[4] During his stay in Britain, he was associated with India House, spending a majority of his time learning bomb-making skills instead of pursuing his official studies.

He had joined the staff of Mahratta and was one of several influential figures from the Poona area who were aligned with Bal Gangadhar Tilak's attempts to establish local organisations supporting the cause of Indian independence.

This was a considerable shift, given his firebrand nature and willingness to use violence, but although he took the Gandhian oath of non-violence he remained willing to use force when he thought it necessary.

[7] From 1921, Bapat led the three-year farmers' protest (satyagraha) against the construction of the Mulshi Dam by the Tata company.

Ghanshyam Shah considers this to be "the first recorded organised struggle against [forced] displacement" caused by an irrigation project.

[citation needed] Major public roads in Pune and Mumbai have been named in his honour,[10] and he featured in issue 303 of the Amar Chitra Katha comic book series in 1984.