The Chapekar Brothers:
On June 22, 1897, the three Chapekar brothers executed the assassination of British official Walter Charles Rand in Pune to avenge colonial atrocities committed during the bubonic plague.
- The Chapekar brothers—Damodar Hari Chapekar (28), Balkrishna Hari Chapekar (24), and Vasudeo Hari Chapekar (18)—were late 19th-century Indian revolutionaries who pioneered armed resistance against British colonial rule.
- Hailing from the Konkan region, they achieved historic prominence as the only instance where three biological brothers were hanged in the service of India’s independence.
- In October 1896, the bubonic plague spread to Pune. To control the outbreak, Bombay Governor Sandhurst appointed Walter Charles Rand as the Poona Plague Committee Chairman.
- Rand deployed British soldiers who enforced highly insensitive measures. Troops entered private residences with leather boots, violating the sanctity of domestic kitchens and home temples.
- Incensed by these acts, the brothers plotted to assassinate Rand during Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee celebration on June 22, 1897. They even sent a preemptive letter to Rand warning him of the attack.
- Waiting near the Mutha river bridge, the brothers used their secret code Gondya ala re (originally a phrase used to safely change the topic whenever their government-employed uncle entered the room).
- The Fatal Mistake: Due to confusion in the dark, the youngest brother Vasudeo signaled an attack on the wrong coach, causing Balkrishna to shoot and instantly kill Lieutenant Charles Ayerst. Realizing the error, Damodar jumped onto the second carriage and shot Rand, who succumbed to his injuries on July 3.
