#5 When Gandhi Met Savarkar
अनादि मी अनंत मी अवध्य मी भला (I am timeless, I am boundless, I am immortal)
- Savarkar
"Aasindhu Sindhu paryanta yasya Bharata bhumika
Pitribhu punyabhushchaiva sa vai Hinduriti Smritah"
One who considers this vast stretch of land called Bharat
From the Sindhu to the Sindhu (Indus to the Seas)
as his fatherland (or land of one’s ancestors) and holy land
is the one who will be termed and remembered as a Hindu.
-Shloka by Savarkar
"Peaceful evolution has a meaning and a sense, peaceful revolution has neither" -Savarkar
Swatantrya Lakshmi ki Jai (Victory to the Goddess of Freedom) - Savarkar
We have lost everything. We have no more
faith in our own religion. Try to re-establish that in India. Shed no tears for what is
lost. Shed drops of blood to regain what is lost- Savarkar
I recently finished reading Vikram Sampath's "Savarkar: Echoes from a Forgotten Past: 1883-1924", the 1st part of a two volume biography by Sampath. (The second part is yet to be released as of writing). This post is supposed to be a synopsis, a review, with some paraphrased tales and excerpts.
Part 0: Who?
Savarkar was a
- poet
- social reformer
- writer
- revolutionary
- leader
- historian
- ideologue
- politician
- intellectual
- freedom fighter
- strategist
- playwright
Part 1: Why?
India is undergoing a cultural-political shift right now, a civilizational awakening is happening all around us. The instrument of this awakening has been a largely unknown spirit, working through the past 7 decades all across the nation, planning, building, opposing things and proposing things and publishing works in regional languages, its roots reaching the deepest layers of the very earth you stand on-it wont be an exaggeration to say that the "sociocultural" stability (not territorial- that is the job of the state) against storms and floods in ignored, hostile, warring, contested areas is largely due to this philosophy and its agents. There is no top down structure in this system. It is not one single organization that is fighting or one single domain that has been the battleground. It is a large complex web of independents and insanely large organizations that may not have the suavity of the Lutyens, or the English-culture of the elites but yet its arguments are infallible, its work fanatic and commitment resolute. The instrument for the rebirth of the Dharmic civilization is Hindutva based in the heartlands of the Indian democratic state. It is not that Hindutva is the sole way, or even the most effective in its present forms, infact the Sangha in 2021 may not even have the same goals/methods as many others working for the same cause. (Savarkar didnt agree with them even then). Note that the "democratic" Indian state is not a finality, it is temporary efficient agreement among the masses that the state claims to represent. (The Indian state is inseparable from the Dharmic civilization in ethos, even though much of physical significance has already been lost, Hindutva aims to repair that).
But what is undisputed is that this "shift" or "renaissance" or whatever else you would like to call it, in its most potent form right now, is based on the intellectual works of one gentleman- Vinayak Damodar Savarkar of Maharashtra. He was not the first to coin the word Hindutva or popularize it (that credit goes to Chandranath Basu from another legendary revolutionary state- Bengal) but it was he who did the first heavy lifting and made the groundwork solid. Scholars of Dharmic and nationalist schools have been adding to that corpus since that day. To understand the system, you must read the code documentation. Sampaths's book is that documentation.
[The modern Hindutva project must aim to expand this into the fields of law, policy, tech, arts and economics.]
https://mobile.twitter.com/Kanishka4Kushan/status/1346834035356573697
Part 2: But...
No. Savarkar was not what you have been told about. Read with an open mind. It is more than likely that you cry or shake in several parts. For eg when the young boy takes a blood oath in front of the Devi for the independence of his motherland. The most cathartic experience was reading Mohan Lal Dhingra's final statement in court:
The judge then asked Dhingra if he wished to make any statements
regarding the prosecution’s case, to which he nonchalantly replied that he
concurs with all the witnesses. He did not want to call any evidences in his
favour but however wished to read his statement. The historic statement of
Madan Lal Dhingra was as follows:
I do not want to say anything in defence of myself, but simply to prove the justice of my deed. As for myself, no English law court has got any authority to arrest and detain me in prison, or pass sentence of death on me. That is the reason I did not have any counsel to defend me. And I maintain that if it is patriotic in an Englishman to fight against the Germans if they were to occupy this country, it is much more justifiable and patriotic in my case to fight against the English. I hold the English people responsible for the murder of 80 millions of Indian people in the last fifty years, and they are also responsible for taking away £100,000,000 every year from India to this country. I also hold them responsible for the hanging and deportation of my patriotic countrymen, who did just the same as the English people here are advising their countrymen to do. And the Englishman who goes out to India and gets, say, £100 a month, that simply means that he passes a sentence of death on a thousand of my poor countrymen, because these thousand people could easily live on this £100, which the Englishman spends mostly on his frivolities and pleasures. Just as the Germans have no right to occupy this country, so the English people have no right to occupy India, and it is perfectly justifiable on our part to kill the Englishman who is polluting our sacred land. I am surprised at the terrible hypocrisy, the farce, and the mockery of the English people. They pose as the champions of oppressed humanity—the peoples of the Congo and the people of Russia—when there is terrible oppression and horrible atrocities committed in India; for example, the killing of two millions of people every year and the outraging of our women. In case this country is occupied by Germans, and the Englishman, not bearing to see the Germans walking with the insolence of conquerors in the streets of London, goes and kills one or two Germans, and that Englishman is held as a patriot by the people of this country, then certainly I am prepared to work for the emancipation of my Motherland. Whatever else I have to say is in the paper before the Court. I make this statement, not because I wish to plead for mercy or anything of that kind. I wish that English people should sentence me to death, for in that case the vengeance of my countrymen will be all the more keen. I put forward this statement to show the justice of my cause to the outside world, and especially to our sympathizers in America and Germany.
The Court was stunned and the room fell silent. When asked if he still
wanted recourse to legal aid, an irritated Dhingra said:
I have told you over and over again that I do not acknowledge the authority of the Court. You can do whatever you like. I do not mind at all. You can pass sentence of death on me. I do not care. You white people are all-powerful now, but, remember, it shall have our turn in the time to come, when we can do what we like.
The judge pronounced Dhingra guilty of the crime on 17 August and
sentenced him to death by hanging. He was committed to the sessions trial
held at Old Bailey, to be conducted by Chief Justice Lord Alverston. Even
as he was being led away by the police, Dhingra addressed the judge and
said: ‘Thank you, my Lord. I don’t care. I am proud to have the honour of
laying down my life for the cause of my motherland.’
Dhingra was lodged at Brixton Jail where Vinayak came to meet him on
22 July. While his entire family had disowned him, Vinayak stood firmly
beside Dhingra. The two had an emotional meeting with tears streaming
down their cheeks. ‘I have come to have the darshan (meeting) of a great
patriot and martyr,’ Vinayak is said to have told Dhingra, to which the
latter fell to his feet with tears of joy and gratitude. During their next
meeting a few days later, Dhingra conveyed two wishes: that he should get
a small mirror so that he may be sure that he was going to the gallows with
the same cheerful face and that he be cremated in strict accordance with
Hindu rites and that no non-Hindu Mleccha should be allowed to touch his body. He also decreed that his clothes and belongings be sold and the money thus obtained be utilized for the nationalist cause.
And,
The British intelligence reports contend that the style of
writing was so like Vinayak’s that it could have well been written by him.
Vinayak approached David Garnett, a friend who worked with the Daily
News in London, and asked him if he had the courage to publish the
statement that no other London newspaper dared to. Garnett took the piece
to his boss, Robert Lynd, who agreed to publish the ‘scoop’ as an exclusive
for the morning edition of 16 August 1909—a day prior to Dhingra’s
execution. The editor’s note had the following preface to Dhingra’s final
statement that was titled as ‘Challenge’: 123
A copy has been placed in our hands of the statement, which Dhingra drew up before
the murder, intending it to be read as if it had been subsequently drawn up. To this
document, the prisoner referred in the course of the trial, but it was not given to the
public. We may add that a copy has been, for some time, in the possession of certain
of Dhingra’s compatriots. The statement is as follows:
CHALLENGE
I admit, the other day, I attempted to shed English blood as a humble revenge for the inhuman hangings and deportations of patriotic Indian youths. In this attempt I have consulted none but my own conscience; I have conspired with none but my own duty. I believe that a nation held in bondage with the help of foreign bayonets is in perpetual state of war. Since open battle is rendered impossible to a disarmed race, I attacked by surprise; since guns were denied to me, I drew forth my pistol and fired. As a Hindu, I feel that a wrong done to my country is an insult to God. Poor in health and intellect, a son like myself has nothing to offer to the Mother but his own blood, and so I have sacrificed the same on her altar. Her cause is the cause of Shri Rama. Her services are the services of Shri Krishna. This War of Independence will continue between India and England so long as the Hindu and the English races last (if this present unnatural relation does not cease). The only lesson required in India at present is to learn how to die and the only way to teach it is by dying ourselves. Therefore I die and glory to my martyrdom. My only prayer to God is: may I be reborn of the same Mother and may I re-die in the same sacred cause till the cause is successful and she stands free for the good of humanity and the glory of God.
Vande Mataram!
Decades later, when Lloyd George explained to Winston Churchill his
admiration for Dhingra’s patriotism, it is said that Churchill exclaimed:
‘Dhingra’s last words are the finest ever made in the name of patriotism’
and even compared him with Plutarch’s immortal heroes.
Savarkar was a revolutionary with a poet's heart. He was a brilliant poet and wrote extensively on almost everything (a personal motivation for me to write more). The man who wrote emotional lurical poems that still captivate those versed in Marathi (Sampath provides some good translated poems in his book) wrote and planned national revolution with these words:
Our guerilla bands would thus exhaust the enemy and increase their stores
of arms by capturing a large number of the enemy’s cannon, and would
eventually grow into a large army. And then, the fight between those who
fight for independence and for a principle and those who fight for empire
and for paltry lucre can only have one issue—the victory of the principle
and the destruction of the tyrannous empire.
So, brothers and sisters of Hindusthan, let us clear ourselves of the
illusion that we are disarmed! Let us rush into the battlefield and hammer
down the chains that are binding us. Kalkin—the new ideal of Swadharma
and Swaraj—is already born amongst us, for Dharma is in Her deaththroes
and Adharma is prospering in the world! Let us flock to the
standard of the new Avatar and engage the tyrant in battle! Let our faith be
great in the principle for which we fight! Let us fill ourselves with the
haughty spirit of our ancestors and defend Dharma to the death! And Kali
shall die, and a new age shall dawn for Hindusthan, and for all the world!
—for the Scarlet Woman of the West will no more role in Hindusthan and
tyrannize the earth!
And,
The stern vows we took to fight under Her banner in order to win Her
Freedom back even at the cost of our lives have thus been fulfilled. What a
relief! Blessed indeed are we that He should have given us strength to burn
down the Self in us to ashes before our very eyes. We have served the
Cause and fighting fell. This was all we aimed at!
(3)
We dedicated to Thee our thoughts; our speech and our eloquence we
dedicated to Thee, Oh Mother! My lyre sang of Thee alone: my pen wrote
to Thee alone, Oh Mother!
It was on thy altar that I sacrificed my health and my wealth. Neither
the longing looks of a young wife vainly waiting for my return nor the
pearls of laughter of dear children, nor the helplessness of a sister-in-law
stranded and left to starve could hold me back at the call of Thy Trumpet!
My eldest brother—so brave, so sternly resolute, and yet so oftly loving
—was sacrificed on Thy altar. The youngest one—so dear, so young—he
too followed him into the flames; and now here am I, Oh Mother! Bound
to Thy Sacrifical Pillar! What of these! Had we been seven instead of only
three I would have sacrificed them all—in thy cause!
Thy Cause is Holy! Thy Cause I believed to be the Cause of God! And
in serving it I knew I served the Lord!
Thirty crorers are Her children! Those amongst them who possessed of
this divine rage die in Her cause shall ever live! And our family tree, Oh
Sister! Thus uprooted shall strike its roots deep and bloom immortality.
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Part 3: a small glimpse of the thrilling story
[from my archives]
- Bhagat Singh was NOT a communist. Read the works of his co conspirator Sachindranath Sanyal. Also, HSA had Savarkar's works in their primary reading lists. Infact the 4th edition of his book 1857 was infact printed by Bhagat Singh. He wanted freedom and not communism.
- Savarkar is the father of modern Bharat.
- Savarkar's Abhinav Bharat was in contact with Kemal Pasha and Irish revolutionaries. He had personally met Lenin before the October revolution too. His international custody case as the "enemy of the empire" was fought by none other than the grandson of Marx.
- What a man!
- Savarkar was so progressive that he would have irked even modern Hindus.
- Bhikaji Cama was the first Indian (and a woman) who unfurled the "Tiranga", guess who designed the flag? Yes. Vinayak Savarkar.
- Savarkar was a huge fan of Sikhs. He wrote "A History of Sikhs" in London, though no official copy of it now survives. He could read Gurumukhi and speak fluent Punjabi. In Kalapani, he constructed Guru Govind Singh's biography in poems.
- If Savarkar was evil then why did Gandhi called Savarkar "A faithful son of Bharat, brave, clever and frankly a revolutionary…"? Why did he call Savarkar 'bhai' & wrote multiple letters for his release without being asked to do so? Why did Indira praise "Savarkar’s daring defiance of the British"?
- "Writing national revolutionary must be a part of national strategy"-Savarkar
- Another false narrative is about Bose hating Savarkar (he did criticize Hindu Mahasabha, but he was a fan of Savarkar).
- Savarkar had prophesized an all out war between Britain and Germany in 6 years in 1910 (So acute was his sense geopolitics and history).
- Savarkar was the first to write an Indian narrative for 1857 calling it the "First War of Independence" at a time when it was called "Mutiny of 1857"
- Savarkar opened the first temple "open for all castes" and called it the "Patit Pawan Mandir"
Savarkar had suggested and aided Netaji to move out of India through Afghanistan to setup INA.
It was on the advice of Savarkar that Rash Behari Bose wrote to Netaji Bose, the then Congress President, informing him of the activities of revolutionary freedom fighters abroad who were working under the Indian Independence League (IIL).
On 21 June 1940, a meeting between Subhas Bose and Veer Savarkar took place at latter’s residence in Dadar to “explore the possibilities of co-operation between Forward Block and Hindu Mahasabbha”. The meeting was said to have changed Netaji’s course of action. It was Savarkar who had advised Subhas “not to waste time organising protests for the removal of British statues like Holwell Monument in Calcutta.” Instead, Savarkar suggested Bose that “he should smuggle himself out of the country, reach out to the axis powers and raise an Indian Army of liberation out of Prisoner of War (PoWs).”
The radio broadcasts of Azad Hind Fauj from Singapore acknowledge the debt they owed to the vision of Savarkar.
On June 25, 1944, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in his speech on Azad Hind Radio showered praises on Savarkar. Netaji said:
When due to misguided political whims and lack of vision, almost all the leaders of Congress party have been decrying all the soldiers in Indian Army as mercenaries, it is heartening to know that Veer Savarkar is fearlessly exhorting the youths of India to enlist in armed forces. These enlisted youths themselves provide us with trained men and soldiers for our Indian National Army.
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The symbol of Hindutva is not the cow but the man-lion or Narasimha.The qualities of god permeate into his worshipper. Considering the cow tobe divine and worshipping her has rendered the entire Hindu nation docilelike the cow. It started eating grass. If we are to now indeed establish ournation on the basis of an animal, let that animal be the lion. Using its sharpclaws in one leap, the lion fatally knocks and wounds its opponents. Weneed to worship such a Narasimha. That and not the cow’s hooves is thereal mark of Hindutva. The cow, exploited and eaten at will, is anappropriate symbol of our present-day weakness. But at least the Hindunation of tomorrow should not have such a pitiable symbol.
He wrote about the objectives of his secret society, Abhinav Bharat:
The Abhinav Bharat calls for total and complete freedom, to attain which armed
revolution is an inevitable means. But was our goddess of freedom a blood-thirsty and
anarchist deity? No, not at all. The excess of hyper nationalism is as dangerous as the
complete lack of it. We need to deliberate on the binaries of Violence versus nonviolence;
truth versus falsehood, nationalism and humanity in our weekly meetings.
Our testing stone needs to be Utilitarianism—the maximum good to the maximum
people. But truth is relative and how do we then define what is good and what is bad?
Well the obvious acts such as a thief going scot-free and a saint being executed is
clearly untruth, disqualification and adharma . And whenever the cruel exploiting
force gags the voice of truth in this manner, then the forces of justice must unite to
decimate them and to do that secretive and strategic coming together becomes our
dharmic responsibility. After all, Lord Krishna also grew up in stealth in Nanda’s
house before killing Kamsa. If he had gone strictly with the ‘truth’ he would have
been killed by Kamsa’s demons. Similarly, Shivaji stealthily escaped from
Aurangzeb’s capture. Secrecy per se is neither good nor bad but what its utility is for,
gives it a positive or negative character. Similar is the case with national struggle. For
the restoration of legitimate rights through which the maximum good is possible to the
maximum number of people, the struggle through violence is also a virtuous act,
while supporting an exploitative force that captures another’s land, property and rights
and destroys another’s house is demoniac and needs to be destroyed ruthlessly. The
nation must always be for the good of its people.
Easy patriotism seems like the order of the day and has also led several people to important positions, but for us the steps of patriotism lead straight to the noose. If allthese courteous petitions to the government seeking concessions could lead to freedom, we would be the happiest. But since that is an impossibility, that is why weare going on this path. The path of petitions and requests are important and at best,they were preliminary measures. But the ultimate means was only armed struggle.
However, this path will be bloody and that is something I keep emphasizing to myassociates by narrating the tales of similar political revolutions in Netherlands, Ireland,Italy, etc. It will not just be imprisonment like Tilak suffered. But you will be beatenblack and blue, eyes gouged out, kept hungry for days and weeks, your parents, wifeand kids will be brought before you and insulted in front of your eyes. While youmight be strong enough to suffer physical and mental tortures on yourself but to seeyour innocent family suffer in front of you will require strength of another kind. Everytrick will be employed by the oppressor to break your will, your soul, your heart andyour resolve. Do you have it in you to suffer like the Hindus did in the past or theProtestants? Do you have it in you to burn in the pyre like Sati and yet remain aliveand be a warrior of dharma for your country? If yes, only then this path is open foryou.
The book is filled with revolutionaries, secret societies, people who actually fought the cruel English ("worse than the Yavana king, those English" as Mr Chapekar noted). Many names who should have been on the tongues of the youth
- VVS Aiyyar,
- Sachindranath Sanyal,
- Chapekar Brothers,
- Balwant Phadke,
- Madan Lal Dhingra,
- Madam Bhikaji Cama ("mother of revolutionaries"),
- Shyamji Krishna Verma,
- Anant Kanhare
- Senapati Bapat
‘Sakal lok ek karaave, ek
vichaare bharaave, kashte karun ghasaraave, mlenchaanvari ’ (Gather and
organize everyone, then inspire them and prepare them for the struggle to
expel the foreigners) ---Samarth Ramdas (Shivaji's Guru) quoted by Savarkar in a secret meeting
"To secure and preserve high ideals, human killing is perfectly justified"- Panduranga Mahadev "Senapati" Bapat
The fight and the chaos before Indian Independence was not as simple as mainstream narrative makes it out to be. There were factions. A lot of them. But the flame of eternal valour since the most glorious ancient Chakravarti Samarats of entire South East Asia to the undying resistance to Mlechha in all corners of India (the reason why the Mughals yielded in 200 years and the others even earlier- the flame burnt strong in all corners- the Rajputana, Sikh Empire, Ahoms, Marathas, Vijayanagaram, and innumerable other Rajas and local Jaatis who kept the flag high in some corner in some form in some corner of Bharatvarsha, carving out their own dominions, the reason why the EIC lost control after a century, and the Crown again in less than a century- even after world's largest genocide, cultural enslavement and complete economic drainage- from the richest to dying of starvation, from the most advanced in maths and sciences to entirely missing out on the industrial revolution, etc etc, you get the point) was kept only by Hindutva. Only Savarkar recognised that India is much more than a "nation state" and at what was at stake was not just the political independence of the territory. While Congress was reduced to a begging arena and a tea party for the rich, others gave up much much more and yet are unrecognised.
Babur was expelled from his homeland like a dog. He landed in India, killed/converted your ancestors & in 200 yrs, his bloodline remained as nothing more than spit-licking slaves of Maratha & then British masters. All fans of Babur will meet the same end. Ab kagaj khoj [REDACTED].- ( [X] on twitter )
Saavarkar would in his later years go on to say that he cannot accept the "vivisection of our mother" (the Partition) at any cost. But that era is outside the scope of the book and this article.
Lets look at the meetings of Savarkar with the man whose movement eventually overtook his (only because Vinayak was imprisoned for 23 years, for being "the enemy of the empire" while Gandhi toured the country. His philosophy is finally in power after 70 years of India's independence):
1) First encounter:
Meanwhile, in October 1906, there was an interesting encounter between
two individuals in London. They were to be political rivals for several
decades thereafter, and their respective ideologies were to divide Indian
polity irrevocably. This was when Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi came
calling to India House and met Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. Srivastava quotes an anecdote narrated to him by an eyewitness, Pandit
Parmanandaji of Jhansi, a veteran freedom fighter. Vinayak was busy
cooking his meal when Gandhi joined him to engage in a political
discussion. Cutting him short, Vinayak asked him to first eat a meal with
them. Gandhi was horrified to see the Chitpawan Brahmin cooking
prawns, and being a staunch vegetarian refused to partake. Vinayak had
apparently mocked him and retorted: ‘Well, if you cannot eat with us, how
on earth are you going to work with us? Moreover . . . this is just boiled
fish . . . while we want people who are ready to eat the British alive.’
This was obviously not a great first meeting and their differences only
widened with time.
"I met Savarkar in London. He is brave, clever, patriot, revolutionary. Saw evil of the British Govt much earlier than I did He is in Andaman (jail) for having loved India" -Gandhi after this encounter
2) Second (indirect) confrontation after Savarkar's follower and friend Dhingra assassinated an English informant:
Gandhi wrote: "A
man’s own courage consists in suffering deeply and over a long period. That alone is
a brave act, which is preceded by careful reflection. I must say that those who believe
and argue that such murders may do good to India are ignorant men indeed. No act of
treachery can ever profit a nation. Even should the British leave in consequence of
such murderous acts, who will rule in their place? The only answer is: the murderers.
Who will then be happy? Is the Englishman bad because he is an Englishmen? Is it
that everyone with an Indian skin is good?"
<he himself called blacks unworthy kaffirs, but nevermind, lets see how Madam Cama responded to the same event in The Bande Mataram>
Cama wrote: "Young India has produced another hero, whose words and deeds shall be cherished
by the whole world for centuries to come. Dhingra’s declaration will be treasured in
the archives of national and universal history as a precious heirloom for future
generations. Dhingra has behaved at each stage of his trial like a hero of ancient
times. He has reminded us of the history of Medieval Rajputs and Sikhs, who loved
death like a bride. England thinks she has killed Dhingra: in reality, he lives forever
and has given the death-blow to British sovereignty in India. Life immortal is his; who
can take it away from him. All nations have watched Dhingra’s trial with bated breath,
and have felt that New India is unconquerable because she can give birth to such
heroic sons.
The Indian patriotic party, which has declared War of the Knife with England has
issued a manifesto, in the course of which it says: ‘Dhingra has found out the secret of
Life; he has discovered the path of Immortality. He has realized the highest destiny of
Man . . . he has lifted himself above the common run of men and joined the company
of the saints and heroes.’ These words sum up the attitude of India towards our
patriot-martyr.
In time to come, when the British Empire in India shall have been reduced to ashes,
Dhingra’s monument will adorn the squares of our chief towns, recalling to the
memory of our children the noble life and the nobler death of him who laid down his
life in a far-off land for the cause he loved so well."
3) Third encounter:
Gandhi met Vinayak again on 24 October 1909. The Indian community gathered to celebrate the festival of Vijayadashami in London.
Gandhi gave his speech before Savarkar:
Everyone, whether Hindu, Muslim or Parsi, should be proud of belonging to a
country, which produced a man like Shri Ramachandra. To the extent that he was a
great Indian, he should be honoured by every Indian. For the Hindus, he is a god. If
India again produced a Ramachandra, a Sita, a Lakshmana and a Bharata, she would
attain prosperity in no time. It should be remembered, of course, that before
Ramachandra qualified for public service, he suffered exile in the forest for 12 years.
Sita went through extreme suffering and Lakshmana lived without sleep all those
years and observed celibacy. When Indians learn to live in that manner, they can,
from that instant count themselves as free men. India has no other way of achieving
happiness for herself
Then came Savarkar's turn:
Indirectly puncturing holes in
Gandhi’s arguments, he said that it would be worthwhile to remember that
Vijayadashami is preceded by a nine-day fast to propitiate Goddess Durga,
who is a symbol of war and annihilation of evil. He concurred with Gandhi
that Ramachandra was the life and soul of India but urged the audience to
remember that even he could not establish Rama Rajya (his kingdom)
without slaying Ravana who symbolized tyranny, aggression and injustice.
If Ramachandra had merely sat on a fast, it was unlikely that his kingdom
could have been established. He went on:
Hindus are the heart of Hindustan. Nevertheless, just as the beauty of the rainbow is
not impaired but enhanced by its varied hues, so also Hindustan will look all the more
beautiful across the sky of future by assimilating all the best from the Muslim, Parsee,
Jewish and other civilizations.
The clash between the ideologies of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi & Vinayak Damodar Savarkar had only just begun.
4) Fourth encounter:
Gandhi now held complete control over Congress (Khilafat days). He and Savarkae clashed on several fronts: "charkha is a good symbol for national self reliance but a useless idea in the age of machines" "what good would a fill the jails movement do" "pacifist movement assume morality in their oppressors" . All limits were crossed after Gandhi praised the muslims who skinned Hindus alive and made them dig their own graves before slaughtering them en masse in Moplah, Kerala. Vinayak had been warning for a long time about the dangers of pan Islamism accelerated by the Khilafat movement based on the false premise of "Hindu Muslim Unity" with true history buried under the weight of a "secular" dream. This one sided love story only worsened the state of the Hindu society (the movement would ultimately lead to the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan).
5) Both Gandhi and Savarkar agreed on the unitary nature of the nation state and its existence
stretching back to pre-British and even pre-Islamic times.
In an obvious rebuttal of the Gandhian philosophy of non-violence,
Vinayak stated that Buddhism did not collapse merely because of its
philosophical differences with Vedic Hinduism or its internal bickering.
Instead, Vinayak explained, the problem was at the political level.
Buddhist expansion was disastrous to both national virility and the
existence of India. It was not an eventual decline; in its very inception, at
its core, Buddhism was incompatible with nationhood because of its
philosophy of non-violence. This preponderance with non-violence meant
that the Indian nation fell easy victim to warlike outsiders such as the
Huns. Buddhism, he stated, had nothing to offer against violence and thus
the Indians had to go back to the Vedic ‘fire’ to make steel to fight.
Non-violence, he opined, was answerless when pitted against ‘people
inferior to Indians, in language, religion, philosophy, mercy, and all the
soft human attributes . . . but superior to them in strength alone—in fire
and sword’.
* more interesting anecdotes would be in the next book i suppose
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My brothers, you will surely bear me out when I say that, ground down under the
sufferings as I was during the fourteen long years that I spent in the Andamans and
even to the last day here, I have not flinched or retracted from what I was preaching
all my life. I have given you the stories of all our martyrs and I have advised all along
to hold firm by our creed of violent resistance if circumstances were to force it upon
us. I have kept the flag flying. When I heard the sentence passed upon me fourteen
years ago, the words dancing upon my lips were the same that are dancing upon them
today. I uttered them then, I have uttered them during my long stay in prison, and
they come forth from my mouth today, to be carved on your heart and mind, and to
ring in your ears for good. Let us say all of us, ‘Glory to the Goddess of Freedom;
Victory to our Mother.’
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For, the bones of Bahadur Shah are crying vengeance from their grave!
For, the blood of dauntless Laxmi is boiling with indignation! For the
shahid Peer Ali of Patna, when he was going to the gallows for having
refused to divulge the secrets of the conspiracy, whispered defiance to the
Firungee, said in prophetic words, ‘You may hang me today, you may hang
such as me every day, but thousands will still rise in my place—your
object will never be gained’.
Indians, these words must be fulfilled! Your blood, Oh Martyrs, shall be
avenged!!!
Bande Mataram!
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Vinayak Savarkar attained samadhi on 26 Feb 1966 after 24 days of fasting in the tradition of our great Rishis.
Eagerly Waiting for the next installment by Mr Sampath.
#A list of popular works by Savarkar:
- Essentials of Hindutva
- 6 Glorious Epochs of Indian History
- Hindu Rashtra Darshan [(Six Presidential Addresses to Hindu Mahasabha)]
- Hindu PadPadshahi
- The Indian War of Independence 1857
- Book on Sikh History (all copies destroyed now)
- "Samagra Savarkar Vangmaya" (Collected Works)
- A good resource: http://savarkar.org/en//Encyc/2017/6/6/Literature.html
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PS : a very heinous allegation on Savarkar is that he was an advocate of rape as a political weapon. This is completely rubbish. A good, comprehensive refutation: https://swarajyamag.com/ideas/did-savarkar-justify-rape-as-a-political-weapon
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Victory to the goddess of freedom!
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