Savarkar

by Vikram Sampath

  This is why sages hail you as the supreme consciousness, in our scriptures.

  Oh! Goddess of Freedom! All that is ideal and lofty, magnificent and sweet!

  Is associated only with you.

  Stained with the blood of the evildoers whom you destroy, nurturing the righteous!

  Life is to die for you! Death is to live without you!

  The entire creation surrenders unto you, Oh! Goddess of Freedom!)

  Vinayak also dabbled in the Marathi literary genre of powadas, or ballads, and composed two significant ones on Maratha heroes Tanaji and Baji Prabhu. Vinayak begins the ballad on Tanaji with the words of Jijabai, the heroic mother of Shivaji Maharaj thus:

  Gulamagirichi bedi paaee tasheecha dharta na?

  Gulamagiricha narakaamajhi tasecha pichata na?

  Swaatantryacha sukha ni maaji janma swatantraanche

  Gulamagiricha ukeeradyavari gulama nipajaaya che

  (The fetters of slavery that you exhibit on your legs;

  You seem to have fallen in love with this wretched state of hell?

  No doubt, you neither feel bad nor shameful about this state of yours.

  But remember, if you are free, your future generations will lead a life of self-respect;

  But if you embrace your slavery thus, your successors would wallow similarly!)

  In the powada on Baji Prabhu. each stanza ends with the refrain

  Chala ghaalu swatantryasangari ripuvara ti ghaala

  Avachita gaathuni, thakavuni, bhulavuni kasaahi khechava 17

  (In this freedom struggle let us all get together and attack our enemies.

  Strike catching him unawares, strike by stealth, or by mesmerizing him

  Do whatever you please, but attack for sure!)

  Bal, along with two bright boys, Dattu and Shridhar (who later became well known as Prof Dattopant Ketkar and Advocate Shridharpant Vartak), performed these powadas to much public acclaim in Nashik. S.M. Paranjpe invited Bal, Vartak and Ganapat Ramachandra Magar to Poona to perform during the Shivaji festival on 17 June 1905. 18 Tilak, who witnessed the performance, praised it, ranked it the best and honoured them with a gold medal. Tilak even invited them to perform at the Shivaji festival at Raigarh Fort. These ballads were later printed by Babarao under the Laghu Abhinav Bharat Mala publication series in May 1906. The British government proscribed these ballads, but by then they had attained the popularity of folk songs all over Maharashtra.

  Not much of the prose that Vinayak wrote during this period is available. On the occasion of the centenary of the erstwhile Maratha Empire’s influential statesman and minister, Nana Phadnavis, he wrote a thought-provoking article called ‘Why should the celebration of historical characters be held?’ It concludes with his forceful assertion:

  To pay our national gratitude that we owe to those heroic souls, these festivals should be celebrated as a mark of reverence and remembrance of the immense good that those benevolent men have done to this world. Such celebrations have the sanction of ancient traditions as well. They are the veritable clouds that shower the nectar of instruction. They are the monuments of virtues to emulate. They are the catalysts of positive human thought and action. They are the preceptors who impart direction to the youth on the righteous path. They are the living history of the deeds of noble heroes . . . Especially, we Hindus, should take to these celebrations in order to emerge from the present degraded state that we find ourselves in, largely due to want of self-respect and dutifulness. For this is the only easy and sure path to our nation’s liberation and her prosperity. 19

  Vinayak had made an in-depth study of all the dramas of Kalidasa and Bhavabhuti, the legendary playwrights of Sanskrit literature. In an essay, he brilliantly contrasted their styles. The English poets Scott, Shakespeare and Milton influenced him the most. Milton’s Paradise Lost was among his favourite works and he had even learnt many of its cantos by heart. His extensive reading found its reflection in his insightful writings. His essay ‘Ramayana and Iliad’ that compares the two great epics was a masterpiece that won him much acclaim even from his professors. Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill and Herbert Spencer’s political philosophy made a lasting impact on him. Vinayak was particularly impressed by the utilitarian philosophy of Bentham and Mill. He writes: ‘In college days I read Bentham and Mill and . . . based my moral thinking on the lines of utilitarian principles as explained by them . . . Not only that, I would teach this utilitarian philosophy even in our revolutionary organizations.’ 20 While he wrote plays later in his life, as a student of Fergusson College, he even acted in two of them—a minor role in the play titled Tratika in 1902 and the role of Iago in Zunzarrao , the Marathi version of Othello , in 1904.

  In the Mitra Mela meetings at Poona, Vinayak gave scholarly lectures on world history, and the lives of great revolutionaries of Italy, Netherlands and America. The intent was to provide his young colleagues an insight into the tortuous life of struggles that a revolutionary had to brace himself for. At Fergusson College, he once delivered a powerful lecture on the history of Italy. This session was presided over by one of Maharashtra’s most eminent historians and scholars ‘Itihasacharya’ 21 Vishwanath Kashinath Rajwade who was deeply impressed by the young man’s knowledge, research and oratorical skills. He cautioned him from linking the subject of the history of Italy and its revolutionaries to Indian politics or delivering such speeches that could be easily construed as seditious.

  In 1903, at the opening of a new session in college, when young Vinayak was called upon to address the students, the hall echoed with the thunderous applause of his colleagues and admirers. On this occasion, he gave a stirring speech on India’s glorious past and bemoaned the loss of freedom. The entire hall was overcome with emotions, and a harried Professor C.G. Bhanu, who was presiding over the meeting, hastily rose and told the audience: ‘Young men! You need not take Savarkar seriously. He is a Devil!’ 22 Such was the sway that the knowledge and oratorical skills of young Savarkar had on his comrades. Always dressed in his trademark black cap, short collared coat and distinguished by his prominent cheekbones and jawline, broad forehead and piercing eyes, Vinayak’s magnetic personality was difficult to ignore for even those who did not like him.

  With Vinayak moving to Poona, the onus of the Mitra Mela in Nashik fell on Babarao—a man who till a few years ago had wanted to renounce worldly pleasures and become a disciple of Vivekananda. After a lot of inner turmoil, he decided to throw his weight behind his younger brother’s mission. Commenting on his change of heart from spiritual pursuits to revolutionary work, Babarao stated:

  My only purpose is and has always been to achieve the eternal or Brahman. Now I realize that my countrymen are nothing but a form of the Brahman only. The way to achieving Brahman is not necessarily through asceticism in the Himalayan peaks alone, but from serving my countrymen and freeing them from British yoke. 23

  As the Mela’s secretary, he took the lead in organizing lectures of several leaders such as Tilak, S.M. Paranjpe, Aurobindo from Bengal, Syed Haidar Raza, advocate Babarao Deshpande of Nagar, Shankar Balkrishna Deo of Dhule, Kashinath Waman Lele from Wai and others. These were held in the Vijayanand and Brahmanand theatres. Being particular about punctuality, Babarao would insist that the lectures begin on time and hence people thronged the theatres nearly half an hour before they commenced. The lectures were preceded by patriotic songs and on special occasions such as Dussehra or Shivaji Jayanti, processions of decorated palanquins with loud exultations to the leaders went all over Nashik.

  In 1903, young Narayanrao organized an allied association called the Mitra Samaj in which nearly 200 schoolchildren of his age (all in their early teens) enrolled themselves. Prominent members included S.R. Vartak, K.B. Mahabal, K.P. Bhagwat, Ketkar brothers, V.N. Barve, Sitarampant Shauche, Vishwanathrao Patwardhan, Gochide, Dandekar, Vaishampayan and K.G. Karve. They practised physical activities such as push-ups, gymnastics, swimming, marathons, etc. Their favourite pastime was enacting a play titled
Ramadasi Hadasam where they went to one of the dilapidated forts around Nashik, imagined the saffron flag, or bhagwa, flying atop it, and rehearsed various war techniques to protect this flag of their nation and faith. On several occasions, they would leave for these unknown forts and difficult terrains within the jungles with limited resources of food and clothing, stay there for a couple of days in order to acclimatize and adjust themselves to literally ‘living on the edge’.

  The children also published handwritten journals propagating freedom and advocating the revolutionary cause. Bal, like his brother Vinayak, wrote articles and also delivered speeches on the economic condition of India, famines, effects of disarmament on Indians, and the dissolution of the princely states. These evoked great interest among the students, who listened with rapt attention to these animated lectures. The members accosted British officers and shouted slogans of ‘Swatantrya Lakshmi ki Jai ’ demanding absolute and complete freedom to India—when such an idea was unknown in most parts of the country. The police got wind of these activities and routinely kept track of all that was going on in the schools.

  Not to be left behind, the women of Nashik too organized themselves under the Atmanishtha Yuvati Sangha around 1905. Yesu Vahini was the association’s main organizer. Nearly fifty to sixty women enrolled despite the obvious revolutionary agenda associated with it. Prominent members included Janakibai Gore, Laxmi Bai Bhatt, Godumai Khare, Laxmi Bai Datar, Janakibai Datar, Parvati Bai Gadgil, Uma Bai Gadgil, Laxmi Bai Rahalkar and Yamuna Bai Savarkar, among others. Tilak’s daughter, Parvati Bai Ketkar, was a prominent member and on one occasion her mother, Satyabhama Bai Tilak, presided over the meeting. 24 The group gathered every Friday and collectively read newspapers, specifically articles related to political and social issues. This was followed by elaborate discussions, and possible solutions deliberated upon. They also arranged lectures among themselves on several topics of national interest. They eschewed the sacred offerings or prasad served in temples as it contained foreign-manufactured sugar. In their gatherings, they sang patriotic songs and taught these to the young children of the family. Festivals such as Shivaji Jayanti, Rani Lakshmi Bai Jayanti, Dussehra and so on were celebrated collectively.

  With the wide network of the Mitra Mela branches all over Maharashtra, Vinayak decided to convene a gathering of all its members. In 1903, the first such meeting was held at advocate Randive’s house in Dhule over a period of two days. Nearly seventy members from various parts of Maharashtra—Nashik, Poona, Kothur, Bhagur, Trimbak and Berar—attended this meeting. It was a stocktaking exercise for the organization to evaluate its work and make future plans.

  The following year, in 1904, about 200 members of the Mitra Mela gathered in Nashik for the second convention that was held at V.M. Bhat’s house, Bhagwat Wada. Vinayak spoke about Mazzini and Young Italy to this vast gathering of bright, spirited revolutionaries who were all stirred up with nationalistic fervour. It was in this meeting that Vinayak proposed a new name for the Mitra Mela, Abhinav Bharat (New India), one that terrorized British authorities not only in India, but abroad as well. In front of a picture of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj touching his sword, the oath that was administered to the members went something like this:

  Vande Mataram (Salutations to the Mother!)

  In the name of God,

  In the name of Bharat Mata,

  In the name of all the martyrs that have shed their blood for Bharat Mata,

  By the love innate in all men and women, that I bear to the land of my birth,

  Wherein lie the sacred ashes of my forefathers, and which is the cradle of my children.

  By the tears of the countless mothers for their children whom the foreigner has enslaved, imprisoned, tortured and killed,

  I . . .

  Convinced that without Absolute Political Independence or Swarajya my country can never rise to the exalted position among the nations of the earth which is Her due, And convinced also that that Swarajya can never be attained except by the waging of a bloody and relentless war against the Foreigner, solemnly and sincerely swear that I shall from this moment do everything in my power to fight for Independence and place the Lotus Crown of Swaraj on the head of my Mother;

  And with this object, I join the Abhinav Bharat, the Revolutionary Society of all Hindustan, and swear that I shall ever be true and faithful to this, my solemn Oath, and that I shall obey the orders of this organization (body);

  If I betray the whole or any part of this solemn Oath, or if I betray this organization (body) or any other working with a similar object, May I be doomed to the fate of a perjurer! 25

  Thereafter, annual sessions became a regular feature. In 1905, Abhinav Bharat’s meeting was held at Kothur and the following year in Sion. In 1906, Babasaheb Khare and V.M. Bhat decided to go to Calcutta for the annual Congress session presided over by Dadabhai Naoroji. On the sidelines, they intended to create alliances with like-minded secret societies of young revolutionaries there, such as Anushilan Samiti, Swadhin Bharat and others. They decided that the need of the hour was simultaneous armed rebellions all over India.

  The following year, in 1907, Babarao and nearly a hundred members of the Abhinav Bharat attended the Surat Congress session. Babarao found an enthusiastic young man, V.O. Chidambaram Pillai, who had also come to attend it. He administered the oath of the Abhinav Bharat to Pillai and asked him to go back to Madras and enlist more members. Pillai later became an important revolutionary figure in Madras and engineered uprisings in Tirunelveli and Tuticorin. 26 At Surat, a secret meeting of revolutionaries was arranged where Babarao and his associates met the Bengali revolutionaries Aurobindo Ghose, his brother Barindra, and Congress leader Surendranath Banerjea. 27 Thereafter, the members of Abhinav Bharat were in regular touch with the revolutionaries from Bengal. Regular meetings of such secret societies across India began to be held. Thus, contrary to popular narratives of dispersed activities of firebrand radicals devoid of any plan or strategy indulging in mere mindless violence and political assassinations, the emergent revolutionary movement was a planned, coordinated and a strategic one.

  In the past too attempts had been made to coordinate the activities of various secret societies that had sprung up in different parts of India, particularly Maharashtra and Bengal. In 1904, a staunch associate of Tilak, Damu Kaka Bhide, had called a meeting of Abhinav Bharat members and secret societies from Nagpur and Poona. Wamanrao Joshi, Shamarao Deshpande, Durani and Palekar, and Vinayak, V.M. Bhat and Vishnu Sitaram Randive from the Abhinav Bharat were present for this secret meeting. However, it ended inconclusively due to Vinayak’s uncompromising stance of seeking total and absolute freedom and nothing short of it. 28

  Wherever a member of the organization went, he would start a branch of Abhinav Bharat. In the Nashik district itself, by the end of 1906, branches were opened at Trimbak, Bhagur, Ozar, Kothur, Niphad, Igatpuri, Dhodap, Vani and other places. 29 Soon branches mushroomed at Junnar, Bombay, Pen, Satara, Nagpur, Nagar, Sholapur, Dhule, Kolhapur, Baroda, Indore, Gwalior, Aurangabad, Hyderabad and other places. Marathe, Bapat, Kolhatkar, Jog and Gokhale belonged to the Pen branch; Tonpe, 30 Barve, Trimbakseth Gujarati, Shivram Seth Sonal and Anant Kanhere belonged to the Yeola branch; the Hyderabad unit was headed by Vinayak Govind Tikhe; 31 the Bombay branch included V.M. Bhat, Balasaheb Kher who later became the chief minister of Bombay under the Government of India Act of 1935, Dr Gune, Vhandawarkar, Murdeshwar, Dr Sonapar, solicitor Thatte, engineer Ghate, Chiplunkar and others. Dr Parulkar, Wagh, Dr Athalye and others formed part of the Vasai unit, while nearly forty to fifty members made up the Gwalior branch.

  The Baroda unit included barrister Deshpande, Kelkar, Sardar Mujumdar and Rajaratna Manikrao as its members. Jivatram Bhagwandas Kripalani, popularly known as Acharya Kripalani, who later became the president of the INC during the transfer of power in 1947, also came under the spell of Abhinav Bharat when he was a student of the Deccan College in Poona. Other prominent members included Kundanmal Firodia
from Ahmednagar who later became the speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and Shripad Damodar Satavalekar, who wrote several books on Indian philosophy.

  Each branch worked as autonomous units and was linked through their heads. They thus formed a vast network or federation of secret societies united by a common fire and passion. The structure was similar to the secret societies that operated successfully in Ireland and Russia. Vinayak’s thorough study of world history and politics had given him an insight into these societies and hence he decided to structure the Abhinav Bharat on similar lines. All the members were not known to each other. As Bhat recounts, this helped in saving ‘a number of institutions, thousands of members and cache of arms’. 32 Vinayak’s writings and speeches of the time reveal his strategy and philosophy of revolution:

  The Abhinav Bharat calls for total and complete freedom, to attain which armed revolution is an inevitable means. But was our goddess of freedom a blood-thirsty and anarchist deity? No, not at all. The excess of hyper nationalism is as dangerous as the complete lack of it. We need to deliberate on the binaries of Violence versus non-violence; truth versus falsehood, nationalism and humanity in our weekly meetings. Our testing stone needs to be Utilitarianism—the maximum good to the maximum people. But truth is relative and how do we then define what is good and what is bad? Well the obvious acts such as a thief going scot-free and a saint being executed is clearly untruth, disqualification and adharma . And whenever the cruel exploiting force gags the voice of truth in this manner, then the forces of justice must unite to decimate them and to do that secretive and strategic coming together becomes our dharmic responsibility. After all, Lord Krishna also grew up in stealth in Nanda’s house before killing Kamsa. If he had gone strictly with the ‘truth’ he would have been killed by Kamsa’s demons. Similarly, Shivaji stealthily escaped from Aurangzeb’s capture. Secrecy per se is neither good nor bad but what its utility is for, gives it a positive or negative character. Similar is the case with national struggle. For the restoration of legitimate rights through which the maximum good is possible to the maximum number of people, the struggle through violence is also a virtuous act, while supporting an exploitative force that captures another’s land, property and rights and destroys another’s house is demoniac and needs to be destroyed ruthlessly. The nation must always be for the good of its people. 33