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Veer Savarkar Imprisoned for his love of Freedom

May 28, 2021 at 11:19 pm by Editorial
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Anupama Nair

www.mediaeyenews.com

Today is the one Hundred and thirty eighth birthday of a great Freedom Fighter who suffered imprisonment so that you and me would be born in a free country. Today is my grandmother’s birthday too and I used to tell her she should be proud to be born on the day a great man was born. Before Independence every child would ask it’s mother why we are slaves, and mothers would answer “what is new, we were slaves for 900 years”. What was his fault, that he was sentenced to two life imprisonments – his fault love for his motherland and to set her free from British Imperialism. Fortunately, he did not spend his sentence as India was free from British rule on August 15, 1947. What did we do for him, we buried him the sands of time and only condemn him? He should be given a Bharat Ratna along with Bhagat Singh, Netaji and many others whose names are forgotten in the annals of history.

What is freedom and are we totally free as was the dream of many who gave their lives for the independence of India. Rabindra Nath Tagore in Gitanjali said

“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action –
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake”.

When you read this poem and ask your conscience and think of the question and you will get the answer. Did the sacrifice of the millions go in vain? Have we have forgotten them and only give credit to two or three people for our independence and the rest are forgotten in the annals of history never to be remembered. Was it for this day, they selflessly sacrificed their life for you and me, children of Independent India? But is it fair to forget them and their sacrifice?

Veer Savarkar or Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, a great son of Mother India was born on 28th May 1883 to Damodar and Radhabai Savarkar, near Nashik, Maharastra. Savarkar joined the Hindu Mahasabha and popularized the term Hindutva (Hinduness), previously coined by Chandranath Basu to create a collective "Hindu" identity as an essence of Bharat. Surprisingly Savarkar was an atheist and also a pragmatic practitioner of Hindu philosophy.

Savarkar began his political activities as a high school student and continued to do so in Ferguson College (Poona). He and his brother founded a secret society called Abhinav Bharat Society. When he went to the United Kingdom for his law studies, he involved himself with organizations such as India House and the Free India Society. He also published books advocating complete Indian independence by revolutionary means. One of the books he published called “Indian War of Independence” about the great Revolt of 1857, was banned by the British authorities. In 1910, Savarkar was arrested and ordered to be extradited to India for his connections with the revolutionary group India House.

On his voyage back to India, Savarkar staged an attempt to escape and seek asylum in France, while the ship was docked in the port of Marseilles. The French port officials however, handed him back to the British while disobeying international law. On return to India, Savarkar was sentenced to two life terms of imprisonment totaling fifty years and was moved to the Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Island. Savarkar resided in Ratnagiri till 1937, when he joined the Hindu Mahasabha. He started traveling widely, becoming a forceful orator and writer, advocating Hindu political and social unity.

Savarkar was critical of the decision taken by the Congress in its Wardha session of 1942, which passed a resolution which said to the British: "Quit India but keep your armies here". Savarkar said it “was the reinstallation of British military rule over India”, which he felt would be much worse. In July 1942, as he felt extremely stressed carrying out his duties as the president of Hindu Mahasabha, and as he needed some rest, he resigned from the post of the president. This coincided with MK Gandhi’s Quit India Movement.

In 1948, Savarkar was charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination of MK Gandhi, however, he was acquitted by the court for lack of evidence. Savarkar resurfaced in the popular discourse after the coming of the BJP into power in 1998, and again in 2014 with the Modi-led BJP government at the center.

In 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 the ability to serve society is left no more, it is better to end the life at will rather than waiting for death”. He breathed his last on 26 February 1966 at his residence in Bombay. 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. His dream was "Akhand Bharat" (United India), purportedly stretching across the entire subcontinent. He had earlier opposed the Partition of India. Savarkar supported Hitler and Mussolini and the establishment of Israel.

The airport at Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar's capital was renamed Veer Savarkar’s International Airport in 2002. A postage stamp in his memory was released in 1970. The Malayalam movie, Kala Paani was made to commemorate his life. Annu Kapoor played the role of Savarkar. Our great PM tweeted today “tributes to the great freedom fighter and patriot Veer Savarkar on his birth anniversary.

One of Savarkar’s famous quotes is “The sound principle in politics lays down that no form of government or political ‘isms’ is absolutely good or bad under all circumstances to all people alike”. Importantly, he said: “Bharat’s relation with foreign countries depends upon our own national interest and security policies instead of the choice of government of foreign countries”.

I bow towards such a great man who sacrificed his life for our great county, now it is our turn to remember him and not let him get buried in the sands of time.

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There are 55 comments

  1. Denzel Gonsalves |

    I became a fan of Veer Savarkar. He is a freedom fighter par excellence and the suffering he endured for freedom of India.

    Reply

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