The nation on Friday remembers one of the great freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar on his 83rd death anniversary.
Savarkar (1883 to 1966) was a revolutionary who
spent many years in prison in the Andamans. He propounded the philosophy
of Hindutva and was linked to Mahatma Gandhi's assassination, but was
not found guilty.
He was born on May 28, 1883, in Bhagpur village
near Nashik. After his parents died young, his elder brother Ganesh
looked after the family.
In 1898, the British hanged the Chapekar brothers
in Pune for killing a British officer. This had a deep impact on the
teenaged Savarkar, who decided to take up armed struggle against the
British.
In 1901, he joined the Ferguson College in Pune
and set up the Abhinav Bharat Society, which preached a revolutionary
struggle against the British.
He also won a scholarship that took him to Britain to study law in 1906.
In Britain, Savarkar organised students and
advocated an armed struggle to throw the British out of India. He also
wrote his book on the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny, which he called India's First War of Independence, a terminology the Indian government accepted after Independence.
Since there was no question of printing the book
in Britain, it was printed in Holland and copies of it were smuggled
into India.
The book was a huge success, giving Indians a
strong sense of pride, providing a fresh perspective on a war that was
till then merely seen as the outcome of disgruntled Indian soldiers in
the service of the British.
The second edition was published by Indians in the US while Bhagat Singh printed the third edition.
Its translations were a big success: the Punjabi
and Urdu translations traveled far and wide while the Tamil translation
almost becoming mandatory reading for soldiers of Subhas Chandra Bose's
Indian National Army -- a majority of who were Tamilians from Southeast
Asia.
When was he arrested?
In Britain, he also created a network of
like-minded individuals. Given his anti-British activities, the police
soon came looking for him.
He was arrested in London on March 13, 1910 and sent to India to face trial.
Didn't he escape from the ship?
The story that made Savarkar a national hero!
The ship in which he was being taken to India berthed at Marseilles, France, on July 8, 1910.
Savarkar wriggled out of the porthole and swam a great distance in the cold water to reach the shore.
He had earlier told his friends, including Madame
Bhikaji Cama, to meet him at Marseilles, but they arrived late and the
British recaptured him.
Since Savarkar did not speak French, he was unable
to tell the local policeman that he was a refugee. Even though he could
not escape, this story resonated across India.
He was tried, and on December 24, 1910, sentenced to 50 years in prison.
On July 4, 1911, he was sent to Port Blair's Cellular Jail.
50 years! That must have been very tough.
It certainly was. Savarkar's supporters always
point to his incredibly difficult and degrading days in jail, sentenced
to rigorous imprisonment when he was in the prime of life; placed in
solitary confinement while other leaders had it much easier and were
released whenever their health failed or someone in the family fell ill.
Savarkar enjoyed no such luxury.
How long was he in prison?
In 1920, Vithalbhai Patel -- Vallabhbhai Patel's
elder brother -- demanded Savarkar's release, a demand also backed by
Gandhi and Nehru.
On May 2, 1921, Savarkar was shifted from the
Cellular Jail, first to the Alipore Jail in Bengal and then to Ratnagiri
Jail in western Maharashtra.
He was released on January 6, 1924 on the
condition that he would not leave Ratnagiri district, which is not very
far from Mumbai (then Bombay), till 1937.
Why did the British release him from prison?
Up to this point, most historians regardless of
ideology would agree that Savarkar was a committed revolutionary, even
if one does not support the notion of an armed struggle.
But from the point of his release from jail, Savarkar becomes a divided figure, either loved or loathed.
Savarkar agreed he would abstain from political activities to facilitate his release.
His supporters say he only made such promises to
get out of prison and that he remained committed to throwing the British
out of India.
What did he do on getting out of jail?
He became active in the Hindu Mahasabha, founded in 1915, which sought to protect the interests of Hindus.
The Hindu Mahasabha, which differed radically from
the Indian National Congress, attracted followers who were either
opposed to Gandhi and the Congress, or believed in Hindutva.
It is not clear why Savarkar joined the Mahasabha,
though given his dislike for non-violence and his assurance to the
British, joining the Congress was out of question.
So he became a champion for Hindutva?
Savarkar, who popularised the term 'First War of Independence', also coined the term Hindutva when he wrote an eponymous book.
The book outlined the features of Hindutva, including its economic, social, and political aspects.
He also wrote another book in English, Hindupadpadshahi, extolling the Maratha rule over India.
He had developed and expounded the notion of one
nation, one culture, bound by blood and race. In 1937, he became
president of the Hindu Mahasabha, and remained in the post till 1943.
Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte, the two main accused, were known to Savarkar and frequently visited him.
After Gandhi's assassination, mobs stoned Savarkar's home in Bombay, where he had shifted to from Ratnagiri.
Savarkar was arrested, but he alone was set free for lack of evidence.
Savarkar's supporters deny any link to the Mahatma's assassination, insisting that Godse and Apte acted on their own.
What is his legacy?
For his supporters, Savarkar believed in a strong
Hindu society and in the Hindutva ideology of one nation, one culture,
one people, which meant no special provisions for any minority.
For his opponents, this ideology divides India today by trying to deny the minorities a rightful place in Indian society.
As the bitter political battle over Aiyar's decision reveals, the controversy over Veer Savarkar's legacy is far from concluded.
