V. D. Savarkar

V. D. Savarkar
Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain · source
Name	Vinayak Damodar Savarkar
Birth date	28 May 1883
Death date	26 February 1966
Birth place	Bhagur, Bombay Presidency, British India
Occupations	Lawyer, politician, writer, poet
Notable works	The First War of Indian Independence (1876) [note: published 1909], Six Glorious Epochs, Hindutva: Who Is a Hindu?

V. D. Savarkar Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was an Indian independence activist, political thinker, lawyer, and writer associated with radical Indian independence movement currents and later with Hindutva ideology. He combined revolutionary militant activity, legal advocacy, literary production, and political organization, influencing figures and institutions across British India, the Indian National Congress, and Hindu Mahasabha. His life included exile, imprisonment at Cellular Jail, and contentious interactions with leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and Jawaharlal Nehru.

Early life and education

Savarkar was born in Bhagur, near Nashik, in the Bombay Presidency and educated at local schools before attending the University of Bombay and later Elphinstone College. He travelled to London to study law at Gray's Inn and engaged with diasporic political circles including the India House milieu associated with Shyamji Krishna Varma and the Hindu–German Conspiracy. In London he interacted with activists from Anushilan Samiti, Jugantar, and students from Oxford University, participating in debates and publishing in journals connected to Indian Home Rule Society and Free India Society.

Political ideology and writings

Savarkar developed a distinctive nationalist and cultural ideology later termed Hindutva, articulating it in works such as "Hindutva: Who Is a Hindu?" and historical interpretations like "The First War of Indian Independence". His writings referenced historical figures and events including Shivaji, Tipu Sultan, Marathas, Mughal Empire, and the 1857 Rebellion. He engaged with European theorists and contemporary intellectuals such as Giuseppe Mazzini, Herbert Spencer, and Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, drawing on notions of nationhood that intersected with debates within Indian National Congress factions and regional organisations like Poona Sarvajanik Sabha and Mahratta education societies.

Revolutionary activities and imprisonment

In London Savarkar was implicated in clandestine actions tied to the Hindu–German Conspiracy and accused in the Assassination of Cavendish investigations; deported to India after arrest, he was tried under Indian Penal Code provisions and convicted. He was imprisoned in Cellular Jail at Port Blair, Andaman Islands, and later held at Yerwada Central Jail alongside leaders like Bal Gangadhar Tilak and corresponded with prisoners connected to Alipore Bomb Case. His period of incarceration involved writings, legal appeals, and petitions that intersected with figures such as Lord Kitchener and colonial officials in Calcutta and Bombay Presidency.

Role in Hindu nationalism and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh influence

After release, Savarkar became a leading voice in the Hindu Mahasabha, advocating a vision that influenced organisations including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and leaders like K. B. Hedgewar and M. S. Golwalkar. He promoted cultural programs, historical revisionism, and political strategies oriented toward consolidating Hindu identity in relation to communities represented by Muslim League, All India Anglo-Indian Association, and regional parties in Punjab and Bengal Presidency. His interactions with political actors such as C. Rajagopalachari and debates with Abul Kalam Azad shaped communal and constitutional controversies during the Indian independence movement and early discussions leading to the Indian Independence Act 1947.

Later political career and controversy over Gandhi assassination

In post-release politics Savarkar served in the leadership of Hindu Mahasabha and contested elections in the years around Indian independence. He was arrested and tried in connection with the Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi; the Bombay High Court and appellate proceedings implicated associates such as Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte while judicial outcomes and petitions involved figures like Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and members of the Indian judiciary. Debates over his alleged complicity remained politically charged, involving archival evidence, witness testimony, and statements by contemporaries including Vallabhbhai Patel and commentators in publications tied to Press Trust of India and regional newspapers in Bombay.

Legacy and reception

Savarkar's legacy remains polarising: celebrated by organisations such as Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and segments of Bharatiya Janata Party for his nationalist advocacy and critiqued by historians, scholars, and political rivals for his communal positions and responses to violence. Academic assessments reference historians like R.C. Majumdar, Gopal Guru, Vinayak Chaturvedi, and institutions such as Jawaharlal Nehru University and University of Delhi in debates over his role in Indian historiography. Memorialisation includes statues in Maharashtra and commemorations by groups in Mumbai, while legal and scholarly reassessments continue in archives at National Archives of India and international collections in British Library.

Category:Indian independence activists Category:Indian politicians Category:People from Nashik District