The supreme sacrifice of Anant Kanhere , Krishnaji Karve & Vinayak Deshpande is a glorious chapter in the history of Nashik.   
Anant Kanhere 
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 !   

Jackson  
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.  
 
 

Gopal Karve	Vinayak Deshpande

Jackson Murder 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:-  
 

Name	Arrested  on	Made Statement  on
Anant Laxman Kanhere	21st  December 1909	21st December 1909.
Krishna Gopal Karve	24th December 1909	6th January 1910.
Vinayak Narayan  Deshpande	23rd December 1909	6th January 1910.
Shankar Ramchandra  Soman	23rd December 1909	6th January 1910.
.Waman Daji Narayan Joshi	30th December 1909	4th January 1910.
Ganesh B. Vaidya	22nd December 1909	2nd january 1910.
Dattatraya Pandurang  Joshi	22nd December 1909	5th January 1910.

   
Who Were They?  

Anant Laxman Kanhere 
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.  

Krishnaji Gopal Karve 
Gopal Karve was a scholar of Hindu philosophy . He had a great faith in the idea of reincarnation . He , therefore , used to say , " If I die early , I will be reborn early & can start fighting with the Britishers again ." Karve told the court that even if it appeared that he was not responsible for the assassination , in  fact , responsibility lay on his shoulders. 
He was a B.A(Hons.) & was studying law at  Mumbai. He was then 23 years old . He was the moving spirit of one of the secret organizations in Maharashtra. He initiated Shankar Ramchandra Soman in the secret organization. He knew the preparation of bombs & taught the process to Soman & Chandratre. He purchased seven Browning pistols , one revolver, & one country-made   pistol from one Gopalrao Patankar, who had received the parcel of Browning  pistols sent by V.D Savarkar  through his cook Chaturbhuj. This was in May or June 1909.  

Vinayak Narayan Deshpande 
He was 21 years old . He was a member of the secret  organization. He was the First Assist ant teacher  in the Panchvati school at Nashik. He was married. He conducted a handloom as an additional vocation. On the  third floor of the building where this handloom was working there was an old darkroom, where Deshpande & others of the secret meetings. Deshpande had collected some explosives, which were kept in a box. 

Shankar Ramchandra Soman 
He was a student aged 18 years.  

Waman Daji Narayan Joshi 
He was 20 years old. He was a teacher in the Panchvati school.  

Ganesh Vaidya 
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.  

Dattatraya Pandurang Joshi 
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 & Wamanrao Joshi .  
It is a matter of pride for Nasikites that all of them hailed from Nashik !