CHAPTER.1 CHAPEKAR BROTHERS
Let's travel in the past and feel different bloody stories of The Indian Revolution. An armed resistance to British was started when Britishers tried to colonised India. There were some traditional movements too which were based on the traditional social structure. For example the great revolt of 1857 which became an inspiration for many other freedom fighters. Later on, there was an emergence of the modern movements which were based on many other national movements of the other countries of the world.
It is very surprising that till now, we all have been ignoring our Indian revolutionaries. Most of them could not even see the independence of India because they were killed in gunfights, hanged from the gallows or died in the prison. It is very important to know that all these revolutionaries started modern movements not only from the socio-cultural vacuum but from the fermentation of intellectuals. There was a great impact of the Russian Revolution, formation of Japan, Irish war of independence on Indians. This led to the establishment of three Universities in Calcutta, Bombay and Madras.
The first act of these modern movements was happened in the year 1897. At that time there was a terrific situation of Plague and Famines. As per many economic writers, 1890s was a time of great economic hardship. According to 'The Lancet', a well-known medical journal report, around 19 million Indians died in famines during the decade. In such times, many people convinced that they would starve and die and ready to do anything and that 'anything' could be violence too! Indian Civil Service officer Allan Octavian Hume was very much concerned about this so he reached out to some educated Indians to build a community and it resulted in the formation of INC- Indian National Congress in 1885. Then gradually, INC began to grow and many leaders came out such as Dadabhai Naoroji, Lal-Bal-Pal Trio ( Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak & Bipin Chandra Pal).
The political work and mobilization of Tilak is very much connected to the first incident of the modern movement. At that time, there was a heavy situation of Plague in Poona (now Pune) and as per the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, the powers were in hands of the Colonial Authority. They appointed Walter Rand as Poona's Chief Plague Commissioner. But he was taking very draconian measures there. Thus, Tilak wrote about his (WC Rand) behaviour in his column 'Kesari'.
As a result of this, two brothers of Pune named Damodar Hari Chapekar and Balakrishna Hari Chapekar decided to help in this matter. They were influenced by Tilak and also supporting him in every step. Chapekar brothers decided to assassinate Rand. So, on 22 June, 1897 both the brothers hid at a place on a Ganeshkhind Road (in Pune). When Rand arrived there with his military escort Lieutenant, Balakrishna shot them and then realised that it was not Rand but his lieutenant Charlse Ayerst. Meanwhile, Damodar shot again and killed WC Rand. This was an unexpected event for the British government.
After this incident, the associates of Chapekar brothers known as Dravid Brothers cheated on them. Dravid brothers had given leads to the Britishers about the assassination of Rand and they received prize of Rs 20,000 to provide information to British officials. As a result of this, Damodar Chapekar and Balakrishna Chapekar were arrested and hanged in May,1899. To take its revenge their third brother Vasudev Hari Chapekar killed the skinner Dravid Brothers. But after this Vasudev was also arrested and hanged. This entire event of Chapekar brothers sparked spirt in the other revolutionaries. We can call the Chapekar brothers as the ' Father of Modern Movements' because they inspired others in many ways. Today, that Ganeshkhind Road still exists and the place where Rand was killed, there'a a memorial to Chapekar brothers.
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| Chapekar Brothers' Memorial. |
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