Virendranath Chattopadhyaya - in England

In England

In 1902, Viren joined the University of Oxford, while preparing for the Indian Civil Service. Later, he became a law student of the Middle Temple. While frequenting Shyamji Krishnavarma’s India House at 65 Cromwell Avenue in London, Viren became closely acquainted with V.D. Savarkar (since 1906). In 1907, Viren was on the editorial board of Shyamji’s Indian Sociologist. In August, along with Madame Cama and S.R. Rana, he attended the Stuttgart Conference of the Second International where they met delegates including Hyndman, Karl Liebknecht, Jean Jaurès, Rosa Luxemburg and Ramsay Macdonald, among others. Vladimir Lenin attended, but it is not certain if Viren met him on this occasion.

In 1908, at “India House” he came in contact with a number of important “agitators” from India: G.S. Khaparde, Lajpat Rai, Har Dayal, Rambhuj Dutt and Bipin Chandra Pal. In June 1909, at an India House meeting, V.D. Savarkar strongly advocated assassinations of the Englishmen in India. On 1 July, at the Imperial Institute in London, Sir William Curzon-Wyllie, political aide-de-camp at the India Office, was assassinated by Madanlal Dhingra, who was deeply influenced by Savarkar. Viren published a letter in The Times on 6 July in support of Savarkar, and was promptly expelled from the Middle Temple by the Benchers . In November 1909, he edited the short-lived but virulent nationalist periodical Talvar (‘The Sword’).

In May 1910, seizing the opportunity of tension between England and Japan over the Korean peninsula, Viren discussed the possibility of Japanese help to Indian revolutionary efforts. On June 9, 1910, along with D.S. Madhavrao, he followed V.V.S. Aiyar to Paris, to avoid a warrant issued for his arrest. Upon reaching France, he joined the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO).