POUTICAL BIOGRAPHY
.SAyARKAB . n3
CHAPTER V
p o l i t i c a l BlQGRAPHy
OF
y ._ d .__s a v a b k a r
(1883-1966)
Early Childhood
Vinayak Damodar Sava rice r »as born on 2Bth May, 1883 at Bhsgur in the Nasik District of Maharashtra (the then
Bomhay Presidency). In his early days he cultivated the habit of reading, a variety of books mainly on history, 1 poetry and religion. It sharpened his reasoning powsr, moulded his poetic faculty and vetted his interest in history. In 1893 riots among Hindus and Muslims broke out every\»here in In d ie, especially in Bombay, Poona and Yeola in Maharashtra. Young Vinsyak was moved to read about the sufferings of Hindus and thought in a childlike way to avenge them by attacking the local mosques. This does not however, indicate the development of anti-Muslim attitude in him with a ll its seriousness.
The last decade of the l9th century was the period of intense political agitation all over the country. Especially the Poona city was the centre of the national movement in
Maharashtra. The people of the city had witnessed the remarkable sessions of the Indian National Congress and the controversial Social Conference. The celebrations of t I
festivals in honour of Shlvaji, the Founder of Maratha
Kingdom and Ganapatii a Hindu Deity) had helped to inculcate national feeling among the people. At the same time the people had been suffering repressioni injustice and humiliation at the hands of the B r it is h . The higl^-handed policy of the British made some of the young Hindus so restless that they thought of taking recourse to terrorism to avenge the sufferings of their brethren. Chapekar brothers of Poona and their companion Ranade assassinated
Band, the Plague Commissioner and Mr. lyerst', a British officer, on 2^d June, 1897. All of them were tried and
sentenced to death by the British government.
Young Vinayak was mightily impressed by the supreme sacrifice of Chapekar brothers. He thought thst political independence tt India required many more sacrifices of patriots. Filled with the thought of continuing the mission of Chapekars he sat before the family Deity ’Durea* and 2 expressed his determination to drive the British out from his beloved motherland. The life of the great Shivaji had shown him that at the age of sixteen in the temple of
Rohideshwar Shivsji had expressed the determination to liberate the country. Vinayak, nearly of the same age, determined to follow suit and invoked Goddess Durga to bless the cause of Indian independence as She had done in the 3 days of S h iv a ji. 75
It is clesr that it xas an emotional outburst, uncommon as it was among the youth. It was this prayer which motivated his later political activities. The I reading of historical accounts of different nations which had adopted revolutionary means to liberate themselves from foreign rule had already fired revolutionary ideas in him. Naturally, the Indian National
Congress which was most moderate in its approach to the f Indian political problem could not attract Savarkar to its fo ld .
?4gq ■ot.-Sssiai-gosiety
He decided to form a secret society. He wanted to train the members of the society mentally as well as physically, and to equip them with firearm s. Every member of the society was to be surcharged with hatred against the enemy to such an extent that he would be prepared even to lay down his precious life at the altar of national freedom. The supreme sacrifice by the members of the society would inspire a few others to follow the same path.
It would also arouse spirit of nationalism among many others. The secret society would open its branches at different places in the country. They would take to individual assassinations of British officials, ultimately culminating into a large-scale armed revolution. The seeds of sedition would be sown among the Indian soldiers of the British army so that they would lead the movement 76
aiming at uprooting British rule in India.
Al..Sagi)£
With these ambitious ideas in mind he founded a secret society at Nasik at the close of the year 1899,
I t was named as ' Bashtra Bhakta Samuha*. At the beginning the members were only three - Savarkar himself) Mhaske and Page. In course of time the number increased. In
1900 it was renamed as ‘MitraMela*. "Its watchword was 4 instruction, insurrection and action.” In the weekly meetings the members discussed various problems« but they mainly discussed the problem of national freedom. **It was obligatory for every member of the ’MitraMela* to have read books especially on history, poetry, essays, religion 5 and philosophy." Naturally the discussions were lively and instructive. During this very period Savarkar had read'biographies of Mazzini and Garibaldi and several other books on philosophy and politics. In his speeches in the MitraMela he cited the examples of adventures and patriotic deeds of heroes from history and asked the members to follow them. As the revolutionaries have to suffer physical hardships in life, he asked the members
to make themselves physically strong. He himself took many forms of exercises including horse riding and mountaineering.
At Nasik he applied his poetic faculty to inspire 7?
people and moke them nationally conscious. His songs, full of patriotic fervour, were sung In public gatherings and beccune popular everywhere In the Naslk District. The members of the MltraMela publicly celebrated various festivals iBgladlng the_blrthday of the Great Mughal King
Al^bpr. Besides p olitical a ctiv ities they carried on many social activities in Naslk. For instance they carried the dead bodies of those who had fallen victims to the scourge of plague.
Savarkar passed his Matriculation examination from the Bombay Jnlverslty in 1901. To merry or not to marry was a question before him. He wanted to live the life of a revolutionary. Marriage, he thought would deviate him from his chosen path of ordeals. At the same time he thought that acts of revolution should continue for generations together and for that sake he should marry.
Savarkar in Poona
After his marriage he Joined the Fergusson College of Poona on 24th January 1902. It was an opportunity to expand the activities of the secret society. He had 6 expressed his desire to do so. The period in which he was a student of the college In Poona was very Important in
the political history of India. During this period the
Moderates who had been leading the Indian national movement with their strong faith in the sense of Justice of the 78
British had been disappointed and disillusioned to see thnt the British government was reluctant to concede even their moderate political and economic demands. The Councils gave representation to the Indian people but they were devoid of any real power. The number of non-official members in the Council was Insignificant and therefore ineffective. The rights of non-official members were limited. Even the elective principle was defective.
It was the period when Lord Curzon became the
Viceroy of India. He was a staunch protagonist of imperialism, centralisation and officialisatlon. He discouraged self-government and Indianlsation. He believed that the highest ranks of civil employment must be held by
Snglishmen as they alone possessed the sound knowledge of public administration and the rigour of character partly on account of heredity and partly by training. He pursued the policy of promoting commercial) industrial and financial interests of the British at the coat of Indian interests. He continued the British policy of 'Divide and
Rule' and favoured the Muslims of India. In the name of his quest for administrative efficiency he effected the partition of Bengal on 16th October, 1906. By his policies he made the British government unpopular in India.
During this very period two events of international
significance took place, and created impact on Indian 79
p o litic s . (1) Englpnd which was proud of its strength concluded s treaty with Japsn in 1902. (2) Jappn defeated
Russia in 1905. These events exploded the myth of European j superiority. Indians attributed Japan's success to her nationalism, patriotism and spirit of self-sacrifice.
Against this background they began to lose faith in the persuasive methods of the Moderates who began to decline in popularity while the Extremists started gaining ground.
Political Extremists in general preached political agitation for complete national freedom, national reconstruction through boycott of British goods and British institutions, the practice of Swadeshi and the introduction of national education.
The political situation in the country, especially in
Poona, fired the already deep-rooted spirit of patriotism in
Savarkar. As planned earlier he directed all his efforts to organise the secret revolutionary society among the students of the Fergusson college. Very soon a 'Savarkar
Club* was formed. Some of its prominent members being
(now Acharya) J.B.Kripalani, Babasaheb Khaparde and
R.D.Tarkhadkar. Weekly meetings were regularly held, deepening the conviction that organisation of an nrmed revolt was "the only indispensable passport to political 7 freedom in the present-day world.” Savarkar in his speeches emphasised thst Indians should follow the revolutionary lines laid down by the patriots of Italy, America, the 80
Netherlends etc* He alviays interpreted the events of the history of different nations in the context of Indie, end in the interest of indie. He observed that Japan could defeat Russia because she > Russia. India in her fight for freedom should also secure help from the enemies of England. To Keep the members of the Club inspired with the idea of revolution various activities had been started in the college. A portrait of ShivaJi vas placed in the Club and a song in praise of him was sung by the members. Every Sunday they published a weelcly by name "Aryan Weekly". Savnrliar wrote articles in this weelcly which lat*3r appeared in the populpr news-papers Kesari and Kal - thereby spreading Savarkar's thoughts to readers all over Maharashtra. The partition of Bengal on communal lines gave him an opportunity to inspire the people to rise against the B ritish government. Lokmanya Tilak had already made it a national issue. The members of the Savarkar Club opened a lecturing campaign to educate the people about the national issue and to build up public opinion against the B ritish policy of repression. To give vent to their hatred for the British they made a bonfire of foreign clothes. It was appreciated by many though it was condemned by a few . B.P.Paranjpyey the Principal of the Fergusson College, considered it an act of provoking the students to a sedition. 81 Gandhiji expressed his dissatisfaction about it because he considered it as e destructive act. The newspftper *XnduPraltaah* of bombay wrote« "Snvarkar propounded a 8 dangerous doctrine and led the students astray.” Houever, the light of the bonfire brought Savarkar into lime-light throughout the country because it was the fir s t attempt of Indians in expressing their deep dissatisfaction over British rule in India. After passing the 5 . A.Examination of the Bombay University, Savprkar toured all over Maharashtra. During his visits to different places he popularised the ballads on Sinhgad and Ba.1i Deahosnde. Very soon the books of ballads were proscribed by the government as it considered this as anti-British propaganda. By then the *MitraMela* had started functioning at different centres. It had baen turned into the 'Abhinav Bharat' in May 1904* The members of the *MitraMala* had also thought of social evils in India but at this stage they concentrated their attention on the political freedom of the country. In 1905 Shyamji Krishna Varma, an Indian scholar and patriot, had opened the 'India House* in London and declared scholarships for a few selected Indian students. He wanted young Indians to study political philosophy and practices in Bnglsnd, a free democratic country, so that 82 they might use their theoretlcRi end practical knowledge to further Indian Interests* On the recommendations of 9 10 Lokmnnya Tllak ana Professor S.M.Pprpnjpei Savprkar got the scholarship and he reached London on the 2nd July, 1906. Sagfirkf.r in i^ndon Ssvnrkar considered It an opportunity to extend the activities of the Abhlnwy Bharat so as to realise its aims and objectives. In the 'India House' of Shypmji Krishna Verma he founded the 'Free India Society' which was thg 'Abhinav BhPrat' in disguise. He could attract many young Indians from Oxford, Cambridge, Edinborough, Manchester and other universities. Bhal Paramanand, a leader, Lala HarDayal, a scholar. Madam Cnma, a social reformer were some of the prominent members of the secret society. Even Shyamji Krishna Varma was so much influenced by Savarkar that he closed his 'Home Rule Society', Joined the camp of revolutionaries and handed the charge of 'India House' to Savarkar. As usual the weekly meetings were held in which Savarkar stressed the necessity for the continuation of the terrorist a c t iv it ie s . Oath of allegiance was * Appendix I 83 administered. In his personal talk he inspired selected individuals to undert» of British officials. Madanlal Dhingray a youth from Punjab vas inspired by him 'to do something'• He said to Madanlal, "If a martyr is determined (in his mind) and ready (with weapons), that fact by itself generally implies 11 that the time for martyrdom must have come*** As a result of it Madanlal assissinated Curzon Wylie on 1st July, 1909. He was tried and hanged on I7th August, of the same year. « Savericar got his last statement published in the ' Daily Mews' with an intention to instigate other Indian youths to follow his examples. Savarkar seems to be awnre that such individual assassinations would not achieve anything substantial and still he banked upon advising others to take to them because he wanted to keep the fire of Indian nationalism ablaze . Ultimately he wanted to step up the courage of Indians, arm them with modern weapons and organise them against the British. To this end he placed before them accounts from history, national as well as international. ♦ Appendix II O ‘1 Savarkar Wrote Books on History In 1908 he virote the book, «The First Indian War of Independence - 1857.” It was an attempt to induce the Indian soldiers to repeat It for overthrowing British rule In India. He translated Mazzlnl's writings In Marathi adding his own Introduction to the book. It was also an attempt to Induce the Marathl-Speaklng youth to adopt the revolutionary methods of Italian patriots. Even Sir Valentlle Chlrol described the book as a ‘nationalist text-book^* The book received devoted admiration from all over Maharashtra. ArmiSg-tfa§ Indian .Pfittlgts Savarkar thought that knowledge of preparing and using bombs and plitols was essential for every revolutionary. Some of the weapons were to be manufactured in India while others were to be Imported from other countries. To learn the technique of manufacturing bombs Savarkar sent Shri P.M.Bapat, Hemchandra Das and Mlrza Abbas to Paris in France. They acquired the Russian bomb manual and returned to England. Savarkar got the book translated into English, end managed to send its cy d o sty led copies to In d ia . As directed in the manual, the revolutionaries in India were successful in the actual production of bombs. On 7th April, 1908 Shri P.M.Bapat met the rej^olutlonaries of Bengal and taught them the method of the production of bombs. On the 30th April of the year Khudiram Bose, a Bengali revolutlonarl, 8 5 threw a bomb with an intention to kill the British officer Kingsford at Muzffarpur. Ssvarkar managed to send pistols to India. He sent a set of pistols to India with Sikandar Hayat Khan, Mirza Abbas and Chaturbhuj. Kanhere, a terrorist of Nasik, used one of such pistols when he murdered Mr. Jackson, the Collector of N asik. Various Celebrations To maintain the revolutionary atmosphere among the Indian youth, Savarkar encouraged the celebrations of ViJaya Dashmi, Shiv Jayanti. the birthday of Guru Govind Singh, the anniversary of the Indian War of Independence of 1857 and so on. This activity exerted tremendous influence on the members of the society. Harnam Singh and P.M.Khan, both college students left their college when the Principal poked fun at the badge worn by them to honour the martyrs of 1867. On the occasion of the celebration of the anniversary of the Indian War of Independence of 1857, Savarkar published two pamphlets. In one of the pamphlets * by name '0 Martyrs' he expressed determined assurance to the martyrs of 1857 that the Indian revolutionaries of the period would continue the fight started by them. The second ♦ Appendix III 86 pamphlet by name 'Grave Warning* described how the British had been losing their credit in the monetary world. He warned the Indians to take a serious note of it. Appeal_to the.King of Nepal / Savarkar fu lly knew that the Indian revolutionary movement was at an elementary stage. It was yet to be organised. He thought that as VJctor Imanuel led the revolution in Itnlyj the King of Nepal should lead the Indian struggle for Independence. In 1908, in London he met Chandra Ssmsher Jang Bahaddur, the Prime Minister of Nepal, handed him a letter signed in the blood of the Indian revolutionaries in England and requested him to play the role of Victor Imanuel in India. International Propaganda One of the objectives of V.D.Savarkar in London was to create international public opinion favourable to the cause of Indian Independence. It was the period when he thought that, •too nation in the world recognised the 12 existence of Indian nation.” On various occasions he wrote articles on Indian affairs in the 'Gaelic America' of WewYork, got them translated into the German, French, Italian, Russian and Portuguese languages and had them published in all those respective countries. His statements appeared in the British newspapers also. In Paris he started the publication of the newspaper 'Tarwar* 87 as an organ of Abhlnav Bharat. In it he openly appreciated the terrorist activities of the Indian revolutionaries, and condemned the B ritish policy of repression and exploitation. He thought of organising an international anti- British front to bring about simultaneously revolt against the British. He asked the Indian revolutionaries to keep themselves in touch with the revolutionaries and the revolutionary forces of Russia, Ireland, Egypt and China. Madam Gama and Barrister Rana attended the International Socialist Congress held at Struttgart in Germany on l8th August, 1907. In the Congress Madam Cama unfurled the Indian tricoloured flag bearing the vords 'Vande Mataram* 13 and tabled the resolution sponsoring Indian independence. The effective appeal of Madam Cama paid dividends. The Kaier of Germany wrote to the President of America that absolute p olitical independence of India was one of the indispensable conditions of world peace. Letters to the Indian Press On many occasions Savark^r dispatched views and news to the Indian Press. The contents of the letters had bearing on the problem of India's independence. On the 20th December, 1906 he wrote that neither Tories nor Liberals were to be relied upon by Indians in their efforts to liberate the country. The Liberals, he thought, were more dangerous 8 8 because the whigs were wicked and treacherous while the j Tories were wicked only. It was a kind of warning issued to the Indian Moderates who had faith in the good faith of the Liberals. In his letters he quoted the extracts from Western newspapers. On 8th February, 1907 he quoted from Irish paper which wrote, «under the domination of a foreign country the national of any country cannot learn to use weapons openly. The Irish, therefore, learnt the art of shooting 14 in America." It was a suggestion given to Indian youth to follow the Irish patriots. To create self-confidence among them he wrote that, if trained properly, the Sikh, the Maratha or the Gurkha is always superior to the British. He pointed out the weaknesses of the B ritish when he wrote that the British were afraid of the technological advance of the rival countries. For instsnce, it was his experience that the British were alarmed to see the French progress in air-flights. On 2nd October, 1908 he wrote that the Indian Swadeshi movement had given a set-bpck to the trade and 15 commerce of the British in India. He wrote it with an intention to show that Swadeshi is an efficien t weapon to counteract the British economic exploitation of India. The British government closely watched the activities of V.D.Savarkar and of the members of Abhinav Bharat society. 83 On 13th March, 1910 he was arrested under many charges. He v made a heroic, though unsuccessful, attempt to escape into France thinking in vain that as Mazzini, the Italian revolutionary or Kossuth, the Hungarian patriot vere protected by the British, the French viould protect him. In India he was tried twice under different charges and was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment - in all 50 years. He moved the International Court on the ground that by arresting a political prisoner, Savarkar, on the French territory without the consent of the French government, the British had violated international law. The decision of the Hague Court was unfavourable to him. It was the first Indian case that was considered by the International Court. Savarkar in Cellular Jail of the tnAmmmnrn I From July 1911 to January 1924 Savarkar was in the Cellular Jail in the Andamans. There remained no scope for inspiring terrorism and organising an armed revolt to overthrow the British Rule in India. Circumstances forced Savarkar to become 'c o n stitu tio n a list*. He followed the rules of the Jail strictly and tried to improve the lot of ♦ Appendix IV CO the prisoners by securing some concessions and demanding more from tha authorities of the Jail. He remarks, ”We 16 got vihat vie wanted and fought for more.” In the Jail he observed that the British hnd followed the policy of 'Divide and Rule'. Most of the petty officers, havaldars and warders were Muslims. They forced Hindu prisoners to do the hardest labour, threatened them with severe punishments and lodged false complaints against them. With the help of their superior position they could tempt many Hindu prisoners to embrace Islam . Thereby they could relieve the converted Hindu prisoners from the unbearable rigours in J s il . Once they embraced Islam they were permanently lost to the Hindu fold because Hindus had kept the doors of their religion permanently closed to such converted persons. Savarkar marked that the process of conversion of Hindus to Muslims was very simple. Even dining with Muslims was considered an act of religious conversion by other Hindus. The Muslim zeal for religious conversion of Hindus and their unsympathetic attitude towards Hindu prisoners shook his trust in Muslims. He felt that the Pan-Islamic sentiment of Muslims was a united force against divided Hindus. He became suspicious about political intentions of Indian Muslims. The Muslim prisoners in the Andamans seemed to him to be keen on Inviting the Caliph of Turkey 01 or the Amir of Afghanistan to rule over India. When Turkey sided with Germany against England in the First World War, Savarkar felt that Pan-Islamic feeling would induce Indian Muslims to welcome Muslim hordes from the North. He thought that Hindus were forced by national political circumstances to face the British as a political enemy and the Muslims as a religio-political enemy. He was sure that Hindus could do it successfully provided they first organise themselves into a nation, modernise themselves in the Western materialistic sense and also militarise themselves. SaYacHaE-at,.-Bg.tea.giti On 2nd May, 1921 Savarkar was brought to India and interned in the Ratnagiri Jail. There he made his concept of 'Hindutva* very clear. This will be dealt with in detail in a separate chapter. Hindutva or organisation of the Hindu nation required social unification of Hindus. Hindus were divided into castes, sub-castes, religious creeds, languages, provinces etc. After he was conditionally released (on 6th January, 1924) from the Ratnagiri Jail, he became a social revolutionary and attacked the age-old Hindu customs and traditions that had obstructed unification of Hindus. His social thought will be dealt with in another separate chapter. Sfl:yarkar entered Politics On 10th May, 1937, he vias fully released unconditionally. He was now free to take part in politics. He decided to join the Hindu Mahasabha which he thought would further his ideas. He did not Join the Indian National Congress which according to him had not remained national because it always appeased the Indian Muslims. The leaders of the Congress were also not interested in requesting him to Join them because they differed from him on the point of Hindu nationalism . Savarlcnr was elected President of the Hindu Mahasabha continuously for seven years. He presided over the sessions held at Ahmedabsd in 1937, at Nagpur in 1938, at Calcutta in 1939, at Madura in 1940, at Bhagalpur in 1941, at Cawnpur in 1942 and at Amritsar in 1943. Under his leadership the party flourished, increased its prestige and became a considerable political force. Coupland observes, "The membership and influence of the Hindu Mahasabha have 17 been steadily growing during the last few years." During this period the Hindu Itohasabha under his guidHnce organised a peaceful agitation to secure Justice to Hindus in the state of Hyderabad (Deccan). He propagated time and again the necessity of Militarisation of Hindudom during this very period. He thought that the Second World War of 1939 provided an opportunity to Hindus to militarise themselves on a large scale. In the 03 Ahmedabad Session of 1937 he alerted Hindus egainst ’’the Muslim demsnd to cut up the body-politic of our Motherland 18 right into two parts. *• In 1942 Gandhiji launched the 'Quit India* Movement. Savaricar did not join it because he thought 'Quit India* would result in'Split India*. But it was the period when Indian National Congress enjoyed tremendous popularity while the Hindu Mahasabha began to decline in its importance in Indian p o litic s . Savarlcar became physically weak. His body failed to keep pace with his mind. As a result he could not arrest the fall of the Hindu Mahasabha. India won Independence in 1947 when Ssvarkar unfurled the tricolour flag along with the flag of the Hindu Mahasabha. There remained no need for the secret society - Abhinav Bharat. It was formally dissolved on lOth May, 1952. On 26th February, 1966 Savarkar breathed his last.