Page 53 - NIS English May16-31
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hyamji Krishna Varma was born on October 4, 1857, in
Mandvi town of Kutch district in Gujarat, and grew up
Slistening to the tales of the revolt of 1857. He started
taking part in the revolutionary activities since the age of 20
years. He went to Oxford University for further studies and
there, while searching for an accommodation, he faced a lot of
discrimination. Angered by this, he bought a house in London,
converted it into a boarding house for Indian students and
named it ‘India House’. Later, this same India House became
a hub for revolutionary activities in England. It is said that
eminent personalities like Gandhi, Lenin, Lala Lajpat Rai, Gopal
Krishna Gokhale, Savarkar and Madan Lal Dhingra visited this
house. Varma was deeply inspired by Lokmanya Tilak and
Dayanand Saraswati. He devoted not only his entire life for
India’s freedom struggle but also inspired many other such
nationalists. It is believed that Savarkar turned a revolutionary
SHYAMJI KRISHNA VARMA- after taking inspiration from Varma. Madan Lal Dhingra was
his student. He inspired many Indians living in India and
THE REVOLUTIONARY WHO abroad to take part in the freedom struggle. Shyamji Krishna
FOUGHT TILL HIS LAST BREATH Varma, the brave son of this land, struggled for freedom under
the nose of the British till the last breath of his life. He died on
March 31, 1930, in Geneva.
ani Gaidinliu had joined the freedom struggle at the
age of 13 years and got associated with the ‘Heraka
RMovement’. Heraka was a socio-religious movement,
which later turned into a political movement seeking to drive
out the British from Manipur and the surrounding Naga areas.
In 1931, Gaidinliu took up the mantle of the movement and
inspired her people to rebel against the British. She linked
movement to India’s freedom struggle spread the messages
and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi among the people in north
eastern part of the country. The Britishers tried to crush the
movement by setting fire to a number of villages. But all this
could not dampen the spirits of the revolutionaries. While
carrying out attacks on the British, Gaidinliu decided to build
a fortress where 4000 of her followers could stay. While
the fortress was under construction, Britishers launched a
RANI GAIDINLIU- surprise attack on the village on April 17, 1932. Gaidinliu was
arrested, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. The
‘DAUGHTER OF THE HILLS’ WHO issue of her release from prison was discussed in British
House of Commons. She was released from prison after 14
MADE LIFE TOUGH FOR BRITISH years in 1947, when India got Independence.
New India Samachar 51
