Savarkar

by Vikram Sampath

  The actions of Fergusson College led to outrage from all quarters and support poured in for Vinayak from everywhere. Tilak wrote angry editorials stating, ‘These are not our gurus’, and attacked Sir Raghunath Paranjpe and the Fergusson College management. Under S.M. Paranjpe’s chairmanship, a meeting was held at Sarvajanik Sabha. Several eminent Poona citizens such as Bhalakar Bhopatkar, Harendranath Mitra and Ghamendabuva spoke out in support of Vinayak, and congratulated the students for collecting the money to pay his fine. In a stinging editorial in Kal , S.M. Paranjpe decried it as a national shame that one Indian citizen was being fined by another for the former’s love for his country. He rued that it was all the more abhorrent that such a thing was happening in the educational field. Terming it as shameful disease that was spreading to all sections of society, Paranjpe termed this ploy of pitting Indians against fellow Indians as an indication of the great success, shrewdness and power of the British. 52

  Nearly thirty-eight years later, presiding over the diamond jubilee celebrations of his student, Professor Wrangler Paranjpe continued to hold a bit of his grouse against him: ‘In his younger days as I know him, Savarkar was marked by a keen intellect, fervid eloquence, great fluency in writing and a magnetic personality. I remember his patriotism was intense, but as natural to young men it was based entirely on strong emotions, not much regulated by cold reason.’ 53

  Amid these tumultuous times, the BA examinations were fast approaching. As was his nature, Vinayak closeted himself for a couple of months and dedicated his time to intense studies. The results were declared on 21 December 1905 and once again he emerged successful. A wave of happiness spread among his supporters, as well as his family back home in Nashik. A year earlier, he had already passed the first LLB examination as well. As 1906 dawned, Vinayak shifted to Bombay for his final law degree examination. Bhat too followed him there and enrolled at Wilson College. The two stayed together at Sukha Niwas Lodge off Girgaum Train Terminus.

  As expected, even in Bombay, Vinayak was relentless in his work related to Abhinav Bharat. One of the members, Bhaskar Vishnu Phadke, was a publisher and had begun a new Marathi weekly, Vihari , along with Ramachandra Narayan Mandalik and Balakrishna Narayan Phatak. Vinayak made regular, firebrand contributions to Vihari that acted as a veritable mouthpiece of Abhinav Bharat. Vinayak acted as the de facto co-editor of the weekly. Its circulation increased by leaps and bounds, quite like the Yugantar in Bengal that was started in March 1906. New members were initiated in Bombay and the oath administered to them. Regular meetings were organized either at Sukha Niwas Lodge or in Shastri Hall or in the Chikhalawadi tenements.

  Intensive propaganda soon began to win members from some of the city’s most prestigious and elite institutions of higher education such as the Elphinstone College, Wilson College, Victoria Technical Institute, Gujjur’s Laboratory, Art School, Law School, and other medical colleges. Vinayak believed that inducting members from the government services would help them keep a close watch on the internal activities of the government. With this in mind, they slowly began infiltrating the railways, post and telegraph departments, customs, the Bombay High Court, the secretariat, the weather bureau and so on. Abhinav Bharat had truly metamorphosed into a powerful force to reckon with. Bhat pithily quotes Vinayak’s observations on the strategy of the organization :

  If our plan to rise in arms simultaneously all over India had not miscarried, we would have heralded the coming of that revolution by throwing bombs and by murdering British officers all at one time. We had collected enough arms to make life difficult for the British Government, especially the officials. The bomb factory at Vasai was a secret school where trustworthy revolutionaries were taught the art of bomb making. 54

  Unlike the revolutionaries of the past such as Wasudev Balwant Phadke or the Chapekar brothers, who were not wanting either in patriotism or courage but lacked in calculated strategy, Vinayak’s Abhinav Bharat was far from a bunch of misguided youth hurling bombs and assassinating random officers. It had a clear road map of how to instigate that ultimate pan-India revolution, taking inspiration from the seeds of 1857, and extinguish the Empire in its massive blaze. In Vinayak’s own words:

  The strategies that Mazzini employed in Italy, or the revolutionaries did in Ireland or Russia and our own revolutionaries of 1857 can be re-employed in India again with a high probability of success. Infiltrating the army and police, creating a vast network of a secret armed force, establishing contacts with revolutionaries from Russia, Italy, Ireland and other countries, striking attacks on the main protagonists of British administration, having stocks of arms in the provinces and border areas for quick deployment in case of need, low intensity revolts all the time to keep the administration busy and diverted before a big blow can be dealt with, and most importantly, the will to die and inspire others to as well—these are what would be needed to craft a successful revolution in India. In the end if Britain gets embroiled in some international war back home, its strength would be further diminished and striking at that time would undoubtedly result in their overthrow. I never believed that just killing some random British officers here and there would make them scared and run away. We also know all the 30 crore Indians would not join us. But even if 2 lakh brave people come and join the movement, it would suffice. Those who called revolution as childish and mindless, and relied only on servile applications must realize that their means are flawed and that can never help us achieve the goal. At this stage of our existence in Abhinav Bharat, it is presumptuous and hilarious to assume we could shake the mighty British Empire. We are just a matchstick, but please know that if we light it, we can burn down the whole edifice of the palace. History is replete with several such matchsticks that have burnt down entire nations and empires. Our essential fodder is the disaffection towards the empire in the minds of 30 crore Indians and this was enough for the canon to explode. The first two years of our existence is for understanding, theorizing and strategizing this plan and for moulding and strengthening the minds, setting a road map and clear direction to our acts and not perpetrate random violent acts. We also need to take in the best ideas and practices of both the so-called Moderates and Nationalist Extremists as they were all patriotic people too, with good intent for the country and its freedom. 55

  While in Bombay, Vinayak was invited by students in Poona to meet a man named Agamya Guru who was known to make passionate speeches and who also made students collect funds to liberate the country. 56 Curious to know more, Vinayak interviewed him on 23 February 1906. Quite early in the conversation, Vinayak realized that the man was a quack as he kept talking about his mystical powers and the support of the Almighty in the efforts to free India. 57 Cutting him short, Vinayak asked him to clarify his political viewpoints. The baffled guru told him that he would first need some financial assistance from Vinayak and only thereafter would he reveal his political strategies. The interview was terminated in twenty-five minutes flat. Vinayak advised the students to ignore such imposters. His assessment proved right, because two years later, in 1908, the guru was found guilty of outraging the modesty of an English girl in London and was released after four months of imprisonment in a British jail. 58

  What makes this insignificant event interesting is that it found its way into a confidential document called ‘The Sedition Committee Report’ of 1918. The Committee was presided by Justice Rowlatt, and it had the inputs of eminent judges, officials and intelligence agents. Vinayak Savarkar and his activities in Poona are elaborately covered here, indicating that by then he had come under the radar of the intelligence department of the British government. But how horribly wrong this Committee got its facts is indicated in the following extract from the report:

  Before leaving India Vinayak Savarkar had been drawn into a movement initiated early in 1905 by a person styling himself Mahatma Sri Agamya Guru Paramhansa, who toured in India delivering lectures and speaking fearlessly against Government, telling his audiences not to fear Government. As pa
rt of the movement, a number of students early in 1906 started in Poona a society, which elected Vinayak Savarkar as their leader and invited him to Poona to meet the Mahatma. Savarkar attended a meeting on the 23rd February and suggested that a committee of nine should be appointed to carry out the objects of the movement. A committee was accordingly elected, of which most of the members had at one time or other belonged to the Fergusson College in Poona, where Vinayak had been educated. The Mahatma at this meeting advised the raising of funds by a contribution of one anna from every person for the purposes of the society and said he would advise how it should be utilised when a sufficient amount had been collected. 59

  Vinayak was conscious of detectives following him around. On 23 February 1906, when he was making a powerful speech in Poona’s Joshi Hall about the need to emulate the advice of Shivaji Maharaj’s guru, Saint Ramdas, he noticed suspicious-looking people in the audience. He was advising his audience to fill their hearts with the thought of freedom from foreigners but stopped short of saying the words lest the snoopers record his words. He said:

  Detectives are here. I am glad that they have come here to hear and help us in the work we are doing. We have, so to say, indirectly the sympathy of these people and brought even the police to our side. Bear in mind the commands of Ramdas and follow them in the work you undertake. We have lost everything. We have no more faith in our own religion. Try to re-establish that in India. Shed no tears for what is lost. Shed drops of blood to regain what is lost. 60

  A secret file relating to the Savarkar brothers was opened in 1906 and the file was numbered 60 in 1908. 61 Alexander Montgomerie, ICS, who was then the first class magistrate of Nashik, had written a note in another confidential report that ‘Savarkar had already grown into an accomplished orator of an enviable rank’. 62 Interestingly, Montgomerie filed a secret report of this meeting at Joshi Hall where Vinayak spoke, the same evening as it was delivered:

  His delivery is fast, he is extremely bold, is very impressive in style and at times when encouraged by cheers of his audience forgets that detectives are around him . . . in my humble opinion he has been ruining his own life for he is yet but a raw boy not fitted to preach opinions which he scarcely understands and in addition has been sporting (sic) the lives of youngsters by putting in very nasty ideas in their tender brains . . . this evening he convened a meeting of students of which he was the President . . . he addressed his audience like a general before leading his men to a desperate onset. He spoke for nearly 35 minutes . . . it would appear that a branch of the Indo-European movement will shortly be established in Poona. 63

  On his return to Bombay, Vinayak came across an announcement in the Indian Sociologist newsletter, edited by Pandit Shyamji Krishna Varma of England. A few scholarships had been announced by Shyamji for talented and nationalistic young Indians to study abroad.

  ~

  Shyamji was born to poor parents, Krushnadas Bhanushali and Gomatibai, at Mandavi in Kutch on 4 October 1857. His father was settled in Bombay but was struggling to make ends meet. Since Shyamji had shown early signs of intelligence, his mother took him to Bhuj for education at the English school there. But after her early demise, his father brought him back to Bombay. As destiny would have it, Shyamji soon lost his father when he was barely ten. With the help of his relatives, he pursued his education at Wilson High School and later Elphinstone High School, graduating with flying colours. Alongside, he also learnt Sanskrit at the Sanskrit Pathashala run by Vishvanatha Shastri. Around 1874, he met the spiritual leader and social reformer, Swami Dayanand Saraswati, in Bombay, who founded the Arya Samaj in 1875 to fight several social evils that had crept into Hindu society and to rekindle the ancient Vedic faith. Shyamji was among the first to be formally initiated into the Arya Samaj and worked for it rigorously. On a whirlwind propaganda tour to different parts of India, he delivered stellar lectures in chaste Sanskrit on the need for social reforms and a fresh interpretation of Hindu scriptures.

  In 1875, Shyamji was married to Bhanumati, the daughter of Sheth Chhabildas Lallubhai, a wealthy Bombay industrialist.

  Shyamji’s erudition in Sanskrit caught the attention of Professor Monier Williams, a well-known Sanskrit scholar and then Boden professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford. He was so deeply impressed that he decided to take Shyamji along as his assistant at Oxford. Several eminent people such as Krishna Shastri Chiplunkar and Justice Ranade gave reference letters as testimonials of his brilliance to Professor Williams. Accordingly, Shyamji left for Oxford in 1879 and achieved great academic success over the next four years. Sir Richard Temple, the governor of Bombay, recommended his case to the Maharaja of Kutch for a scholarship that he eventually got. His lectures on Sanskrit and the Vedas earned him a membership at the prestigious Royal Asiatic Society in 1881. He was also sent by Marquis of Harlington, then Secretary of State for India, to represent the country at the fifth Oriental Congress in Berlin. Two years later, Shyamji was once again sent to London as India’s representative to the Oriental Congress by the Earl of Kimberley, then Secretary of State for India. With such erudition and contacts, by the time he completed his BA he became a member of the Empire Club that had as its members governors, Governor-Generals, and commanders-in-chief.

  After becoming a barrister in 1885, Shyamji returned to India and over the next twelve years, held plum positions as dewan of states such as Ratlam, Udaipur and Junagarh. He also practised law in Ajmer for about three years. Around this time, he came in contact with Tilak and was deeply inspired by the latter’s nationalistic spirit. But being disillusioned and shattered with his stint at Junagarh, facing court intrigues and a bad conduct certificate slapped on him, he decided to resign and leave India for good with his wife in 1897. Given his sudden unpopularity in the British administration, Shyamji decided to maintain a low profile in England for about seven to eight years. He invested in stocks and shares and made a considerable fortune to live independently.

  After the Partition of Bengal and its aftermath, Shyamji was convinced that he needed to play a more active role in the political movement back home. He was convinced of the imperative necessity to inculcate new doctrines of rationalism and freedom in the minds of Indians. To this end, he evolved a scheme of founding Indian lectureships for propagating the ideas of his icon, Herbert Spencer, in India. On Spencer’s death in 1903, he announced a personal grant of £1000 for establishing the Spencer lectureship at Oxford, to help arrange lectures by eminent scholars of philosophy for Indian students. Keenly observing revolutionary movements in his neighbourhood in Europe, Shyamji decided to begin publishing an English monthly called the Indian Sociologist as ‘An organ of Freedom and of Political, Social and Religious Reform’ on 1 January 1905. He also established contacts with Gaelic American , a prominent Irish-Catholic newspaper owned and published by John Davoy of the Irish Republican Party from New York. 64 Shyamji, however, repudiated violence and took a more conciliatory and non-combative approach towards the British public, writing articles and letters to British newspapers appealing on the basis of cold logic and justice. 65 In his maiden editorial in the Indian Sociologist , Shyamji set out his guiding principles and also his disdain for the moderate faction of the Congress:

  Resistance to aggression is not simply justifiable but imperative. Non-resistance hurts both altruism and egoism . . . the political relations between England and India urgently require a genuine Indian interpreter in the United Kingdom to show on behalf of India how Indians really fare and feel under British rule. No systematic attempt has, so far as our knowledge goes, ever been made in the country by Indians themselves to enlighten the British public with regard to the grievances, demands and aspirations of the people of India. It will be our duty and privilege to plead the cause of India and its unrepresented millions before the Bar of Public Opinion in Great Britain and Ireland. 66

  A.M. Shah describes the Indian Sociologist as only ‘mild in its criticism of British rule’ and points to Shyamji’s statement that �
�India and England should severe their connection peaceably and part as friends’. 67 It circulated widely in Great Britain, India, and even the United States of America, even after the British tried to prohibit its import from 1907 onward.

  Soon after the publication of the second issue of the Indian Sociologist , Shyamji decided to back it up with an organization of and for Indians in London. Although inspired by the Irish revolutionary movement, his ‘Indian Home Rule Society’ adopted a fairly conciliatory stance. On 18 February 1905, about twenty Indians met at his house at Highgate 68 in London to inaugurate the society. Its principal objectives were securing Home Rule in India, carrying out propaganda in the United Kingdom by all practical means towards that end and to spread among the people of India knowledge of the advantages of freedom and national unity. Other than Shyamji, the members of this society included C. Muthu, J.M. Parikh, Dr D.E. Pereira, Parameshwar Lal, Dr U.K. Dutt, Sardarsingh Rana, Manchershah Barjorji Godrej and Abdullah Al-Mamun Suhrawardy.