56th death anniversary of Savarkar observed in Maharashtra
Yesterday marked the 56th death anniversary of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, also known as Veer Savarkar, a renowned revolutionary and independence fighter. The renowned social reformer was honoured by the state’s governor, Ramesh Bais, the chief minister, Eknath Shinde, and the deputy chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis.
Buy Prime Test Series for all Banking, SSC, Insurance & other exams
56th death anniversary of Savarkar: Highlights from the Event
- In his address, CM Shinde praised Savarkar as a great revolutionary, a sincere patriot, a persuasive speaker, a talented author, and a social reformer.
- Fadnavis tweeted that Savarkar was a brilliant revolutionary, an ardent patriot, a real worshipper of the goddess of freedom.
- Sanjay Raut, the leader of the Uddhav Thackeray faction, referred to Veer Savarkar as a Maharashtrian legend and the valiant son of the state. Mr. Raut requested the Central Government to bestow the Bharat Ratna to Savarkar.
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was born on May 28, 1883, in the Maharashtrian village of Bhagur in the Nashik district. On February 26, 1966, he passed away in Bombay.
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar Biography, History, Books and Date of Birth
Facts about Vinayak Damodar Savarkar that you should know:
- When Veer Savarkar was a teenager, he founded the Mitra Mela youth group. This organisation was established to promote radical concepts.
- He supported Hindutva since he was a young child. Savarkar organised a march with his schoolmates when he was 12 years old to destroy a mosque as retaliation for Muslim “atrocities” done against Hindus.
- He was motivated to boycott British products by Lokmanya Tilak’s call while pursuing his B.A. at Pune’s Fergusson College. Savarkar built a bonfire on October 7, 1905, during Dussehra, and set everything he had from abroad ablaze.
- In 1909, Savarkar was detained on suspicion of planning an armed uprising against the Morley-Minto reform. He dove into the water to try to escape, but he was caught. He received two life sentences, or 50 years each, in the Andamans Cellular Jail, popularly known as Kala Pani, in 1911.
- Savarkar is frequently accused of being a “traitor” because he begged for forgiveness from the British government while he was in the Andaman Islands.
- Savarkar was released from prison in 1924 under the strict conditions that he refrain from engaging in politics for a period of five years.
- The British government outlawed many of Savarkar’s books or those that were based on them, including “The Indian War of Independence of 1857.” The Marathi edition of the book was prohibited even before it was published since it was seen to be quite provocative.
- Savarkar did not revere cows. Care for cows, not worship them, he advised his followers.
- He also accepted vegetarianism with no reservations, unlike many Brahmins of the time. When young Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi visited the India House in London, where Savarkar and other revolutionaries resided, in 1906, he first got to know the man.
- Savarkar urged “every true Indian” to make the mental decision to free themselves of the “seven fetters.” Vedoktabandi (exclusive access to Vedic literature), Vyavasayabandi (continuation of a profession by virtue of one’s birth), Sparshabandi (untouchability practises), Samudrabandi (forbidding the crossing of seas to travel to foreign lands), Shuddhibandi (forbidding reconversions to Hinduism), Rotibandi (inter-caste dining), and Betibandi were some of these (rigidity in abolishing inter-caste marriage).
- Bhagat Singh, a freedom fighter, referred to Savarkar as a “braveheart.” A Hindi monthly that was once published out of Calcutta featured Singh’s piece titled “Vishwa Prem” in 1924.
- Savarkar was charged with the murder of Mahatma Gandhi, but he was later cleared because no proof of his involvement was found.
- Savarkar believed his life’s work was complete in 1964 when India attained independence and it was time to depart. On February 1, 1966, he stated his intention to achieve samadhi and began a hunger strike. On February 26, 1966, he died.
- Savarkar was referred to as the “remarkable son of India” by the late former prime minister Indira Gandhi. Her government also released a postage stamp in Savarkar’s honour in 1970.
- In 2002, the airport in Port Blair, the capital of Andaman and Nicobar, was renamed “Veer Savarkar International Airport.”
Also Read: Subhash Chandran awarded Kerala’s Akbar Kakkattil award for ‘Samudrasila’