Khudiram Bose was birthed on 3rd Dec 1889 in a Kayastha family in a small village Mohobani, situated under the Keshpur Police Station in the Medinipur district of West Bengal. His father was a Tehsildar in the Nerajol.
Khudiram Bose, an epitome of fearlessness, was the youngest revolutionaries of the Indian Independence movement. Arrested for trying to assassinate British judge Douglas Kingsford, he was executed on August 11, 1908, in Muzaffarpur jail in Bihar at the age of 18. Bose and his colleague Prafulla Chaki had conspired to kill the judge as his judgments were seen as biased, harsh, and unjust against Indian nationalists. They had targeted the judge's vehicle with a bomb but he was not in there and thus escaped the attack. Bose was arrested and sentenced to death while Chaki killed himself before police could arrest him.
Being the fourth child in his family. His parents, Trailokyanath Bose and Lakshmipriya Devi had two sons before the birth of Khudiram but both of them died prematurely. Followed by the traditional customs prevalent in the culture, the newborn child was symbolically sold to his eldest sister in exchange for three handfuls of food grains locally known as Khud, in an attempt to save him from dying at an early age. This way he acquired the name, Khudiram.When Bengal was partitioned in 1905, he participated in several protests against the British. At the age of 15, he would know how to make bombs and plant them near police stations. Around the same time, he was first arrested for distributing literature against the colonial rulers.
A huge crowd had gathered at the Muzaffarpur police station to get a glimpse of Bose, who was brought there in handcuffs. The trial began on May 21, 1908, during which Bose's lawyer said his client was too young to be able to make bombs. However, there was evidence against him. On July 13 that year, Bose was sentenced to death. When he was hanged, reports claim he went to the gallows with a smile and carried the Bhagavad Gita with him.
He had lost his mother when he was six years old. His father died a year after. Aparupa Roy, his elder sister, brought him to her house at Hatgachha village under the Dispur Police Station. Aparupa's husband, Amritalal Roy, got him admitted to Tamluk's Hamilton High School.
In 1902 and 1903, Sri Aurobindo and Sister Nivedita visited Midnapore. They held a series of public lectures and private sessions with the existing revolutionary groups for freedom. Khudiram, a teenager, was an active participant in the discussions about the revolution.
Later on, he joined Anushilan Samiti and came into contact with the network of Barindra Kumar Ghosh of Calcutta. He became a volunteer at the age of 15 and was arrested for distributing pamphlets against British Rule in India. At the young age of 16, Khudiram took part in planting bombs near the police stations and targeted government officials.
Khudiram had to give a statement or declaration to the magistrate. He took full responsibility for the assassination, unknown that Prafulla was dead. Only after Khudiram finished giving his statement, the body of Prafulla reached Muzaffarpur. Khudiram realized that lying would go in vain. He identified the body of Prafulla and the British also received details from the encounter with sub-inspector Bannerjee. Instead of believing Khudiram, the British thought it more proper to cut off the head from the body and send it to Kolkata for better confirmation.
The historical trial started on 21 May 1908, presided by Judge Corndoff, Nathuni Prasad, and Janak Prasad in the Jury. Along with Khudiram, two others were tried for assisting the revolutionaries in their mission — Mrityunjay Chakraborty and Kishorimohan Bandopadhyay, who had accommodated Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki in his Dharmashala for their mission. Mrityunjay died during the trial, and subsequently, the trial of Kishorimohan was separated from that of Khudiram.
Mannum and Binod Bihari Majumdar were the prosecutors for the British government. Lawyers Kalidas Basu, Upendranath Sen, and Kshetranath Bandopadhyay took up Khudiram's defense. They were joined later in the trial by Kulkamal Sen, Nagendra Lal Lahiri, and Satischandra Chakraborty—all of them fighting the case without any fees.
On 23rd May, Khudiram resubmitted his statement to magistrate E.W. Bredhowd, denying any involvement or responsibility in any aspect or stage of the entire mission and operation down to the bombing. Initially, Khudiram was not ready to sign this statement but did so after persuasion from his lawyers. On 13th June, the scheduled date for the verdict and sentence, the judge and the prosecutors received an anonymous letter of warning, which told them that there was one more bomb coming for them from Kolkata and that henceforth. On the other hand, it made the defense lawyers more confident as the letter was proof there could be other masterminds and executors of the Muzaffarpur bombing other than Khudiram, and that along with Khudiram's age should make the judge deliver sentencing other than death. But, to the disappointment of all, the Judge pronounced the death sentence for Khudiram. And we lost him with immense pain and trouble.