Abhinav Bharat Society (Young India Society) was an Indian Independence secret society founded by

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (), Marathi pronunciation: �inaːjək saːʋəɾkəɾ also commonly known as Veer Savarkar (28 May 1883 – 26 February 1966), was an Indian politician, activist, and writer. Savarkar developed the Hindu nationali ...

and his brother

Ganesh Damodar Savarkar Ganesh Dāmodar Sāvarkar (13 June 1879 – 16 March 1945), also called Babarao Savarkar, was an Indian politician, activist, nationalist, and founder of the Abhinav Bharat Society. Ganesh was the eldest of the Savarkar brothers, Ganesh, ...

in 1904. Initially founded at Nasik as "Mitra Mela" when Vinayak Savarkar was still a student of

Fergusson College Fergusson College is an autonomous public-private college offering various courses in the streams of arts and science in the city of Pune, India. It was founded in 1885 by the Deccan Education Society. Professor Vaman Shivram Apte was its fir ...

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

, the society grew to include several hundred revolutionaries and political activists with branches in various parts of India, extending to London after Savarkar went to study law. It carried out a few assassinations of British officials, after which the Savarkar brothers were convicted and imprisoned. The society was formally disbanded in 1952.

History

Vinayak Savarkar and

Ganesh Savarkar Ganesh Dāmodar Sāvarkar (13 June 1879 – 16 March 1945), also called Babarao Savarkar, was an Indian politician, activist, nationalist, and founder of the Abhinav Bharat Society. Ganesh was the eldest of the Savarkar brothers, Ganesh, ...

started ''Mitra Mela'', a revolutionary secret society in Nasik in 1899. It was one among several such ''melas'' (revolutionary societies) functioning in Maharashtra at that time, which believed in the overthrow of

British rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was hims ...

through armed rebellion. In 1904, in a meeting attended by 200 members from various towns in Maharashtra, Swantraveer Vinayak Savarkar renamed it ''Abhinav Bharat'', taking after

Giuseppe Mazzini Giuseppe Mazzini (, , ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the in ...

Young Italy Young Italy ( it, La Giovine Italia) was an Italian political movement founded in 1831 by Giuseppe Mazzini. After a few months of leaving Italy, in June 1831, Mazzini wrote a letter to King Charles Albert of Sardinia, in which he asked him to uni ...

. In 1906, Vinayak Savarkar left to London to study law. In the same year, he compiled a volume called ''Mazzini Charitra'', a translation of the Italian revolutionary

Mazzini Giuseppe Mazzini (, , ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the in ...

's writings with a 25-page introduction added. The book was published in Maharashtra in June 1907 and the first edition of 2,000 copies is said to have sold out within a month. Mazzini's techniques of secret societies and guerilla warfare were fully embraced by Savarkar. He wrote regular newsletters to his compatriots in India as well as carrying out revolutionary propaganda in London.

Activities

Savarkar's revolutionary thoughts led to the assassination of Lt. Col.

William Curzon-Wyllie Sir William Hutt Curzon Wyllie (5 October 1848 – 1 July 1909) was a British Indian army officer, and later an official of the British Indian Government. Over a career spanning three decades, Curzon Wyllie rose to be a Lieutenant Colonel in t ...

, the political aide-de-camp to the Secretary of State for India, by Madanlal Dhingra on the evening of 1 July 1909, at a meeting of Indian students in the Imperial Institute in London. Dhingra was arrested and later tried and executed.

A. M. T. Jackson Arthur Mason Tippetts Jackson (1866 – 1909) was a British officer in Indian Civil Services. He was a learned Indologist and a historian. He contributed many papers on Indian history, books on folklore and culture and was popularly known ...

, the district magistrate of Nasik, was assassinated in India by Anant Laxman Kanhare in 1909 in the historic "Nasik Conspiracy Case". The investigation into the Jackson assassination revealed the existence of the Abhinav Bharat Society and the role of the Savarkar brothers in leading it. Vinayak Savarkar was found to have dispatched twenty Browning pistols to India, one of which was used in the Jackson assassination. He was charged in the Jackson murder and sentenced to "transportation" for life. Savarkar was imprisoned in the

Cellular Jail The Cellular Jail, also known as Kālā Pānī (), was a British colonial prison in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The prison was used by the colonial government of India for the purpose of exiling criminals and political prisoners. Many ...

in the Andaman Islands in 1910.

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{India House India House 1904 establishments in India Indian independence movement in Maharashtra