Har Dayal
Har Dayal was an influential Indian nationalist and political activist born in Delhi, India, in 1884. He excelled academically, earning advanced degrees in English literature and securing a Government of India scholarship for further studies before returning to India in protest against British educational practices. Dayal became a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement while living abroad, particularly in the early 20th century, collaborating with fellow activists like Bhikhaji Cama in Paris and later establishing the Gadar Party in San Francisco. The Gadar Party aimed to rally Indian immigrants in the U.S. to overthrow British rule in India, and Dayal's leadership and eloquent speeches motivated many to join the cause.
Throughout his life, Dayal engaged with various ideologies, influenced by figures such as Karl Marx and Mikhail Bakunin, while advocating for the rights and welfare of Indian immigrants. His experiences included lecturing at Stanford University, founding the Bakunin Institute, and publishing works on Indian philosophy. After facing arrest in the U.S. for his activism, he eventually relocated to Europe, where he continued his scholarly pursuits and advocacy until his death in Philadelphia in 1939. Dayal's contributions remain significant in understanding the global context of India's struggle for independence and the role of expatriate communities in that movement.
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Har Dayal
Indian-born activist, orator, and writer
- Pronunciation: DI-ahl
- Born: October 14, 1884
- Birthplace: Delhi, British India (now India)
- Died: March 4, 1939
- Place of death: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
An Indian American activist known for advocacy of Indian independence from British colonial rule, Har Dayal is credited with founding the anti-imperial Gadar Party. Influenced by Marxist, anarchist, and Buddhist ideas, he traveled throughout the United States, Europe, and India, lecturing, writing, and organizing. He accepted the rule of Great Britain as the most beneficent form of imperialism in 1919.
Areas of achievement: Activism, government and politics, philosophy
Early Life
Born in Delhi, India, Har Dayal was the sixth of seven children and the son of a scholar of Persian and Urdu. A Hindu, Dayal excelled in his studies in English literature at Punjab University, where he earned a master’s degree. He received a Government of India scholarship for study in history and economics from 1905 to 1907, and Oxford University offered him a postgraduate position in Sanskrit and history. He refused the latter scholarship, however, on the principle that the British educational system was wrong for India. Dayal returned to India, where he entered into politics.
Beginning in September 1909, Dayal, along with political activists Bhikhaji Cama and S. R. Rana, edited the nationalist periodical Bande Mataram in Paris, France. He next lived in Algeria and then moved on to the Caribbean island of Martinique, where he practiced an ascetic lifestyle and was visited by Bhai Parmanand, an Arya Samaj missionary. (Arya Samaj is a Hindu religious and cultural movement.) Dayal left Martinique to travel to the United States. He moved from Boston to California and then to Honolulu, Hawaii, where he took up meditating on the beach in Waikiki and wrote the piece “Some Phases of Contemporary Thought in India” before returning to California.
Dayal’s influences included the Arya Samaj, the Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama), Indian revolutionary Shyamji Krishnavarma, Italian nationalist Giuseppe Mazzini, German social theorist Karl Marx, and Russian anarchist Mikhail Bakunin.
Life’s Work
Arriving in California in June 1911, Dayal was drawn to the intellectual communities of the San Francisco Bay area. He took an unsalaried position at Stanford University in 1911, giving lectures in Indian philosophy. He joined the local branch of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), becoming secretary of its local branch, and in Oakland, he founded the Bakunin Institute of California, with connections to the Mexican Liberal Party. He obtained funding from a wealthy Sikh farmer of Stockton, California, to provide fellowships to the University of California, Berkeley, for six Indian students. Although crop failure forced the farmer to discontinue his support, Dayal was inspired to continue on his activist journey.
Sponsored by the New Hindu Association of the Pacific Coast, Dayal visited a series of Indian communities in agricultural and lumbering areas up and down the West Coast. Some two hundred Indians gathered to hear him speak in Astoria, Oregon, where he described the dire poverty in India and other consequences of colonialism imposed by the “British Vampire.”
When representatives of American and Canadian immigrant organizations gathered in Portland, Oregon, in spring of 1913, they agreed to join together as the Hindustanee Association of the Pacific Coast with Dayal as general secretary. By November, the Gadar Party—gadar means “rebellion” or “mutiny”—was established under Dayal’s leadership and headquartered in San Francisco. The party established a printing press and a weekly newspaper, the Hindustan Gadar.
On March 26, 1914, US authorities had Dayal arrested for sedition and ties to anarchist organizations. He posted bail and argued his case in the association’s newspaper and other periodicals. Facing possible deportation, he left the country for Switzerland; from there, he moved to Germany. After studying Germany’s imperialist intentions against Turkey, Dayal revised his views on Great Britain, judging the country as benevolent in comparison to Germany and more disposed to serve the interests of India and countries in the Middle East. As for India’s internal government, Dayal advocated a rule guided by the interests of the peasant majority but with police and army officers mostly remaining English or European.
Dayal moved on to Sweden in 1918, where he lived for ten years, earning his living by lecturing on Indian philosophy and culture. In 1930, he earned a doctorate at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies; his dissertation was titled The Bodhisattva Doctrine in Buddhist Sanskrit Literature. Dayal’s book Hints of Self-Culture was published in 1932. Dayal continued lecturing tours through Europe, the United States, and India. He died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on March 4, 1939.
Significance
As was the case with many nationalist groups based outside their homeland, the Gadar Party depended heavily on its highly educated founders; Har Dayal was among the group’s most significant leaders. A charismatic speaker, Dayal lectured and rallied supporters. He was noted for his rational mind, keen intellect, and lifelong devotion to political activism. The Gadar Party espoused anti-imperialist views and welfare among Indian immigrants, inspiring hundreds of Indian immigrants in the United States to return to India with the aim of overthrowing the British colonial government.
Bibliography
Brown, Emily C. Har Dayal, Hindu Revolutionary and Rationalist. Tucson: U of Arizona P, 1975. Print. A biography of Dayal that sheds light on the surrounding intellectual era from which Dayal emerged.
Chan, Sucheng. Asian Americans: An Interpretive History. New York: Twayne, 1991. Print. Places ethnic groups within the context of American culture and history and includes a detailed discussion of Dayal’s leadership and the Gadar Party.
“Har Dayal, Rebel, Recants His Views.” New York Times 8 June 1919: n. pag. Print. An informational article about Dayal’s trip to Germany and subsequent decision to support Great Britain’s efforts in India.
Singh, Jane. “The Gadar Party: Political Expression in an Immigrant Community.” Asian American Studies: A Reader. Ed. Jean Yu-wen Shen Wu and Min Song. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 2000. 35–46. Print. A close examination of the Gadar Party with regard to Indian nationalism and the politicization of immigrant communities.