Abhiyaan The Mission che Sarvajanik Ganeshotsavatil Kam

Ramachandra Pandurang Tope

(1814 - 18 April 1859), also known as Tatya Tope (pronounced Toh-pey), was an Indian leader in the First War of Indian Independence of 1857 and one of its finest generals. He was a personal adherent of Nana Sahib of Kanpur. He progressed with the Gwalior contingent after the British reoccupation of Kanpur and forced General Windham to retreat from Kanpur. Later on, he came to the rescue of Rani Laxmi Bai. However he was only defeated by General Napier's British Indian troops, after betrayal by his trusted friend Man Singh. He was executed by the British Government at Shivpuri on 18 April 1859.

Born in village Yeola in Maharashtra, he was the only son of Pandurang Rao Tope and his wife Rukhmabai, an important noble at the court of the Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao II. His father shifted his family with the Peshwa to Bithur where his son became the most intimate friend of the Peshwa's adopted son, Nana Dhondu Pant (known as Nana Sahib) and Maharaja Madhav Singhji.belong to the caste Rosha of Punjab......

In 1851, when Lord Dalhousie deprived Nana Sahib of his father's pension, Tatya Tope also became a sworn enemy of the British. In May 1857, when the political storm was gaining momentum, he won over the Indian troops of the East India Company, stationed at Kanpur (Cawnpore), established Nana Sahib's authority and became the Commander-in-Chief of his forces.

Fight against the British

Tantia Tope's Soldiery

Main article: Siege of Cawnpore

When Nana Sahib's forces attacked the British entrenchment in June, 1857, General Wheeler's contingent incurred heavy losses as a result of successive bombardments, sniper fire, and assault. Also slow supplies of food, water and medicine added to their misery and they decided to surrender, in return for a safe passage to Allahabad. But despite Nana Sahib's arrangements, some confusion at the Satichaura ghat led to attacks on the departing British by the rebel sepoys, and were either killed or captured.The surviving British women and children were moved from the Savada House to Bibighar ("the House of the Ladies"), a villa-type house in Kanpur. Retaliation occurred as Company forces started approaching Kanpur, and Nana Sahib's bargaining attempts had failed(in exchange for hostages). Nana Sahib was informed that the British troops led by Havelock and Neill were indulging in violence against the Indian villagers.Nana Sahib, and his associates, including Tatya Tope and Azimullah Khan, debated about what to do with the captives at Bibighar. Some of Nana Sahib's advisors had already decided to kill the captives at Bibighar, as revenge for the murders of Indians by the advancing British forces. Some sepoys were ordered to kill the women and children who were being held, but they refused. The task of the slaughter was carried out by two or three butchers from the town aided by others unknown. Three women and three children survived by hiding under the corpses of their friends. When discovered they were thrown alive into a well along with the deceased. The details of the incident, such as who ordered the massacre, are not clear.

Capture and Death

After losing Gwalior to the British, Tope launched a successful guerrilla campaign in the Sagar and Narmada regions and in Khandesh and Rajasthan. The British forces failed to subdue him for over a year. He was, however, betrayed into the hands of the British by his trusted friend Man Singh, Chief of Narwar, while asleep in his camp in the Paron forest. He was defeated and captured on 7 April 1859 by British General Richard John Meade's troops and taken to Shivpuri where he was triled by a military court.

Tope admitted the charges brought before him saying that he was answerable to his master Peshwa alone. He was executed at the gallows on April 18, 1859. There is a statue of Tatya Tope at the site of his execution near the present collectorate in Shivpuri town in Madhya Pradesh.

   VISHNU GANESH PINGLE
 was born in 1888 to a Marathi Brahmin family Talegaon Dhamdhere, near Pune District. The youngest of nine siblings, Pingle grew up in a loving family and at the age of nine was admitted to the primary school in Talegaon. In 1905, Pingle enrolled at the Maharashtra Viydyalaya in Pune which at the time was linked to the Bombay University. While at school, Pingle came under the influence of the nationalist movement of the time, and actively participated in the movement under V. D. Savarkar. However, Pingle later transferred to the Samarth Vidyalaya in Talegoan in 1908 following the closure of Maharashtra Vidyalay due to shortage of funds. However, his early involvement in the nationalist movement left a lasting imprint.
In 1910, Samartha Vidyalaya was closed by the British Government. Vishnu left for Mumbai and found employment in Govindrao Potdar's Pioneer Alkali works at Mahim. Mr. Potdar was a nationalist and an expert at explosives. He belonged to the Nationalist Group and introduced Vishnu to his associates. One of them was Hari Laxman Patil, a lawyer from Vasai, with whom Vishnu came to form a close friendship. At the height of the Swadeshi Movement, inspired by the Japanese handloom industry, Pingle began his own small Swadeshi loom at Awasha, near Latur. However, Pingle's ambition was to be an engineer.
Vishnu was also strongly influenced by the history of the American War of Independence. In 1911, Pingle left Awasha for the United States. It is said that he kept the news of his impending departure from his family and only told his elder brother Keshavrao of his plans at the railway station. He reached America via Hong Kong, and enrolled as a student of mechanical engineering at the University of Washington in 1912. While in the United States, Pingle became associated with the Ghadar Party and became an active worker. As World War I opened in Europe, plans began between the Germans, the Berlin Committee in Europe and the Ghadarite movement in America to attempt an insurrection in India.

Ghadar Conspiracy

Pingle had known Satyen Bhushan Sen  in the company of Gadhar members (such as Kartar Singh Sarabha) at the University of Berkeley. Tasked to consolidate contact with the Indian revolutionary movement, as part of the Ghadar Conspiracy, Satyen Bhushan Sen, Kartar Singh Sarabha, V.G. Pingle and a batch of Sikh revolutionaries sailed from America by the S. S. Salamin in the second half of October 1914. Satyen and Pingle halted in China for a few days to meet the Gadhar leaders (mainly Tahal Singh) for future plans. They met Dr Sun Yat-Sen for co-operation. Dr Sun was not prepared to displease the British. After Satyen and party left for India, Tahal sent Atmaram Kapur, Santosh Singh and Shiv Dayal Kapur to Bangkok for necessary arrangements.
In November 1914, Pingle, Kartar Singh and Satyen Sen arrived in Calcutta. Satyen introduced Pingle and Kartar Singh to Jatin Mukherjee. "Pingle had long talks with Jatin Mukherjee, who sent them to Rash Behari" in Benares with necessary information during the third week of December. Satyen remained in Calcutta at 159 Bow Bazar Street. Tegart was informed of an attempt to tamper with some Sikh troops at the Dakshineswar gunpowder magazine. "A reference to the Military authorities shows that the troops in question were the 93rd Burmans" sent to Mesopotamia. Jatin Mukherjee and Satyen Bhushan Sen were seen interviewing these Sikhs.
It may be remembered that since 1900, the Extremist leaders under Lokamanya Tilak’s inspiration, turned Benares into a centre for sedition. Sundar Lal (b. 1885, son of Tota Ram, Muzaffarnagar) had given a very objectionable speech in 1907 on Shivaji Festival in Benares. Follower of Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai and Sri Aurobindo, in 1908 this man had accompanied Lala in his UP lecture tour. His organ, the Swarajya of Allahabad, was warned in April 1908 against sedition. On 22 August 1909, Sundar Lal and Sri Aurobindo delivered “mischievous speeches” in College Square, Calcutta. The Karmayogi in Hindi was issued in Allahabad since September 1909: controlled by Sri Aurobindo, the Calcutta Karmagogin was edited by Amarendra Chatterjee who had introduced Rash Behari to Sundar Lal. In 1915, Pingle will be received in Allahabad by the Swarajya group.
Rash Behari had been in Benares since early 1914. Large number of outrages were committed there between October 1914 and September 1915, 45 of them before February was over. On 18 November 1914, while examining two bomb caps, he and Sachin Sanyal had been injured. They shifted to a house in Bangalitola, where Pingle visited him with a letter from Jatin Mukherjee and reported that some 4000 Sikhs of the Ghadar had already reached Calcutta. 15.000 more were waiting to come and join the rebellion. Rash Behari sent Pingle and Sachin to Amritsar, to discuss with Mula Singh who had come from Shanghai. Rash Behari’s man of confidence, Pingle led a hectic life in UP and Punjab for several weeks.
During the Komagata Maru affray in Budge Budge, near Calcutta, on 29 September 1914, Baba Gurdit Singh had contacted Atulkrishna Ghosh and Satish Chakravarti, two eminent associates of Jatin Mukherjee, who actively assisted them. Since then, angry letters from US-based Indians reached India with hope of a German victory; one of the emigrant leaders warned that his associates were in touch with the Bengal revolutionary party. It was at this juncture, in December 1914, that Pingle arrived in the Punjab, promising Bengali co-operation to the malcontent emigrants. A meeting demanded revolution, plundering of Government treasuries, seduction of Indian troops, collection of arms, preparation of bombs and the commission of dacoties. Rash Behari planned collecting gangs of villagers for the rebellion. Simultaneous outbreaks at Lahore, Ferozepore & Rawalpindi was designed. Rising at Dacca, Benares, Jubbalpur to be extended.
Preparing bombs was a definite part of the Gadhar programme. The Sikh conspirators - knowing very little about it - decided to call in a Bengali expert, as they had known in California Professor Surendra Bose, associate of Taraknath Das. Towards the end of December 1914, at a meeting at Kapurthala, Pingle announced that a Bengali babu was ready to co-operate with them. On 3 January 1915, Pingle and Sachindra in Amritsar received Rs 500 from the Ghadar, and returned to Benares.
Pingle returned to Calcutta with Rash Behari’s invitation to the Jugantar leaders to meet him at Benares for co-ordinating and finalising their plans. Jatin Mukherjee, Atulkrishna Ghosh, Naren Bhattacharya left for Benares (early January 1915). In a very important meeting, Rash Behari announced the rebellion, proclaiming : "Die for their country." Though through Havildar Mansha Singh, the 16th Rajput Rifles at Fort William was successfully approached, Jatin Mukherjee wanted two months for the army revolt, synchronising with the arrival of the German arms. He modified the plan according to the impatience of the Gadhar militants to rush to action. Rash Behari and Pingle went to Lahore. Sachin tampered with the 7th Rajputs (Benares) and the 89th Punjabis at Dinapore. Damodar Sarup [Seth] went to Allahabad. Vinayak Rao Kapile conveyed bombs from Bengal to Punjab. Bibhuti [Haldar, approver] and Priyo Nath [Bhattacharya?] seduced the troops at Benares; Nalini [Mukherjee] at Jabalpur. On 14 February, Kapile carried from Benares to Lahore a parcel containing materials for 18 bombs.
By the middle of January, Pingle was back in Amritsar with "the fat babu" (Rash Behari); to avoid too many visitors, Rash Behari moved to Lahore after a fortnight. In both the places he collected materials for making bombs and ordered for 80 bomb cases to a foundry at Lahore. Its owner out of suspicion refused to execute the order. Instead, inkpots were used as cases in several of the dacoities. Completed bombs were found during house searches, while Rash Behari escaped. "By then effective contact had been established between the returned Gadharites and the revolutionaries led by Rash Behari, and a large section of soldiers in the NW were obviously disaffected." "It was expected that as soon as the signal was received there would be mutinies and popular risings from the Punjab to Bengal." "48 out of the 81 accused in the Lahore conspiracy case , including Rash Behari’s close associates like Pingle, Mathura Singh & Kartar Singh Sarabha, recently arrived from North America."
Along with Rash Behari Bose, Sachin Sanyal and Kartar Singh, Pingle became one of the main coordinators of the attempted mutiny in February 1915. Under Rash Behari, Pingle issued intensive propaganda for revolution from December 1914, sometimes disguised as Shyamlal, a Bengali; sometimes Ganpat Singh, a Punjabi. Confident of being able to rally the Indian sepoy, the plot for the mutiny took its final shape. The 23rd Cavalry in Punjab was to seize weapons and kill their officers while on roll call on 21 February. This was to be followed by mutiny in the 26th Punjab, which was to be the signal for the uprising to begin, resulting in an advance on Delhi and Lahore. The Bengal revolutionaries contacted the Sikh troops stationed at Dacca through letters of introduction sent by Sikh soldiers of Lahore, and succeeded in winning them over. The Bengal cell was to look for the Punjab Mail entering the Howrah Station the next day (which would have been cancelled if Punjab was seized) and was to strike immediately. However, the Punjab CID successfully infiltrated the conspiracy at the last moment through Kirpal Singh: a cousin of the trooper Balwant Singh (23rd Cavalry), US-returned Kirpal, a spy, visited Rash Behari’s Lahore headquarters near the Mochi Gate, where over a dozen leaders including Pingle met on 15 February 1915. Kirpal informed the police. Sensing that their plans had been compromised, the D-day was brought forward to 19 February, but even these plans found their way to the Punjab CID. Plans for revolt by the 130th Baluchi Regiment at Rangoon on 21 February were thwarted. Attempted revolts in the 26th Punjab, 7th Rajput, 130th Baluch, 24th Jat Artillery and other regiments were suppressed. Mutinies in Firozpur, Lahore, and Agra were also suppressed and many key leaders of the conspiracy were arrested, although some managed to escape or evade arrest. A last ditch attempt was made by Kartar Singh and Pingle to trigger a mutiny in the 12th Cavalry regiment at Meerut. Kartar Singh escaped from Lahore, but was arrested in Benares, and V. G. Pingle was apprehended from the lines of the 12th Cavalry at Meerut, in the night of 23 March 1915. He carried "ten bombs of the pattern used in the attempt to assassinate Lord Hardinge in Delhi," according to Mumbai police report. It is said that it was enough to blow up an entire regiment.Mass arrests followed as the Ghadarites were rounded up in Punjab and the Central Provinces. Rash Behari Bose escaped from Lahore and in May 1915 fled to Japan. Other leaders, including Giani Pritam Singh, Swami Satyananda Puri and others fled to Thailand or other sympathetic nations.

Trial and execution

Vishnu Ganesh Pingle along with a number of other Ghadarites including Kartar Singh, Harnam Singh and Bhai Paramanand were tried at the Lahore Conspiracy trial in April 1915 by a special tribunal constituted under the Defence of India Act 1915, for their roles in the February plot. Pingle was executed by hanging at the Lahore Central Jail on November 16, 1915, along with Kartar Singh and Kanshi Ram.

Ghadar Movement

Many Sikhs and Hindu Punjabis who tasted freeddom outside colonial India in USA started Ghadr movement to free India from British rule in early 1900's. These Sikhs and Punjabi Hindus were sent to Canada which was under British rule for labour work. They crossed the border over to USA and settled in Western Coast of USA in cities like Portland, San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles. These Punjabis created Gurdwaras and established societies. They were subject to draconian laws like "not allowed to marry to american woman" by many of these states at that time. The word Ghadr can be commonly translated as mutiny, was the name given to the newspaper edited and published for the Hindustani Association of the Pacific Coast which was founded at Portland, United States of America, in 1912. The movement this Association gave rise to for revolutionary activities in India also came to be known by the designation of Ghadr.
It is said that by 1908 about 5000 Indians had entered Canada. 99% of which were Punjabis and 90% Sikhs. Many Indians were also sudying at various universities all over USA. Americans and few Indians established Indo-American National Association. Many students from prominent universities like Berkeley University, Stanford and Harvard joined this association. Lala Hardayal of Stanford University, Sant Teja Singh of Harvard University, and Bhai Parmanand decided to get more students belonging to the poor families for Higher education in the USA and Canada.
Indians who went to the United States and Canada came from rural farming middle class and labour, a large number of among them being ex-servicemen. In the beginning, the Indians went to San Francisco and Stockton in California, Portland and St. John in Oregon and Washington states and to Vancouver and and Victoria in British Columbia n Canada. Such persons as Amar Singh and Gopal Singh who had gone to America in 1905, and Tarak Nath Das and Ram Nath Puri who followed them, starting preaching against the British rule in India. They also started a paper called Azadi ka circular in Urdu. This paper was distributed among the armed forces in India to rouse them against the British. Result was that Canadian government which was under British rule started harassing them. White labour was encouraged to harass foreign labour, while Chinese and Japanese government protested against these atrocities against their nationals, Indian goverment did nothing. The Canadian government further tightened the entry of Indians into Canada. It passed a legislation that newcomers would not be permitted to land on the Canadian soil "unless they came from the country of their birth or citizenship by a continuous journey, and on through tickets purchased before leaving the country of their birth or citizenship. They were also required to possess $200 against the previously fixed sum of $25.
In order to fight the unjust immigration laws, the Indians (mostly Sikhs) organized Khalsa Diwan Society in Vancouver in 1907 with branches in Victoria, Abbotsford, New Westminster, Fraser Hill, Duncan Coombs and Ocean falls. The Sikhs built a Gurdwara at Vancouver which was inaugrated in January 1908. In 1909 only 6 Indians were allowed to visit Canada. Same year Indian immigrants organized Hindustan Association under the presidentship of Bhai Bhag Singh Bhikkivind. Its objectives were to establish Indian rule in India, provision of safeguards from loot by foreigners, etc. The association started two newspapers, Pardesi Khalsa in Punjabi and Svedesh Sevak in Urdu. These activities awakened the Indian immigrants. Persons like Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna, Harnam Singh Tundilat, Udham Singh Kasel, Rakha Ram, Ishar Singh Marhana and others would collect on sundays and other holidays and ponder over the problems. St John and Seattle become center of their activities.
In 1912, at Portland Hindustani Association of Pacific coast was formed with Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna as its president and GD kumar as the general secretary, later Mr Kumar fell ill and his place was taken by Lala Hardyal. Aim of the party was explained as "Today, there begins in foreign lands.. a war agaist British raj.. What is your name? Ghadr. What is your work? Ghadr. Where will Ghadr break out? in India. The time will soon come when rifles and blood will take the place of pen and ink." In simple words, their aim was to get rid of the British raj in India through an armed rebellion.
The first issue of the Ghadr, in Urdu, came out in November 1913 and that in Punjabi a weeks later. The paper was distributed to politico- Indian centres in United States, Canada, Phillipines, Fiji, Sumatra, Japan, Shanghai,Hong Kong, Hankow, Java, Singapore, Malaya Siam, Burma, India and East Afria . Occasionally Ghadr published the following advertisement:

Wanted: Enthusiastic and heroic soldiers for
organizing Ghadr in Hindustan:

Renumeration: Death
Reward : Martyrdom
Pension : Freedom
Field of work : Hindustan.

The Ghadr party president often visited the Indian groups to exhort them to join freedom movement. Lala Hardyal general secretary was arrested on the pretext of a speech delievered by him three years earlier. Baba Sohna Singh now became the general secretary, Bhai Santokh Singh became President, editing of paper was taken over by Bhai Harnam singh of Kotla Naudh singh. The party's plan was to invade Kashmir from China, then go for the Punjab followed by other provinces. The members started getting training in the use of weapons and making of bombs; several got training in flying aircraft also. One of them, Harnam singh, had his hand blown off while in process of bomb making, and he was thence onwrds known as Tundilat, the armless knight.
The party carried out considerable propaganda in Japan where Maulawi Barkat Ullah was professor in Tokyo University. His prescence attracted many muslims to Ghadr Party. The Kamagatu Maru incident added fuel to fire. The first world war broke out in July 1914. On 5 August, leading memers of Ghadr party declared war on the British and decided to take advantage of the involvement of British in the war. The Ghadr party declared war on the British and decided to come to India to carry out armed revolution against the British.
Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna and his companions left for India on 22 August 1914, the first ship with 26 Indians left Vancouver; on 29 August, another ship with 60-70 Indians left San Francisco for India. According to government records, 2312 Indian Ghadr men had entered India between 13 October 1914 and 25 February 1915. Their influx continued till 1916 when their number increased to more than 8,000. But it is likely that the Ghadr men had entered India in greater numbers than the government knew. Government was very active and at least 50% of them were arrested or confined to their villages by state governments.
The Ghadr party established a new press and published small pamphlets such as: Ghadr Sandesh, Ailan-i-Jang, Tilak, Nadar Mauqa, Rikab~gan;, Canada da Duhhra, Naujavan Utho, Sachchz Pukar, and so on. These pamphlets were published in Punjabi, Urdu and Hindi, and were distributed among the public and the soldiers. The party also produced their own flag having red, yellow and green colours. Dr Mathura Singh supervised factories producing armaments.
The party members contacted students. They contacted soldiers stationed especially at Mian Mir (Lahore), Jalandhar, Firozpur, Peshawar, Jehlum, Rawalpindl, Mardan, Kohat, Bannu, Ambala, Meerut, Kanpur and Agra cantonments. The soldiers were generally in sympathy with the movement. Many party workers joined the army with a view to obtaining arms and ammunition. Contacts were also established with Bengal revolutionaries such as Rash Behari Bose whose close companions were Sachin Sanyal and Vishnu Ganesh Pingle. Pingle acted as a link between the Ghadr party and Bengalis.
The movement faced financial difficulties in India. The expenses had increased owing to opening of various branches, travelling, purchase of arms and ammunition and publications. Money was not easily available as it was in foreign countries. To overcome this difficulty, the party had to resort to forcible acquisition of funds by under-taking political dacoities.
All the preparations completed, the party executive met on 12 February 1915, and decided to start the rebellion on 21 February. Their plan was simultaneously to attack and capture Mian Mir and Firozpur cantonments; 128th Pioneer and 12 Cavalry were to capture Meerut Cantonment and then proceed to Delhi. Units in cantonments in northern 21 India were expected to join the rebellion.
The British Government had intelligence men posted at railway stations in cities and in important villages. The lambardars, zaildars and other village functionaries were also alerted to provide information. The government had managed to plant informers in the Ghadr party itself. Before the new leadership came forward and reorganized the movement's plans, the British Government "knew much more about their designs and was in a better position to cope with them." In spite of this, the Ghadrites in the central Punjab murdered policemen and informers and attempted to derail trains and blow up bridges. Factories for preparing bombs were established. All this made the government feel that they were "living over a mine full of explosives . "
When the party learnt that the information about the D-Day had leaked, they advanced the date of rebellion to 19 February, but this information also reached the police through their informer, Kirpal. The police raided the party headquarters at four different places in Lahore and arrested 13 of the "most dangerous revolutionaries." All cantonments were alerted and the Indian troops placed under vigilance; some were even disarmed. Arrests of Ghadr men took place all over the Punjab. Rash Behari Bose, with the help of Kartar Singh Sarabha, escaped from lahore to Varanasi: Vishnu Ganesh Pingle was arrested at Meerut on 23 March 1915. All the leaders were put in the lahore jail.
The government of the Punjab sought and the Government of India passed under the Defence of India Act wide powers to the Punjab Government who formed a special tribunal of three judges, including one Indian, to try the Ghadr men in the Central Jail, Lahore. Thus the rebellion was smashed by the government before it had really taken shape.
The Ghadr men were tried by the Special Tribunal in what are known as Lahore conspiracy cases in batches. The trial of the first batch began on 26 April 1915. In all, 291 persons were tried and sentenced as under: death for 42, 114 were transported for life, 93 awarded varying terms of imprisonment, 42 were acquitted. Confiscation of property was ordered in the case of many. No one appealed against the punishments. Those who were hanged included Kartar Singh Sarabha, Jagat Singh (Sursingh) Vishnu Ganesh Pingle, Harnam Singh Sialkoti, Bakshish Singh (son of Ishar Singh), Bhai Balvant Singh (Khurdpur), Babu Ram, Harnam Singh, Hafiz Abdulla and Rur Singh (Sanghval).
Under the circumstances, the army units which had promised to join the revolution kept quiet. However, some units such as 26 Punjabi, 7 Rajput, 12 Cavalry, 23 Cavalry, 128 Pioneers, Malaya State Guides,23 Mountain Battery, 24Jat Artillery, 15 Cancers, 22 Mountain Battery,130 Baluch and 21 Punjabi did come out in the open. About 700 men of 5 Light Infantry, located in Singapore, mutineed on 15 February and took possession of the fort. The rebellion was subdued by the British troops; 126 men were tried by court martial which sentenced 37 to death, 41 to transportation for life, and the remy ing to varying terms of imprisonment Soldiers from other units were punished as under:

Death Transportation
 23 Cavalry
 12 Cavalry
 130 Baluch
 128 Pioneers
 1 for life

The party workers also went to Iran and Iraq to instigate Indian troops against the British, and to Turkey to exhort Indian prisoners to fight for India's freedom. In Iran, the party was able to raise an Indian Independence Army. The Army advanced towards Baluchistan, and en route capttlred Kirmanshah. Then they advanced along the coast towards Karachl. Meanwhile, Turkey was defeated and the British had occupied Baghdad. The Indian Independence Army thus losing its base was also defeated.
The Ghadr party contacted Germany, Turkey, Afghanistan, China and other countries, but not much help came from any of these. Germany sympathized with the Ghadr party and occasionally tried to render some help in the form of weapons and money, but these often failed to reach the party. For instance, 5,000 revolvers on board Heny S. which sailed from Manila were captured en route by the British. Germany had also formed an Oriental Bureau for translating and disseminating inflammatory literature to the Indian prisoners of war in Germany.
During World War I, revolutionaries from most countries had gone to Switzerland, which was a neutral country. The Indians there formed Indian Revolutionary Society, also known as Berlin-lndia Committee. The Society had formed a provisional government at Kabul, but had no contacts with the Indian public. The Ghadr party established links with the Society and both agreed to help each other. Germany sent financial help to the Society but, on learning that it was being misappropriated, discontinued it. The Society soon collapsed. No sum ever reached the Ghadr party. The Ghadr movement, as says O 'Dwyer, "was by far the most serious attempt to subvert British rule in India." Most of the workers were illiterate—only 25 of them knew Urdu or Punjabi. Still they organized a strong movement which for the time being thrilled the country and made the British panic. Although the movement was suppressed, it provided nucleus for the Akali movement that followed a few years later. The Ghadr leaders were especially prominent among the Babar Akalis.

Bipin Chandra Pal

Legend of India:

Part 9

Bipin Chandra Pal

Bipin Chandra Pal ( November 7, 1858 - May 20, 1932) was an Indian nationalist. He was among the triumvirate of Lal Bal Pal.

Bipin Chandra Pal was born in Poil Village, Habiganj District, Bangladesh, in a wealthy Hindu Vaishnava family. His father was Ramchandra Pal, a Persian scholar and small landowner. His son was Niranjan pal, one of the founders of Bombay Talkies. B.C. Pal is known as the 'Father Of Revolutionary Thoughts' in India.

Bipin Chandra Pal was a teacher, journalist, orator, writer and librarian, he was famous as one of the triumvirate of three militant patriots of the Congresses - the "Pal" of Lal Bal Pal. The trio were responsible for initiating the first popular upsurge against British colonial policy in the 1905 partition of Bengal, before the advent of Gandhi into Indian politics. Pal was also the founder of the nationalistic journal Bande Mataram.

Even though he understood the positive aspects of Empire as a `great idea', the `Federal-idea is greater'.[1]. In both public and private life he was radical. He married a widow (he had to sever ties to his family for this). At the time of B. G. Tilak's ("Bal") arrest and government repression in 1907, he left for England, where he was briefly associated with the radical India House and founded the Swaraj journal. However, political repercussions the wake of Curson Wyllie's assassination in 1909 by Madanlal Dhingra lead to the collapse of this publication, driving Pal to penury and mental collapse in London.[2] In the aftermath of totally moved away from his 'extremist' phase and even nationalism, as he contemplated an association of free nations as the great federal-idea. His plea for a transcendence to a broader entity than nation derived from the notion of the sociability of human beings, which he thought would create a common bond between nations.[3][4][5] He was among the first to criticize Gandhi or the 'Gandhi cult' since it `sought to replace the present government by no government or by the priestly autocracy of the Mahatma.'[6] His criticism of Gandhi was persistent beginning with Gandhi's arrival in India and open in 1921 session of the Indian National Congress he delivered in his presidential speech a severe criticism of Gandhi's ideas as based on magic rather than logic, addressing Gandhi: 'You wanted magic. I tried to give you logic. But logic is in bad odour when the popular mind is excited. You wanted mantaram, I am not a Rishi and cannot give Mantaram...I have never spoken a half-truth when I know the truth...I have never tried to lead people in faith blind-folded'[7], for his 'priestly, pontifical tendencies', his alliance with pan-Islamism during the Khilafat movement, which led to Pal's eclipse from political life from 1922 till his death in 1932 under conditions of abject poverty. Comparing Gandhi with Leo Tolstoy during the year he died, Pal noted that Tolstoy 'was an honest philosophical anarchist' while Gandhi remained in his eyes as 'a papal autocrat'[8][9][10] Firm and ethically grounded, not only did he perceive the 'Congress Babel' in terms of its shortsightedness in late 1920s or, Congress as an instance of repudiating debt's folly, composed of a generation 'that knows no Joseph', Pal's critical comments should be located in context, since nobody can jump out of his skin of time. An estimation of Bipin Chandra Pal's entire corpus and the depth of his published writing cannot produce a fair idea or provide due justice if that is produced with the benefit of post-independence hindsight. Though there are many articles and books written about him from India and Europe, most of which is not hagiographical, his 'pen played not an inconsiderable part in the political and social ferments that have stirred the aters of Indian life', as the Earl of Ronaldshay wrote in 1925, what Nehru said in a speech during Pal's birth centenary in 1958 surmises 'a great man who functioned on a high level on both religious and political planes'[11] opens a gate for enquiring this high-minded yet anomalous persona.

The trio had advocated extremist means to get their message across to the British, like boycotting British manufactured goods, burning Western clothes made in the mills of Manchester and strikes and lockouts of British owned businesses and industrial concerns.

He came under the influence of eminent Bengali leaders,not as a hero-worshipper or somebody looking for a guru for guidance, of his time such as Keshab Chandra Sen and Sibnath Sastri, as his family were in Brahmo Samaj. He was imprisoned for six months on the grounds of his refusal to give evidence against Sri Aurobindo in the Bande Mataram sedition case.

He died on May 20, 1932.

Legend of India

part 8

Bal Gangadhar Tilak (Lokmanya Tilak):

23 July 1856–1 August 1920 (aged 64), was an Indian nationalist, teacher, social reformer and independence fighter who was the first popular leader of the Indian Independence Movement. The British colonial authorities infamously and derogatorily called the great leader as "Father of the Indian unrest". He was also conferred upon the honorary title of Lokmanya, which literally means "Accepted by the people (as their leader)". Tilak was one of the first and strongest advocates of "Swaraj" (self-rule) in Indian consciousness. His famous quote, "Swaraj is my birthright, and I shall have it !" is well-remembered in India even today.

Political career

Journalism

Tilak co-founded two newspapers with Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, Vishnushastri Chiplunakar and other colleagues: Kesari, which means "Lion" in Sanskrit and was a Marathi newspaper, and 'The Maratha', an English newspaper in 1881. In just two years 'Kesari' attracted more readers than any other language newspaper in India. The editorials were generally about the people's sufferings under the British. These newspapers called upon every Indian to fight for his or her rights. Tilak used to say to his colleagues: "You are not writing for the university students. Imagine you are talking to a villager. Be sure of your facts. Let your words be clear as daylight."

Tilak strongly criticized the government for its brutality in suppressing free expression, especially in face of protests against the division of Bengal in 1905, and for denigrating India's culture, its people and heritage. He demanded that the British immediately give Indians the right to self-government.

Indian National Congress

Tilak joined the Indian National Congress in 1890. He opposed its moderate attitude, especially towards the fight for self government.

In 1891 Tilak opposed the Age of Consent bill. The act raised the age at which a girl could get married from 10 to 12. The Congress and other liberals supported it, but Tilak was set against it, terming it an interference with Hinduism. However, he personally opposed child marriage, and his own daughters married at 16.

Plague epidemic spread from Mumbai to Pune in late 1896, and by January 1897, it reached epidemic proportions. In order to suppress the epidemic and prevent its spread, it was decided to take drastic action, accordingly a Special Plague Committee, with jurisdiction over Pune city, its suburbs and Pune cantonment was appointed under the Chairmanship of W. C. Rand, I. C. S, Assistant Collector of Pune by way of a government order dated 8 March 1897. On 12 March 1897, 893 officers and men both British and native, under command of a Major Paget of the Durham Light Infantry were placed on plague duty. By the end of May the epidemic had ebbed and the military action was gradually ended. In his report on the administration of the Pune plague, Rand wrote, "It is a matter of great satisfaction to the members of the Plague Committee that no credible complaint that the modesty of a woman had been intentionally insulted was made either to themselves or to the officers under whom the troops worked". He also writes that closest watch was kept on the troops employed on plague duty and utmost consideration was shown for the customs and traditions of the people. Indian sources however report that Rand used tyrannical methods and harassed the people.An account based on local Indian sources writes that the appointment of military officers introduced an element of severity and coercion in the house searches, the highhandedness of the government provoked the people of Pune and some soldiers were beaten in Rastapeth locality. It quotes Kelkar on the conduct of British soldiers, "Either, through ignorance or impudence, they would mock, indulge in monkey tricks, talk foolishly, intimidate, touch innocent people, shove them, enter any place without justification, pocket valuable items, etc.." Tilak took up the people's cause by publishing inflammatory articles in his paper Kesari, quoting the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita, to say that no blame could be attached to anyone who killed an oppressor without any thought of reward. Following this, on 22 June, Rand and another British officer Lt. Ayerst were shot and killed by the Chapekar brothers and their other associates. Tilak was charged with incitement to murder and sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment. When he emerged from prison, he was revered as a martyr and a national hero and adopted a new slogan, "Swaraj (Self-Rule) is my birth right and I will have it."

Following the partition of Bengal in 1905, which was a strategy set out by Lord Curzon to weaken the nationalist movement, Tilak encouraged a boycott, regarded as the Swadeshi movement.

Tilak opposed the moderate views of Gopal Krishna Gokhale, and was supported by fellow Indian nationalists Bipin Chandra Pal in Bengaland Lala Lajpat Rai in Punjab. They were referred to as the Lal-Bal-Pal triumvirate. In 1907, the annual session of the Congress Party was held at Surat (Gujarat). Trouble broke out between the moderate and the extremist factions of the party over the selection of the new president of the Congress. The party split into the "Jahal matavadi" ("Hot Faction," or extremists), led by Tilak, Pal and Lajpat Rai, and the "Maval matavadi"("Soft Faction," or moderates).

Arrest

On 30 April 1908 two Bengali youths, Prafulla Chaki and Kudiram Bose, threw a bomb on a carriage at Muzzafurpur in order to kill the Chief Presidency Magistrate Douglas Kingsford of Calcutta fame, but erroneously killed some women travelling in it. While Chaki committed suicide when caught, Bose was tried and hanged. Tilak in his paper Kesari defended the revolutionaries and called for immediate Swaraj or Self-rule. The Government swiftly arrested him for sedition. He asked a young Muhammad Ali Jinnah to represent him. But the British judge convicted him and he was imprisoned from 1908 to 1914 in the Mandalay Prison, Burma. While imprisoned, he continued to read and write, further developing his ideas on the Indian Nationalist movement.

Much has been said of his trial of 1908, it being the most historic trial. His last words on the verdict of the Jury were such: "In spite of the verdict of the Jury, I maintain that I am innocent. There are higher powers that rule the destiny of men and nations and it may be the will of providence that the cause which I represent may prosper more by my suffering than by my remaining free". These words now can be seen imprinted on the wall of Room. No. 46 at Bombay High Court.

Legend of India:

Part 8

Lala Lajpat Rai

(1865-1928) was an Indian author and politician who is chiefly remembered as a leader in the Indian fight for freedom from the British Raj. He was popularly known as Punjab Kesari (The Caesar of Punjab). He was also the founder of Punjab National Bank and Lakshmi Insurance Company.

As the need for partition and independence took an important turn for the possible,Lala Lajpat Rai’s involvement became imperative to theIndian Independence Movement. His actions in anti-imperialist movements led to numerous arrests. He became an important member of theArya Samaj. This political group was full of British-educated Indians who believed that Hinduism had a specific and direct impact on what it meant to be an Indian. The group also took the ideas of a merged western and eastern world and promoted the view that the subcontinent had benefited from its coagulation. The involvement of the Arya Samaj in constitutional reform supported the freedom movements which took hold of the Indian population. Lala Lajpat Rai led political rallies which taught how the history of the subcontinent had always been heading to the philosophical idea that it would become an independent nation.

(Lajpat Rai presided over the first session of the All India Trade Union Congress in 1920. In 1923, he became a member of the Imperial Legislative Assembly. He also went to Geneva to attend the eighth International Labour Conference in 1926 as a representative of Indian labour. He had an opportunity to watch the labour movement in the USA and England where he was required to prolong his stay for political reasons.)

In addition to espousing his philosophical principles, Lajpat Rai engaged heavily in direct action and protest against British rule. (He led the Punjab protests against the Amritsar Massacre (1919), the Non-Cooperation Movement (1919 - 1922), and the "Simon go back" demonstrations against the Simon Commission (1928)). He was repeatedly arrested.He disagreed, however, with Mohandas Gandhi's suspension of the movement due to the Chauri Chaura incident.(He formed the Congress Independence Party, which was particularly pro-Hindu in voice and policy)SS.

He was not only a good orator but also a prolific and versatile writer. His journal Arya Gazette concentrated mainly on subjects related to the Arya Samaj. Bande Mataram and People, contained his inspiring speeches to end oppression by the foreign rulers. He founded the Servants of the People Society, which worked for the freedom movement as well as for social reform in the country. He also wrote an autobiography in English titled The Story of My Life.

Veer Savarkar - A legend

Part -7

* The first political leader to daringly set 'Absolute Political Independence' as Bharat's goal.

* The first Bharatiya political leader to courageously conduct a bonfire of foreign-made clothes.

* The first Bharatiya to organise a revolutionary movement for Bharat's Independence at an international level.

* The first graduate, whose degree was withdrawn by an Bharatiya University for striving for Bharat's Independence.

* The first political prisoner in the world who was sentenced to life-imprisonment twice, a sentence unparalleled in the history of the British Empire.

Remembering Veer Savarkar

In the history of struggle for Indian independence, V.D. Savarkar's place is unique. He had a firm belief that only a strong, armed revolt by Indians would liberate India from the British. An extraordinary Hindu scholar (he is one who coined Indian words for the telephone, photography, the parliament, among others), a recklessly brave revolutionary (he tried to swim the sea waters and escape when captured by the enemy) and a fiercely patriotic leader, he uncovered the truth about the Sepoy Mutiny. His disagreements with Gandhi's non-violent methods and the pleasing Pakistan's efforts appealed to a large number of Hindus who were wronged by Pakistanis and this led to the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi by Nathuram Godse. - By Dr. Jyotsna Kamat

Born Leader

Savarkar could be called a born rebel. He organized a gang of kids, Vanarsena (Monkey Brigade) when he was just eleven. A fearless individual, he wanted everybody around him to become physically strong and be able to face any disasters-- natural or man-made. He conducted long tours, hiking, swimming and mountaineering around Nasik, his birthplace in Maharashtra. During his high school days, he used to organize Shivaji Utsav and Ganesh Utsav, started by Tilak (whom Savarkar considered as his Guru) and used these occasions to put up plays on nationalistic themes. He started writing poems, essays, plays, etc. to inspire people, which he had developed with a passion. Later he went to Pune for his college education and founded the "Abhinav Bharat Society". As a serious student of nationalism he found a bigger platform now; with growing youngsters, he bloomed as a leader as well. All political activities were banned by the ruling British then and he had to undertake all transactions, communications in secret and was expelled from hostel and at one point from the college as well. But since he managed to get the prestigious 'Shivaji scholarship' (named after Shivaji) to study law at London, the college authorities had to make way for his scholastic journey!

Magnum Opus

Savarkar greatly nurtured the idea of bringing out an authentic informative researched work on The Great Indian Revolt, which the British termed as the "Sepoy Mutiny" of 1857. Since the India Office Library was the only place which contained all records and documents, he was determined to undertake a detailed study, but was cautious enough not to make his intentions known. Hence after landing in London, he wrote a biography of Gieuseppe Mazzini, the great revolutionary and leader of modern Italy who inspired his countrymen to overthrow the Austrian Empire's yoke (Holy Roman Empire). Written in the Marathi language, the manuscript was smuggled out with great care which was published by his brother Baba. The book created a wave. 2000 copies sold out secretly and were read and reread. By a British estimate, each copy was read by at least 30 people. Some could verbally reproduce page after page ! His brother however was imprisoned for printing the book.

At London, Savarkar undertook the task, his mission in life, to create awareness regarding the first Armed National Revolt in India in 1857. Through friends, he could get access to all the much-needed first hand information regarding the men of this earlier countrywide effort. It was a sincere one on the part of the leaders, princes, soldiers and commoners to drive away the British, (though grossly misrepresented by British historians.) It was the first national effort towards getting political independence and he rightly called his book "The Indian War of Independence 1857".

He wrote in Marathi and could not get it printed in Europe. Though the manuscript found its way to India, due to British vigilance, all printing presses were raided and in the nick of time, the manuscript could be taken out, due to a friendly police officer's information, before seizure. However, when it went back to Europe, it unfortunately got lost.

But the English version became a necessity. Savarkar was helped in this venture by the other revolutionaries who had come to study Law and Civil Service. But printing it in Britain was out of the question, so also in France, as British and French spies were working together to face imperial Germany which was becoming a great threat. Ultimately the book was published in Holland by Madam Cama without a cover or name. The cover pages of popular classics like "Don Quixote", "Oliver Twist", etc. were used for the book and it was successfully smuggled to India. One box with a false bottom was used to take books at great risk by a Muslim friend who later became the Chief Minister of Punjab ! The book reached the right people through secret sympathizers in Ireland, France, Russia, U.S.A., Egypt, Germany and Brazil as well.

Fierce Nationalist

While in London, Savarkar organized festivals like Rakshabandhan and Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti and tried to create awareness among Indian students.The slogan Savarkar coined for Indian festivals became a unifying factor.

"One Country. One God

One Caste, One Mind

Brothers all of us

Without Difference

Without Doubt"

It was during this period that Savarkar helped design the first Indian National Flag, which Madam Bhikaji Cama unfurled at the World Socialist Conference at Stuttgart, Germany.

The Scotland Yard Police's noose was tightening around Savarkar. Revolutionary activities in London, Mumbai, Pune, Nasik were traced to his provocation ! His speeches and articles smelt of sedition; his friends were traced as those learning about the preparation of bombs and transporting arms (pistols) illegally. Finally he was arrested and ordered to be sent back to India. In India, punishments were very harsh, tortuous and the greatest crime of the land was that of incitement to rebellion which could easily send one to the gallows. He was sent on a ship "Morena" which was to halt briefly at Marseilles. (1910)

Swimming the Ocean

Savarkar and his friends then attempted a brave escape which has since become legendary. Savarakar was to jump from a sailing ship, swim the sea waters and his friends were supposed to pick him up and lead him to freedom. Savarkar was under strict watch. There was no way out. With a constable waiting outside, he entered the toilet, broke the window, wriggled out somehow, and jumped into the ocean to swim his way to the Marseilles port. Alas! The rescue party was late by a few minutes and the French Police on guard returned the prisoner to the British cops, now chained and under stricter watch.

After a formal trial, Savarkar was charged with serious offences of illegal transportation of weapons, provocative speeches and sedition and was sentenced to 50 years' of jail and deported to the Blackwaters (kalapani) at Andaman's cellular jail.

Conditions in jail were inhuman with prisoners having to do the back-breaking job of stone breaking, rope making, and milling. Prisoners had to grind the copra in the mill, while being tied like oxen. Each had to extract 30 pounds of oil everyday. Some died of sheer exhaustion and the inhuman treatment of beating and whipping. The bad food, unsanitary conditions, a stone bed and cold weather in winter would take their toll.

Talented Mr. Savarkar

Since political prisoners were treated like hardened criminals, they had no access to "luxuries" like a pen and paper. The poet in Savarkar was restless and uneasy. Finally he found a nail and wrote (etched) his epic "Kamala" consisting of thousands of lines on the plastered mud wall of his cell, in the darkness. A Hindi journalist friend who was taught Marathi by Savarkar came to his cell when Savarkar was removed all of a sudden and sent to another remote cell. The friend learnt the entire poem by heart and later when he was released, put it on paper and sent it to Savarkar's relatives.

After spending 16 years in the Andamans, Savarkar was transferred to a Ratnagiri jail and then kept under house arrest. He was reunited with his wife. (He had married before leaving for England and it was a long separation). A daughter and later a son were born.

Books, poems, and articles came out. But now he was known for his book on 1857 (The Indian War of Independence) throughout the world. Two generations of Indians were influenced by his magnum opus. The second edition was printed in the U.S.A. by Savarkar's revolutionary friends. The third edition was brought out by Bhagat Singh and its Punjabi and Urdu translations followed and were widely read in India and the Far East. Even in the Indian National Army of Subhash Chandra Bose, the Tamil translation of this work was read out like a Bible by the South Indian soldiers in Singapore, though nobody knows till today, who translated it into Tamil.

Savarkar stood by what he wrote till the last and never compromised with "adjustments," "reforms" and peaceful solutions which according to him meant nothing ! As a great scholar full of originality and independent standing, he coined several new technical terms of parliamentary usage and of Indian parlance such as chhayachitra (photography), Sansad (Senate), Vyangyachitra (Cartoons) etc.

He earnestly believed that Indian Independence was a reality not because of a few individuals, leaders or sections of society but that it was possible because of the participation of the common Indian citizen who prayed to his family deity everyday. However, he said, the youngsters who went to gallows to see their motherland free, were the greatest "Veeradhiveers".

Legacy

Savarkar passed away in 1966, after being looped into the controversy regarding the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi by Nathuram Godse. The Hindu Mahasabha, an institution that Savarkar had helped grow, had opposed the creation of Pakistan, and took exception to Gandhi's continued Muslim appeasement stances. Nathuram Godse, a volunteer of the Hindu Mahasabha, assassinated Gandhi in 1948 and upheld his actions until his hanging.

Savarkar is revered in India today as the "Brave Savarkar" (Veer Savarkar), and is on the same level as Mahatma Gandhi, Subhas Chandra Bose, and Tilak. The intellectuals as well as the common man in India continue to debate what would have happened if the ideas of Savarkar were endorsed by the Nation, especially after freedom in 1947.