Revolutionaries in Maharashtra

The early phase of revolutionary terrorism in India found its strongest initial foothold in Maharashtra. Driven by intense discontent against British economic exploitation, recurrent famines, and the heavy-handed administration of the Bombay Presidency, early nationalists shifted from constitutional agitation to armed resistance. This movement was deeply inspired by the legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the Peshwas, leveraging cultural symbols to mobilize youth against colonial rule.

Key Pioneers and Organizations

5. Vasudev Balwant Phadke (1845–1889)

Vasudev Balwant Phadke is widely regarded as the “Father of the Armed Rebellion” in India. An engineer by training who worked as a clerk in the Military Accounts Department in Pune, Phadke was profoundly moved by the devastation of the Deccan Famine of 1876–1877 and the apathy of the British administration.

• Ramoshi Uprising (1879): Phadke organized the Ramoshi community—traditional watchmen and warrior tribes of the Deccan—alongside Kolis, Bhils, and Dhangars, into an insurgent guerrilla force.
• Modus Operandi: He conducted strategic dacoities in villages like Dhamari and Valeh to seize government funds and purchase firearms.
• Outcome: Captured in July 1879 at Devar Navadgi (Bijapur), he was tried, sentenced to life imprisonment, and deported to Aden (Yemen), where he died following a hunger strike in 1883.

5. The Chapekar Brothers and the Sanatan Dharma Rakshini Sabha

The late 1890s witnessed the institutionalization of militant nationalism in Pune through the Chapekar brothers—Damodar Hari, Balkrishna Hari, and Vasudeo Hari.

• Chapekar Club: In 1894, Damodar and Balkrishna Chapekar established the Chapekar Club (also known as the Society for the Removal of Obstacles to the Hindu Religion or Sanatan Dharma Rakshini Sabha), which provided physical and military training to nationalist youths.
• The Assassination of Walter Charles Rand (1897): * Context: The Bubonic Plague outbreak of 1896–1897 in Pune was met with draconian measures by the Plague Committee, headed by ICS officer Walter Charles Rand. British soldiers violated privacy, desecrated domestic temples, and harassed citizens under the guise of sanitary inspections.
  • The Act: On June 22, 1897, during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of Queen Victoria’s coronation at the Government House in Ganeshkhind, Damodar and Balkrishna Chapekar shot dead Rand and his military escort, Lieutenant Ayerst.
  • Betrayal and Retaliation: The Dravid brothers (Ganesh and Ramchandra) turned police informants, leading to the arrest of the Chapekars. The youngest brother, Vasudeo Chapekar, along with Mahadev Vinayak Ranade, assassinated the Dravid brothers in revenge. All four revolutionaries were subsequently hanged.

5. The Savarkar Brothers and the Abhinav Bharat Society

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (Veer Savarkar) and his elder brother Ganesh Damodar Savarkar (Babarao) institutionalized revolutionary networks across Maharashtra, extending their influence internationally.

• Mitra Mela (1899): Founded as a secret cultural and political society in Nasik, it focused on celebrating the Shivaji and Ganesh festivals, spreading patriotic literature, and promoting Swadeshi.
• Abhinav Bharat Society (1904): Inspired by Giuseppe Mazzini’s “Young Italy,” the Mitra Mela was reorganized as Abhinav Bharat (Young India Society) at a meeting attended by 200 members from various parts of Maharashtra.
• Global Linkages: When V.D. Savarkar moved to London in 1906 to study law, he operated from India House, smuggling manual guides for bomb-making and Browning pistols into India through consignments sent to Abhinav Bharat members in Maharashtra.

Significant Flashpoints and Conspiracies

5. The Nasik Conspiracy Case (1909)

The climax of early revolutionary activities in Maharashtra culminated in the assassination of Arthur Mason Tippetts Jackson, the District Magistrate of Nasik.

• The Trigger: Jackson oversaw the prosecution and deportation of Ganesh Savarkar for publishing nationalistic poetry (Kavi Govind’s verses).
• The Assassination: On December 21, 1909, Anant Laxman Kanhere, a 19-year-old member of the Abhinav Bharat Society, shot Jackson dead at a farewell theater performance at the Vijayanand Theatre in Nasik.
• Investigation and Trial: The British administration uncovered the vast network of the Abhinav Bharat Society. The trial resulted in the execution of Anant Kanhere, Krishnaji Gopal Karve, and Vinayak Ramchandra Deshpande. V.D. Savarkar was implicated, arrested in London, tried, and sentenced to 50 years of transportation to the Cellular Jail in the Andaman Islands (Kalapani).

5. The Kolhapur Bomb Case (1910)

A parallel strand of revolutionary activity emerged in the princely state of Kolhapur, driven by the Shivaji Club (founded in 1893 by Hanmantrao Kulkarni and Damu Joshi). The club attempted to manufacture explosives and assassinate British officials, resulting in a series of arrests and long-term imprisonments that suppressed the movement in the southern Maratha country.

Comparative Overview of Revolutionary Entities in Maharashtra

Role of the Vernacular Press and Cultural Revivals

Revolutionary activities in Maharashtra did not operate in a vacuum; they were fueled by a robust vernacular press and cultural reawakenings that systematically challenged British legitimacy.

• Kesari and Mahratta: Bal Gangadhar Tilak, through his Marathi weekly Kesari and English weekly Mahratta, vehemently criticized colonial policies. Following the Rand murder, Tilak defended the Chapekar brothers’ motives, comparing the killing of Afzal Khan by Chhatrapati Shivaji to the plight of Pune, leading to his arrest for sedition under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code.
• Kaal: A Marathi weekly edited by Shivram Mahadeo Paranjape, which openly advocated for revolutionary methods and armed resistance, exercising a deep psychological impact on the youth of Maharashtra between 1898 and 1908.
• Vihari: A journal closely associated with the Savarkar faction that published radical poetry and political essays detailing the methodology of European secret societies.
• Cultural Mobilization: The revival of public celebrations for the Ganesh Utsav (1893) and Shivaji Utsav (1895) provided legitimate covers for revolutionary groups to meet, recruit, and deliver anti-imperialist lectures without invoking the immediate wrath of British assembly bans.