Both bravery and controversy are associated with their names. Veer Savarkar is for his supporters and Mafiveer in the eyes of his opponents. He was punished with double black water in the freedom struggle. Faced inhuman torture in Andaman’s Cellular Jail. yoked to the crusher. Jumped into the sea in an attempt to escape. But his mercy petitions to get out of jail and then his role in the Gandhi assassination surrounded him with controversies.
There is his picture in the Parliament House. Name plaque also in Cellular Jail. There is a demand for Bharat Ratna for him. On the other hand, opponents completely reject them. Of course, he was not a part of any government in independent India, but even after six decades of his death, he often remains at the center of discussion and debate. On the occasion of his death anniversary, read interesting stories related to the life and thoughts of Savarkar.
Strong national consciousness since adolescence
Born on 28 May 1883 in Bhagur village of Nashik district of Maharashtra, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar had strong national consciousness since his adolescence. The secession movement of 1905 created intense anger in his mind against British rule and slavery. While studying in Pune, he founded a secret organization called Abhinav Bharat, whose objective was to achieve independence through armed revolution.
For further studies he went to London, where he joined India House, a center for Indian students. He was looking for students with nationalist thinking. Soon his contact with revolutionaries Shyamji Krishna Verma and Madan Lal Dhingra intensified. He was an excellent speaker and skilled writer. He also had unique organizational skills.
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
1857 was not the Sepoy Mutiny, it was the first war of independence.
The first struggle for the country’s independence in 1857 thrilled Savarkar. He believed that liberation from British slavery was possible only through armed struggle. He wanted the message of the Revolution of 1857 to resound in the country. How is this possible? He brought this struggle alive in his book The Indian War of Independence 1857. In the eyes of the British, this was just a sepoy mutiny. But Savarkar established the war of 1857 as the first war of independence for the first time with facts and arguments.
This book worried the British government and banned it considering it a big threat. But despite all the restrictions, its copies kept secretly reaching India, getting printed and being read among the people. This book especially inspired the young generation to awaken revolutionary consciousness and move forward in the struggle against the British.
jump into the sea to escape
On 21 December 1909, Nashik Collector Jackson was shot dead by the revolutionary youth Anant Laxman Kanhare. The allegation was that the pistol with which Jackson was shot was sent by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, who was studying law in London. On this charge, Savarkar was arrested in London on 13 March 1910. He was sent to Bombay for trial on 1 July 1910 by ship under tight police security.
On July 8, Savarkar jumped into the sea from a small window of the washroom. The coast of Marseille (France) was nearby. Savarkar hoped that even if he was caught, he would be prosecuted as per French law. But unfortunately the French brigadier who caught them at a short distance did not know English. He could not understand Savarkar’s request to produce him before the French magistrate and handed him over to the pursuing British soldiers.
On 23 December 1910, the court sentenced Savarkar to life imprisonment.
Black water punishment, life worse than animals
Further, a case was filed against him in the Nashik Conspiracy Case in the Bombay court. On 23 December 1910, the court sentenced him to life imprisonment and confiscation of all his property. This was not enough. On January 30, 1911, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in another trial for inciting the murder of Jackson. Combining both the sentences, Savarkar had to spend the next 50 years in Andaman Cellular Jail, the most dangerous of that era.
On June 30, 1911, he entered the Cellular Jail. His new identity was prisoner number 32778. In jail, prisoners were kept in conditions worse than animals. The situation of basic needs like daily routine and bathing was dire. The condition of food was also bad. There was no provision of medicine for the disease. There was a rapid rate of death of prisoners due to lack of treatment. On the other hand, prisoners were made to work hard. In the crusher, a plow would be used instead of a bull. Savarkar faced all these cruel punishments with courage for the next ten years. They kept scratching on the walls with hooks and memorizing it.
Those six letters!
But Savarkar’s six letters to get out of jail are a subject of controversy during his lifetime and even today. In these letters, he expressed regret for his actions and assured to stay away from anti-British government activities. According to jail records, despite writing pardon petitions since 1911, the British government kept him there for the next 10 years. In 1921, he was transferred from Cellular Jail to Ratnagiri Jail.
Critics of Savarkar say that when he apologized and was released from jail and he gave a written guarantee to stay away from the anti-British government struggle in the future, then why should he be called a hero? He will be called Mafi Veer. But Savarkar and his supporters define the purpose of these letters in a different way. According to Savarkar himself, “Political prisoners were made to sign a contract that they would never take part in politics and revolution in the future or for a certain number of years. Again, if the charge of treason is proved against me, I will also have to face the punishment of life imprisonment.”
There would be heated debate among the prisoners whether they agreed to these conditions or not. After receiving the pardon telegram, a heated debate began among the prisoners as to whether such a condition was imposed, whether they should accept it or not? According to Savarkar, any condition favorable to the future and national interest should have been accepted. To justify his step, he mentioned many incidents related to Shivaji, Guru Gobind Singh and Shri Krishna. He considered it necessary to get out of jail for the future needs of the country.
kept arguing and chasing
It is possible that these letters of Savarkar would have been forgotten, but his future role created two groups that stood for and against him. In 1937 he became the President of All India Hindu Mahasabha. During the Second World War, he supported the recruitment of Hindus into the British Army, thinking that military training would be useful in the future. His stance was contrary to Congress’s Quit India Movement of 1942.
As a result, he became the target of a large section of nationalist ideology. After independence, he was once again at the center of controversies. He was arrested for conspiracy to assassinate Mahatma Gandhi. Although the court acquitted him due to lack of sufficient evidence, his ideological opponents never considered him acquitted.
Opponents put him at the center of discussion
In reality, more than the supporters, the opponents have kept Savarkar at the center of discussion and controversy. Relations between Savarkar and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh were never cordial. Savarkar complained about the Sangh not being associated with the Hindu Mahasabha. Despite similar thinking on the question of Hindutva, Savarkar and the Sangh were not seen moving together. But the opposition always kept him in a box.
To attack the Sangh, the opposition always considered Savarkar to be associated with the Sangh. Of course, Savarkar could not garner public support through Hindu Mahasabha in electoral politics before and after independence, but on the ideological front, he created a rival to Gandhi. Gandhiji and Savarkar have been symbols of opposing viewpoints in political discourse. The goal of both was India’s independence, but there were deep differences in their path, philosophy, definition of nationalism and social outlook.
Mahatma Gandhi. Photo: Getty Images
Gandhi-Savarkar two sides
Mahatma Gandhi chose non-violence and Satyagraha as the weapons of freedom. He talked about fighting power through moral and social strength. In his opinion, truth is God and non-violence is its path. The reaction to violence gives rise to violence, which is ultimately negative for any nation or society. He considered Swaraj based on non-violence as his objective.
In contrast, Savarkar preferred armed struggle for independence and radical nationalism. The essence of his thoughts lies in the meaning of Hindutva and nationalism, in which a strong, determined and (if necessary) violent resistance is considered necessary.
In his book Essentials of Hindutva, he saw Indian nationalism as a strong political and strategic force. At the heart of Savarkar’s thought was the mentality of national self-defense, Hindu unity, and armed and intensive struggle, which was clearly different from Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violence-based strategy. Interestingly, amidst these differences, the Sangh Parivar expresses equal respect for Gandhi and Savarkar and remembers their contribution to the country. The present government at the Center also takes forward this thinking and does not leave any opportunity to remind Savarkar along with Gandhi.
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