Tag: Independence Struggle


  • The Free India Society: Savarkar’s Revolutionary Vanguard in London

    As soon as Vinayak Damodar Savarkar established himself in London, he founded the Free India Society in 1906. The organization became a crucible of revolutionary thought and action at the heart of the British Empire. Publicly open but ideologically radical, the Society was modeled after Giuseppe Mazzini’s Young Italy and served as the overseas face…

  • Savarkar’s Abhinav Bharat and the Dream of a New India

    In 1904, a young Vinayak Damodar Savarkar stood solemnly before a portrait of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and proposed a bold and electrifying idea. He renamed his earlier organization, Mitra Mela, to Abhinav Bharat – meaning “New India” – a title that soon echoed as a threat in the corridors of British power, not just in…

  • Savarkar’s Mitra Mela: The Seedbed of Revolution

    In the closing years of the 19th century, a sixteen-year-old Vinayak Damodar Savarkar ignited a spark of revolution by founding Mitra Mela in Nashik, Maharashtra. Conceived in 1899, the group was more than just a circle of friends—it was a secret society devoted to India’s absolute political independence from British rule. Inspired by Mazzini’s Young…

  • Abhinav Bharat Manifesto: Savarkar’s Revolutionary Playbook for Indian Independence

    From clandestine arms smuggling to guerrilla warfare – how Savarkar’s secret society laid the groundwork for a militant nationalist uprising. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar understood a critical truth of political struggle: words alone – no matter how passionate or persuasive – are powerless without action. To that end, he moved beyond fiery speeches and writings, crafting…

  • The Night of the Vow: How Savarkar Became a Revolutionary

    One night, in the town of Bhagur, a boy stood before a statue of the armed Goddess Durga. This boy was Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, and the vow he took that night would ignite a revolutionary desire to stand up against British colonial rule in India.  The immediate spark was the execution of the Chapekar brothers…