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Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (
pronunciation (help·info)) (28 May 1883 – 26 February 1966) was an
Indian,
Hindutva activist,
lawyer,
politician,
poet,
writer and
playwright. Savarkar coined the term
Hindutva
(Hinduness) to create a collective "Hindu" identity as an essence of
Bharat (India). His political philosophy had the elements of
utilitarianism,
rationalism and
positivism,
humanism and
universalism, and
realism. Savarkar was also an
atheist who disapproved of orthodox beliefs in all religions.
Savarkar's revolutionary activities began while studying in India and England, where he was associated with the
India House and founded student societies including
Abhinav Bharat Society and the
Free India Society, as well as publications espousing the cause of complete Indian independence by revolutionary means. Savarkar published
The Indian War of Independence about the
Indian rebellion of 1857 that was banned by British authorities. He was arrested in 1910 for his connections with the revolutionary group
India House. Following a failed attempt to escape while being transported from
Marseilles, Savarkar was sentenced to two life terms of imprisonment totaling fifty years and was moved to the
Cellular Jail in the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, but released in 1921.
While in jail, Savarkar wrote the work describing
Hindutva,
espousing what it means to be a Hindu, and Hindu pride, in which he
defined as all the people descended of Hindu culture as being part of
Hindutva, including Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs. In 1921, under
restrictions after signing a plea for
clemency, he was released on the condition that he renounce revolutionary activities. Traveling widely, Savarkar became a forceful
orator and writer, advocating Hindu political and social unity. Serving as the president of the
Hindu Mahasabha, Savarkar endorsed the ideal of India as a
Hindu Rashtra and opposed the
Quit India struggle in 1942, calling it a "Quit India but keep your army" movement. He became a fierce critic of the
Indian National Congress and its acceptance of
India's partition. He was accused of the
assassination of
Mahatma Gandhi but acquitted by the court.
The airport at
Port Blair,
Andaman and Nicobar's capital, has been named
Veer Savarkar International Airport.
[8] The commemorative
blue plaque on India House fixed by the
Historic Building and Monuments Commission for England reads "Vinayak Damodar Savarkar 1883-1966 Indian patriot and philosopher lived here".
[9] In the recent past, the
Shiv Sena party has demanded that the Indian Government posthumously confer upon him India's highest civilian award, the
Bharat Ratna.
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was born in the
Marathi Chitpavan Brahmin Hindu family of Damodar and Radhabai Savarkar in the village of Bhagur, near the city of
Nashik, Maharashtra. He had three other siblings namely
Ganesh, Narayan, and a sister named Maina.
He earned the nickname "Veer" (Sanskrit:braveheart)when at the age of
12, he led fellow students against a rampaging horde of Muslims that
attacked his village. Highly outnumbered, he inspired the boys to
fight-on until the last Muslim was driven off. Later, he is known to
have stated: "Do not fear them. The Almighty is your strength, so fight,
even when facing an enemy stronger than yourself"
After the death of his parents, the eldest sibling Ganesh, known
as Babarao, took responsibility of the family. Babarao played a
supportive and influential role in Vinayak's teenage life. During this
period, Vinayak organised a youth group called
Mitra Mela (
Band of Friends)
and encouraged revolutionary and nationalist views of passion using
this group. In 1901, Vinayak Savarkar married Yamunabai, daughter of
Ramchandra Triambak Chiplunkar, who supported his university education.
Subsequently, in 1902, he enrolled in
Fergusson College, in
Pune . As a young man, he was inspired by the new generation of radical political leaders namely
Bal Gangadhar Tilak,
Bipin Chandra Pal and
Lala Lajpat Rai along with the political struggle against the
partition of Bengal and the rising
Swadeshi campaign. After completing his degree, nationalist activist
Shyamji Krishna Varma
helped Vinayak to go to England to study law, on a scholarship. It was
during this period that the Garam Dal, literally "Army of the angry,"
was formed under the leadership of
Tilak
as a result of a split between the moderate, "constitutionalist" wing
on the one part, and of Tilak's extremist or radical wing in the
Indian National Congress.
The members of the Garam Dal, did not acknowledge the agenda of the
majority moderate Indian National Congress leadership which advocated
dialogue with the British rulers and incremental steps towards
Independence by gaining confidence of the British. Tilak was soon
imprisoned for his support of revolutionary activities.
Activities at India House
After joining
Gray's Inn law college in London Vinayak took accommodation at
India House. Organized by expatriate social and political activist
Pandit Shyamji, India House was a thriving centre for student political activities. Savarkar soon founded the
Free India Society to help organize fellow Indian students with the goal of fighting for complete independence through a revolution, declaring,
We
must stop complaining about this British officer or that officer, this
law or that law. There would be no end to that. Our movement must not be
limited to being against any particular law, but it must be for
acquiring the authority to make laws itself. In other words, we want
absolute independence.
Savarkar envisioned a guerrilla war for independence along the lines
of the famous war for Indian independence of 1857. Studying the history
of the revolt, from English as well as Indian sources, Savarkar wrote
the book,
The History of the War of Indian Independence.
He analysed the circumstances of 1857 uprising and assailed British
rule in India as unjust and oppressive. It was via this book that
Savarkar became one of the first writers to allude the uprising as
India's "First War for Independence."
The book was banned throughout the
British Empire.
Madame Bhikaji Cama,
an expatriate Indian revolutionary obtained its publication in the
Netherlands, France and Germany. Widely smuggled and circulated, the
book attained great popularity and influenced rising young Indians.
Savarkar was studying revolutionary methods and he came into contact
with a veteran of the
Russian Revolution of 1905
who imparted him the knowledge of bomb-making. Savarkar had printed and
circulated a manual amongst his friends on bomb-making and other
methods of
guerrilla warfare.
In 1909,
Madan Lal Dhingra, a keen follower and friend of Savarkar, assassinated
Sir William Hutt Curzon Wyllie
in a public meeting. Dhingra's action provoked controversy across
Britain and India, evoking enthusiastic admiration as well as
condemnation. Savarkar published an article in which he all but endorsed
the murder and worked to organize support, both political and for
Dhingra's legal defence.
At a meeting of Indians called for a condemnation of Dhingra's
deed, Savarkar protested the intention to condemn and was drawn into a
hot debate and angry scuffle with other participants. A secretive and
restricted trial and a sentence awarding the death penalty to Dhingra
provoked an outcry and protest across the Indian student and political
community. Strongly protesting the verdict, Savarkar struggled with
British authorities in laying claim to Dhingra's remains following his
execution. Savarkar hailed Dhingra as a hero and
martyr, and began encouraging revolution with greater intensity.
Arrest in London and Marseille
In India, Ganesh Savarkar had organised an armed revolt against the
Morley-Minto reforms of 1909.
[ The British police implicated Savarkar in the investigation for allegedly plotting the crime.
[ Hoping to evade arrest, Savarkar moved to Madame Cama's home in Paris.
He was nevertheless arrested by police on 13 March 1910. In the final
days of freedom, Savarkar wrote letters to a close friend planning his
escape. Knowing that he would most likely be shipped to India, Savarkar
asked his friend to keep track of which ship and route he would be taken
through.
[citation needed] When the ship SS
Morea reached the port of
Marseille on 8 July 1910, Savarkar escaped from his cell in the hope that his friend would be there to receive him in a car.
[citation needed] But his friend was late in arriving, and the alarm having been raised, Savarkar was re-arrested.
Case before the Permanent Court of Arbitration
Savarkar's arrest at Marseilles caused the French government to
protest to the British, arguing that the British could not recover
Savarkar unless they took appropriate legal proceedings for his
rendition. The dispute came before the
Permanent Court of International Arbitration in 1910, and it gave its decision in 1911. The case excited much controversy as was reported by the
New York Times, and it considered it involved an interesting international question of the right of asylum.
The Court held, firstly, that since there was a pattern of
collaboration between the two countries regarding the possibility of
Savarkar's escape in Marseilles and there was neither force nor fraud in
inducing the French authorities to return Savarkar to them, the British
authorities did not have to hand him back to the French in order for
the latter to hold rendition proceedings. On the other hand, the
tribunal also observed that there had been an "irregularity" in
Savarkar's arrest and delivery over to the Indian Army Military Police
guard.
Trial and Sentence
Arriving in
Bombay, Savarkar was taken to the
Yervada Central Jail in
Pune.
Following a trial, Savarkar, aged 28, was convicted and sentenced to
50-year imprisonment and transported on 4 July 1911 to the infamous
Cellular Jail in the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Prisoner in Cellular Jail in Andaman
His fellow captives included many political prisoners, who were
forced to perform hard labour for many years. Reunited with his brother
Ganesh, the Savarkars nevertheless struggled in the harsh environment:
Forced to arise at 5 am, tasks including cutting trees and chopping
wood, and working at the oil mill under regimental strictness, with
talking amidst prisoners strictly prohibited during mealtime. Prisoners
were subject to frequent mistreatment and torture. Contact with the
outside world and home was restricted to the writing and mailing of one
letter a year. In these years, Savarkar withdrew within himself and
performed his routine tasks mechanically. Obtaining permission to start a
rudimentary jail library, Savarkar would also teach some fellow
convicts to read and write.
Mercy Petitions
Savarkar applied to the Bombay Government for certain concessions in
connection with his sentences. However, by Government letter No. 2022,
dated 4 April 1911, his Application was rejected and he was informed
that the question of remitting the second sentence of transportation for
life would be considered in due course on the expiry of the first
sentence of transportation for life.
[22]
Merely a month after arriving in the Cellular Jail, Andaman and
Nicobar Islands, Savarkar submitted his first mercy petition on 30
August 1911. This petition was rejected on 3 September 1911
[23]
Savarkar submitted his next mercy petition on November 14, 1913,
and presented it personally to the Home Member of the Governor General’s
council, Sir Reginald Craddock.
[24] In his letter, asking for forgiveness, he described himself as a "
prodigal son" longing to return to the "
parental doors of the government". He wrote that his release from the jail will recast the faith of many Indians in the British rule. Also he said "
Moreover,
my conversion to the constitutional line would bring back all those
misled young men in India and abroad who were once looking up to me as
their guide. I am ready to serve the government in any capacity they
like, for as my conversion is conscientious so I hope my future conduct
would be. By keeping me in jail, nothing can be got in comparison to
what would be otherwise."
In 1917, Savarkar submitted another mercy petition, this time for
a general amnesty of all political prisoners. Savarkar was informed on
February 1, 1918 that the mercy petition was placed before the British
Indian Government
.
On 30 March 1920, Savarkar submitted his fourth mercy petition to the British Government,
[27] in which he stated that
"So
far from believing in the militant school of the Bukanin type, I do not
contribute even to the peaceful and philosophical anarchism of a
Kuropatkin [sic.] or a Tolstoy. And as to my revolutionary tendencies in
the past:- it is not only now for the object of sharing the clemency
but years before this have I informed of and written to the Government
in my petitions (1918, 1914) about my firm intention to abide by the
constitution and stand by it as soon as a beginning was made to frame it
by Mr. Montagu. Since that the Reforms and then the Proclamation have
only confirmed me in my views and recently I have publicly avowed my
faith in and readiness to stand by the side of orderly and
constitutional development."
In 1920, the
Indian National Congress and leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi,
Vithalbhai Patel
and Bal Gangadhar Tilak demanded his unconditional release. Savarkar
signed a statement endorsing his trial, verdict and British law, and
renouncing violence, a bargain for freedom.
Jaywant Joglekar, who authored a book euologising Savarkar as 'Father of Hindu Nationalism',considers Savarkar's appeal for clemency a tactical ploy, like
Shivaji's letter to
Aurangzeb, during his arrest at
Agra etc.
However, such claims are disputed by others. The Indian historian
Bipan Chandra
claimed that post Savarkar's release from jail, he was not an
anti-imperialist any longer, and that he accepted the humiliating
conditions of his release set forth by the British government, including
his non-participation in politics
A portrait of Savarkar was unveiled in the Indian Parliament in 2003.
Restricted Freedom in Ratnagiri
On 2 May 1921, the Savarkar brothers were moved to a jail in
Ratnagiri,
and later to the Yerwada Central Jail. He was finally released on 6
January 1924 under stringent restrictions – he was not to leave
Ratnagiri District
and was to refrain from political activities for the next five years.
As a political internee in Ratnagiri he demanded an amount of Rs 100 per
month. The British Government agreed on a stipend of Rs 60 per month in
lieu of his compulsory unemployment. However, police restrictions on his activities would not be dropped until provincial autonomy was granted in 1937.
Views
Hindu nationalism
During his incarceration, Savarkar's views began turning increasingly
towards Hindu cultural and political nationalism, and the next phase of
his life remained dedicated to this cause. In the brief period he spent at the Ratnagiri jail, Savarkar wrote his ideological treatise –
Hindutva: Who is a Hindu?.
Smuggled out of the prison, it was published by Savarkar's supporters
under his alias "Maharatta." In this work, Savarkar promotes a radical
new vision of Hindu social and political consciousness. Savarkar began
describing a "Hindu" as a patriotic inhabitant of
Bharatavarsha, venturing beyond a religious identity.
[34][36] While emphasising the need for patriotic and social unity of all Hindu communities, he described
Hinduism,
Jainism,
Sikhism and
Buddhism as one and the same. He outlined his vision of a "
Hindu Rashtra" (
Hindu Nation) as "
Akhand Bharat" (
United India), purportedly stretching across the entire
Indian subcontinent. He defined Hindus as being neither
Aryan nor
Dravidian but as "People who live as children of a common motherland, adoring a common holyland."
Scholars, historians and Indian politicians have been divided in
their interpretation of Savarkar's ideas. A self-described atheist,
Savarkar regards being Hindu as a cultural and political identity. He
often stressed social and community unity between Hindus, Sikhs,
Buddhists and Jains, to the exclusion of Muslims and Christians.
Savarkar saw Muslims and Christians as "misfits" in the Indian
civilization who could not truly be a part of the nation.
[39]
He argued that the holiest sites of Islam and Christianity are in the
Middle East and not India, hence the loyalty of Muslims and Christians
to India is divided.
After his release from jail on 6 January 1924. Savarkar helped found the
Ratnagiri Hindu Sabha, aiming to work for the social and cultural preservation of Hindu heritage and civilisation.Becoming a frequent and forceful orator, Sarvakar agitated for the use of
Hindi as a common national language and against
caste discrimination and
untouchability.
Another activity he started was to reconvert to Hinduism those
who had converted to other faiths. This included the eight members of a
Brahmin family named Dhakras who had converted to Christianity. Savarkar
re-converted the family at a public function and also bore the marriage
expenses of the two daughters in the family.
Focusing his energies on writing, Savarkar authored the
Hindu Pad-pada-shahi– a book documenting the
Maratha empire – and
My Transportation for Life – an account of his early revolutionary days, arrest, trial and incarceration. He also wrote and published a collection of poems, plays and novels. He also wrote a book named
Majhi Janmathep ("My Life-term") about his experience in Andaman prison.
WW2, fascism
In many of Savarkar's speeches and writings, he praises
Nazi ideology.
Savarkar criticized Nehru for opposing Nazism, arguing "Surely Hitler
knows better than Pandit Nehru does what suits Germany best". In his 1949 book,
Hindu Rashtra Darshan, Savarkar wrote "Nazism proved undeniably the savior of Germany".
Savarkar often compared Germany's German majority and Jewish minority
as analogous to India's Hindu majority and Muslim minority,
though Savarkar never mentions the persecution of Jews in Germany.
Savarkar never said that he was a proponent of murder and genocide
against minorities, and instead desired peaceful assimilation. Savarkar condemned both German Jews and the Indian Muslims for their supposed inability to assimilate.
In 1938, he wrote, "if we Hindus in India grow stronger in time, these
Moslem friends of the league type will have to play the part of
German Jews." He further added that India "must be a Hindu land, reserved for Hindus".
Jews
Savarkar supported the establishment of the
Jewish State of
Israel,
which was not only in the spirit of his nationalism but also what
Savarkar saw in the Jewish state as a barricade against the Muslim Arab
world.
Muslims
Rachel McDermott,
Leonard A. Gordon,
Ainslie Embree, Frances Pritchett and
Dennis Dalton state that Savarkar promoted an anti-Muslim form of Hindu nationalism. Scholar Vinayak Chaturvedi states that Savarkar was known for his anti-Muslim writings.
Savarkar saw Muslims in the Indian police and military to be "potential
traitors". He advocated that India reduce the number of Muslims in the
military, police and public service and ban Muslims from owning or
working in munitions factories.
Savarkar criticized Gandhi for being concerned about Indian Muslims.
Chaturvedi notes that there was a "shift" in Savakar's views: in his
earlier writings he argued for "Indian independence from British rule",
whereas in later writings he focused on "Hindu independence from
Christians and Muslims". In his 1907
Indian War of Independence, Savarkar includes Muslims as heroes. This was omitted in his later writings; his 1925
Hindu-pad-paatshahi included Hindu heroes but not Muslim ones. In his 1963
Six Glorious Epochs, Savarkar says Muslims and Christians wanted to "destroy" Hinduism.
Leader of the Hindu Mahasabha
In the wake of the rising popularity of the
Muslim League led by
Muhammad Ali Jinnah,
Savarkar and his party began gaining attraction in the national
political environment. Savarkar moved to Bombay and was elected
president of the Hindu Mahasabha in 1937, and would serve until 1943.
The Congress swept the polls in 1937 but conflicts between the Congress
and Jinnah would exacerbate Hindu-Muslim political divisions. Jinnah
derided Congress rule as a "Hindu Raj", and hailed 22 December 1939 as a
"
Day of Deliverance"
for Muslims when the Congress resigned en masse in protest when the
British India Governor-General declared India's inclusion into World War
II for the United Kingdom and its allies against Germany and its
allies. Savarkar's message of Hindu unity and empowerment gained
increasing popularity amidst the worsening communal climate.
Savarkar as president of the Hindu Mahasabha, during the Second
World War, advanced the slogan "Hinduize all Politics and Militarize
Hindudom", he decided to support the British war effort in India seeking
military training for the Hindus. When the Congress launched the
Quit India movement in 1942, Savarkar criticised it and asked Hindus to stay active in the war effort and not disobey the government, he urged the Hindus to enlist in the armed forces to learn the "arts of war".
[62] Hindu Mahasabha activists protested Gandhi's initiative to hold talks with Jinnah in 1944, which Savarkar denounced as "
appeasement."
He assailed the British proposals for transfer of power, attacking both
the Congress and the British for making concessions to Muslim
separatists. Soon after Independence,
Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerjee resigned as Vice-President of the Hindu Mahasabha dissociating himself from its
Akhand Hindustan plank, which implied undoing partition.
Opposition to Quit India Movement
Under Savarkar, the
Hindu Mahasabha openly opposed the call for the Quit India Movement and boycotted it officially. Savarkar even went to the extent of writing a letter titled "
Stick to your Posts",
in which he instructed Hindu Sabhaites who happened to be "members of
municipalities, local bodies, legislatures or those serving in the
army...to stick to their posts" across the country, and not to join the
Quit India Movement at any cost.
Alliance with Muslim League and others
The
Indian National Congress won a massive victory in the
Indian provincial elections, 1937, decimating the
Muslim League
and the Hindu Mahasabha. However, in 1939, the Congress ministries
resigned in protest against Viceroy Lord Linlithgow's action of
declaring India to be a belligerent in the Second World War without
consulting the Indian people. This led to the Hindu Mahasabha, under
Savarkar's presidency, joining hands with the Muslim League and other
parties to form governments, in certain provinces. Such coalition
governments were formed in Sindh, NWFP, and Bengal.
In Sindh, Hindu Mahasabha members joined
Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah's Muslim League government. In Savarkar's own words,
"Witness
the fact that only recently in Sind, the Sind-Hindu-Sabha on invitation
had taken the responsibility of joining hands with the League itself in
running coalition government
In March 1943, Sindh Government became the first Provincial Assembly of
the sub-continent to pass an official resolution in favour of the
creation of Pakistan.
In spite of the Hindu Mahasabha's avowed public opposition to any
political division of India, the Mahasabha Ministers of the Sindh
government did not resign, rather they simply "contented themselves with
a protest"
In the North West Frontier Province, Hindu Mahasabha members
joined hands with Sardar Aurangzeb Khan of the Muslim League to form a
government in 1943. The Mahasabha member of the cabinet was Finance
Minister Mehar Chand Khanna.
In Bengal, Hindu Mahasabha joined the
Krishak Praja Party led Progressive Coalition ministry of
Fazlul Haq in December, 1941. Savarkar appreciated the successful functioning of the coalition government.
Civil resistance movement
Hindu Mahasabha under the leadership of Savarkar started a
civil resistance
movement in March 1939. The objective of the Satyagraha was to secure
religious and cultural liberty for the Hindus who at that time
constituted 86% of total population of Hyderabad State. Many notable
people like
Senapati Bapat,
V. G. Deshpande,
Prabhakar Balwant Dani, Madhavrao Mule, took part in it. The
Arya Samaj also sent around 10000 civil resisters. At last, on July 19, 1939, the
Nizam government announced some political reforms. In the new dispensation, 50% seats were left for non-Muslims.
[74]
Although Hindus were the majority in the state and Muslims were in
minority, Hindu Mahasabha accepted this proposal. They withdrew the
movement despite the fact that these reforms for partial reforms.
Indian National Congress did not support this movement and called it 'communal' and 'anti-national'.
Views on Mahatma Gandhi
Savarkar was an outspoken critic of
Mahatma Gandhi.
He criticized Gandhi for being a hypocrite as he supported use of
violence by the British against Germany during World War II. He also
criticized his appeasement of Muslims at the time of
Khilafat Movement.
In articles from the 1920s to the 1940s Savarkar considered
Gandhi as a naive leader who "happens to babble...[about] compassion,
forgiveness", yet "notwithstanding his sublime and broad heart, the
Mahatma has a very narrow and immature head".
Opposition to the partition of India
The Muslim League adopted the
Lahore Resolution in 1940, calling for a separate Muslim state based on the
Two-Nation Theory,
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar summaries Savarkar's position, in his
Pakistan or The Partition of India as follows,
Mr. Savarkar... insists that,
although there are two nations in India, India shall not be divided into
two parts, one for Muslims and the other for the Hindus; that the two
nations shall dwell in one country and shall live under the mantle of
one single constitution;.... In the struggle for political power between
the two nations the rule of the game which Mr. Savarkar prescribes is
to be one man one vote,
be the man Hindu or Muslim. In his scheme a Muslim is to have no
advantage which a Hindu does not have. Minority is to be no
justification for privilege and majority is to be no ground for penalty.
The State will guarantee the Muslims any defined measure of political
power in the form of Muslim religion and Muslim culture. But the State
will not guarantee secured seats in the Legislature or in the
Administration and, if such guarantee is insisted upon by the Muslims,
such guaranteed quota is not to exceed their proportion to the general
population.[76]
Support for Jewish state in Palestine
Savarkar in a statement issued on 19 December 1947, expressed joy at the recognition of the claim of
Jewish people to establish an independent
Jewish state, and likened the event to the glorious day on which
Moses
led them out of Egyptian bondage. He considered that justice demanded
restoration of entire Palestine to the Jews, their historical holy land
and Fatherland. He regretted India's
vote at the
United Nations against the creation of the Jewish state terming the vote a policy of
appeasement of Muslims
Works
Savarkar's literary works in
Marathi include "
Kamala", "
Mazi Janmathep" (My Life Sentence), and most famously
1857 - The First War of Independence, in which Savarkar popularised the term "
First War of Independence" for what the British referred to as the "Sepoy Mutiny". Another book was
Kale Pani (
Black Water
which means "life sentence" on the island prison on the Andaman
islands), which reflected the treatment of Indian Independence activists
by the British. To counter the then British propagated view that
India's history was a saga of continuous defeat, he wrote an
inspirational historical work,
Saha Soneri Pane (Six Golden
Pages), recounting some of the "Golden periods" of Indian history. At
the same time, religious divisions in India were beginning to be
exacerbated. He described what he saw as the atrocities of British and
Muslims on Hindu residents in Kerala in the book,
Mopalyanche Band (Muslims' Strike) and also
Gandhi Gondhal
(Gandhi's Confusion), a political critique of Gandhi's politics.
Savarkar, by now, had become a committed and persuasive critic of the
Gandhian vision of India's future.
He is also the author of the poems
Sagara pran talmalala (
O Great Sea, My Heart Aches for the Motherland), and
Jayostute
(written in praise of freedom). When in the Cellular jail, Savarkar was
denied pen and paper. He composed and wrote his poems on the prison
walls with thorns and pebbles, memorised thousands lines of his poetry
for years till other prisoners returning home brought them to mainland
India. Savarkar is credited with several
neologisms in Marathi and
Hindi, including "Hutatma" (Martyr), "Mahapaur" ( Mayor),
Digdarshak (leader or director, one who points in the right direction),
Shatkar (a score of six
runs in
cricket),
Saptahik (weekly),
Sansad (
Parliament), "doordhwani" (
telephone), "tanklekhan" (
typewriting) among others.
[citation needed]
He chaired
Marathi Sahitya Sammelan in 1938.
Arrest and acquittal in Mahatma's assassination
Following the assassination of Gandhi on 30 January 1948, police arrested the assassin
Nathuram Godse and his alleged accomplices and conspirators. He was a member of the
Hindu Mahasabha and of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Godse was the editor of
Agrani - Hindu Rashtra,
a Marathi daily from Pune which was run by the company "The Hindu
Rashtra Prakashan Ltd" (The Hindu Nation Publications). This company had
contributions from such eminent persons as
Gulabchand Hirachand,
Bhalji Pendharkar and
Jugalkishore Birla. Savarkar had invested
₹15000 in the company. Savarkar, a former president of the Hindu Mahasabha, was arrested on 5 February 1948, from his house in
Shivaji Park, and kept under detention in the
Arthur Road Prison,
Mumbai. He was charged with murder, conspiracy to murder and abetment
to murder. A day before his arrest, Savarkar in a public written
statement, as reported in The Times of India", Mumbai dated 7 February
1948, termed Gandhi's assassination a fratricidal crime, endangering
India's existence as a nascent nation.
Approver's testimony
Godse
claimed full responsibility for planning and carrying out the
assassination. However, according to the Approver Badge, on 17 January
1948, Nathuram Godse went to have a last
darshan (audience /
interview) with Savarkar in Bombay before the assassination. While Badge
and Shankar waited outside, Nathuram and Apte went in. On coming out
Apte told Badge that Savarkar blessed them "
Yashasvi houn ya" ("
यशस्वी होऊन या",
be successful and return). Apte also said that Savarkar predicted that
Gandhi's 100 years were over and there was no doubt that the task would
be successfully finished.
However Badge's testimony was not accepted as the approver's evidence
lacked independent corroboration and hence Savarkar was acquitted.
On 12 November 1964, at a religious programme organised in Pune to celebrate the release of
Gopal Godse,
Madanlal Pahwa and
Vishnu Karkare from jail after the expiry of their sentences, Dr. G. V. Ketkar, grandson of
Bal Gangadhar Tilak, former editor of
Kesari and then editor of "
Tarun Bharat",
who presided over the function, gave information of a conspiracy to
kill Gandhi, about which he professed knowledge six months before the
act. Ketkar was arrested. A public furore ensued both outside and inside
the
Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and both houses of the
Indian parliament. Under pressure of 29 members of parliament and public opinion the then Union home minister
Gulzarilal Nanda appointed
Gopal Swarup Pathak,
M. P. and a senior advocate of the Supreme Court of India as a
Commission of Inquiry to re-investigate the conspiracy to murder Gandhi.
The central government intended on conducting a thorough inquiry with
the help of old records in consultation with the government of
Maharashtra. Pathak was given three months to conduct his inquiry,
subsequently Jevanlal Kapur a retired judge of the
Supreme Court of India was appointed chairman of the Commission.
The Kapur Commission was provided with evidence not produced in
the court; especially the testimony of two of Savarkar's close aides -
Appa Ramachandra Kasar, his bodyguard, and Gajanan Vishnu Damle, his
secretary,
Kasar told the Kapur Commission that Godse and Apte visited
Savarkar on or about 23 or 24 January, which was when they returned from
Delhi after the bomb incident. Damle deposed that Godse and Apte saw
Savarkar in the middle of January and sat with him (Savarkar) in his
garden.
Justice Kapur concluded: "All these facts taken together were
destructive of any theory other than the conspiracy to murder by
Savarkar and his group."
Later life and death
Later life and death
After Gandhi's assassination Savarkar's home in Dadar, Mumbai was stoned by angry mobs.
[15]
After he was acquitted of the allegations related to Gandhi's
assassination and released from jail, Savarkar was arrested by the
government, for making "militant Hindu nationalist speeches", he was
released after agreeing to give up political activities. He continued
addressing social and cultural elements of Hindutva. He resumed
political activism after the ban on it was lifted, it was however
limited until his death in 1966 because of ill health. His followers
bestowed upon him honours and financial awards when he was alive. Two
thousand RSS workers gave his funeral procession a guard of honour.
According to McKean, there was public antipathy between Savarkar and the
Congress for most of his political career, yet after independence
Congress ministers,
Vallabhbhai Patel and
C. D. Deshmukh
unsuccessfully sought partnership with the Hindu Mahasabha and
Savarkar. It was forbidden for Congress party members to participate in
public functions honouring Savarkar.
Nehru refused to share the stage during the centenary celebrations of the
India's First War of Independence held in Delhi. After the independence of India,
Jawaharlal Nehru
had put forward a proposal to demolish the Cellular Jail in the Andaman
and build a hospital in its place.After the death of Nehru, the
Congress government, under Prime Minister
Shastri, started to pay him a monthly pension.
Death
On 8
November 1963, Savarkar's wife, Yamuna, died. On 1 February 1966,
Savarkar renounced medicines, food and water which he termed as
atmaarpan
(fast until death). Before his death he had written an article titled
"Atmahatya Nahi Atmaarpan" in which he argued 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. His
condition was described to have become as "extremely serious" before his
death on 26 February 1966 at his residence in
Bombay (now Mumbai), and that he faced difficulty in breathing; efforts to revive him failed and was declared dead at 11:10 a.m. (
IST) that day. Prior to his death, Savarkar had asked his relatives to perform only his
funeral and do away with the rituals of the 10th and 13th day of the Hindu faith.
Accordingly, his last rites were performed at an electric crematorium
in Mumbai's Sonapur locality by his son Vishwas the following day.
He was mourned by large crowds that attended his cremation. He
left behind a son Vishwas and a daughter Prabha Chiplunkar. His first
son, Prabhakar, had died in infancy. His home, possessions and other
personal relics have been preserved for public display
.There was no official mourning by the then Congress party government of Maharashtra or at the centre.The indifference to Savarkar continued long after his death .
POSTED BY : VIPUL KOUL
EDITED BY : ASHOK KOUL
SOURCES : WIKIPEDIA & BOOK NAMELY , BHARAT KAY SPAPOOT , AND WAY AMAR HAI BOOKS
Hinduism portal
South
of village Khrew. This village is famous for Baladevi Shrine. Baladevi was the
Isht Devi of Dogra Rulers. At present the temple is having a deserted look due
to lack of maintenance and proper care due to forced migration of Pandit
families from this village. Two pandit families are still residing in this
village.
devri stone steps. It is believed that Raja Daya Krishan Koul has built
this temple during Dogra Rule. Pilgrim pays obeisance at the Ganesh temple on
the left side of the stair before reaching main sanctum sanatorium. The shrine
of Jwalaji is situated on top of the hillock overlooking village Khrew. The main
sanctum sanctorum is 12 feet by 12 feet square shaped structure. The ceiling of
the dome is decorated with Khatamband (Vaastalav/Wood Carving) design. The
structure of the shrine resembles of the aspect and architecture of the pagodas
of China, but the slope of the roof is straight instead of being concave.
Its basement, six to eight yards square, is of stone, raised a few feet from the
ground. On the front side of the shrine wooden plates have been placed (called
Voorusi in Kashmiri) and these plates can be placed on the top of the front wall
and opens the front portion completely. There is a Shilla inside the sanctum
sanctorum, in the form of a natural stone measuring 4 feet height, 4 feet length
and 3 feet width, smeared with Sindhur. It is said that Jwalaji manifested
herself all the time as a jyoti sometime in the past. There is no firm base over
which this sacred shilla has been placed and it is believed that the Shilla is
stationary and is floating in air. This sacred Shilla has naturally carved
mystical lines forming triangles and hexagons in the shape of Sri Chakra. It is
further believed that the Shilla turned black due to the occasional flames which
sparked here from time to time. One has to flight some 6 stairs for making
parikrama of the shrine. Above the main shrine, there is a small temple
dedicated to Bhariava. Tahar (yellow rice) and Shooshnoor (lamb’s lung) is
being offered to the Bhariava. A revered hill ‘Vishnu Pad’ is on the left
side of this shrine. There is a foot mark at the top of Vishnu Pad. As per the
legend this foot mark is believed to be of Lord Vishnu. In olden days pilgrims
used to visit this hill also and but with the passage of time this practice was
stopped.
