Shyamji Krishna Varma

Shyamji Krishna Varma, born in 1857, studied in Cambridge and was born in Kutch Mandavi. He was greatly learned and mastered Sanskrit. He was inspired by the ideals of Swami Dayananda Saraswat and participated in Arya Samaji movement. He was selected as one of the trustees of Arya Samaj in 1884. He got his B.A degree from Oxford in 1879 and came in close contact with Prof. Monier Williams. In 1883 he represented India in the Berlin Conference of the Orientalists. He also became a Deewan of a no. of princely states but did not get along with the British authorities. He also served as a lawyer in Bombay High Court in 1885. He had met Swami Vivekananda when the later was roaming around India as a lesser known Praivrajak, and was greatly influenced by him. Vivekananda had stayed with him for about a fortnight. Shyamji became a Deewan of the Junagadh state but had to leave on account of intrigues of the British officials. He was closely associated with Balgangadhar Tilak. His faith in British Government was badly shaken after his bitter experience with the British officials. Dayananda's inspiration had led him to England after the assassination of Rand in Pune and went to England in 1897. He was also influenced by Herbert Spencer's writings. Shyamji did not like the Indian National Congress for its policy of prayers and petitions. His house in London had become a meeting place of free thinkers and political leaders of India like Lala Lajpat Rai and Gokhale. In 1905 he started a monthly called the Indian Sociologist that actively propagated against the British Rule in India and became quite popular. His close associates included Madam Bhikhaji Cama and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. He formed the Indian Home Rule Society in London and was the founder of the India House which provided political asylum to the Indian students studying in London. After the assassination of Curzon Wyllie by Madanlal Dhingra, Shyamji went to Paris and continued his tirades against the British rule till his death in 1930. Shyamji's works helped gain support for India in European countries like France, Germany and Switzerland. He had agitated for the release of Savarkar when the later was arrested for the Nashik Conspiracy Case. He later shifted his base to Geneva during World War 1 when France became a British ally. After his death his ashes were repatriated to India as per his wish in 2003 and a memorial was erected in his native place of Mandvi in Gujarat.