Revolutionary Movements Part-2

Revolutionary activities in Europe and other western countries

1.Shyamji Krishna varma

• He was a native of Kathiawar in Gujarat and a great Sanskrit scholar.

• He was a member of Mitramela Abhinav Bharat revolutionary group.

• He left Bombay in 1897 and went to London. He started a monthly journal, the Indian sociologist, an organ of freedom struggle of India

• In 1905, Shyamji established the Indian Home Rule society and a hostel for Indian students living in London, popularly known as the Indian House.

• In 1907 as the British authorities decided to take action against the activities of Shyamji, shifted his head quarters to Paris.

  First war of Independence

• In 1907According to intelligence report that there was a fashion to read at Sundays's meeting some important passages from the book on the Indian Mutiny, prepared by V.D. Savarkar, to prepare the Indian people in London for the cause of the Indian struggle for independence. The practices gained significance as preparations got under way to celebrate the golden jubilee of the First war of Independence, in 1907

2.Madanlal dhingra

• He assassinated Curzon-Wylie an A.D.C.to the Secretary of State for India in 1909

• Madanlal Dhingra was arrested and brought to trial, and was hanged on 1st August1909

2.Madame Bhikaji Cama

• Madame Cama had been popularly described as the mother of Indian Revolution.

• She took active part in editing the Indian sociologist and represented India at the Stuttgart conference of socialists in 1907

• At the confrence, Madame Cama unfurled for the first time Indian national flag on the foreign soil.

• Due to her anti-British activities, she was forced to shift her residence from London to Paris

3.The Ghadar Party

• At the beginning of the 20^th century western coast of America saw large influx of Punjabis which bothered the Britishers

• The early membership was composed mostly of Punjabi Indians who lived and worked on the West Coast of the United States and Canada, but the movement later spread to India and Indian diasporic communities around the world

• Earlier activists had established a 'Swadesh Sevak Home' in Vancouver and a 'United India House' in Seattle to carry out revolutionary activities. Finally, in 1913, the Ghadr was founded.

• The Ghadar Party, initially the Pacific Coast Hindustan Association, was formed on 15 July 1913 in the United States but before a decision to create headquarter at Yugantar Ashram in San Francisco was taken at a meeting in the town of Astoria in the state of Oregon in USA

• Leaders - Har Dayal, Sant Baba Wasakha Singh Dadehar, Baba Jawala Singh, Santokh Singh dayal, Tarak Nath Das, Maulavi Barkatullah, Harnam Singh Tundilat, Kartar Singh Sarabha and V.G. Pingle etc.

• First president-  Sohan Singh Bhakna

  Work done by them

• Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, some Ghadar party members returned to Punjab to incite armed revolution for Indian Independence. Ghadarites smuggled arms into India and incited Indian troops to mutiny against the British. This uprising, known as the Ghadar Mutiny, was unsuccessful, and 42 mutineers were executed following the Lahore Conspiracy Case trial.

• Created a tradition of resistance, secularism, democracy and egalitarianism.

Newspaper- The party was built around the weekly paper The Ghadar, which carried the caption on the masthead “ Angrezi Raj Ka Dushman “

• Ghadar party started weekly called ‘Ghadar’ Published in Urdu & Gurmukhi 

• Ghadar means Revolt so intentions clear from name itself

Positive of ghadar movement

• It was a Secular movement

• It enhanced the Indian freedom struggle movement at international level

• It helped in enhancement of Militant nationalism

Negative of ghadar movement

• They underestimated the strength of the Britishers

• Militant activities by them led to repressive action by Britishers

• Different strategies were used by Ghadar leaders in Punjab. The British branded them as dacoits, and the native Punjabi population did not welcome them either. 

4.The Komagata Maru Incident

• Canada had imposed strict restrictions on Indian immigration except those who made a continuous journey from India. But in November 1913, the Canadian Supreme Court allowed entry to thirty-five Indians who had not made a continuous journey

• Encouraged by this judgment, Gurdit Sing, an Indian contractor living in Singapore, decided to charter a ship to carry Indians living in various regions in East and the South East Asia to Vancouver carrying a total of 376 Indian passengers

• The ship komagata Maru began its journey to Vancouver

• When the ship arrived in Vancouver, it was not allowed into the port and was cordoned off by the police. Soon the komagata Maru was forced out of Canadian waters. Before it reached Japan, the first world war broke out, and the British government passed orders that no passenger be allowed to disembark anywhere on the way, but only at Calcutta

• This created anti-British sentiments among the Indian communities at every port that the ship touched. On landing at Calcutta on 27 September 1914, the harassed passengers, provoked by the hostile attitude of the authorities resisted the police

• This led to a clash in which eighteen passengers were killed and a number of Sikhs were arrested

5.The Indian Independence Committee in Berlin

• After the outbreak of the First World War, Hardyal and other Indians abroad moved to Germany and set up the Indian independence committee at Berline

• The “Berlin committee for Indian independence” was established in 1915 by Virendra Nath Chattopadhya, including Bhupendra Nath Dutt & Lala Hardayal under “Zimmerman plan” with the full backing of German foreign office

• The committee planned to bring about a general insurrection in India. For this purpose foreign arms were to be sent to India from abroad; expatriated Indians were to return to mother country, where they were to be joined by Indian soldiers and by the waiting revolutionaries

OTHER

1.Raja Mahendra pratap 

• During the world war I, Raja Mahendra pratap established the first provisional government of India at Kabul in Afghanistan in 1915. He was the president of government and Maulavi Barkatullah was the Prime Minister. Germany and Russia gave recognition to this government.

2.India House \Indian Home Rule Society

• The India House was an informal Indian nationalist organization that existed in London between 1905 and 1910.

• It was started by Shyamji Krishna Varma.