Explained: Who is freedom fighter Pandurang Khankhoje whose statue will be inaugurated in Mexico?

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s visit to Canada has put the limelight on Maharashtra-born revolutionary Pandurang Sadashiv Khankhoje (1886- 1967). Birla is currently in Canada to attend the 65th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Halifax. Sharing pictures with the Indian diaspora in Toronto ahead of his visit to Halifax for the conference, Birla tweeted on 23 August, “On way to Halifax to attend #65CPC, met Indian diaspora in Toronto. Shared with them India’s successful journey in economy, science, tech. & other fields. Happy to note that they are contributing significantly to development of Canada while staying rooted to motherland.”

On way to Halifax to attend #65CPC, met Indian diaspora in Toronto. Shared with them India's successful journey in economy, science, tech. & other fields. Happy to note that they are contributing significantly to development of Canada while staying rooted to motherland. pic.twitter.com/8lubwxH6Eh

— Om Birla (@ombirlakota) August 23, 2022

The Lok Sabha Speaker is slated to travel to Mexico where he will unveil statues of Swami Vivekananda and agriculturalist Pandurang Khankhoje. Let’s have a look at Pandurang Khankhoje and how he became a renowned agricultural scientist in Mexico: Who was Pandurang Khankhoje? Born in the late 19th century in Maharashtra’s Wardha, Pandurang Khankhoje completed his higher studies in Nagpur. Khankhoje’s daughter Savitri Sawhney writes in his biography on his early days, “As a student, Khankhoje was an ardent admirer of the French Revolution and of the American War of Independence. Closer to home, the Hindu reformer Swami Dayanand and his Arya Samaj movement, which called for a spirit of reform and social change, became the hero to a young student group led by Khankhoje.” As per Live History India, Khankhoje was inspired by freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak.

The meeting with Tilak in the early 1900s lit the fire of an armed struggle against the British in Khankhoje.

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Tilak urged him to visit Japan to learn from the 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War wherein Russia and Japan battled in Korea and the Sea of Japan following years of conflict over control of Manchuria. After staying for a while in Japan, where Khankhoje also met Chinese revolutionaries, he moved to the US. Life in the US and formation of Ghadar Party In US’ Oregon, Khankhoje worked along with Indian labourers at a lumber mill. Later at Stanford University, he met Lala Har Dayal. Har Dayal had begun a propaganda campaign, publishing a newspaper that featured patriotic songs and articles in the vernacular languages of India. This was the seed from which the Ghadar Party would emerge in 1913,” writes Sawhney in Khankhoje’s biography. As the Ghadar Party was formed in the US, Khankhoje, as one of the founders, used his military experience at Mount Tamalpais to train volunteers, mostly retired servicemen, to foment trouble for the British in India. However, due to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, their plans for a militant action in India were foiled. While he met Indian workers at the farm in the US, Khankhoje, who was encouraged by the Mexican Revolution of 1910, also interacted with Mexican workers. In 1915, as the Ghadar movement faded, Khankhoje left for Paris to meet Madame Bhikaji Cama who sent him to Germany where he came in contact with Virendranath Chattopadhyaya, brother of Sarojini Naidu, in Berlin. Chattopadhyaya, who was leading a group of Indian freedom fighters, instilled in him a new hope. Later he met Vladimir Lenin in Russia after the Russian Revolution in 1917. “Although Khankhoje would remain deeply committed to the ideals and principles of Lenin, he was also aware that India was not ready for communism,” says Sawhney on the duo’s meet. How Pandurang Khankhoje won Mexico? Fearing the British secret service, Khankhoje set sail to Mexico. He was appointed as a professor at the National School of Agriculture in Chapingo owing to his earlier friendship with Mexican revolutionaries, as per The Indian Express. Soon, he dedicated himself to the Mexicans and started studying the cultivation of new varieties of high-yielding corn and wheat, with emphasis on drought- and disease-resistant varieties, and hence became a part of the efforts to usher in the Green Revolution in Mexico. According to Scroll.in, the local press in Mexico dubbed Khankhoje “Wizard of Chapingo and the Hindu savant, the man who created wonders with nature”. Commenting on her father’s contribution in the field of agriculture, Savitri Sawhney writes in his biography, “…Khankhoje’s experiments with corn were a seminal contribution to the research and study of better varieties. These studies, many years later, would inform the Green Revolution spearheaded by Norman Borlaug. In turn, the Green Revolution would benefit India immensely, which in its way was the fulfillment of Khankhoje’s initial dream: to provide food for the people of India. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.