chain. The train stops.
Chaos erupts. Government mail bags are ripped open. ₹4,600–₹8,000 in treasury cash is stuffed into satchels. The group disperses at Alamgunj halt — gone in minutes.
One tragedy: A passenger named Ahmad Ali was accidentally killed when one revolutionary's Mauser pistol fired unintentionally. This incident deeply troubled Bismil and was later used against the HRA in court.
Chapter 1: The Youth Who Chose Revolution (1897–1918)
Early Life in Shahjahanpur
11 June 1897: Ram Prasad Bismil is born in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh — not Aligarh as sometimes mistakenly reported. His father, Murlidhar, was a shopkeeper.
1911, age 14: He attends an Arya Samaj event and hears Swami Somdev recite a poem about the hanging of freedom fighter Bhai Parmanand. The moment ignites something in him. He begins writing revolutionary poetry under the pen name 'Bismil' (meaning 'wounded' in Urdu).
His early poem 'Meri Janm' (My Birth) declared his identity as an enemy of British rule. British censors noted him as a dangerous youth.
Mainpuri Conspiracy (1918)
Age 21: Bismil forms the Matri Vedika secret society and prints a banned pamphlet, 'Deshwasiyon Ke Naam' (To the People of This Country), arguing that armed revolution was necessary. He conducts his first small dacoity — stealing from a moneylender — to fund printing of revolutionary literature.
Chapter 2: HRA — Blueprint for Armed India (1920–1924)
1920: Bismil begins popularising the Urdu poem 'Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna' — originally composed by Bismil Azimabadi following the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Ram Prasad Bismil did not write this poem — he recited and spread it so powerfully that it became forever associated with his name and the revolutionary movement.
3 October 1924, Kanpur: Bismil meets Sachindra Nath Sanyal and Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee at a teashop. Together they formally establish the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA).
HRA Manifesto (authored by Bismil):
1. Federal Republic — adult franchise for all Indians
2. End Princely States — no maharajas above the people
3. Socialist Economy — land to those who till it
4. Armed Revolution — British force answered with organised resistance
Core team: Ashfaqulla Khan (closest friend and symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity), Chandrashekhar Azad (field operations), Rajendra Lahiri (action leader).
Chapter 3: Kakori — The Plan and the Heist
Pre-Kakori Funding Raids
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Date |
Location |
Funds Raised |
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25 Dec 1924 |
Bamrauli |
₹200 |
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9 Mar 1925 |
Bichpuri |
₹150 |
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24 May 1925 |
Dwarikapur |
₹300 |
February 1925: Bismil jumps into the icy Yamuna River during a British ambush, swimming 2 km to safety while holding ₹650 in revolutionary funds.
The Kakori Plan (from historical records):
— Signal pulled to halt the 8 Down Train near Kakori
— 10 men divide between roof and carriages
— Government mail bags targeted for treasury cash
— Dispersal at Alamgunj halt, pre-scouted escape routes
— Ashfaqulla Khan's village network for getaway
Weapons used: German-made Mauser C96 semi-automatic pistols — not 'plastic bullets' as sometimes written.
Outcome: ₹4,600–₹8,000 stolen from government treasury. One passenger, Ahmad Ali, was accidentally killed — a tragedy that troubled the revolutionaries and was used against them during the trial.
Chapter 4: Betrayal — The Insider Who Turned
The betrayal came from inside the movement. Banwari Lal — an HRA associate who had participated in pre-Kakori raids — turned approver for the British, lured by the ₹20,000 reward (a massive sum in 1925). His detailed testimony became the main evidence used to convict HRA members in court.
October 1925: Bismil is arrested at Shahjahanpur. According to traditional accounts, he was found reading the Bhagavad Gita when police arrived.
Chapter 5: The Kakori Conspiracy Trial — 26 Months of Defiance
Lucknow Sessions Court, 1925–1927. Over 40 revolutionaries were tried. The trial lasted 26 months — one of the longest and most closely watched revolutionary trials in Indian history.
Defence counsel included Govind Ballabh Pant and Chandra Bhanu Gupta — names later famous in Indian politics.
Sentences:
— 16 imprisoned for varying terms
— 4 sentenced to death: Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, Roshan Singh, Rajendra Lahiri
Bismil's court statement: He argued that the violence at Jallianwala Bagh and British suppression of peaceful protest left revolutionaries with no alternative path.
Chapter 6: Gorakhpur Jail — The Final Days
17 December 1927: The Viceroy rejects the mercy petition.
Rajendra Lahiri is hanged first — at Gonda Jail on 17 December 1927.
18 December 1927: Bismil meets his mother for the last time. By all accounts, he showed no tears.
19 December 1927, 6:30 AM: Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, and Roshan Singh are hanged at their respective jails. Bismil walks to the gallows calmly.
His final words in Hindi: "Samrajyavad ka vinash ho. Inquilab Zindabad." ("Destroy imperialism. Long live the revolution.")
Outside Gorakhpur Jail: Over 10,000 people had gathered. British forces fired warning shots to disperse the crowd
Chapter 7: Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna — The Anthem That Lived
सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे दिल में है,
दम लेने का अब वक़्त नहीं है।
ख़ून की ज़ुबान लेनी है, लहू से जवाब देनी है।
Important note on authorship: This poem was composed by Bismil Azimabadi, a different poet, following the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919. Ram Prasad Bismil recited it so passionately at rallies and during revolutionary activities that it became permanently associated with his name and the armed freedom movement.
When it was sung:
— During HRA meetings and Kakori planning sessions
— By Bhagat Singh before the Lahore Assembly bombing
— At Azad Hind Fauj rallies under Netaji
— Still sung at Republic Day parades and national events today
Chapter 8: HRA → HSRA — Bismil's Blueprint Lives On
Bismil's 1924 vision did not die with him. After his hanging, the HRA was reorganised into the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) in 1928 — led by Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad, and Sukhdev.
The Kakori funds and the HRA manifesto's framework directly inspired the HSRA's ideology. Azad's military wing, the weapons procurement network, and the goal of a federal socialist republic — all flowed from the blueprint Bismil had drawn in 1924.
Bismil was the architect. Bhagat Singh became the face. Both were essential to India's revolutionary tradition.
The Numbers That Tell the Story
|
Age at Kakori |
28 |
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Amount Stolen |
₹4,600–₹8,000 (government treasury) |
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Pre-Kakori Dacoities |
₹650 raised across 3 raids |
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HRA Members |
100+ across UP and Bengal |
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Trial Duration |
26 months (one of the longest revolutionary trials) |
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Revolutionaries at Kakori |
10 |
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Hanged on 17 Dec 1927 |
Rajendra Lahiri (Gonda Jail) |
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Hanged on 19 Dec 1927 |
Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, Roshan Singh |
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Crowd at Gorakhpur Jail |
10,000+ (British fired warning shots) |
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Legacy Organisation |
HSRA — carried forward by Bhagat Singh & Azad |
Modern Legacy
Amar Shaheed Pt. Ram Prasad Bismil Udyan — memorial park in Greater Noida, UP, dedicated by the state government in 1992 in his honour. (Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons)
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1972 |
Sarfaroshi Ni Tamari — Gujarati film based on his life |
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1992 |
Bismil Udyan (memorial park), Greater Noida, UP |
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2005 |
Gorakhpur International Airport named after Ram Prasad Bismil |
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Every 9 Aug |
Kakori Mela — 50,000+ visitors recreate the heist route annually |
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2025 |
₹10 commemorative coin issued (verify with official source before publishing) |
Sources and Further Reading
HRA Manifesto and background — https://unsungindians.odoo.com/blog/indian-freedom-movement-4/hindustan-socialist-republican-association-hsra-history-leaders-ideology-and-role-in-indian-freedom-struggle-13
Kakori Conspiracy full records — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakori_conspiracy
Mainpuri Conspiracy background — Wikipedia: Mainpuri conspiracy
Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna authorship — Wikipedia: Bismil Azimabadi
Note: All claims in this article are based on published historical records. Readers are encouraged to cross-check dates and figures with official government sources and Wikipedia before citing.
Why Ram Prasad Bismil Deserves to Be Remembered
Gandhi chose non-violence. Bismil chose armed resistance. Both paths were responses to the same British oppression — neither man was wrong about the urgency of freedom.
At just 28 years old, Bismil organised the Kakori operation — a bold strike against British authority that galvanised a generation of revolutionaries.
He built the HRA. He mentored those who became HSRA. He popularised Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna. And he walked to the gallows at 30 without breaking.
His name deserves to stand beside — not behind — every name we celebrate from India's freedom movement.
Frequently asked questions
Here are some common questions about Ram Prasad Bismil
Ram Prasad Bismil was an Indian revolutionary, poet and freedom fighter born on 11 June 1897 in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He founded the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) in 1924 and masterminded the famous Kakori train robbery of 1925. He was hanged by the British at Gorakhpur Jail on 19 December 1927 at the age of 30.
Banwari Lal, an HRA associate who had participated in pre-Kakori funding raids, turned approver for the British government. Lured by a reward of ₹20,000, his detailed testimony became the main evidence used to convict Bismil and other HRA members during the Kakori Conspiracy Case trial of 1925 to 1927.
Ram Prasad Bismil's last words before his execution were in Hindi: "Samrajyavad ka vinash ho. Inquilab Zindabad." meaning "Destroy imperialism. Long live the revolution." He walked to the gallows calmly and without breaking.