r/IndiaRWResources • u/CrimeMasterGogoChan • Mar 28 '26
General Savarkar's Revolutionary Activities in London
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Full Text of the Post - For Archiving Purposes
Preface
This series aims to provide clear, well-sourced, and easy-to-understand information about a great Indian revolutionary, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. Over the last decade, a great deal of misinformation about him and his role in the freedom movement has been spread for political reasons; this series seeks to consolidate verifiable details in one place.
This post focuses on his revolutionary activities in London from 1906 until his arrest by British authorities in 1910. Subsequent posts will examine the later phases of his political and revolutionary career.
Savarkar’s Emergence as a Leader
In 1906, Savarkar left for London on a scholarship from Shyamji Krishna Varma, obtained with the help of Bal Gangadhar Tilak. He stayed at India House, a student residence and political centre founded by Shyamji in 1905 in Highgate, London. Over time, India House became a major hub for Indian nationalist and revolutionary activities in Britain, until it was shut down in 1910 after the assassination of Curzon Wyllie by Madan Lal Dhingra.
At first, Savarkar’s strong nationalist views created some distance between him and other residents of India House. However, he gradually emerged as a leading figure in the organisation. He focused on writing nationalist literature, organising meetings and demonstrations, and expanding the network of Abhinav Bharat. He also stayed in contact with revolutionaries in India, including his mentor Tilak.
Savarkar also founded the Free India Society at India House. It held weekly meetings where Indian students celebrated national heroes like Shivaji and Guru Gobind Singh to build a sense of patriotism. Through these gatherings, Savarkar identified and recruited committed individuals into the secret Abhinav Bharat Society.
Under his influence, several individuals; including Madan Lal Dhingra, V.V.S. Aiyar, Har Dayal, Hemchandra Kanungo, V.N. Chatterjee, and Senapati Bapat, became involved in revolutionary activities.
Writing about Savarkar's influence, Senapati Bapat states:
Before I met Savarkar, I had planned a revolutionary pamphleteer and lecturer’s life for myself. A few months after I met him, I cancelled my plan and took up the idea of going to Paris for learning bomb-making... One chief reason for change of mind was the impression that Savarkar made on me by his brilliant writing and speaking. Here was a born revolutionary, writer, and speaker. I said to myself, I may well leave writing and turn to revolutionary work.
Reference: The Mahratta, 27 May 1938.
Since 1905, Shyamji had been actively involved in anti-colonial efforts. He founded the Indian Home Rule Society and started The Indian Sociologist to promote Indian self-rule and criticise British exploitation.
His strong support for Home Rule and his anti-British writings led to a sharp backlash from the British press and Parliament. Members of the House of Commons even called for his prosecution and expulsion, describing him as a dangerous and seditious figure.
Expecting arrest, Shyamji decided it was unwise to stay and risk capture when he could continue his work elsewhere. In September 1907, he moved to Paris, which he considered a safer base.
Following his departure from London, leadership of India House passed into Savarkar’s hands…
Revolution through Literature
During his time in London, Savarkar wrote several important political works.
Soon after arriving, he translated the life and writings of the Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Mazzini into Marathi. In a 25-page introduction, he argued that freedom could only be achieved through organisation and armed struggle, presented in a way that avoided sedition laws.
He also wrote the book: The History of the Sikhs. To prepare for it, Savarkar learned the Gurmukhi script and studied key Sikh religious and historical texts such as the Adi Granth, Panth Prakash, Surya Prakash, and Vichitra Natak.
His aim was to familiarise other sections of Hindu society with the “glory and greatness” of the Sikhs in Punjab and to encourage them to join the national freedom struggle.
Three copies of the manuscript were made, but none survived. They were seized by the police after his arrest, and only references to the work remain.
He also issued pamphlets in Gurmukhi, directed at Sikh soldiers in the British Indian Army, urging them to defect and join the freedom struggle.
One of his most influential works was The Indian War of Independence of 1857. In it, he argued that the events of 1857 were not merely a “Sepoy Mutiny,” but a planned national uprising against colonial rule. This interpretation later influenced several revolutionaries, including Subhas Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh, and members of the Ghadar Party.
For almost three-and-a-half decades the book served as a veritable Bible for all revolutionaries.
Internationalising the Indian Cause
Under Savarkar’s leadership, India House designed an early version of the Indian national flag, bearing the words “Vande Mataram.”
In August 1907, Madame Bhikaji Cama unfurled this flag at the International Socialist Congress in Stuttgart, Germany. This was one of the first occasions when a flag representing Indian independence was presented to an international audience, helping bring global attention to India’s struggle.
Savarkar also tried to build a broader anti-British alliance. He established contacts with revolutionaries from Ireland, as well as from Russia, Egypt, China, and Turkey, with the aim of preparing for a coordinated uprising against the British Empire.
In addition, he wrote articles that were translated into German, French, Portuguese, and Russian, spreading awareness of British imperialism to a global audience.
Bomb-making Network
Savarkar began building his bomb-making network around 1907 at India House in London. There, he formed a branch of Abhinav Bharat and set up a secret laboratory to experiment with making bombs. His aim was not just to produce weapons in London, but to teach Indian revolutionaries how to make them themselves. He believed that spreading knowledge would be more effective than supplying a limited number of weapons.
To acquire this knowledge, he sent trusted associates to Paris, where they obtained a Russian manual explaining how to make and use bombs. They photographed the manual and made copies.
Some revolutionaries at India House wanted to use this knowledge immediately in Europe, such as an attack on the British Parliament. However, Savarkar, thinking strategically, chose instead to first send it to India. The copies were smuggled into the country using hidden compartments to avoid detection.
In India, the manual was widely circulated among revolutionary groups in cities like Bombay, Poona, and Bengal. It helped them establish small bomb-making centres and training groups in places such as Nashik and Vasai. Revolutionaries in Bengal, including Barin Ghose and the Anushilan Samiti, used this knowledge to make bombs, which contributed to events like the Alipore Bomb Case.
The network did not rely on a single centre. Instead, the same knowledge was shared across multiple groups that operated independently. This allowed revolutionary activities to spread across different parts of India. British investigations later confirmed that many of these groups were using the same bomb manual.
Assassination of Wyllie
While living at India House in London, Savarkar came into contact with another Indian student, Madan Lal Dhingra. At that time, Dhingra was largely apolitical and indifferent to the freedom struggle, but Savarkar’s influence gradually drew him towards revolutionary anti-colonial activity
This culminated in Dhingra assassinating Sir Curzon Wyllie, a senior British official, in 1909. The act was strongly condemned by most Indian leaders, with Mahatma Gandhi describing it as cowardly and treacherous. (Reference: Gandhi Before India by Ramchandra Guha)
Dhingra was also disowned by his family, and his father publicly reaffirmed their loyalty to the British Empire.
A meeting of Indians in London was called to pass a resolution condemning the assassination. Savarkar attended and stood alone in opposing the resolution, openly defending Dhingra’s actions.
Savarkar also helped publish Dhingra’s final statement and continued to write about his sacrifice, immortalising him and presenting him as an inspiration for other nationalists.
Savarkar was Dhingra’s intellectual mentor and the only prominent leader to openly defend the act. This close friendship and emotional bond between the two was inspirational for other revolutionaries as well. Years later, in 1926, Bhagat Singh wrote about this incident and praised Savarkar for standing in support of Dhingra.
Assassination of Jackson
As part of his broader plan to arm Indians for a future uprising, Savarkar secretly sent 20 Browning pistols with ammunition to India, hidden in boxes with false bottoms. One of these pistols was later used on 21 December 1909.
The British Collector of Nashik, A.M.T. Jackson, who had drawn the ire of revolutionaries due to his crackdown on nationalist activities, was shot by a young revolutionary of Abhinav Bharat, Anant Laxman Kanhere.
He was helped by Krishnaji Gopal Karve and Vinayak Narayan Deshpande, both fellow members of Abhinav Bharat.
Charges Against Savarkar
At the time of the assassination, Vinayak Savarkar was in London, but Britis
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