When was Anushilan Samiti founded?
Anushilan Samiti
Anushilan Samiti (Ōnūshīlōn sōmītī, lit: body-building society) was a Bengali Indian organisation that existed in the first quarter of the twentieth century, and propounded revolutionary violence as the means for ending British rule in India. The organisation arose from a conglomeration of local youth groups and gyms (Akhara) in Bengal in 1902. It had two prominent, if somewhat independent, arms in East and West Bengal identified as Dhaka Anushilan Samiti centred in Dhaka (modern day Bangladesh), and the Jugantar group (centred at Calcutta) respectively.
History of the Anushilan Samiti
Basu himself was a student of the General Assembly's Institution, and was influenced by Swami Vivekandan's works and teachings of Shakta philosophy. Basu kept in touch with Sister Nivedita and Swami Saradananda, both disciples of Vivekandanda. A further influence was the Japanese scholar Kakuzo Okakura who was closely associated with Nivedita and advocated Pan-Asiatic unity and nationalist sentiments in his many visits to Bengal. Basu was a member of the gymnasium at General Assembly, and practiced lathi-play, engaged in social work in destitute areas of Calcutta, and supported the "Swadeshi" industries. Encouraged by Nivedita and Saradananda, Basu founded the "Anushilan Samiti" in early 1902. It initially as a club for lathi practice. The name itself was inspired by one of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's works entitled "Anushilan-Tattva" (Theory of discipline), which expounded the concept of allround development of physical, mental, moral and spiritual capabilities. In Pramathanath Mitra, Basu found a patron and through Mitra and Sarala Devi, Jatindranath Bannerjee was introduced to Basu. In March 1902, Bannerjee's group was amalgamated to that of Basu's, retaining the name chosen by the latter.