भारतीय इतिहास के ६ स्वर्णिम पृष्ठ (वीर सावरकर - विदेशी आक्रान्ताओं पर विजय गाथा)

figures to hundreds of the leaders belonging to different provinces, I had either developed friendly ties or had to fight political battles on many occasions. Lokmanya Tilak, Shivrampant Paranjpe, Shreemant Dadarao Khaparde, Dr. Moonje and the other Maharashtrian leaders of that line were individually so closely acquainted with me that some of them and the staunch nationalist leaders from other provinces, too, bestowed parental affection on me. For example, while Bipin Chandra Pal was in England, I was staying with him for sometime in company with his son, Niranjan Pal. Bipin Babu himself had more than once cooked fish and flesh in the Bengali style and had served them to me with great importunity and had added to his moral credit the meritorious act of polluting a strictly vegetarian Maharashtrian Brahmin like myself. With the future exponent of the ‘non- violent truth-assertion’ (Satyagrah), ‘non-coperation movement’ who later on came to be widely known as Mahatmaji—I happened to be closely acquainted in a fiendly way when he had come to England, where he was then known simply as Barrister Gandhi and thereafter throughout our lives, we came together and many times in conflict—in the political arena in India. And my relations with armed revolutionary party in India are too well- known to be recounted here! The All-India leadership of the post- Chaphekar revolutionary activities had by chance devolved on me at least in the beginning—first in Maharashtra and thereafter in England. Need it be told, that I had developed very close acquaintance with thousands of brave martyrs and gallant fighters of that party? Shyamji Krishan Verma, Madame Cama, Barrister Rana and many other elder and eminent personalities were among those who were converted to our revolutionary views through my propaganda and guidance. Thus, I had very close contacts and personal friendship with various great personalities from all over India. To the thousands of members of my revolutionary secret society, the Abhinav Bharat Samastha, right from its original nucleus at Nasik and Bhagur to its innumerable branches in many foreign countries, I had myself administered the oath of all allegiance in person. The martyr Madanlal Dhingra, Lala Hardayal, Bhai Parmanandji, Chattopadhyaya, Senapati Bapat, the great historian, Dr. Jayaswal, Tirumalacharya, “Rishi” Aiyar—how many names can one recount? Thereafter, when I was sent to the Andamans on transportation for life, I had the company of Pulin Bihari Das, the Chief of the Anushilan Samiti, Barindra Ghosh of Yugantar Samiti, Upendranath Bannerjee, Ashutosh Lahiri, Hemchandra Das and other Bengali