CHAPTER IV
THE CHAPEKARS 185
C H A P T E R I V
THS CHAP2KARS
Between the early revolutionaries and the emergence of Savarkar’s Abhinav Sharat organisation it was the Chapekar brothers and their associates who contributed to the revolutionary thinking in Maharashtra both by their deeds and words. The martyrdom of the
Chapekar brothers and their colleague Mahadev Vlnayak Ranade in the cause of the national revolution, moreover, helped the revolutionary spirit develop in Maharashtra. The distinct feature of Chapekars' activities lies in the fact that they introduced a terrorist strategy in the revolutionary movement and spoke for the religion-oriented nationalism in exclusive terms. The autobiography of
Damodar Hari Chapekar, eldest of the Chapekar brothers fairly confirms the ideological beliefs of the Chapekar Club and thus provides several clues to understand their political thinking.
The Chapekars, however, were no political thinkers in any sense of the term. Nor did they have any insight into the social dynamics as most of their
English-educated counterparts did. 3y and large they reflected a typical traditional Hindu 3rahminical mind 186
in their responses to the British rule in I n d i a . However
that itself was a crucial factor in determining their
political outlook and ideas which in turn contributed to the philosophy of revolutionary nationalism in India. It
is with this respect that it is interesting to explore
and examine the political ideas of the Chapekar brothers.
At the outset it must be made clear that
our attempt to understand the political views of Chapekar
and his club is confined mainly to the exploration of the
political ideas of Damodar Hari Chapekar - the eldest of
Chapekar brothers. This is so because among all the
members of Chapskar Club it was mainly Damodar who directed
the revolutionary activities and provided some sort of
ideological justification to the political deeds vdiich he
undertook as part of his revolutionary programme. Through
his informal but spirited conversations with his friends
and colleagues and through the songs and poems which he
composed at the Shivaji festival, Damodar inceassantly
reminded the youngsters of the past glories of the Maratha
empire and enthused them with the spirit of Swarajya or
political independence. Hence it could be safely stated
that Damodar was probably the only working brain in the
Chapekar club in planning the revolutionary activities
with ideological justification and the other members of
the club including his younger brothers 3alkrishna a n d
Wasudev Chapekar acted on the same line of thinking as 187 adopted and advocated by Damodar. As a result there is virtually no difference between tha political ideas of
Damodar Chapekar and his brothers. It is therefore sufficient for us to confine ourselves to the political thinking of Damodar Chapekar in order to understand the political line of Chapekar brothers and their club as a whole.
One of the major difficulties, however, in exploring the political ideas of Chapekar is that there is hardly any written document of his own explaining his political thinking except his autobiography. 3 e i n g a poat himself Chapekar used to compose several patriotic songs at the time of Shivaji festivals in Poona and they reflect his political views to some extent. A few of these songs have bean published by his biographer,
Shri '/.S.Joshi in the book titled "Kanthasnan ani Balidan" and others have been reprodiced at the end of the Marathi version of his autobiography ouolished by the Maharashtra
Sahitya Samskriti Mandal, 3ombay. In addition to this there are few letters of his own, written to his parents which throw sone light on his mental set up as a revolutionary but Deyond this we do not find any literature by Chapekar telling us anything about his revolutionary ideas and thinking. 188
However, some exceptionally informative
works on Chapekar's life have been published in recent
times mainly by tte Maharashtrian scholars. A^ong these
works Shri V.S.Joshi's biography of Chapekar brothers
occupies an important place in the literature on the
revolutionaries. The work titled as 'Kanthasnan ani 3alidan'
a mention of which has already oeen made earlier, acquaints
us fairly well not only with the lives of Chapekar brothers
out also with the activities of some of their colleagues
who carried out the revolutionary activities as members
of Chapekar club. Shri V.S.Joshi's article on Chapekar
and Wahadev Vinayak Ranade is also quite informative in
this respect.^ Similarly Dr,Y.D.Phadke has also thrown
new light on seme of the hitherto unknown aspects of 2 Chapekar club. The autobiography of
Shankar Ramachandra Rajwade alias Ahitagni Rajwade also
provides son^ significant information regarding the life
and.activities of Chapekar brothers which throws light on
the political thinking of Chapekar.^ Similarly the
autoDiography and biography of Damodar 3alwant *^hicfe
alias ‘3hide Guruji is important in this respect as
Damodar Bhide was one of the active revolutionaries of 4 his time. The first volume of Tiiak's biography written •f by N.C.Kelkar as well as the biography of Vasukaka Joshi
written by T,R,Devgirikar furnish significant information
aoout the life and times of Chapekar.^ From all these 189
sources it Is possible for us to construct the political
thought of Chapekar.
As a matter of fact the Chapekar club
enjoyed an enviable position among the nineteenth century
revolutionaries in Maharashtra. This is quite evident
from the way it commanded the respect of the Shivaji club -
another revolutionary society from Kolhapur on the one
hand and inspired no less a person than
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in the cause of revolution on the
other. A typical product of THak's early nationalist
politics, Damodar Hari Chapekar revitalised the revolutionary
movement in Maharashtra and pioneered a new strategy of
terrorist violence long before the Bengal revolutionaries
had embarked upon the terrorist violence in the early
twentieth century# in their cause to liberate the
motherland. Thus taking these facts into consideration
the need for a careful exploration of Chapekar's political
ideas is much more felt.
Far away from being a product of English
education Damodar Hari Chapekar could perceive the evils
of the British rule in I n d i a and could feel the sufferings
of the common people at the hands of the ruthless British
administrators, ^le was far away from being acquainted
with the sophisticated academic jargon such as colonialism#
economic drain etc. and yet he was sensitive enough to 190
realise the illconceived policies of the British government, particularly at the time of famine, epidemics and Gominunal riots. Chapekar did not possess the vision like Savarkar who anticipated ti-^e danger of prcselytization of the Indians at the hands of the Muslims and Christian missionaries but was aware enough to understand his religious duty as ordained in the 3hagwad-Geeta which acinonished that any faith other than that of one's own is harmful and hence it must be neglected. (Paradharmo bhayavah) Therefore Chapekar was hostile to those who had undergone religious conversion. This also led him to view the British as the 'Dharma Shatru* of the people.
His understanding of the British as the Dharma Shatru seems to have determined his earlier responses towards the British rule in India and consequently dictated his political priorities. To liberate the motherland from the British was his ultimate aim and to secure it through revolutionary conspiracy was his mission. Thus his understanding of the British rule in India led him to think and act politically, out of which emerged his own political thinking. The present chapter intends to discuss the nature of Chapekar‘s political thinking and thereby examine his political views in general. 191
Development of Chapeka r ’ s Political Outlook
It is the political outlook that shapes one's political ideas. In order to understand the political ideas o£ Chapakar it is rather imperative to see the general development of his political outlook.
There seem to be two major factors that helped determine the political outlook of Chapekar. The first one is the early socialization of the Chapekar brothers and the second is the nationalist politics in Poona in the nineties of the last century. These two factors need some explanation so as to understand the develoF*nent of
Chapekar's political views.
It is evident from the autobiography of
Damodar Chapekar that his father# Haribhau, had played an important role in instructing and thereby socializing him. Haribhau was a Hardas (one who performs Kirtan) by profession and though he had difficult time in his early career he seemed to have overcome all the difficulties and emerged as a reputed and successful Hardas in his later life. Shri V.S.Joshi, Chapekar's biographer tells us that by 1885 Haribhau had moved from Chinchwad to settle down in Poona. 3y this time he had also acquired fame as well as money to the extent that he was planning to purchase a residential place in Poona. He oroved to be quite fortunate in securing the patronage of many a notable 192
figures from the different parts of the region.
Bhau Maharaj from Poona, Shrimant 3al Wagle,
Janardan Wanamali and Madhavji Jaysing from 3ombay and
Dadasaheb Khaparde from Amaravati were but the few among
these notables who patronised Haribhau's Kirtana and established his reputation as a learned Hardas.^ Haribhau's contacts with these people speak for his success in the
profession he had chosen and also for his popularity as a
Hardas, The young Chapekars thus, had enjoyed considerable
reputation as the heirs of a learned and reputed Hardas.
They also got several opportunities to travel the breadth
and length of the region while accompanying Haribhau at
the time of kirtana. In the traditional Indian society
'deshatan' i.e. travelling was always considered as one
of the sources of acquiring knowledge and thereby enriching
one's life , as the other means of education and learning
were very limited. Considering this, one can understand
the significance of the travelling opportunities that
the young Chapekars got in their early lives.
Damodar Chapekar seems to have taken pride in enjoying
such travelling. He did not consider it as an obstruction
in his education as he emphatically says, "It is absurd
to allege that travelling interferes with one's education,
because the school is not the only place for acquiring
knowledge." It is evident from this that Chapekar did not
attach much significance to formal education. As a matter of fact he was more than satisfied with being always in the 193
company of his father and acquiring wisdom through his kirtans. It is thus clear that the Chapekars did not receive much for-n^i school education as such. On the contrary they were taught at home in a traditional manner mainly by their father. Chapekar informs us in his autobiography that he finished Amarkosha, Rupavali and some cantos of Raghuvamsha. "My father", wrote Chapekar,
"had taught me the First English 3ook at home. I studied the Second Book for four months in the New English School, but having in the meantime innbibed a dislike for the g English language left off studying it." Thus the Chapekars were trained more in a traditional manner than in a modern fashion which essentially meant imparting English education to children. This further led them to develop a contempt for English education and helped confirming their orthodox way of thinking. Ahitagni Rajwade records in his autobiography that the Chapekars always used to mock at those who were taking English education and they did not even spare persons like Justice Ranade and 9 Lok.Tiiak in this respect. Thus the imparting of traditional education to the young Chapekars considerably affected ti^ir outlook. Moreover, their informal training in Vedantism at the time of kirtana made them devout
Hindus who would follow their religious faith resolutely. 194
Harlbhau, was a Hardas of a distinct type.
Unlike the ordinary Hardas is# who would always beg from door to door to arrange for their kirtanas, Haribhau lived his faith as an Advait-Vedanti. The Advait-Vedanti believes that the world is nothing but the reflection of the 3rahma - the eternal Truth and hence it is 'Maya' - an illusion Therefore one must try to detach himself from the worldly affairs. This philosophy of detachment made a deep impact on Chapekar in his formative years.
Chapekar thus writes, "We too adopted an attitude of unconcern like our father.It was because of his acceptance of the doctrine of detachment that Chapekar could perform both the acts - assassinating Rand and
sacrificing his own life - with the same kind of equanimity.
Thus we can say that the instructions in Vedantism that
Chapekar received throu'^ his father at the time of
Kirtana moulded his outlook in a peculiar way and this typical outlook, a Vedantist outlook influenced his understanding of the political reality in his own way and inspired him to act.
Another factor that was instrumental in
shaping the political outlook of Chapekar was the nationalist politics in Poona, particularly in the
nineties of the last century. The memories of
Wasudev Balwant Phadke's revolt were afresh. V.S.Joshi 195
informs us about how Chapekar took keen interest in
hearing the report of PhacJke's rebellion and sought
inspiration from him. The mountanious regions that
Chapekar came across in his travelling throughout the
Maharashtra constantly reminded him of Phadke's rebellion
and he too started thinking to do something to protect
his nation. Damodar Chapekar also confirms this in his
autobiography that the thoughts of "perpetrating terrible
deeds" occurred to his mind while he came across tl-ie
mountanious region on his way to Rajpur,^^ Thus the
legacy of resistence to British rule in India continued
in Maharashtra throu^ Phadke's revolt and Chapekar
imbibed the spirit of resistence from this legacy.
The failure of Wasudev 3alwant's revolt
was a severe bloirf to the revolutionary movejnent but its
memories created more national awareness among the people.
Tilak symbolised this new awareness in his person and
emerged as an advocate of extremist nationalism in the
last decade of the nineteanth century. A brief review of
Tilak* s politics during this period is, therefore,
essential to understand the spirit of the nationalist
politics in Poona.
In the year 1890 Tilak had resigned from
the Deccan Sducation Society and plunged into public
activities devoting all his energies to the national 196
upliftment . The controversy over the Age of Consent 3ill had reached its peak by this time and provided Tiiak with an opportunity to criticise the social reformers. The
last decade of the nineteenth century thus crystalised
Tilak's position as a social conservative. It also saw
Tilak emerging as an extremist nationalist and an advocate of the Hindu cause both at the political as well as socio religious levels. At political level he was becoming more and more active in the Congress activities and finally had a decisive word in dissociating the social conference from the Indian National Congress and thus making the
Congress a purely political organization. The 1895 Congress in Paona was in a way victory of the THak party. In the preceeding year Tilak had also come forward to protect the
Hindu interest at the tirre of Hindu-Muslim communal riots
during 1893-94. While protecting the Hindu interests Tiiak
also directed his attack on the British government by criticising the latter's partisan view at the time of
the riots. His writings in 'Kesari' during this time served two purposes. On the one hand they exposed the
inefficiency of the alien rule in maintaining law and order in the society and on the other hand they consolidated ttie Hindus as a political force. The
subsequent commencement of the Ganesh and Shivaji
festivals particularly on the backdrop of the communal
riots in the preceding years helped further in strengthening 197 the Hindu consciousness which was essentially anti-Jritish and caused considaraoie anxiety among the Muslim community.
The speeches delivered and songs sung at the Ganapati and
Shivaji festivals attacked the aritish policy of religious interference on the one hand and criticised the authoritarian attitude of the British bureaucracy on the other.
It is significant to note that Tilak had successfully captured the Shivaji-inemorial movement initiated by Govind 3abajl Joshi (Vasaikar) who had taken up the cause of ouilding a memorial of Shivaji at Raigad - as early as in 1885. The interest in the Shivaji studies had already oeen crystalised when Niikanth Janardan Kirtane read his critique of Grand Duff in 1868 at the Poona Young
Men's Association's meeting. Jyotirao Phule's oallad on
Shivaji in 1869 gave a new dimension to the understanding of the Shivaji-phenomenon. The historical writings of
Chiplunkar, Sane and Modak, through the columns of
’Kavyetihas Sangraha' kept alive the interest in the
Shivaji studies. In the mid eighties of the last century the issue of repairing the Shivaji T o m b at R a i g a d caught hold of public attention and was widely discussed both in the press and govera-nent circle. Govind 3abaji Joshi *s movement for the Shivaji Memorial was, in a way, a result of the (teoate that was ^ i n g on in the contemporary press. 198
Thus by the time T H a k emerged the leader of nationalist politics in Poona the Shivaji consciousness had almost permeated through the different strata of Maharashtrian society. Tiiak quickly grasped the mood of the people and tried to associate the Shivaji memorial movement with that of the nationalist movement. He rightly visualised that the Shivaji festival which was obviously confined to Maharashtra in the beginning, would soon be 14 developed into a national festival. THak thus used the festival for disseminating his nationalist thoughts and thereby furthered the nationalist cause. Shivaji, thus, became a national hero.
Along with THak, Prof.S.G.Jlnsiwale,
Prof.C.G,3hanu and Prof. 3 .M.Paranjape were also active
In the Shivaji festival. Through their speeches they
enlightened the people on the heroic work of Shivaji
and depicted Shivaji as a symbol of political independence who fought against the Muslim onslaught. Prof.C,G,3hanu openly justified Shivaji's killing of Afzalkhan as a moral
act while Prof.Jinsiwale' s message . , "Friends, we are
not a nation of slaves" inspired the youth to take up
the national cause. The young C h a p e k a r s who had just
settled down in Poona in the late eighties of the last
century were among those youth who witnessed the spirit
of these national festivals and sought inspiration from it
The significance of these festivals with respect to the 199
formation of Chapekar's early political views becomes at once clear when we see that Chapekar started his political career by volunteering himself at these festivals.^^ The Chapekar brothers actively participated in the activities of the 'Melas' that performed cultural programmes at the Ganash and Shivaji festivals. These melas not only propagated nationalist ideas and political extremism but also social conservatism. The social reformers often became the target of the nationalists' attack in the ballads and songs presented by the different mela artists at these festivals. The participants in
*mela performance* often ridiculed the social reformers and criticised their reformist views. Shankar Ramchandra Rajwade vividly depicts the activities of one of the most popular melas called 'Sanmitra-Samaj' of which he himself was an active mem’oer and tells us how it was instrumental in dissemenating the nationalist ideology and social conservatism.^^ Naturally# the young Chapekars who were quite active at the Shivaji and Ganesh festivals and who were already brought up in a traditional fashion got their orthodox views further confirmed in such an atmosphere that was prevalent in Poona, during the last decade of the nineteenth century. No wonder then that they championed the cause of the Sanatani Hindus »rtiile promoting the cause of the national revolution. Thus the
Hindu-consciousrK3s generated by the nationalist politics 200
in ?oona under the leadership of Lok.Tiiak greatly influenced Chapekar in formulating his political views and as a result he emerged as the spokesman of social conservatism and religion-oriented nationalism. The discussion in the forthcoming pages would reveal his distinct political and social thinking with respect to his understanding of the British rule in India, his political goals and the msthods he adopted to realise them, his social views and his justification of terrorist violence,
Chapekar* s Unders t an ding of the British Rule in India
Having received very meagre education the Chapekars learnt of the British rule in India more through their direct experiences with the British system of governance rather than through the discussion and debates regarding the good and bad effects of the alien rule in the contemporary press and literature. Their encounter with the B r i t i s h system of administration and the illeffects of the British policies which the
Chapekars quickly noticed particularly at the time of natural calamities such as famine or epidemics, led them to conclude that the British rule in India was against the interests of the Hindu people and was the sole cause of the overall deterioration of the Indian people.
Damodar Chaoekar, therefore, described the British as 201
'their implacable enemies and the cause of their
subjection.'
Broadly speaking there seems to be four major grounds on which Chapekar attacked the British rule
in India. Firstly h a sincerely believed that the
British governance not only symbolised political
subjugation of the Indians but also social and religious
subjugation. According to Damodar Chapekar the
introduction of the 3nglish education in India was the
major cause of moral degeneration of the Indian oeoole.
He opined that those who preferred to take modern
education had, by and large, deviated from the higher
ethical values that they had inherited from their cultural
traditions, Chapekar wrote, "The educated are invariably
addicted to vice. This may probaoly oe the effect of 19 liberal education." Thus Chapekar felt that the
introduction of modern, liberal education was bound to
produce ‘ irreligious reformers' who would have no regard
for the customs and traditions of the land. As a result
Chapekar seems to have developed a contempt for all sorts
of education that was western. His idea of a learned man
sharply differed from that of the modern understanding of
the term. He stated that the idea that true knowledge
can be acquired by study or by attending the school or by
passing two or three examinations was entirely erroneous. 202
According to Chapekar "that man is learned who performs
the various duties prescribed in the Shastras." Since modern education had hardly anything to do with the
Dharmashastras it was futile in Chapekar*s opinion,
"So strange is the influence of the study of Snglish", wrote Chapekar in his autobiography, "that if one simply intends to learn that language or if a child learns by heart only the first two or three letters of its
alphabets, he begins at once to look upon his elders
as fools and despises his good and ancient religion. If
the mere odour of English education has this effect,
where is the wonder if any righteous person who fully tastes it should turn an Englishman from top to toe and 20 an earnest votary of bottle?" Thus it is evident from
this that Chapekar, like many of his Sanatani
contemporaries snared the view that modern education was
something against the teaching of Dharmashastras and
actually led the individuals to vices. According to
Chapekar the introduction of English education to the
Indians was itself a British conspiracy against the
Hindus. He says, "when the English assumed the
administration of India they thought it necessary to
extinguish the spirit of the Hindus by making them
addicted to tire vice of education." Chapekar felt that
the loss of our physical strength was partly due to the
' Mlencha-learning' , He stated that the entire society 203
had devoted itself to education and become too much thoughtful and thereby had lost manliness. He also criticised the non-3rahmin castes, particularly, the
Marathas for their craving for securing more educational facilities from the 3ritish. The reason behind this was that Chapekar feared that the Marathas would also dastroy tneir religious observances, caste, morality and manliness like the 3rahmins , once they secured modern education. Thus to Chapekar, the British system of education stood for effeminating the Hindu race and thereoy denationalising the Hindus at the earliest. He therefore held the 3ritish as the enemies of the Indian people.
Another ground that made Chapekar hostile towards the British rule was that the latter frequently interfered with the religious practices of the Hindus.
The introduction of the Age of Consent Bill against the wishes of the majority of Hindu people was the proof that the British could even go to the extent of reforming the
Indians by way of legislation. Thus on the one hand there was an idea of 'progressive legislation* and on the other hand there were Christian missionaries who persuaded both the learned as well as poor, illiterate Indian to follow their faith and these two things togetlier posed a serious threat to the existence of Hindu religion. The way some oi 204
the learned Maharashtrian Brahmins accepted the Christian faith upset the traditional minded people like Chapekar and they were convinced that the British rule was essentially against Hindu religion. They viewed the
British as their dharma-shatru (enemies of the religion) and set out to comoat the alien interference with the native religion. Chapekar's behaviour with the European missionaries and the way he harassed the latter speaks for his strong hatred towards them. This was because he held the missionaries as tl^ agents of the British governiDent who misguided the ignorant Indians while converting the latter to Christian faith. Thus Chaoekar believed that the British rule was essentially an attack on Hindu religion which ought to be retaliated. It Is significant to note that the consequences of the British advent in India were visibly and directly felt in the sphere of religion as the nineteenth century Christian missionaries went on attracting the lower castes in Hindu society to tirjair faith on the one hand and the English educated upper castes Hindus on the other. This is evident from the way the various religious societies such as 3rahmo Samaj,
Prarthana Samaj, Arya Samaj, Ramkrishna Missions and others crcp.oed up in the latter half of the nineteenth century to counter the missionaries in their drive to convert the natives to Christian faith. In Maharashtra also the eminent figures like 3alshastri Jambhekar (1810-1846) 205
Vishnoboa 3rahmachari (1825-1871), Gangadharshastri Phadke and others directed their energies to counter the Christian missionaries in defence o£ the Hindu religion by engaging themselves in the public debate over religious issues both in the press and platform. This speaks for the concern on the part of the average Hindu people over the formidaole challenge of Christianity that was oecoming serious with the missionaries becoming more successful in proselytizing the natives. No wonder then if the orthodox
Hindus like Chapekar viewed the British rule as an onslaught on their religion. It is significant to note that
Chapekar's killing of the then plague Commissioner - Mr.Rand symbolised the revenge that a devout Hindu would take over his religious enemy. Chapekar makes this point very clear in his autobiography. He states, "Had he (Rand) been careful not to interfere with our religion ... we would not have baen compelled to perpetrate the deed . . . (3ut) as he made himself an enemy of our religion we deemed it 22 necessary to take revenge upon him." Thus to Chapekar
Rand represented the British rule and his interference with the religious practices of the Hindus ind-icated the anti-Hindu motives of the British government. As a result, like many of the Sanatani Brahmins of his time Chapekar viewed the advent of British rule in India as a threat to
Hindu religion. 206
The third ground on which Chapekar assailed the British rule was the 111 administration of the British government. He says, " a system of administration so cruel as that of the English cannot. If search be made, be found.
In any region of this globe. Far better were the tyrannical Y a v a n kings who with sword in hands actually cut the throats of iiien as if tl^re were so many goats. 3ut the English are perfidious and I positively declare that no other people can be found on this earth who are as villainous as they and who like them ruin others by a show of kindness ...... Hitherto there have been many cruel
Y a v a n kings in India but they made no rules from excluding
Hindus from particular appointments or for limiting the 23 number of those open to them." Thus Chapekar was convinced that the British system of adnninistratlon was worse than that of the Muslims because the latter, with all said and done
aoout their religious fanaticism, were at least not partial, in Chapekar's opinion, with respect to appointing the
Hindus in any administrative wing of the government whereas the British demilitarised tha Brahmins and denied them the opportunity to serve the army. It may be remembered here that Chapekar himself had tried to get enlisted in the army more than once but failed. This confirmed his opinion that the British always took partisan view with respect to
different communities in In'di a and did not treat them at par. 207
That the British were particularly blazed against the
Chitpavan 3rahmins, was the conviction prevalent among the Brahmin comj-nunity at that time. Chapekar, being a
Chitpavan 3rahmin also shared the same view which was not altogether false. The Sedition Committee - 1918 Report explicitly stated, " N a n a Phadnis, the minister, while in power to the opportunity to oust Deshasthas from their administrative posts and replace them with Chitpavans.
It was the Chitpavan government so established which was overthrown by the British late in the second decade of the nineteenth century. The Brahmins were employed by the British in the suoordinate administration but they had lost their commanding influence and a certain discontent and longing for a return to oover naturally remained. It is among these Brahmins of ?oona district that we first find 24 indication of a revolutionary movement." Thus the British did have certain reservations with respect to certain communities and they were reflected in their administrative policies. This probably made it appear to Chapekar that the government was not impartial as the normal expectation of the people would run. The total disregard on the part of the people's religious and social customs was especially prominent at the time of the plague epidanic at the close of the last century which annoyed Chaoekar and further confirmed his view that the British adiTiinistration was not
only worse but inhuman and cruel. 208
Finally the British oolicy of 'divide and rule ' was also one of the reasons that made Chapakar hate the British rule. Chapekar like many of the extremist nationalists of his time believed that the government did not show any concern for the Hindu interests. T u a k 's argument at the time of Hindu-Muslim communal riots of 1693-94^that the British government was favouring the Muslim community-was in fact representative of the feeling of the majority of Hindu people at that time. The nineteenth century Maharashtra witnessed the emergence of two major social forces that posed a serious challenge to the hitherto existing so called social harmony among the Maharashtrian people. One was the emergence of the Satyashodhak and the subsequent non-3rahmin movement that attempted to challenge the
Brahminic hegemony in every walk of social life and the other was Hindu-Muslim communalism that eventually alienated the Muslim community from the mainstream. The responses of the nationalist leaders from Poona to these new social forces were peculiar. They* without going to the root cause of this complex social phenomenon, believed that both communalism and non-Brahminism were due to the existence of the alien rule which deliberately encouraged the divisive tendencies in tlrae society in order to weaken the social harmony. Chapekar also held the same view and olamed the British governaent for, - to use his own word - 209
25 'sponsoring' the non-3rahmin movement. He also frowned upon the British government for honouring Shri Lokhande# a prominent trade union leader who carried on the legacy of Jyotiba Phule, with the distinction of Justice of ?eace, because he believed that the Englishnen conferred such an honour on i.okhande for the * simple reason that he was creating in Chapekar's opinion, dissensions atnong his own countrymen.*
In short, the British embarkment upon the liberal education that eventually led to moral degeneration and denationalization of the Hindu society, their policy of encouraging the divisive tendencies in the society their ruthless way of acJninistration and above all their interference with the religious practices of the Hindus and total disregard for the social customs of the natives annoyed Chapekar and created in his mind a violent prejudice against the English. As a result he resolved to persecute the British. It is evident that the degeneration of Hindu religious practices at the hands of the alien rule upset
>^hapekar most and in order to protect his and his people's religion from the alien power Chapekar took up the revolutionary cause. To him the Hindu religion was the essence ol Indian nationality and when that very essence was being nipped in the bud nothing but the national war of independence was the only solution. Therefore in one 210 of his shlokas (verse) Chapekar's brother declared :
‘Listen i We shall risk our lives on che battle-field in a national war. Do not look upon our utterances in
the presence of many people as a mere farce. We shall assuredly shed upon the earth the life blood of the enemies who destroy our religion." 26 At other place also
Chapekar explicitly says, "You are not ashamed to remain in servitude; try, therefore, to coimiit suicide. Alas
Like butchers the wicked in their monstrous atrocity k ill calves and kir« . Free her (cow) from her trouble, die (but) k ill the Snglish. Ib not remain idle and (thereby) burden the earth. This is called Hindustan (land of Hindus).
How is it that the ilnglish rule here 1 Eq not forget your name. Dearly cherish patriotism in your minds. Rise,
rap your upper arms, encounter the enemies." Thus it is
evident that Chapekar viewed the British rule as essentially
inimical to Hindu religion and appealed the Hindus to
unite to save their religion, to drive out the enemy and
thus espoused the cause of religion-oriented nationalism.
Chapekar's Political Method
Chapekars were essentially the men of
actions and as such they had a sort of contempt for
those who merely talked about liberating their motherland
without doing anything concrete. To such people Chapekar
would say, "merely reciting Shivaji's story like a bard 211 does not secure independence; it is necessary to be prompt in engaging in desparate enterprises like Shivaji and Baji." Thus it is evident from this that Ghapekar's views regarding the emploYment of proper political methods were quite different from his nationalist counterparts.
To tegin with, Chapekar was highly critical of the Indian National Congress. A perusal of the proceedin.js of the Congress which appeared every year in the newspaper had convinced him that the Congress was all a sham. According to him it was just a 'talkative body* . He was very much disgusted with the working of the
Congress proceedings when he attended the 1895-session of the Congress in Poona. In his opinion no Congress would be of any use to secure national liberation as he sarcastically asked, "Has even one of the famous men in history ever tried to unite the world by holding National 27 Congresses or by delivering speeches ?" Thus to him the
Congress was a wasteful gathering. To secure national lioeration not debates but deeds were required. Chapekar often doubted the motives of the originators of the
Congress oecause the Congress was born at the behest of some Europeans such as Hume, 3radlau^ and others. "How far (then) the originators of the Congress, being
Europeans," asks Chapekar, "could be trusted ?" According to nim Hume and 3radlaugh were the agents of the British 212
and they had come forward to deceive the H i n d u s and to 28 give a harmless turn to their activities. Thus in
Chapekar's opinion Congress was not the trustworthy
organisation.
Cne of the important reasons that annoyad
Chapekar with respect to Congress was tnat since its
inception the Congress was mainly dominated oy the moderate leaders such as Ranade, Phiroz Shah Mehta,
Dinshaw Wacha and others who were politically liberal
and socially progressive in their approach. It was at
the instance of these liioerals that the Congress not only
discussed political issues but it also debated over
important social issues of that time and thus took a lead
in reforming the Hindu society. The Social Conference was
an important associated institution of the Congress and
till 1894 its meetings were held simultaneously with that
of the annual sessions of the Congress. It was only in
1895 that the Social Conference had to be bifurcated from
the Congress because the extremist nationalist like Tiiak
insisted. So, fearing that the discussion on the Congress
platform regarding the social reforms might affect the
political strength of the Congress adversely. In
Maharashtra the late eighties and the early nineties of
the last century witnessed a major controversy over the
issue of what should be given priority - social reforms 213 or political reforms ? The extremist nationalists and the orthodox elites insisted that political reforms should precede the social reform. As the history shows, this controversy was ultimately resolved in favour of the nationalist leaders as they forced the moderates to
dissociate the social conference from that of the Congress at the time of Poona-Congress in 1895. It must be remembered here that ChapeXar also belonged to the camp who opposed holding the meetings of Social Conference in the Congress pendal. He was so much hostile to the 29 Social Conference that he called it 'Chandalin'. Thus the reformist activities of the Congress were disliked by Chapekar and hence he was extremely critical of it.
If Chapekar was highly critical towards
the Congress for its mendicant approach he was also not in agreement with the mass politics of Tilak either. As seen earlier in the nineties of the last century Tiiak had saccessfuxly embarked upon the mass politics by introducing the Shivaji and Ganapati festivals, and
advocating the cause of the farmers particularly at the
time of famine. Chapekar, apart from his personal
estimation of Tiiak's integrity as a Hindu leader,
sincerely believed that even the strategy of mass politics was also not of any use with respect to driving the
British out. As it is evident from his autobiography 214
Chapekar was highly critical of the Ganesh and Shlvaji
festivals although he missed no op;X>rtunity to use the
platforms of the national festivals to propagate his
political views. With respsct to Shivaji festival,
Chapekar writes, "Ky brother and myself do not at all
like this festival. Such undertakings as involved a great deal of talk hii^ly exasperated us, Besides, some
features of the festival held in honour of Shivaji are
so extravagant that he himself would not have liked them."^^
Chapekar was particularly opposed to celebrating the
Jayanti (birth anniversary) of Shivaji because in his opinion the Jayanti is celebrated only in correnemoration of the incarnation assumed by God at various times.
Shivaji was in no sense an incarnation and hence in
Chapekar's opinion it was not proper to celebrate his
Jayanti. Above all Chapekar was more disgusted to see
the 'childishness* of the people at these festivities.
To him to honour Shivaji was to take up the cause of
revolution and that alone was the real tribute to Shivaji.
Thus Chapekar disapproved both the political
methods - the constitutional, deliberative method of the
Congress and the strategy of mass politics as espoused by
the extremist nationalist like Tilak. In his opinion,
the armed resistence to the British rule was the only
effective political nr»ethod to drive the British out of India. 215
Hence he diverted all his energies to make the youth prepared for the anti-British struggle vi^ich he contemplated.
Chapekar's efforts at building the revolutionary movement
Chapekar had realised that the confrontation with the alien rule ultimately entailed growth and accumulation of physical force to counter the enemy on the battlefield and hence he einbarked upon developing a physical culture movement to strengthen the cause of national liberation.
Initially Chapekar tried to contact his
friends who were equal in his age but having found them not devoted fully to their religion and making ostentatious
display of their learning in his presence Chapekar decided to count more on the children than the adults. He
approached many school boys playing cricket on the
play-ground and created in their minds a dislike for
cricket and a taste for native games. Out of these boys emerged the famous ' Gophan-Club* (sling-club) that was
chiefly a recruiting agency of the revolutionaries.
Chapekar gave them training in sling-practice and within
no time he was able to attract more than one hundred boys
around hlm.^^ Chapekar also selected the powerful Marutl
(Veer Marutl) as the tutelary deity of his club. Chapekar’s 216
choice of the Veer Marutl was significant because throughout Maharashtra Marutl has been familiar both as a popular cSelty signifying the border security officer of the village (the Kshetrapalak) and also a symbol of unflinching loyalty and devotion to the God Rama. As a folk deity he signifies strength, power and heroism and as a devotee he signifies loyalty and service-mlndedness.
The famous Maharashtrian Saint Ramadasa had successfully combined both these Images of Marutl when he glorified the Hanuman-cult both as a symbol of strength and service and since then the worship of Marutl has became part of 32 both the elite and non-elite culture of Maharashtra. It was natural for a man like Chapekar who was intent upon developing a physical-culture among the Maharashtrian youth to choose Marutl or Hanuman as a tutelary deity of his club. Thus it is evident from this that Chapekar wanted to develop a masculine power as it was in his opinion, a pre-condition to the ensuing anti-British struggle.
Chapekar himself has elaborately discussed the activities of the club in his autobiography. He says,
"we used to teach the following exercises : wrestling, danpatta, kathi, lance exercise, high and long jumps and boxing. 4 to 6 in the evening was the appointed time ... we also collected historical works containing accounts of warriors and established a library at the place . . . In the evening one of us two brothers used to give historical 217
readings. Selecting some episode in ancient history#
we used to dilate upon it in a way suited to impress upon
the minds o£ the boys a sense of self-respect and love
for one's own religion. . . . Whenever in the course of
our readings we came across descriptions of battles
containing such terms and expressions as Morchebandi,
Khandak, Ganimikava and Chapa, as well as names of arms
we explalred them with sufficient clearness to make them
understood.From this description we get a fair idea
about the club's activities and its line of thinking too.
The same club was eventually named as 'Rashtra Hitechu
Mandali* (society for promoting national interests).
One of the important activities of the club
was to collect arms which was rather a difficult task. It
was not possible to procure arms in British territory and
Chapekar was fully aware of this but in the native states
there were no restrictions with respect to purchase and
sale of the arms, Chapekar# therefore, decided to purchase
arms from Nizam's territory. 3ut here also he had to face
several limitations as he was always short of money.
Ultimately having thought that it was not culpable to
steal anything required for a religious purpose he prepared
to do that also. 3 4 As mentioned earlier Chapekar had also
tried to get enlisted in the army but failed. He had also
contacted the chiefs of the native states expressing his 218 desire to take military training in their respective states but the response of the chiefs always remained negative. Thus with these limits, Chapekar had a very little scope to materialise his plans regarding armed resistance to the British rule and for the time being he preferred to register his protest against the British rule more in a symbolic manner than actually planning for a collective armed resistance.
Symbolic resistance to the British rule
In Chapekar*s opinion the Christian missionaries, the social reformers and the memorials such as statues, offices and other public places indicating the signs of the British rule were the symbols of India's political servitude vis a vis the British colonialism and hence he determined to attack these symools to register his protest. The first act of symbolic resistance of its kind that he committed was to smear 'damar* (tar) on the queen's statue in Bombay and disfigure it. In order to inform the people and the government that this act was committed by a Hindu,
Chapekar wrote a letter to one of the local newspapers from Thana, near Bombay, called 'Suryoday' and notified the editor about his association called 'Dandapani', The aims and objects of this association were made explicitly clear by Chapekar in his letter and that throws considerable 219
light on his thinking. Chapekar wrote, "We have formed an association called Dandapani. O u r fixed determination is to die and kill others for the sake of our religion.
Its first achievement was the blackening of the face of the statue of the Queen of England who made a distinction between Natives and Europeans, ... This
Dandapani Association will not be overawed by any one.
Any one who encourages iminorality, whether the queen or
someone superior to her is the enemy of this association."^^
Thus by making such public declarations regarding the symbolic activities that he had undertaken to register his
protest against the British rule Chapekar wanted to
undermine the British authority in the eyes of the people.
His physical attacks on the Suropean missionaries and social reformers like Prof.Velankar, his attempt to set on fire the examination pendal, his disruption of the
speech by Daji Abajl Khare on Shivaji (For Khare was beaf eater and hence worth condemning in the opinion of
Chapekar) his criticism of Hume and Bradlaugh - the originator of Congress and other such acts signified his protest to the British rule in a symbolic but effective manner. However# Chapekars were not the men who would
be satisfied by committing such symbolic acts alone. In
fact the thought of 'perpetrating some terrible acts'
against the alien rule was haunting them since their
teenage. Their desire to get a military training was 220 frustrated by the negative responses that they encountered in their endeavour to get enlisted in the army. Their efforts to collect arms for the purpose of armed resistance were equally frustrated owing to the
British policy of restricting the use of arms by the natives. Thus in the absence of any possibility of actualizing any revolutionary conspiracy on a large scale bases, Chapekar decided to embark upon the strategy of political assassination to revenge the British misrule,
Chapekar's views on employi ng the violent methods for national liberation
The fact that Chapekar made no secret of employing violent methods to realise the goal of national revolution does not differentiate himself from the other
revolutionaries of his time but the fact that he included the strategy of political assassination also among the violent methods that he advocated was something special with respect to his time that made him a revolutionary of a distinct type. It is in this respect that it would be interesting to understand his views regarding the use of
violent iTiethods and particularly the method of political
assassin^ition.
As a matter of fact Chapekar himself has
not specifically enlightened us much on this issue in his 221 autobiography. Neither cfc) we come across the phrases such as political violence, political assassination or terrorism ttiat would normally describe his violent methods in a relatively precise manner. Apparently it also seems that his act of killing Rand - the then Plague-Offleer was more of a revengeful quality indicating his wrath over the illhandling of the plague-management in Poona than a well contemplated act of political assassination.
But a deeper understanding of his autobiography negates this impression and confirms our view that Chapekar was one of those vho had consciously devised the strategy of political assassination to serve the revolutionary cause.
Chapekar's views regarding the use of violence to render political justice were by and large influenced by the traditional understanding of the
Mahabharata and particularly the 3hagwat-Geeta which he considerably shared. The impact of Ramayana and
Mahabharata on Indian minds has been consideraoly deep throu<^out the centuries. Not only that but the several stories and episodes in these epics have always been instrumental in conditioning the sense of justice of the
Indian people. The Kauravas and Pandavas in Mahabharata, signify the evil and ^ o d forces and the great war between the two signifies not only an important historical event but a moral crisis in which the righteousness as symbolised 222
by Pandavas seems to have won over the evil forces as represented by the Kauravas. Thus Mahabharata teactes that to fight for our legitimate claims till the end is perfectly justified. It further suggests that to penalise the wrong doer or to take revenge of the enemy is righteous. Moreover, it tells us that to die or to k ill the sinner while performing one's duties as laid down in the Oiarma-shastres is not only pardonable but morally justifiable. It is significant to note that the epic writers - Valmiki and Vyasa seem to have made a subtle distinction between the terms 'Vadha* (killin g) and 'himsa'
(violence) they argi^d that if the act of killing is unavoidable# religiously prescribed or required for iiOksamgraha i.e. social preservation then it becomes merely
a killing and not himsa or violence. This kind of a
distinction oetween these two terms has not only remained confined to the academic debate but has permeated through the minds of innumerable Hindu commoners. Thus to k ill anyone for the sake of social preservation has been always
Considered not only desirable but morally inevitable.
As noted earlier# Chapekar as being the son of a Hardas# had deeply drunk the ethical precepts as
taught in Mahabharata and his ideas regarding the good
and evil, righteousness and unrighteousness had been
considerably influenced by the teaching of Mahabharata. 223
In tha Bhagwad-Geeta we come across the subtle philosophisation of the same thinking as explained in
Mahabharata. Geeta teaches us that to die or k ill for
*Swa-dharma' is a moral act. Having understood this we find that Ghapekar who viewed the British rule as against the Hindu-religion and the British officers as the enany of Hindu religion, thought it proper to k ill them for the purpose of Lok-samgraha - and laid down a precedent of political assassination. This is evident from his confession before tha Chief Presidency Magistrate
Mr.W.R.Hamilton where he said, "I went to Poona ... the operations for the suppression of the plague were cosnmenced ... In search of houses a great zulum was practised by the soldiers. (They) entered the temples and brought out women from their houses, broke idols and burnt
Pothis (holy books), we determined to revenge these actions but it was of no use to k ill coinmon people, it was necessary to k ill tha chief man. Therefore we determined to k ill
M r.R a n d who was th e chief.Thus it is clear that
Chapekar intended to k ill the perpretators of oppression, and not Mr.Rand per se. Again, as noted earlier his killing of Rand was not just an act of emotional outburst but was a well thought out deed. In his autobiography Chapekar himself has appreciated the good qualities in Rand and he paid his respect to Rand as a person v*io 'was not addicted to any vice.' But as Mr.Rand represented the 224
British rule he was party to the wrongs being perpretrated by the British and hence deserved punishment. Moreover
It was the same Rand, as Chapekar reminds us, 'who had s e n te n c e d some r e s p e c t a b le gen tlem en o f Wal t o
Imprisonment', and hence he (Chaoekar) made him a target of attack. It must be remembered here that Rand had been known to Maharashtrians of that time as a ruthless, antl-3rahmln administrator since the event he punished some ol the respectable gentlemen of Wal for playing musical
Instrument before the Masjeed and breaking the rule In 37 1894. It was this ruthless administrator, enemy of the
Hindu religion and the representative of the alien rule that mattered more for Chapekar than a person called
Mr.Rand. Thus his selection of Rand as a target of political killing was a well thought out choice. This sign ifies that Chapekars who were sent upon 'perpetrating some terrible deeds* resorted to the strategy of political k illin g only as the best possible course to perpetuate the revolutionary spirit in the given circumstances.
The doctrine of Immortality of soul as emphasized in Bhagwat-Geeta - that the soul is ever present
and hence indestructible - also gave the necessary moral strength to Chapekar that the overt act o£ killin g in which it is only the body that is destroyed and not the
soul - Itself was 'illu sive' in principle for which one 225
38 need not repent so much. Moreover It was committed
not for the selfish purpose but for a general good with
a sense of detachnent and hence It amounted to *sat-karma'
(good work), the accumulation of which leads ultim ately to spiritual progress. This was the Hlndu-psyche personified by Chapekar which helped him in strengthening his morale in committing such terrible but righteous act.
It is significant to note that Chapekar embraced death
with a copy of Geeta in his hand. This itself speaks for his faith in the teaching of Geeta. Thus Chapekar justified
the political assassinations of the unworthy British
administrators and confirmed the view that it is only with
violent resistance to the alien power that a nation could
aspire for political liberation; it is only the martyrs
shedding their blood that a subjugated land is liberated.
Chapekar brothers* subsequent act of assassinating the
Dravld brothers for their treacherous behaviour also
signifies the same moral thinking as justified in
Mahabharata that to k ill a treacherous being is also a
righteous act. The later revolutionaries also seem to
have followed into the footsteps of Chapekar when they
ruthlessly dealt with their countrymen who were helping
the Britishers against the revolutionaries. Thus Chapekar
not only introduced the strategy of political assassination
but sanctified it. This is how the era of, what British 226
officials would call 'political terrorism' commenced in the revolutionary movement and Chapekar brothers proved to iae the pioneers of this era.
In short with respect to his political objects and methods we can say that Chapekar gave top priority to the national liberation of India and that was his ultimate goal. This he sought to achieve by way of revolutionary activities. Shivaji and Bajirao the I from the Peshwa dynasty were the heroes from whom Ghapekars drew their inspiration. Armed resistance and secret societies was one of the first revolutionary acts on which he seems to have contemplated. 3ut having faced so many lim itations with respect to the collection of airms
Chapekar indulged in coiwnitting the acts of symbolic resistance to the 3ritish rule such as disfiguring the statue of the Queen of Sngland« beating the reformers and missionaries etc. And from this kind of a symbolic resistance to the British rule he embarked upon a strategy of political assassination with a view to demoralise the
British authority, to convince the people that the oppressive rule always meets the same fate as that of
Rand's, and has to be dealt with in the same manner as he dealt. No m ilitary power, however mighty it may be, can rule the nation permanently with a reign of terror, was 227
the political message that Chapekar offered to his countrymen. Thus by building the physical culture movement# collecting arms and forming secret society
Chapekar strengthened the revolutionary movement in
Maharashtra.
A thorou^ review of Chapekar*s political thought would not be complete t ill we try to understand his social views also, and then only a critical estimation of his ideas could be offered.
Chapekar*s Social Views
A cursory glance at Chapekar‘s writings and his recorded utterances would convince us that
Chapekar*s social views were extremely orthodox. He belongs to that school of social thought in Maharashtra which believed uncritically in the greatness of Indian history and culture. This im plicitly means that the followers of this school believed that the varna and caste institutions in India represented the highest developed model of social organization and hence ought to be maintained at all costs. Not only that but the essence of Hindu dharma, according to these men, lies in oDserving the caste duties as prescribed in the
Dharma-shastras and any deviation from observing the rules in the shastras would constitute a heresy, Chapekar
essentially belonged to this school of thought. 228
As It could be easily seen from his autobiography Chapekar was excessively critica l of the social reform movement of his time. In order to counter the movement Chapekar had established a ’ society for removing the obstacles in the way of Aryan religion ',
This association was prepared to lay down the lives of its members as well as to take the lives of others for the sake of religion. On behalf of this association
Chapekar warned the social reformers in the following way.
He says, "We like a ll the Hindu customs, including even the evil practices of the Shimga, which are condemned by the social reformers. There is no necessity for any innovation whatever either in our religious observances
3 9 or our customs of the present day,” Thus he saw the
Hindu religion and customs as perfectly ideal. As a result he opposed a ll the reform ist programnries such as widow-remarriage, move against child marriage and even inter-caste and inter-religion dining. He, therefore, attacked the marriage procession of Kashinathpant Gadgil's
daughter for the former had allowed his daughter to
remain unmarried t ill she reached the age of sixteen
which was, in Chapekar*s opinion, contrary to Hindu religion.
As a matter of fact Gadgil was related to Chapekar but as
Chapekar made it clear that 'he would even treat his father
as his enemy if he infringed the shastras' ha would hardly 229
40 care for others. In consistency with the prevalent
social orthodoxy towards the reformers, Chapekar viewed
each and every act of the reformist people as anti-religious
and anti-national and did not miss a single opportunity
to attack the reformers. Even Lok.Tiiak the votary of
the social conservatives in Pune could not escape the criticism of Chapekar. In Chapekar’s opinion *Tilak was neither a thorough reformer nor was he thoroughly orthodox*.
He criticised T il^ for being a member of the association
for the removal of obstacles in the way of widow-remarriage,
for not performing such pious acts as hearing a kirtana or
purana or visiting a temple and for joining a tea party.
This speaks for the degree of orthodoxy that Chapekar
has reached. His plans to beat the editor of 'Sudharak'
a reformist paper of that time; his open heekling at the
public speech of Dr.Daji Abaji Khare, his beating of
Prof.Velankar for his religious conversion and opposition
to social conference only add to his anti-reformist
activities and thinking.
Another characteristic feature of Chapekar’s
social orthodoxy was his excessive pride in the supremacy
of Brahmin caste and the consequent arahminical arrogance
that typified the Chiplunkar-tradition of social
conservatism. As a result Chapekar could not understand
the ethos of non-3rahmin movement as started with the 230
teachings of Jyotlba Phule. He did not like the
non-Srahmlns‘ argument that It was because of the
Brahmlnlcal rule of Peshwa that Indians lost their
freecjbm. Chapekar offered a counter attack and said,
"... Are there no Marathas among you of the type of
Brahmin Natu who having gone over to the English are
now enjoying a life of pleasure ? ... As a rule, all
those who are at present eating the crumbs of ease under
the cool shadow of English did at one time turn ungrateful
to the Peshwas and were thus guilty of treason. ... Is there
any Brahmin agency at work in Manipur, Burma or sim ilar
other states which are now being swallowed up by the English ?
You revile the Brahmins without any reason.” Chapekar
believed that it was infact the Brahmins alone who waged a
revolutionary war against the British, "In 1857; writes
Chapekar, "Nana saheb ... then Wasudev Balwant and after
that we two brothers ... excepting these has any Maratha 41 or Muhmmadian become a martyr for his religion and country?"
This according to Chapekar there are black sheep in every
caste and the Brahmins alone could not be blamed. As
mentioned earlier Chaoekar also criticised the non-Brahmins
for their craving for more educational facilities. He
categorically stated that the non-Brahmin movement was
sponsored by the British rulers to encourage the divisive
forces in the society and the M a r a t h a s should be aware of it. 231
It seems that with respect to his attitude towards the non-3rahmln movonent Chapekar was by and large sharing the argument of Vlshnushastrl Chlplunkar who vehemently opposed Jyotlba Phule's Interpretation of history which criticised the Brahmlnlcal hegemony In all walks of life .
The third feature of his social orthodoxy which has bean referred to earlier# was his opposition to the modern, Sngllsh education. He believed that the
English education Invariably led to licentiousness^ destroyed the religion and chrlstlonlzed the Indian mentality* Moreover It effeminated the Aryan race. Hence he himself did not take English eciacatlon and often rediculed those who took pride in being educated.
Thus from the above discussion it is clear that Chapekar was a hard core orthodox, however, his selfless sacrifice for the liberation of India made others to overlook his otherwise excessively orthodox social views.
His love for his religion was almost blind and this was evident from his unfair criticism of Justice Ranade and
Lok.Tllak, Ranade, although progressive in his social views, was equally sympathetic towards Hlndu-religion and particularly towards the Bhakti-tradltion. His
' bhagwatization* of 3rahmo-Samaj speaks for the deep respect he had for the Indigenous traditions of Maharashtra. 232
His interpretation of Hindu %armashastra was in no sense inconoclastic but ChapeJ«ar could find none of these qualities of Ranade and criticised his reformism as anti-Hindu religious activity. His attack on Tilak also speaks for his immaturity. He criticised Tilak for not performing such pious act as visitin g a temple or listening to kirtana but forgot that it was Tilak*s genius which renovated the 'kirtana' institution and converted into an agency of national awakening. Sim ilarly he blamed Tilak for celebrating the Jayanti (birth anniversary) of Shivaji as according to Hindu traditions jayantis could be celebrated only of the incarnations of
God and not human beings, but he overlooked the fact that
Tilak could mobilize the masses in the cause of national liberation only because of his embarkment on mass politics through the Ganapati and Shivaji festivals. 3y initiating the Shivaji festival Tilak was in a way, as Richard Chashman put it, 'appealing for the support of the non-Brahmin
A 0 majority of the region.* It was thus an attempt at consolidating the Hindu political force in which any well wisher of Hindu-religion would have taken pride but
Chapekar, being a fanatically blind follower of Hindu faith could not recognize Tiiak’s ability as a promoter of
Hindu-interests and criticized him in an unusual manner. 233
Chapekar did not discuss anything about
the type of 'Free India' for which he was striving. The
early revolutionaries at least had some vague idea about
the 'future India'. Wasudev Balwant, for example, aimed
at establishing an Indian Republic after driving the
B ritish out whereas Maharshi Patwardhan visualized free
India as totally revitalized and revived on the principles
of Vedlc civilization but Chapekar, nowhere, cared for
expressing his Ideas aoout the 'future India.' The
impression that we gather from his political line is that
the Chapekars only wanted to drive British out of India
to reinstate the traditional social order based on
caste &e Varna the name of the Installation of Swa-dharma.
As a result the social content of Chapekar's revolutionary
movement was essentially revlvalistic in its nature, devoid
of any modernity. His affection for his religion was
almost fanatical and as a result Chapekar became an exponent
of religion oriented nationalism that was Invariably
Intolerant of other religious faiths and races.
Chapekar also seems to have lacked the
organizing ability like that of Savarkar as he had to
break up his club more than once owing to his difference
with his colleague His fanatic views seem to have been
obstacles in his endeavour to build up a large scale
revolutionary organization. Ahltagni Rajwade reports in
his autobiography about how often he was Irritated by 2 34
Chapekar's fanatic views. Damodarpant Bhide who was acti/e in revolutionary activities also records in his autobiography about the differences of opinion between himself and Chapekar.
For example while Chapekar suggested an idea of throwing the dead body of a swan in front of the Masjeed in 3ohari-lane in Pune in order to provoke the muslims 3hide rejected it saying that no religious place - whatever sect it belongs
4 3 to - should be molasted. Chapekar himself has recorded his strair«d relations with 3hide and others and how he
4 4 parted his canpany later. It also seems that Chapekar had some difficu lty in going along with the English educated youth of his age and hence he started looking upon the school boys as a possible recruit to his revolutionary party instead of arguing with and convincing the college students.
Thus it appears that Chapekar was not having only ideological differences with his colleagues but he certainly had some adjustmental problems too. That's why he had to part company with his associates/ so many times having found himself stranger with others. This estrangement often isolated him from his colleagues. One of the reasons that he should opt for political terrorism could be traced to this kind of estrangement that he had to face and the consequent fesling of dejection that he experienced.
Scholars have attempted to establish the fact that Chapekar's option for terrorism was afterall a result of his estrangement. Dr.N.G.S.Kini# for example, has attempted 2 35
at psycho-analyzing Chapekar’s personality. In his well argued paper he has tried to establish the relationship between Chapekar's early socialization, the estrangement that he encountered and the subsequent terrorist tendencies 45 he developed over a period. One need not actually agree with Dr.Kini when tries to convince us that Chapekar’s opting for terrorism was more a result of his early upbringing and his early socialization than the revolutionary convictions he had developed, however, his argument definitely throws some light on Chapekar’s early childhood and youth that was instrumental in conditioning his ddjustmental abilities. As shown by Dr.Kini, Ghapekar seems to have experienced a deep sense of dejection in his early life owing to his relatively poor economic conditions.
This might have developed a sense of cynicism in him that eventually produced certain adjustmental problem affecting his organizing capability. One may not necessarily agree with this kind of a reasoning but the fact remains that
Chapekar did face certain problems with respect to developing a large-scale revolutionary organisation because of his religious fanaticism.
The critical examination of Chapekar's ideas and activities thus reveals so many lim itations of his social and political thinking. However his inceassant efforts to organize revolutionary movement despite the 236
adverse own life for the cause of national liberation, his undermining of the British authority by resorting to political killing of the unjust British official and fin ally the path of martyrdom that he strode cheerfully pushed the revolutionary movement In Maharashtra a step forward and Inspired the revolutionaries of the future generation. The Savarkars were the fruits of Chapekara* martyrdom. They began from the point where Chapekars laid down their lives. The early twenties witnessed the culmination of the revolutionary movement in Maharashtra under the firey leadership of Savarkar brothers and their Abhlnav Bharat society which developed the revolutionary thought in Maharashtra s till further. In the next chapter, we shall discuss the political ideas of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and his brother Oanesh Damodar Savarkar, in the ll^ t of the revolutionary ethos that the Chapekars strengthened. 237 Notes and References 1. See : Joshi V.S., Mrutyunjayacha Atmayadnya/ (Marathi), 3rd ed ., Bombay, Raja Prakashan, 1983, pp. 59-120, 2. See : Phadke Y.D., Lokmanya Tjiak Anl Krantlkarak (Marathi), Pune, Shrlvidya Prakashan, 1985, pp. 1-13. 3. See : Rajwade S.R., Ahltagni Rajwade Atmavrutta (Marathi) Pui^, Shrividya Prakashan, 1980, pp.37-63. 4. See ; Bhide Damodar Balwant, Vyayamacharya Damodar 3alwant Urf Bhatjl Yanche Atmavrutta Va Charltra, (Marathi), Satara, Bhide Guruji Smarak Samiti, 1957. The entire autobiography is interesting and helps us understanding tte spirit of the revolutionary movement in the late nineteenth century Maharashtra. 5. Kelkar N,C,, Lokmanya Tilak Yanche Gharitra (Marathi), Vol.I, Pune, N.C.Kelkar, 1923. See ; Section 25 of the biography in particular. See also : Devgirikar T.R., Vasukaka Joshi Va Tyancha Kal (M arathi), Pune, Chitrashala Press, 1948. 6 . Joshi V.S., Kanthasnan Ani Balidan (Marathi), 2nded., Bombay, Raja Prakashan, 1986, p. 16. 7. Chapekar’s autobiography in Source Material for A History Of The Freedom Movement in India, V ol.II, Bombay, Government of Bombay, 1958, p. 964. Hereinafter referred to as 'Chapekar's autobiography*. 8 . Ibid, pp. 964-65. 238 9. Rajwade S,R,, op.clt,, p. 22, 10. For the brief but illuminating discussion of Advait Vedantism see ; Jog D.V., 3haratiya Darshan Sangraha (Marathi), Pune, Chitrashala, 1958, pp. 684-753. 11. Chapekar*s Autobiography, op.cit., p, 967. 12. Joshi V.S,, Mrutyunjayacha Atmayadnya, op .cit., p.60. 13. Chapekar's Autobiography, op.cit., p. 965. 14. Samagra Lokmanya Tilak, Vol.IV, Pune, Kesari Prakashan, 1975, p. 12, 15. For Prof.Jinsiwale's Social and Political Views s e e i Phadke Y.D ,, Shodh Bal Gppalancha (M arathi), Pune, Shrividya Prakashan, 1917, Chapter V, pp.101-112, 16. Joshi V.S., Kanthasnan Ani Balidan, op.cit., p. 20. 17. Rajwade 3,R., op.cit., pp. 40-43. 18. Ghapekar*s Autobiography, op.cit., p. 992, 19, I b i d , p. 1004. 20. Ibid, p. 964. 21, I b i d , p . 1002. 22, Ibid, p. 1014. 239 23. Ibid, p. 998. 24. Sedition Committee : 1918 : Reports Calcutta, Superintendent# Government Printing, India, 1918, Introduction, p. xv. 25. Chaoekar*8 Autobiography, op.clt., p.987. 26. Ibid, p. 993. 27. Ibid, p. 982. 28. Ibid, p. 983. 29. Ibid, p. 978. 30. Ibid, p. 992. 31. Ibid, p. 970. 32. Dhere R.C., Maharashtracha Devhara (Marathi), Pune, Vishwakarma Sahityalay, 1978, pp.75-81. 33. Chapekar*3 Autobiography, op.clt., pp.975-76. 34. Ibid, p. 961. 35. Ibid, p. 1001. 36. Source Material For A History of Freedom Movement In India, Vol.II, op.clt., p.348. 240 37. Joshl V,3,, Kanthasnan Anl Baildan/ op.cit., p.64. 38. See : Shrlmad 3hagwat Geeta (Hindi), 14th Reprint, Gorakhpur, M otilal Jalan, Samvat 2020, Chapter II, V e rs e s 19 t o 29, p p . 4 9 -5 6 . 39. Chapekar's Autobiography, op.cit., p.980. 40. Ibid, p. 976. 41. Ibid, pp. 988-89. 42. Cashman Richard, The Myth of Lokmanya : Tilak and Mass Politics in Maharashtra, California, California University Press, 1975, pp. 98-99. 43. See Phadke Y.D., op.cit., p.12. 44. Chapekar*s aAqtoblography, op .cit., p.977. 45. Kinl N.G.S,, **Damodar Hari Chapekar : A CaseStudy in Terrorist Leadershi p and Terrorist World Outlook'* A paper subnxltted at Seminar on P olitica l Development in Nineteenth Century Western India organised by the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Nagpur University, Nagpur, between 16 and 20 March, 1965. (unpublished).