Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, A Forgotten Hero of India’s freedom Struggle

Veer Savarkar

In India, some nationalists have always celebrated the life of Swatantryaveer or Savarkar, a strong proponent of a Hindu Rashtra (Hindu Nation), while others see him as an extremist who begged for mercy to British when he was jailed during the freedom struggle at the Cellular Jail, infamously known as “Kala Paani” (black waters) at Port Blair, Andaman. History might have been or have not been twisted to suit the political regime in India, but it is either a tyranny or a nefarious design that Savarkar’s brave and courageous contribution in India’s freedom struggle is forgotten. Forget giving him a due place in the freedom movement, even today his name is being used as a political tool to set agenda of vested political interests. Not only Savarkar, there are many freedom fighters like Subhas Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh, Khudiram Bose, Chandra Shekhar Azad, Ram Prasad Bismil, Vasudeo Balwant Phadke, Madan Lal Dhingra and many more who are similar victims of political misadventures and have been denied rightful place in the arena of Indian history of freedom movement.

Veer Savarkar was born as Vinayak damodar Savarkar on 28^th May 1883 in a village named Bhangur, near Nashik. He was one among four children born to Damodar Pant Savarkar and Radhabai. Savarkar had faced many challenges and ups and downs in his life and even after death in 1966. As a consequence, his teachings and writing have not been fully explored. However, one thing is certain that he was a true nationalist who always stood for an idea of a great independent India and so, deserves a right place in Indian history. He advocated idea of Hindutva and also envisioned “Akhanda Bharath” where all sects will coexist together peacefully without any barriers of caste, color, creed or race.

There are many facts about Veer Savarkar which Indian population at large is in general, ignorant and therefore it would be proper to remember the life of the forgotten hero by every Indian.

1.      At the age of fifteen years he organized a gang of kids called ‘Mitra Mela’ (Band of Friends) to propagate the idea of nationalism.

2.     Vinayak Damodar Savarkar had three other siblings namely,  Ganesh (also known as Babarao) and Narayan as brothers and sister Maina. Babarao Savarkar became a great revolutionary, philosopher, writer and organizer of Hindus in his own right.

3.     He was greatly inspired by Lokamanya Balgangadhar Tilak. While pursuing his B.A from Fergusson College in Pune, Tilak’s announcement to boycott British clothes. He went a step ahead and was first to set a bonfire of his foreign clothes and goods. He also organized a political outfit “Abhinav Bharat” while studying in Fergusson College.

4.     He was the first student whose graduation degree was withdrawn by British government as he participated in freedom movement.

5.      In June 1906 he went to London to become Barrister. He was the first student who refused to take the customary oath of loyalty to British government after completing his law study and as a consequence, he was banned for carrying out legal profession. 

6. In 1909, he was charged for plotting an armed revolt against the Morle-Minto reform and was arrested. He made an attempt to escape by diving in the water but was arrested as he reached the shore. 

7. Savarkar was the first Indian historian whose book on the 1857 “War of Independence” was banned by British Authorities in India even before its publication. The Governor General had asked the Postmaster General to confiscate copies of the book six months before the book was officially banned (1909).

Savarkar's Cell in Cellular Jail

8. Savarkar was the first person to be sentenced for double life imprisonment. On July 1911, Savarkar was sentenced to two life sentences i.e. 50 years in the cellular jail of Andamans. Indian National Congress had filed a mercy petitions and pressured the British for his release. As result, he was shifted to Yerwada Jail in 1923.  Gandhi was also kept that time in Yerwada jail but the two were not allowed to meet. Savarkar was released in 1924 under strict conditions of not participating in politics for 5 years and barring him to leave Ratnagiri district. 

9. Having barred from participate in politics and leave Ratnagiri, he decided to work on abolishment of untouchability in Ratnagiri. He gained great success in eradicating untouchability within 2 years. Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar compared his work to Lord Buddha. 

10. Not one but eight biographies and books of Savarkar were banned by the British:

·        His biography of Mazzini (in Marathi) was banned in 1908.

·        Indian War of Independence 1857 was banned in 1909.

·        The drama Usshaap was banned in 1927.

·        The magazine Shraddhanand run by Savarkar’s brother Narayanrao and which carried Savarkar’s articles was banned on 10 May 1930.

·        In July 1931, Punjab Govt banned his biography in Urdu. This was followed by bans on his biographies in Tamil, Kannada, and Marathi.

·        My Transportation for Life (in Marathi) was banned in 1934. On 24 Oct 1940, his biography in Tamil was banned.

·        In November 1941, even a small biography of him by GP Parchure was banned.

·        In November 1943, Marathi biography by SL Karandikar was banned.

11. The term Hindutva was coined by Veer Savarkar. He emphasized its distinctiveness from Hinduism; which he associated with political communalism. His idea of Hindutva embraces all the departments of thought and activity of the whole being of Hindu race.

12. Veer Savarkar was the first poet in the world who was deprived of pen and paper in a jail. The poet in Savarkar found a nail inside his cell and with it, he wrote (etched) his epic ‘Kamala’ consisting thousands of lines on the plastered mud wall of his dark cell.

13. Veer Savarkar pioneered the ‘Shuddhi’ movement for reconversion of Hindu-Muslims back to Hinduism. The movement was against the Muslims who were forcing their religion on Hindus using prison authorities.

14. According to Veer Savarkar, the Hindu society was bound by following seven Bandis (Prohibitions) which he opposed and worked for liberation from them;

                           i.          prohibition of touch of certain castes-(sparshabandi)

                          ii.          prohibition of inter-dining with certain castes-(rotibandi) 

                        iii.          prohibition of inter-caste marriages-(betibandi)

                        iv.          prohibition of pursuing certain occupations-(vyavasayabandi)

                         v.          prohibition of seafaring-(sindhubandi)

                        vi.          prohibition of rites sanctioned by the Vedas-(vedoktabandi)

                      vii.          prohibition of reconversion  to the Hindu fold-(shuddhibandi)

15. Savarkar was inspired by the Marathi poet-saints Sant Tukaram and Samarth Ramdas. He was also deeply influenced by Maratha history and specially Chhatrapati Shivaji who shaped Savarkar's personality. Swami Vivekananda and Swami Ram Tirth also had great influence in Savarkar’s life.

16. Savarkar hoisted both Bhagwa and Indian Tricolour Flags to celebrate India's independence on 15th August, 1947.

17. Savarkar was imprisoned twice in independent India. He was first arrested after the Gandhi murder on charges of conspiring to kill Gandhi but later let off due to lack of evidence against him.

He was arrested again on the midnight of 02 and 03 April 1950 on eve of the Nehru-Liaquat Pact to which Savarkar was opposed. According to the agreement, the governments of India and Pakistan had agreed that each shall ensure, to the minorities throughout its territories, complete equality of citizenship, irrespective of religion; a full sense of security in respect of life, culture, property and personal honour. Savarkar was opposed to this Pact as he apprehensive that while the Indian Government would keep its promise, the Pakistani Government would go back on the same and the life, freedom and dignity of the Hindus in Pakistan would continue to be in jeopardy.

18. In 1964, Savarkar felt his goal of Independence India is achieved and it was time to leave. So he declared his wish to attain Samadhi and started hunger-strike on February 1, 1966 and passed away on February 26, 1966. He justified this act with an article titled “atmahatya nahi atmaarpan” in which he wrote that, when one’s life mission is over and ability to serve the society is left no more, it is better to end the life at will rather than waiting for death. He succumbed to his “atmaarpan” and died on 26 February 1966 at the age of 83. 2,000 RSS workers gave his funeral procession a guard of honour.

19. In 1970, Indira Gandhi’s government issued a postal stamp in honor of Veer Savarkar. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Vajpayee government in 2002 had named the airport at Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar’s capital, as ‘Veer Savarkar International Airport’.

20. On February 26, 2003, at the instance of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government,   the President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam unveiled the portrait of Veer Savarkar in the Central Hall of Parliament by

21. History has not been kind to Savarkar. Even today after 52 years of his death many politicians has been very unkind in their words about him for political reasons.

My blood started boiling when I visited the Cellular Jail at Port Blair few years back and when I imagined about the suffering of Veer Savarkar and other freedom fighters jailed & inhumanly tortured there. The cost of India’s freedom is immense in terms of the blood of innumerable unknown soldiers of freedom movement and cannot be ever forgotten.

Savarkar’s famous Marathi song “sāgarā prāṇa taḻamaḻalā” written in deep loving and painful remembrance of his motherland, India while he was studying law at London is reproduced below with an upload of video (with English translation) of the song beautifully sung by the Indian nightingale Lata Mangeshkar, her sisters Usha and Meena and Hridaynath Mangeshkar; Hope readers will like it.

ने मजसी ने परत मातृभूमीला सागरा प्राण तळमळला ॥

भूमातेच्या चरणतला तुज धूता मी नित्य पाहिला होता
मज वदलासी अन्य देशि चल जाऊ सृष्टिची विविधता पाहू
तैं जननीहृद् विरहशंकितहि झाले परि तुवां वचन तिज दिधले
मार्गज्ञ स्वये मीच पृष्ठि वाहीन त्वरित या परत आणीन
विश्वसलो या तव वचनी मी जगद्नुभवयोगे बनुनी मी
तव अधिक शक्ती उद्धरणी मी येईन त्वरे कथुनि सोडिले तिजला ॥
सागरा प्राण तळमळला

शुक पंजरि वा हरिण शिरावा पाशी ही फसगत झाली तैशी
भूविरह कसा सतत साहु या पुढती दशदिशा तमोमय होती
गुणसुमने मी वेचियली या भावे की तिने सुगंधा घ्यावे
जरि उद्धरणी व्यय न तिच्या हो साचा हा व्यर्थ भार विद्येचा
ती आम्रवृक्षवत्सलता रे नवकुसुमयुता त्या सुलता रे
तो बाल गुलाबहि आता रे फुलबाग मला हाय पारखा झाला ॥
सागरा प्राण तळमळला

नभि नक्षत्रे बहुत एक परि प्यारा मज भरतभूमिचा तारा
प्रासाद इथे भव्य परी मज भारी आईची झोपडी प्यारी
तिजवीण नको राज्य मज प्रिया साचा वनवास तिच्या जरि वनिचा
भुलविणे व्यर्थ हे आता रे बहु जिवलग गमते चित्ता रे
तुज सरित्पते जी सरिता रे त्वदविरहाची शपथ घालितो तुजला ॥
सागरा प्राण तळमळला

या फेनमिषें हससि निर्दया कैसा का वचन भंगिसी ऐसा
त्वत्स्वामित्वा सांप्रत जी मिरवीते भिनि का आंग्लभूमीते
मन्मातेला अबला म्हणुनि फसवीसी मज विवासनाते देशी
तरि आंग्लभूमी भयभीता रे अबला न माझि ही माता रे
कथिल हे अगस्तिस आता रे जो आचमनी एक क्षणी तुज प्याला ॥
सागरा प्राण तळमळला

ne majasī ne parata mātṛbhūmīlā sāgarā prāṇa taḻamaḻalā ||

bhūmātecyā caraṇatalā tuja dhūtā mī nitya pāhilā hotā
maja vadalāsī anya deśi cala jāū sṛṣṭicī vividhatā pāhū
taiṁ jananīhṛd virahaśaṁkitahi jhāle pari tuvāṁ vacana tija didhale
mārgajña svaye mīca pṛṣṭhi vāhīna tvarita yā parata āṇīna
viśvasalo yā tava vacanī mī jagadnubhavayoge banunī mī
tava adhika śaktī uddharaṇī mī yeīna tvare kathuni soḍile tijalā ||
sāgarā prāṇa taḻamaḻalā

śuka paṁjari vā hariṇa śirāvā pāśī hī phasagata jhālī taiśī
bhūviraha kasā satata sāhu yā puḍhatī daśadiśā tamomaya hotī
guṇasumane mī veciyalī yā bhāve kī tine sugaṁdhā ghyāve
jari uddharaṇī vyaya na ticyā ho sācā hā vyartha bhāra vidyecā
tī āmravṛkṣavatsalatā re navakusumayutā tyā sulatā re
to bāla gulābahi ātā re phulabāga malā hāya pārakhā jhālā ||
sāgarā prāṇa taḻamaḻalā

nabhi nakṣatre bahuta eka pari pyārā maja bharatabhūmicā tārā
prāsāda ithe bhavya parī maja bhārī āīcī jhopaḍī pyārī
tijavīṇa nako rājya maja priyā sācā vanavāsa ticyā jari vanicā
bhulaviṇe vyartha he ātā re bahu jivalaga gamate cittā re
tuja saritpate jī saritā re tvadavirahācī śapatha ghālito tujalā ||
sāgarā prāṇa taḻamaḻalā

yā phenamiṣeṁ hasasi nirdayā kaisā kā vacana bhaṁgisī aisā
tvatsvāmitvā sāṁprata jī miravīte bhiuni kā āṁglabhūmīte
manmātelā abalā mhaṇuni phasavīsī maja vivāsanāte deśī
tari āṁglabhūmī bhayabhītā re abalā na mājhi hī mātā re
kathila he agastisa ātā re jo ācamanī eka kṣaṇī tuja pyālā ||
sāgarā prāṇa taḻamaḻalā

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