June 22, 1897- Today is the anniversary of a very important event in Indian freedom struggle, the assasination of W.C.Rand by the Chapekar brothers, an event that ignited the revolutionary movement in Maharashtra, and inspired Veer Savarkar.

The Chapekar brothers by their assasination of Rand, provided the spark that would ignite the revolutionary movement in Maharashtra. Tilak had already emerged as a leader in his own right, but the movement was looking for that one spark which cud set it afire.

And the Chapekar brothers provided that spark. More than anything, it was also the motivation for Veer Savarkar to plunge headlong into the revolutionary movement. He was mentally prepared already, but was just looking for the motivation, it came from the Chapekars.

The Chapekar brothers hailed from Chapa, one of the small hamlets adjoining to Chinchwad, which in a way explains their surname too. The eldest Damodar, was born in 1868, in a pretty large joint family, the other 2 were Balkrishna and Vausdeo.

Though born into relative prosperity, the huge family would fall on hard days, mainly due to their grandfather Vinayak's rather unsuccessful business ventures. Their father Hari, had learnt Sanskrit, and was prepared to take up the profession of a Kirtankar.

However taking up the profession of a Kirtankar was looked down upon with disdain, in the highly orthodox Chitpavan Brahmin community, to which the Chapekars belonged. Hari's brothers too refused to accompany him

Vinayak Chapekar was excellent in the Modi and Balbodh scripts, had even left for Indore to earn a living there. However his rather sloppy way of dressing, his inability to get on with others meant, he really could not make good use of his talents, and ended up begging .

For Hari Vinayak Chapekar, the only way to make a living now, was by singing kirtanas. With no professional musicians as accompaniment, he began to train his sons, Damodar, Balakrishna and Vasudev to play the instruments.

The Chapekar brothers had no formal education, but learnt a lot travelling from place to place, performing in the durbars of princes and assemblies of eminent scholars. Hari Vinayak himself is credited with writing the Satyanarayana Katha in Marathi.

The Chapekar brothers life however would be turned upside down by the end of 1896. Or rather specifically the first half of 1897. Plague had struck Pune somewhere in the end of 1896 and by January 1897 it spread like an epidemic in the city.

By February itself around 657 people died of, those who could surive deserted the city. The bustling, once former capital of the Peshwas had now turned into a ghost city, with one half of it's inhabitants dead, and another half running away to save their own lives.

By March 1897, the Government decided to combat the plague, and prevent it from spreading. An ICS officer W.C.Rand was put in charge of a special comittee, that would oversee Pune City, the suburbs and the cantonment area.

Orders were given not to offend religious sensitivites, examine Muslim or upper caste Hindu women, and not to enter the private quarters of any home.Major Paget heading the Durham Light Infantry consisting of around 893 officers, began to oversee the operations.

And this is where the British lost it effectively. Not following the instructions, the officers began to adopt harsh measures to combat the epidemic. Officers barged into private homes, to literally pull out the infected patients from their beds.

Most families would not even allow outsiders into their kitchens, and here were the officers barging into the private quarters, grabbing the infected patients, sometimes forcibly out of their beds.

Infected patients were segregated from families, forcibly, personal possesions in homes were destroyed to prevent further spreading of epidemic. Funerals were not allowed, until all deaths were registered, the head of the family had to ensure this was done.

The infected patients needed proper care, but they were often treated like common criminals. What is worse, any one disobeying the draconian orders, were liable to criminal prosecution. The Government employed military tactics, treating it like a war, instead of humanitarian

The entire operation went on to till May 1897, 2000 odd people were dead by the end of it, Pune was devastated in more ways than one.While Rand claimed that care was taken to ensure, the feelings and traditions of people, were not hurt, the feedback coming out was the opposite.

The ordinary people of Pune were furious at the behaviour of the officers, their utter disregard for their sensitivites. In Rashtra Peth locality, some of the residents, beat up the British officers in anger.

Noted lawyer, dramatist Narasimha Chintan Kelkar slammed the high handed,arrogant approach of the British officers by which they rode rough shod over the feelings of the local residents. Intimidating innocent people, barging into their private quarters without permission

Tilak, was outright critical of a sullen tyrant like Rand, being put in charge of the operation, claiming he had no idea of the sensitivities of the natives, and this was not a war either. Tilak's contemporary Gokhale, was equally vociferous in his criticism of the British.

The ham handed, sledge hammer way in which Rand handled the entire operation had turned out to be a fiasco. It just alienated the people even more, and the anger against the British Raj that was simmering was now becoming a raging fire.

June 22, 1897- The celebrations of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria's rule, were going on in full swing. Not a particularly wise thing to do, considering the anger against the British Raj then.

On one side, plague, famine had devastated the country, and on the other side, this kind of vulgar celebrations of opulence, was like rubbing salt into the wound. And added to it the high handed behavior of the British officers during the plague, did not really make things better

Most of the British and European officers were at the Government House in Pune for celebrations. Damodar, the eldest of the lot, felt this was the best time to strike, considering the who's who of the British elite, would be there, especially Rand.

Along with his brother Balakrishna, he choose a spot near the Ganesh Khind Road, to fire the shots. They hid their rather heavy weapons under a rock to avoid suspicion. Government House was in a festive mood, with the sound of music, fireworks, tinkling of the glasses.

In sharp contrast, stood the two brothers their faces pensive and grim, covered by the darkness, fists clenched. The deathly silence outside was in sharp contrast to the gaiety and festivities in the building.

At around 7:30 PM, the horse drawn carriage could be seen, coming. Damodar's breath quickened, the grip around the sword became even tighter. The quarry was in the carriage, the man they despised, Rand, seated cozily in it

Damodar ran behind the carriage now, covering it in long strides, stalking his prey like a tiger. As the carriage turned around, the corner, he yelled out to his brother "Gondya Ala Re", a signal to act.

Damodar raised the flap of the carriage, and fired, the shots hit, Rand straight in the chest. Balakrishna who had caught up by now, fired a couple more at one of the occupants. A grievously bleeding and unconscious Rand, was taken to the Sassoon Hospital where he would pass away

The police soon launched a manhunt, and aided by the Dravid brothers, Damodar Hari was traced out and arrested. In an October 1897 statement, he openly claimed that he was seeking revenge for what he believed were desecration of their homes and holy places.

He had no qualms whatsoever over what he did, and his statement was taken as a confession, charged under Section 302. On 18 April, 1898, the noose fell around Damodar Chapekar's neck, and the body lay limp.

Almost a year later in January 1899, Balakrishna Hari, was finally caught by the police, after he managed to evade them for a long time, betrayed by a close friend of his. The youngest of the lot, Vasudeo meanwhile shot the Dravid brothers on the streets of Pune.

On the same evening of February 1899, Vasudeo also tried to assasinate the chief police constable Rama Pandu. However the attempt was aborted, and he was caught along with his friend Mahadev Ranade.

After a trial, the Chapekar brothers and Mahadev Ranade were found guilty and ordered to be hanged. And one by one they climbed on to the scaffold, proud and defiant, as the noose tightened around their necks.

Vasudev Chapekar on May 8, 1899, Mahadev Ranade on May 10, 1899 and finally Balakrishna Chapekar on May 12, 1899. The voices fell silent, but the thoughts would fire a generation towards independence. More important, they would set the stage for Veer Savarkar's entry.

Damodar Hari Chapekar, Balkrishna Hari Chapekar and Vasudeo Hari Chapekar, 3 brothers who ignited the spark of the revolutionary movement in Maharashtra on this date in 1897, and laid down their lives for Bharat. #Naman to the 3 brothers, great sons of Bharata.

Would recommend the Marathi movie June 22,1897 directed by Nachiket Patwardhan and his wife Jayoo. Shankar Nag was the co writer for this, a pretty good account of the Chapekar brothers and the assassination of Rand by them.