Vishnu Ganesh Pingle

Vishnu Ganesh Pingle
Vishnu Ganesh Pingle while a student at the University of Washington
Born	1888 Talegaon, Pune
Died	16 November 1915 Lahore, British India
Other names	Baburde Ganesh Pingle
Organization	Ghadar Party
Movement	Swadeshi movement, Indian Independence movement, Ghadar Conspiracy

Vishnu Ganesh Pingle was an Indian revolutionary and a member of the Ghadar Party who was one of those executed in 1915 following the Lahore conspiracy trial for his role in the Ghadar conspiracy.

Vishnu Ganesh Pingle was born in 1888 to a Marathi Brahmin family Talegaon Dhamdhere, near Pune District. The youngest of nine siblings, Pingle grew up in a loving family and at the age of nine was admitted to the primary school in Talegaon. In 1905, Pingle enrolled at the Maharashtra Vidyalaya in Pune which at the time was linked to the Bombay University. While at school, Pingle came under the influence of the nationalist movement of the time, and actively participated in the movement under V. D. Savarkar. However, Pingle later transferred to the Samarth Vidyalaya in Talegoan in 1908 following the closure of Maharashtra Vidyalay due to shortage of funds. However, his early involvement in the nationalist movement left a lasting imprint.

In 1910, Samartha Vidyalaya was closed by the British Government. Vishnu left for Mumbai and found employment in Govindrao Potdar's Pioneer Alkali works at Mahim. Mr. Potdar was a nationalist and an expert at explosives. He belonged to the Nationalist Group and introduced Vishnu to his associates. One of them was Hari Laxman Patil, a lawyer from Vasai, with whom Vishnu came to form a close friendship. At the height of the Swadeshi Movement, inspired by the Japanese handloom industry, Pingle began his own small Swadeshi loom at Awasha, near Latur. However, Pingle's ambition was to be an engineer.

Vishnu was also strongly influenced by the history of the American War of Independence. In 1911, Pingle left Awasha for the United States. It is said that he kept the news of his impending departure from his family and only told his elder brother Keshavrao of his plans at the railway station. He reached America via Hong Kong, and enrolled as a student of mechanical engineering at the University of Washington in 1912. While in the United States, Pingle became associated with the Ghadar Party and became an active worker. As World War I opened in Europe, plans began between the Germans, the Berlin Committee in Europe and the Ghadarite movement in America to attempt an insurrection in India.