The begining of 20th century witnessed increase in atrocities by Britishers on the innocent Indians. Lokmanya Tilak was put behind the bars for 6 years. Babarao alias Ganesh Damodar Savarkar was sentenced to life imprisonment for publishing the patriotic songs of his younger brother Vinayak Savarkar. Jackson, the then collector of Nashik, was responsible for prosecution of Babarao Savarkar. He tortured Waman Sakharam Khare, a well-known lawyer, so much that Khare lost his mental balance. The only ‘offence’ of Khare was : he pleaded for revolutionaries.

All these incidences evoked a sharp reaction in the patriotic youths of Nashik. The last straw came when a British officer beat a farmer to death for not allowing his vehicle to overtake. When the situation was heating up to the boiling point, Jackson was transferred on promotion outside Nashik. Kanhere & his friends made up their minds : It’s now or never!

A farewell ceremony was arranged for Jackson in the Vijayanand theatre. (The picture show the enterance of the theatre where Jackson was murder.) A famous Marathi drama Sharada was staged to mark the occasion. Anant Kanhere & his friends were all set to execute their plan. Anant grabed the opportunity & fired at Jackson. As per the plan, Anant tried to commit suicide but he failed to do so. He used one of the 20 revolvers which were sent by Veer Savarkar from England. The historical day was : December 21, 1909.

It was planned that only Anant should take entire responsibility of the assassination so that other conspirators would remain in dark. But it did not happen. The Police arrested Krushnaji Gopal Karve, Vinayak Narayan Deshpande, Shankarrao Soman, Wamanrao Joshi & Ganu Vaidya. All these youths were detained in the Sarkarwada & were treated brutally to know more about the conspiracy. The torturing Police team was headed by Alikhan who was reputed for his inhuman behavior. The prosecution of these brave youths is well-known in the history of India as ‘Nashik Conspiracy Case’.

The following persons were arrested in connection with the murder of Mr. Jackson, Collector of Nashik, on the night of the 21st December, 1909:

Born in 1891. Elder brother Ganpatrao, younger brother Shankarrao. Two sisters. started life at Indore. Went to Aurangabad to his uncle Barve in 1903 for further study. His brother Ganpatrao at Barsi. Anant stayed with this brither for some time. In 1908 he returned to Aurangabad & stayed in a hired room in one Gangaram Rupchand Shroff’s house. Gangaram had a friend at Yevla named Tonpe. He was a member of the secret of Nashik. One Ganu Vaidya of Nashik used to visit Yevla to meet his relative. Ganu became acquainted with Gangaram at Yevla. He went with Gangaram to aurangabad to purchase cheap weapons for the Nashik Secret Socitey. Anant became acquainted with this Vaidya at Aurangabad.

Born in 1891. Elder brother Ganpatrao, younger brother Shankarrao. Two sisters. started life at Indore. Went to Aurangabad to his uncle Barve in 1903 for further study. His brother Ganpatrao at Barsi. Anant stayed with this brither for some time. In 1908 he returned to Aurangabad & stayed in a hired room in one Gangaram Rupchand Shroff’s house. Gangaram had a friend at Yevla named Tonpe. He was a member of the secret of Nashik. One Ganu Vaidya of Nashik used to visit Yevla to meet his relative. Ganu became acquainted with Gangaram at Yevla. He went with Gangaram to aurangabad to purchase cheap weapons for the Nashik Secret Socitey. Anant became acquainted with this Vaidya at Aurangabad.

He was a student aged 18 years.

He was 20 years old. He was a teacher in the Panchvati school.

He was the person who collected & stored explosives & weapons for the secret society. It was to him that Anant expressed his willingness to do something by way of retalition against the barbarous conviction of Savarkar.

He was a student at Aurangabad & a friend of Anant, In the court, Anant Kanhere defended himself without any lawer. During the prosecution, he was calm & quiet. He was so much stable-both physically & mentally- that, according to the official records, he put on 15 pounds of weight during this period!

On 7th March 1910 all the accused were presented before court. They included Anant Kanhere, Krishnaji Karve, Vinayak Deshpande,Shankarrao Soman, Wamanrao Joshi, Ganu Vaidya & Dattu Joshi. Hundreds of citizens had gathered outside the court to have a ‘Darshan’ of these courageous youths. Justice Mr. Hiton was so much impressed by Anant’s personality that he remarked.

“I am very sorry that I have to sentence him to death.” It was on 20th March, 1910 that the court declared the verdict. Kanhere, Karve & Deshpande were to be hanged. Shankarrao Soman, Wamanrao Joshi & Ganu Vaidya were given life imprisonment. However, later on, Ganu Vaidya was treated accomplished. Soman & Wamanrao Jashi were to be taken to Andaman – Kala Pani . But Soman (fortunately ? ) passed away before sending to Andaman. Wamanrao Joshi had to undergo the agony of the cellular jail in Andaman. Kanhere, Karve & Deshpande were hanged to death on 19th April 1910. Krishnaji Karve was the only son of his parents. His supreme sacrifice brought an end to his clan.

At cellular jail of Andaman we find there a list of 300 prisoners who were kept in the jail. The list includes three Maharashtrians: Svatantryaveer Savarkar, Babarao Savarkar and Wamanrao Joshi

It is a matter of pride for Nasikites that all of them hailed from Nashik !