INTRODUCTION

• Vinayak Damodar Savarkar has had a formidable presence in the public imagination in Modern India.

• He is known by various titles such as ‘Swantraveer,’ ‘Prince amongst the revolutionaries,’ ‘Ideologue of Hindutva,’ and proponent of Hindu nationalism.

• Savarkar is considered an Ideologue of Hindu Right in the Indian political spectrum.

• There have been multiple tropes associated with his invocation.

• He is one of the key thinkers who articulated the necessity of a cultural reading of nation and nationhood.

• He presented ideas on the normative in the form of ‘Hindu Akhand Bharat’ based on the framework of Hindutva.

UNDERSTANDING THE THINKER: LIFE AND WORKS

• Savarkar was born on 28th May 1883 in a Chitpavan Brahmin family in Bhagur, near Nashik, Maharashtra.

• He lost his mother, Radhabai Savarkar, at a young age and was raised by his father, Damodar Savarkar, who instilled in him nationalist consciousness, patriotism, and poetical inclination.

• His father introduced him to the stories of Ramayana, Mahabharata, and leaders like Shivaji and Guru Govind Singh, shaping his worldview.

• Savarkar lost his father to the plague and was then raised by his elder brother, Ganesh Savarkar.

• His life can be divided into three phases: Youth and Education in England (1906-1910), Incarceration in Cellular Jail and Conditional Release (1910-1936), and Ideologue of Hindutva (1936-1966).

• In the first phase, Savarkar was intensely nationalistic and envisioned India’s independence from British colonialism from a young age.

• He wrote poems and plays published in Marathi newspapers and journals, and established Mitra Mela, a youth collective aimed at instilling revolutionary nationalist spirit.

• Mitra Mela became a prominent group, promoting revolutionary nationalism and rejecting caste distinctions, and celebrated Ganpati and Shivaji Festivals initiated by B.G. Tilak.

• Savarkar enrolled in Fergusson College, Pune, in 1901, where he was inspired by Giuseppe Mazzini, an Italian revolutionary.

• He wrote Mazzini Charitra, a translation of Mazzini’s work, and joined the Abhinav Bharat Society in 1904.

• In 1905, during the Swadeshi and Boycott movement, Savarkar organized the burning of British clothes, for which the college administration fined him.

• B.G. Tilak supported Savarkar, helping him receive a scholarship for further studies in London through a recommendation letter.

• In 1906, Savarkar went to England, enrolled in Grays Inn to study law, and stayed at Indian House.

• He established the Free India Society, an organization working for India’s liberation abroad, and organized meetings and celebrations of Indian festivals.

• In 1907, during the 50th anniversary of the 1857 Revolt, Savarkar staged a play from the Indian revolutionary perspective, depicting the leaders as martyrs, not mutineers.

• This led Savarkar to rewrite the history of the 1857 Indian War of Independence, which he secretly wrote in 1907 and published in 1909.

• He was arrested on charges of sedition, sentenced to two 25-year terms, and sent to Cellular Jail, Andamans.

• The second phase of Savarkar’s life (1910-1936) involved his imprisonment in Cellular Jail (Andamans) and his conditional release in 1924, followed by his final release in 1936.

• Arrested in 1910, after nearly a year of litigation, Savarkar was sent to India in 1911 and transported to Cellular Jail for 50 years.

• The Cellular Jail, also called Kala Pani, subjected Savarkar to solitary confinement, leading to extreme physical and mental torture.

• Savarkar’s elder brother was also arrested and sent to the same jail.

• During imprisonment, Savarkar exchanged letters with British officials and his family, especially his younger brother, to gain support for his release.

• With several political prisoners being released, Savarkar sought his freedom but was granted conditional release on 6th January 1924 after serving 14 years under two conditions: not leaving Ratnagiri and not participating in any nationalist activities.

• In 1923, Essentials of Hindutva, his major work, was published.

• While in Ratnagiri, Savarkar focused on social reforms and linguistic matters rather than politics.

• He worked on caste reforms, campaigning against segregation and untouchability, and supported Shuddhikaran (Purification).

• During this period, he emerged as the leader of Hindu interests, founding the Ratnagiri Hindu Sabha in January 1924, closely linked to the Hindu Mahasabha.

• Savarkar met several key national leaders, including M.K. Gandhi and Dr. K.B. Hegdewar (founder of RSS), in 1925.

• The third phase (1936-1966) marked Savarkar’s emergence as the Ideologue of Hindutva, which laid the foundation for the Right-wing ideological stream in Indian politics.

• In 1937, Savarkar moved to Bombay, where his house, Shivaji Sadan, became the center for his political activities.

• By 1938, Savarkar became the President of Hindu Mahasabha, an organization dedicated to the cause of Akhand Hindu Bharat and the protection of Hindu interests.

• As president (1937-1942), Savarkar’s speeches at the Hindu Mahasabha’s annual sessions were published as Hindu Rashtra Darshan, which outlined the principles of Hindu Nationalism.

• During this time, Savarkar traveled extensively in India, promoting the rights and interests of Hindus, focusing on national independence and Hindu consolidation.

• Savarkar positioned Hindus as the majority and Muslims as the minorities, with his arguments evolving from milder to more radical and exclusionary over time.

• He critiqued Jinnah and Gandhi, defending what he saw as the Hindu Interests and opposed the demand for Pakistan.

• Savarkar called for a Pan Hindu-Buddhist alliance to resist the Pan-Islamic alliance supporting Jinnah and the Muslim League.

• By the 1940s, Savarkar became the most prominent leader of the Hindu faction.

• On 10th May 1942, he launched the Akhand Hindustan Movement and resigned from the presidency of the Hindu Mahasabha in July 1942 due to fatigue but urged the party to continue working for the Hindu cause.

• Savarkar participated in the deliberations on the Cripps Proposal and Cabinet Mission Plan.

• On 30th January 1948, Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse, a staunch Savarkarite, inspired by Savarkar’s ideology.

• Savarkar was arrested on 4th February 1948 as an accused and later released after trial.

• In the 1950s, Savarkar delivered public speeches on nation, nationalism, and history, while also focusing on the establishment of a Martyrs’ Foundation.

• In 1957, Savarkar participated in the centenary celebrations of the 1857 Rebellion, organized by the Government of India.

• By the early 1960s, Savarkar’s health deteriorated, and he passed away in 1966 at the age of 83.