Revolutionary Terrorism in Colonial India: Banaras

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Sachindra Nath Sanyal was one of the major 'new leaders' of revolutionary terrorism in colonial India. His political idiom and ideology, which had an uneven and torturous course, reveal different strands of the Left Movement. This book has grown out of Dr. Saumya Sengupta's doctoral thesis seeks to re-examine mecha- nically generalized views of histo- rians on the stylist usage of 'Revolutionary Terrorism' and the role of educated 'bhadralok Bengalis' in the Left Movement in Colonial India.

Saumya Sengupta (b. 1968), majored in History, and took his B.A. (Hons) and Master's Degrees in First Division from the University of Lucknow, followed by a Ph.D in 1993. His doctoral thesis on Sachindra Nath Sanyal, the revolutionary ideologue and activist was highly acclaimed by the examiners for the certainty of touch. His special area of interest lies in the history of the Left Movement in Colonial India. Currently, as a stray amateur, he has evinced keen interest in the history of Dalits in Post Colonial India and also Environmental Studies.

This slim volume, a collection of historical essays in interpretation on 'Revolutionary Terrorism' in colonial India, is a humble contribution to the world of academics. The book has grown out of my doctoral thesis on Sachindra Nath Sanyal whose work 'Bandi Jiban' has been described by Prof. Bipan Chandra as the text book and the 'Bible' of the Indian revolutionaries.

Over the years, I have tried to understand 'Revolutionary Terrorism' contextualized so commonly in terms of historical context. I cannot recollect with sufficient clarity why and how, I was drawn towards its study. Sachindra Nath Sanyal was not an accidental revolutionary. Was his political idiom marked by an individual defiance and insurrection of a section of bhadralok society? Or, was it an organized expression of the deep anti-British feeling? Was Sanyal a single inaugurator of revolutionary activities of the 'Banaras Centre'?

The essays in this work which were presented as research papers in national and international seminars attempt to answer these questions and interpret with an analytical finger the forces that had gone into the shaping of Sachindra Nath Sanyal as a revolutionary ideologue and activist. The essay on 'Bengal Marxists' or 'Bengal Terrorists' seeks to examine David M. Laushey's perception and judgment on the left movement. Incidentally, this venture is also my post-doctoral project.

I pray to be excused for not following the protocol of thanks -giving to the staff of different Archives and Libraries, my teachers and well-wishers who prefer to remain anonymous.