I believe that a nation held in bondage with the
help of bayonets, is in a state of perpetual war and since the guns
are denied to me, I drew forth my pistol and attacked by surprise.
help of bayonets, is in a state of perpetual war and since the guns
are denied to me, I drew forth my pistol and attacked by surprise.
Cambridge History of India - v4 - Indian Empire
He went on
## p. 743 (#783) ############################################
TILAK
743
tours and collected a lot of money for the various national causes.
He asked his audiences to work for Swaraj and get ready for suffer-
ings which alone could bring Swaraj. In one of his meetings, he
declared: “We are at present clamouring for Swaraj and therefore
the Shivaji festival is the most fitting one for us to celebrate. If
Shivaji was able to establish Swarajya two centuries ago, we too
may expect to achieve it some day. Swarajya belongs to us by
birthright. The Moderates can be compared to Shivaji's father
Shahji who always used to advise his son not to take up arms
against the mighty Mohammedan monarchs of the Deccan. But
Shivaji, who can be compared to the Extremists of the present day,
gave a new turn to events. We are masters of our fortunes and
can govern them if we only make up our minds to do so. Swarajya
is not far off from us. It will come to us the moment we learn to
stand on our legs. ” His slogan at the meetings was: “Swarajya is
my birthright; I will have it. ” As was to be expected, the Govern-
ment of India regarded the growth of Extremism with apprehension
and danger. No stone was left unturned to suppress the advocates
of Extremism. They were arrested and imprisoned. Sections
124-A and 153-A were added to the Indian Penal Code to deal with
the situation. By another law, the authorities were authorised to
ban political organisations suspected of subversive tendencies and
to conduct the summary trials of the political offenders. Two laws
were passed in 1908 and 1910 to crush the Indian press. In 1907,
Lord Minto promulgated the Regulation of Meetings Ordinance
which curtailed the right of the people to hold public meetings.
Between the passing of the Indian Councils Act of 1999 and the
starting of the Home Rule Movement by Tilak and Mrs. Annie
Besant, there was not much of bitterness between the Congress on
the one hand and the Government of India on the other. There
were many factors responsible for this change. The Extremists
were out of the political field and the Moderates were incharge of
the Congress. Lord Hardinge followed a sympathetic policy to-
wards the Congress. He expressed his feelings of sympathy for
the national aspirations of the people of India. He wept with
them in the matter of the treatinent of the Indians in Scuth Africa.
It was during his regime that the partition of Bengal was cancelled.
The result was that the Congress adopted a policy of conciliation.
With regard to the visit of George V to India and the holding of
the Delhi Durbar in 1911, Shri Ambika Charan Mazumdar dec-
lared: "Every heart is beating in unison with reverence and devo-
tion to the British Crown, overflowing with revived confidence in
and gratitude towards British statesmanship. Some of us never
faltered—not even in the darkest days of our trials and tribula-
## p. 744 (#784) ############################################
744
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
tions—in our hope, in our conviction and in our faith in the ulti-
mate triumph and vindication of British justice. ” We are told
that when the Governor of Madras visited the Pandal of the Con-
gress, the whole House cheered the Governor and a resolution was
passed expressing the loyalty of the Congress to the British throne.
In his speech delivered at Poona in July 1909, Gokhale asked for
loyal cooperation with the British Government in India for two
reasons: "One that, considering the difficulties of the position,
Britain had done very well in India; the other that there was no
alternative to British rule and could be none for a long time. . . .
They could proceed in two directions: first, towards an obliteration
of distinctions, on the ground of race, between individual Indians
and individual Englishmen and secondly, by way of advanced to-
wards the form of government enjoyed in other parts of the
Empire. The latter is an ideal for which the Indian people have
to qualify themselves, for the whole question turns on character
and capacity and they must realise that their main difficulty lies
with themselves. ” In October of the same year, he addressed
the students at Bombay in these words : "The active participa-
tion of students in political agitation really tends t. ) lower the
dignity and the responsible character of public life and impair its
true effectiveness. ” Tilak was out of Indian politics from 1908
to 1914 on account of his long imprisonment in the Mandlay jail
in Burma. During his absence, the politics of the country was
dull. The Moderates were happy that their opponent was in jail.
However, things changed after the release of Tilak in 1914. Tilak
was not in a mood to precipitate matters. He was willing to have
a compromise with the Moderates. It is true that when
Gokhale started negotiations with Tilak for a compromise, Pheroze-
shah Mehta disapproved of them and the result was that the ne-
gotiations broke down. Pherozeshah Mehta decided to have the
next session of the Congress at Bombay so that he may be able to
maintain his hold over the Congress. Sir Satyendra Sinha who
later on became Lord Sinha, was selected as the President of the
Bombay session but unfortunately Pherozeshah Mehta died a few
weeks before the Congress session. Gokhale also died. On
account of their old age, Dinshaw Wacha and Chondravarkar
were not active. S. N. Banerjee was not in tune with the new
surroundings. Madan Mohan Malaviya was not in a position
to lead the Congress on the Moderate lines.
The speech of Sir Satyendra Sinha, the Congress President at
the Bombay session in 1915, came as a shock to the progressive
elements in India. He is said to have observed thus: “Even if
the English nation were willing to make us an immediate free
## p. 745 (#785) ############################################
HOME RULE MOVEMENT
745
gift of full self-government, I take leave to doubt whether the
boon would be worth having as such, for it is a commonplace of
politics that nations like individuals must grow into Freedom
and nothing is so baneful in political institutions as prematurity;
nor must we forget that India free can never be ancient India res-
tored. ” The right of the Extremists to enter the Congress was
admitted at the Bombay session of the Congress and the constitu-
tion of the Congress was suitably amended. Although Tilak
was not present at the Bombay session, enough of heat was created
by the Home Rule Proposals of Mrs. Annie Besant. Her speeches
and writings in 1915 had given a rude shock to the Mode-
rates. The Bombay session was the announcement of the ascen-
dancy of the politicians of the Extremist School and the decline
of the influence of the Moderates. The citadel of the Moderates
was successfully attacked. The adoption of the resolution
self-government was interpreted as having converted the Con-
gress into an Extremist league. The ground was prepared for
Tilak and his colleagues.
on
HOME RULE MOVEMENT
:
Mrs. . Annie Besant and Tilak started the Home Rule Move-
ment in 1916. There was Jothing original or revolutionary
about this movement. Annie Besant was not the enemy of the
British Empire. She merely wanted to awaken the people of
India out of their slumber. She declared : "I am an Indian
Tom Tom, waking up all the sleepers so that they make wake
and work for their motherland. ” Her plan was “to disentangle
the nationalist Extremists from the compromising alliance with
the revolutionaries, to reconcile them to a position with the
Empire and to bring them with the Moderates into line in the
united Congress. ” She herself wrote thus : "In political reform,
we aim at the building up of complete self-government from vil-
lage councils, through District and Municipal Boards and Pro-
vincial Legislative Assemblies to a National Parliament, equal in
its powers to the Legislative bodies of the Self-Governing Colo-
nies, by whatever name they may be called, also at the direct
representation of India to the Imperial Parliament when that
body shall contain representatives of the self-Governing States of
the Empire. ”
Mrs. Annie Besant made it clear that home rule was the birth-
right of the people of India and they were not prepared to take
it as a reward for their services for the British Empire and their
loyalty to the British Crown. She wrote thus: “India does not
## p. 746 (#786) ############################################
746
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
chaffer with the blood of her sons and the proud tears of her
daughters in exchange for so much liberty, so much right. India
claims the right, as a Nation, to justice among the peoples of
the Empire. India asked for this before the War, India asked
for it during the War; India will ask for it after the War, but not
as reward but as a right does she ask for it. "
The Home Rule Movement reached its high watermark in
1917. It was in that year that the Government of India took
strong action against the leaders of the movement. Mrs. Annie
Besant was interned. There was a lot of agitation for her re-
lease. Tilak threatened to start passive resistance. The atmos-
phere of the country was surcharged with enthusiasm. It was at
this time that the Secretary of State for India made in August,
1917 his historic declaration which promised responsible govern-
ment to the people by stages. By slow degrees, the Home Rule
Movement died out. Mrs. Annie Besant was elected the Presi-
dent of the Congress in 1917. The Secretary of State for India
visited this country in 1917. He went on tours of the country
and met the representatives of the people. The joint Report
was published in 1918 and the Government of India Act was
passed in 1919.
TERRORIST AND REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS
Terrorism was one of the phases of militant nationalism al-
though it differed radically from the political Extremists repre-
sented by Tilak. The revolutionaries did not believe in the me-
thods of appeal, persuasion and peaceful struggle. They were
convinced that without violence it was impossible to uproot an
imperialism imposed and maintained by brute force. The re-
actionary and repressive policy of the British Government exas-
perated them. They believed in violent action with a view to de-
moralise the administration and its Indian collaborators. They
had no scruples to resort to armed raids and dacoities to help their
movement.
The earliest storm centre of revolutionary nationalism was
Maharashtra and the name of Vasudeo Balwant Phadake stands
foremost in that connection. Shri Vasudeo was born in 1845.
He was profoundly influenced by the ideas of Ranade. He was bitter
against Englishmen who were drawing fat salaries as the expense
of the starving Indians. When famine broke out in Poona in 1876,
the Government, instead of organising relief work, levied heavier
taxes from the people. Vasudeo resigned his government job and
undertook a tour of Maharashtra. He went from place to place
## p. 747 (#787) ############################################
TERRORIST AND REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS 747
to organise the people against the Government. He started col-
lecting arms and ammunition to turn out the English from the
country and for that purpose he had no hestitation in plundering
the money-lenders. For some time, he created a reign of terror in
the seven districts of Maharashtra. The Government announced
a reward for his arrest and he was captured by Major Daniel on
July 20, 1879. He was put up for trial, convicted and sentenced
to life imprisonment. His conviction was upheld by the High
Court and he was sent to Aden Jail. In October 1880, he made
an attempt to escape but he was pursued and caught after 17
miles of pursuit. He died in February 1883. He made the fol-
lowing statement at the time of his conviction by the Sessions
Court: “The Indian people are today standing on the threshold of
death. The British bureaucracy and the Government machinery
has so ground down the common masses that have been already
harassed by famines and food scarcities. We, the sons of Bharat,
. , ,
are made the object of intense hatred and contempt. Wherever
you cast your glance, you witness only such sights, hear such
words, as no Hindu or Muslim whose necks have been straight so
long with self-respect can do anything but bend his head in shame.
Death would have been more honourable for us all than this dis-
graceful slavery. Had I but succeeded in my design, I would
have accomplished a great task. It was my ambition to establish
a Republic of free India. I have always preached in my lectures
that our bliss lies in killing the British people. I told my audience
a number of times that if they did not help me in this task, then
the British rulers will destroy them root and branch. Oh citizens
of India! Why should I not suffer like the great sage Dadheechi?
If by my sacrifice and told surrender, I can help your resurrection
from slavery, why should I not make effort? Accept this my last
bow. "
Damodar Chapekar was another hero of the same type.
Although he was essentially a soldier, he took up the profession of
Kirtan as the Brahmins were not eligible for recruitment in the
army. He began to hate British administration in India. On
one occasion, he observed thus: "Mere recalling the mighty deeds
of Shivaji will not deliver the goods. If we want freedom, we
shall have to plunge in action like our idols—Shivaji and Baji Rao.
My young frends! The time has come to sharpen our swords in
order to behead the enemies. Let us take a pledge to fight till
the last breath and die bravely but not without tainting the earth
red with English blood. Be not idle; be not a lifeless burden
on the country. Be up and doing; be a hero in the strife. Is it
not shameful that we call our country Hindustan (the land of
## p. 748 (#788) ############################################
748
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
the Hindus) but let it be ruled over by the Englishmen? ” When
Mr. Rand the Plague Commissioner of Poona and Mr. Ayerst
were coming back from the Government House, they were shot
dead by Damodar Chapekar. The result was that he and a few
others were hanged by the Government.
It appears that Mr. Shyamji Krishna Varma was connected
with the murder of Rand but he managed to escape to London.
He was a Sanskrit scholar and he had been the Dewan of Udai-
pur and Junagarh States. He delivered a few lectures at the
Oxford University and he impressed every one by his learning. He
took to business and earned a lot of money. He started a monthly
journal entitled “The Indian Sociologist. ” With the help of Rana,
six lecturerships of Rs. 1,000 each and three travelling scholar-
ships for Rs. 2,000 each were offered to Indian students to go
abroad for training themselves as national missionaries. One of
the students who went to London was V. D. Savarkar.
He was a
youngman when Chapekar was hanged. It is said that on that
occasion, he took the following vow before his family deity: “I
will raise the banner of an armed revolution to achieve the free-
dom of my motherland till I die fighting the enemy. I will spare
no breath in performing this sacred pledge. ” In 1900, he started
an association known as Mitra Mela. Its members were young-
men who were prepared to lay down their lives for the sake
of their country. The name of this association was changed
to Abhinava Bharat in 1904. Every member was required to
take the following pledge: “In the sacred name of Chatrapati
Shivaji, in the name of my sacred religion, for the sake of my
beloved country, invoking my fore-fathers, I swear that my nation
will be prosperous only after freedom, full freedom is achieved.
Convinced of this, I dedicate all my health, wealth and talents
for the freedom of my country and for her total uplift. I will
work hard to my utmost capacity till my breath. I will not
spare myself or slacken in this mission. I will never disclose any-
thing about the organisation. "
Savarkar was very much loved by Shyamji Krishna Varma.
A new life was put into the residents of India House by him. By
the end of 1906, he completed his book entitled “Joseph Mazzini-
Biography and Politics'. He also wrote a book on the rising of
1857 in India and gave it the name of Indian War of Indepen-
dence.
Savarkar sent a parcel containing 20 Browning Automatic Pis-
tols with ammunition to Bombay concealed in the false bottom of
a box forming part of the luggage of one Chaturbhuj Amin who
was working as a cook in the India House. The pistols were to
## p. 749 (#789) ############################################
TERRORIST AND REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS 749
men.
be used by the members of Abinava Bharat which was working
under the direction of Ganesh Savarkar, the brother of V. D. Savar-
kar. Before the parcel reached India, Ganesh Savarkar had already
been arrested on the charge of waging war against the Government
and sentenced to transportation for life. The members of Abhinava
Bharat decided to murder Jackson, District Magistrate of Nasik,
as he had convicted Ganesh Savarkar. Jackson actually was shot
dead on December 21, 1909. Anant Laxman Kanhere was arrest-
ed and put up for trial. In his statement, Kanhere declared: “I
have performed my part.
Ganesh Damodar Savarkar is being
sentenced to transportation for life in your administration whereas
your Executive Engineer Mr. Williams who caused the death of
an Indian cartman, is being rewarded with life. It is for this that
I have killed Jackson. I have no desire to run away. " The details
of the Nasik Conspiracy were divulged by one Ganu Vaidya who
was a member of the Nasik branch of Abhinava Bharat. Acting on
the information supplied by him, the Police rounded up 37 young-
Three of them were hanged and the others were sentenced
to varying terms of imprisonment.
It is stated that Mr. Jackson arrested Ganesh Savarkar on the
instigation of Sir Curzon Willie who had laid a ring of spies around
the India House to watch the activities of the Indian students. He
also dictated the British policies concerning India. At the instiga-
tion of V. D. Savarkar, Sir Curzon Willie was shot dead on July 1,
1909, by one Madan Lal Dhingra. When he was arrested, a chit
was recovered from his pocket and it read as follows: "I attempted
to shed English blood intentionally and with purpose as a humble
protest against the inhuman transportation and hanging of Indian
youth. ” At the time of his trial, he made the following statement:
“I admit the other day I attempted to shed English blood as an
humble revenge for the inhuman happenings and deportations of
the Indian patriotic youths. And in this I have consulted with
none but my own conscience. I have conspired with none but with
my own duty.
I believe that a nation held in bondage with the
help of bayonets, is in a state of perpetual war and since the guns
are denied to me, I drew forth my pistol and attacked by surprise.
What could a son poor in wealth and intellect like me offer to the
Mother except my own blood! My only prayer to God is that I
may again return to the same Mother and die in the same cause
till the Mother is freed for the service of humanity ard glory of
God. Vande Mataram. ” Madan Lal was sentenced to death and
hanged on August 16, 1909. On November 9, 1909, an attempt
was made to blow up the carriage in which Lord and Lady Minto
were driving through the city of Ahmedabad. Two cocoanut
## p. 750 (#790) ############################################
750
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
bombs were thrown but they did not explode in time.
When all this was happening, V. D. Savarkar was in Paris and
he decided to go back to London to resume his work. Shyamji
Krishna Varma and Lala Hardayal and Madame Cama tried to
dissuade him from taking the risk but he refused to accept their
advice and went to London. As soon as he reached London, he
was arrested on March 13, 1910. Apprehending his death to be
near, Savarkar wrote the following letter to his brother's wife:
“We had taken a solemn pledge to free our country from political
slavery. We are proud to lay down our lives one by one to attain
our goal. It is a great day from the day of the fruition of all
my aspirations. I am extremely glad that I have done my bit to
free my mother from the shackles of bondage. Oh my Mother-
land! I have already offered at your feet my youth, my pleasures,
my sweet home, my purse and my brother and sister. Here am I
ready to offer my body. Thanked be they who have dedicated
their lives to the service of the nation. Dear sister-in-law, enter-
tain such thoughts and hold on to your pledge and add lustre to
the fair name of the family. ” The view of the Government of
India was that V. D. Savarkar had a hand in the Nasik Conspiracy
and consequently orders were passed for his removal to India.
He tried to escape when his ship was near the Port of Marseilles.
He jumped into the sea and successfully reached the shore but
was illegally caught by British officers on the French soil. On
reaching India, he was put up for trial. He was convicted and
sentenced to 50 years' imprisonment and transportation on March
22, 1911. He was sent to the Andamans at the age of 28 It is
stated that when the Jailor came to know that he was put in Jail
for 50 years, he exclaimed: "Oh God! Fifty years. ” The reply of
Savarkar was “why worry! fifty years. Is the British ruie going to
survive these fifty years? " In 1924, Savarkar was brought to India
along with his brother Ganesh. He was released in 1937 when the
Congress Ministry came to power.
Sardar Singh Rana was closely associated with the editing of
the papers like the Vande Mataram, Indian Freedom and Talwar.
He gave money when Hem Chandra was sent to Russia by the
revolutionaries to learn the technique of making the bomb. He
was responsible for the smuggling of twenty automatic shining pis-
tols and bullets into India and one of those bullets was used for
killing Jackson. During the First World War, he was sent to a
remote Island from where he was released after the end of the war.
Madame Cama also made her contribution towards the cause of
India's freedom. She attended the International Socialist Confer-
ence held in Germany in 1907 along with Sardar Singh Rana and
## p. 751 (#791) ############################################
TERRORIST AND REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS 751
there unfurled the National flag of India. She urged all the free-
dom-loving nations of the world to help the cause of India's free-
dom. In December 1908, she moved a resolution for the boycott
of foreign goods. In 1914, she was arrested and deported. She
came to India in 1934 but died in 1936.
Revolutionary propaganda was carried on in Bengal by Barindra
Kumar Ghosh, the younger brother of Aurobindo, and Bhupendra
Nath Dutt, the brother of Swami Vivekanand. To begin with,
Barindra Kumar tried to preach “the cause of Independence as a
political missionary. ” However, later on he was convinced that
purely political propaganda was not enough. He started the
Yugantar and through its columns carried on the work of educat-
ing the masses. In an article, he expounded his revolutionary gos-
pel in these words: “Shri Krishna had said in Gita that whenever
there is a decline of righteousness and a rise in unrighteousness,
there shall be a reincarnation of God to rescue the good, to destroy
the wrongdoer and to establish righteousness. ” Again, “At the
present time, righteousness is declining and unrighteousness is
springing up in India. A handful of alien robbers are ruining the
crores of the people of India by robbing the wealth of India.
Through the hard grinding of their servitude, the ribs of the count-
less people are being broken to pieces. Fear not, Oh Indians, God
will not remain inactive. He will keep His word. Placing firm
reliance on the promises of God, invoke His power. When the
lightning of Heaven flashes in their hearts, men perform impossible
deeds. "
A programme was chalked out and it consisted of six items.
Hatred was to be created in the minds of the educated people of
India against servitude by vigorous propaganda in the press. The
fear of unemployment and starvation was to be removed from the
minds of the Indians and love of freedom and of the Motherland
was to be inculcated in them. That was to be done by "soul-
stirring music and theatrical performances glorifying the lives of
heroes and their great deeds in the cause of freedom and by patrio-
The Government was to be kept busy by means of
Bande Mataram processions, Swadeshi conferences and boycott
meetings. Youngmen were to be recruited, organized in small
bands and trained in physical exercises and use of weapons and
were to be taught absolute obedience to rules and the leaders.
Weapons were to be manufactured, purchased from foreign coun-
tries and smuggled into the country or manufactured in the coun-
try itself. Money was to be raised for the Terrorist Movement by
means of raids and dacoities. The belief was that “the law of the
English is established on brute force and if to liberate ourselves we
tic songs.
## p. 751 (#792) ############################################
750
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
bombs were thrown but they did not explode in time.
When all this was happening, V. D. Savarkar was in Paris and
he decided to go back to London to resume his work. Shyamji
Krishna Varma and Lala Hardayal and Madame Cama tried to
dissuade him from taking the risk but he refused to accept their
advice and went to London. As soon as he reached London, he
was arrested on March 13, 1910. Apprehending his death to be
near, Savarkar wrote the following letter to his brother's wife:
"We had taken a solemn pledge to free our country from political
slavery. We are proud to lay down our lives one by one to attain
our goal. It is a great day from the day of the fruition of all
my aspirations. I am extremely glad that I have done my bit to
free my mother from the shackles of bondage. Oh my Mother-
land! I have already offered at your feet my youth, my pleasures,
my sweet home, my purse and my brother and sister. Here am I
ready to offer my body. Thanked be they who have dedicated
their lives to the service of the nation. Dear sister-in-law, enter-
tain such thoughts and hold on to your pledge and add lustre to
the fair name of the family. " The view of the Government of
India was that V. D. Savarkar had a hand in the Nasik Conspiracy
and consequently orders were passed for his removal to India.
He tried to escape when his ship was near the Port of Marseilles.
He jumped into the sea and successfully reached the shore but
was illegally caught by British officers on the French soil. On
reaching India, he was put up for trial. He was convicted and
sentenced to 50 years' imprisonment and transportation on March
22, 1911. He was sent to the Andamans at the age of 28. It is
stated that when the Jailor came to know that he was put in Jail
for 50 years, he exclaimed: “Oh God! Fifty years. ” The reply of
Savarkar was “why worry! fifty years. Is the British ruie going to
survive these fifty years? " In 1924, Savarkar was brought to India
along with his brother Ganesh. He was released in 1937 when the
Congress Ministry came to power.
Sardar Singh Rana was closely associated with the editing of
the papers like the Vande Mataram, Indian Freedom and Talwar.
He gave money when Hem Chandra was sent to Russia by the
revolutionaries to learn the technique of making the bomb. He
was responsible for the smuggling of twenty automatic shining pis-
tols and bullets into India and one of those bullets was used for
killing Jackson. During the First World War, he was sent to a
remote Island from where he was released after the end of the war.
Madame Cama also made her contribution towards the cause of
India's freedom. She attended the International Socialist Confer-
ence held in Germany in 1907 along with Sardar Singh Rana and
>
## p. 751 (#793) ############################################
TERRORIST AND REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS 751
there unfurled the National flag of India. She urged all the free-
dom-loving nations of the world to help the cause of India's free-
dom. In December 1908, she moved a resolution for the boycott
of foreign goods. In 1914, she was arrested and deported. She
came to India in 1934 but died in 1936.
Revolutionary propaganda was carried on in Bengal by Barindra
Kumar Ghosh, the younger brother of Aurobindo, and Bhupendra
Nath Dutt, the brother of Swami Vivekanand. To begin with,
Barindra Kumar tried to preach “the cause of Independence as a
political missionary. ” However, later on he was convinced that
purely political propaganda was not enough. He started the
Yugantar and through its columns carried on the work of educat-
ing the masses. In an article, he expounded his revolutionary gos-
pel in these words: "Shri Krishna had said in Gita that whenever
there is a decline of righteousness and a rise in unrighteousness,
there shall be a reincarnation of God to rescue the good, to destroy
the wrongdoer and to establish righteousness. ” Again, “At the
present time, righteousness is declining and unrighteousness is
springing up in India. A handful of alien robbers are ruining the
crores of the people of India by robbing the wealth of India.
Through the hard grinding of their servitude, the ribs of the count-
less people are being broken to pieces. Fear not, Oh Indians, God
will not remain inactive. He will keep His word. Placing firm
reliance on the promises of God, invoke His power. When the
lightning of Heaven flashes in their hearts, men perform impossible
deeds. "
A programme was chalked out and it consisted of six items.
Hatred was to be created in the minds of the educated people of
India against servitude by vigorous propaganda in the press. The
fear of unemployment and starvation was to be removed from the
minds of the Indians and love of freedom and of the Motherland
was to be inculcated in them. That was to be done by “soul-
stirring music and theatrical performances glorifying the lives of
heroes and their great deeds in the cause of freedom and by patrio-
The Government was to be kept busy by means of
Bande Mataram processions, Swadeshi conferences and boycott
meetings. Youngmen were to be recruited, organized in small
bands and trained in physical exercises and use of weapons and
were to be taught absolute obedience to rules and the leaders.
Weapons were to be manufactured, purchased from foreign coun-
tries and smuggled into the country or manufactured in the coun-
try itself. Money was to be raised for the Terrorist Movement by
means of raids and dacoities. The belief was that "the law of the
English is established on brute force and if to liberate ourselves we
>
tic songs.
## p. 752 (#794) ############################################
752
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
too must use brute force, it is right that we should do sc. ” An
appeal was made to the youngmen of Bengal in these words: "Will
the Bengali worshipper of Shakti shrink from the shedding of blood ?
The number of Englishmen in this country is not above one lac
and a half, and what is the number of English officials in each
district? If you are firm in your resolution, you can in a single
day bring British rule to an end. Lay down your life, but first
take a life. The worship of the goddess will not be consummated
if you sacrifice your lives at the shrine of Independence without
shedding blood. ”
As a result of the efforts made by Barindra Kumar Ghosh and
Bhupendra Nath Dutt and their associates, a number of revolutio-
nary societies were set up and one of them was the Anusilan Samiti
or Society for the Promotion of Culture and Training. The Society
had its branches in Calcutta and Dacca. It was modelled on the
same line as the secret societies of Italy and Russia. It embarked
upon a programme of wholesale terrorism. On December 6, 1907,
an attempt was made to blow up the train in which the Lieutenant-
Governor was travelling. On December 23, 1907, Mr. Allen who
was formerly the District Magistrate of Dacca, was shot in the
back but the injury did not prove to be fatal. On April 30, 1908,
Mrs. and Miss Kennedy were murdered. The facts were that Mr.
Kingsford was hated by the terrorists on account of the heavy
punishments inflicted by him on the Swadeshi workers. What was
resented particularly was the infliction of corporal punishment on
respectable youngmen. Susil Sen, a boy of fifteen, was flogged in
public for the offence that he was mixed up in a Police fracas. The
terrorists decided to murder him and a clever device was prepared
to achieve the objective. What was done was that the middle
portions of the leaves of a book borrowed from Mr. Kingsford were
cut out and a bomb was put into the hollow thus created. It was
thought that when Mr. Kingsford would open the book, the bomb
would burst and kill him. The scheme was not successful as Mr.
Kingsford did not require the book immediately and thc same was
never opened. Another device was thought of to murder Kings-
ford. Khudi Ram Bose and Profulla Chakie were deputed for that
purpose. When both of them were going to the Bungalow of Mr.
Kingsford, they saw a carriage coming from that direction. They
thought that the occupant of the carriage was Mr. Kingsford and
they threw the bomb into the carriage. What happened was that
Mrs. and Miss Kennedy were killed by the bomb. Profulla Chakie
shot himself but Khudi Ram Bose was arrested, tried and hanged.
Khudi Ram became a martyr and a hero. Students and many
others put on mourning for him. Schools were closed for two or
## p. 753 (#795) ############################################
TERRORIST AND REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS 753
three days as a tribute to his memory. His photographs had an
immense sale. By and by, the youngmen began to wear Dhoties
with Khudi Ram Bose's name woven into the borders of garments.
The Government was able to unearth a conspiracy in Calcutta
and also captured some bombs, dynamite, cartridges and the corres-
pondence which led to the arrest and trial of about 39 persons in-
cluding Aurobindo Ghosh, Bhupendra Nath Dutt, Hem Chandra
Das and Narinder Gosain. Kanai Lal Dutt and S. N. Bose were
separately tried and executed. Heavy punishments were inflicted
.
on the remaining 36 accused. Narinder Gosain became an appro-
ver, but he was shot dead by his companions in the jail. Nand
Lal, the Sub-Inspector who had arrested Khudi Ram Bose, was
murdered. Ashutosh Biswas who had acted as Public Prosecutor
in the Gosain Murder case and the Alipore case was shot dead.
Shams-ul-Alam, Deputy Superintendent of Police, who was con-
nected with the Alipore case, was also shot dead. On November
7, 1908, an attempt was made to shoot Sir Andrew Frazer, the
Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, but the attempt failed. The ter-
rorists of Bengal did not spare the Police officers, Magistrates,
Prosecuting Lawyers, hostile witnesses, traitors, betrayers and ap-
provers. One and all, they were all shot. The consequences were
absolutely immaterial to the revolutionaries.
In 1907, B. C. Pal toured the Madras Presidency and preached
the gospel of Swaraj. He was imprisoned for six months for his
refusal to give evidence against Shri Aurobindo. When he was
released, two of his admirers from Madras celebrated his release
by holding a public meeting, hoisting the flag of Swaraj and pledg-
ing to boycott everything foreign. Both of them were arrested by
the Government and that led to a riot at Tinnevelly. The Sedition
Committee Report says: “It was marked by wholesale and delibe-
rate destruction of Governmnet property in open defiance of the
constituted authority. ” Every public building in Tinnevelly, except
the Sub-Registrar's Office, was attacked. The furniture and re-
cords of these buildings set on fire as well as portions of the build-
ings themselves; the municipal office was gutted. Twenty-seven
were convicted and sentenced for participation in the riot.
Pondicherry was also the centre of revolutionary work. M. P.
Tiruhal Acharya and V. V. S.
## p. 743 (#783) ############################################
TILAK
743
tours and collected a lot of money for the various national causes.
He asked his audiences to work for Swaraj and get ready for suffer-
ings which alone could bring Swaraj. In one of his meetings, he
declared: “We are at present clamouring for Swaraj and therefore
the Shivaji festival is the most fitting one for us to celebrate. If
Shivaji was able to establish Swarajya two centuries ago, we too
may expect to achieve it some day. Swarajya belongs to us by
birthright. The Moderates can be compared to Shivaji's father
Shahji who always used to advise his son not to take up arms
against the mighty Mohammedan monarchs of the Deccan. But
Shivaji, who can be compared to the Extremists of the present day,
gave a new turn to events. We are masters of our fortunes and
can govern them if we only make up our minds to do so. Swarajya
is not far off from us. It will come to us the moment we learn to
stand on our legs. ” His slogan at the meetings was: “Swarajya is
my birthright; I will have it. ” As was to be expected, the Govern-
ment of India regarded the growth of Extremism with apprehension
and danger. No stone was left unturned to suppress the advocates
of Extremism. They were arrested and imprisoned. Sections
124-A and 153-A were added to the Indian Penal Code to deal with
the situation. By another law, the authorities were authorised to
ban political organisations suspected of subversive tendencies and
to conduct the summary trials of the political offenders. Two laws
were passed in 1908 and 1910 to crush the Indian press. In 1907,
Lord Minto promulgated the Regulation of Meetings Ordinance
which curtailed the right of the people to hold public meetings.
Between the passing of the Indian Councils Act of 1999 and the
starting of the Home Rule Movement by Tilak and Mrs. Annie
Besant, there was not much of bitterness between the Congress on
the one hand and the Government of India on the other. There
were many factors responsible for this change. The Extremists
were out of the political field and the Moderates were incharge of
the Congress. Lord Hardinge followed a sympathetic policy to-
wards the Congress. He expressed his feelings of sympathy for
the national aspirations of the people of India. He wept with
them in the matter of the treatinent of the Indians in Scuth Africa.
It was during his regime that the partition of Bengal was cancelled.
The result was that the Congress adopted a policy of conciliation.
With regard to the visit of George V to India and the holding of
the Delhi Durbar in 1911, Shri Ambika Charan Mazumdar dec-
lared: "Every heart is beating in unison with reverence and devo-
tion to the British Crown, overflowing with revived confidence in
and gratitude towards British statesmanship. Some of us never
faltered—not even in the darkest days of our trials and tribula-
## p. 744 (#784) ############################################
744
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
tions—in our hope, in our conviction and in our faith in the ulti-
mate triumph and vindication of British justice. ” We are told
that when the Governor of Madras visited the Pandal of the Con-
gress, the whole House cheered the Governor and a resolution was
passed expressing the loyalty of the Congress to the British throne.
In his speech delivered at Poona in July 1909, Gokhale asked for
loyal cooperation with the British Government in India for two
reasons: "One that, considering the difficulties of the position,
Britain had done very well in India; the other that there was no
alternative to British rule and could be none for a long time. . . .
They could proceed in two directions: first, towards an obliteration
of distinctions, on the ground of race, between individual Indians
and individual Englishmen and secondly, by way of advanced to-
wards the form of government enjoyed in other parts of the
Empire. The latter is an ideal for which the Indian people have
to qualify themselves, for the whole question turns on character
and capacity and they must realise that their main difficulty lies
with themselves. ” In October of the same year, he addressed
the students at Bombay in these words : "The active participa-
tion of students in political agitation really tends t. ) lower the
dignity and the responsible character of public life and impair its
true effectiveness. ” Tilak was out of Indian politics from 1908
to 1914 on account of his long imprisonment in the Mandlay jail
in Burma. During his absence, the politics of the country was
dull. The Moderates were happy that their opponent was in jail.
However, things changed after the release of Tilak in 1914. Tilak
was not in a mood to precipitate matters. He was willing to have
a compromise with the Moderates. It is true that when
Gokhale started negotiations with Tilak for a compromise, Pheroze-
shah Mehta disapproved of them and the result was that the ne-
gotiations broke down. Pherozeshah Mehta decided to have the
next session of the Congress at Bombay so that he may be able to
maintain his hold over the Congress. Sir Satyendra Sinha who
later on became Lord Sinha, was selected as the President of the
Bombay session but unfortunately Pherozeshah Mehta died a few
weeks before the Congress session. Gokhale also died. On
account of their old age, Dinshaw Wacha and Chondravarkar
were not active. S. N. Banerjee was not in tune with the new
surroundings. Madan Mohan Malaviya was not in a position
to lead the Congress on the Moderate lines.
The speech of Sir Satyendra Sinha, the Congress President at
the Bombay session in 1915, came as a shock to the progressive
elements in India. He is said to have observed thus: “Even if
the English nation were willing to make us an immediate free
## p. 745 (#785) ############################################
HOME RULE MOVEMENT
745
gift of full self-government, I take leave to doubt whether the
boon would be worth having as such, for it is a commonplace of
politics that nations like individuals must grow into Freedom
and nothing is so baneful in political institutions as prematurity;
nor must we forget that India free can never be ancient India res-
tored. ” The right of the Extremists to enter the Congress was
admitted at the Bombay session of the Congress and the constitu-
tion of the Congress was suitably amended. Although Tilak
was not present at the Bombay session, enough of heat was created
by the Home Rule Proposals of Mrs. Annie Besant. Her speeches
and writings in 1915 had given a rude shock to the Mode-
rates. The Bombay session was the announcement of the ascen-
dancy of the politicians of the Extremist School and the decline
of the influence of the Moderates. The citadel of the Moderates
was successfully attacked. The adoption of the resolution
self-government was interpreted as having converted the Con-
gress into an Extremist league. The ground was prepared for
Tilak and his colleagues.
on
HOME RULE MOVEMENT
:
Mrs. . Annie Besant and Tilak started the Home Rule Move-
ment in 1916. There was Jothing original or revolutionary
about this movement. Annie Besant was not the enemy of the
British Empire. She merely wanted to awaken the people of
India out of their slumber. She declared : "I am an Indian
Tom Tom, waking up all the sleepers so that they make wake
and work for their motherland. ” Her plan was “to disentangle
the nationalist Extremists from the compromising alliance with
the revolutionaries, to reconcile them to a position with the
Empire and to bring them with the Moderates into line in the
united Congress. ” She herself wrote thus : "In political reform,
we aim at the building up of complete self-government from vil-
lage councils, through District and Municipal Boards and Pro-
vincial Legislative Assemblies to a National Parliament, equal in
its powers to the Legislative bodies of the Self-Governing Colo-
nies, by whatever name they may be called, also at the direct
representation of India to the Imperial Parliament when that
body shall contain representatives of the self-Governing States of
the Empire. ”
Mrs. Annie Besant made it clear that home rule was the birth-
right of the people of India and they were not prepared to take
it as a reward for their services for the British Empire and their
loyalty to the British Crown. She wrote thus: “India does not
## p. 746 (#786) ############################################
746
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
chaffer with the blood of her sons and the proud tears of her
daughters in exchange for so much liberty, so much right. India
claims the right, as a Nation, to justice among the peoples of
the Empire. India asked for this before the War, India asked
for it during the War; India will ask for it after the War, but not
as reward but as a right does she ask for it. "
The Home Rule Movement reached its high watermark in
1917. It was in that year that the Government of India took
strong action against the leaders of the movement. Mrs. Annie
Besant was interned. There was a lot of agitation for her re-
lease. Tilak threatened to start passive resistance. The atmos-
phere of the country was surcharged with enthusiasm. It was at
this time that the Secretary of State for India made in August,
1917 his historic declaration which promised responsible govern-
ment to the people by stages. By slow degrees, the Home Rule
Movement died out. Mrs. Annie Besant was elected the Presi-
dent of the Congress in 1917. The Secretary of State for India
visited this country in 1917. He went on tours of the country
and met the representatives of the people. The joint Report
was published in 1918 and the Government of India Act was
passed in 1919.
TERRORIST AND REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS
Terrorism was one of the phases of militant nationalism al-
though it differed radically from the political Extremists repre-
sented by Tilak. The revolutionaries did not believe in the me-
thods of appeal, persuasion and peaceful struggle. They were
convinced that without violence it was impossible to uproot an
imperialism imposed and maintained by brute force. The re-
actionary and repressive policy of the British Government exas-
perated them. They believed in violent action with a view to de-
moralise the administration and its Indian collaborators. They
had no scruples to resort to armed raids and dacoities to help their
movement.
The earliest storm centre of revolutionary nationalism was
Maharashtra and the name of Vasudeo Balwant Phadake stands
foremost in that connection. Shri Vasudeo was born in 1845.
He was profoundly influenced by the ideas of Ranade. He was bitter
against Englishmen who were drawing fat salaries as the expense
of the starving Indians. When famine broke out in Poona in 1876,
the Government, instead of organising relief work, levied heavier
taxes from the people. Vasudeo resigned his government job and
undertook a tour of Maharashtra. He went from place to place
## p. 747 (#787) ############################################
TERRORIST AND REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS 747
to organise the people against the Government. He started col-
lecting arms and ammunition to turn out the English from the
country and for that purpose he had no hestitation in plundering
the money-lenders. For some time, he created a reign of terror in
the seven districts of Maharashtra. The Government announced
a reward for his arrest and he was captured by Major Daniel on
July 20, 1879. He was put up for trial, convicted and sentenced
to life imprisonment. His conviction was upheld by the High
Court and he was sent to Aden Jail. In October 1880, he made
an attempt to escape but he was pursued and caught after 17
miles of pursuit. He died in February 1883. He made the fol-
lowing statement at the time of his conviction by the Sessions
Court: “The Indian people are today standing on the threshold of
death. The British bureaucracy and the Government machinery
has so ground down the common masses that have been already
harassed by famines and food scarcities. We, the sons of Bharat,
. , ,
are made the object of intense hatred and contempt. Wherever
you cast your glance, you witness only such sights, hear such
words, as no Hindu or Muslim whose necks have been straight so
long with self-respect can do anything but bend his head in shame.
Death would have been more honourable for us all than this dis-
graceful slavery. Had I but succeeded in my design, I would
have accomplished a great task. It was my ambition to establish
a Republic of free India. I have always preached in my lectures
that our bliss lies in killing the British people. I told my audience
a number of times that if they did not help me in this task, then
the British rulers will destroy them root and branch. Oh citizens
of India! Why should I not suffer like the great sage Dadheechi?
If by my sacrifice and told surrender, I can help your resurrection
from slavery, why should I not make effort? Accept this my last
bow. "
Damodar Chapekar was another hero of the same type.
Although he was essentially a soldier, he took up the profession of
Kirtan as the Brahmins were not eligible for recruitment in the
army. He began to hate British administration in India. On
one occasion, he observed thus: "Mere recalling the mighty deeds
of Shivaji will not deliver the goods. If we want freedom, we
shall have to plunge in action like our idols—Shivaji and Baji Rao.
My young frends! The time has come to sharpen our swords in
order to behead the enemies. Let us take a pledge to fight till
the last breath and die bravely but not without tainting the earth
red with English blood. Be not idle; be not a lifeless burden
on the country. Be up and doing; be a hero in the strife. Is it
not shameful that we call our country Hindustan (the land of
## p. 748 (#788) ############################################
748
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
the Hindus) but let it be ruled over by the Englishmen? ” When
Mr. Rand the Plague Commissioner of Poona and Mr. Ayerst
were coming back from the Government House, they were shot
dead by Damodar Chapekar. The result was that he and a few
others were hanged by the Government.
It appears that Mr. Shyamji Krishna Varma was connected
with the murder of Rand but he managed to escape to London.
He was a Sanskrit scholar and he had been the Dewan of Udai-
pur and Junagarh States. He delivered a few lectures at the
Oxford University and he impressed every one by his learning. He
took to business and earned a lot of money. He started a monthly
journal entitled “The Indian Sociologist. ” With the help of Rana,
six lecturerships of Rs. 1,000 each and three travelling scholar-
ships for Rs. 2,000 each were offered to Indian students to go
abroad for training themselves as national missionaries. One of
the students who went to London was V. D. Savarkar.
He was a
youngman when Chapekar was hanged. It is said that on that
occasion, he took the following vow before his family deity: “I
will raise the banner of an armed revolution to achieve the free-
dom of my motherland till I die fighting the enemy. I will spare
no breath in performing this sacred pledge. ” In 1900, he started
an association known as Mitra Mela. Its members were young-
men who were prepared to lay down their lives for the sake
of their country. The name of this association was changed
to Abhinava Bharat in 1904. Every member was required to
take the following pledge: “In the sacred name of Chatrapati
Shivaji, in the name of my sacred religion, for the sake of my
beloved country, invoking my fore-fathers, I swear that my nation
will be prosperous only after freedom, full freedom is achieved.
Convinced of this, I dedicate all my health, wealth and talents
for the freedom of my country and for her total uplift. I will
work hard to my utmost capacity till my breath. I will not
spare myself or slacken in this mission. I will never disclose any-
thing about the organisation. "
Savarkar was very much loved by Shyamji Krishna Varma.
A new life was put into the residents of India House by him. By
the end of 1906, he completed his book entitled “Joseph Mazzini-
Biography and Politics'. He also wrote a book on the rising of
1857 in India and gave it the name of Indian War of Indepen-
dence.
Savarkar sent a parcel containing 20 Browning Automatic Pis-
tols with ammunition to Bombay concealed in the false bottom of
a box forming part of the luggage of one Chaturbhuj Amin who
was working as a cook in the India House. The pistols were to
## p. 749 (#789) ############################################
TERRORIST AND REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS 749
men.
be used by the members of Abinava Bharat which was working
under the direction of Ganesh Savarkar, the brother of V. D. Savar-
kar. Before the parcel reached India, Ganesh Savarkar had already
been arrested on the charge of waging war against the Government
and sentenced to transportation for life. The members of Abhinava
Bharat decided to murder Jackson, District Magistrate of Nasik,
as he had convicted Ganesh Savarkar. Jackson actually was shot
dead on December 21, 1909. Anant Laxman Kanhere was arrest-
ed and put up for trial. In his statement, Kanhere declared: “I
have performed my part.
Ganesh Damodar Savarkar is being
sentenced to transportation for life in your administration whereas
your Executive Engineer Mr. Williams who caused the death of
an Indian cartman, is being rewarded with life. It is for this that
I have killed Jackson. I have no desire to run away. " The details
of the Nasik Conspiracy were divulged by one Ganu Vaidya who
was a member of the Nasik branch of Abhinava Bharat. Acting on
the information supplied by him, the Police rounded up 37 young-
Three of them were hanged and the others were sentenced
to varying terms of imprisonment.
It is stated that Mr. Jackson arrested Ganesh Savarkar on the
instigation of Sir Curzon Willie who had laid a ring of spies around
the India House to watch the activities of the Indian students. He
also dictated the British policies concerning India. At the instiga-
tion of V. D. Savarkar, Sir Curzon Willie was shot dead on July 1,
1909, by one Madan Lal Dhingra. When he was arrested, a chit
was recovered from his pocket and it read as follows: "I attempted
to shed English blood intentionally and with purpose as a humble
protest against the inhuman transportation and hanging of Indian
youth. ” At the time of his trial, he made the following statement:
“I admit the other day I attempted to shed English blood as an
humble revenge for the inhuman happenings and deportations of
the Indian patriotic youths. And in this I have consulted with
none but my own conscience. I have conspired with none but with
my own duty.
I believe that a nation held in bondage with the
help of bayonets, is in a state of perpetual war and since the guns
are denied to me, I drew forth my pistol and attacked by surprise.
What could a son poor in wealth and intellect like me offer to the
Mother except my own blood! My only prayer to God is that I
may again return to the same Mother and die in the same cause
till the Mother is freed for the service of humanity ard glory of
God. Vande Mataram. ” Madan Lal was sentenced to death and
hanged on August 16, 1909. On November 9, 1909, an attempt
was made to blow up the carriage in which Lord and Lady Minto
were driving through the city of Ahmedabad. Two cocoanut
## p. 750 (#790) ############################################
750
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
bombs were thrown but they did not explode in time.
When all this was happening, V. D. Savarkar was in Paris and
he decided to go back to London to resume his work. Shyamji
Krishna Varma and Lala Hardayal and Madame Cama tried to
dissuade him from taking the risk but he refused to accept their
advice and went to London. As soon as he reached London, he
was arrested on March 13, 1910. Apprehending his death to be
near, Savarkar wrote the following letter to his brother's wife:
“We had taken a solemn pledge to free our country from political
slavery. We are proud to lay down our lives one by one to attain
our goal. It is a great day from the day of the fruition of all
my aspirations. I am extremely glad that I have done my bit to
free my mother from the shackles of bondage. Oh my Mother-
land! I have already offered at your feet my youth, my pleasures,
my sweet home, my purse and my brother and sister. Here am I
ready to offer my body. Thanked be they who have dedicated
their lives to the service of the nation. Dear sister-in-law, enter-
tain such thoughts and hold on to your pledge and add lustre to
the fair name of the family. ” The view of the Government of
India was that V. D. Savarkar had a hand in the Nasik Conspiracy
and consequently orders were passed for his removal to India.
He tried to escape when his ship was near the Port of Marseilles.
He jumped into the sea and successfully reached the shore but
was illegally caught by British officers on the French soil. On
reaching India, he was put up for trial. He was convicted and
sentenced to 50 years' imprisonment and transportation on March
22, 1911. He was sent to the Andamans at the age of 28 It is
stated that when the Jailor came to know that he was put in Jail
for 50 years, he exclaimed: "Oh God! Fifty years. ” The reply of
Savarkar was “why worry! fifty years. Is the British ruie going to
survive these fifty years? " In 1924, Savarkar was brought to India
along with his brother Ganesh. He was released in 1937 when the
Congress Ministry came to power.
Sardar Singh Rana was closely associated with the editing of
the papers like the Vande Mataram, Indian Freedom and Talwar.
He gave money when Hem Chandra was sent to Russia by the
revolutionaries to learn the technique of making the bomb. He
was responsible for the smuggling of twenty automatic shining pis-
tols and bullets into India and one of those bullets was used for
killing Jackson. During the First World War, he was sent to a
remote Island from where he was released after the end of the war.
Madame Cama also made her contribution towards the cause of
India's freedom. She attended the International Socialist Confer-
ence held in Germany in 1907 along with Sardar Singh Rana and
## p. 751 (#791) ############################################
TERRORIST AND REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS 751
there unfurled the National flag of India. She urged all the free-
dom-loving nations of the world to help the cause of India's free-
dom. In December 1908, she moved a resolution for the boycott
of foreign goods. In 1914, she was arrested and deported. She
came to India in 1934 but died in 1936.
Revolutionary propaganda was carried on in Bengal by Barindra
Kumar Ghosh, the younger brother of Aurobindo, and Bhupendra
Nath Dutt, the brother of Swami Vivekanand. To begin with,
Barindra Kumar tried to preach “the cause of Independence as a
political missionary. ” However, later on he was convinced that
purely political propaganda was not enough. He started the
Yugantar and through its columns carried on the work of educat-
ing the masses. In an article, he expounded his revolutionary gos-
pel in these words: “Shri Krishna had said in Gita that whenever
there is a decline of righteousness and a rise in unrighteousness,
there shall be a reincarnation of God to rescue the good, to destroy
the wrongdoer and to establish righteousness. ” Again, “At the
present time, righteousness is declining and unrighteousness is
springing up in India. A handful of alien robbers are ruining the
crores of the people of India by robbing the wealth of India.
Through the hard grinding of their servitude, the ribs of the count-
less people are being broken to pieces. Fear not, Oh Indians, God
will not remain inactive. He will keep His word. Placing firm
reliance on the promises of God, invoke His power. When the
lightning of Heaven flashes in their hearts, men perform impossible
deeds. "
A programme was chalked out and it consisted of six items.
Hatred was to be created in the minds of the educated people of
India against servitude by vigorous propaganda in the press. The
fear of unemployment and starvation was to be removed from the
minds of the Indians and love of freedom and of the Motherland
was to be inculcated in them. That was to be done by "soul-
stirring music and theatrical performances glorifying the lives of
heroes and their great deeds in the cause of freedom and by patrio-
The Government was to be kept busy by means of
Bande Mataram processions, Swadeshi conferences and boycott
meetings. Youngmen were to be recruited, organized in small
bands and trained in physical exercises and use of weapons and
were to be taught absolute obedience to rules and the leaders.
Weapons were to be manufactured, purchased from foreign coun-
tries and smuggled into the country or manufactured in the coun-
try itself. Money was to be raised for the Terrorist Movement by
means of raids and dacoities. The belief was that “the law of the
English is established on brute force and if to liberate ourselves we
tic songs.
## p. 751 (#792) ############################################
750
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
bombs were thrown but they did not explode in time.
When all this was happening, V. D. Savarkar was in Paris and
he decided to go back to London to resume his work. Shyamji
Krishna Varma and Lala Hardayal and Madame Cama tried to
dissuade him from taking the risk but he refused to accept their
advice and went to London. As soon as he reached London, he
was arrested on March 13, 1910. Apprehending his death to be
near, Savarkar wrote the following letter to his brother's wife:
"We had taken a solemn pledge to free our country from political
slavery. We are proud to lay down our lives one by one to attain
our goal. It is a great day from the day of the fruition of all
my aspirations. I am extremely glad that I have done my bit to
free my mother from the shackles of bondage. Oh my Mother-
land! I have already offered at your feet my youth, my pleasures,
my sweet home, my purse and my brother and sister. Here am I
ready to offer my body. Thanked be they who have dedicated
their lives to the service of the nation. Dear sister-in-law, enter-
tain such thoughts and hold on to your pledge and add lustre to
the fair name of the family. " The view of the Government of
India was that V. D. Savarkar had a hand in the Nasik Conspiracy
and consequently orders were passed for his removal to India.
He tried to escape when his ship was near the Port of Marseilles.
He jumped into the sea and successfully reached the shore but
was illegally caught by British officers on the French soil. On
reaching India, he was put up for trial. He was convicted and
sentenced to 50 years' imprisonment and transportation on March
22, 1911. He was sent to the Andamans at the age of 28. It is
stated that when the Jailor came to know that he was put in Jail
for 50 years, he exclaimed: “Oh God! Fifty years. ” The reply of
Savarkar was “why worry! fifty years. Is the British ruie going to
survive these fifty years? " In 1924, Savarkar was brought to India
along with his brother Ganesh. He was released in 1937 when the
Congress Ministry came to power.
Sardar Singh Rana was closely associated with the editing of
the papers like the Vande Mataram, Indian Freedom and Talwar.
He gave money when Hem Chandra was sent to Russia by the
revolutionaries to learn the technique of making the bomb. He
was responsible for the smuggling of twenty automatic shining pis-
tols and bullets into India and one of those bullets was used for
killing Jackson. During the First World War, he was sent to a
remote Island from where he was released after the end of the war.
Madame Cama also made her contribution towards the cause of
India's freedom. She attended the International Socialist Confer-
ence held in Germany in 1907 along with Sardar Singh Rana and
>
## p. 751 (#793) ############################################
TERRORIST AND REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS 751
there unfurled the National flag of India. She urged all the free-
dom-loving nations of the world to help the cause of India's free-
dom. In December 1908, she moved a resolution for the boycott
of foreign goods. In 1914, she was arrested and deported. She
came to India in 1934 but died in 1936.
Revolutionary propaganda was carried on in Bengal by Barindra
Kumar Ghosh, the younger brother of Aurobindo, and Bhupendra
Nath Dutt, the brother of Swami Vivekanand. To begin with,
Barindra Kumar tried to preach “the cause of Independence as a
political missionary. ” However, later on he was convinced that
purely political propaganda was not enough. He started the
Yugantar and through its columns carried on the work of educat-
ing the masses. In an article, he expounded his revolutionary gos-
pel in these words: "Shri Krishna had said in Gita that whenever
there is a decline of righteousness and a rise in unrighteousness,
there shall be a reincarnation of God to rescue the good, to destroy
the wrongdoer and to establish righteousness. ” Again, “At the
present time, righteousness is declining and unrighteousness is
springing up in India. A handful of alien robbers are ruining the
crores of the people of India by robbing the wealth of India.
Through the hard grinding of their servitude, the ribs of the count-
less people are being broken to pieces. Fear not, Oh Indians, God
will not remain inactive. He will keep His word. Placing firm
reliance on the promises of God, invoke His power. When the
lightning of Heaven flashes in their hearts, men perform impossible
deeds. "
A programme was chalked out and it consisted of six items.
Hatred was to be created in the minds of the educated people of
India against servitude by vigorous propaganda in the press. The
fear of unemployment and starvation was to be removed from the
minds of the Indians and love of freedom and of the Motherland
was to be inculcated in them. That was to be done by “soul-
stirring music and theatrical performances glorifying the lives of
heroes and their great deeds in the cause of freedom and by patrio-
The Government was to be kept busy by means of
Bande Mataram processions, Swadeshi conferences and boycott
meetings. Youngmen were to be recruited, organized in small
bands and trained in physical exercises and use of weapons and
were to be taught absolute obedience to rules and the leaders.
Weapons were to be manufactured, purchased from foreign coun-
tries and smuggled into the country or manufactured in the coun-
try itself. Money was to be raised for the Terrorist Movement by
means of raids and dacoities. The belief was that "the law of the
English is established on brute force and if to liberate ourselves we
>
tic songs.
## p. 752 (#794) ############################################
752
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
too must use brute force, it is right that we should do sc. ” An
appeal was made to the youngmen of Bengal in these words: "Will
the Bengali worshipper of Shakti shrink from the shedding of blood ?
The number of Englishmen in this country is not above one lac
and a half, and what is the number of English officials in each
district? If you are firm in your resolution, you can in a single
day bring British rule to an end. Lay down your life, but first
take a life. The worship of the goddess will not be consummated
if you sacrifice your lives at the shrine of Independence without
shedding blood. ”
As a result of the efforts made by Barindra Kumar Ghosh and
Bhupendra Nath Dutt and their associates, a number of revolutio-
nary societies were set up and one of them was the Anusilan Samiti
or Society for the Promotion of Culture and Training. The Society
had its branches in Calcutta and Dacca. It was modelled on the
same line as the secret societies of Italy and Russia. It embarked
upon a programme of wholesale terrorism. On December 6, 1907,
an attempt was made to blow up the train in which the Lieutenant-
Governor was travelling. On December 23, 1907, Mr. Allen who
was formerly the District Magistrate of Dacca, was shot in the
back but the injury did not prove to be fatal. On April 30, 1908,
Mrs. and Miss Kennedy were murdered. The facts were that Mr.
Kingsford was hated by the terrorists on account of the heavy
punishments inflicted by him on the Swadeshi workers. What was
resented particularly was the infliction of corporal punishment on
respectable youngmen. Susil Sen, a boy of fifteen, was flogged in
public for the offence that he was mixed up in a Police fracas. The
terrorists decided to murder him and a clever device was prepared
to achieve the objective. What was done was that the middle
portions of the leaves of a book borrowed from Mr. Kingsford were
cut out and a bomb was put into the hollow thus created. It was
thought that when Mr. Kingsford would open the book, the bomb
would burst and kill him. The scheme was not successful as Mr.
Kingsford did not require the book immediately and thc same was
never opened. Another device was thought of to murder Kings-
ford. Khudi Ram Bose and Profulla Chakie were deputed for that
purpose. When both of them were going to the Bungalow of Mr.
Kingsford, they saw a carriage coming from that direction. They
thought that the occupant of the carriage was Mr. Kingsford and
they threw the bomb into the carriage. What happened was that
Mrs. and Miss Kennedy were killed by the bomb. Profulla Chakie
shot himself but Khudi Ram Bose was arrested, tried and hanged.
Khudi Ram became a martyr and a hero. Students and many
others put on mourning for him. Schools were closed for two or
## p. 753 (#795) ############################################
TERRORIST AND REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS 753
three days as a tribute to his memory. His photographs had an
immense sale. By and by, the youngmen began to wear Dhoties
with Khudi Ram Bose's name woven into the borders of garments.
The Government was able to unearth a conspiracy in Calcutta
and also captured some bombs, dynamite, cartridges and the corres-
pondence which led to the arrest and trial of about 39 persons in-
cluding Aurobindo Ghosh, Bhupendra Nath Dutt, Hem Chandra
Das and Narinder Gosain. Kanai Lal Dutt and S. N. Bose were
separately tried and executed. Heavy punishments were inflicted
.
on the remaining 36 accused. Narinder Gosain became an appro-
ver, but he was shot dead by his companions in the jail. Nand
Lal, the Sub-Inspector who had arrested Khudi Ram Bose, was
murdered. Ashutosh Biswas who had acted as Public Prosecutor
in the Gosain Murder case and the Alipore case was shot dead.
Shams-ul-Alam, Deputy Superintendent of Police, who was con-
nected with the Alipore case, was also shot dead. On November
7, 1908, an attempt was made to shoot Sir Andrew Frazer, the
Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, but the attempt failed. The ter-
rorists of Bengal did not spare the Police officers, Magistrates,
Prosecuting Lawyers, hostile witnesses, traitors, betrayers and ap-
provers. One and all, they were all shot. The consequences were
absolutely immaterial to the revolutionaries.
In 1907, B. C. Pal toured the Madras Presidency and preached
the gospel of Swaraj. He was imprisoned for six months for his
refusal to give evidence against Shri Aurobindo. When he was
released, two of his admirers from Madras celebrated his release
by holding a public meeting, hoisting the flag of Swaraj and pledg-
ing to boycott everything foreign. Both of them were arrested by
the Government and that led to a riot at Tinnevelly. The Sedition
Committee Report says: “It was marked by wholesale and delibe-
rate destruction of Governmnet property in open defiance of the
constituted authority. ” Every public building in Tinnevelly, except
the Sub-Registrar's Office, was attacked. The furniture and re-
cords of these buildings set on fire as well as portions of the build-
ings themselves; the municipal office was gutted. Twenty-seven
were convicted and sentenced for participation in the riot.
Pondicherry was also the centre of revolutionary work. M. P.
Tiruhal Acharya and V. V. S.
