After the failure of ‘First Freedom’ battle of 1857, the country passed through a long period of depression and hopelessness. The British had brutally crushed the uprising. The defeat was very demoralising.
During this period some social reformists and spiritual leaders rose up to revive the spirits of the Indians to make a fresh bid for independence. It was felt that the sorry state of the Indian society was direct result of social evils, customs based on blind faiths, gross economic disparity and total lack of education. Reformists were pressing for social reforms and educational drives. One such reformist was Bal Gangadhar Tilak who later was to become pioneer freedom fighter.
In early eighties (of 20th Century) when social reform movements had reached a stage where they were losing steam and political aspirations for freedom were building up to become a political force, Savarkar arrived in this world.
Child Vinayak Damodar was born to Radhabai, the wife of Pandit Damodar Pant of Bhagoor village situated in Nasik district of Maharashtra. They had already a son named Ganesh. The family of Pant was originally rooted in Konkan area in ancestral times.
Expectedly, the mother of the new born Damodar was a religious and God fearing woman dedicated to the traditions and customs ordered by the religion. She preferred to call her son ‘Vinayak’. Some other family members and clans people opted for the name ‘Tatya’.
Vinayak had arrived on 28th May, 1883. It was exactly the time when Congress Party was also about to arrive on the political scene.
The birth of Vinayak was celebrated with traditional gusto with women singing and dancing. Pandit Damodar, a scholar of traditional wisdom accepted the well wishes of the village folk and fed them as customs demanded.
The atmosphere at home was religious. Daily recitals of Ramayana and Geeta was the tradition of the family. Chhatrapati Shivaji was the revered hero. The little Vinayak naturally heard his elders sometimes talk of 1857 Freedom Battle and the brutal British rule over India.
Vinayak particularly liked to hear the stories of the heroes of the great mythological episodes. A wish to write was getting inculcated in the boy. One day, some one told him a story. Vinayak liked it so much that he wanted to hear it again. The story teller asked, “Why again, kid?”
“I want to write it.”
“But you are yet to learn writing letters. How can you write it?”
Vinayak revealed, “That is why I want to hear it again to learn it by heart. Then, I can pen it down when I have learnt to write.”
The story teller was impressed. He assured the kid that he would dictate the story to him when he learnt to write. Vinayak was asked if he could tell any story.
Vinayak had no story to tell but he did recite a few couplets of Geeta he had picked up from his parents. The kid had good memory and a receptive mind.
Education
Vinayak Damodar was enrolled in the village school when he was six years old. He at once showed his natural talent for learning letters. The teachers were happy at his progress.
Besides learning letters Vinayak showed keen interest in many other extra-curricular activities. One was horse riding. Young Vinayak became a good horseman very shortly. Beside horse riding he took interest in arrow shooting with traditional bows. It appears that Vinayak was very impressed with Chhatrapati Shivaji’s battle deeds which inspired him to become a expert horseman like him. Arrow shooting was probably his way of expressing his admiration of Arjuna, the legendary Mahabharata hero. The cultural legacy had deeply influenced young Vinayak’s mind.
And his favourite book was ‘Aranyak’ to the surprise of all. That book was meant for ascetics to be read in the solitude of the forests.
In 1893, when Vinayak was only ten years old the country suffered from spates of communal violence between Hindus and Muslims. The minority community was being used by the British rulers to divide the Indians. Some sections of minority groups were willingly playing the British game. It angered young Vinayak. He saw it as the conspiracy to humiliate the native Hindus. He decided to do something about it. He organised a group of his fellow boys to act as a young army to fight the enemies.
Because Hindus were considered weaklings Vinayak decided to get his group educated and physically strong. His group started going to the traditional akhara to do exercises and learn fencing.
Young Vinayak was a regular news reader so politically conscious he was even at that tender age. And he used to write poems to express his feelings. His first poem was printed in a Marathi paper. The editor was incredulous at learning that the writer was a ten year old boy. His father felt very proud of his son.
Then, tragedy struck. Radhabai passed away leaving behind three sons and a daughter. The father Damodar Pant did his best to look after the children with added motherly care as well. He didn’t marry again. The children too adjusted to the life without the mother.
After the completion of the primary education Vinayak and his elder brother Ganesh went to nearby town Nasik for further middle and high school education. In the new school too Vinayak Damodar organised his own group for physical and martial arts training. He continued to write patriotic poems and some of them were printed in local newspapers and periodicals.
In 1894, Chapekar brothers of Nasik set up an outfit named ‘Hindu Dharma Rakshini Sabha’ with an aim to defend Hindu Dharma. Besides working for Hindu revival it opposed the British rule as well.
During the last decade of 19th century famine struck Maharashtra again and again. The British administration showed utter lack of sympathy for the people. Severe famine affected the state in 1896 again.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak exposed the cruelty and calluousness of the administration through his news papers ‘Kesari’ and ‘Maratha’. The young workers of Tilak who were surveying draught affected areas to collect data were arrested. Tilak organised public meetings to condemn the arrest—which was followed by courtroom dramas.
Meanwhile another calamity struck. Plague broke out in Poona. The administration was helpless because then no effective remedy against that disease was available. The epidemic spread so fast that funeral places and burial grounds became crowded. The people were dying all around. There were not enough people to carry off the dead bodies.
Initially the government refused to admit that there was any epidemic. The news of apathy of the British rulers angered young Vinayak Damodar. The subsequent events added fuel to the youngman’s ire.
On 4th February, 1897 ‘Epidemic Ordnance’ was issued. Under this law unlimited powers were given to the administration. The police any officials could enter houses, evacuate and search any place. The police whisked sick people to hospitals and sent other family members to so called safe houses. In the process the police personnel were misbehaving with young women. The white officers would march into pooja rooms with leather boots on to spray disinfectants. Walking in worship places with shoes on was (and is) considered by Hindus an act of desecration.
There were disturbing reports of women being stripped naked in public places. The chief of ‘Plague Committee’ was an Englisman named Rand, a cruel person. He derived great pleasure in dishonouring and insulting Indians.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak wrote, “It is very shameful on the part of the Queen of England, the Minister of India and the cabinet to give orders to its biased officers to ill treat the helpless Indian people. A dubious, racist, arrogant, abusive and mad officer like Rand has been let loose on the people by the Bombay government. The government and the officials all are responsible for this outrage.”
The government took no action. Rand continued to torment the public.
It was too much for the volatile youth to take it lying down like mules. Their blood was boiling in anger at this humiliation named Rand. Chapekar brothers of ‘Hindu Dharma Rakshini Sabha’ decided to do something about it to hit back at the administration and the British government. People’s patience had run out.
One day, some enraged youth shot dead officers Rand and his lieutenant, an another Englishman.
In the resultant crackdown police arrested the eldest of the Chapeker brother, Damodar Chapekar. The authorities tried to implicate Bal Gangadhar Tilak in the assassination but failed to establish any link between him and the accused Chapekar.
Damodar Chapekar was tried and finally hanged on 18th April, 1898.
The younger brothers of Damodar Chapekar, Vasudev and Balkrishna didn’t believe that their brother was the real killer. They claimed that others were involved in the assassination bid. They thought that Dravid brothers were the ones who did the real killings and later they betrayed Damodar Chapekar to put all the blame on him. Thus, the two Chapekar brothers aided by their friend Ranade killed Dravid brothers to avenge the hanging of Damodar Chapekar.
The three youngmen also got arrested, tried and hanged.
The hangings shook Vinayak Damodar. In an emotionally charged state of mind he went to Durga temple and prayed, “Mother! Give me courage and power to fight for the freedom of my country against the British. Let me carry on the brave work of Chapekar brothers!”
Vinayak Damodar even wrote an ode to elder Chapekar and his brothers praising their sacrifice in glowing terms.
In 1899, Vinayak’s father Damodar Pant and his uncles were claimed by plague epidemic. After their death the responsibility of the family fell on the shoulders of Ganesh. He had gone back to the village. The youngest brother Narayan also suffered from plague but Ganesh was able to save him with timely care and the treatment. They were living in the village. After the bereavement and Narayan’s recovery from illness Ganesh decided to shift to Nasik. He brought Narayan and the sister Maina to Nasik.
At Nasik, some time later Ganesh got married to a suitable girl named Yashoda. Vinayak treated his sister-in-law respectfully as his mother as ordered by Hindu tradition. Ganesh and Yashoda were proud of their Vinayak Damodar who was a kind of minor celebrity due to his activities and writings even at that young age. Ganesh always wished Vinayak to strive for high education.
Once, Vinayak happened to meet Mahaskar and Pagay who were locally well known patriots. Vinayak too had patriotic fervour. The three came together to found a society called ‘Mitra Mela’ which literally meant ‘Friends Fair’.
In a few years’ time ‘Mitra Mela’ became popular and it branched out to other areas under the banner ‘Abhinav Bharat Society’. Its political aim was to struggle to gain full independence for the country. It set up some units in foreign lands under the name to Gadar Party in its further expansion plan. The Indians living in foreign countries who wanted their homeland to be free extended support to it. They were mainly of Punjabi origin who had suffered British injustices.
In Nasik Abhinav Bharat Society was quite influential and popular. In every meeting or occasion or get togethers members of the society tried to initiate talks on political situation, British misrule and freedom drives. On its own the society was lending its bit in spreading the political awareness amongst the people. The organisers of public meetings felt it an honour to invite the speakers from this society.
When Queen Victoria died there was a spate of condolence meetings to pay tribute to the departed ruler of the British Empire. Organisations were vying with one another in the effort to earn the browny points from the British rulers. Vinayak Damodar didn’t like it. He called meeting of his organisation and declared, “We shall not organise any condolence meeting. If we do it will merely expose our slave mentality.” He was passing on a massage to the members of the society not to take part in condolence meetings.
