Abhinav Bharat and Revolutionary Activities

The rise of militant nationalism in Western India led to the creation of underground revolutionary societies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Prominent among these was Abhinav Bharat, a secret organization that challenged British authority through armed resistance, propaganda, and strategic assassinations.

Origin and Organizational Evolution

The roots of Abhinav Bharat trace back to Nasik, Maharashtra. The organization developed in distinct phases under the leadership of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and his brother Ganesh Damodar (Babarao) Savarkar.

• Mitra Mela (1899): Initially established at Nasik by the Savarkar brothers as a youth organization. It used cultural gatherings, physical training, and patriotic songs to instill anti-colonial sentiment.
• Transition to Abhinav Bharat (1904): Renamed as Abhinav Bharat Society (Young India Society) during a meeting attended by around 200 members. The society drew structural inspiration from Giuseppe Mazzini’s Young Italy movement.
• Network Expansion: The society set up secret branches across Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka. It established strong linkages with revolutionaries in Bengal and Punjab.

Overseas Base at India House

In 1906, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar moved to London to study law. He established India House as an international center for revolutionary activities, collecting arms, manufacturing bombs, and smuggling illegal political literature and Browning pistols into India.

Ideology, Literature, and Methods

The ideological backbone of the society combined Italian revolutionary principles, Indian historical national pride, and militaristic struggle.

• Translational Works: V. D. Savarkar translated Mazzini’s biography into Marathi (Mazzini Charitra), which gained massive popularity among Marathi youth.
• Historical Revisionism: Savarkar authored The Indian War of Independence 1857. The book reinterpreted the 1857 Revolt as a unified national uprising against British rule rather than a mere mutiny.
• Revolutionary Propaganda: Members published pamphlets detailing bomb-making techniques, such as the Bomb Manual, which was secretly circulated across secret cells in India.

Key Revolutionary Events and Trials

Assassination of Curzon-Wyllie (1909)

On July 1, 1909, Madan Lal Dhingra, an associate of Abhinav Bharat and India House, assassinated Lt. Col. William Hutt Curzon-Wyllie in London. Curzon-Wyllie served as the political aide-de-camp to the Secretary of State for India. Dhingra was arrested, tried, and executed at Pentonville Prison.

Nasik Conspiracy Case (1909–1910)

District Magistrate A. M. T. Jackson of Nasik had sentenced Ganesh Savarkar to transportation for life (Kalapani) for publishing nationalist verses. In retaliation, Anant Laxman Kanhere, an 18-year-old member of Abhinav Bharat, shot Jackson dead at the Vijayanand Theatre in Nasik on December 21, 1909. The investigation exposed the underground network of Abhinav Bharat. The British administration launched the Nasik Conspiracy Case against several members.

Key Historical Facts

• The Browning pistols used in the Jackson assassination were smuggled into India inside secret compartments of trunks sent by V. D. Savarkar from London.
• While being transported to India aboard the SS Morea in 1910, V. D. Savarkar made a historic escape attempt by diving into the sea through a porthole near the French port of Marseilles.
• The legal case arising from Savarkar’s arrest on French soil was referred to the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, known as the Marseilles Case (1911).
• Madame Bhikaiji Cama and Shyamji Krishna Varma actively supported the overseas activities of Abhinav Bharat members in Europe.
• The society operated secretly until India attained independence, after which it was formally dissolved in 1952 by V. D. Savarkar.