AROUND LONDON IN TEN HOURS

( A special tour of places associated with Indian revolutionaries )

by

V S Godbole

Preface

Indian Freedom struggle went through four phases as described in the next few pages. The role of the revolutionaries has been wiped out of memory by various parties of vested interest.

However, because of their sacrifices we have become independent. We now see increased prosperity in India and as a result, many Indians are now visiting England, Europe and even America. Some go around on world tour. And they are not all businessmen. The visitors even include school teachers, and draughtsmen who were once regarded as poorly paid. It is appropriate therefore that they should visit places associated with Veer Savarkar and other Indian freedom fighters who made today's changed circumstances possible.

After the failure of the 1857 war to gain Indian independence from rule of the East India Company, some one said to Emperor Bahadurshah,

Dum Dumaye Dam Nahi

Aba Khaira Mango Janaki

Aih, Jafar Aba Thandi Hui

Samsher Hindostanki

The valour of Indian people has now subsided. You better beg the English for your life.

Bahadurshah replied

Gaziame Boo Rahegi

Jabtalak Eemanki

Tabtak To London tak Chalegi

Teg Hindostanki

As long as there is a spark of self respect in the blood of our youth, we will carry our fight for independence even to doors of London.

That fight was indeed carried in London 50 years later by Savarkar and others. Those patriots sacrificed their careers, their comfort, and their lives so that the future generations would live with dignity. Here is an attempt to take you around places in London where they lived, studied, planned, protested and were jailed and even were sent to the gallows. You will find full details in this booklet.

If you wish me to conduct a guided tour for you, please contact me at the following address

V.S.Godbole

14 Turnberry Walk

Bedford

MK 41, 8 AZ

U.K.

India's struggle for freedom from the British Rule

The (English) East India Company was started in London in 1600. In 1666, they got a foothold in Bombay ( then, a group of 60 islands ). They started building fortifications and keeping armies under the pretext of safeguarding their trade. Their major military victory came in 1757 at the battle of Plassey in Bengal. It took them nearly next 100 years to gain the control of the whole of India. In 1857, there was a massive uprising against their rule in India. Though the East India Company succeeded in suppressing the revolt, the British Crown took over the administration of India from the hands of the company. A lull followed for a generation. Afterwards, the Indian Freedom Struggle went through four phases.

The Four Phases of Indian Freedom Struggle

(1) The Moderates

First came the Moderates, men like Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade (1842-1901), Surendra Nath Banerjee (1848-1925), Gopal Krushna Gokhale

(1866-1915). They were great visionaries, men of utmost sincerity and dedication. They sought reforms and better government. They pleaded with the British for a fair play. Savarkar aptly said in 1937, “ Moderates were great men. They were rebels of their generation. They did their best for our good under their circumstances. They were just as patriots as firebrands of today.”

Ranade had a rather grandiose conception of the destiny of the Indian nation. In a public speech delivered in 1896 at Calcutta, Ranade said, " .... renovated India will take her proper rank among the nations of the world and be the master of the situation and of her own destiny. This is the goal to be reached."

Ranade was one of the founder members of the Indian National Congress

(commonly known as the Congress Party or simply as Congress) which held its first session in 1885. But, after just three years, British Rulers forbade Ranade and other Government servants to attend the annual sessions of the Congress.

It must be emphasised that, unlike the followers of Gandhi, the Moderates were never obsessed with non-violence. Time and again, they made resolutions to the effect that the Arms Act of 1858, by which Indians were disarmed, should be repealed.

Some moderates thought that an armed rebellion against the British was impossible or impracticable. Others thought that the British would not stretch their patience to the limit of human endurance and make armed struggle inevitable. But NONE would have denounced the Indian independence won by the armed struggle.

The greatest of the Moderate leaders was Dadabhai Naoroji (1825-1917). Dadabhai literally means the eldest son in a family and he lived up to it in a way. He was affectionately called the Grand Old Man of Indian Politics. His invaluable works was Poverty and Un-British Rule in India , published in 1901. He proved meticulously that the British were draining away the wealth from India to the tune of £30 to £40 million per year (equal to £1235 to £1646 million per year at 1998 prices and this exploitation went on for 150 years). Dadabhai had suggested that such exploitation was Un-British. Hence the title of his book.

In 1892 he was elected as a Member of the British Parliament from the Finsbury Constituency in London ( total votes cast 5,600 ). But he soon realised that he could not achieve much. The Irish had been sending their M.Ps to the British Parliament for a long time. They were White and Christians. Even then, they could not achieve anything through the British Parliament. Dadabhai was not elected as an M P in the 1895 election.

(2) The Militants

Next came the Militants. They propagated that, without a direct action, the British would never accede to the Indian demands. They proposed the boycott of British goods. They said, "If you cannot avoid buying foreign goods, buy non-British goods." They emphasised self reliance, support to indigenous industries, mass agitation and even going to jail if necessary. Their undisputed leader was Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1856 - 1920). He was popularly called Lokamanya Tilak by the masses. They bestowed the title 'Lokamanya' (people's leader) as opposed to Rao Bahadur and other honours bestowed by the British rulers.

* In 1882, Lokamanya Tilak went to jail for exposing the inhuman treatment meted out by the British Authorities to the adopted son and then heir apparent to Maharaja of Kolhapur. While in jail, his weight went down by 24 pounds.

* During the outbreak of BUBONIC PLAGUE in 1896/97, Tilak refused to leave the plague-infested city of Pune, stayed with the people and shared their suffering and misfortune.

* In 1897, he was sentenced to 18 months hard labour, this time for sedition. Again, in jail, his weight went down from 135 pounds to 105 pounds. This time, there were grave doubts about whether he would come out alive from prison.

* In 1908, he was sentenced to transportation for 6 years to Mandalay in Burma. The British newspapers recognised that, unlike other leaders, he was the leader of the masses.

The transportation involved a travel of 3000 miles ( compare this to the distance between Paris and Moscow which is 1540 miles ). He was confined to an area of 150 ft by 50 ft and kept in complete isolation except for the company of a cook. At that time, the average male life expectancy in Britain was only 48 1/2 years, much less in India while Tilak was 52 years of age.

There was no parole for him when his wife was on the deathbed in June 1912.

The Indian militants achieved a spectacular victory in 1911. Bengal had been partitioned by Viceroy Lord Curzon in 1905. India was outraged by his arrogance. Mass agitations and demonstrations followed. At the Delhi Darbar, in December 1911 King George V was forced to announce that the partition of Bengal was annulled. This was achieved when Tilak was away in jail in Mandalay in Burma since 1908 and when Gandhi and Nehru were not even heard of.

Tilak was appropriately called The Father of the Indian Unrest by the British.

During a period of 30 years (1889 -1919) he tried to make Congress as an instrument of constant agitation and wanted it to have an annual programme of action instead of just meeting once a year for four days, passing resolutions and doing nothing for the rest of the time. Dadabhai's complaint was that leaders of the Congress did not believe in continuous, constant, consistent whole-time work. That is what Tilak strived to achieve.

Tilak founded the Home Rule movement in 1916. When charged with sedition, Tilak's lawyers successfully argued that pleading for progressive political rights for the people in itself could never be seditious. Bombay High Court accepted that argument.

(3) The Revolutionaries

The Revolutionaries went one step further. Their leader was Vinayak Damodar popularly called Veer Savarkar (1883-1966). Since 1900, he had been preaching Absolute Political Independence for India. This was to be achieved by incessant armed struggle whenever and wherever possible.

He said, " Tilak and his followers are carrying out their activities (movements) within the law and look what happened. The British rulers did not hesitate to send him to jail in 1897. If a movement is within the law today, the British can change that law tomorrow and make the movement illegal. Today or tomorrow, we will have to seek the authority to make the law itself. At some stage, an armed struggle is inevitable. Why not start such a struggle today ? Why waste time ? "

* In 1905, therefore, Savarkar started his secret society Abhinav Bharat - on the lines of Young Italy the revolutionary society of Mazzini.

* In 1910, he was sentenced to TRANSPORTATION FOR LIFE, TWICE to the Andaman Islands, 1000 miles [1600 Km ] East of Madras ( now called Chennai ), The sentences of transportation were to be served IN SUCCESSION - a total sentence of 50 years, unparalleled in the history of the British Empire. The badge which he had to wear around his neck stated, date of sentence 24/12/1910, date of release 23/12/1960.

All his property and possessions including his clothes were confiscated and sold at public auctions. Even his spectacles were confiscated.

When Savarkar was in jail, Bombay University withdrew his B.A degree.

* Savarkar was allowed to write a letter once a year to his younger brother Narayanrao. Leaders of India's provinces used to visit Narayanrao, read the letters, copy them, translate and publish them in various Indian language newspapers. This brought about significant changes in the mental attitude of Indians.

* Due to Savarkar's efforts, there arose a succession of revolutionaries. For example, Khudiram Bose (1908), Madanlal Dhingra (1909), Anant Kanhere, Karve and Deshpande (1910), Bal Mukund, Avadhabihari, Amirchand and Vasant Vishwas (1915), Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev (1931), Udham Singh (1941) and many more.

Those who were sentenced to death went to the gallows fearlessly. Their courageous behaviour was admired even by the British officers and it must have made the tremendous impact on the minds of millions of Indians.

Those who were not sentenced to death were sentenced to Transportation for Life to the Andaman Islands. They too accepted their fate with fortitude. The first one to be sentenced this way was the elder brother of Savarkar, named Babarao (Ganesh). So important was the sentencing of Babarao that Viceroy Lord Minto informed the Secretary of State for India, London, by telegram.

It was the defiance of the revolutionaries, which inspired the masses, and they eventually became ready to join in the freedom struggle. The time for mass movement had arrived.

Some idea of the extent of the activities of the revolutionaries can be gathered from ' Who's Who of Indian Martyrs ( 3 volumes )’ published by Government of India. Another valuable source is the annual indices of the Times (of London). One should look under 'India - unrest'.

After the revolutionaries, India was ready for mass movements.

(4) Mass movements and armed uprisings

* Finally came Mahatma Gandhi (1873 - 1948). Tilak died in August 1920. Moderates who obstructed attempts by Tilak to make the Congress Party active, now gave way. They broke away from Congress Party and formed the Liberal Party. Savarkar was on the Andaman Islands till 1921, then transferred to mainland India but kept in jails till 1924 and was afterwards kept in internment till 1937. Gandhi, who returned to India from South Africa in 1916, had a free hand to pursue his policies without any opposition.

Gandhi proposed a 4 Anna ( quarter of a Rupee ) annual membership of the Congress Party, thus spreading the freedom movement to the masses. He initiated the idea of Indians wearing clothes made from Khadi ( home spun

cotton ). It gave a uniform to the Congress workers throughout India. Gandhi also gave Congress a organisational structure.

By 1920, the Congress Party had been in existence for 35 years. Gandhi led the mass movements of 1920, 1931 and 1942. At the same time, there were several attempts of armed uprisings against the British by various groups of revolutionaries. In 1943, Subhash Chandra Bose had formed the Indian National Army from among the Indian prisoners of war captured by the Japanese. Later, Bose died in a plane crash. His attempt did not succeed, but the writing was on the wall for the British.

The British had to grant independence to India in August 1947. At that time, many Congress Party leaders were still members of Savarkar's secret society - the Abhinav Bharat.

Savarkar regarded the work of his generation like that of sappers and miners in the army. They detect and defuse mines, remove obstructions, overcome watercourses, streams and rivers either by building bridges or diverting water through pipes, fill potholes and build roads. Their job is extremely dangerous but their work ensures the speedy advance of the soldiers who follow them.

Moreover, he was like an engine of a railway by whose driving force all the carriages automatically move forward.

Savarkar and other leaders and their followers

Savarkar met and influenced many men from all quarters.

Moderates

In 1899, Justice Ranade went to Nasik to lay the foundation stone of the Town Hall. At the request of citizens of Nasik, Savarkar composed a poem, welcoming Ranade.

Savarkar joined the Fergusson College, Pune as a student in 1902. G K Gokhale the moderate leader was then the Principal of that college. Two years later Gokhale became a Member of the Central Legislative Assembly in Calcutta and left the college. They met each other again in London in 1908. Gokhale was on deputation sent by the Congress Party while Savarkar was studying to become a Barrister. They deeply respected each other. Time and again Savarkar had said, " Among the Moderates, there were leaders like Gokhale whom we regarded as fatherly figures."

Savarkar also met Ramesh Chandra Dutta, a retired high ranking civil service officer, in London in 1908. He persuaded Dutta to accept that the 1857 war was in fact a War of Independence for India from the British. Datta was President of the Indian National Congress in 1899.

In 1909, Surendranath Banerjee came to London as a delegate for the Imperial Press Conference. Dhingra shot and killed Sir Curzon Wyllie on 1 July 1909. On the 5th, a meeting of Indians was convened at the Caxton Hall, London to condemn Dhingra. When Savarkar rose to oppose the motion, he was hit by an Eurasian named Palmer. Banerjee was furious. He said,

" Savarkar was perfectly within his rights to express his opinion. It was outrageous to attack him in this way." He left the hall in protest.

* In March 1910, Savarkar returned from Paris to London, knowing very well that he was going to be arrested. His health was very poor. It was therefore decided by his friends that someone should accompany him on his journey. Miss Perry Ben, a grand daughter of Dadabhai Naoroji accepted that responsibility.

Militants

In the period 1900-1920, there was a famous Trio known as Lal-Bal-Pal. Lal was Lala Lajpat Rai of Punjab, Bal was Bal Gangadhar Tilak of Maharashtra and Pal was Bipin Chandra Pal of Bengal. Savarkar knew them very well.

Lala Lajpat Rai used to come to India House, the Indian students' hostel in London where Savarkar lived. He and Savarkar shared platform on many occasions during the public meetings held in the Caxton Hall, London.

Savarkar studied in Pune during 1902-06. He was well known to Tilak who had given him a reference for the Shivaji scholarship offered by Shyamji Krushnavarma to study in London.

Tilak's lawyers Dadasaheb Karandikar and Dadasaheb Khaparde came to London to appeal against Tilak's sentence of Transportation to Burma for 6 years. Savarkar met them both and they contributed substantially towards the cost of the publication of his famous book 'Indian War of Independence 1857'

B C Pal used to visit India House. He and Savarkar shared common platform on some occasions during the public meetings in the famous Caxton Hall, London. After the completion of his studies, Savarkar lived in house of Pal in London for some time.

Revolutionaries

It goes without saying that a large number of revolutionaries were inspired by Savarkar.

When Savarkar was in internment in Ratnagiri (1924-37), Bhagat Singh and Rajguru met him secretly.

Gandhi and his followers.

Gandhi met Savarkar in London in 1906 and 1909, and again in India in1926 when Savarkar was in internment in Ratnagiri. Gandhi benefited enormously from the political awareness created by Savarkar. But, while Gandhi became President of the Indian National Congress and was free to move all over India, Savarkar was kept away from the people by the British rulers for 27 years.

Subhash Chandra Bose met Savarkar in Mumbai in 1943. On his advise Bose slipped out of India and later formed the Indian National Army.

Y.B Chavan, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra province and later Defence Minister of India in 1962, had secretly met Savarkar when in internment in Ratngiri.

These are just a few examples.

Savarkar publicly disbanded his revolutionary society, the Abhinav Bharat in Pune in 1952. At that ceremony he said, " It is absurd for the Congressmen, because they are now in power, to say - Gandhi came, we (congressmen) went to jail and hey presto, we won the freedom from the British. Nothing can be more childish, selfish and insulting to other freedom fighters. "

He then paid a glowing tribute to the contribution of the people of ALL the persuasions, for the Indian freedom struggle. He said, " Credit for the Indian freedom from the British goes not to any one group of people or any particular movement but goes to people of all persuasions over the last three to four generations and their movements. Of course, those who took part in the fight against the British in the 1857 War and in the successive revolutionary activities had forced the pace of the freedom struggle and must be given large share of credit. We must also be grateful to the nationwide movement of the Congress Party. But even the Moderates from Dadabhai Naoroji to G K Gokhale must also be given their due share of credit. "

Various parties of vested interest have ensured that we have no memory of the contribution made by various sections for the Indian freedom struggle. They have ensured that the world knows only about Gandhi and Nehru. Time has come to correct this imbalance.

With this information, let us now begin our Special Tour of places in London associated with the Indian Freedom Fighters. The sequence that I have chosen assumes that we are travelling by London Underground (tube). It will be slightly different if we are travelling by car. Imagine that you are standing in front of each place and I am telling you relevant history.

Special London Tour

(1) 185 North Gower Street, London N.W 1

Mazzini, the Italian freedom fighter lived here, when he was in exile during 1837-48.

Once upon a time the Roman Empire was mighty indeed. The Romans ruled England, Wales, France, Germany ( South of Rhine and Danube ), Spain, Portugal, vast areas of North Africa, Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Greece, Albania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Romania.

But, in course of time, they lost the empire and Romans i.e. Italians were enslaved by others in turn. First by the Germans (Lombards) for 200 years

(571 to 771), then by the Franks (773 to 873). By 843 Arabs (Moors) captured the port of Bari on the Adriatic sea and occupied much of Southern Italy and Sicily. Italy was ruled by the Spanish from 1563 to 1713 and by Austrians from 1713 to 1870.

The heroic Italian struggle for freedom from the rule of Austrians took place during 1848 -70. Mazzini (1805-72), Garibaldi (1807-72) and Cavour

(1810-61) were the principal personalities involved.

Mazzini was the philosopher-warrior, Garibaldi the General and Caover the Chief Minister of the tiny state Pidmont, a Statesman.

Mazzini was a source of great inspiration to Savarkar. Other Indians too have written Mazzini's biography but only the one by Savarkar was proscribed by the British Authorities.

Giuseppe Mazzini was commonly known as Joseph Mazzini. Austrians sentenced him to death in absentia. He was forced to flee to France in 1831. Austrians put pressure on France to arrest Mazzini, but he went into hiding and was not found.

While in France, Mazzini founded Giovine Italia (Young Italy) movement in Marseilles. In his open letter to Carlo Alberto, Mazzini appealed to the ruler of Pidmont state to lead a great nationalist movement against Austria. This monarch (Victor Emanuelle) had, in 1831, forced Mazzini, Cavour and Garibaldi to flee from Pidmont. But he waged wars against the Austrians in 1848-49 in support of rebels in Lombardy, and Pidmont was to be the state which ultimately led Italy independence and unity.

Italian revolutionaries freed half of Italy by 1859, liberated Venice in 1866, and Rome and the rest of Italy in 1870.

Mazzini died in 1872. His biographies were available in India 20 years later. Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai had read those biographies. Savarkar read Mazzini’s biography in Marathi written by one Mr Ghanekar in 1900. In 1902, he read the biography in English written by Bolton King. While travelling to London by ship, he used to ask other Indian students to read this English biography.

Why Mazzini ?

Savarkar was attracted to Mazzini because he wanted to emphasise that freedom from the British Rule would not come about easily. Indians will have to face severe hardships, go to jail, face floggings, torture by police, deportation, transportation and even death. Thousands of families will be ruined before independence is achieved. He used the Italian freedom struggle as an illustration. He said in a poem

Kee ghetale vrata na he amhi andhatene

Labdha Prakash Itihas Nisarga Mane

Je Didvya Dahak Mhanoni Asavayache

Buddhyachi Van Dharile Kari He Satiche

In short, We knew very well from the start that the work we undertook was a fiery ordeal. It was like sitting on a burning funeral pyre of a husband by a devoted woman.

Savarkar also wanted to stress that freedom fighters must be prepared to face several years of disappointments and frustrations. He said in 1950s,

“ We never thought that we would see India free of British Rule. Our generation was born to die for the freedom struggle. That did not matter. The next generation would have won independence. We were going to do our duty. “

At times, even Mazzini thought that he would go mad. But he said to his countrymen, “ Every failure is one more step to success. Let us try once more.”

This was indeed the reality. Let us take some cases in point --

Jail sentences

* In 1882, Tilak went to jail for exposing the inhuman treatment meted out to the then heir apparent to Maharaja of Kolhapur by the British. It was indeed a brave act. He lost 24 pounds in weight while in jail. Tilak exemplified that he was prepared to endure the harsh jail life for the sake of fighting for his principles and seeking justice.

* In 1897, Tilak was sentenced to 18 months of hard labour for sedition, during which period; again, he lost 30 pounds in weight. There were grave doubts about his survival. Many of his close associates feared that he would die in jail.

Transportation

* After the unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the British Rule in 1857, many Indians who took part in it were sentenced to transportation for life on the Andaman Islands.

* In 1872, Ramsingh Kooka from Punjab was transported to Burma. Fifty of his followers were blown off guns without trial.

* In 1879, Vasudev Balwant Phadake, a revolutionary from Pune, was sentenced to transportation for life to Aden, 2000 miles ( 3,200 Km ) away from Mumbai ( Bombay ) by sea. Some 60 to 70 of his followers were sentenced to transportation for life, but sent to the Andaman Islands. Thus, Phadake, even in this sentence was denied the company of his followers. They were kept 4,000 miles ( 6,400 Km ) away from each other. What an inhuman act!!

Phadake died in Aden in 1883.

* In May 1907, Lala Lajpat Rai and Sardar Ajit Singh ( uncle of Bhagat Singh ) were transported from Lahore to Mandalay in Burma, a distance of 2,125 miles (3,400 Km). So strict was the security that the two leaders did not know that they were kept in prison in the same place, Mandalay.

* In 1908, Lokamanya Tilak, at the age of 52, was sentenced to transportation for 6 years to Mandalay in Burma. The distance from Mumbai to