Vinayak Damodar Savarkar
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Vināyak Dāmodar Sāvarkar (May 28, 1883-1966), (Devanagari: विनायक दामोदर सावरकर), sometimes called Veer Savarkar or Vir Savarkar (वीर सावरकर or, Brave Savarkar), was an Indian independence activist and a Hindu nationalist leader. The Vir Savarkar Airport in Port Blair, Andaman Islands is named after him.
Background
Vinayak Savarkar was a great orator, prolific writer, historian, poet, philosopher and social worker who devoted his entire life to the cause of the Indian Independence movement. He is regarded by some as one of the greatest revolutionaries in the Indian freedom struggle, while others consider him a communalist and Machiavellian manipulator. He was also one of the most controversial figures of the independence movement.Being a descendant of a line of Sanskrit scholars, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar took great interest in History, Politics, Literature and Indian culture. His book, First war of Indian Independence Movement: 1857, served as an inspiration for many freedom fighters.
Born in the village of Bhagur near Nasik, he was one among four children born to Damodarpant Savarkar and Radhabai. His initial education was at the Shivaji School, Nasik. He lost his mother at the age of nine. Brought up by his father, he was influenced by the freedom struggle in British India and got drawn towards it. He lost his father during the plague that struck India in 1899.
In March 1901, he married Yamunabai. Post marriage, in 1902, he joined Fergusson College in Pune to study further. In June 1906, he received a scholarship and left for London to study law.
Independence activism
As a student, Savarkar was involved in the Swadeshi movement. He later joined Bal Gangadhar Tilak's Swaraj Party.When in London, he founded the Free India Society. The Society celebrated important dates on the Indian calendar including festivals, freedom movement landmarks, and was dedicated to furthering discussion about Indian freedom which came to be highly unacceptable to the British. He is reported to have quoted, "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 the laws itself. In other words, we want Absolute Political Independence."
In 1908, when he wrote "The Indian War of Independence 1857", the British government immediately enforced a ban on the publication in both Britain and India. Later, it was published by Madame Bhikaiji Cama in Holland, and was smuggled into India to reach revolutionaries working across the country against British rule.
In 1909, Madanlal Dhingra, a keen follower of Savarkar shot Sir Wyllie after a failed assassination attempt on the then Viceroy, Lord Curzon. In the political crisis that ensued, Savarkar stood out with a decision not to condemn the act.
When the then British Collector of Nasik, A.M.T. Jackson was shot by a anant kanhere, Savarkar finally fell under the net of the British authorities. He was implicated in the murder citing his connections with India House. A warrant was issued on 13th March, 1910, following which he was arrested in Paris. He hatched a plan to escape at Marseilles which failed.
He was captured and taken to Bombay (Mumbai) on the S.S. Morea, and imprisoned at the Yervada Prison. He was tried, and at the age of 27 years, sentenced to 50 years imprisonment at the infamous Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. On 4th July, 1911, he was transported to the Andamans.
He appealed for clemency in 1911, and again in 1913, during Sir Reginald Craddock's visit. His supporters suggest that these actions should be viewed in the context of the systematic torture of political prisoners then rampant at the prison[[Citing sources citation needed]], and his own declining health. It has also been suggested that his plea for clemency was a shrewd attempt by him to escape once again to the mainland and get involved in the covert actions against the British government. On the other hand, this act is also viewed by his critics as acquiescence to the British Empire. Indeed, this is the first act of Savarkar that would generate controversies for years to come.
In 1920, many prominent independence activists including Vithalbhai Patel, Mahatma Gandhi and Bal Gangadhar Tilak demanded the release of Savarkar and his brother in the Central Legislative Assembly.
On May 2, 1921, Savarkar was moved to Ratnagiri jail, and from there to the Yeravada jail. It was in Ratnagiri jail that Savarkar wrote the book 'Hindutva'. In January 6, 1924 he was released under conditions of stringent restrictions imposed on his travel and activities.
The Politician
Savarkar, though an atheist himself, reluctantly accepted the presidency of the Hindu Mahasabha, and was its president for seven consecutive years. During this time, he contributed significantly to its evolution as a separate political party.When Britain declared war on Germany India was also included due to its status as a British colony. Savarkar stated - "Britain's claim of safeguarding human freedom was simply meaningless". Nevertheless, Savarkar asked Hindus to help the British in their war effort against Germany and Japan. His admirers have argued that this was a tactic to get more Hindus to pick up military training that could have been turned against the British later. His critics view this as a reiteration of his earlier capitulation to British interests.
The Hindu Mahasabha, under Savarkar's presidency, did not support the Quit India movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi in August 1942. The Communist Party of India and the Muslim League were the other political parties which did not support the Quit India Movement.
His view of post-independence India envisioned a militarily strong, cohesive and self-sufficient nation.
The writer
Veer Savarkar wrote more than 10,000 pages in Marathi language. His literary works in Marathi include "Kamala", "Mazi Janmathep" (My Life Sentence), and most famously "1857 - The First war of Independence", about what the British had conveniently called the Sepoy Mutiny. Savarkar popularized the term 'First War of Independence' - this is the only book in the world which banned befor printing. Another noted book was "Kala Pani" (similar to Life Sentence, but on the island prison on the Andamans), which reflected the treatment of Indian freedom fighters by the British. In order to counter the then accepted 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.He wrote several books when in prison. Among those that he wrote when in Ratnagiri jail, was the profoundly influential book Hindutva, which deals with the Hindu nationalistic approach to the idea of the Indian nation and Hinduism. It may be noted here that Savarkar himself was an atheist, and conceptualized Hindutva as a unique way of life, rooted in and permeating every aspect of life on the Indian subcontinent. Other books written by him include "Hindu Padpadashahi" and "My Transportation for Life". At the same time, religious divisions in India were beginning to fissure. 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 Nonsense), 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 poems like "Sagara pran talmalala", and "Jayostute" (written in praise of freedom), claimed to be one of the most moving, inspiring and patriotic works in Marathi literature by his followers and some critics. 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, memorized more than ten thousand lines of his poetry for years till other prisoners returning home brought them to India.
He is credited with several popular neologisms in Hindi, like Digdarshak (leader, one who points in the right direction), Shatkar, Saptahik (Weekly, as in weekly periodicals/magazines) and Sansad (Parliament).
Social work
The Hindu Mahasabha claims that Savarkar worked hard to protect minority rights, though this is the subject of controversy. During the celebration of Hindu festivals, Savarkar supposedly visited Muslim and Christian homes to promote good will. He is claimed to have encouraged intercaste marriage, and assisted B. R. Ambedkar in the upliftment of the untouchables. This has been disputed by the political movements representing the lower castes in India themselves and is, again, the subject of much controversy.Involvement in the assassination of Gandhi
In the period leading to, and immediately after, Indian Independence, the stand taken by Mahatma Gandhi regarding division of assets between India and Pakistan created deep divisions in the country. Savarkar, by now one of the fiercest critics of the Mahatma, expressed his opposition to Gandhi's stance in no uncertain terms during that period. Later, when Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse, there were several allegations that Savarkar masterminded the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. This had its origins in Godse's membership of the Mahasabha and presence at meetings chaired by Savarkar. Savarkar was, indeed, indicted and tried for the assassination of Gandhi. Godse and Narayan Apte, the two main accused, were known to Savarkar and frequently visited him. Witnesses during the Gandhi assassination trial testified that Savarkar had blessed Nathuram Godse before he shot Gandhi, with the words Yashasvi howun yaa (Marathi: Come back with success). After Gandhi's assassination, mobs stoned Savarkar's home in Bombay, where he had shifted to from Ratnagiri. The Government of India at the time arrested Savarkar and indicted him in the assassination case, but was acquitted by the Supreme Court of India, for reasons of lack of evidence.While Savarkar was "exonerated by the judge for lack of any evidence" in the Gandhi murder case, it is claimed that Judge Atma Charan found the approver Digambar Ramchandra Badge's evidence implicating Savarkar "direct and straight forward". But no independent corroboration (apart from Badge) was available during the duration of the trial in 1948-49. It reportedly became available only after Savarkar's death in 1966 when his secretary, Gajanan Vishnu Damle and bodyguard Appa Ramachandra Kasar deposed to Justice Kapur that Godse and accomplice Narayan Apte met Savarkar on January 23 or 24 on their return from Delhi well after they had met him on January 17. Gandhi was assassinated a few days later. These have been the subject of extensive investigative reports by A G Noorani of Frontline magazine.
After Savarkar's death, Godse's brother, Gopal, revealed the closeness of the relationship in his Marathi book Gandhi Hatya Ani Mi (Marathi: Gandhi's Assassination and Me), published in 1967. The Justice Kapur commission set up to investigate this matter concluded that "All these facts taken together were destructive of any theory other than the conspiracy to murder(Gandhi)by Savarkar and his group". While Savarkar was a lifelong bachelor, Lapierre and Collins in their book "Freedom at Midnight" claim that Savarkar and Godse were lovers.
List of accused
List of People accused in the attempt and assassination of Mahatma GandhiMain Article:Attempts to assassinate Mahatma Gandhi
- Nathuram Vinayak Godse
- Narayan Dattatraya Apte
- Vishnu Ramkrishna Karkare
- Madanlal Kashmirilal Pahwa
- Shankar Kistaiya
- Gopal Vinayak Godse
- Digambar Ramchandra Badge
- Vinayak Damodar Savarkar
- Dattatraya Sadashiv Parchure
- Gangadhar Dandavate
- Gangadhar Jadhao
- Suryadeo Sharma
On Hindutva
Savarkar articulated the Hindutva ideology for the first time and wrote extensively on the subject. Savarkar defined a Hindu as one "who regards this land of Bharatvarsha, from the Indus to the Seas as his Father-Land as well as his Holy-Land that is the cradle of his religion".External links
- [Biography] - An Article on Kamat's Potpourri
- [Freedom fighter profile]
- [Was Savarkar a Nazi?]
- [Savarkar and Sangh : a muddled equation] - An article on the relations of RSS and Savarkar.
- [History of Andaman Cellular Jail]
- ¹ [Allegations on Savarkar on Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)]
- [Freedom Fighther - Savarkar]
- [Vinayak Damodar Savarkar]
- [The mastermind?] - Outlook magazine article that discusses the theory that Savarkar masterminded Gandhi's assassination. (Requires registration, may use BugMeNot)
- [Who was Veer Savarkar?] - Rediff.com article about allegations on Savarkar.
- [Godse accompanied Savarkar to Shimoga in 1944] - The Hindu September 22, 2004
- [Gandhi and Savarkar] - The Frontline March 15-28, 2003-Analysis on Gandhi And Savarkar by columnist A G Noorani
Further reading
- AG Noorani, Savarkar and Hindutva: The Godse Connection, LeftWord, New Delhi, 2002, paperback, 159 pages, ISBN 8187496282; hardcover, Manohar Publishers, 2003, ISBN 8187496282
- Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Savarkar Samagra: Complete Works of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in 10 volumes, ISBN 8173153310
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