Vasudev Balwant Phadke

• The Home Minister recently paid tribute to freedom fighter Vasudev Balwant Phadke on his death anniversary.

ABOUT VASUDEV BALWANT PHADKE

• Born on November 4, 1845 in Shirdon (dist. Thane), his family hailed from Kelshi, a hamlet in Konkan.
• In 1862, he was amongst the early graduates of Bombay University.
• Also called the modern India’s first revolutionary, he is regarded as the “Father of the Armed Struggle for India’s Freedom”.
• Young Phadke, who considered Shivaji as his role model, is said to have been the inspiration for Bankimchandra’s Anandamath.
• Phadke took a vow to use Khadi and Swadeshi.
• He founded the Aikyavardhini Sabha in order to ventilate popular grievances.
• In 1874, he also established the first school of national education in Pune.
• He was arrested in July 1879.
• The trial in Pune court awarded him transportation for life sentence.
• In prison he was detected with tuberculosis and died on February 17, 1883 in Aden.