The Chapekar Brothers and assassination of W.C Rand
On June 22, 1897, the Chapekar brothers killed British officer WC Rand, and Lieutenant Ayrst, who was in their military defense, in Pune, Maharashtra.
- Damodar Hari Chapekar, Balkrishna Hari Chapekar and Vasudev Hari Chapekar were known as Chapekar brothers.
- Mahadev Vinayak Ranade was also his associate in this massacre.
- This was the first case of militant nationalism in India after the revolt of 1857.
- During 1896-97, there was a bubonic plague in Pune (Poona). It is also known as Poona Plague. The government had set up a special plague committee in the year 1897 to deal with the menace of plague and control the spread of the disease. Charles Walter Rand (W.C. Rand) was the chairman of this committee.
- Instead of appointing doctors, the Plague Commission had deployed more than 800 officers and soldiers in Pune.
- People were not being allowed to perform the last rites of their disease-affected relatives. The persecution of the local people by the British soldiers had started increasing.
- The continued persecution of the Rand Commission prompted the Chapekar brothers and other members of the revolutionary Chapekar Club to take action against Rand.
- The Chapekar brothers had formed a revolutionary organization called “Chapekar Club” for physical and military training.
Source – The Hindu
