Chapekar brothers

For the lm, see Chapekar Brothers (Movie).

consisted of about twenty members, including the brothers parents, six uncles, two aunts, and two grandmothers.
The family was wealthy at the time of Damodar Haris
The Chapekar brothers (also spelt Caphekar or
Chaphekar; Marathi ) - Damodar Hari birth, earlier having had a turnover of lakhs of rupees.
Chapekar (1870-1898), Balkrishna Hari Chapekar With passage of time, mainly on account of Vinayak
(1873-1899, also called Bapurao) and Vasudeo Hari Chapekars independent spirit and ways which made him
Chapekar (1879-1899, also spelt Wasudeva or Wasudev) incapable of submitting himself to government service,
- were Indian revolutionaries involved in the assassination and his many unsuccessful business ventures, the family
of W. C. Rand, the British plague commissioner of Pune. gradually sank into poverty. At one time when Damodar
The brothers belonged to Chinchwad, then a village, near Hari was a young boy, the family, consisting of a party of
Pune, in the state of Maharashtra, India. In late 1896, twenty ve travellers, went on a pilgrimage to Kashi, with
Pune was hit by bubonic plague, part of the global Third two servants and three carts. Damodar Hari remembers
plague pandemic; by the end of February 1897, the epi- the death of his elder sister at Gwalior.
demic was raging, with a mortality rate twice the norm, Damodar Hari recalls that their family rose to richand half the citys population having left.
ness which was a result of this pilgrimage; he refutes
it, and is thankful to his grandfather for the opporA Special Plague Committee was formed, under the
chairmanship of W. C. Rand, an Indian Civil Services tunity he had of drinking the waters of the Ganga
Ganges, bathing in it, giving alms and touching the feet
ocer, and troops were brought in to deal with the emer[3]
gency. The measures employed included forced entry of Kashivishveshwara.
into private houses, forced stripping and examination of
occupants (including women) by British ocers in public, evacuation to hospitals and segregation camps, removing and destroying personal possessions, and preventing movement from the city. These measures were considered oppressive by the populace of Pune and complaints were ignored by Rand.

The brothers father, Hari, was sent to Poona High School

up to 6th standard, after which a Shastri was deputed to
teach him Sanskrit at home so as to prepare him in the
profession of a kirtankar. Hari Vinayaks brothers were
taught to play musical instruments so that they could accompany him during his performance.
The taking up of the profession of a kirtankar by Hari
Vinayak was regarded with disapproval by his caste men
and friends of the family, considering the status and antiquity of the family. Vinayak Haris brothers too looked
down on the profession and left it, leaving the house, going their own ways.

On 22 June 1897, the Diamond Jubilee of the coronation of Queen Victoria, Rand and his military escort Lt.
Ayerst were shot while returning from the celebrations
at Government House. Both died, Ayerst on the spot and
Rand of his wounds on 3 July. The Chapekar brothers and
two accomplices were charged with the murders in various roles, as well as the shooting of two informants and
an attempt to shoot a police ocer. All three brothers
were found guilty and hanged, an accomplice was dealt
with similarly, another, then a schoolboy, was sentenced
to ten years rigorous imprisonment.[1]

Even Vinayak Chapekar left the house for the then

Maratha capitals of Indore and Dhar, he worked there
as a writer, he had an excellent Balbodh and Modi hand.
He subsequently stopped speaking any language but Sanskrit, became careless in dress, stopped interaction with
others as far as possible, and started to beg on the streets.
Other members of the family faced poverty too, and were
forced to feed themselves at charity kitchens.

Family history

Hari Vinayak Chapekar died and was cremated on the

banks of Kshipra, sixteen miles from Indore. Hari
Vinayak and his family were at Nagpur then but could
not attend the funeral, as they were too poor to pay
for the journey. Hari Vinayak Chapekars wife too was
alone when she died, Hari Vinayaks poverty prevented
him from being with his parents when they died. Hari
Vinayaks brothers too went their own ways, only one
brother staying back in their ancestral home.[3]

Damodar Hari, Balkrishna Hari and Vasudeo Hari belonged to Chinchwad,[2] then a village[3] near the former
Peshwa capital Pune, in the state of Maharashtra, India.
Damodar Hari the eldest, was born in 1868 [nb 1] The
name of their grandfather was Vinayak and their mother
and father were, respectively, Dwarka and Hari. The
brothers grandfather was the head of the family which
1

3 THE PLAGUE IN PUNE

Growing up with their Kirtankar

father

Vinayak Hari was left to fend for his family on his own, he
did not have the means to hire professional musicians to
accompany him during his kirtan, so he trained his children to do so.
The father and children became procient in their art
and were admired for their work. The Chapekar brothers received little formal education, but the company
of good people, hearing of kirtans, travelling, witnessing
darbars of great princes and seeing assemblies of eminent scholars was a source of knowledge far more enriching than a few examinations passed in school, writes
Damodar Hari in his autobiography.[3] Hari Vinayak, father of the Chapekar brothers is credited to have authored
Satyanarayanakatha, of the Skandapurana, a Sanskrit
text with translations.[4]

3
3.1

The Plague in Pune

The British authorities measures

It was required of the principal occupant of a house or

a building to report all deaths and all illnesses suspected
to be plague. Funerals were declared unlawful until the
deaths were registered. The Committee had the right to
mark special grounds for given funeral to corpses suspected to have succumbed from plague, and prohibit use
of any other place for the purpose. Disobedience of the
orders would subject the oender to criminal prosecution. The work of the committee began on 13 March and
ended on 19 May. The total estimated plague mortality
was 2091.

3.2 Diverging opinions of the British measures

In his report on the administration of the Puna plague,
Rand wrote, It is a matter of great satisfaction to the
members of the Plague Committee that no credible complaint that the modesty of a woman had been intentionally
insulted was made either to themselves or to the ocers
under whom the troops worked. He also writes that closest watch was kept on the troops employed on plague duty
and utmost consideration was shown for the customs and
traditions of the people.[5][6]

A missionary, Rev. Robert P. Wilder, quoted in a conFurther information: Third plague pandemic Political temporary New York Times article,[7] asserted that that
impact in Colonial India
the cause of plague was native practices such as going
bare-foot, the distrust of the natives about the governPlague struck Pune in late 1896, and by January 1897, ment segregation camps; further, that houses have been
it reached epidemic proportions. Colonial government shut up with corpses inside, and search parties have been
sources report that, when the Governor of the presidency going around to unearth them. The same article included
inspected the city on 8 February 1897, he was told that reported rumours that the plague has been caused by grain
the people would rather have plague than go to a govern- hoarded for twenty years by the banias or grocers being
ment hospital. In 26 days of February, 657 deaths (0.6% sold in the market, while others felt it was Queen Victoof the citys population) were attributed to plague, and ria's curse for the daubing of her statue with tar.[8]
half of the population had deserted the city.
In contrast to the above British accounts, accounts based
To suppress the epidemic and prevent its spread, it was
decided to take drastic action, accordingly a Special
Plague Committee, with jurisdiction over Pune city, its
suburbs and Pune cantonment was appointed under the
Chairmanship of W. C. Rand, I. C. S, by way of a government order dated 8 March 1897.

on local Indian sources quote, among others, Narasimha

Chintaman Kelkar as stating that the appointment of military ocers introduced an element of severity and coercion in the house searches, the highhandedness of the
government provoked the people of Puna, and some soldiers were beaten in Rasta Peth locality. [9] "[British
soldiers] either, through ignorance or impudence, would
mock, indulge in monkey tricks, talk foolishly, intimidate, touch innocent people, shove them, enter any place
without justication, pocket valuable items, etc..[10]

The governors direction included that no Muslim and

high caste Hindu women be examined and no quarters
entered except by a woman, that the people should be
impressed upon that the measures taken were for their
own good. Orders included respect of caste and religious His close associate, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, wrote: Her
practices of the people.
Majesty the Queen, the Secretary of State and his CounOn 12 March 1897, 893 ocers and men both British cil, should not have issued the orders for practising
and native under command of a Major Paget of the tyranny upon the people of India without any special adDurham Light Infantry were placed on plague duty. The vantage to be gained. ...[T]he government should not
to a suspicious,
measures employed included forced entry into private have entrusted the execution of this order
[1]
sullen
and
tyrannical
ocer
like
Rand.
houses, examination of occupants, evacuation to hospitals and segregation camps, removing and destroying per- Gokhale alleged, while on a visit to Britain, that British
sonal possessions, and preventing plague cases from en- soldiers let loose on the town of Pune were ignorant of
Indians language, customs, and sentiments. Moreover,
tering or leaving the city.

3
he claimed in marked contradiction to Rands abovequoted statement to be in possession of reliable reports
regarding the rape of two women, one of whom committed suicide rather than live with shame.
In Independent India, a Maharashtra government agency
published school textbook describes the Pune plague as
follows, In 1897, there was an epidemic of plague in
Poona. To control the epidemic, an ocer named Mr.
Rand was appointed. He used tyrannical methods and harassed the people.[11]

The shooting of Rand

On 22 June 1897, the Diamond Jubilee of the coronation

of Queen Victoria was celebrated in Pune. In his autobiography Damodar Hari writes that he believed the jubilee
celebrations would cause Europeans of all ranks to go to
the Government House, and give them the opportunity to
kill Rand. The brothers Damodar Hari and Balkrishna
Hari selected a spot of Ganeshkhind road(now Senapati
Bapat Road), by side of a yellow bungalow to shoot at
Rand. Each armed with a sword and a pistol. Balkrishna
in addition carried a hatchet. They reached Ganeshkhind,
they saw what looked like Rands carriage pass by, but
they let it go, not being sure, deciding to attack him on
his way back. They reached Government House at 7.00
7.30 in the evening, the sun had set and darkness began to
set in. A large number of people had gathered to witness
the spectacle at the Government House. There were bonres on the hills. The swords and the hatchets they carried made movement without raising suspicion dicult,
so they cached them under a stone culvert near the bungalow. As planned, Damodar Hari waited at the gate of the
Government House, and as Rands carriage emerged, ran
10 15 paces behind it. As the carriage reached the yellow bungalow, Damodar made up the distance, and called
out Gondya, a predetermined signal for Balkrishna to
take action. Damodar Hari undid the ap of the carriage,
raised it and red from a distance of about a span. It was
originally planned that both would shoot at Rand, so as
to ensure that Rand would not live, however Balkrishna
Hari lagged behind and Rands carriage rolled on, Balkrishna Hari meanwhile on the suspicion that the occupants
of the following carriage were whispering to each other,
red at the head of one of them from behind.[3] Lieutenant Ayerst, Rands military escort[1] who was riding in
the following carriage died on the spot, Rand was taken
to Sassoon Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries
3 July 1897.

venge of this. His statement was treated as a confession

and he was charged under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, tried and hanged, on 18 April 1898. Balkrishna Hari absconded, and could be found only in January
1899, betrayed by a friend. Police informants: the Dravid
brothers, were eliminated by Vasudeo Hari, Mahadev
Vinayak Ranade and Khando Vishnu Sathe, who were
arrested in their attempt to shoot police chief constable
Rama Pandu later the same evening, of 9 February 1899.
All were subsequently apprehended and tried. There the
Chaphekar brothers Balkrishna Hari, Vasudeo Hari, and
Ranade were sentenced to death and executed by hanging,
Vasudev Hari: 8 May 1899, Mahadeva Vinayak Ranade:
10 May 1899, Balkrishna Hari :12 May 1899. Sathe
though a juvenile was sentenced to 10 years Rigorous
Imprisonment.[12]

5 Coverage of the incident by international press

An article, published in The New York Times, dated 4 October 1897, reports the arrest of Damodar Chapekar Deccani, and 28 others, Ayersts and Rands slayers. This article states that Deccani is Damodars last name and refers
to him as such. It also terms him an advocate.[13] Another dated 4 November 1897, reports the incident and
the subsequent trial, it calls Damodar Chapekar a Brahmin lawyer.[14] The former article says that Damodar became embittered with Europeans as he was refused enlistment in the army, by the authorities in Shimla. Both articles also mention Damodars admission of an earlier incident of tarring of Queen Victorias statue. On 2 February 1898, The New York Times reported the death sentence passed on Damodar.[15] The Sydney Morning Herald, dated 13 February 1899, reports that a brother of
Damodar Hari, who was sentenced to death for the shooting to death of Poona Plague Commissioner and Lt. Ayerst, red upon a native police ocer. A connection between the shooting of the Dravid brothers on the streets
of Poona is also mentioned with the shooting. It further
states that Chapekar boasted of murdering the Dravids
and also named an accomplice, Ranade. It also reports
the arrest of Chapekar and Ranade.[16]

6 In popular culture

The award winning Marathi lm 22 June 1897 covers events prior to the assassination, the act and its
[17][18]
Damoder Hari was arrested in connection with the above, aftermath.
on the basis of information given by the Dravid brothers.
In his statement, recorded on 8 October 1897, Damodar
Hari, said that atrocities like the pollution of sacred places 7 Notes
and the breaking of idols were committed by European
soldiers at the time of house searches in Pune, during [1] At three ghatika after sunrise on Friday, partly rst and
partly second day of the dark half of the month of Jyestha,
the plague. Chapekar tells that they wanted to take re-

Shalivahana era, 1791, Shukla nama Samvatsara or the

year named Shukla.[3]

References

[1] Echenberg, Myron J. (2007). Plague Ports: The Global

Urban Impact of Bubonic Plague, 18941901. New York:
New York University Press. pp. 6668. ISBN 0-81472232-6.
[2] Express News Service (6 April 2005).
Face
lift for Chapekar Wada.
Pune Newsline;
cities.expressindia.com. Retrieved 23 June 2009.
[3] Chapekar, Damodar Hari. Autobiography of Damodar
Hari Chapekar (PDF). From Bombay Police Abstracts of
1910. pp. 50107.
[4] Blumhardt, J. F. (1908). MARATHI AND GUJARATI
BOOKS. EYRE AND SPOTTISWOODE.
[5] Couchman, M. E. (1897). Account of plague administration in the Bombay Presidency from September 1896 till
May 1897. Part II., Chapter I.: The ve Plague Committees: Government Central Press, Mumbai (then Bombay).
pp. 89 p.100.
[6] Rand, W. C.; Lamb R. A. (1897). Supplement to the account of plague administration in the Bombay Presidency
from September 1896 till May 1897. Government Central
Press, Mumbai (then Bombay). pp. 1 p.153.
[7] The New York Times, 22 June 1897
[8] INDIA'S PLAGUE AND FAMINE; Their Horrors Described by the Rev. Robert P. Wilder, Missionary at
Poona. GOVERNMENT AID CAME LATE Two Kinds
of the Disease, and Both Deadly Natives Dying by Hundreds of Hunger Overseers Stealing the Supplies.. The
New York Times (1897-06-22). 22 June 1897. Retrieved
7 May 2009.
[9] Savarkar.org team. Associates in Hindutva Movement:
Narsimha Chintaman or Tatyasaheb Kelkar. Retrieved
11 July 2009.
[10] Joglekar, Jayawant D. (2006). Veer Savarkar Father of
Hindu Nationalism. Lulu.com. p. 27. ISBN 1-84728380-2.
[11] Waugh, Dr. Dattatraya; Kulkarni, Prof. Sadhana (2006).
Our freedom struggle: (History and Civics). Standard V.
Pune: Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production
and Curriculum Research. p. 57.
[12] THE REVOLUTIONARIES: CHAPEKAR BROTHERS (PDF). Maharashtra Government Publication. Retrieved 29 June 2009. External link in |publisher= (help)
[13] Ayersts and Rands slayers: Damodar Chapekar Deccani, a Brahmin Advocate and 28 Others Arrested in India. The New York Times (1897-10-05). 4 October 1897.
Retrieved 25 June 2009.

REFERENCES

[14] Damodar Chapekar on trial (PDF). The New York Times

(1987-11-04). 3 November 1897. Retrieved 25 June
2009.
[15] Chapekar sentenced to die: Brahmin lawyer who killed
Lieut. Ayerst and commissioner Rand.. The New York
Times (1898-02-04). 3 February 1898. Retrieved 25 June
2009.
[16] India: Shooting of witnesses Native ocer red
upon.. The Sydney Morning Herald. 13 February 1899.
Retrieved 29 June 2009.
[17] 22 June 1897 at the Internet Movie Database
[18] Kailashnath, Dr. Koppikar; Chheda, Subhash. 22 June
1897, Celebrating 25 years.. Retrieved 22 June 2009.

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

9.1

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9.3

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