Har Dayal – The Unknown Revolutionary Genius | B P Mathur

The role of Indian revolutionaries, who advocated armed uprising to drive the British out of the country, has not been adequately recognised in the history of freedom movement. The British had ruthlessly suppressed the armed revolt of 1857, but the pioneering revolutionaries such as Shyamji Krishna Varma, Bhikaji Cama, Har Dayal, Ras Behari Bose and a whole band of unknown heroes like them, kept the flame of freedom alive in heart of Indians. Many of them operated from abroad to escape the long hand of British administration, who ruthlessly suppressed any voice of dissent. Even the most charismatic and daring Subhas Chandra Bose who played a decisive role in country’s freedom has not been given due recognition by an ungrateful nation. Shyam Benegal who has made a fantastic movie on Subhas Chandra Bose, chose to sub-title it- The Forgotten Hero. Clement Atlee who was British Prime Minister at the time power was handed over to India, observed later when he came on a private visit to India, that the revolutionary activities had weakened the very foundation of the attachment of the Indian Land and Naval Forces to the British government, and was an important factor in their decision to hand over power to Indians.

In view of above background, a new book by Bhuvan Lall, Great Indian Genius Har Dayal (Notion Press:Chennai,2020) is a welcome addition to the history of freedom movement and understanding our colonial past. Bhuvan Lall has done labourious research, studied old archives at San Francisco, Sweden, London and New Delhi and files of British intelligence and chronicled Har Dayal’s life in meticulous detail , the sacrifices made, hardships faced and the tribulations and tragedy of his family life. This book is a valuable companion to only other authentic biography of Har Dayal written in recent years, titled Har Dayal- The Great Revolutionary (Rolli Books: New Delhi,2003) authored by his grand daughter Shubh jointly with her husband E Jaswant Paul. The following write-up tries to capture Har Dayal’s eventful life so that one can appreciate his role in country’s long fight to freedom.

Gadar Movement

The Gadar movement had played an important role in the freedom struggle of the country, of which Har Dayal was one of the principal architect. Har Dayal escaped from India in August 1908, to evade arrest for espousing the cause of India’s freedom and reached France where he was in close touch with famous revolutionaries Shyamji Krishna Varma and Bhikaji Cama and their co workers, who had made Paris as their base, to escape long hand of British administration. After working with them for sometime, he moved to USA and made San Francisco his base. A man of great learning and scholastic merit he received appointment as Professor of Philosophy and Sanskrit at the nearby Stanford University, a post which he later resigned to devote full time to revolutionary work. The Pacific Coast, mostly California area in USA and the Vancouver area in Canada had large number of Indian expatriates , mostly Panjabis, many of whom were ex-army men. They were working in lumber mills, railway construction, farm labour and other low paid jobs, were treated badly and suffering from racial discrimination. Har Dayal was able to convince them that their problems were due to slavery of the country and salvation lay in the freedom of the country. With their support and dedicated band of other Indian patriots in USA, which included his friends Bhai Parmananda and Gobind Behari Lal who were studying in California, Hindustan Gadar Party was born in November 1913, with the objective of liberating India from British rule through armed uprising. The name Gadar was given invoking the spirit of 1857 uprising. Its first President was Sohan Singh Bhakna and General Secretary, Har Dayal. The main instrument through which people were to be awakened and the call for armed uprising was to be spread, was its newspaper Gadar brought every week in Urdu and Panjabi and occasionally in Hindi with Har Dayal as its editor. With his encyclopaedic knowledge of political thought, history, philosophy and current affairs he wrote fiery articles to bring home the inequities of British rule. In its very first issue of Ist November 1913 the editorial posed the question- ‘ In what does our work consist of?’-and answer given was, ‘ In bringing out an uprising’. The next question was-‘why?’ and the answer was, ‘Because the people can no longer bear the oppression and tyranny practiced under British rule and ready to fight and die for the freedom’. All its issues carried the caption- angrezi raj ka dusman- enemy of British administration.

The Gadar paper did the work of an agitator, mobiliser and organiser. Copies of the paper reached Indians not only in Canada and USA but also in Malay, Hongkong, Singapore, Shanghai and other parts of the world where there was large contingent of Indian immigrants and brought out revolutionary transformation in their minds to do some thing for the country. Bundles of the paper were smuggled in India and reached Panjab, despite Government’s censorship, and created awakening in people’s mind about British misrule. Har Dayal was on British intelligence radar. They pressurised the American government to arrest him, although he had not violated any American law. A warrant of his arrest was issued on 25th of March 1914, but he was able to secure bail. His well-wishers, however, warned him that he may be arrested again and deported to India and jailed. Har Dayal decided to leave USA secretly in July 1914 and reached Switzerland.

The Gadar Party had developed a large band of dedicated workers willing to sacrifice their life for their motherland. It was charged with renewed vigour, as a result of humiliation faced by Indians in the Komagata ship incident, in which Indian immigrants were refused entry in Canada and were forced to return home after facing great hardship. Meanwhile the second world war broke out in August 1914. The leaders of the Gadar Party thought this was an opportune time to stir a revolt in India and gave a call maro firangee ko - beat the foreigners. The British troops had left India for the war theatre in Europe and Gadar leadership thought this was an opportune time to give a call to their brethren in the Indian army, to rise up in revolt. A few thousands of Indians sailed to India in different batches to foment an uprising in collaboration with local revolutionaries. These revolutionaries committed several daring dacoities in Panjab and elsewhere to collect funds and shake people’s faith in British administration. A date in February 1914 was fixed for fomenting the revolt. The British administration had a very strong net work of intelligence and planted their moles in the organisation and were monitoring every action of the revolutionaries. They arrested all the leaders before they could carry on the plan and the whole movement fizzled out. Large cache of guns and arms sent from abroad was intercepted and the revolutionaries didn’t possess the needed pistols and guns to effectively carry on their activities. The revolutionaries were also unable to reach the Indian troops in the army and convince them to rise in revolt on the appointed day. The British were ruthless in punishing the conspirators. The Governor of Panjab at the time was hated despot Michel O’Dwyer of Jallianwala ill-fame and he enforced a rein of terror against these freedom fighters. 279 men were prosecuted and trials held, out of which 46 were sentenced to death and hanged, 64 transported for life and 125 were awarded punishment of jail terms of varying duration.( for details see: Sohan Singh Josh, Hindustan Gadar Party- A History, Desh Bhakta Yadgar Committee, Jalandhar, 2007).

The Gadar Party’s role in India’s freedom movement is now history, but its memory has been kept alive by converting the place where it was founded Yugantar Hall, 5 Wood Street, San Francisco, as a museum where various memorabilia of the Party are displayed and is renamed The Gadar Hall. In nearby Stockton in California, there is also a GadarHall at the Sikh Gurdwara, with illustrated history of the movement. The original hand printing press of the Gadar movement is preserved there. In Jalandhar a Gadar Party Martyrs Memorial has also been built which commemorates the sacrifices made by members of the Gadar Party for the freedom of India.

 Early Life

Har Dayal was born on 14th October 1884 , in Cheera Khana area of Chandni Chowk in the old city of Delhi. His father Gauri Dayal Mathur was a Reader in District Court of Delhi. Coming from Kayastha family background, who were traditionally scribes in royal courts, he was well versed in Urdu and Persian and had scholastic bent of mind. Har Dayal inherited his love for learning from his father. He had four brothers and three sisters, he being the sixth. All his three elder brothers became lawyers. He was closest to his eldest brother Kishan Dayal, who had a flourishing practice at Delhi and Lahore and provided him support, morally and financially, during his long exile abroad. Har Dayal’s formal education started at Cambridge Mission school and was immediately marked as specially gifted. He did his graduation in Sanskrit from St Stephens College at Delhi. Har Dayal had a brilliant record, he stood first in every examination right from school till his graduation. He had a photographic memory, could recite Shakespeare’s play verbatim after giving one reading and Sanskrit verses after hearing them once orally. After doing his Bachelor in Arts Har, Dayal joined Government College at Lahore for Masters in English Language and topped his class. He followed this up with Double MA in one year in History and broke the university record for highest mark.

As student, Har Dayal was no book worm and involved himself actively with social and political movements going in the country. He was deeply impressed with the reformist movement such as Arya Samaj and Brahmo Samaj in cleaning up the social ills of Hinduism. He greatly admired the leaders like Lokmanya Tilak and Lajpat Rai who were advocating freedom of the country and participated in the meetings of a secret society which had similar objective.

Har Dayal was married at a relative young age of around 18, as per the convention at that time. His wife Sundar Rani was daughter of Lala Gopal Chand, who was Naib Nazim ( Sessions Judge) in Patiala State. The family was wealthy but conservative in outlook and did not appreciate Har Dayal’s nationalistic outlook.

 For his splendid academic achievement Har Dayal was awarded a State scholarship to study in England for three years. He was just 21 years old, when he left for England to join St, John College at Oxford for doing Honours in Modern History. For his exceptional knowledge in Sanskrit he was also made a Boden Sanskrit scholar. The two scholarships gave him handsome money for a comfortable living. After a years stay in England he suddenly returned to India, so that he could take his wife with him to England. But his father- in- law was not allowing his wife to go to England- the reason- he was an orthodox person and didn’t want his daughter to cross the seas. But more plausible reason was, that he was unhappy with his son-in-law’s revolutionary leanings and wanted to harass him. Har Dayal was, however, able to hoodwink his in-laws. He secretly boarded a train with his wife Sundar Rani for Bombay and both together boarded a ship for London.

At Oxford Har Dayal made his mark as a brilliant student and endeared himself to his professors. He was very active in university’s intellectual life and participated in debates and discussions. Soon he came under the influence of Indian revolutionaries who were based in London espousing the cause of India’s freedom. The most prominent of them was Shyamaji Krishna Varma who had founded the Home Rule Society in England in 1905 and established the India House in London for Indian students. Har Dayal also met V D Savarkar at the India House and their empathy for India’s emancipation ripened into close association. Har Dayal worked out a detailed plan titled, Sketch of aComplete Movement for Emancipation of India, outlining his ideas for liberation of the country. Har Dayal by mid-1907 had completed almost two and a half years at Oxford, when he took a sudden and dramatic step. He resigned his State scholarship as he felt, ‘his duty lies in India’. He had advanced the principle of ‘dissociation from the British government’ and ‘wanted to live upto it’. His friends and his professors at Oxford tried to persuade him to complete his degree but he did not relent. After he left Oxford, Har Dayal reverted to traditional Indian lifestyle, gave up wearing English clothes and instead wore dhoti and kurta and insisted on eating Indian food.

 In January 1908, Har Dayal returned to India with his wife who was in family way. He first proceeded to Patiala to leave his wife, with his in-laws. He was given a cold shoulder and ill treated. His father-in-law told him that he has ruined their daughter’s life. They thought Har Dayal will join ICS and bring name and fame to the family. Har Dayal remained unperturbed.

On return to India Har Dayal plunged himself into revolutionary work. He first moved to Kanpur where he with his like minded associates and friends set up an ashram or a training camp for those willing to fight for country’s freedom. After couple of months he moved to Lahore at the invitation of Lala Lajpat Rai. He was tasked to train young revolutionaries and to run the daily newspaper Panjabee, whose previous editor was arrested by British authorities. At Lahore Har Dayal lead a very spartan and frugal life, as he felt he has to set an example to the young students whom he was training for national renaissance . Har Dayal wrote numerous articles in newspapers, whose objective was to shake people out of their slumber and realise the inequities and injustice of British administration. This alarmed the British administration, who issued a warrant of arrest against him. Lala Lajpat Rai came to know it and warned Har Dayal. Har Dayal slipped out of the country, went to Colombo and boarded a ship for Naples, Italy on 2nd August 1908. Har Dayal was very reluctant to leave the country as his wife was expecting a child. Within a week of his leaving, a baby girl Shanti was born on 8th August 1908. Alas! Har Dayal never succeeded in returning to his motherland and did not ever saw his beloved daughter.

 A Fugitive all his Life 

 After fleeing India, Har Dayal landed in Italy and from there travelled to England. He found the atmosphere in London very hostile for revolutionary work. In July 1909 Madan Lal Dhingra had shot dead an Englishman W C Wylie who had served in senior positions in India and was political aide to Secretary of State for India, as a revenge for British atrocities in India. The British government was cracking down on Indian freedom fighters based in London. Shyam Ji Krishna Varma wound up the India House and moved to Paris to continue his work. Har Dayal also moved to Paris and came in close contact with Bhika Ji Cama and other revolutionaries based there. With the support of these revolutionaries a journal Bande Matram was started with Har Dayal as editor. The first issue appeared in September 1909, in which wholesome tribute was paid to Madan Lal Dhingra. It was printed in Geneva and distributed in Europe and clandestinely sent to India. Towards the end of 1910 Har Dayal took a wholly unexpected move, departed from Paris and sailed to Martinique, a French colony in Caribbean - its warm climate was suitable for recuperating his health. Har Dayal had great attraction towards Buddhism and held Gautam Buddha as his ideal. He lead an ascetic life and experimented with emulating Buddha in the quiet retreat of the island. Around the same time, Har Dayal’s close friend Bhai Parmananda, an ardent Arya Samajist had come USA to study and was staying in New York. As there were some months before his classes were to commence, he visited nearby Guyana to spread the teachings of Arya Samaj, amongst the large Indian community who had settled there as plantation labour. He met Har Dayal in Martinque which was nearby and they together came to USA, a place known for liberal ideas and freedom to do what one wants.

After arrival in USA, Har Dayal initially went to Boston to explore the possibility of studying Buddhism in the Harvard University. Harvard was famous for scholarship of ancient Indian philosophies, had a distinguished faculty, some of whom had studied in India. At Harvard, Har Dayal had a chance encounter with Bhai Teja Singh, a well known preacher, belonging to Lahore and was doing his Masters. He entreated Har Dayal to help large population of Panjabis in the West Coast working in farm and factories and facing severe discrimination. Har Dayal accordingly moved to San Francisco, where he was one of the key founder of the Gadar Party.

Fearing arrest due to his activities relating to Gadar Party, as mentioned above, Har Dayal left USA and reached Switzerland and stayed in Geneva. Immediately thereafter, the first world war broke out in August 1914. The Indian revolutionaries saw a great opportunity in the hostilities between Britain and Germany, as they thought Germany will help the cause of India’s freedom. Virendra Nath Chattopadhyay (brother of Sarojini Naidu) was already in Germany, in touch with German authorities, and founded the Indian Independence Committee at Berlin with the association of other revolutionaries. Har Dayal also became member of this group and moved to Germany. Har Dayal made several trips to Constantinople, Turkey to get in touch with Indian revolutionaries based in Kabul such as Raja Mahendra Pratap and Mohammad Barkatullah. The idea was to overthrow British government by attacking through North West Frontier Province with the help of Germany and Turkey ( an ally of Germany) and acquiescence of Afghanistan . He was , however disappointed as he found that German government was not interested in advancing the cause of India’s freedom but using the revolutionaries to advance their own agenda and forming a pan-Islamic front. Har Dayal’s relations with German government got soured and he became a persona non grata for them. He had already spent more than a year in Germany and wanted to go back to Switzerland by winter of 1915-16. But German government didn’t issue him a passport and kept him under surveillance branding him to be anti-German. His relations with Virendra Nath Chattopadhyay also got strained due to clash of two strong personalities, though later they patched up. The Berlin Committee was also on the verge of collapse for want of funds, as Germany was loosing the war. Har Dayal spent some time in Vienna in scholastic pursuit in company of some distinguished professors of Indian philosophy and Sanskrit in the University. He wanted to go to Sweden and bided his time. Following Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in November 2017, Stockholm had become the centre of the Indian Independence movement in Europe and revolutionaries such as Virendra Nath Chattopadhyay had moved there. After much wait, the German government issued him an identity card to go to Sweden, purpose ‘literary work’ and he arrived at Stockholm in October 1918.

The Volte Face 

In Sweden Har Dayal’s life took a completely new turn. He was hard-pressed for money and survived by delivering lectures on Indian philosophy, art and literature. Har Dayal first learnt Swedish, to be able to communicate with a local audience, which he picked up quickly. He had a flair for languages and had a good command over a dozen of them - Sanskrit, Hindi, Urdu, Persian, Arabic, Pali, English, French, German, Spanish, Turkish, Latin and Greek.

Within a few months of his stay in Sweden in March 1919, Har Dayal did the unthinkable, which staggered belief. He sent a letter, which was published in London’s New Statesman, in which he declared his conversion to the principle of Imperial unity and progressive self-government for all civilized nations, but advocated that they remain within the British empire. This was followed by the publication of a short book, Forty Four Months in Germany and Turkey, in which he condemned Germany and praised British character and statesmanship and their historical mission in Asia. The book also said that the upper and middle classes of his country were incapable and degenerate and unable to supply leadership.

 The news of Har Dayal’s volte face spread like wildfire and newspapers in India, England and USA gave it wide publicity. The New York Times titled the news item, ‘ Har Dayal Rebel Recants His views’. Har Dayal’s admirers in India were shocked and outraged. They could not believe it. Har Dayal’s powerful writings had inspired the Gadar revolutionaries to go to India and take up arms. Many of them were sentenced to death, condemned to kalapani for life and imprisoned for various terms. They felt betrayed.

Har Dayal’s somersault delighted the British. The British Administration translated the booklet in Hindi and distributed free of charge in India. But the British intelligence never gave him permission to return to India and thought it was a ploy to get pardon. D Petrie Director of British India Intelligence observed, ‘ he is unstable in his character and his views, and although he may be genuinely penitent today, he may be in a very different mood tomorrow.’

In correspondence, with Swami Satyadev, in December 1923/ January 1924, a well known Arya Samaj leader, who had made a short trip to Stockholm, while on a visit to Germany for his eye treatment and whom Har Dayal had known from the time he was in USA, he expressed following views (the two couldn’t meet ). Har Dayal wanted Home Rule for India, within the British Empire like Ireland. He was disappointed with India’s rich class who plunder people and wants to work for the poor and has become a socialist. He wants to write good books on history, politics and modern civilisation in Hindi and Urdu to educate and enlighten the masses and wants help for publishing cheap books so that poor could access them. Swami Satyadev while recognising Har Dayal’s brilliance and commitment for India’s freedom, felt that he takes extreme views rather than balanced and is now a frustrated and bitter person. ( Refer: Satya Dev, Meri German Yatra, Satya Granth Mala, Office, Almora, Samvat 1981, in Hindi)
The revolutionaries and freedom fighters who knew Har Dayal closely, while recognising his dedication for India’s freedom and honesty of purpose, were of the view that he had a vacillating nature, some what unstable mind and had been changing his views frequently.

Har Dayal was no doubt a genius. Many geniuses are known to be eccentric and schizophrenic. John Nash a mathematical wizard and founder of Games Theory who won Nobel prize in Economics suffered from schizophrenia. Fredrich Nietzsche the great German philosopher of late 19th century suffered from neurotic problems. Was Har Dayal’s volte face from being a rebel and intense dislike for British Rule  to an admirer, due to his eccentric nature and unstable temperament?

 Turning Pacifist 

 After his recant, Har Dayal’s radical political career came to a tragic end. He became a pacifist and lead a quiet life in Sweden living mostly at Gotenburg on the West Coast. He earned his living by delivering lectures and taking lessons in schools. After staying couple of years in Sweden, a dramatic development took place in Har Dayal’s personal life. In November 1926 he met Agda Erickson an accomplished, wealthy Swedish lady, who had inherited a large fortune from her father and engaged in social work and had founded a school and a library. She was spellbound by the depth of Har Dayal’s knowledge and the two became friends, which after a while blossomed into a romantic relationship. Har Dayal was now forty one years and in wilderness. Agda was about the same age, a few months younger to him. The two started living together as husband and wife though not formally married. Agda was possibly told by him that he has separated from his wife. In their social circle Agda was known as Har Dayal’s wife, Agda Erickson Dayal. She remained her constant companion and soul mate for the next twelve years, till his passing away.

 Har Dayal’s well wishers in India were making efforts for his pardon, so that he could return to his motherland. In March 1927, eight years after his public recantation, he wrote a letter to the Viceroy of India asking for amnesty, expressing regret for his past actions and asked for permission to live and work in London. After much deliberation, British government in India granted his request to go to England and he was told informally that he would not be prosecuted. He immediately packed his bag and reached London in October 1927, along with Agada and settled down in the city. Har Dayal had great fascination for Buddhism and wanted to study it in depth. Putting his past behind, he became a full time academic and scholar. He enrolled himself as a doctorate student in the School of Oriental Studies in the University of London and two years later he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Later his thesis was published as a book titled, The Bodhisattva Doctrine in Buddhist Sanskrit Literature, which was highly applauded and still considered an authoritative work on the subject. He continued as a full time researcher and author. He published his second book, Hints on Self Culture which is still considered a classic. He wrote another book Twelve Religion and Modern Life, which was published in 1937.

The Last Phase

Har Dayal’s well wishers in India were continuing their efforts for his return to India. Finally, in October 1938 eleven years after he was allowed to reside in England, permission was granted by the British government that he could return to his motherland. Har Dayal received the news when he was in USA on a lecturing assignment, at the invitation of Society of Ethical Culture, Philadelphia. Agda had accompanied him. Har Dayal didn’t feel elated and procrastinated his date of return to India.

Har Dayal was a well sought speaker in USA and mostly travelled between Philadelphia and New York for his lecturing assignment. On 3rd March 1939 while he was at Philadelphia he suffered a massive heart attack and tragically passed away in his home. He was cremated at Philadelphia on 7th March in presence of Agda, his friends and well wishers who belonged to different faiths. The unexpected death devastated Agda. She returned to London and wound up the establishment there and came back to her native place Sweden. She brought with her, Har Dayal’s ashes. The obituary issued in Sweden stated, ‘ my beloved husband has left for the invisible world. Death does not separate us, it unites’. It bore the name Agda Ericsson Dayal, as she always considered her as his wife. A heart broken Agda, who had frail health, couldn’t bear the shock and she passed away in January 1940, within few months of Har Dayal’s death.

Har Dayal’s Dilemma 

Har Dayal’s family in India came to know about his death only after a month and that too from newspapers. This would have come as a great shock to his wife Sundar Rani and other family members. It seems Har Dayal’s family had lost touch with him during later years of his life. When he received news of his being granted amnesty to return to India, he wasn’t very enthused and procrastinated the date of return. This was possibly because he expected a very cold reception from his family. Shanti Devi daughter of Har Dayal was told in her childhood that their family is under surveillance and never mention her fathers name to anyone. During his long exile, Har Dayal’s wife and daughter were looked after by his brothers and other family members, who were all very well placed in life. Har Dayal’s bother-in-law ( sister’s husband), Dr Tara Chand was a distinguished historian, became Vice Chancellor of University of Allahabad and served as India’s ambassador in Iran, encouraged his daughter Shanti Devi to do graduation, which she did from Allahabad University, a rare achievement for a woman in those days when girls education was a taboo. She was married to Bishan Narain a distinguished barrister at Lahore who after partition became a judge of Panjab High Court. Har Dayal’s nephew (brother’s son), Raghubar Dayal qualified for the ICS in 1923 and held important assignments during the Raj and post independence became a Judge of the Supreme Court. Har Dayal’s was a fairly well off Mathur Kayastha family. The community had long tradition of working as scribes in the courts of Mughals and later British and served them loyally, always wanting to remain in the good books of those holding power. The family would have thought it prudent to dissociate themselves from Har Dayal, who was on British intelligence radar as a dangerous revolutionary, so that they remain ‘good boys’ in the eyes of British masters.

It would have been real dilemma — dharam-sankat for Har Dayal to return to India after amnesty was granted. He couldn’t have come with Agda- his wife Sundar Rani, the family and friends would have been greatly shocked and would not have welcomed her. To leave her behind and come to India for good would have been tragic and breach of trust. She was so devoted to him, gave him solace, comfort and financial security when he was in wilderness. Was he in severe mental tension, which triggered his heart attack? Har Dayal’s personality was very complex and he was always unpredictable. In his Will opened by Agda after his death, he bequeathed all his savings and belongings to his wife Sundar Rani, with no mention of Agda!

Remembering Revolutionaries

The revolutionaries who advocated taking up arms to drive the British out of the country have played an important role in keeping the flame of freedom burning in the hearts of Indians. The sacrifices made by these pioneering freedom fighters should be made compulsory reading by the youths and younger generation, for which suitable study material should be developed by our historians and educational planners. There is also need to construct suitable memorials and museums at important places in the country to commemorate their memory. This would help develop the spirit of nationalism and patriotism amongst our country men particularly the youths, a sine qua non for nation building. We should remember the saying, ‘ Those who forget their history are condemned to repeat it.’ 

30th October 2020

(Dr B P Mathur IA&AS (Retd) was Deputy Comptroller & Auditor General and the former Director National Institute of Financial Management)