Who is Veer Savarkar?

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, fondly known Veer Savarkar, is being remembered on
his death anniversary as tributes were paid to the great freedom fighter and who
recalled him as the epitome of selflessness, patriotism and courage. Savarkar died
on this day in 1966.
Veer Savarkar was born to a Brahmin Hindu family on 28 May, 1883, at Bhagour,
Nashik District. His siblings were Ganesh, Mainabai and Narayan. He was known
for his bravery and so earned nickname “Veer”, that is a courageous person.

He was influenced by his elder brother Ganesh who had played an influential role in his
teenage life. Veer Savarkar also became a revolutionary young man. When he was
young, he organised a youth group named “Mitra Mela”;.

He was inspired by radical political leaders like Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and Bipin Chandra Pal and engages the group in revolutionary activities. He enrolled himself at
‘Fergusson College’ in Pune and completed his Bachelor’s Degree.

He received an offer to study law in England and offered a scholarship. He was
helped by Shyamji Krishna Varma to sent him England and pursue his studies. He
enrolled there at ‘Gray’s Inn Law College’ and took shelter at “India House”. It was a
student residence in North London.

In London, Veer Savarkar inspired his fellow Indian students and formed an organization “Free India Society”; to fight against Britishers for freedom.

Work done by Veer Savarkar in the Prison

During his prison time, he wrote an ideological pamphlet known as Hindutva: ‘Who
is a Hindu?’ And this was published by Savarkar’s supporters.

In the pamphlet, he described Hindu as a patriotic and proud inhabitant of ‘Bharatvarsha’ (India) and so influenced several Hindus.

He also described several religions as one and the same as Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Hinduism. According to him, all these religions can support the creation of ‘Akhand Bharat’ (United India or Greater India).

He was a self-proclaimed atheist, always proud to be a Hindu and described it as a
political and cultural identity.

Savarkar was released from the prison on 6 January, 1924 and played a crucial role in generating ‘Ratnagiri Hindu Sabha’.

This organisation aimed to preserve the social and cultural heritage of the Hindus.
Veer Savarkar in 1937, became the president of ‘Hindu Mahasabha’.

On the other side and same time, Muhammad Ali Jinnah declared Congress rule as ‘Hindu Raj’, which had worsened the already rising tension between the Hindus and the
Muslims.

Veer Savarkar is a president of ‘Hindu Mahasabha’, encouraged Hindus to support the British in the Second World War.

We can’t ignore that Veer Savarkar, on the other hand, was a fierce critic of the
Indian National Congress (INC) and Mahatma Gandhi.

He opposed the ‘Quit India Movement’ and later objected to INC’s acceptance of Indian partition. He proposed the co-existence of two nations in one country.

important works of Veer Savarkar

He wrote “The Indian War of Independence”. In his book “Kale Pani”, he mentioned
his cellular jail struggle of Indian Independence.

He criticised Mahatma Gandhi’s politics and wrote a book titled ‘Gandhi Gondhal’. He penned several poems like “Jayostute’ and “Sagara Pran Talmalala”.

He also created several neologisms like “Hutatma”, “Digdarshak”, “Doordhwani”, ‘Sansad’, ‘Tanklekhan’, ‘Mahapaur’ etc. among others.

At last, we can conclude that Veer Savarkar’s philosophy was no doubt unique and
consists of various elements like ethical, theological and philosophical theories. In
fact, his political philosophy is a mixture of humanism, rationalism, universalism,
positivism, utilitarianism, and realism. He also worked against some of India’s
social evils like caste discrimination and untouchability. His, books motivated
youth and because of his courageous behavior he had earned the nickname ‘Veer’
and came to be known as Veer Savarkar.

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