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{{short description|Indian revolutionary (1892-1910)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Original research|date=June 2014}}
{{more citations needed|date=June 2014}}
}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Anant Laxman Kanhere
| honorific_prefix = ''[[Martyr|Hutatma]]''
| birth_date = {{birth-date|7 January 1892}}
| image = Revolutionary, Anant Lakshman Kanhere.jpg
| caption = Anant Laxman Kanhere
| birth_place = Aayani ([[Anjani railway station|Anjani]]), [[Ratnagiri District]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{d-da|19 April 1910|7 January 1892}}
| death_place = [[Thane]], [[British India]]
| death_cause = [[Execution by hanging]]
| known_for = [[Indian independence movement]]
}}
'''Anant Laxman Kanhere''' (7 January 1892 – 19 April 1910) was an Indian [[freedom fighter]]. On 21 December 1909, he shot [[A. M. T. Jackson|Arthur Mason Tippetts Jackson''',''']] who was the [[district collector]] of [[Nashik]] in [[British India]]. The murder was an important event in the history of [[Nashik]] and the Indian revolutionary movement in [[Maharashtra]].

==Background==
Kanhere was born on 7 January 1892 in Aayani ([[Anjani railway station|Anjani]]), a small village in [[Khed taluka, Ratnagiri|Khed Taluka]], [[Ratnagiri district]] in a Chitpavan Brahmin family. He completed his primary education in Nizamabad (which was then also called as Indur), and his English education took place in Chatrapati Sambhaji Nagar(Then Aurangabad). In 1908, Kanhere returned to Chatrapati Sambhaji Nagar where he met with members of secret revolutionary groups. Gangaram had a friend at Yewale named Tonpe. He was member of the secret society of Nashik. One Ganu Vaidya used to visit Yewala to meet his relative. Vaidya and Gangaram once went to purchase a weapon for the Nashik Secret Society. Anant acquainted with this Vaidya at Chatrapati Sambhaji Nagar(Maharashtra).<ref name="Gazetteer">{{cite web |last1=Pathak |first1=Arunchandra |title=History, British Period |url=https://cultural.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/Nasik/005%20History/004%20BritishPeriod.htm |website=www.cultural.maharashtra.gov.in |publisher=Govt. of maharashtra |access-date=3 May 2020}}</ref> [[File:Full photo of Anant Kanhere.jpg|thumb|Full photo of Anant Kanhere]]

== Jackson assassination ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=February 2017}}
{{Main| Nasik Conspiracy}}
Jackson, a British officer, was aware of these activities. He started mixing with people, unlike other British officers, and made an image of himself as a people-friendly officer. He told people that he was a [[Vedas|Vedic]]-literate [[Brahmin]] in his previous life and that was why he felt affection towards the Indian people. He used to talk to people in [[Marathi language|Marathi]] and had knowledge of [[Sanskrit]].

Jackson was alleged to be instrumental in the arrest and prosecution of [[Babarao Savarkar]] for printing a sixteen-page book of the songs of [[Kavi Govind]], although this is not confirmed.

[[File:The two men in black coats, revolutionary Krishna Karve (sitting) and Vinayak Deshpande (standing).jpg|thumb|The two men in black coats, revolutionary Krishna Karve (sitting) and Vinayak Deshpande (standing).]]

A revolutionary group headed by [[Krishnaji Karve]] decided to eliminate Jackson in the first month of 1910 in response.<ref name="Gazetteer" /> However, by the end of 1909, Jackson was promoted to the post of Commissioner of [[Mumbai]]. Karve, [[Vinayak Deshpande]], and Kanhere decided to eliminate Jackson before his transfer. People in Nashik arranged a farewell for Jackson at Vijayanand theatre in Nashik and staged the drama [[Sangeet Sharada]] in his honour. Kanhere decided that he would kill Jackson and commit suicide by poison to avoid capture and save his other partners. The backup plan was that Deshpande was going to shoot Jackson if Kanhere's attempt failed. If both these failed, Karve was also carrying a weapon.

On 21 December 1909, after Jackson had arrived to see the play, Kanhere jumped in front of him and fired four bullets at him from [[Browning Arms Company|Browning pistol]].<ref name="Gazetteer" /> Jackson was killed immediately. One of the Indian officers, Mr. Palshikar, and former DSP Mr. Marutrao Toradmal, attacked Kanhere with their batons. Other people present caught Kanhere and he was not able to shoot himself or get the poison. A copy of paper written by Karve named "Murder for Murder" was discovered from him.<ref name="Gazetteer" />

Kanhere, now 18, admitted his part in the killing. On 29 March 1910, the Chief Justice of Bombay found him guilty. He was hanged in the Thane Prison on 19 April 1910. Along with Kanhere, Karve and Deshpande were also hanged. The other accused in the case Shankar Ramchandra Soman, [[Vaman Narayan Joshi|Waman ''alias'' Daji Narayan Joshi]] and Ganesh BalajiVaidya were given Transportation of Life (Life imprisonment) punishment and Dattatraya Pandurang Joshi was sent to two years rigorous imprisonment.<ref name="Gazetteer" /> None of the relatives of these three were present during the executions. Their bodies were burnt by the prison officers rather than being released to the families, and the remaining ash was thrown in the sea near Thane.
[[File:The three revolutionaries of Nasik, Krishna Karve, Anant Kanhere and Vinayak Deshpande.jpg|thumb|The three revolutionaries of Nasik, Krishna Karve, Anant Kanhere and Vinayak Deshpande]]

==Legacy ==

* Maharashtrains revere Anant Kanhere as a great martyr, revolutionary.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nashik: वेळ... |url=https://marathi.abplive.com/news/nashik/maharashtra-news-nashik-news-113-years-since-jackson-s-murder-at-vijayanand-theater-in-nashik-1133360/amp&ved=2ahUKEwjWi9y1wJWBAxX9UGwGHYCWC2o4FBAWegQIFBAB&usg=AOvVaw23YZZvavP6DY7AfyeYSYtA |website=[[ABP Majha]]}}</ref>
* A 2014, Marathi film ''[[1909 (film)|1909]]'' is based on Anant Kanhere, assassination of Collector Jackson. The initial premier of this film was released on 21 December 2013 on the very same day Jackson was killed at Vijyanand Theatre, Nasik. This is India's oldest theatre and also the exact location where Jackson was killed. The role of Jackson is played by Charles Thomson, an Australian now living in India and working in Bollywood films.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}
* [[Hutatma Anant Kanhere Maidan|A major cricket ground]] in Nashik city is named in Anant Kanhere's honour, it host domestic matches of tournaments such as [[Ranji Trophy|Ranji trophy]]. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Anant Kanhere maidan Nashik |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricket-grounds/anant-kanhere-maidan-nasik-274830&ved=2ahUKEwi4gce0vpWBAxWCklYBHfXWADUQFnoECBcQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3gkq3DvaHh1KWd_46_Cy39 |access-date=September 6, 2023 |website=ESPN Cricinfo}}</ref>

==References==

{{Reflist}}
* Swantrya Yadnyatil Tajasvi Agnishalaka Hutatma Anant Laxman Kanhere by Davendranath N Pandya, Shree Vade Publication, Nashik
* Parakrami Yuvak Anant Kanhere was written by Prof. Dr. M B Kulkarni. Publisher: Bhartiya Itihas Sankalan Samiti, Nashik Branch
* {{cite book|title=Government of Bombay Source Material for A History of the Freedom Movement in India - Vol. II 1885-1920|date=1958|publisher=Government Central Press, India|url=https://archive.org/details/mkbook0900mkga}}
* Nashik Conspiracy case- Historical cases from Mumbai Highcourt archived documents [http://bombayhighcourt.nic.in/libweb/historicalcases/cases/Nasik_Conspiracy_Case_-1910.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090409230639/http://bombayhighcourt.nic.in/libweb/historicalcases/cases/Nasik_Conspiracy_Case_-1910.html |date=9 April 2009 }}
{{Indian Revolutionary Movement}}

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanhere, Anant Laxman}}
[[Category:1892 births]]
[[Category:1910 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century executions by British India]]
[[Category:Executed assassins]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Indian nationalist assassins]]
[[Category:Indian people convicted of murder]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian murderers]]
[[Category:Juvenile offenders executed by the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Male juvenile murderers]]
[[Category:Minors convicted of murder]]
[[Category:People executed by British India by hanging]]
[[Category:People from Ratnagiri district]]
[[Category:People convicted of murder by India]]
[[Category:Revolutionary movement for Indian independence]]

Anant Laxman Kanhere - Revision history

FerminDodson605 at 17:06, 7 January 2026