Vinayak Damodar Savarkar: Know 16 unsung moments, whom people call as Veer Savarkar

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar: Bharat is the Maa of many sons like many great men, sacrificers and revolutionaries.

Today we will tell the name of the son of Maa Bharati who was a revolutionary, freedom fighter, social reformer, historian and thinker. The name of that great man is Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.

Today is his death anniversary. On which we all pay our humble tribute and Naman to him. Let’s know about Vinayak Damodar Savarkar on his death anniversary. Let’s know 16 unsung moments whom people call as Veer Savarkar.

1. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar: Who were given 2-2 life imprisonment

An Indian revolutionary and freedom fighter who was sentenced to 2-2 life imprisonment and given the punishment of Kala Pani. He was sent to Cellular Jail. 

He was subjected to severe torture by making him run a crusher for about 10 years. But Vinayak Damodar Savarkar never bowed down before the cruel British.

2. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar: A great man

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was rich in versatile talent. Veer Savarkar was a famous revolutionary, freedom fighter, social reformer, historian and thinker. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was also a lawyer, politician, poet and writer.

3. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar: Highlight the identity of Hindutva in Bharat

When India had forgotten its own religion due to the slavery of the Mughals for almost 700 years and the British for almost 240 years. Here, by indiscriminate means, the Mughals and the British had forcefully converted the Hindus into their respective religions.

When Veer Savarkar saw this situation, he became very disturbed. He fought hard to create unity among Bharatavasi as a Hindu.

Major credit for developing ‘Hindutva‘ in India also goes to Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. He made continuous efforts to bring the converted Hindus back to Hinduism and also launched movements for this.

He coined the name Hindutva to create a collective “Hindu” identity of India. His political philosophy had elements of utilitarianism, rationalism, positivism, humanism, universalism, pragmatism and realism.

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar had a painful childhood

This great personality was born on 28 May 1883 in Bhagur village near Nashik in Maharashtra. His mother Radhabai and father Damodar Pant Savarkar were very religious minded.

He had two brothers Ganesh (Babarao) and Narayan Damodar Savarkar and one sister Nainabai. When he was only nine years old, his mother died in a cholera epidemic. 

Seven years later, in 1899, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar father also died due to plague epidemic. In this hour of grief for Veer Savarkar, elder brother Ganesh took over the responsibility of raising the family. 

Which had a deep impact on Vinayak. He passed his matriculation examination from Shivaji High School, Nashik in 1901.

Despite financial crisis, Bhai Babarao supported Vinayak’s desire for higher education. During this period, Vinayak organized friend fairs by organizing local youth.

Soon the flame of revolution along with the feeling of nationalism awakened among these youth. In 1901, at the age of 18, he was married to Yamunabai, daughter of Ramchandra Trayambak Chiplunkar.

His father-in-law took the responsibility of his university education. Veer Savarkar did BA from Fergusson College, Pune, where he used to give powerful speeches full of patriotism.

5. Vinayak Rao Savarkar founded a Abhinav Bharat revolutionary organization

Veer Savarkar ji founded a revolutionary organization named Abhinav Bharat in 1904. After the partition of Bengal in 1905, he burnt foreign clothes in Pune. 

For higher education, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar reached London where he took admission in Gray’s Inn Law College. 

To study here, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar started living in India House. Which was the center of political activities at that time.

6. Vinayak Rao Savarkar created ‘Free India Society’

Veer Savarkar founded ‘Free India Society’. Due to which he used to inspire his fellow Indian students to fight for freedom.

On the approval of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, he received Shyamji Krishna Varma Scholarship in 1906. On May 10, 1907, he celebrated the golden jubilee of the first Indian freedom struggle at India House, London.

In which Vinayak Savarkar, in his powerful speech, proved with evidence that the war of 1857 was not a mutiny but the first war of India’s independence.

7. Vinayak Savarkar’s book ‘Indian War of Independence’ published from Holland

In June 1908, his book ‘The Indian War of Independence 1857′ was ready but there was a problem of its printing.

Efforts were made for this from London to Paris and Germany but all those efforts were unsuccessful. Later this book was somehow secretly published from Holland.

In this book, Savarkar described the ‘Sepoy Mutiny‘ of 1857 as the first war of independence against the British government.

8. Accused of involvement in planning murder of William Hutt Curzon Wylie

In May 1909, he passed the Bar et La (advocacy) examination from London but he was not allowed to practice there.

While living in London, he met Lala Hardayal who was looking after India House in those days. William Hutt Curzon Wylie was shot by Madanlal Dhingra on 1 July 1909. After this incident, he also wrote an article in the London Times.

Seeing the activities of Veer Savarkar, the British government implicated him in the crime of being involved in the murder plan and sending pistols to India. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was arrested on 13 May 1910.

9. Damodar Savarkar took a historic jump from the ship

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was arrested on 13 May 1910 for his involvement in planning the assassination of William Hutt Curzon Wyllie.

Now the idea of taking Veer Savarkar to India for further prosecution was considered. On July 8, 1910, they started bringing them to India by a ship named MS Moriya. 

While bringing them, they came out swimming in the sea water through the sewer hole. But because his friend was late in arriving, he was arrested again.

10. British sentenced Savarkar to two life imprisonments for revolutionary activities

The British government arrested Veer Savarkar for his involvement in the murder plan and sending pistols to India. On 24 December 1910, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. 

After this, on January 31, 1911, he was again given life imprisonment. Thus, the British government sentenced Savarkar to two life imprisonments for revolutionary activities, which was the first and unique punishment in the history of the world.

11. Veer Savarkar was sentenced to Kala Pani

On April 7, 1911, he was sent to Cellular Jail on the sentence of Kala Pani under the Nashik Conspiracy Case for the murder of Nashik District Collector Jackson.

According to Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the freedom fighters had to work hard here. Here the prisoners had to peel the coconut and extract oil from it.

Also, they had to work like oxen in the crusher to extract oil from mustard and coconut etc. Apart from this, they also had to clear the forests adjacent to and outside the jail and level the marshy lands and hilly areas.

If they stopped, they were severely punished and even beaten with canes and whips. They were not even given enough food. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar remained in Port Blair jail from July 4, 1911 to May 21, 1921.

12. Vinayak Rao Damodar Savarkar’s contact with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

After being liberated in 1921, Vinayak Rao Damodar Savarkar met Dr. Hedgewar ji, the founder of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, in March 1925.

In 1937, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was elected President of the 19th session of the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha held in Karnavati (Ahmedabad). After which he was again elected president for seven years.

On 15 April 1938, he was elected president of the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan. On 13 December 1937, in a public meeting in Nagpur, he inspired to thwart the ongoing efforts for a separate Pakistan.

13. Vinayak Rao Damodar Savarkar meets Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

Gandhi and Savarkar had different views about the means of achieving independence in India. On 22 June 1941, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar met Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

14. Leftist and Congress lobby defamed Veer Savarkar a lot

The ruling class and the leftists, full of political ambitions, together hatched a conspiracy against all the living freedom fighters of high stature and started defaming them.

Leftist and Congress lobby defamed Veer Savarkar a lot when his views were not received from Gandhiji.

Gandhi was assassinated shortly after independence. On this, the leftist group started defaming Veer Savarkar and all the big leaders of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh by accusing them of killing Gandhi. 

Started creating narratives through new stories. One of them is the narrative of this apology (mercy petition). The Left and Congress lobby always gave him negative propaganda.

15. Death of Vinayak Rao Damodar Savarkar

On 8 October 1949, he was awarded the honorary degree of D.Litt. by the University of Pune. From September 1965 he was suffering from high fever. After which his health started deteriorating.

On 1 February 1966, he decided to fast till death. On 26 February 1966, at 10 am Indian time in Bombay. He left his mortal remains and departed for Paramdham. In this way Veer Savarkar died on 26 February 1966.

16. India has now honored him

The Government of India issued a postage stamp in 1966 in honor of Veer Savarkar ji. And now the airport of Port Blair has been named Veer Savarkar International Airport. 

A film is being made on the biography of Veer Savarkar. In which famous actor Randeep Hooda will play the role of Veer Savarkar. Many Congress and leftist leaders including Rahul Gandhi continue to defame him even today.

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Courtesy: Amar Senani Savarkar book (Shiv Kumar Goyal), panchjanya magazine