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| Forgotten HERO Vasudev Balwanth Phadke |
Name : Vasudev Balwant Phadke
Birth : 4th Nov 1845
Death :17th Feb 1883
Regarded as : Father of the ARMED STRUGGLE for India's independence
Founded : Aikya Vardhini Sabha ,Poona Native Institution (Maharashtra Educational society )
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| 'Swaraj' was only Remedy for their ills |
As a child Vasudev preferred learning skills such as wrestling and horse riding over high school education and dropped out of school. Eventually he moved to Pune and took up a job as a clerk with the military accounts department in Pune for 15 years.
Lahuji (wreslter) preached the importance of independence from the British Raj. Lahuji, who belonged to the Mang community, an untouchable community, taught Vasudev the importance of getting backward castes into the mainstream freedom movement. It was during this period that Vasudev began attending lectures by Mahadeo Govind Ranade which mainly focused on how the British Raj policies hurt the Indian economy. Vasudev was deeply hurt by how this was leading to widespread suffering in the society. In 1870, he joined a public agitation in Pune that was aimed at addressing people's grievances.
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| Maharashtra Education Society |
Vasudev founded an institution, the Aikya Vardhini Sabha, to educate the youth. While working as clerk, Vasudev was not able to see his dying mother due to the delay in approval of his leave. This incident enraged Vasudev and happened to be the turning point in his life. Three social reformers and revolutionaries Phadke, Laxman Narhar Indapurkar and Waman Prabhakar Bhave in 1860 formed the Poona Native Institution, which later came to be known as Maharashtra Education Society.
In 1875, after the then Gaikwad ruler of Baroda was deposed by the British, Phadke launched protest speeches against the government. Severe famine coupled with the evident apathy of the British administration propelled him to tour the Deccan region, urging people to strive for a free republic. Unable to get support from the educated classes, he gathered a band of people from the Ramoshi caste. People from the Kolis, Bhils and Dhangars were also included later. He taught himself to shoot, ride and fence. He organised around 300 men into an insurgent group that aimed at liberating India from British rule.
Vasudev intended to build an army of own but lacking funds they decided to break into government treasuries. The first raid was done in a village called Dhamari in Shirur taluka in Pune district. The income tax which was collected for British Raj was kept in the house of local business man Mr. Balchand Fojmal Sankla. They attacked the house and took the money for the benefit of famine stricken villagers. There they collected about four hundred rupees but this led to his being branded as a dacoit .
To save himself Vasudev had to flee from village to village, sheltered by his sympathisers and well-wishers, mostly the lower class of the society. Impressed by his zeal and determination, the villagers of Nanagaum offered him protection and cover in the local forest. The general plot would be to cut off all the communications of British forces and then raid the treasury. The main purpose of these raids was to feed famine-affected farmer communities. Vasudev performed many such raids in areas near Shirur and Khed talukas in Pune. Meanwhile, the leader of Ramoshi, Daulatrav Naik, who was the main supporter of Vasudev, headed towards the Konkan area on the western coast. On 10-11 May 1879, they raided Palaspe and Chikhali, looting around 1.5 lakh rupees. While returning towards Ghat Matha, Major Daniel attacked Naik, who was shot dead. His death was a setback to Vasudev's revolt: the loss of support forced him to move south to the Shri Shaila Mallikarjun shrine. Later, Vasudev recruited about 500 Rohilas to begin a fresh fight.
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| Bust of Phadke in Mumbai |
His efforts, however, met with only very limited success and he was greatly disappointed. The Government, meanwhile, to the danger and offered a reward for his capture. Undaunted, he issued a proclamation threatening the government with dire consequences and offered a reward for the capture of the Governor of Bombay. He moved over to Nizam's territories to recruit Rohilla and Arabs to his cause. He was captured in Nizam's dominion in July 1879. His own diary and autobiography were the two major documents produced as evidence against him. He was sentenced to transportation for life and was considered too dangerous to be kept even at the Andamans. He died in prison at Aden on 17th February, 1883. (The above text is based on material published elsewhere and/or supplied by the sponsors).
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| Stamp in honour of vasudev |
Indian Posts & Telegraphs Department is privileged to issue a commemorative stamp in honour of this great revolutionary on 21/02/1984.
Reference's :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasudeo_Balwant_Phadke
http://www.ibtl.in/news/rashtra-vandana/1744/the-forgotten-hero-of-freedom-struggle-:-vasudev-balwant-phadke---ibtl-tribute
http://www.hindujagruti.org/articles/7.html
http://www.indianpost.com/viewstamp.php/VASUDEO%20BALWANT%20PHADKE
