Shyamji Krishna Varma

IHRS was founded by Shyamji Varma, with support from a number of prominent Indian nationalists in Britain at the time including Bhikaji Cama, Dadabhai Naoroji and Sardarsinhji Ravaji S. R. Rana.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Shyamji Krishna Varma, a great patriot, founded the Indian Home Rule Society, India House and The Indian Sociologist in London.
He was born on October 4, 1857 in Mandvi, Gujarat, and passed away on March 30, 1930 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Why in news?

Today is the birth anniversary of Shri Shyamji Krishna Varma, considered as a staunch nationalist.

Know about him

Born in 1857 in modern-day Gujarat, Shyamji Krishna Varma completed his education in India, before moving on to teach Sanskrit at Oxford University.
In 1905 he founded the India House and The Indian Sociologist, which rapidly developed as an organised meeting point for radical nationalists among Indian students in Britain at the time and one of the most prominent centres for revolutionary Indian nationalism outside India.
Krishna Varma moved to Paris in 1907, avoiding prosecution.
The monthly Indian Sociologist became an outlet for nationalist ideas and through the Indian Home Rule Society, he criticised the British rule in India.
Varma, who became the first President of Bombay Arya Samaj, was an admirer of Dayanand Saraswati, and he inspired Veer Savarkar who was a member of India House in London.
Verma also served as the Divan of a number of states in India.

Know about Arya Samaj

The Arya Samaj is a reform movement and a religious/social organization which was formally established in Bombay in 1875 by Swami Dayananda Saraswati (1824-1883).
Contrary to some misconceptions, it is not a religion or a new sect in Hindu religion. He saw the degraded and debased condition of the Hindus.
His heart bled at the sight of millions of people who were weak, disjointed, deranged and helpless. They were dominated by a few egoistic and power-driven individuals with hidden agendas.

Know about India Homerule Society

On 18 Frbruary 1905, an Indian organisation, the Indian Home Rule Society IHRS was founded in London which sought to promote the cause of self-rule in British India.
The organisation was founded by Shyamji Krishna Varma, with support from a number of prominent Indian nationalists in Britain at the time including Bhikaji Cama, Dadabhai Naoroji and Sardarsinhji Ravaji S. R. Rana.
It was intended to be a rival organisation to the British Committee of the Indian National Congress that was the main avenue of the loyalist opinion at the time.
The Indian Home Rule Society was a metropolitan organisation modelled after Victorian public institutions of the time.
It had a written constitution and the stated aims to secure Home Rule for India and to carry on a genuine Indian propaganda in this country by all practicable means.
The IHRS was open for membership to Indians only and found significant support amongst Indian students and other Indian populations in Britain.
It recruited young Indian activists and maintained close contact with revolutionary movements in India.

What is Modi-Varma Link?

Shyamji Krishna Varma passed away in 1930, hoping his ashes would return to his motherland after its Independence from the colonial rule.
While the ruling governments had forgotten about the latter, it was Modi who finally brought it back from Geneva.
On 22 August 2003, Modi collected Varma’s ashes from the Ville de Genève and the Swiss government, fulfilling the last wish of the freedom fighter.
Mr Modi got the reinstatement certificate of Shyamji Krishna Varma from UK when he visited there in 2015.