Thread by @dhavalkulkarni

#ShivSena president #UddhavThackeray & #Maharashtra CM #EknathShinde have organised a show of strength on #Dusseshra. But, over 100 years ago, the festival was used to protest against the British & popularise swadeshi
#Savarkar #Tilak #Bengal #Dussehra2022 #Dashera #Maharashtra

This is also about the historical links between #Maharashtra and #Bengal & how people from #Maharashtra supported their Bengali brethren in their fight against the British colonialists

#Dussehra #Dussehra2022 #Dasara #Dasara2022 #LokmanyaTilak #VDSavarkar #Savarkar #swadeshi

It was on #Dussehra day in 1905 that #VinayakDamodarSavarkar, a student at the Fergusson College in #Pune, organized the 1st such bonfire of imported clothes with stalwarts like #LokmanyaTilak & #ShivramMahadevParanjape & a huge crowd in attendance

This was in protest against the divide-and-rule policies of the British, the partition of Bengal on communal lines & meant to provide an impetus to the idea of swadeshi. Viceroy Lord Curzon’s insistence to partition #Bengal on religious lines had caused massive resentment.

This partition into largely Muslim East Bengal & West Bengal on communal lines was seen as a design to sow the seeds of division between the Hindus & Muslims. The Bengali Hindus feared being linguistic minorities in West Bengal. When the scheme was announced in 1905, it caused

massive anger. In July 1905, Krishna Kumar Mitra, through his periodical ‘Sanjibani’ called for a boycott of foreign-made goods & adoption of swadeshi. The victory of tiny Japan over Russia (1904-5) and the boycott by the Chinese of American goods (1905) fuelled this sentiment,

and swadeshi grew into a form of mass protest. This agitation had reverberations in Maharashtra. In England, Gopal Krishna Gokhale took a position against the partition, while #LokmanyaTilak began organizing the people in the state for this 'Vanga Bhanga movement.'

In Kesari, Tilak charged that Curzon was “trampling on the grass of the Bengali nation’s sentiment like a drunken elephant” & advocated swadeshi & boycott of British goods. Tilak’s position won him adherents in Bengal, making him the first pan-India mass leader. The celebrations

of 'Shiv Jayanti' which had been popularised by Tilak in 1896 picked up in Bengal as the 'Shivaji utsav' in a form of protest. Another protest was singing #VandeMataram. On 5 November 1905, the govt banned the singing of the song in public places.

Yet, even schoolboys used to taunt British police officers and sepoys by shouting Vande Mataram!
Though #MahatmaGandhi later used swadeshi as a weapon to economically blockade the British by denting their business interests, Maharashtra had adopted the credo even earlier.

In 1872-73, Justice M.G. Ranade & ‘Lokahitawadi’ Gopal Hari Deshmukh (1875) advocated swadeshi. After 1872, Ganesh Vasudev Joshi aka ‘Sarvajanik Kaka,’ a public figure in Pune, adopted swadeshi attire till his demise in 1880. Then, not all kinds of goods were being made in India.

Tilak suggested that people could buy merchandise made in Japan, Germany, France or America & boycott those made in England and imported to India. Harm the industrial interests of England to make it accede to Indian demands! On 27 August 1905, Tilak presided over a public meeting

of 3,000 students in Pune against the partition of Bengal. It was attended by Paranjape. #Savarkar was among those who spoke there. Savarkar, who had earlier launched a secret society ‘Abhinav Bharat’ met Tilak & Paranjape

with his friends and suggested that a bonfire of foreign-made clothes and goods be organised. Savarkar organized a series of public meetings to rally people for the cause and collected imported clothes. He was helped in this by Bhaskar Balwant aka ‘Bhaalakar’ Bhopatkar,

who edited the newspaper ‘Bhaala.’ This bonfire was organised near Lakdi Pul in #Pune on Dussehra day (8 October 1905) and attended by 5,000 people. This event marked Savarkar’s entry into public life. ‘Wrangler’ R.P. Paranjape, the principal of the Fergusson college,

rusticated Savarkar from the hostel and fined him Rs 10. An angry Tilak wrote in Kesari: ‘He aamche guruch nhavhet,’ (these are not our gurus).

Later, Savarkar secured letters of recommendation from Tilak and Paranjape to apply for a scholarship for Indian students offered by Shyamji Krishna Varma, the London-based nationalist and founder of the India House hostel. Savarkar sailed for London on 9 June 1906

and took his battle against the British to the very heart of their empire. It was here that he was arrested in 1910 for his revolutionary activities and sentenced to two terms of life-imprisonment of 25 years each and transported to the infamous Cellular Jail in the Andamans.

The Savarkar who was released from the Andamans in 1921 was a Hindutva ideologue. Then, the age of #LokmanyaTilak had made way for that of #MahatmaGandhi. Savarkar was not favorably disposed to Gandhi’s credo of non-violence, satyagraha etc

But, the use of khadi and swadeshi was in line with Savarkar’s insistence on swadeshi when he had organized the bonfire of imported clothes. In 1925, Savarkar inaugurated a khadi bhandar (store) in Ratnagiri, and bought 2 Gandhi caps, which he eventually never wore

Instead of the original motive of swadeshi, which aimed at providing a market to local products, Savarkar redefined it as “Hindus purchasing the products of Hindus.” The strong opinions of Savarkarites for Gandhi & his ways is illustrated by the example of Shantabai Gokhale,

the Savarkarite from Pune. Gokhale, despite being a staunch Savarkarite, began spinning khadi in her younger days. She wore a khadi sari & went to the house of her maternal grandparents. Her maternal uncle, who was a staunch Savarkarite, & his wife took umbrage to Gokhale wearing

khadi and questioned her if she had joined the Congress. Gokhale said she was still with the Hindu Mahasabha but had started spinning & using khadi as she was inspired by the concept of swadeshi. She was asked to go home, change & come back only then!

Ref:
Y.D. Phadke, Visavya Shatakatil Maharashtra- Khand I
Appa Patwardhan, Majhi Jeevanyatra
Sadashiv Rajaram Ranade, Swatantryaveer Barrister Vinayakrao Savarkar Hyanche Sankshipta Charitra
Sadanand More, Lokmanya te Mahatma-II
Y.D. Phadke, Shodh Savarkarancha

Dr Vishnu Mahadeo Bhat, Abhinav Bharat Athwa Savarkaranchi Krantikarak Gupta Sanstha
Vaibhav Purandare, Savarkar: The True Story of the Father of Hindutva
All photos from the internet