In 1913, at a place called the Yugantar Ashram in San Francisco, California, the Gadarites gave the call for aazaadi. In many ways, it was the precursor to the other known pre-Independence revolutionary movement by the Azad Hind Fauj under Bose. An estimated 8,000 overseas Indians played a direct part in the Gadar movement.

Remember, it was also a time in Indian history when Mahatma Gandhi was away, yet to return from his life-changing experience in South Africa. The method of Satyagraha that he practiced there was as yet an alien concept to Indian minds. The armed revolt of 1857 in India and the American Revolution of 1776 in the USA were the ideological templates available to the Gadar revolutionary. In both instances, the adversary was the same—Britain’s repugnant colonial machinery. The Gadarites knew that allowing the British to trample all over India, allowing them to milk India systematically and drive Indians deeper into penury and debt, would plunge their motherland indefinitely into serfdom. And that is why their daring is so compelling. “The sin of silence when they should protest makes cowards of men,” said Abraham Lincoln. The Gadarites threw silence to the winds and roared in unison.

Short Lived

Not all stories have happy endings. The romantic story of the Gadar patriots was destined to be ephemeral, and not unexpectedly. The Gadarites had daring, but the British had tact, guile, ammunition, specially set up fast-track courts, and horrific jails. It was almost a mismatch. Each time they tried to make a dent, the Gadarites were vanquished even before they could reach the gates of the citadels. Each time they tried to bombard the bastions, their efforts blew up in smoke. The enemy’s wherewithal was too much for the young, brave men. They were arrested and thrown inside jails unfit for humans. Significantly, the British espionage system delivered when it mattered, time and time again. Most of the men feeding this well-oiled spy system were, tragically enough, Indians themselves. They were the gaddaars—traitors—to the core who let down the patriots and their own country over and over.