Today marks the birth anniversary (4 November 1845) of Vasudev Balwant Phadke, one of the pioneering figures who inaugurated the revolutionary era during British rule in India. Phadke raised a fighting force of about three hundred determined young men and waged a campaign of resistance against the colonial occupiers. At the heart of his struggle lay the mobilisation of peasants and tribal communities – such as the Kolis, Bhils, and Dhangars – to take collective action against British economic exploitation and social injustice.
Often hailed as the “Father of the Indian Armed Rebellion,” Phadke died in 1883—twenty years before Savarkar’s birth. Although they never met, a profound ideological connection united them. Savarkar saw in Phadke a source of inspiration and regarded him as one of the earliest Indian revolutionaries to envision armed struggle as a means to national liberation.
In The Indian War of Independence (1857), as well as in numerous speeches and historical lectures, Savarkar referred to Phadke’s uprising as a symbol of national awakening—the revival of the martial spirit (shaurya) among Indians, particularly among the rural masses, after decades of suppression following 1857. For both Savarkar and Phadke, patriotism was a sacred duty (rashtra-dharma).
The shared soil of Maharashtra formed another bond between them – Phadke operated in the Deccan region, and Savarkar later described him as “Maharashtra’s first soldier of freedom.”
💭 What do you think? What does armed resistance mean to you in the context of India’s freedom struggle? Do you think revolutionaries like Phadke receive enough recognition in mainstream history? How do you see the ideological connection between Phadke and Savarkar — as continuity or transformation? In your view, what defines a “true revolutionary”? How – if at all – should we reinterpret the idea of rashtra-dharma (national duty) in the 21st century?
👉 Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Sources:
Dutta, P. “Vasudev Balwant Phadke – the man who believed in action.” Organiser, 09 August 2022.
Savarkar, V. D. The Indian War of Independence 1857. Bombay: Sethani Kampani, 1909 (reprint: Asian Educational Services).
SWATANTRYAVEER SAVARKAR RASHTRIYA SMARAK. 1989. Smarak Inauguration. 28 May 1989. Festschrift. Swatantryaveer Savarkar Rashtriya Smarak: Bombay (Mumbai).
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