Pandurang Sadashiv Khankhoje
Encyclopedia
Dr. Pandurang Sadashiv Khankhoje (7 November 1884 – 22 January 1967) was an Indian revolutionary, scholar, agricultural scientist and historian who was among the founding fathers of the Ghadar Party
.
Khankhoje was born in November 1884 to a Marathi
Brahmin
family at Wardha
, where his father worked as a petition-writer. Young Khankhoje spent his childhood in Wardha, where he completed his primary and middle school education before moving to Nagpur
for higher education. He was at the time inspired by the nationalist work of Bal Gangadhar Tilak
. At some time in the first decade of 1900s, Khankhoje left India on a voyage that ultimately saw him settle in the United States. Here he enrolled in the Oregon Agricultural College (now called Oregon State University
), graduating in 1911. His earliest nationalist work abroad dates back to the time around 1908 when he, along with Pandit Kanshi Ram
founded the Indian Independence League in Portland, Oregon
. His works also brought him close to other Indian nationalists in United States at the time, including Taraknath Das. In the years preceding World War I, Khankhoje was one of the founding members of the Pacific coast Hindustan association, and subsequently founded the Ghadar Party. He was at the time one of the most influential members of the party. He met Lala Har Dayal in 1911. He also enrolled at one point in a West Coast military academy.
Through World War I, Khankhoje was intricately involved in the Hindu-German Conspiracy when he was involved in the plans for the mutiny. He had joined a western He visited Europe during the war and subsequently went to Mesopotamia along with other members of what was the Berlin Committee
. In the summer of 1915, he worked clandestinely among roops of the Indian expeditionary force, spreading nationalist literature and hoping to incite a mutiny. Through the course of the war, Khankhoje made his way through Turkey and Persia under different Muslim guises as far as Baluchistan, spreading Ghadarite propaganda en route. He is known to have attempted insurrections and raised at the Iran-Baluchistan border while Mahendra Pratap's Indo-German expedition
attempted to rally the Afghan Emir Habibullah Khan against British India. Towards the end of the war, Khankhoje, like most of the members of the Berlin committee, began turing towards communism. He is known to have been in Soviet Union in company of the earliest Indian communist, including Virendranath Chattopadhyaya
, M. P. T. Acharya
, M. N. Roy, Abdur Rab Barq. He met Lenin at Moscow in 1921. For his nationalist work at the time, Khankoje was banned from returning to India as a highly dangerous individual.
Khankhoje later moved to Mexico in the 1920s, where he was instated the professor of Botany and Crop Breeding in the National School of Agriculture in Mexico. In 1936, Khankhoje married Jean Alexandrine Sindic, a Belgian women in Mexico by whom he had two daughters. He was led the Mexican corn breeding program and was appointed director to the Mexican Government's department of Agriculture. Both Pandurang and Jean returned to India after 1947. His application for visa was initially rejected by the Indian government due to the ban by the British Indian Government, but was eventually overturned. He settled in Nagpur and subsequently embarked on a political career. Pandurang Khankhoje died on January 22, 1967.
Ghadar Party
The Ghadar Party was an organization founded by Punjabi Indians, in the United States and Canada with the aim to liberate India from British rule...
.
Khankhoje was born in November 1884 to a Marathi
Marathi people
The Marathi people or Maharashtrians are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, that inhabit the Maharashtra region and state of western India. Their language Marathi is part of the southern group of Indo-Aryan languages...
Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
family at Wardha
Wardha
Wardha is a city and a municipal council in Wardha district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Wardha district. Wardha gets its name from the Wardha River which flows at the North, West and South boundaries of district. Founded in 1866, the town is now an...
, where his father worked as a petition-writer. Young Khankhoje spent his childhood in Wardha, where he completed his primary and middle school education before moving to Nagpur
Nagpur
Nāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune...
for higher education. He was at the time inspired by the nationalist work of Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Lokmanya Tilak –, was an Indian nationalist, teacher, social reformer and independence fighter who was the first popular leader of the Indian Independence Movement. The British colonial authorities derogatorily called the great leader "Father of the Indian unrest"...
. At some time in the first decade of 1900s, Khankhoje left India on a voyage that ultimately saw him settle in the United States. Here he enrolled in the Oregon Agricultural College (now called Oregon State University
Oregon State University
Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...
), graduating in 1911. His earliest nationalist work abroad dates back to the time around 1908 when he, along with Pandit Kanshi Ram
Pandit Kanshi Ram
Pandit Kanshi Ram was an Indian revolutionary who, along with Har Dayal and Sohan Singh Bhakna was one of the three key members in founding the Ghadar Party. He served as the treasurer of the party from its foundation in 1913 to 1914...
founded the Indian Independence League in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. His works also brought him close to other Indian nationalists in United States at the time, including Taraknath Das. In the years preceding World War I, Khankhoje was one of the founding members of the Pacific coast Hindustan association, and subsequently founded the Ghadar Party. He was at the time one of the most influential members of the party. He met Lala Har Dayal in 1911. He also enrolled at one point in a West Coast military academy.
Through World War I, Khankhoje was intricately involved in the Hindu-German Conspiracy when he was involved in the plans for the mutiny. He had joined a western He visited Europe during the war and subsequently went to Mesopotamia along with other members of what was the Berlin Committee
Berlin Committee
The Berlin Committee, later known as the Indian Independence Committee after 1915, was an organisation formed in Germany in 1914 during World War I by Indian students and political activists residing in the country. The purpose of the Committee was to promote the cause of Indian Independence...
. In the summer of 1915, he worked clandestinely among roops of the Indian expeditionary force, spreading nationalist literature and hoping to incite a mutiny. Through the course of the war, Khankhoje made his way through Turkey and Persia under different Muslim guises as far as Baluchistan, spreading Ghadarite propaganda en route. He is known to have attempted insurrections and raised at the Iran-Baluchistan border while Mahendra Pratap's Indo-German expedition
Niedermayer-Hentig Expedition
The Niedermayer-Hentig Expedition was a diplomatic mission sent by the Central Powers to Afghanistan in 1915-1916. The purpose was to encourage Afghanistan to declare full independence from the United Kingdom, enter World War I on the side of the Central Powers, and attack India. The expedition was...
attempted to rally the Afghan Emir Habibullah Khan against British India. Towards the end of the war, Khankhoje, like most of the members of the Berlin committee, began turing towards communism. He is known to have been in Soviet Union in company of the earliest Indian communist, including Virendranath Chattopadhyaya
Virendranath Chattopadhyaya
Virendranath Chattopadhyaya alias Chatto was a prominent Hindu Indian revolutionary who aimed to overthrow the British Raj in India by using violence as a tool...
, M. P. T. Acharya
M. P. T. Acharya
Mandayam Parthasarathi Tirumal Acharya was an Indian nationalist, a key member of India House, and one of the founding members of the Communist Party of India...
, M. N. Roy, Abdur Rab Barq. He met Lenin at Moscow in 1921. For his nationalist work at the time, Khankoje was banned from returning to India as a highly dangerous individual.
Khankhoje later moved to Mexico in the 1920s, where he was instated the professor of Botany and Crop Breeding in the National School of Agriculture in Mexico. In 1936, Khankhoje married Jean Alexandrine Sindic, a Belgian women in Mexico by whom he had two daughters. He was led the Mexican corn breeding program and was appointed director to the Mexican Government's department of Agriculture. Both Pandurang and Jean returned to India after 1947. His application for visa was initially rejected by the Indian government due to the ban by the British Indian Government, but was eventually overturned. He settled in Nagpur and subsequently embarked on a political career. Pandurang Khankhoje died on January 22, 1967.