Built in 1932 by veteran Congressman and freedom fighter Kakasaheb Gadgil, Wada was a microcosm of all the zeal and passion of the freedom struggle.
Built in 1932 by veteran Congressman and freedom fighter Kakasaheb Gadgil, Wada was a microcosm of all the zeal and passion of the freedom struggle.
As the country gears up for the 75th anniversary of its independence, the venerable walls of ‘Gadgil Wada’ in the heart of old Pune bear witness to a fascinating phase of the freedom struggle.
At first glance, the three-story structure in the city’s Shaniwar Peth seems no different from the 1,200-odd ‘vadas’ that formed the pulsating heart of Peshwa-era Pune.
Nevertheless, it was at Gadgil Wada that Pune made its significant foray into the freedom struggle through the towering personality of Kakasaheb Gadgil, who bought the plot where the structure was constructed in 1932.
It was here in 1942, after the release of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) from Ahmednagar jail, that Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhai Patel and Maulana Azad among others came to ponder over the future course of the freedom struggle.
It was at Gadgil Wada that the reorganization of the Samajwadi Rashtra Seva Dal was planned in the early 1940s under the leadership of SM Joshi, NG Gore and socialists like Shirubhau Limaye and Kakasaheb.
The story begins in the early 1930s when Kakasaheb, looking for land to build a house in Shaniwar Peth, saw crows drinking water in the north-east corner of this plot.
“According to a belief of Kakasaheb, this meant that this house on this plot would never be without a visitor. Today the Wada turns 90 and is 75. th Independence anniversary of India. Not a single day passes when a visitor is not curious to know what happened here and what were the great men who graced its premises,” says senior Congressman Anant Gadgil, who is Kakasaheb Gadgil’s grandson.
Interestingly, despite being at the center of the right-wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), WADA has been a confluence of competing ideologies – Left, Center and Right – with everyone from Congress leaders and prime ministers to the BJP’s Atal Bihari Vajpayee. set foot there.
“The region is dominated by a fanatical RSS Brahmin population. Nevertheless, Gadgil Wada, a beacon of egalitarian political ideology, soon became the center of Pune’s independence movement, as Kakasaheb, influenced by the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, immersed heart and soul in the freedom struggle,” says Anant Gadgil. They are the third generation of this illustrious political family after Kakasaheb and his father, former minister Vitthal Gadgil.
The main attraction of the wada is the 500-square-foot courtyard at the center, which was always occupied by freedom fighters and used to plan their next move, says Anant Gadgil.
“In 1942, after the release of the Congress Working Committee from Ahmednagar Jail, Sardar Patel suggested that before going to Delhi, all of them should deliberate for some time in a ‘free atmosphere’ at a nearby place. When asked for suggestions as to which would be the most suitable place, Pandit Nehru immediately responded saying why seek such a place when our friend Kakasaheb has a home in Pune,” says Mr. Gadgil.
It was then that the entire Congress came to CWC Pune and stayed at Gadgil Wada for three days and deliberated.
“There was no ‘resort culture’ then. And it should be noted that these big leaders – Pandit Nehru, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad, Rajendra Prasad and others slept on simple mattresses,” Mr Gadgil said today to all parties in the country. Pointing to the deterioration of the political culture, he quipped.
Wada is a microcosm of all the enthusiasm and passion of the freedom struggle. At one point, the British government decided to arrest Kakasaheb for making a series of inflammatory speeches.
The entire area around Gadgil Wada, known as ‘Mehenpura’, was cordoned off by the police, who laid a trap to arrest Kakasaheb and other leaders.
Although Gadgil Wada has a huge entrance, it can only be entered through a small gate inside.
When the police raided the house, Anandibai Gadgi [Kakasaheb’s wife] He stood like a rock by stopping them, demanding the reasons for their intrusion and vehemently questioning the police whether they had a warrant.
Anant Gadgil recalls, “His bold strategy of engaging the police in the debate for almost half an hour gave the freedom fighters locked in the house, time to masquerade and bolt under the nose of the British police.”
In a thrilling escape, the then senior socialist leader SM Joshi disguised himself as a Muslim, while NG Gore disguised as a Parsi.
They left unrecognized under the nose of the British police. Meanwhile, Kakasaheb, along with several other freedom fighters, jumped from the balcony to a temple complex behind.
Despite Kakasaheb being an ardent believer in Mahatma Gandhi’s ideal of ‘non-violence’, the Wada was often used as a ‘safe home’ by freedom fighters of all kinds.
“Once, when the police raided Gagdil Wada, they found literature on bomb making which actually belonged to other revolutionaries using the Wada. Kakasaheb was not even aware of it as he was in jail. had planned to kill some English officers during a cultural event and also bought tickets for the center seats in each row so that they could pass bombs from under the seats to the first row. While this plan failed, this freedom There is evidence of Wada’s ‘adjustable nature’ during the battle,” says Mr. Gadgil.
How apparent the dichotomy between competing ideologies was at the time is best illustrated in an interesting anecdote from the early 1940s.
One day, as senior socialist leaders SM Joshi, NG Gore and S Limaye were walking towards Wada, they saw Kakasaheb’s son, a teenager Vithal Gadgil (later a Congress veteran in his own right) playing cricket on the street. Motibagh, which was the main center of the RSS, was located barely 500 feet from Gadgil Wada.
“In a memorable conversation the socialists told Kakasaheb that today this generation is playing outside Motibagh, but tomorrow they should not be a part of Motibagh,” recalls Anant Gadgil.
The same evening, socialist leaders met at WADA and decided to reorganize the Rashtriya Seva Dal to counter the RSS ideologically.
And yet, despite many dignitaries – from Gulzarilal Nanda to Chandrashekhar to IK Gujral (when he was the prime minister) visiting this iconic wada – it was the visit of Atal Bihari Vajpayee that had a touch of humor about it. was.
Reportedly, when Mr. Vajpayee asked Vitthal Gadgil (Kakasaheb’s son) the address of the wada, VN Gadgil told Droli: “There is no need for the address. There is an RSS ‘desert’ called Shaniwar Peth. Once you’re there, the only oasis you’ll see is my home.”
“Vajpayee ji laughed a lot about it. But then, the charm of this wada was such that everyone who came here got mesmerized by it,” says Anant Gadgil.