M. P. T. Acharya
Encyclopedia
Mandayam Parthasarathi Tirumal Acharya (1887–1951) was an India
n nationalist
, a key member of India House
, and one of the founding members of the Communist Party of India
. In a long political and activist life, Acharya was at various times associated with India House in London
and the Hindu-German Conspiracy during World War I
when, as a key functionary of the Berlin Committee
, he along with Har Dayal
sought to establish the Indian National Volunteer Corps with Indian prisoners of war from the battlefields of Mesopotamia
and Europe
. Acharya subsequently moved in 1919 after the end of the war to the Soviet Union
, where he was one of the founding members of the Communist Party of India at Tashkent
. However, disappointed with the Communist International, Acharya returned to Europe in the 1920s where he was involved with the League against Imperialism
and subsequently is known to have been involved with the International Anarchist movement.
. His close relatives included M.C. Alasinga Perumal, one of the co-founders of the Brahmavadin journal, as well as Prof. Rangachari of Madras Presidency College. Acharya himself was an admirer of Swami Vivekananda
in his childhood.
By 1900, a young Acharya, along with Subramanya Bharathi, had begun publication of the weekly journal called India, and worked hard to popularise the publication within a short time. However, the journal's nationalist editorials and critical and satirical cartoons quickly drew the attention of The Raj
, forcing the young editors to quietly shift to the French
enclave of Pondicherry, following the trail of notable numbers who migrated to the enclave as refugees. The publication also acquired popularity in Pondicherry.
Work of the press continued unabated for M.P.T. Acharya, and was expanded to publications of revolutionary literature. The British Government began to seek French assistance to ban the publications which were deemed "seditious literature". Under pressure from British Indian authorities, the French authority in Pondicherry relented, allowing British Indian police to establish surveillance centres to monitor the activities of the revolutionaries. Attempts were also made at this time to extradite the Indians to British Indian custody. Subramania Bharaty, along with S.N.T. Acharya (owner of the India magazine) and the latter's cousin, were forced to flee to Europe.
Although some French officials did indeed harbour sympathies for the Indian revolutionaries, the latter also faced some resistance among the local Francophile and Europeanised Indians who saw the "new immigrants" somewhat contemptuously. The refugee cause was, however, taken up by a number of sympathetic French lawyers. Acharya found assistance from this group to help fight against his expulsion from Pondicherry.
, shaved off his long hair (Juttoo). At this time, Acharya was still unable to decide weather he wished to move to somewhere in Asia or to Europe, finally deciding to head for Colombo
, a city he had visited earlier. His savings was a sum of three hundred Rupees, which allowed him money for travel but not any luggage.
From Colombo, Acharya proceeded to Marseilles, for which he was able to acquire a third class ticket for eleven pounds
, nearly half his savings. It is said that during the voyage to Marseilles, as an orthodox Brahmin he was unable to bring himself to eat non-Indian food - he was forbidden from taking even coffee or bread by his orthodox beliefs - and decided to observe a fast for the twenty-two days the voyage lasted.
From Marseilles, short of money, Acharya proceeded to Paris
where he hoped to find Indian expatriates who might have been able to help him both financially and with jobs. He had, while editing Anglo-Tamil newspaper and journals in India, been in touch with Indians living in France and in Paris. In Paris, he established contact with Professor Moniers Vinson and a few Indian expatriates. He was able to support himself with help from this circle for some time. In his reminiscences, Acharya mentions an unnamed Parisian Indian acquaintance who, having invited him home one afternoon and being told by a penniless Acharya that he would have to walk to his house, handed him the money for his train fare.
, which was established in London in 1905 ostensibly to support Indian students and offer scholarships. India House was also a fertile ground for the exchange of nationalist opinions among students. It promoted nationalistic work and had the support of notable Indian nationalists such as Dadabhai Naoroji
, Lala Lajpat Rai
and Madame Bhikaji Cama. Iyer responded promptly, inviting Acharya to London. It was here in London that Acharya was introduced to the nationalism of India House.
In London, the India House settled Acharya's short-term worries of food and shelter. With financial support from the organisation, Acharya was able to enroll to learn photoengraving
at the trade school of the London County Council
. However, India House, by this time, was considered "The most dangerous organisation outside India" and had attracted enough attention for its nationalist opinions to be discussed in the British Parliament. Prominent London newspapers including The Times
demanded that Shyamji Krishna Varma
, the founder of India House, be prosecuted for preaching "disloyal sentiments" to Indian students. By September 1907, The Indian Sociologist
, published by the India House, was deemed "seditious literature" and was banned in India. It was at India House that Acharya was introduced to V.D. Savarkar.
Acharya was quick to realise that the residents of India House were shadowed by detectives from Scotland Yard
. A fear of repercussions due to an association with India House built an invisible barrier that prevented other Indian students from visiting or receiving residents of the house. This careerist and self-critical attitude of his fellow Indians, compared to the polite and helpful nature of Englishmen, is believed to have disappointed Acharya deeply. At one point, Acharya described Indian students treating the India House as a "Leper's Home".
V.D. Savarkar had by this time developed a reputation of an avid orator and a staunch nationalist. In London, Savarkar researched through the India Office
library and archives. Even those who did not dare attend the Sunday night meetings at the India House were of the opinion that he was an erudite orator and a learned scholar.
Acharya became deeply involved in the activities of the house, working with Savarkar and others in the house to produce nationalist pamphlets and publications including The Indian Sociologist
, Bande Mataram and Talvar
, which called for India's freedom and voiced what at the time were seen as "inflammatory and seditious" nationalist sentiments. The celebrations in Britain marking the 50th anniversary of the Indian uprising were met by India House with the publication of a nationalist history of the revolt, The Indian War of Independence
, penned by Savarkar with records from India office archives. The project received support from Indian nationalists in Britain including the likes of Madame Cama, Iyer, as well as Indian students who had dare not show their support or sympathy for India House openly. Publishers in Britain refused to publish the book, which was ultimately published from Holland. The book was rejected for publication from publishers. Acharya was, with a number of other residents of the India House, involved in raising funds, organising and in other ways helped with the project. Clandestinely, the residents also trained for organising revolutions in India. Acharya, along with Madan Lal Dhingra
, V.V.S. Iyer and others, practiced shooting at a range in Tottenham Court Road
and acquired considerable skills with the revolver.
was arrested in India in June that year, and was subsequently tried and transported for life for publication of seditious literature. Savarkar's speeches grew increasingly virulent and called for revolution, widespread violence, and murder of all Englishmen in India. The culmination of these events was the assassination of William Hutt Curzon Wyllie
, the political ADC
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. In the aftermath of the assassination, the India House was rapidly liquidated. The investigations in the aftermath of the assassination were expanded to look for broader conspiracies originating from the India house, and Scotland Yard
brought pressure on the inmates to leave England. While some of its leaders, like Krishna Varma, fled to Europe, others like Chattopadhyaya, moved to Germany
and many others moved to Paris
. It was suggested to Acharya at this time by one Syed Hyder Reza, probably on instructions from Scotland Yard, that Acharya move to the United States
.
However, Acharya remained in London for sometime, lodging at Bipin Pal's
boarding house. He attended along with Savarkar, Iyer and other ex-residents of the house a meeting of Indians called by the Aga Khan
to demonstrate their loyalty to the empire and offer condolences to the Wyllie family, where they opposed the unanimous acceptance of a resolution of condemnation against Dhingra. In a scuffle that ensued between Savarkar and a London barrister by the name of Palmer, Acharya is known to have come to Savarkar's aid, hitting Palmer with a stick and apparently not shooting Palmer with his revolver only under indications from Savarkar not to do so.
Interviewed repeatedly in the investigations following the Wyillie murder, it became clear to Acharya that staying in Britain was not safe for him. Neither could he return to India, for he was sure to be picked up by Indian police. He did not wish to waste the experiences he had gained studying and training for revolution at the India House. He also wanted first-hand experiences of the battlefield. Indian revolutionaries in Europe at this time used to send recruits to work with Irish, Egyptian and Turkish groups for training and experience.
, where he believed the Coloured
Riff
people fighting the White
imperialist Spain
would welcome him and allow exposure to guerrilla warfare. After consulting with V.V.S. Iyer, Acharya and another Indian revolutionary by the name of Sukhsagar Dutt were selected to be sent to train with the Riffs. Guns, uniforms and funds were obtained by the remnants of the India House, and the two were given a hearty farewell from Savarkar and Iyer.
The Moroccan mission was, however, a dismal failure. Neither the Riffs nor the Spanish troops were willing to recruit the two Indians for suspicion of being spies from the opposing camp. Penniless and emaciated, Dutt and Acharya were left with no option but to leave the country. Writing to London, Acharya asked for help to be moved to a different country, and if possible, to India. The two were sent enough money to reach Portugal
, where they were instructed to meet an Indian contact. Dutt returned to London, later joining the Paris Indian Society. Acharya, meanwhile, proceeded to Lisbon
. He had wished to settle in Portugal, but the terms of residency offered by Portuguese Interior affairs minister instructed him to place himself under police supervision, not change residences without police permission and a number of other conditions which to Acharya meant he could not live as a free man. Broke and depressed, Acharya returned to London. The whole affair had cost nearly three hundred pounds.
, Virendranath Chattopadhyaya
, Har Dayal
, Bhikhaji Cama. Madame Cama founded the Bande Mataram in Paris in September 1909. From Paris, Madame Cama arranged for Indian students to be supported in Russia
, Germany
, Japan
and other countries where they could train in explosives, military tactics, arrange for arms shipments to India and also facilitate continental connections.
After Savarkar's arrest in 1910 Acharya and V.V.S. Iyer took the prudent decision of leaving for Paris, where Acharya worked for Madame Cama's publication. He continued to maintain contacts with revolutionaries in India, including Subramanya Bharathi with whom he had worked in Pondicherry, and with M.S. Acharya. Significantly, at this time, in addition to his works in promoting and clandestine distribution of the Bande Mataram, Acharya, in a train of thought that arose among Indian revolutionaries at this time, began efforts to spread nationalist sentiments amongst the British Indian Army
. The influx of seditious literature from Europe was quickly noted by the British Indian authorities. A report by the Director of Criminal intelligence bureau described the effects and sentiments that these literature were promoting amongst the "ignorant peasantry", urging the ban on such publications emanating in Europe from entering India. The result was the Indian Press Act, 1910 which restricted publication of sedtious material in India and the entry of such literature from outside. A number of newspaper proprietors, journalists and editors within India were imported or transported under the act. The publication found their way in nonetheless. Among Acharya's ploys was to send these literature from different countries and use different secret code numbers to prevent Indian postal authorities from deciphering or tracing them.
. This was similar to the lines of thought that appeared in the Indian revolutionary circles in Europe, especially in France, at this time. He was introduced to the Socialist circle in Paris in 1910, and enjoyed the congenial atmosphere and the thoughts and ideas that he shared. It was also with the help of the Paris Socialist circle, notably Jean Longuet
, that the Paris Indian Society- which included Acharya, Har Dayal
, Madam Cama and other notable names- brought pressure on the French Government when Savarkar was rearrested at Marseilles after escaping from a ship that was deporting him to India. Acharya made the most of the available press freedom and the socialist platform to press for the re-extradition of his erstwhile leader to France and build French public opinion in support of such moves. Under public pressure at home, the French Government conceded to make such a request to Britain. The matter was ultimately settled in the Permanent Court of Arbitration
at the Hague
, which ruled in favour of Britain. Acharya became extensively involved in the socialist movement. The Paris Indian Society at this time grew to be one of the most powerful Indian organisations outside India at the time, and grew to initiate contacts with not only French Socialists, but also those in continental Europe. It sent delegates at this time to the International Socialist Congress in August 1910, where Shyamji Krishna Varma
and V.V.S. Iyer succeeded in having a resolution passed demanding Savarkar's release and his extradition to France. It also succeeded in bringing to the attention of the organisation the state of affairs in India.
In Paris, the Indian Society also held regular meetings and sought to train its members in skills necessary for revolution, which included training in firearms, learning military tactics, as well as organising the publication of revolutionary literature. It also sent recruits other countries and, after training, some were sent back to India to carry on propaganda work Acharya himself at this time learnt printing and engraving, and after sometime, was sent to Berlin
along with V.V.S Iyer, where they were met by Champakaraman Pillai
, who headed and Indian revolutionary group there. Observing Pillai's work, Acharya and Iyer suggested to the Paris Indian Society that their work by expanded beyond the work of the Paris publication. Accordingly, with funds from Madam Cama, Virendranath Chattopadhyaya
was sent to Berlin to begin publication of the Talvar
. The National fund scheme was initiated of which Madam Cama was the biggest contributor with (then) 5,000 Franc
s. The funds were strictly regulated to fund revolutionary activities in India, as well as fund Savarkar's trial.
. V.V.S. Iyer later returned to India, where he began training the Indian underground movement on explosives and bombs. On 17 June 1911, a young Indian revolutionary by the name of Vanchi Iyer fatally shot Robert D'escourt Ashe at Tirunelveli
. Ashe had been a district collector who had earned notoriety for himself for his role in suppression of nationalist agitation and Swadeshi movement in 1908. Vanchi himself had learnt to shoot from Iyer in Pondicherry. The 1918 sedition committee report
blamed Acharya for instigating, organising and planning the assassination.
In 1911, Acharya arrived in Istanbul
on the Paris Indian society's directions to seek Turkish help for Indian movement. Turkey and Persia had already been a centre for revolutionary activities by groups led by Sardar Ajit Singh
and Sufi Amba Prasad
who had worked there since 1909. The recruits to these groups included young nationalists of the likes of Rhishikesh Letha, Zia-ul-Haq, and Thakur Das. By 1910, the activities of these groups and their publication, the Hayat, had been noticed by British intelligence. Reports as early as 1910 indicated German efforts to unite Turkey and Persia and proceed to Afghanistan to threaten British India. However, Ajit Singh's departure in 1911 brought the Indian revolutionary activities to a grinding halt, while British representations to Persia successfully curbed whatever activity that remained in the country. In this situation, Acharya's mission was without much success. A similar effort by Barkatullah
a year later also would suffer a similar fate.
was formed at this time and actively sought to destabilize British possessions in India, Persia and the middle east. In this, they allied with the Indan revolutionaries and also sought Har Dayal's aid.
that reorganised the liaison's and terms of German help for revolution in India, which had initially faltered on account of differences between Har Dayal and German Foreign office. Following Har Dayal's work United States promoting nationalist sentiments in Indian groups in North America before his deportation to Switzerland in 1913, as well as from the links of the committee members with other revolutionary groups around the globe, the Berlin committee had strong links with Indian revolutionary groups in India, Europe, Far-east as well as nationalist groups in the US and Canada, most notably the Ghadar Party
. It sent members including Herambalal Gupta
and Chandra Kanta Chakraverty to the United States to begin arrangements for arms shipment (which culminated in the Annie Larsen fiasco
). Acharya himself sought to focus on organising recruits for the intended revolution. A prime target was Turkey, which had a substantial Indian presence, both Hajj
pilgrims and as Indian residents.
With the efforts of the Berlin Committee and the Paris Indian Society, Har Dayal reached Istanbul following another Indian revolutionary by the name of P.N. Dutta. In Istanbul, Har Dayal was joined by Pandurang Khankoje. However, Har Dayal's efforts were short-lived due to his apprehensions of Turkish Pan-islamic ambitions and interference from the German Foreign office. In 1915, Acharya had reached Istanbul
on the committee's initiative. Here, Har Dayal
had begun work earlier but left due to apprehensions on the issues of conflict of Hindu and Muslim interests, Turkey's pan-islamic ambitions and interference from the German foreign office. The Berlin committee reorganised and negotiated the terms of their liaison, and after assurances from the Germans, rededicated itself to the same task. Acharya's efforts were directed at forming the Indian National Volunteer Corps with the help of Indian civilians in Turkey, in addition to recruiting Indian Prisoners of War. He is known to have worked in Bushire amongst Indian troops with Wilhelm Wassmuss
, while one story describes Acharya and a fellow revolutionary by the name of Birendranth Dasgupta as having swum across the Suez Canal
at one point to contact troops of the British Indian Army
.
briefly along with Virendranath Chattopadhyaya
. In Stockholm in May 1917, Acharya and Chattopadhyaya formed a Propaganda Bureau and later joined by Har Dayal. This bureau worked independently of the Berlin Committee and the German foreign office. The duo are known to have met with K.M. Troionovsky at this time and explained the Indian situation, winning approval from the latter for the Indian cause. The Paris Indian society had been in touch with Russian communists before the Russian revolution. Nicholas Safransky, a Russian bomb expert, is known to have been involved in training the Indian revolutionaries in bomb manufacture and explosives. and Acharya was greatly impressed by the revolution itself, hailed at the time as a watershed in the struggle of colonial people against imperialism. The publication of a manifesto by the Soviet Union declaring support for colonies against imperialism was attractive to the Indian nationalists, who saw Soviet Russia as a future centre for coordinating activities, and also intended Russia to be a channel for Indian nationalists in any peace negotiations. This was also the time that the Swedish government under diplomatic pressure from Britain, gradually was leaning on the Indian propaganda bureau, while relationship of the Berlin committee with the German foreign office was also strained on apprehensions of German imperial designs and over allocation of funds. Chatto and Acharya arranged for Troionovsky to be provided with a large amount of the committee's literature to acquaint the Soviets with the Indian situation when the latter left Stockholm for Petrograd. However, Acharya was ultimately disappointed with the Socialist conference in Stockholm, which in his opinion entirely skirted the issue of the colonies. Towards the end of 1918, Acharya returned to Berlin along with Chatto.
at the head of a Turco-German-Indian expedition
through Persia with the aim to try and rally the Afghan Emir into the war on the Entente side. Although mostly unsuccessful in their aim, the Indian nationalists established in Kabul the Provisional Government of India
, as the head of which Pratap attempted to garner support from Soviet Russia through Trotsky and Joffe
. In 1918, Pratap was in Berlin, where he was reunited with Acharya and Chatto and the rest of the Berlin committee. In December 1918, Chatto, Acharya and Pratap left for Petrograd, where they worked with Russian Propaganda centre with Troionovsky. Other Indians this centre at the time included Hussain Shahid Suhrawardy, Abdul Jabbar
, Abdul Sattar
, Dalip Singh Gill as well as a number of others. In 1918 Acharya moved to Kabul
to join Mahendra Pratap's mission
to the Emir to declare war against British India. Acharya was a member of Mahendra Pratap's delegation when they met Lenin in Moscow
in May 1919
and the Soviet Union
. Acharya was one of the key functionaries of the group that included Abdur Rab, Virendranath, Agnes Smedley
, C.R. Pillai, Bhupendranath Dutta
, Shafiq Ahmad, Amin Faruqui, Nalini Gupta, M.N. Roy. These members were the amongst the first active members and founding fathers of the Indian communism. Abdul Rab and Acharya worked avidly in Soviet Turkestan, founding the Indian revolutionary association. Acharya was constantly on the move between Kabul and Tashkent, and attended the second congress of the Communist International. In October 1920 in Tashkent, Acharya was one of the founding members and a member of the executive of the Communist Party of India
However, Acharya differed from M.N. Roy, and differences emerged between the two from quite early on.
. Acharya was in the latter group. This was the beginning of the end of Acharya's associations with the international Communist movement. In 1922 he returned to Berlin
, working with the Indian independence committee and subsequently with the League against Imperialism
. He remained deeply critical of the Communist International, and some have described his political views at the time as anarcho-syndicalist. He remained in Berlin till the early days of Hitler's rise to power, and leaders of the Indian movement who visited Europe at various times, Including Nehru and Subhas Bose, are believed to have met with him.
, worked for the aid of Chinese political prisoners at the time. Conflicting accounts suggest he returned to India in 1935. or in 1948. He spent the last few years of his life in poverty in Bombay, where he was known to a small circle of friends. M.P.T. Acharya died in a hospital in Bombay in 1951.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n nationalist
Indian nationalism
Indian nationalism refers to the many underlying forces that molded the Indian independence movement, and strongly continue to influence the politics of India, as well as being the heart of many contrasting ideologies that have caused ethnic and religious conflict in Indian society...
, a key member of India House
India House
India House was an informal Indian nationalist organisation based in London between 1905 and 1910. With the patronage of Shyamji Krishna Varma, its home in a student residence in Highgate, North London was launched to promote nationalist views among Indian students in Britain...
, and one of the founding members of the Communist Party of India
Communist Party of India
The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...
. In a long political and activist life, Acharya was at various times associated with India House in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and the Hindu-German Conspiracy during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
when, as a key functionary of the Berlin Committee
Berlin Committee
The Berlin Committee, later known as the Indian Independence Committee after 1915, was an organisation formed in Germany in 1914 during World War I by Indian students and political activists residing in the country. The purpose of the Committee was to promote the cause of Indian Independence...
, he along with Har Dayal
Har Dayal
Lala Har Dayal was a Indian nationalist revolutionary who founded the Ghadar Party in America. He was a polymath who turned down a career in the Indian Civil Service...
sought to establish the Indian National Volunteer Corps with Indian prisoners of war from the battlefields of Mesopotamia
Mesopotamian Campaign
The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the Allies represented by the British Empire, mostly troops from the Indian Empire, and the Central Powers, mostly of the Ottoman Empire.- Background :...
and Europe
European theatre of World War I
Although considerable conflict took place outside Europe, the European theatre was the main theatre of operations during World War I and was where the war began and ended...
. Acharya subsequently moved in 1919 after the end of the war to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, where he was one of the founding members of the Communist Party of India at Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
. However, disappointed with the Communist International, Acharya returned to Europe in the 1920s where he was involved with the League against Imperialism
League against Imperialism
The League against Imperialism was founded in the Egmont Palace in Brussels, Belgium, on February 10, 1927, in presence of 175 delegates, among which 107 came from 37 countries under colonial rule. The Congress aimed at creating a "mass anti-imperialist movement" at a world scale, and was...
and subsequently is known to have been involved with the International Anarchist movement.
Early life
M.P.T. Acharya was born in 1887 in Madras to a family of Aiyangar brahmins. His father, M.P. Narasimha Aiyangar, was an employee in the Madras Public Works Department whose family had originally migrated from the state of Mysore. Young M.P.T. was exposed to nationalism from childhood, with his family playing a prominent role in the rise of Indian nationalism in South IndiaSouth India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
. His close relatives included M.C. Alasinga Perumal, one of the co-founders of the Brahmavadin journal, as well as Prof. Rangachari of Madras Presidency College. Acharya himself was an admirer of Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda , born Narendranath Dutta , was the chief disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission...
in his childhood.
By 1900, a young Acharya, along with Subramanya Bharathi, had begun publication of the weekly journal called India, and worked hard to popularise the publication within a short time. However, the journal's nationalist editorials and critical and satirical cartoons quickly drew the attention of The Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
, forcing the young editors to quietly shift to the French
French India
French India is a general name for the former French possessions in India These included Pondichéry , Karikal and Yanaon on the Coromandel Coast, Mahé on the Malabar Coast, and Chandannagar in Bengal...
enclave of Pondicherry, following the trail of notable numbers who migrated to the enclave as refugees. The publication also acquired popularity in Pondicherry.
Work of the press continued unabated for M.P.T. Acharya, and was expanded to publications of revolutionary literature. The British Government began to seek French assistance to ban the publications which were deemed "seditious literature". Under pressure from British Indian authorities, the French authority in Pondicherry relented, allowing British Indian police to establish surveillance centres to monitor the activities of the revolutionaries. Attempts were also made at this time to extradite the Indians to British Indian custody. Subramania Bharaty, along with S.N.T. Acharya (owner of the India magazine) and the latter's cousin, were forced to flee to Europe.
Although some French officials did indeed harbour sympathies for the Indian revolutionaries, the latter also faced some resistance among the local Francophile and Europeanised Indians who saw the "new immigrants" somewhat contemptuously. The refugee cause was, however, taken up by a number of sympathetic French lawyers. Acharya found assistance from this group to help fight against his expulsion from Pondicherry.
Europe
Faced with the threat of persecution, M.P.T. Acharya made up his mind to leave India. In 1907, he left for Britain. He visited his ailing father at Shiyali and, although an orthodox BrahminBrahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
, shaved off his long hair (Juttoo). At this time, Acharya was still unable to decide weather he wished to move to somewhere in Asia or to Europe, finally deciding to head for Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
, a city he had visited earlier. His savings was a sum of three hundred Rupees, which allowed him money for travel but not any luggage.
From Colombo, Acharya proceeded to Marseilles, for which he was able to acquire a third class ticket for eleven pounds
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
, nearly half his savings. It is said that during the voyage to Marseilles, as an orthodox Brahmin he was unable to bring himself to eat non-Indian food - he was forbidden from taking even coffee or bread by his orthodox beliefs - and decided to observe a fast for the twenty-two days the voyage lasted.
From Marseilles, short of money, Acharya proceeded to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
where he hoped to find Indian expatriates who might have been able to help him both financially and with jobs. He had, while editing Anglo-Tamil newspaper and journals in India, been in touch with Indians living in France and in Paris. In Paris, he established contact with Professor Moniers Vinson and a few Indian expatriates. He was able to support himself with help from this circle for some time. In his reminiscences, Acharya mentions an unnamed Parisian Indian acquaintance who, having invited him home one afternoon and being told by a penniless Acharya that he would have to walk to his house, handed him the money for his train fare.
India House
While in Paris, urged by his friends, Acharya wrote to V.V.S. Iyer, an Indian barrister originally from Truchi who practiced in London. Iyer was actively involved with the India HouseIndia House
India House was an informal Indian nationalist organisation based in London between 1905 and 1910. With the patronage of Shyamji Krishna Varma, its home in a student residence in Highgate, North London was launched to promote nationalist views among Indian students in Britain...
, which was established in London in 1905 ostensibly to support Indian students and offer scholarships. India House was also a fertile ground for the exchange of nationalist opinions among students. It promoted nationalistic work and had the support of notable Indian nationalists such as Dadabhai Naoroji
Dadabhai Naoroji
Dadabhai Naoroji , known as the Grand Old Man of India, was a Parsi intellectual, educator, cotton trader, and an early Indian political leader. His book Poverty and Un-British Rule in India brought attention to the draining of India's wealth into Britain...
, Lala Lajpat Rai
Lala Lajpat Rai
Lala Lajpat Rai was an Indian author, freedom fighter and politician who is chiefly remembered as a leader in the Indian fight for freedom from the British Raj. He was popularly known as Punjab Kesari or Sher-e-Punjab meaning the samem and was part of the Lal Bal Pal trio...
and Madame Bhikaji Cama. Iyer responded promptly, inviting Acharya to London. It was here in London that Acharya was introduced to the nationalism of India House.
In London, the India House settled Acharya's short-term worries of food and shelter. With financial support from the organisation, Acharya was able to enroll to learn photoengraving
Photoengraving
Photoengraving also known as photo-chemical milling is a process of engraving using photographic processing techniques. The full form of photoengraving is photo mechanical process in the graphic arts, used principally for reproducing illustrations. The subject is photographed, and the image is...
at the trade school of the London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
. However, India House, by this time, was considered "The most dangerous organisation outside India" and had attracted enough attention for its nationalist opinions to be discussed in the British Parliament. Prominent London newspapers including The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
demanded that Shyamji Krishna Varma
Shyamji Krishna Varma
Shyamji Krishna Varma was an Indian revolutionary, lawyer and journalist who founded the Indian Home Rule Society, India House and The Indian Sociologist in London. A graduate of Balliol College, Krishna Varma was a noted scholar in Sanskrit and other Indian languages...
, the founder of India House, be prosecuted for preaching "disloyal sentiments" to Indian students. By September 1907, The Indian Sociologist
The Indian Sociologist
The Indian Sociologist was an Indian nationalist publication in the early twentieth century. Its subtitle was An Organ of Freedom, and Political, Social, and Religious Reform....
, published by the India House, was deemed "seditious literature" and was banned in India. It was at India House that Acharya was introduced to V.D. Savarkar.
Acharya was quick to realise that the residents of India House were shadowed by detectives from Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
. A fear of repercussions due to an association with India House built an invisible barrier that prevented other Indian students from visiting or receiving residents of the house. This careerist and self-critical attitude of his fellow Indians, compared to the polite and helpful nature of Englishmen, is believed to have disappointed Acharya deeply. At one point, Acharya described Indian students treating the India House as a "Leper's Home".
With Savarkar
Through his prolonged stay in India House, however, Acharya gradually became deeply involved in its activities. Scotland Yard had at one point been able to infiltrate the organisation with an Indian student by the name of Kritikar, who had arrived at the organisation with a story similar to that of Acharya, and had for some time been able to report to Scotland Yard about its activities before he was uncovered and forced by Savarkar to confess at gunpoint. After this, Kirtikar's reports are believed to have been regularly screened by Savarkar before they were passed on to Scotland Yard. For some time, Acharya himself had been under suspicion of being a Scotland Yard mole before he was able to convince his fellow residents of his integrity and commitment to the nationalist cause. It is believed that Acharya was instructed by V.V.S. Iyer and V.D. Savarkar to set himself up as an informer to Scotland Yard, which they reasoned would allow them to carefully feed information to the police and also help them provide a corroboration to the version of reports that were being sent by Kritikar. For his reports, Acharya took five pounds (later doubled) which also eased from his fellow house-mates the financial strain of supporting him.V.D. Savarkar had by this time developed a reputation of an avid orator and a staunch nationalist. In London, Savarkar researched through the India Office
India Office
The India Office was a British government department created in 1858 to oversee the colonial administration of India, i.e. the modern-day nations of Bangladesh, Burma, India, and Pakistan, as well as territories in South-east and Central Asia, the Middle East, and parts of the east coast of Africa...
library and archives. Even those who did not dare attend the Sunday night meetings at the India House were of the opinion that he was an erudite orator and a learned scholar.
Acharya became deeply involved in the activities of the house, working with Savarkar and others in the house to produce nationalist pamphlets and publications including The Indian Sociologist
The Indian Sociologist
The Indian Sociologist was an Indian nationalist publication in the early twentieth century. Its subtitle was An Organ of Freedom, and Political, Social, and Religious Reform....
, Bande Mataram and Talvar
Talvar
Madan's Talwar, later known as The Talvar, was an early-20th century Indian Nationalist periodical published from Berlin.Originally named after Madan Lal Dhingra, one of the heroes of the Indian independence movement who had been executed for the political assassination of William Hutt Curzon...
, which called for India's freedom and voiced what at the time were seen as "inflammatory and seditious" nationalist sentiments. The celebrations in Britain marking the 50th anniversary of the Indian uprising were met by India House with the publication of a nationalist history of the revolt, The Indian War of Independence
The Indian War of Independence (book)
The Indian War of Independence is an Indian nationalist history of the 1857 revolt by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar that was first published in 1909...
, penned by Savarkar with records from India office archives. The project received support from Indian nationalists in Britain including the likes of Madame Cama, Iyer, as well as Indian students who had dare not show their support or sympathy for India House openly. Publishers in Britain refused to publish the book, which was ultimately published from Holland. The book was rejected for publication from publishers. Acharya was, with a number of other residents of the India House, involved in raising funds, organising and in other ways helped with the project. Clandestinely, the residents also trained for organising revolutions in India. Acharya, along with Madan Lal Dhingra
Madan Lal Dhingra
Madan Lal Dhingra was an Indian revolutionary freedom fighter. While studying in England, he assassinated Sir William Hutt Curzon Wyllie, a British official, hailed as one of the first acts of revolution in the Indian independence movement in the 20th century.-Early life:Madan Lal Dhingra was born...
, V.V.S. Iyer and others, practiced shooting at a range in Tottenham Court Road
Tottenham Court Road
Tottenham Court Road is a major road in central London, United Kingdom, running from St Giles Circus north to Euston Road, near the border of the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, a distance of about three-quarters of a mile...
and acquired considerable skills with the revolver.
End of India House
By 1909, India House was under strong surveillance from Scotland Yard. Savarkar's elder brother Ganesh SavarkarGanesh Damodar Savarkar
Ganesh Dāmodar Sāvarkar was an Indian freedom fighter, Hinduist Rightist, a revolutionary, and founder of the Abhinav Bharat Society....
was arrested in India in June that year, and was subsequently tried and transported for life for publication of seditious literature. Savarkar's speeches grew increasingly virulent and called for revolution, widespread violence, and murder of all Englishmen in India. The culmination of these events was the assassination of William Hutt Curzon Wyllie
William Hutt Curzon Wyllie
Sir William Hutt Curzon Wyllie KCIE was an Indian army officer, and later an official of the British Indian Government. Over a career spanning three decades, Curzon Wyllie rose to be Lieutant Colonel in the British Indian Army and occupied a number of administrative and diplomatic posts...
, the political ADC
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to the Secretary of State for India
Secretary of State for India
The Secretary of State for India, or India Secretary, was the British Cabinet minister responsible for the government of India and the political head of the India Office...
, 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. In the aftermath of the assassination, the India House was rapidly liquidated. The investigations in the aftermath of the assassination were expanded to look for broader conspiracies originating from the India house, and Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
brought pressure on the inmates to leave England. While some of its leaders, like Krishna Varma, fled to Europe, others like Chattopadhyaya, moved to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and many others moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. It was suggested to Acharya at this time by one Syed Hyder Reza, probably on instructions from Scotland Yard, that Acharya move to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
However, Acharya remained in London for sometime, lodging at Bipin Pal's
Bipin Chandra Pal
Bipin Chandra Pal was an Indian nationalist. He was among the triumvirate of Lal Bal Pal.-Early life and background:...
boarding house. He attended along with Savarkar, Iyer and other ex-residents of the house a meeting of Indians called by the Aga Khan
Aga Khan
Aga Khan is the hereditary title of the Imam of the largest branch of the Ismā'īlī followers of the Shī‘a faith. They affirm the Imamat of the descendants of Ismail ibn Jafar, eldest son of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, while the larger Twelver branch of Shi`ism follows Ismail's younger brother Musa...
to demonstrate their loyalty to the empire and offer condolences to the Wyllie family, where they opposed the unanimous acceptance of a resolution of condemnation against Dhingra. In a scuffle that ensued between Savarkar and a London barrister by the name of Palmer, Acharya is known to have come to Savarkar's aid, hitting Palmer with a stick and apparently not shooting Palmer with his revolver only under indications from Savarkar not to do so.
Interviewed repeatedly in the investigations following the Wyillie murder, it became clear to Acharya that staying in Britain was not safe for him. Neither could he return to India, for he was sure to be picked up by Indian police. He did not wish to waste the experiences he had gained studying and training for revolution at the India House. He also wanted first-hand experiences of the battlefield. Indian revolutionaries in Europe at this time used to send recruits to work with Irish, Egyptian and Turkish groups for training and experience.
Interlude
Acharya's attention was turned towards the Spanish-Moroccan warRif War (1909)
The Second Melillan campaign was a conflict in 1909 and 1910 in Morocco around Melilla. The fighting involved local Rifains and the Spanish Army.- Prelude :...
, where he believed the Coloured
Coloured
In the South African, Namibian, Zambian, Botswana and Zimbabwean context, the term Coloured refers to an heterogenous ethnic group who possess ancestry from Europe, various Khoisan and Bantu tribes of Southern Africa, West Africa, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaya, India, Mozambique,...
Riff
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
people fighting the White
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
imperialist Spain
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
would welcome him and allow exposure to guerrilla warfare. After consulting with V.V.S. Iyer, Acharya and another Indian revolutionary by the name of Sukhsagar Dutt were selected to be sent to train with the Riffs. Guns, uniforms and funds were obtained by the remnants of the India House, and the two were given a hearty farewell from Savarkar and Iyer.
The Moroccan mission was, however, a dismal failure. Neither the Riffs nor the Spanish troops were willing to recruit the two Indians for suspicion of being spies from the opposing camp. Penniless and emaciated, Dutt and Acharya were left with no option but to leave the country. Writing to London, Acharya asked for help to be moved to a different country, and if possible, to India. The two were sent enough money to reach Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, where they were instructed to meet an Indian contact. Dutt returned to London, later joining the Paris Indian Society. Acharya, meanwhile, proceeded to Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
. He had wished to settle in Portugal, but the terms of residency offered by Portuguese Interior affairs minister instructed him to place himself under police supervision, not change residences without police permission and a number of other conditions which to Acharya meant he could not live as a free man. Broke and depressed, Acharya returned to London. The whole affair had cost nearly three hundred pounds.
Europe again
A large number of Indian nationalists had (as explained above) moved to Europe in the aftermath of Curzon Wyllie's assassination. Among them were Shyamji Krishna VarmaShyamji Krishna Varma
Shyamji Krishna Varma was an Indian revolutionary, lawyer and journalist who founded the Indian Home Rule Society, India House and The Indian Sociologist in London. A graduate of Balliol College, Krishna Varma was a noted scholar in Sanskrit and other Indian languages...
, Virendranath Chattopadhyaya
Virendranath Chattopadhyaya
Virendranath Chattopadhyaya alias Chatto was a prominent Hindu Indian revolutionary who aimed to overthrow the British Raj in India by using violence as a tool...
, Har Dayal
Har Dayal
Lala Har Dayal was a Indian nationalist revolutionary who founded the Ghadar Party in America. He was a polymath who turned down a career in the Indian Civil Service...
, Bhikhaji Cama. Madame Cama founded the Bande Mataram in Paris in September 1909. From Paris, Madame Cama arranged for Indian students to be supported in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and other countries where they could train in explosives, military tactics, arrange for arms shipments to India and also facilitate continental connections.
After Savarkar's arrest in 1910 Acharya and V.V.S. Iyer took the prudent decision of leaving for Paris, where Acharya worked for Madame Cama's publication. He continued to maintain contacts with revolutionaries in India, including Subramanya Bharathi with whom he had worked in Pondicherry, and with M.S. Acharya. Significantly, at this time, in addition to his works in promoting and clandestine distribution of the Bande Mataram, Acharya, in a train of thought that arose among Indian revolutionaries at this time, began efforts to spread nationalist sentiments amongst the British Indian Army
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
. The influx of seditious literature from Europe was quickly noted by the British Indian authorities. A report by the Director of Criminal intelligence bureau described the effects and sentiments that these literature were promoting amongst the "ignorant peasantry", urging the ban on such publications emanating in Europe from entering India. The result was the Indian Press Act, 1910 which restricted publication of sedtious material in India and the entry of such literature from outside. A number of newspaper proprietors, journalists and editors within India were imported or transported under the act. The publication found their way in nonetheless. Among Acharya's ploys was to send these literature from different countries and use different secret code numbers to prevent Indian postal authorities from deciphering or tracing them.
Socialism
It was also in Paris that Acharya's thoughts were first turned towards socialismSocialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
. This was similar to the lines of thought that appeared in the Indian revolutionary circles in Europe, especially in France, at this time. He was introduced to the Socialist circle in Paris in 1910, and enjoyed the congenial atmosphere and the thoughts and ideas that he shared. It was also with the help of the Paris Socialist circle, notably Jean Longuet
Jean Longuet
Jean-Laurent-Frederick Longuet was a French socialist and Karl Marx's grandson.Son of Charles and Jenny Longuet. French lawyer and Socialist who in the First World War held a pacifist position but invariably voted for war credits. Founder and editor of the newspaper Le Populaire...
, that the Paris Indian Society- which included Acharya, Har Dayal
Har Dayal
Lala Har Dayal was a Indian nationalist revolutionary who founded the Ghadar Party in America. He was a polymath who turned down a career in the Indian Civil Service...
, Madam Cama and other notable names- brought pressure on the French Government when Savarkar was rearrested at Marseilles after escaping from a ship that was deporting him to India. Acharya made the most of the available press freedom and the socialist platform to press for the re-extradition of his erstwhile leader to France and build French public opinion in support of such moves. Under public pressure at home, the French Government conceded to make such a request to Britain. The matter was ultimately settled in the Permanent Court of Arbitration
Permanent Court of Arbitration
The Permanent Court of Arbitration , is an international organization based in The Hague in the Netherlands.-History:The court was established in 1899 as one of the acts of the first Hague Peace Conference, which makes it the oldest institution for international dispute resolution.The creation of...
at the Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, which ruled in favour of Britain. Acharya became extensively involved in the socialist movement. The Paris Indian Society at this time grew to be one of the most powerful Indian organisations outside India at the time, and grew to initiate contacts with not only French Socialists, but also those in continental Europe. It sent delegates at this time to the International Socialist Congress in August 1910, where Shyamji Krishna Varma
Shyamji Krishna Varma
Shyamji Krishna Varma was an Indian revolutionary, lawyer and journalist who founded the Indian Home Rule Society, India House and The Indian Sociologist in London. A graduate of Balliol College, Krishna Varma was a noted scholar in Sanskrit and other Indian languages...
and V.V.S. Iyer succeeded in having a resolution passed demanding Savarkar's release and his extradition to France. It also succeeded in bringing to the attention of the organisation the state of affairs in India.
In Paris, the Indian Society also held regular meetings and sought to train its members in skills necessary for revolution, which included training in firearms, learning military tactics, as well as organising the publication of revolutionary literature. It also sent recruits other countries and, after training, some were sent back to India to carry on propaganda work Acharya himself at this time learnt printing and engraving, and after sometime, was sent to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
along with V.V.S Iyer, where they were met by Champakaraman Pillai
Champakaraman Pillai
Chempakaraman Pillai was an Indian revolutionary during the Indian Independence Movement, who went abroad to organise an army to declare war against the British for India's freedom.-Early life:...
, who headed and Indian revolutionary group there. Observing Pillai's work, Acharya and Iyer suggested to the Paris Indian Society that their work by expanded beyond the work of the Paris publication. Accordingly, with funds from Madam Cama, Virendranath Chattopadhyaya
Virendranath Chattopadhyaya
Virendranath Chattopadhyaya alias Chatto was a prominent Hindu Indian revolutionary who aimed to overthrow the British Raj in India by using violence as a tool...
was sent to Berlin to begin publication of the Talvar
Talvar
Madan's Talwar, later known as The Talvar, was an early-20th century Indian Nationalist periodical published from Berlin.Originally named after Madan Lal Dhingra, one of the heroes of the Indian independence movement who had been executed for the political assassination of William Hutt Curzon...
. The National fund scheme was initiated of which Madam Cama was the biggest contributor with (then) 5,000 Franc
Franc
The franc is the name of several currency units, most notably the Swiss franc, still a major world currency today due to the prominence of Swiss financial institutions and the former currency of France, the French franc until the Euro was adopted in 1999...
s. The funds were strictly regulated to fund revolutionary activities in India, as well as fund Savarkar's trial.
Prelude to war
In the meantime, work on Bande Mataram and other publications continued unabated. These were shipped by Acharya to India through contacts in Pondicherry, and at times under false covers including those of The Pickwick PapersThe Pickwick Papers
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club is the first novel by Charles Dickens. After the publication, the widow of the illustrator Robert Seymour claimed that the idea for the novel was originally her husband's; however, in his preface to the 1867 edition, Dickens strenuously denied any...
. V.V.S. Iyer later returned to India, where he began training the Indian underground movement on explosives and bombs. On 17 June 1911, a young Indian revolutionary by the name of Vanchi Iyer fatally shot Robert D'escourt Ashe at Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli , also known as Nellai , and historically as Tinnevelly, is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the Tirunelveli District and the sixth biggest city in Tamil Nadu...
. Ashe had been a district collector who had earned notoriety for himself for his role in suppression of nationalist agitation and Swadeshi movement in 1908. Vanchi himself had learnt to shoot from Iyer in Pondicherry. The 1918 sedition committee report
Rowlatt Committee
The Rowlatt committee was a Sedition Committee appointed in 1918 by the British Indian Government with Mr Justice Rowlatt, an English judge, as its president. The purpose of the committee was to evaluate political terrorism in India, especially Bengal and Punjab, its impact, and the links with the...
blamed Acharya for instigating, organising and planning the assassination.
In 1911, Acharya arrived in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
on the Paris Indian society's directions to seek Turkish help for Indian movement. Turkey and Persia had already been a centre for revolutionary activities by groups led by Sardar Ajit Singh
Sardar Ajit Singh
Sardar Ajit Singh Sindhu was an Indian dissident and nationalist during the time of British rule in India. He was an early protester in the Punjab region of India who challenged British rule, and openly criticized the Indian colonial government...
and Sufi Amba Prasad
Sufi Amba Prasad
Amba Prasad, also known as Sufi Amba Prasad, was an Indian nationalist and pan-Islamist leader notable for his involvement in the agrarian unrest in Punjab in 1900s and subsequently in the Revolutionary movement for Indian independence....
who had worked there since 1909. The recruits to these groups included young nationalists of the likes of Rhishikesh Letha, Zia-ul-Haq, and Thakur Das. By 1910, the activities of these groups and their publication, the Hayat, had been noticed by British intelligence. Reports as early as 1910 indicated German efforts to unite Turkey and Persia and proceed to Afghanistan to threaten British India. However, Ajit Singh's departure in 1911 brought the Indian revolutionary activities to a grinding halt, while British representations to Persia successfully curbed whatever activity that remained in the country. In this situation, Acharya's mission was without much success. A similar effort by Barkatullah
Maulavi Barkatullah
Maulavi Abdul Hafiz Mohamed Barakatullah or Maulana Barkatullah was a staunch anti-British Indian revolutionary with sympathy for the Pan-Islamic movement. Barkatullah was born on 7 July 1854 at Itwra Mohalla Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, India...
a year later also would suffer a similar fate.
First World War
With the beginning of the war, the Indian efforts began in earnest to subverting the Sepoy of the British Indian Army and to fund and arm a revolution in India in a massive conspiracy that spanned the globe. The German intelligence agency for the EastIntelligence Bureau for the East
The Intelligence Bureau for the East was a German intelligence organisation established on the eve of World War I dedicated to promoting and sustaining subversive and nationalist agitations in the British Indian Empire and the Persian and Egyptian satellite states...
was formed at this time and actively sought to destabilize British possessions in India, Persia and the middle east. In this, they allied with the Indan revolutionaries and also sought Har Dayal's aid.
Berlin committee
At the time that the First World War broke out, Acharya had reached Berlin and was one of the founding members of the Berlin CommitteeBerlin Committee
The Berlin Committee, later known as the Indian Independence Committee after 1915, was an organisation formed in Germany in 1914 during World War I by Indian students and political activists residing in the country. The purpose of the Committee was to promote the cause of Indian Independence...
that reorganised the liaison's and terms of German help for revolution in India, which had initially faltered on account of differences between Har Dayal and German Foreign office. Following Har Dayal's work United States promoting nationalist sentiments in Indian groups in North America before his deportation to Switzerland in 1913, as well as from the links of the committee members with other revolutionary groups around the globe, the Berlin committee had strong links with Indian revolutionary groups in India, Europe, Far-east as well as nationalist groups in the US and Canada, most notably the Ghadar Party
Ghadar Party
The Ghadar Party was an organization founded by Punjabi Indians, in the United States and Canada with the aim to liberate India from British rule...
. It sent members including Herambalal Gupta
Herambalal Gupta
Heramba Lal Gupta was an Indian Nationalist linked to the Berlin Committee and the Ghadar Party extensively involved in the Hindu-German Conspiracy, who later turned a British agent and passed in intelligence on Mahendra Pratap's Kabul Government....
and Chandra Kanta Chakraverty to the United States to begin arrangements for arms shipment (which culminated in the Annie Larsen fiasco
Annie Larsen affair
The Annie Larsen affair was a gun-running plot in the United States during World War I. The plot, involving India's Ghadar Party, the Irish Republican Brotherhood and the German Foreign office, was a part of the larger Hindu German Conspiracy, and it was the prime offence cited in the 1917 Hindu...
). Acharya himself sought to focus on organising recruits for the intended revolution. A prime target was Turkey, which had a substantial Indian presence, both Hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
pilgrims and as Indian residents.
With the efforts of the Berlin Committee and the Paris Indian Society, Har Dayal reached Istanbul following another Indian revolutionary by the name of P.N. Dutta. In Istanbul, Har Dayal was joined by Pandurang Khankoje. However, Har Dayal's efforts were short-lived due to his apprehensions of Turkish Pan-islamic ambitions and interference from the German Foreign office. In 1915, Acharya had reached Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
on the committee's initiative. Here, Har Dayal
Har Dayal
Lala Har Dayal was a Indian nationalist revolutionary who founded the Ghadar Party in America. He was a polymath who turned down a career in the Indian Civil Service...
had begun work earlier but left due to apprehensions on the issues of conflict of Hindu and Muslim interests, Turkey's pan-islamic ambitions and interference from the German foreign office. The Berlin committee reorganised and negotiated the terms of their liaison, and after assurances from the Germans, rededicated itself to the same task. Acharya's efforts were directed at forming the Indian National Volunteer Corps with the help of Indian civilians in Turkey, in addition to recruiting Indian Prisoners of War. He is known to have worked in Bushire amongst Indian troops with Wilhelm Wassmuss
Wilhelm Wassmuss
Wilhelm Wassmuss was a German diplomat, also known as the "Wassmuss of Persia". He attempted to foment trouble for the British in the Persian Gulf in the First World War.- Birth and schooling :...
, while one story describes Acharya and a fellow revolutionary by the name of Birendranth Dasgupta as having swum across the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
at one point to contact troops of the British Indian Army
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
.
Stockholm
Acharya later returned to Berlin and over the course of the war, was in StockholmStockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
briefly along with Virendranath Chattopadhyaya
Virendranath Chattopadhyaya
Virendranath Chattopadhyaya alias Chatto was a prominent Hindu Indian revolutionary who aimed to overthrow the British Raj in India by using violence as a tool...
. In Stockholm in May 1917, Acharya and Chattopadhyaya formed a Propaganda Bureau and later joined by Har Dayal. This bureau worked independently of the Berlin Committee and the German foreign office. The duo are known to have met with K.M. Troionovsky at this time and explained the Indian situation, winning approval from the latter for the Indian cause. The Paris Indian society had been in touch with Russian communists before the Russian revolution. Nicholas Safransky, a Russian bomb expert, is known to have been involved in training the Indian revolutionaries in bomb manufacture and explosives. and Acharya was greatly impressed by the revolution itself, hailed at the time as a watershed in the struggle of colonial people against imperialism. The publication of a manifesto by the Soviet Union declaring support for colonies against imperialism was attractive to the Indian nationalists, who saw Soviet Russia as a future centre for coordinating activities, and also intended Russia to be a channel for Indian nationalists in any peace negotiations. This was also the time that the Swedish government under diplomatic pressure from Britain, gradually was leaning on the Indian propaganda bureau, while relationship of the Berlin committee with the German foreign office was also strained on apprehensions of German imperial designs and over allocation of funds. Chatto and Acharya arranged for Troionovsky to be provided with a large amount of the committee's literature to acquaint the Soviets with the Indian situation when the latter left Stockholm for Petrograd. However, Acharya was ultimately disappointed with the Socialist conference in Stockholm, which in his opinion entirely skirted the issue of the colonies. Towards the end of 1918, Acharya returned to Berlin along with Chatto.
Russia
At Berlin at the time was also Mahendra Pratap, who had in 1915 travelled to KabulKabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
at the head of a Turco-German-Indian expedition
Niedermayer-Hentig Expedition
The Niedermayer-Hentig Expedition was a diplomatic mission sent by the Central Powers to Afghanistan in 1915-1916. The purpose was to encourage Afghanistan to declare full independence from the United Kingdom, enter World War I on the side of the Central Powers, and attack India. The expedition was...
through Persia with the aim to try and rally the Afghan Emir into the war on the Entente side. Although mostly unsuccessful in their aim, the Indian nationalists established in Kabul the Provisional Government of India
Provisional Government of India
Provisional Government of India was a provisional government-in-exile established by Indian Nationalists in Afghanistan during World War I with support from the Central Powers. Its purpose was to enroll support from both the Afghan Emir, as well as Tsarist Russia, China and Japan for the Indian...
, as the head of which Pratap attempted to garner support from Soviet Russia through Trotsky and Joffe
Adolph Joffe
Adolph Abramovich Joffe was a Communist revolutionary, a Bolshevik politician and a Soviet diplomat of Karaim descent.-Revolutionary career:...
. In 1918, Pratap was in Berlin, where he was reunited with Acharya and Chatto and the rest of the Berlin committee. In December 1918, Chatto, Acharya and Pratap left for Petrograd, where they worked with Russian Propaganda centre with Troionovsky. Other Indians this centre at the time included Hussain Shahid Suhrawardy, Abdul Jabbar
Abdul Jabbar
Abdul Jabbar was a demonstrator who was killed during the Bengali Language Movement protests in 1952 that took place in the erstwhile East Pakistan ....
, Abdul Sattar
Abdul Sattar
Abdul Sattar is a male Muslim given name, built on the Arabic words Abd, al- and Sattar. The name means "servant of the Veiler "....
, Dalip Singh Gill as well as a number of others. In 1918 Acharya moved to Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
to join Mahendra Pratap's mission
Provisional Government of India
Provisional Government of India was a provisional government-in-exile established by Indian Nationalists in Afghanistan during World War I with support from the Central Powers. Its purpose was to enroll support from both the Afghan Emir, as well as Tsarist Russia, China and Japan for the Indian...
to the Emir to declare war against British India. Acharya was a member of Mahendra Pratap's delegation when they met Lenin in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
in May 1919
Communism
The time of Acharya's meeting with Lenin in 1919 was also when the war in Europe was coming to an end. The Berlin committee was dissolved and a large number of the Indian revolutionaries were turning towards communismCommunism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Acharya was one of the key functionaries of the group that included Abdur Rab, Virendranath, Agnes Smedley
Agnes Smedley
Agnes Smedley was an American journalist and writer best known for her semi-autobiographical novelDaughter of Earth. She was also known for her sympathetic chronicling of the Chinese revolution...
, C.R. Pillai, Bhupendranath Dutta
Bhupendranath Dutta
Dr. Bhupendranath Dutta was a famous Indian revolutionary and later a noted Sociologist. In is youth, he was closely associated with the Jugantar movement, serving as the editor of Jugantar Patrika till his arrest and imprisonment in 1907. In his later revolutionary career, he was privy to the...
, Shafiq Ahmad, Amin Faruqui, Nalini Gupta, M.N. Roy. These members were the amongst the first active members and founding fathers of the Indian communism. Abdul Rab and Acharya worked avidly in Soviet Turkestan, founding the Indian revolutionary association. Acharya was constantly on the move between Kabul and Tashkent, and attended the second congress of the Communist International. In October 1920 in Tashkent, Acharya was one of the founding members and a member of the executive of the Communist Party of India
Communist Party of India
The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...
However, Acharya differed from M.N. Roy, and differences emerged between the two from quite early on.
Berlin again
In 1921 a split in the CPI emerged, between factions siding with M.N. Roy, and those who favoured the approaches of ChattoVirendranath Chattopadhyaya
Virendranath Chattopadhyaya alias Chatto was a prominent Hindu Indian revolutionary who aimed to overthrow the British Raj in India by using violence as a tool...
. Acharya was in the latter group. This was the beginning of the end of Acharya's associations with the international Communist movement. In 1922 he returned to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, working with the Indian independence committee and subsequently with the League against Imperialism
League against Imperialism
The League against Imperialism was founded in the Egmont Palace in Brussels, Belgium, on February 10, 1927, in presence of 175 delegates, among which 107 came from 37 countries under colonial rule. The Congress aimed at creating a "mass anti-imperialist movement" at a world scale, and was...
. He remained deeply critical of the Communist International, and some have described his political views at the time as anarcho-syndicalist. He remained in Berlin till the early days of Hitler's rise to power, and leaders of the Indian movement who visited Europe at various times, Including Nehru and Subhas Bose, are believed to have met with him.
Later life
Not a lot is known of Acharya's work after 1921. He is known to have organised an international committee for political prisoners in the 1937, and along with Albert MeltzerAlbert Meltzer
Albert Meltzer was an anarcho-communist activist and writer.-Early life:Meltzer was born in London, and attracted to anarchism at the age of fifteen as a direct result of taking boxing lessons . The Labour MP for Edmonton, Edith Summerskill was virulently anti-boxing and his school governors at...
, worked for the aid of Chinese political prisoners at the time. Conflicting accounts suggest he returned to India in 1935. or in 1948. He spent the last few years of his life in poverty in Bombay, where he was known to a small circle of friends. M.P.T. Acharya died in a hospital in Bombay in 1951.