Vinayak Damodar Savarkar Biography: Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, also known as Swatantryaveer Savarkar, Vinayak Savarkar, and Veer Savarkar in Marathi, was a freedom fighter, Indian independence leader, and politician who coined the Hindutva ideology. Savarkar was born on May 28, 1883, and passed away on February 26, 1966. He was an influential member of the Hindu Mahasabha. This article will provide a comprehensive biography of Veer Savarkar.
Savarkar joined the Hindu Mahasabha and popularised Chandranath Basu’s term Hindutva (Hinduness) in order to establish a “Hindu” collective identity as the essence of Bharat (India). Savarkar was an agnostic who pragmatically practised Hindu philosophy.
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar Biography
Life and Education of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in His Youth
We will now examine Veer Savarkar’s early life and education. Vinayak Savarkar was born on May 28, 1883, in the village of Bhagur, near Nashik, Maharashtra, to Damodar and Radhabai Savarkar, a Marathi Chitpavan Brahmin Hindu family. Other members of his family included Ganesh, Narayan, and a sister named Maina.
The news of the atrocities committed against Hindus during the Hindu–Muslim riots of 1893 in Bombay and Pune inspired Savarkar to pursue vengeance when he was 12 years old. Consequently, he guided a select group of students to a village mosque. The Battalion of students who threw stones at it, fracturing its windows and tiles, destroyed it.
Savarkar attended Fergusson College in Pune and earned a bachelor’s degree. He was assisted by Shyamji Krishna Varma in obtaining a scholarship to study in England. He attended ‘Gray’s Inn Law College’ and sought refuge at ‘India House.’ It was a residence for students in North London. Veer Savarkar inspired his fellow Indian students in London to establish the ‘Free India Society’ in order to struggle for independence from the British.
Career
Pune’s Fergusson College pupil Ganesh Savarkar was influenced by Lokmanya Tilak, Giuseppe Mazzini, and Madanlal Dhingra. He published books advocating for the independence of India and translated the biography of Mazzini into Marathi. Savarkar met Mohandas Gandhi in London, where they discussed the futility of waging terrorism and guerilla warfare against the colonial state. Savarkar was detained in London in 1910 on charges of procuring arms, waging war against the state, and delivering subversive speeches. British authorities resolved to try him in India despite his alleged crimes in both Britain and India.
The commercial ship Morea transported Savarkar to India, but he evaded and sought political asylum in Marseille. His return was demanded by the French government, which filed an appeal with the Permanent Court of Arbitration. The case prompted international controversy and debate on the right to asylum. The Court ruled that British authorities were not required to return Savarkar to France for extradition proceedings as a result of cooperation between the two nations. Additionally, the court cited irregularities in Savarkar’s arrest and delivery. Savarkar was found guilty and given a 50-year penitentiary term.
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Works
Important literary works by Savarkar include ‘Mazi Janmathep,’ ‘Kamala,’ and ‘The Indian War of Independence.’ Many of his works were influenced by his time spent in jail. His book ‘Kale Pani’, for example, describes the struggles of Indian Independence activists in the infamous cellular penitentiary of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. ‘Gandhi Gondhal’ was the name of his political critique of Mahatma Gandhi’s politics. He is also well-known for writing poems such as ‘Jayostute’ and ‘Sagara Pran Talmalala.’ Among the many neologisms attributed to him are “Hutatma,” “Digdarshak,” “Doordhwani,” “Sansad,” “Tanklekhan,” “Saptahik,” “Mahapaur,” and “Shatkar.”
Death
On 8 November 1963, Savarkar’s wife, Yamunabai, passed. Savarkar abstained from medicine, food, and water on 1 February 1966, a practice he termed catamaran (fast until death). Prior to his death, he penned an article titled “Atmahatya Nahi Atmaarpan” in which he argued that when one’s life mission is accomplished and one can no longer serve society, it is preferable to end one’s life voluntarily rather than wait for death.
His condition was described as “extremely serious” prior to his death on 26 February 1966 at his residence in Bombay (now Mumbai), and he had difficulty breathing; efforts to revive him failed, and he was pronounced deceased at 11:10 a.m. (IST) that day. Prior to his passing, Savarkar requested that only his memorial be performed and that the 10th and 13th-day Hindu rituals be omitted. The next day, his son Vishwas performed his last rituals at an electric crematorium in the Sonapur neighbourhood of Bombay.
There was no official lament by then-Congress-led Maharashtra or central governments. No minister of the Maharashtra Cabinet was present to honour Savarkar. Savarkar’s political indifference persisted after his death.
