Atulkrishna Ghosh was born in 1890 to Taresh Chandra and Binodini Devi at Jaduboyra-Etmampur, in Kushtia sub-division, then in Nadia district, now in Bangladesh. He passed matriculation from Kolkata Hindu School in 1909 and then joined Scottish Church College in Kolkata for Intermediate studies. He passed B. Sc from the Presidency College, Kolkata. He came in contact with revolutionary activists while has studying for M. Sc examination at the Presidency College. The great revolutionary Jatindranath Mukherjee, better known as Bagha Jatin, the leader of Yugantar party, the central association of revolutionaries in Bengal, was Atul’s neighbour in Kushtia sub-division. Influenced by Bagha Jatin, Atul and his cousin, Nolinikanta Kar, joined the Anushilan Samiti. The Anushilan Samiti, a revolutionary organisation, was formed with an aim to win independence for India from British rule by armed revolution. The two strongholds of the organisation were Kolkata and Dhaka but later, it had branches all over India.
Atul became an expert trainer in self-defence at the local Anushilan Samiti branch. It was here that he came in contact with many prominent revolutionaries. During Bagha Jatin’s absence, Atul was entrusted the responsibilities of revolution at Kolkata. He helped in organising revolutionary activities and even arranged for the stay of revolutionaries as and when they needed. Most of the time, they had to be hidden secretly. It was not easy considering the police had laid traps everywhere for the revolutionaries and would not spare anyone who would dare to help them. But Atul was undeterred. He ardently hoped and strived to unite revolutionaries from different parties so that together they could form a bigger and stronger entity to confront the British.
Atul’s brothers, Aghorenath and Amar, also participated actively in many seditious activities. Aghorenath, a surgeon, often treated the injured activists. In 1913, when Atul formed a Seva Samiti, along with some members of Kolkata’s Anushilan Samiti, many prominent members from other branches too joined in. When Bagha Jatin came to Kolkata to meet the members of the Seva Samiti, the members acknowledged him as their leader, thus making the Samiti a strong party. The Samiti made many benevolent contributions to the society. During Burdwan (in West Bengal) floods in 1913, the Samiti members provided relief and helped in the rehabilitation of affected people. The relief activities once again brought forth the leadership qualities of Atul.
It was through Atul that revolutionaries of North India kept in touch with their counterparts in Bengal. Atul and his associates provided bombs to Rasbehari Bose. Atul also helped Bose organise flood relief and conduct meetings with other leaders. He also helped carry out many revolutionary acts devised by Bagha Jatin. While Atul continued to actively support underground activities, he was shocked and devastated to hear about Bagha Jatin’s death in 1915. After this unfortunate incident and the failure of the Indo-German conspiracy, Atul and some of his associates went underground in 1915 for about seven years. All the while, they were waiting for an opportunity to supply arms and renew the revolution. The police were in constant chase after them. But the brave young men managed to give them a slip on several occasions.
After emerging from underground, in 1921, still reeling under the shock of Bagha Jatin’s death, Atul started to withdraw from active politics. But he was arrested in 1924 and released two years later. Then he withdrew from politics altogether.
He died in Kolkata on May 4, 1966. An ardent patriot, who hated communalism and caste distinction, he longed for an India where democracy and justice for all prevailed.