Indian history · Freedom struggle · Revolutionaries

Chandrashekhar Azad, Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan and the Kakori Train Action (1925): From HRA to HSRA — Exam Notes

In the 1920s a group of young revolutionaries in north India decided that armed action, not petitions, would free India. Their raid on a train at Kakori in 1925 led to one of the most famous trials of the freedom struggle, and their leader Chandrashekhar Azad vowed never to be taken alive. This guide covers the people, organisations and events that exam papers ask about.

By PunjabExams Editorial Team · Updated 29 October 2026 · 6 min read · How we prepare guides

Why revolutionaries turned to arms in the 1920s

When Gandhi called off the Non-Cooperation Movement after the Chauri Chaura incident of February 1922, many young nationalists were disappointed. Some turned to revolutionary methods, drawing on the earlier traditions of Bengal and the Ghadar movement, and increasingly on socialist ideas inspired by the Russian Revolution.

The Hindustan Republican Association (1924)

The Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) was founded in October 1924 at Kanpur. Its key figures were:

• Sachindra Nath Sanyal — author of its manifesto The Revolutionary, a veteran of earlier conspiracies;
• Ram Prasad Bismil — its leading organiser in the United Provinces;
• Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee;
• Ashfaqulla Khan, Rajendra Nath Lahiri, Roshan Singh, Manmathnath Gupta and the young Chandrashekhar Azad.

The HRA aimed to set up a federal Republic of the United States of India through organised armed revolution.

The Kakori train action (9 August 1925)

To fund their activities, the HRA decided to seize government money being carried by train.

• On 9 August 1925, members boarded the No. 8 Down Saharanpur–Lucknow passenger train.
• Near Kakori, close to Lucknow, they pulled the chain, stopped the train and looted the railway treasury bag of about ₹4,600 — choosing government money, not passengers' property.
• One passenger was killed accidentally in the firing.

In 2021, the Uttar Pradesh government renamed the event the Kakori Train Action (earlier "Kakori conspiracy" or "Kakori dacoity"), and its centenary was marked in 2025.

The trial

The British arrested about forty people. In the Kakori conspiracy case (1926–27):

Chandrashekhar Azad escaped arrest. 19 December is observed in Uttar Pradesh as Shaheed Diwas for the Kakori martyrs.

The friendship of Bismil (a devout Arya Samaji Hindu) and Ashfaqulla Khan (a devout Muslim) is remembered as a symbol of Hindu–Muslim unity in the freedom struggle.

Ram Prasad Bismil

• Born 11 June 1897 at Shahjahanpur (UP).
• Earlier involved in the Mainpuri conspiracy (1918).
• A poet who wrote under the names Bismil, Ram and Agyat; he wrote his autobiography in Gorakhpur jail just before his execution.
• He is famously associated with the poem "Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamare dil mein hai", which he made popular among revolutionaries; the poem itself was written by Bismil Azimabadi of Patna.

Ashfaqulla Khan

• Born 22 October 1900 at Shahjahanpur.
• An Urdu poet who wrote under the name Hasrat.
• After Kakori he escaped and stayed underground in Nepal, Bihar and Delhi, but was betrayed and arrested in Delhi in 1926.

Chandrashekhar Azad

Early life

• Born 23 July 1906 at Bhavra (now Chandrashekhar Azad Nagar, Alirajpur district, Madhya Pradesh).
• Arrested as a fifteen-year-old during the Non-Cooperation Movement, he told the magistrate that his name was "Azad" (free), his father's name "Swatantrata" (freedom) and his home "jail". He was sentenced to 15 lashes. From then on he was known as Azad.

The HSRA (1928)

After Kakori, the HRA was almost destroyed. Azad rebuilt it with Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Bhagwati Charan Vohra and others.

• At a meeting at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi, in September 1928, the organisation was renamed the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA), adding socialism to its aims.
• Azad was its commander-in-chief.
• The HSRA carried out the Saunders killing (Lahore, 17 December 1928) and the Central Legislative Assembly bomb (8 April 1929), and attempted to blow up Viceroy Irwin's train (December 1929).
• Bhagwati Charan Vohra wrote "The Philosophy of the Bomb" (1930) in reply to Gandhi's article "The Cult of the Bomb". Vohra died in 1930 while testing a bomb. His wife Durgawati Devi ("Durga Bhabhi") helped Bhagat Singh escape from Lahore after the Saunders killing.

Death at Alfred Park (27 February 1931)

On 27 February 1931, Azad was surrounded by police in Alfred Park, Allahabad (Prayagraj), after being betrayed. He fought back and, with his last bullet, shot himself, fulfilling his vow never to be captured alive. The park is now Chandrashekhar Azad Park, and his pistol is displayed at the Allahabad Museum.

Legacy

• The Kakori martyrs and Azad inspired a generation of youth.
• The HSRA's socialist ideas influenced later left movements.
• Films and songs have kept their story alive, especially Rang De Basanti (2006).

Exam traps

• HRA (1924, Kanpur) → HSRA (1928, Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi).
• Kakori — 9 August 1925; executions December 1927.
• Rajendra Lahiri was hanged on 17 December, two days before the other three.
• "Sarfaroshi ki tamanna" was written by Bismil Azimabadi and popularised by Ram Prasad Bismil.
• Azad died at Alfred Park, Allahabad, on 27 February 1931 — not in Lahore.

Key points to remember

• HRA: Sanyal, Bismil, 1924; manifesto The Revolutionary.
• Kakori train action, 9 August 1925, near Lucknow.
• Hanged: Bismil, Ashfaqulla, Roshan Singh (19 Dec 1927), Lahiri (17 Dec 1927).
• Azad — HSRA commander; Philosophy of the Bomb by Vohra.
• Azad died 27 February 1931, Alfred Park.

Practice questions

1. Q1. The Kakori train action took place on:

   • (a) 9 August 1925
   • (b) 17 December 1928
   • (c) 8 April 1929
   • (d) 27 February 1931
   Show answer

   Answer: (a) 9 August 1925 — HRA members looted the railway treasury near Kakori on 9 August 1925.

2. Q2. The Hindustan Republican Association was founded in 1924 at:

   • (a) Lahore
   • (b) Kanpur
   • (c) Delhi
   • (d) Calcutta
   Show answer

   Answer: (b) Kanpur — It was founded at Kanpur in October 1924.

3. Q3. Which Kakori revolutionary was hanged on 17 December 1927, two days before the others?

   • (a) Ram Prasad Bismil
   • (b) Ashfaqulla Khan
   • (c) Rajendra Nath Lahiri
   • (d) Roshan Singh
   Show answer

   Answer: (c) Rajendra Nath Lahiri — Rajendra Lahiri was executed at Gonda jail on 17 December 1927.

4. Q4. The HRA was renamed the HSRA at a meeting held in 1928 at:

   • (a) Kakori
   • (b) Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
   • (c) Lahore
   • (d) Kanpur
   Show answer

   Answer: (b) Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi — The meeting at Feroz Shah Kotla added 'Socialist' to the name.

5. Q5. 'The Philosophy of the Bomb' was written by:

   • (a) Bhagat Singh
   • (b) Chandrashekhar Azad
   • (c) Bhagwati Charan Vohra
   • (d) Sachindra Nath Sanyal
   Show answer

   Answer: (c) Bhagwati Charan Vohra — Bhagwati Charan Vohra wrote it in reply to Gandhi.

6. Q6. Chandrashekhar Azad died at Alfred Park in:

   • (a) Lucknow
   • (b) Kanpur
   • (c) Allahabad
   • (d) Lahore
   Show answer

   Answer: (c) Allahabad — He died at Alfred Park, Allahabad, on 27 February 1931.

Frequently asked questions

Why was Chandrashekhar Azad called 'Azad'?

As a boy arrested in 1921, he told the magistrate his name was Azad ("free"), and the name stayed with him.

Who wrote 'Sarfaroshi ki tamanna'?

The poet Bismil Azimabadi; it was made famous by Ram Prasad Bismil and the revolutionaries.

What was the aim of the Kakori train action?

To seize government money to fund the HRA's revolutionary activities, without harming passengers' property.

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