Which one of the following leaders belonged to the Extremist wing of the Congress?

Correct answer: (a) Aurobindo Ghosh

Explanation

Aurobindo Ghosh was a leader of the extremist group in the Congress. He was one of the four pillars of the extremist group (Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal, and Aurobindo Ghosh). In his article written in 1893–94, he said that the Congress was away from the working class, was anti-national, and had completely failed; and he described as cowardice the Congress policy of not speaking clearly due to fear of displeasing the British rulers. According to him, the Congress was going to die of tuberculosis. In 1908, the police raided Manictala Garden (another name—Murari Pukur Baganbari), arrested 14 revolutionaries, and arrested Aurobindo Ghosh from his house on Grey Street. All of them were tried in the Alipore Conspiracy Case. The trial against Aurobindo Ghosh continued for about a year, but later he was acquitted due to lack of evidence. In the course of time, he withdrew from revolutionary activities, became an ascetic, and went to Pondicherry (now Puducherry).