The Great Veer Sawarkar : Biography ! 2024!

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Veer Sawarkar : Birth , Education, And Contribution

Veer Sawarkar :- Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, known worldwide as Veer Savarkar, was an Indian author, activist, and politician. Born on May 28, 1883, in the village of Bhagur near Nasik city in Maharashtra to Damodar and Radhabai Savarkar, he belonged to a Marathi Chitpavan Brahmin Hindu family. Vinayak had a sister named Maina and two additional siblings named Ganesh and Narayan.

He developed unique Hindu nationalist political ideologies during his imprisonment in Ratnagiri in 1922, which came to be known as Hindutva. He played a leading role in the Hindu Mahasabha. When he wrote his autobiography, he adopted the honorific prefix “Veer,” meaning “brave.”

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar aided in training a cadre in techniques of sabotage and assassination for Indian revolutionaries. His associates purportedly learned these techniques from Russian revolutionary exiles in Paris, while Savarkar himself studied law in London from 1906 to 1910.

In 1909, Savarkar authored his work “The Indian War of Independence 1857,” expressing the idea that the 1857 Indian rebellion was a significant and widespread resistance against British colonial rule. He was arrested in March 1910 and extradited to India, where he was tried and convicted for his involvement in revolutionary activities. He was later sentenced to life imprisonment in the Andaman Islands for his alleged complicity in the assassination of a British district magistrate.

In 1921, he was repatriated to India, and in 1924, he was released from prison. After 1937, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar began extensive touring, emerging as an inspirational speaker and writer who promoted Hindu political and social unity. He chaired the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan in Mumbai in 1938.

Savarkar advocated for Hindu nationalism, Hindu nationhood, and demanded a separate Sikh state for Sikhs in Punjab. Until 1937, he resided in Ratnagiri, where he joined the Hindu Mahasabha, an organization that espoused Hindu claims of religious and cultural superiority over aggressively withstood Indian Muslims. He served as its president for seven years. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar retired from Bombay in 1943. He was implicated in the assassination of Mohandas K. Gandhi by a former member of the Mahasabha in 1948. However, subsequent investigations found insufficient evidence to convict him.

After both were acquitted by the Indian National Congress in 1939, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar struck a deal with the Muslim League. He also agreed with the idea of a two-nation theory. He openly expressed dissent against the decision taken at the Vardha session of the Congress Working Committee in 1942, which accepted a proposal directing the British colonial authorities to “Quit India but keep your armies here” to protect India from potential Japanese invasion. The British government revoked Savarkar’s graduation degree for his involvement in the Indian independence movement. In June 1906, he went to London to become a barrister. While in London, he encouraged Indian students to resist British colonial stereotypes. He supported the use of arms in India’s struggle for independence.

On March 13, 1910, he was arrested in London and extradited to India to face charges. However, when the ship carrying him reached Marseille, France, he was arrested by French police. On December 24, 1910, he was sentenced to imprisonment in the Andaman Islands. He also attempted to educate illiterate prisoners during his imprisonment.

In July 1942, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar resigned from the presidency of the Hindu Mahasabha. He felt the need for rest and found himself overwhelmed with more work than he could handle. His resignation coincided with the Quit India Movement led by Gandhi. He was accused of conspiring in Gandhi’s assassination in 1948, but the court acquitted him due to lack of evidence.

After Gandhi’s assassination, an angry mob also pelted stones at Savarkar’s residence in Dadar, Bombay. Savarkar was detained by the government to give a “Hindu nationalist lecture” after being acquitted of charges related to Gandhi’s assassination and released from jail; ultimately, he was released in exchange for giving up his political activities. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar discussed the social and cultural aspects of Hindutva. After the removal of restrictions, he continued his political activism, although it was limited until his death in 1966 due to poor health. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar criticized B.R. Ambedkar’s adoption of Buddhism in 1956 as “futile work,” which prompted Ambedkar to openly question Savarkar’s use of the “Veer” label. Savarkar’s wife, Yamunabai, passed away on November 8, 1963.

On February 1, 1966, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar renounced food, water, and medication, marking the day as his “self-sacrifice” (fast until death). In an article titled “Not Suicide, but Sacrifice,” which he published before his demise, he stated that when someone’s life’s purpose is fulfilled, and they are no longer capable of benefiting society, it is better to end their life rather than waiting for death. Attempts to revive him failed, and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was declared dead at his home in Bombay (now Mumbai) at 11:10 AM on February 26, 1966.

His condition was described as “very serious,” and he requested his family to fully cremate him and adopt Hindu rituals for the 10th and 13th days before his death. Eventually, his son Vishwas performed his final rites at an electric crematorium in Sonapur, Bombay, the next day.

He authored books like “Who is a Hindu?” (1923), which popularized the term Hindutva (“Hinduness”) during his time in jail and presented Indian culture as the pride of Hindu values. This idea later evolved into an important principle of Hindu nationalism.