Anushilan Samiti (Ōnūshīlōn sōmītī, lit: bodybuilding 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.
From its foundation to its gradual dissolution during the 1930s, the Samiti challenged British rule in India by engaging in militant nationalism, including bombings, assassinations, and politically-motivated violence. During its existence, the Samiti collaborated with other revolutionary organisations in India and abroad.
It was led by nationalists such as Aurobindo Ghosh and his brother Barindra Ghosh, and influenced by philosophies as diverse as
- Hindu Shakta philosophy propounded by Bengali literaetuer Bankim and Vivekananda,
- Italian Nationalism, and
- Pan-Asianism of Kakuzo Okakura.
The Samiti was involved in a number of noted incidences of revolutionary attacks against British interests and administration in India within the decade of its founding, including early attempts to assassinate Raj officials whilst led by the Ghosh brothers.
- These were followed by the 1912 attempt on the life of the Viceroy of India, and
- the Sedetious conspiracy during World War I led by Rash Behari Bose and Jatindranath Mukherjee respectively
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