“We want to tell him
(Rahul Gandhi) that we are honoured to be called followers of Savarkar…he was
sentenced to life imprisonment by the British. He jumped into the sea, escaping
from the clutches of British soldiers and swam for 10 km, and fought for
Independence.” Amit
Shah thundered while addressing a farmer’s rally in a Surat village. This is yet another instance of his party’s
relentless efforts at rewriting the history of India.
What kind of a person was
this ‘Veer’ Savarkar in reality?
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar
was brought to the Cellular Jail in the Andamans in 1911 after his conviction
for the murder of A.T.M. Jackson, Collector of Nashik district, who was
"sympathetic towards Indian aspirations." Within six months of his imprisonment, he submitted
a petition for mercy to the British government in India. In 1913, he submitted his second petition in
which he wrote: "I am ready to serve the (British) Government in any
capacity they like... . Where else can the prodigal son return but to the
parental doors of the Government?" [emphasis added]1
Savarkar even went to the extent
of submitting himself totally to the British Empire. "I and my brother are perfectly willing
to give a pledge of not participating in politics for a definite and
reasonable period that the Government would indicate... .This or any
pledge, e.g., of remaining in a particular province or reporting our movements
to the police for a definite period after our release - any such reasonable
conditions meant genuinely to ensure the safety of the State would be gladly
accepted by me and my brother."2
Savarkar’s jumping into
the sea, which Amit Shah mythifies in his Surat speech, was not when he was
sentenced to life imprisonment. It took
place in March 1910 when Savarkar was arrested at London’s Victoria Terminal railway
station as soon his train arrived there from Paris. They sent him back to India by ship in order
to prosecute him for his 1906 anti-government speech in Bombay. Next morning, Savarkar
escaped through a porthole and swam ashore where he was arrested again. The
reality is quite different from what Amit Shah wants us to believe.
Savarkar’s complicity in
the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi is also proved beyond doubt. In his crime report No.1, the main police
investigating officer, Jimmy Nagarvala, stated that "Savarkar was at the
back of the conspiracy and that he was feigning
illness."3 Savarkar was not ‘veer’ enough to admit his
role, however. Rather, in a letter to
the Commissioner of Police, Bombay, on 22 Feb 1948, he wrote:
"Consequently, in order to disarm all suspicion ... I wish to express my
willingness to give an undertaking to the government that I shall refrain from
taking part in any communal or political public activity for any period
the government may require in case I am released on that
condition." The supplication was contemptuously rejected.4
In fact, tendering
apologies and pleading pathetically for mercy was an integral part of Savarkar’s
personality. He indulged in those
exercises in 1911, 1913, 1925, 1948 and 1950.
For half a century after
India’s Independence the Right wingers never owned up Savarkar. It was only in 2000 that the BJP took him
under its mantle, long after memories were buried and when distortions would be
accepted as truths by the millennial generation.
Savarkar “died a lonely
man,” says Subhash Gatade, “abhorred especially by the thriving 'Parivar' then,
which made special efforts to maintain distance from him in those days.”5
A lot of history is being
rewritten these days by Amit Shah and his people. It is the duty of Indians to pursue the
truth. Satyameva Jayate is our national motto, after all, and it comes
from our ancient scriptures, Mundaka
Upanishad.
Notes
1 & 2: Savarkar’s
Mercy Petition, A. G. Noorani, Frontline.
3 & 4: Savarkar
and Gandhi, A. G. Noorani, Frontline.
5: The Iconisation of
Savarkar, Subhash Gatade, Countercurrents.
Even in the narrative at the sound and light show at Cellular jail in Port Blair it is Veer Savarkar who is highlighted and praised. Must have been rewritten by BJP?
ReplyDeleteThank you for the enlightenment.
The young generation is not aware of the real heroes who are being villainised by BJP. and the party is harvesting on the ignorance.
DeleteI'm so happy to have read your piece Matheikal. I knew there was some controversy around Veer Savarkar but now I know exactly what it is. I wish the BJP and Amit Shah would stop rewriting history.
ReplyDeleteUlterior motives are particularly dangerous when fraudulence gains acceptance as truth which is what is happening now. I hope people will see through the games.
DeleteInteresting and informative..
ReplyDeleteThank you Tom sir!
Most welcome, Amit ji. I had no choice but write this.
DeleteGood post.. I was not aware of this story of Veer Savarkar.. thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteAwareness is becoming an urgency nowadays, Sneh. I'm fulfilling my duty as a teacher.
DeleteManipulation of history and young, unquestioning minds is the scariest of prospects for the country and the world. If there is an urgent need of the hour, it is to teach future generations the art of questioning and critical thinking.
ReplyDeleteSmart phones have destroyed those things. Chatting has taken the place of questioning. General awareness is dismal. Genuine quest has vanished.
DeleteIf that is true then why Indira Gandhi govt issued postal stamp on veer savarkar and manmohan Singh when he was prime minister called him patriot amit shah not rewriting the history but congress has been concealing the true history as veer savarkar was strong opponent of Gandhi and his Gandhian thoughts.veer savarkar may have given mercy petitions.but his motives were genuine to get freed at any cost his vision was clear right from the beginning from his sea jump.he was not freed although he was sent to house arrest for 15 years in ratnagiri.in his ratnagiri tenure he had done so many social revolutionary activities he had established patitpavan mandir for all castes .on gandhi murder Dr b.r ambedkar once said that in Gandhi murder there is not any single proof against savarkar .veer savarkar has done huge to Marathi literature as his views were in Marathi people like you taking advantage and and making false allegations
Delete