Rassegna storica del Risorgimento

332 Gita Srivastava
The significance of Savarkar's book on Mazzini Jay in the blue print that it provided to the revolutionaries of Mabarashtra in particular and of India in general. Its first print of two thousand copies were soon exhausted in the market within three months.58) It became so much popular that like a religious book it was ceremonially taken into procession through the streets.S9) A correspondent signing as A resident of Sinhachal wrote in Mumukshu on 24 October 1907, that a debating society of young men daily read and discusseci Savarkar's Mazzini during the Navaratra festival, and on the day of Dushera festival a procession was organised in that village with the copy of the said book and a portait of Mazzini.60*
Savarkar's book on Mazzini became very controversial during Jackson murder and Tilak-Chirol case. While giving his statement in Jackson murder case one Mr. Gondhalekar had stated that the manuscript of Savarkar's book was shown to B. G. Tilak by G. D. Savarkar and Tilak had discouraged its publication.6l) This information became very important during the well-known Tilak-Chirol case. In reply to a query of Sir Edward Carson, counsel of V. Chirol, as to whether Tilak had read Savarkar's book Mazzini, Tilak stated that the book was reviewed to in Kesarì but the review was not written by him. Whereupon Edward Carson had pointed out that Tilak had recommended it to the readers, and Kanhere, who was hanged for Jackson's murder, had confessed to have read the book. The Judges, however, ruled that mere dedication of a book did not prove any thing since it could be done as much with permission as without it. On persistent queries by Carson, whether Tilak had read Savarkar's Mazzini before writing a seditious arride on bombs, Tilak only pointed out there there was no connection between the two as the arride was not written by him and that he had read an English biography of Mazzini much earlier.63) Among the trial were a review of the book under consideration, which appeared in Kal wherein the book was highly praised and described as the Bhagvatgita, dedication page of the book, 32 pages of the introduction written by Savarkar, Anant Kanhere's testimony that he dedded to murder Jackson after reading the said book.W)
**> R.C. MAJUMDÀR (ed.), Struggle for Vreedom, Bombay, 1966, p. 203.
to S.L. KARANDIKAR, Savarkar Charita, Poona, 1943, preface 29.
to Report on the Native News Papera, Bombay, 1907, p. 900.
to S.L. KARANDIKAR, op. cit., p. 139.
to Italioti Deshbhakt Mazzini, Kesari, July 23, 1907; Garibaldi - Ek Vibhutìchi Satsanvatsarik Jayanti, Kesari, July 9, 1907.
to N. C. KELKAR, Lokmanya Tilak Yanche Charìtra, Poona, 1938, voi. II, pp. 732-733.
to lbid.t p. 803.