Sister Nivedita and Aurobindo Ghosh - Their Role at the Onset of Revolutionary Movement in Bengal

The intertwined contribution of Sister Nivedita and Aurobindo Ghose to the Bengali revolutionary movement, especially at the beginning of the 20th century, is interesting to take note of. While Nivedita considered Aurobindo to be a great revolutionary, the later was much inspired by the book Kali the Mother penned by the former. Aurobindo wanted to maintain a co-ordination between various revolutionary groups with a committee of which Nivedita used to be a member. He led the secret society to which Nivedita provided revolutionary literature. Yet much is not known about any revolutionary operation jointly led or undertaken by them. The nature of their collaboration remains debated over and demands historical scholarship. As their collaboration sharpened the rhetorical and organizational contours of early revolutionary nationalism, it remains a potential juncture of revolutionary movement in Bengal that, to a large extent, set in motion an alternative to the moderate politics practiced so far by the Indian National Congress.