Maia Ramnath - Decolonizing Anarchism.pdf - Libcom

Echoes and I ntersections I 69
to whom Bose had imparted both the "political indoctrination
and practical training he would need to carry out
his mission."ss Disguised as a woman with the significant
alias ofLakshmibai (the rani ofJhansi, heroine of the 1857
mutiny), Biswas flung the bomb from a balcony overlooking
the parade route. Although the blast seriously wounded
the viceroy, it did not kill him; the Indian attendant riding
behind him was less fortunate.
Cama commented in the Bande Mataram ofJanuary
1913, "The enemy entered formally Delhi on the 23rd
December 1912, but under what an omen? . .. 1his bombthrowing
was just to announce to the whole world that
the English Government is discarded, and verily, whenever
there is an opportunity the Revolutionaries are sure
to show their mind, spirit and principle in Hindustan!"S6
Cama's comments made it clear that whether or not the
target had been killed or injured was irrelevant; its message
exceeded the bomb's immediate effect. The catalyzing act
to rouse the laggard and latent to action was at the heart of
the ideal. Sure enough, the spectacular deed ignited a new
series of murders and attempted murders carried out by
both the major groups in Bengal.
Many socialists and nationalists considered the adoption
of this kind of action a sign of impatience-the voluntaristic
belief that a single autonomous will could jumpstart
the change rather than waiting for its conditions
to ripen through the slower processes of parliamentary
modification, mass education, molecular shifts, or structural
impasse. It also indicated an analysis that saw oppression
as stemming from an external source, relatively easy to