The genesis and inspiration of the ghadar movement

Abstract

Ghadar Movement was started by the Indian immigrants in Canada and the United States of America, in the first decade of the twentieth century, with the specific aim to free India from the British rule. The movement in its initial stages was carried on by individuals or small groups till 1912 when it was formalized into a more sustainable and financially viable organization, the Hindustan Association of the Pacific Coast, which was later called Ghadar Party from November 1913, though it was not a party in a formal sense. On 1st November 1913, the Ghadar Movement started a Newspaper with the purpose of promoting its aim of India s freedom. Taking advantage of the British involvement in the 1st world war, thousands of Ghadarites rushed to India, from all over the world, to kick the British out. The Ghadar Movement had lost the battle but not its mission; it left a lasting impact on the next generation of revolutionaries, its biggest contribution to the Indian freedom struggle. newlineMotivation (Reason) for the study: On reading the history of the Indian freedom movement, one finds that a great injustice has been done to the revolutionary freedom fighters by the successive Indian Governments. In the freedom movement, there were predominantly two main streams working simultaneously, namely, the Indian National Congress (INC) with its policy of peaceful agitation (non-violence) and the revolutionaries, whose professed aim was waging an armed struggle. Most of the leading revolutionaries were either murdered by the British or died before Independence, leaving the field open to INC, which formed the Governments in Delhi for the longest period since independence. The government adopted the policy of supporting history writings and historians of peaceful movement only with the result that in the majority of history books of free India one finds about 95% coverage given to INC. and ignoring the role played by the revolutionary movements, including the Ghadar Movement. It is a shame that due recognition is not given