Krantiguru Shyamji Krishna Verma
Shyamji Krishna Varma, also known as Shyamji Krishna Nakhua, was one of the greatest revolutionaries that the Indian independence movement witnessed. A lawyer and a journalist professionally, Shyamji Krishna Varma was also an expert in the Sanskrit language. In fact, he had a deep knowledge about several other languages spoken in India. However, it is his revolutionary spirit that Shyamji Krishna Varma is best remembered for. He laid the foundation of the Indian Home Rule Society and the India House which worked towards inspiring youngsters in Britain to take up revolutionary activities against their own representatives in India. Having completed his graduation from the Balliol College under the University of Oxford in England, Shyamji Krishna Varma escaped to England when differences arose between him and the British rulers in India. Dayanand Saraswati and Herbert Spencer were his chief inspirations on the path to revolution.
Shyamji Krishna Varma was born on October 4, 1857 in the city of Mandvi, located in the Kutch province of Gujarat. He was born as Shyamji Krishna Nakhua, a surname that was used for his community during the old days. Shyamji Krishna's parents passed away when he was just 11 years old, leaving him in the care of his grandmother. Shyamji Krishna Varma was a student at a local school in the Bhuj district of Gujarat. He later shifted to Mumbai to complete his education after studying the elementary years in his home state. It was in Mumbai that Shyamji Krishna Varma developed a love for Sanskrit and other Indian languages. In the year 1875, Shyamji Krishna Varma married Bhanumati, a girl hailing from a rich business family of Gujarat and also the sister of one of his school friends.
The very next year, in 1876, Shyamji Krishna Varma was deeply moved by the reformist teachings of the guru of the Vedas, Swami Dayananda Saraswati and from the very same year adopted his principles and teachings to nurture his own nationalistic dreams for the country. The year 1877 saw Shyamji Krishna Varma give a public speech on Vedic philosophy and religion on the lines of his guru Swami Dayananda Saraswati. He came to be regarded as such a wonderful orator that the Pandits of Kashi bestowed upon him the title of Pandit in 1877. His deep knowledge of the Sanskrit language caught the attention of Monier Williams, a professor of the subject in Oxford University. Williams offered Shyamji Krishna Varma the post of his assistant in Oxford and this marked Shyamji Krishna's first trip abroad.
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