Veer Savarkar- A profile in courage

Mitra Mela

The martyrdom and sacrifice of the Chapekar brothers, was the spark Savarkar had been seeking. Having closely followed the trial and hanging of the Chapekar brothers, he could not stop himself from being emotionally overwhelmed, at their sacrifice. These men had given their lives for the country, it should never be allowed to go in vain. And he would ensure that, by taking forward the struggle, the Chapekar brothers had started. A struggle to get rid off the oppresive British rule, that was trampling the rights and lives of ordinary Indians under their boots.

He bowed before their kuldevta, Bhavani, and took the oath. The year was 1899, and he was just 16 years then.

"Oh Divine mother, for the freedom of my beloved motherland, I shall wage an armed struggle against the evil British ruling our country. In this war against British oppression, either I shall emerge victorious like Chattrapati Shivaji did against another invaders, the Mughals. Or I shall offer my own life for the country, like my Chapekar brothers".

Shivaji Maharaj, vowed to liberate his people from the Mughal rule when he was just sixteen. Bal Gangadhar Tilak was 25, when he plunged into political agitation, after college. His inspiration Mazinni, entered politics when he was seventeen.  Tatya, followed their footsteps, entering the freedom movement at such a tender age.

Tatya composed a ballad on the Chapekar brothers, to aroue the feelings of nationalism in his friends.

It was not an easy vow to take, the deadly plague that had struck Pune, had spread it's tentacles into his family. He still remembered his father, stricken by it, lying on the bed, asking

"The plague shall take away my life soon, but what shall become of my children then?"

Savarkar managed to keep himself calm, even in the midst of such a grave personal crisis, a trait that would enable him to get through even harsher periods, like what he suffered at Cellular Jail. Though Savarkar put in his best efforts , with the help of the local physician, it was in vain, as his father succumbed to the deadly disease, and his uncle a few days later. His younger brother, was taken to the hospital, where his elder brother Baba Rao took care. However Baba Rao himself became a victim of the plague, and it was too harsh a blow, for some one who had already lost his father to the dreaded epidemic.With the family patriarch having passed away, it was left to Baba Rao, now to shoulder the burden. And that is how he had ended up in Nasik.

As Savarkar pondered over the vow he had taken, he realized, it had to be backed up with action, else it would be totally meaningless. And he began to gather his friends around, Mhaskar, Page, Datar, Vartak, Govind Kavi to discuss the future course of action. The discussion led to the formation of the Rashtrabhakta Samuha a secret society, that would propagate and carry out armed revolt against the oppresive British rule. While the Rashtra Bhakta Samuha was more of a shadowy organization, Savarkar felt the need for another organization to carry out their activites in public. And that led to the formation of the Mitra Mela, which apart from Savarkar, had Mhaskar, Page, the Datar brothers as it's members. The Mitra Mela functioned like any other organization with weekly meetings, debate and discussion on various topics. Savarkar's forte was politics and revolution, and he had a single point theme, in most of his talks.

"Our objective is independence, and the means is through armed revolution".

Mitramela was founded right in the year, the world was beginning to take a step into the 20th century. Shivaji Jayanti was the first major festival celebrated by Mitra Mela, and then followed by the Sarvajanik Ganesh Utsav. The festivals became an occassion for the Mitra Mela to spread revolutionary thoughts among the masses, through the songs composed by Govind Kavi. It spread the message of revolution, bowed to the Goddess of Liberty, and soon caught the imagination of the common people of Nashik. The Ganesh Utsav in 1901, was on a larger scale now, and the songs by Govind Kavi had an electrifying impact on the masses. The thoughts of Savarkar expressed in the weekly Mitra Mela meetings were given a beautiful poetic form by Kavi. And with a profusion of young lads in the ranks of the Mitra Mela, who could sing those songs composed by Kavi beautifully, the nationalist fervor caught on among the masses. The spark that was ignited by the martrydom of the Chapekar brothers was now spreading like a wildfire.