Anant Laxman Kanhere
Encyclopedia
Anant Laxman Kanhere was an Indian independence fighter. On 21 December 1909, he shot the Collector
of Nashik in British
India
. The Killing of Jackson was an important event in the history of Nashik and the Indian revolutionary movement.
, Ratnagiri
district. He had two brothers and two sisters. He completed his primary education in Nizamabad (which was then also called as Indur ) , and his English education took place in Aurangabad. Later, Anant wrote a novel 'Mitra Prem' about the friendships he developed at this time. Anant came in contact with the members of secret revolutionary groups at this time, and was attracted towards their work. At that time the atmosphere in India and Maharashtra
, called the Central Province during the British era, was very much charged with anti-British feelings. Nashik was at the forefront with the formation of the revolutionary organization Abhinav Bharat Society
by the Savarkar Brothers. Many small secret revolutionary organizations were formed in and around Nashik, guided by Babarao Savarkar, elder brother of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar
. Krishnaji Gopal Karve
, popularly called Anna Karve, had formed one such secret society in Nashik. Anna Karve was a young lawyer who aspired to do something for his motherland. Another member of the secret society was Vinayak Narayan Deshpande, who was also one of the main accused in the Jackson Murder case; he was a teacher in an English Medium school in Panchavati, Nashik.
and had knowledge of Sanskrit
. In reality, his intentions were to make the people feel that they are good and safe in slavery and to suppress any anti-British activities. For example, one of the English officers who beat an Indian to death for merely touching his golf ball was cleared of his offence and transferred to another location; the Indian was declared dead due to Diarrhoea. In another instance, youths returning from Kalika Fair shouting slogans 'Vande Mataram' were charged with anti-national activities and were prosecuted. The lawyer Babasaheb Khare, who helped pro bono the revolutionaries on whom the government had filed cases, was barred from practicing in the court, had his property was confiscated and he was arrested and sent to prison.
The arrest of Babarao Savarkar for printing a 16 page book of songs of Kavi Govind and his prosecution was the last straw. Jackson was instrumental in getting Babarao arrested and prosecuted. A revolutionary group headed by Krishnaji Karve decided to eliminate Jackson in the first month of 1910. However, by the end of 1909, Jackson was promoted to the post of Commissioner of Mumbai
. Krishnaji Karve, Vinayak Deshpande, and Anant Kanhere decided to eliminate Jackson before his transfer. People in Nashik arranged a farewell for Jackson at Vijayanand theatre in Nashik and staged a drama, 'Sharada', in his honour. Anant decided this was the time to execute their plan. He took responsibility for killing Jackson and decided to commit suicide by poison to avoid capture and save his other partners. The backup plan was that Vinayak was going to shoot Jackson if Anant's attempt failed. If both these failed, Karve was also carrying a weapon.
On 21 December 1909, Jackson came to see the play. Anant jumped in front of him and shot four bullets. Jackson was killed immediately. One of the Indian officers, Mr. Palshikar, attacked Anant with his baton. Other people around caught Anant and he was not able to shoot himself or get the poison.
Anant Kanhere, then 18 years old, was prosecuted in Bombay court and hanged in the Thane prison on 19 April 1910, a mere four months after Jackson was killed. Along with Anant, Krishnaji Karve and Vinayak Deshpande were also hanged. None of the relatives of these three were present during the execution. Their bodies were burnt by the prison officers, rather than being released to the families, and the 'Asthi' (Ash left after the body is burnt) was also not handed over to their relatives but were thrown in the sea near Thane.
District collector
The District Collector is the district head of administration of the bureaucracy in a state of India. Though he/she is appointed and is under general supervision of the state government, he/she has to be a member of the elite IAS recruited by the Central Government...
of Nashik in British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The Killing of Jackson was an important event in the history of Nashik and the Indian revolutionary movement.
Life
Anant Laxman Kanhere was born in 1891 in At Post Bramhanwadi, Aayani (Anjani), a small village in Khed TalukaKhed taluka
Khed taluka is a taluka in the Khed subdivision of Pune district of the state of Maharashtra in India....
, Ratnagiri
Ratnagiri
Ratnāgiri is a port city on the Arabian Sea coast in Ratnagiri district in the southwestern part of Maharashtra, India. The district is a part of Konkan.The Sahyadri mountains border Ratnagiri to the east...
district. He had two brothers and two sisters. He completed his primary education in Nizamabad (which was then also called as Indur ) , and his English education took place in Aurangabad. Later, Anant wrote a novel 'Mitra Prem' about the friendships he developed at this time. Anant came in contact with the members of secret revolutionary groups at this time, and was attracted towards their work. At that time the atmosphere in India and Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, called the Central Province during the British era, was very much charged with anti-British feelings. Nashik was at the forefront with the formation of the revolutionary organization Abhinav Bharat Society
Abhinav Bharat Society
Abhinav Bharat Society was a secret society founded by Ganesh Damodar Savarkarin 1904. Initially founded at Nasik while still a student Fergusson College at Pune, the society developed from an organisation called Mitra Mela...
by the Savarkar Brothers. Many small secret revolutionary organizations were formed in and around Nashik, guided by Babarao Savarkar, elder brother of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar
Vināyak Dāmodar Sāvarkar was an Indian freedom fighter, revolutionary and politician. He was the proponent of liberty as the ultimate ideal. Savarkar was a poet, writer and playwright...
. Krishnaji Gopal Karve
Krishnaji Gopal Karve
Krishnāji Gopāl Karve was an Indian freedom fighter, a revolutionary. He had completed his B.A. and had taken admission to LLB in Mumbai University....
, popularly called Anna Karve, had formed one such secret society in Nashik. Anna Karve was a young lawyer who aspired to do something for his motherland. Another member of the secret society was Vinayak Narayan Deshpande, who was also one of the main accused in the Jackson Murder case; he was a teacher in an English Medium school in Panchavati, Nashik.
Political Activity
Jackson, a British officer, was aware of these activities. He started mixing with people, unlike other British officers, and made an image of himself as a people friendly officer. He told people that he was a Vedic literate Brahmin in his previous life and that was why he felt affection towards the Indian people. He used to talk to people in MarathiMarathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
and had knowledge of Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
. In reality, his intentions were to make the people feel that they are good and safe in slavery and to suppress any anti-British activities. For example, one of the English officers who beat an Indian to death for merely touching his golf ball was cleared of his offence and transferred to another location; the Indian was declared dead due to Diarrhoea. In another instance, youths returning from Kalika Fair shouting slogans 'Vande Mataram' were charged with anti-national activities and were prosecuted. The lawyer Babasaheb Khare, who helped pro bono the revolutionaries on whom the government had filed cases, was barred from practicing in the court, had his property was confiscated and he was arrested and sent to prison.
The arrest of Babarao Savarkar for printing a 16 page book of songs of Kavi Govind and his prosecution was the last straw. Jackson was instrumental in getting Babarao arrested and prosecuted. A revolutionary group headed by Krishnaji Karve decided to eliminate Jackson in the first month of 1910. However, by the end of 1909, Jackson was promoted to the post of Commissioner of Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
. Krishnaji Karve, Vinayak Deshpande, and Anant Kanhere decided to eliminate Jackson before his transfer. People in Nashik arranged a farewell for Jackson at Vijayanand theatre in Nashik and staged a drama, 'Sharada', in his honour. Anant decided this was the time to execute their plan. He took responsibility for killing Jackson and decided to commit suicide by poison to avoid capture and save his other partners. The backup plan was that Vinayak was going to shoot Jackson if Anant's attempt failed. If both these failed, Karve was also carrying a weapon.
On 21 December 1909, Jackson came to see the play. Anant jumped in front of him and shot four bullets. Jackson was killed immediately. One of the Indian officers, Mr. Palshikar, attacked Anant with his baton. Other people around caught Anant and he was not able to shoot himself or get the poison.
Anant Kanhere, then 18 years old, was prosecuted in Bombay court and hanged in the Thane prison on 19 April 1910, a mere four months after Jackson was killed. Along with Anant, Krishnaji Karve and Vinayak Deshpande were also hanged. None of the relatives of these three were present during the execution. Their bodies were burnt by the prison officers, rather than being released to the families, and the 'Asthi' (Ash left after the body is burnt) was also not handed over to their relatives but were thrown in the sea near Thane.