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A long due and momentous occasion in the history of Indian Freedom movement happened on 22nd August 2003. The Government and people of Independent Bharat will have the opportunity to pay tribute to a great freedom fighter revolutionary, Pandit Shyamji Krishnavarma. Seventy-three years after his death, Shyamji Krishnavarma and his wife Bhanumati's asthi (ashes) have rightfully returned to Mumbai, Bharat tonight from Geneva, Switzerland. The Swiss Government held the official transfer of the asthis on 22nd August at 12:00pm in Geneva and they have been handed over to Gujarat Chief Minister, Shri Narendra Modi. The Chief Minister was accompanied by BJP Mumbai legislator Kirit Somaiya, Mangalbhai Bhanusali, Trustee of Pandit Shyamji Krishnavarma Foundation, Bharat, Hemant G. Padhya, President of Hindu Swatantryavir Smruti Sansthanam, U.K., and overseas representatives of Shyamji Krishnavarma Reception committee yesterday. Midnight today at Mumbai airport, thousands of people have gathered to welcome the arrival of the asthis and pay homage to a great Indian freedom fighter. After a grand reception at Sahara Airport, Mumbai the asthis will be taken to Bhanusali Vadi where celebrations will continue through the night. Tomorrow morning there will be Rathayatra in Mumbai city followed by a grand gala at August Kranti Maidan where speaker, Shri Manohar Joshi, RSS leader Sar Sanghchalak, Shri Sudarshanji and many other dignitaries will pay tribute. On 25th August the grand procession, Rathayatra, will begin its journey to Mandvi passing through eleven districts of Gujarat and Maharastra allowing people to pay their last respects to their national hero as the Maharath Yatra advances. The parade will arrive in Mandvi on 4th September where the asthis will be kept at the birth place of Pandit Shyamji Krishnavarma up to two years to enable people all across Bharat to honour the memory of these great souls who sacrificed their whole life to the freedom struggle of Bharat. After the two years, the final rites will be performed according to Vedic rituals and the asthis will be immersed into river Ganga in accordance to the last wishes of Shyamji and Bhanumatiji.
Although Shyamji Krishnavarma's name is not as well known as Gandhiji, this due to deliberate attempts by the Congress Party to conceal the efforts of freedom fighters who did not conform to Gandhiji's ideology and the Congress Party's politics. More importantly he started the freedom campaign in England twenty years before Gandhiji entered the freedom struggle in Bharat. Propagating awareness of Shyamji's work and giving him the prestige he so justly deserves has been the sole purpose of UK based organisation Hindu Swatantryavir Smruti Sansthanam who promote, educate and revive the memory of Krantivirs (freedom fighters) such as Shyamji. Hindu Swatantryavir Smruti Sansthanam has dedicated the last few years researching Pandit Shyamji Krishnavarma and covered the groundwork for retrieving the asthis of Shyamji Krishnavarma and that of his wife, Shrimati Bhanumati Krishnavarma and to rightfully return them to Bharat. With the kind cooperation of the Government of Geneva, Central & Gujarat State Government, Pandit Shyamji Krishnavarma Foundation (Bharat), and the local government of Geneva; Ville de Geneve, this has been made possible.
Pandit Shyamji Krishnavarma was a great patriot of Bharat. He will be remembered in history of the freedom movement of Bharat as a great revolutionary journalist, writer, cultivator of freedom fighters and the most inspiring genius of the freedom movement for Indian youths. He was not only a great freedom fighter and inspirer but also a profound Sanskrit, English & Latin scholar. Professor Monier Monier-Willams and the famous indologist Max Mulller held Shyamji in high esteem. Shyamji dedicated his whole life and earnings to the freedom of his motherland from the foreign rule of British Imperialism. He was a brave and committed patriot who made his headquarters right in the heart of the British Empire, London, to fight against British rule in India. He was one of the foremost leaders of the New Nationalist Movement during the most critical years of awakening the Indian people. He carried out rigorous propaganda in Europe for the cause of Freedom Movement of Bharat.
Shyamji was in fact born on 30th October 1857 at Mandvi in Kutch State, despite many misconceptions that his date of birth was 4th October his death certificate acquired by Hindu Swatantryavir Smruti Sansthanam confirms that the 30th is the correct date. He was born in a historic year, when the first war of Indian independence was fought against British Imperialism, where thousands of freedom fighters sacrificed their lives to liberate their motherland. But unfortunately failed to overthrow the British Empire from Bharat. Shyamji demonstrated a high intellect during his childhood. He completed his primary and secondary education in Mandvi and later came to Mumbai for further education. He had developed a real passion for Sanskrit in his childhood. His time in Mumbai allowed him to acquire greater knowledge of Sanskrit language under the tutorage of Shri Vishwanath Shashtri, a great Sanskrit scholar.
In 1876, he encountered Swami Dayanand Saraswati, an exponent of the Vedas and founder of Arya Samaj. He became his disciple; Swamiji was very impressed with Shyamji's knowledge of Sanskrit and religious literature. He guided and inspired Shyamji to conduct lectures on Vedic philosophy & Religion. In 1877, Shyamji toured all over Bharat propagating the philosophy of the Vedas, this tour secured him great public recognition all over Bharat and many prominent scholars admired his work.
Shyamji travelled to England in 1879 to become an assistant to Oxford University Sanskritist, Professor Monier Monier-Willams. Shyamji also joined Balliol College on 25th April 1879 and graduated in 1883, he also qualified for the Bar from the Inner Temple. Shyamji's literary work was recognised by the Royal Asiatic Society and he was elected a non-resident member of the society. In 1881, he was sent by the secretary of state for India to represent the learning of his country at Berlin Congress of Orientalists. There he not only read his own paper on the subject of "Sanskrit as a living language of India", but also read and translated a patriotic Sanskrit poem sent by Ram Das Sena, a learned zamindar of Behrampur. This patriotic poem might have been the catalyst created to spark patriotism in Shyamji. In 1882, Shyamji was elected as honorary member of "Empire Club". During this time he came across many great thinkers, philosophers and scholars, such as Max Muller and Herbert Spencer and they admired this genius young man from India. At the end of 1883 he returned to India and in early 1884 arrived back in England accompanied by his wife, Smt. Bhanumati Chabildas, a business tycoon of Mumbai.
In 1885, he moved back to India and enrolled himself as Advocate of Mumbai High Court on 19th January 1885 and started his practice. He was then appointed the post of Diwan (Chief Minister) by the King of Ratlam State. He resigned from his post in May 1888 due to ill health. The King granted him a lump sum of RS 32,052 to mark his high regard for Shyamji's services. He then made industrial investments in three cotton presses and secured permanent income, which made him independent of any services for the remainder of his life. He also served the Maharaja of Udaipur as a member of his council from 1893 to 1895. He took the position of Diwan once again, this time in the state of Junagadh and resigned in 1897 due to the bitter experience of a British agent's interference, a man who was once a close friend from their days at Oxford and who acquired his post at Junagadh state with Shyamji's recommendation. This incident shook his faith in British Rule.
During his time in Bharat, Shyamji was very impressed with nationalist leader, Lokmanya Tilak. Shyamji initiated a friendship with Tilak, who inspired Shyamji to the Nationalist Movement in the next decade. The timid and futile cooperation policy of Congress Party did not appeal to him. In 1897, the atrocities inflicted during the plague crisis in Poona on Indians by British Government, stunned and shocked Shyamji. He then felt full justification for the nationalist stand taken by Tilak. He later saw Tilak sentenced to a barbarous imprisonment. He had foreseen his future of possible imprisonment like Tilak and others, if he carried out his future plans for this movement. He decided to return back to England with a view to carry out the fight from abroad. He deliberately intended to launch uncompromising propaganda and create support in England and Europe for the independence of India.
Shyamji left his Motherland with the great determination to work relentlessly for the liberation of India. One of his main objectives was to provide thorough training and inspiration for the young sons and daughters of India to strive for liberty of their Motherland. After his arrival in London in the autumn of 1897, he bought a luxurious house at 9 Queens wood Avenue, Highgate (now known as 60 Muswell Hill Road). Such great names as Tilak, Lenin, Gandhiji, Lala Lajpatrai, visited this house to discuss the plans for Indian Independence Movement.
Shyamji was a great admirer of Herbert Spencer's philosophy, he accepted him as his guru. Herbert Spencer died 14th December 1903; in his honour Shyamji established an annual lectureship at Oxford for the sum of £1000. In addition, he endowed five Herbert Spencer Indian fellowships, each valued at RS 2,000 and a Swami Dayanand fellowship. He also established many other fellowships in honour of great Indians.
In 1905, Shyamji embarked on a new career as a fully-fledged propagandalist. He made his debut by publishing the first issue of his English monthly "The Indian Sociologist" - an organ of freedom and of political, social and religious reform. This powerful ideological monthly served a great purpose in uplifting the mass against British rule and encouraged many more intellectual revolutionaries in and abroad to fight for the freedom of India. On the 18th February 1905, Shyamji inaugurated a new organisation called "The Indian Home Rule Society".
As the racial prejudice barred the way to many boarding houses and hostels to Indian students, he foresaw the necessity of starting a hostel for Indian students. He bought a freehold property at 65 Cromwell Avenue and named it Bharat Bhavan, the now famous India House, a hostel for Indian students with the living capacity for up 25 students. The main purpose of the hostel was to create great patriotic revolutionaries by implementing an ideology of freedom and liberty by any means. He succeeded in his vision and produced the greatest revolutionaries such as Krantivir Vinayak Savarker and Hardayalji. Gandhiji stayed at India House on his visit to England in 1906. Despite differing views on how to free India, Shyamji and Gandhiji's relationship was friendly until 1909 when the justified assassination of William Curzon-Wyllie at the hands of the great martyr Madanlal Dhingra occurred. Gandhiji attacked "The Indian Sociologist", Shyamji and his counterparts in a letter to H.S.L Pollack: 'Mr.Dhingra's defence (by Indian revolutionaries) was inadmissible …He was egged on to do this act by ill-digested reading of worthless writings…' (CW 9: 302). This highlights Gandhiji's anger, contempt and discriminating opinion for those brave patriots who did not follow his philosophy.
Shyamji's activities in England remained highly volcanic and inflammatory to British government, the power of his pen shook the whole British Empire. The British government became highly suspicious of him. Shyamji realised that British Secret Services closely watched his movements. He decided to move his headquarters to Paris leaving India House in the hands of his disciple Vir Savarkar.
He arrived in Paris in early 1911 and continued his work vigorously. The British Government tried to extradite him from France with no success. Shyamji worked hard in Paris to procure support for Indian Independence from European countries and reaped much success in his efforts. In the wake of World War I, Shyamji moved his headquarters to Geneva in 1914. Due to the outbreak of war, Shyamji stopped publication of "Indian Sociologist", publication resumed in 1920. His last two issues of "Indian Sociologist" could be taken as his last will and testament of his work. After several health problems, the great patriot, Shyamji Krishnavarma, passed away on 30 March 1930 far away from his beloved motherland.
His wife Bhanumati continued Shyamji's good work even after his death. She donated 10,000 Swiss Francs in his memory to the Geneva University to be used every year for printing and approved thesis on sociological interest. She established a trust to Sorbonne University in Paris for awarding scholarships to selected Indian students for attaining higher studies in the university. At the time of the donation in the memory of Shyamji and his wife, Sorbonne University displayed an inscription engraved on a bookshelf donated, along with their portraits in the reading hall. Unfortunately these portraits and the bookshelf no longer exist due to various renovations and relocations of the libraries various departments, however some Shyamji's books donated to the library are still present. Smt. Bhanumati Krishnavarma also donated two hostel rooms within the University campus for Indian students studying at Sorbonne. These two rooms also no longer exist, however Hindu Swatantryavir Smruti Sansthanam have submitted an application to have a plaque or hall named after Shyamji Krishnavarma at La Maison de L'Inde campus.
Shyamji Krishnavarma's legacy is
his undying passion to free Bharat of British occupation well before Gandhiji,
his life is finally being honoured by returning him to his beloved independent
Motherland after so many years of self-exile. Shyamji will always be remembered
as an intellectual role model not only to the people of Bharat, but the
world, as a great freedom fighter revolutionist whose pen as his weapon
shook the British Empire.
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