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Today In Indian History (22nd March)

1739- Military leader Nader Shah sacks Delhi on 22 March 1739 during the reign of Mughal emperor Mohammad Shah by killing thousands of the inhabitants of the city.  

1894 - Birth of Surya Sen, an Indian revolutionary, on 22 March 1894. He is best known for leading the Chittagong Armoury Raid in 1930.

A revolutionary leader from Bengal, Surya Sen had founded the Chittagong Republic Army with a view to freeing Chittagong (now in Bangladesh) from the British rule. A teacher by profession, Surya Sen led an armed uprising and organized simultaneous attacks on the British strongholds.

On April 18, 1930, the Chittagong (or Indian) Republican Army, founded by  Surya Sen, raided two government armories. The telegraph, telephone and railway station were disrupted. As a result, Chittagong was completely cut of from the rest of India. After these daring raids and attacks, Surya Sen declared the formation of a free National Revolutionary Government.

But his venture did not last long. As a result successive defeats, he went for guerilla warfare and in the meantime extended his fight to the adjoining districts of Chittagong. After nearly three years of valiant struggle, he was captured in February 1933 due to the betrayal by one his followers. He was sentenced to death in 1934.


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