Shyamji Krishna Varma birth anniversary: It will be a grave injustice to consider the Indian Freedom Struggle a result of some isolated incidences. In fact, several brave hearts gave their supreme sacrifice to keep the perennial stream of nationalism and freedom struggle alive till the British were thrown out from our motherland. Among these countless patriots, sons and daughters of India, either due to ignorance, lack of research or crude political intentions, the Independence was attributed to only a few who later went on to reap political benefit out of it.
Revolutionaries never die, they remain alive in the hearts of the nation
It is great to see that the nation has finally realised the grave injustice done to these great souls. Slowly but surely, it is bestowing the honour that they deserved from the outset.
Recently, PM Modi made a tweet to pay tribute to the revolutionary freedom fighter Shyamji Krishna Varma on his birth anniversary (4th of October). In the tweet, he had included a video of his earlier public address on the revolutionary soul, Syamji Varma.
Tributes to the brave Shyamji Krishna Varma on his Jayanti. This fearless son of Maa Bharti devoted his life to freeing India and furthering a spirit of pride among our people. Sharing a speech of mine in which I’ve spoken of his greatness. https://t.co/qEpmCbvopj
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 4, 2022
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Notably, Shyamji Krishna Varma was a devout patriot who inspired several nationalists both in India and overseas. He was the pioneer who directly or indirectly brought all the revolutionaries under one roof – India House and consolidated the efforts and capabilities of each revolutionary to attain India’s Independence.
His early life
Shyamji Krishna Varma was born on 4th of October, 1857 in Mandvi, Cutch State (now Kutch, Gujarat). His father Krushnadas Bhanushali worked as a labourer for a cotton press company. He suffered a tragic setback when his mother, Gomatibai, died when he was only a 11-year-old boy. After the unfortunate death of his mother, he was raised by his grandmother. His ancestors had migrated from a remote village to Mandvi in search of employment and ongoing familial disputes.
Shyamji Krishna Varma completed his secondary education in Bhuj. He did his further education from Wilson High School, Mumbai where he learned Sanskrit.
In 1875, he tied the marital knot with Bhanumati, daughter of a wealthy businessman of the Bhatia community and sister of his school friend Ramdas.
Journey from working for the British to free the nation
He was highly impressed by the teachings of his Guru Swami Dayananda Saraswati. Following the teachings of his Guru, he started taking lectures on Vedic philosophy and religion. However, in 1877, he rose to limelight when his address was widely applauded by the public and made him a recognised face.
Soon, he became the first non-Brahmin to receive the prestigious title of Pandit by the Pandits of Kashi in 1877. Impressed by his talent, Monier Williams, an Oxford professor of Sanskrit, offered Shyamji a job as his assistant.
On 25th of April 1879, on the recommendation of Professor Monier Williams, he joined Balliol College, Oxford in England. In 1881, he represented India at the Berlin Congress of Orientalists. He completed his Bachelor of Arts in 1883. During those days he gave a lecture on “the origin of writing in India” to the Royal Asiatic Society. The speech got him success and he was elected a non-resident member of the society.
On his return to India in 1885, he started practising as a lawyer. Later, the King of Ratlam State appointed Shyamji as Diwan (chief minister) but his ill health limited his administrative journey and he retired from the Diwan’s post.
After a short stint in Mumbai, he settled in Ajmer where he continued his practice at the British Court. Interestingly, Ajmer was the headquarters of his Guru Swami Dayananda Saraswati.
Shyamji excelled in his father’s profession and invested his income in three cotton presses. With sufficient income he didn’t have to be dependent on anyone for the rest of his life. From 1893 to 1895, he worked as a council member for the Maharaja of Udaipur.
Later he held the position of Diwan of Junagadh State. However, it was in 1897, that he finally realised the evil intentions of the British Raj. In 1897, he resigned after a bitter experience with a British agent that completely shook his faith in British rule in India.
Fought the British deep inside England
In 1897, he opposed the cruel tactics of colonial power during the plague crisis in Poona. Shyamji Krishna Varma supported the assassination of the Commissioner of Plague by the Chapekar brothers but he soon decided to fight inside Britain for Indian independence.
Earlier, in 1890, he had supported Lokmanya Tilak during the Age of Consent bill controversy. However, he was opposed to the functioning of the Congress party. He rejected the petitioning, praying, protesting, cooperating and collaborating policy of the Congress, which he considered undignified and shameful.
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Shyamji was highly inspired by Herbert Spencer’s writings. He announced several fellowships to Indian students in the honour of Spencer and his Guru Dayananda Saraswati, the founder of Arya Samaj. In 1900, he had bought an expensive house in Highgate which later became the place for revolutionary meetings.
On 18 February 1905, in the first meeting held at his Highgate home, it was unanimously decided to found The Indian Home Rule Society. The newly inaugurated organisation by Shyamji Krishna Varma had three main objectives.
- Securing Home Rule for India
- Creating a narrative in England by all practical means with a view to attain the same.
- Spread the objectives of freedom and national unity among the Indian masses
He made his debut in Indian politics by publishing the first issue of his English monthly, The Indian Sociologist. The monthly magazine was an organ of political, social and religious reform. The assertive, ideological monthly aimed at inspiring mass opposition to British rule. This motivated many intellectuals to rise up and fight the oppressive colonial power.
India House: The place that tormented the tormentors
Many Indian students faced racism and failed to get accommodations in England. So, Shyamji Krishna Varma founded India House as a hostel for Indian students, based at 65, Cromwell Avenue, Highgate. It could house 25 students and was formally inaugurated on 1 July by Henry Hyndman, of the Social Democratic Federation. Freedom fighters like Dadabhai Naoroji, Lala Lajpat Rai, Madam Cama and other foreign dignitaries graced the inauguration of the India House.
It was hoped that India House would incubate Indian revolutionaries and many freedom fighters like Bhikaiji Cama, S. R. Rana, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Virendranath Chattopadhyaya, and Lala Hardayal were all associated with India House.
Later in 1905, Shyamji Krishna Varma attended the United Congress of Democrats held at Holborn Town Hall as a delegate of the India Home Rule Society. Soon, the Britishers started feeling jittery from Shyamji’s activities in England. They disbarred Shyamji from Inner Temple and revoke his membership for writing anti-British articles in The Indian Sociologist.
The Local British press was openly against Shyamji and levelled unfounded allegations against him and his newspaper which he defended boldly. ‘The Times’ used to refer to him as the “Notorious Krishna Varma”.
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Shyamji was forced to shift to Paris to avoid arrest by the British government. He was being watched closely by the British secret service. He appointed Vir Savarkar as the in charge of India House. In 1907, he reached Paris and continued the nationalist acts.
With the support of French politicians, he foiled the extradition request of the British government. His relentless work in Paris helped gain support for Indian Independence from European countries.
He agitated for the release of Savarker in which he gained great support all over Europe and Russia. However, in 1914, the Royal visit of King George V to Paris, created a negative environment. Shyamji Krishna Varma foresaw the developments and shifted his headquarters to Geneva. Here too, the Swiss government imposed political restrictions during the entire period of World War I.
Although he remained in touch with his contacts, he could not support them directly. He spent a lot of time with Dr Briess, President of the Pro India Committee in Geneva. But he later discovered that Dr Briess was a paid secret agent of the British government.
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After a long hiatus of six years, in December 1920 he released the monthly issue of the Sociologist. In it, he highlighted his efforts to take the Independence matters to the League of Nations (predecessor of United Nations) and the Swiss government. But the great initiatives proved futile because of the pressure tactics by the British government.
Two more issues of Indian Sociologist were published in August and September 1922. His declining health prevented him from continuing any further. The great revolutionary breathed his last in hospital on 30 March 1930.
Fearing his influence and wave of nationalism, the colonial power suppressed the news of his death. Even after that all the leading freedom fighters paid their tributes to the departed soul.
Return to Free India
Before his death, he had made prepaid arrangements with the local governments to preserve his and his wife’s ashes at the cemetery for 100 years. He had asked the cemetery to send their urns to India whenever it attained independence.
However, after 55 years of Independence, the then CM of Gujarat, Narendra Modi brought the urns of the revolutionaries back to India. A memorial called Kranti Teerth dedicated to him was built and inaugurated in 2010 near his hometown, Mandvi.
In the 1970s, a new town developed in his native state of Kutch, was named after him as Shyamji Krishna Varmanagar in his memory and honour. Kachchh University was renamed after him.
Ugly politics and convenient stories of Indian freedom struggle had side-lined many more great sons and daughters of India. But thanks to the Modi government’s relentless efforts, the nation is finally paying tributes to the great souls that graced India with their untiring efforts in the service of the nation.
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