By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 25 May: Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, celebrated the 135th birth anniversary of Rash Behari Bose here, today, in virtual mode.
Arun Singh Rawat, Director General, Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education, and Director, FRI, was the Chief Guest.
Rawat recalled that Rash Bihari Bose was one of the most prominent Indian revolutionaries. He worked to free India from British imperialism. From the Delhi conspiracy to the formation of the Indian National Army, Bose played a crucial role in the history of the Indian freedom movement.
Bose joined the Government press in Shimla at his father’s wish. He was appointed the copy-holder in the press and was able to master English and typewriting. Later he worked in Kasuali, but he was not happy with such jobs. He came to Dehradun as a guardian tutor in the house of Pramantha Nath Tagore. He spent some time at the Forest Research Institute (FRI) in the Doon valley and stayed at Ghosi Gali in Paltan Bazaar. Having quit his home city of Calcutta due to the infamous Alipore Bomb Case (1908), Bose’s tenure at FRI as a Head Clerk was the most defining moment in his revolutionary career.
The Bengal wing of the revolutionary party sent him to Dehradun with the purpose of converting members of the Indian Army to a revolutionary cult. Rash Behari tried to get himself enlisted in the Army, but he could not succeed. He then joined the Forest Research Institute. He tried to raise recruits from among the Bengali residents in Dehradun. He maintained close contact with the revolutionary leaders in Bengal and Punjab. The job in the FRI was useful for him to execute his plans for manufacturing bombs and to direct the revolutionary movement from places which the Government did not suspect and could not easily locate.
While he was working as a clerk at the FRI, he took 37 days leave for the bomb conspiracy to assassinate Lord Charles Hardinge in 1912. By the time, the British realised who the mastermind of the conspiracy was, he escaped to Japan. He joined FRI on 4 September, 1906, and was later promoted to the rank of head clerk. His service was terminated on the grounds of prolonged absences in May 1914. A road is named after Rash Behari Bose in the FRI campus.
On this occasion, an online declamation contest was organised involving university students, in which Mansi Singhal, Sudan Singh and Sanchi Pandey from FRI University begged first, second and third prizes, respectively. Shambhavi, Class VIII student from St Patrick’s Academy, Dehradun, got the best poster award among school children. Navya Bhandari, Class X student of Ann Mary School and Diksha Uniyal, Class XII, Convent of Jesus and Mary, won the second and third prizes in this category. Among university students, Sachin Kumar and Ms. Garima Kumari from Forest Research Institute secured first and second prizes, while the third prize went to Nitika Bansal from Chandigarh University. The competitions were judged by N Bala, Dr Tara Chand and D. Abishek Verma, FRI Scientists. from FRI Dehradun.
N Bala, Head, Forest Ecology & Climate Change Division, and Dr Vijender Panwar, Coordinator, ENVIS Centre of FRI, thanked the participants.
