Today is the 57th anniversary of Veera Savarkar aka Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the prince of Indian revolutions. Savarkar was a man who believed that the liberation of Bharatamba could not be achieved through non-violent means, and that armed revolution was the only way to achieve it. He was the first political leader who boldly declared in 1900 that India's goal was complete political independence. It was Savarkar who started the first protest by burning foreign clothes as part of the policy of boycotting foreign goods as per the instructions of Lokmanya Tilak during his college education.
He made his mark as a historian, scholar, poet, storyteller and political activist and was the first political prisoner in the world to be exiled twice in his life. Savarkar was the first Indian historian to write a book on the Indian Independence Movement of 1857, which was banned before publication. It was Savarkar who gave that name to India's first freedom struggle, which was mocked by the British till then as Shipai Lahala.
Savarkar was the first Indian law student to be denied a degree and a barrister's title for refusing to take the 'Oath of Allegiance', which all colonial students completing their education in England were required to take. Savarkar was the first graduate of an Indian university to have his degree revoked for joining the freedom struggle. He was also the first Indian social reformer who put an end to communalism. For that even a temple was built in Maharashtra for all Hindus to pray.
Savarkar was born in 1883 in Bhagur, Nashik district of Maharashtra state. His mother died in 1892 when Vinayak was about nine years old. After his father died in 1899, he was brought up by his elder brother Ganesh. He completed his education in Nashik and Pune. He met Balagangadhara Tilak during his studies in Pune. This was a turning point in his life.
Savarkar came under scrutiny when his friend Madan Lal Dhingra assassinated British officer Curzon Wiley on 1 July 1909. On December 21, when members of Savarkar's Abhinav Bharat also killed Nashik Collector AMT Jackson, the British police decided to arrest Savarkar and bring him to India for trial. He was arrested on charges of anti-British imperialism and a London court decided to send him to India.
Savarkar jumped overboard and swam ashore when the ship bringing him to India docked at Marseilles, but he was caught and sentenced to fifty years in prison on a number of charges and sent to the notorious Andaman Cellular Jail. In 1921, Savarkar was released from prison with conditions, but he was under house arrest. After that, the condition was reduced to not going out of Ratnagiri or attending public meetings.
When Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister, on June 28, 1970, when a stamp was issued in Savarkar's name, 30 lakh more information sheets were printed and distributed in the country to know the life of Savarkar, a brave patriot. This is how the long narrative ends. 'His memory will remain green in the hearts of country lovers. He will be counted among the great souls of that generation as long as the country exists. He passed away on February 26, 1966 at the age of 83.
