Rassegna storica del Risorgimento

FONTI E MEMORIE
SAVARKAR AND MAZZINI
Western education stimulated the cause and development of Indian nationalism. The education made a growing corpus of alumni familiar with the western concepts of democracy, unity, equality and nationalism. The ideas and events culminating in the American Independence and the French revolution in the latter part of the 18th century, the glorious struggles for freedom in the different regions of Europe in 1830 and 1848, and the stories of heroic resistance and untold sufferings associated with them, made a profound impression upon the english educated Indians. In particular, the liberation from foreign yoke of Greece and Italy, two ancient centres of culture like India, deeply stirred the emotion of the Indians and evoked feelings of nationalism of the sanie type. Mazzini was one of the prinoipal figures whose example and teachings fired the zeal of the Indian youths. Besides Surendra Nath Banerjea, Lala Lajpat Rai and other Indian revolutio-naries, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar1) was also inspired by the thought and action of Mazzini. He not only translated the autobiography of Mazzini into Marathi, but also founded secret societies like Mitra Mela and Abhinav Bharat on the pattern of Young Italy of Mazzini. In this paper an attempt has been made to show the impact of Mazzini on Savarkar.
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, popularly known as Veer Savarkar, played an active role in the revolutionary movement in India. In 1900, he started an associati on called Mitra Mela at Nasik. Its objeotive was politicai inde­pendence of India and it emphatically asserted that such an independence could be won, if need be, by armed revolt. Exciting songs were written for the Ganapati and Shivaji festivals and the members of the Mitra Mela used to sing these songs either in procession or in the precincts of some tempie or other places of assembly. 2> According to Criminal Intelligence Department (C.IJX) report Physical instruction was given to members. Meetings were held at the house of Ganesh Savarkar 3> and Aba Darekar, one of the song writers of the association, at which the biographies of patriotic revolutionaries were read and re-read, the particular favourites being Mazzini, Shivaji and Ramdas4) and where discussions were carried on with regard to the means
J> Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (1883-1966) was born at Bhagur, a viliage near Nasik (Maharashtra), in a traditional Chitpavan Brahmin family. He was a leader of the so-called Revolutionary Party, the most violcnt wing of Indian nationalists, deeply connected with the activity of Indian revolutionaries abroad, such as Shyamaji Krishnavarma (1857-1930) and Har Dayal (1884-1939). Known for ics pro-German attitude, this group lost its influence after the end of the first world war.
2) Source Material for History of Freedom Movement in India, voi. II, Bombay, 1958, p. 395.
3) Elder brother of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
4} Shivaji (1627-1680) was the chief of the strong West-Indian Confederacy of Mara-thas, who fought against the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb (rullng 1658-1707). Ramdas, his