Vinayak Damodar Savarkar

Indian politician, activist, and writer (1883–1966)

"Savarkar" redirects here. For the 2001 Indian film, see Veer Savarkar (film). For the biography, see Savarkar (book).

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar

Born| (1883-05-28)28 May 1883

Bhaghur,[1] Nasik district, Bombay Presidency, British India
(present-day Maharashtra, India)

Died| 26 February 1966(1966-02-26) (aged 82)

Bombay, Maharashtra, India

Known for| Hindutva
Political party| Hindu Mahasabha
Spouse(s)|

Yamunabai

(m. 1901; died 1963)​

[2]
Relatives| Ganesh Damodar Savarkar (brother)

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (pronunciation (help·info), Marathi pronunciation: [ʋinaːjək saːʋəɾkəɾ]; 28 May 1883 – 26 February 1966), known among followers by the honorific prefix Veer, was an Indian politician, activist, and writer. He developed the Hindu nationalist political ideology of Hindutva while imprisoned at Ratnagiri in 1922.[3][4] He was a leading figure in the Hindu Mahasabha.[5]

Savarkar joined the Hindu Mahasabha and popularized the term Hindutva (Hinduness),[6] previously coined by Chandranath Basu,[7] to create a collective "Hindu" identity as an essence of Bharat (India).[8][9] Savarkar was an atheist[10] but a pragmatic practitioner of Hindu philosophy.[citation needed]

Savarkar began his political activities as a high school student and continued to do so at Fergusson College in Pune.[11] He and his brother founded a secret society called Abhinav Bharat Society. When he went to the United Kingdom for his law studies, he involved himself with organizations such as India House and the Free India Society. He also published books advocating complete Indian independence by revolutionary means.[12] One of the books he published called The Indian War of Independence about the Indian Rebellion of 1857 was banned by the British colonial authorities.[13] In 1910, Savarkar was arrested and ordered to be extradited to India for his connections with the revolutionary group India House.

On the voyage back to India, Savarkar staged an attempt to escape and seek asylum in France while the ship was docked in the port of Marseilles. The French port officials however handed him back to the British government in contravention of international law. On return to India, Savarkar was sentenced to two life terms of imprisonment totaling fifty years and was moved to the Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

After 1937, he started traveling widely, becoming a forceful orator and writer, advocating Hindu political and social unity. In 1938, he was a president of Marathi Sahitya Sammelan in Mumbai. Serving as the president of the Hindu Mahasabha, Savarkar endorsed the idea of India as a Hindu Rashtra (Hindu Nation). He started his militarisation of Hindus from then in order to liberate the country and protect the country and Hindus in the future. Savarkar was openly critical of the decision taken by the Congress working committee in its Wardha session of 1942 to a resolution which said to the British colonial government: "Quit India but keep your armies here", which was intended to defend India against a possible Japanese invasion; Savarkar was opposed to any form of Britain's presence in India whatsoever. In July 1942, as he felt extremely stressed carrying out his duties as the president of Hindu Mahasabha, and as he needed some rest, he resigned from the post, the timing of which coincided with Gandhi's Quit India Movement.[14]

In 1948, Savarkar was charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi; however, he was acquitted by the court for lack of evidence. Savarkar resurfaced in the popular discourse after the coming of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) into power in 1998[15] and again in 2014 with the Modi-led BJP government at the center.[16]

## Contents

* 1 Life and career
* 1.1 Early life
* 1.2 Arrest in London and Marseille
* 1.2.1 Case before the Permanent Court of Arbitration
* 1.2.2 Trial and sentence
* 1.3 Prisoner in Andaman
* 1.3.1 Clemency Petitions
* 1.3.1.1 1911
* 1.3.1.2 1913
* 1.3.1.3 1917
* 1.4 Restricted freedom in Ratnagiri
* 1.5 Leader of the Hindu Mahasabha
* 1.5.1 Opposition to Quit India Movement
* 1.5.2 Alliance with Muslim League and others
* 1.6 Arrest and acquittal in Gandhi's assassination
* 1.6.1 Approver's testimony
* 1.6.2 Kapur commission
* 1.7 Later years
* 1.8 Death
* 2 Religious and political views
* 2.1 Hindutva
* 2.2 Hindu orthodoxy
* 2.3 Fascism
* 2.4 Muslims
* 3 Legacy
* 3.1 In popular culture
* 4 Books
* 5 References
* 5.1 Notes
* 5.2 Citations
* 5.3 Bibliography
* 6 Further reading
* 7 External links

## Life and career[edit]

### Early life[edit]

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was born on 28 May 1883 in the Marathi Chitpavan Brahmin Hindu family of Damodar and Radhabai Savarkar in the village of Bhagur, near the city of Nashik, Maharashtra.[17][18] He had three other siblings namely Ganesh, Narayan, and a sister named Maina.[19] When he was 12, he led fellow students in an attack on his village mosque following Hindu-Muslim riots, stating: "We vandalized the mosque to our heart's content."[20][21] In 1903, in Nashik, Savarkar and his older brother Ganesh Savarkar founded the Mitra Mela, an underground revolutionary organization, which became Abhinav Bharat Society in 1906.[22] Abhinav Bharat's main objectives were to overthrow British rule and reviving Hindu pride.[23]

### Arrest in London and Marseille[edit]

In India, Ganesh Savarkar had organized an armed revolt against the Morley-Minto reforms of 1909.[24] The Indian Imperial Police implicated Savarkar in the investigation for allegedly plotting the crime.[25] Hoping to evade arrest, Savarkar moved to Bhikaiji Cama's home in Paris.[26]

#### Case before the Permanent Court of Arbitration[edit]

Savarkar

Court| Permanent Court of Arbitration
Full case name| Arrest and Return of Savarkar (France v. Great Britain)
Decided| 24 February 1911
Case history
Prior action(s)| Accused of crime, evading arrest
Court membership
Judges sitting| M. Beernaert, president, elected by panel
Louis Renault
Earl of Desart
G. Gram
Alexander de Savornin Lohman
Case opinions
Decision by| Unanimous panel

Savarkar's arrest at Marseilles caused the French government to protest against the British, arguing that the British could not recover Savarkar unless they took appropriate legal proceedings for his rendition. The dispute came before the Permanent Court of International Arbitration in 1910, and it gave its decision in 1911. The case excited much controversy as was reported widely by the French press, and it considered it involved an interesting international question of the right of asylum.[27]

The Court held, firstly, that since there was a pattern of collaboration between the two countries regarding the possibility of Savarkar's escape in Marseilles and there was neither force nor fraud in inducing the French authorities to return Savarkar to them, the British authorities did not have to hand him back to the French for the latter to hold rendition proceedings. On the other hand, the tribunal also observed that there had been an "irregularity" in Savarkar's arrest and delivery over to the Indian Army Military Police guard.[28]

#### Trial and sentence[edit]

Arriving in Bombay, Savarkar was taken to the Yervada Central Jail in Pune. The trial before the special tribunal was started on 10 September 1910.[29] One of the charges on Savarkar was the abetment to murder of Nashik Collector Jackson. The second was waging a conspiracy under Indian penal code 121-A against the King emperor.[30][31] Following the two trials, Savarkar, then aged 28, was convicted and sentenced to 50-years imprisonment and transported on 4 July 1911 to the infamous Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. He was considered by the British government as a political prisoner.[5]

### Prisoner in Andaman[edit]

A statue of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar at Cellular Jail.

#### Clemency Petitions[edit]

##### 1911[edit]

Savarkar applied to the Bombay Government for certain concessions in connection with his sentences. However, by Government letter No. 2022, dated 4 April 1911, his application was rejected and he was informed that the question of remitting the second sentence of transportation for life would be considered in due course on the expiry of the first sentence of transportation for life.[32] A month after arriving in the Cellular Jail, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Savarkar submitted his first clemency petition on 30 August 1911. This petition was rejected on 3 September 1911.[33]

##### 1913[edit]

Savarkar submitted his next clemency petition on 14 November 1913 and presented it personally to the Home Member of the Governor General's council, Sir Reginald Craddock.[34] In his letter, he described himself as a "prodigal son" longing to return to the "parental doors of the government".[a] He wrote that his release from the jail will recast the faith of many Indians in the British rule. Also, he said "Moreover, my conversion to the constitutional line would bring back all those misled young men in India and abroad who were once looking up to me as their guide. I am ready to serve the government in any capacity they like, for as my conversion is conscientious so I hope my future conduct would be. By keeping me in jail, nothing can be got in comparison to what would be otherwise."[36]

##### 1917[edit]

In 1917, Savarkar submitted another clemency petition, this time for a general amnesty of all political prisoners. Savarkar was informed on 1 February 1918 that the clemency petition was placed before the British colonial government.[37] In December 1919, there was a Royal proclamation by King-Emperor George V. The Paragraph 6 of this proclamation included a declaration of Royal clemency to political offenders.[38] In view of Royal proclamation, Savarkar submitted his fourth clemency[39] petition to the British colonial government on 30 March 1920,[40] in which he stated that "So far from believing in the militant school of the Bukanin type, I do not contribute even to the peaceful and philosophical anarchism of a Kuropatkin [sic.] or a Tolstoy. And as to my revolutionary tendencies in the past:- it is not only now for the object of sharing the clemency but years before this have I informed of and written to the Government in my petitions (1918, 1914) about my firm intention to abide by the constitution and stand by it as soon as a beginning was made to frame it by Mr. Montagu. Since that the Reforms and then the Proclamation have only confirmed me in my views and recently I have publicly avowed my faith in and readiness to stand by the side of orderly and constitutional development."[41]

This petition was rejected on 12 July 1920 by the British colonial government.[42] After considering the petition, the British colonial government contemplated releasing Ganesh Savarkar but not Vinayak Savarkar. The rationale for doing so was stated as follows[43]

> It may be observed that if Ganesh is released and Vinayak is retained in custody, the latter will become in some measure a hostage for the former, who will see that his own misconduct does not jeopardize his brother's chances of release at some future date.

Savarkar signed a statement endorsing his trial, verdict, and British law, and renouncing violence, a bargain for freedom.

### Restricted freedom in Ratnagiri[edit]

On 2 May 1921, the Savarkar brothers were moved to a jail in Ratnagiri. During his incarceration in Ratnagiri jail in 1922, he wrote his "Essentials of Hindutva" that formulated his theory of Hindutva.[44] On 6 January 1924 was released but confined to Ratnagiri District. Soon after he started working on the consolidation of Hindu society or Hindu Sangathan.[45] The colonial authorities provided a bungalow for him and he was allowed, visitors. During his internment, he met influential people such as Mahatma Gandhi, and Dr. Ambedkar.[46] Nathuram Godse, who later on in his life assassinated Gandhi, also met Savarkar for the first time as a nineteen-year-old in 1929.[47] Savarkar became a prolific writer during his years of confinement in Ratnagiri. His publishers, however, needed to have a disclaimer that they were wholly divorced from politics. Savarkar remained confined to Ratnagiri district until 1937. At that time, he was unconditionally released by the newly elected government of Bombay presidency.[48]

### Leader of the Hindu Mahasabha[edit]

Savarkar as president of the Hindu Mahasabha, during the Second World War, advanced the slogan "Hinduize all Politics and Militarize Hindudom" and decided to support the British war effort in India seeking military training for the Hindus.[49] When the Congress launched the Quit India movement in 1942, Savarkar criticised it and asked Hindus to stay active in the war effort and not disobey the government;[50] he also urged the Hindus to enlist in the armed forces to learn the "arts of war".[51] Hindu Mahasabha activists protested Gandhi's initiative to hold talks with Jinnah in 1944, which Savarkar denounced as "appeasement". He assailed the British proposals for transfer of power, attacking both the Congress and the British for making concessions to Muslim separatists. Soon after independence, Syama Prasad Mookerjee resigned as vice-president of the Hindu Mahasabha dissociating himself from its Akhand Hindustan (Undivided India) plank, which implied undoing partition.[52]

#### Opposition to Quit India Movement[edit]

Under Savarkar, the Hindu Mahasabha openly opposed the call for the Quit India Movement and boycotted it officially.[53] Savarkar even went to the extent of writing a letter titled "Stick to your Posts", in which he instructed Hindu Sabhaites who happened to be "members of municipalities, local bodies, legislatures or those serving in the army ... to stick to their posts" across the country, and not to join the Quit India Movement at any cost.[53]

#### Alliance with Muslim League and others[edit]

The Indian National Congress won a massive victory in the 1937 Indian provincial elections, decimating the Muslim League and the Hindu Mahasabha. However, in 1939, the Congress ministries resigned in protest against Viceroy Lord Linlithgow's action of declaring India to be a belligerent in the Second World War without consulting the Indian people. This led to the Hindu Mahasabha, under Savarkar's presidency, joining hands with the Muslim League and other parties to form governments, in certain provinces. Such coalition governments were formed in Sindh, NWFP, and Bengal.[47]

In Sindh, Hindu Mahasabha members joined Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah's Muslim League government. In Savarkar's own words,

> "Witness the fact that only recently in Sind, the Sind-Hindu-Sabha on invitation had taken the responsibility of joining hands with the League itself in running coalition government[54][55][56]

In the North West Frontier Province, Hindu Mahasabha members joined hands with Sardar Aurangzeb Khan of the Muslim League to form a government in 1943. The Mahasabha member of the cabinet was Finance Minister Mehar Chand Khanna.[57][58]

In Bengal, Hindu Mahasabha joined the Krishak Praja Party led Progressive Coalition ministry of Fazlul Haq in December 1941.[59] Savarkar appreciated the successful functioning of the coalition government.[55][54]

### Arrest and acquittal in Gandhi's assassination[edit]

A group photo of people accused in the Mahatma Gandhi's murder case. Standing: Shankar Kistaiya, Gopal Godse, Madanlal Pahwa, Digambar Badge. Sitting: Narayan Apte, Vinayak D. Savarkar, Nathuram Godse, Vishnu Karkare

See also: Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi

Following the assassination of Gandhi on 30 January 1948, police arrested the assassin Nathuram Godse and his alleged accomplices and conspirators. He was a member of the Hindu Mahasabha and of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Godse was the editor of Agrani – Hindu Rashtra, a Marathi daily from Pune which was run by the company "The Hindu Rashtra Prakashan Ltd" (The Hindu Nation Publications). This company had contributions from such eminent persons as Gulabchand Hirachand, Bhalji Pendharkar, and Jugalkishore Birla. Savarkar had invested ₹ 15000 in the company. Savarkar, a former president of the Hindu Mahasabha, was arrested on 5 February 1948, from his house in Shivaji Park, and kept under detention in the Arthur Road Prison, Bombay. He was charged with murder, conspiracy to murder, and abetment to murder. A day before his arrest, Savarkar in a public written statement, as reported in The Times of India, Bombay dated 7 February 1948, termed Gandhi's assassination a fratricidal crime, endangering India's existence as a nascent nation.[60][61][62] The mass of papers seized from his house had revealed nothing that could remotely be connected with Gandhi's murder.[63]: Chapter 12 Due to lack of evidence, Savarkar was arrested under the Preventive Detention Act.[63]: Chapter 11

#### Approver's testimony[edit]

Godse claimed full responsibility for planning and carrying out the assassination. However, according to the Approver Digambar Badge, on 17 January 1948, Nathuram Godse went to have a last darshan (audience/interview) with Savarkar in Bombay before the assassination. While Badge and Shankar waited outside, Nathuram and Apte went in. On coming out Apte told Badge that Savarkar blessed them "Yashasvi houn ya" ("यशस्वी होऊन या", be successful and return). Apte also said that Savarkar predicted that Gandhi's 100 years were over and there was no doubt that the task would be successfully finished.[64][65] However Badge's testimony was not accepted as the approver's evidence lacked independent corroboration and hence Savarkar was acquitted.

In the last week of August 1974, Mr. Manohar Malgonkar saw Digamber Badge several times and in particular, questioned him about the veracity of his testimony against Savarkar.[63]: Notes Badge insisted to Mr. Manohar Malgonkar that "even though he had blurted out the full story of the plot as far as he knew, without much persuasion, he had put up a valiant struggle against being made to testify against Savarkar".[63]: Chapter 12 In the end, Badge gave in. He agreed to say on oath that he saw Nathuram Godse and Apte with Savarkar and that Savarkar, within Badge's hearing, had blessed their venture...[63]: Chapter 12

#### Kapur commission[edit]

See also: Kapur Commission

On 12 November 1964, at a religious program organized in Pune to celebrate the release of Gopal Godse, Madanlal Pahwa and Vishnu Karkare from jail after the expiry of their sentences, Dr. G. V. Ketkar, grandson of Bal Gangadhar Tilak,[66] former editor of Kesari and then editor of "Tarun Bharat", who presided over the function, gave information of a conspiracy to kill Gandhi, about which he professed knowledge six months before the act. Ketkar was arrested. A public furor ensued both outside and inside the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and both houses of the Indian parliament. Under the pressure of 29 members of parliament and public opinion the then Union home minister Gulzarilal Nanda appointed Gopal Swarup Pathak, M. P. and a senior advocate of the Supreme Court of India as a Commission of Inquiry to re-investigate the conspiracy to murder Gandhi. The central government intended on conducting a thorough inquiry with the help of old records in consultation with the government of Maharashtra. Pathak was given three months to conduct his inquiry; subsequently, Jevanlal Kapur, a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India, was appointed chairman of the commission.[67]

The Kapur Commission was provided with evidence not produced in the court; especially the testimony of two of Savarkar's close aides – Appa Ramachandra Kasar, his bodyguard, and Gajanan Vishnu Damle, his secretary.[68] The testimony of Mr. Kasar and Mr. Damle was already recorded by Bombay police on 4 March 1948,[69]: 317 but apparently, these testimonies were not presented before the court during the trial. In these testimonies, it is said that Godse and Apte visited Savarkar on or about 23 or 24 January,[69]: 317 which was when they returned from Delhi after the bomb incident. Damle deposed that Godse and Apte saw Savarkar in the middle of January and sat with him (Savarkar) in his garden. The C. I. D. Bombay was keeping vigil on Savarkar from 21 to 30 January 1948.[69]: 291–294 The crime report from C. I. D. does not mention Godse or Apte meeting Savarkar during this time.[69]: 291–294

Justice Kapur concluded: "All these facts taken together were destructive of any theory other than the conspiracy to murder by Savarkar and his group."[68][70][71]

The arrest of Savarkar was mainly based on approver Digambar Badge's testimony. The commission did not re-interview Digambar Badge.[69] At the time of inquiry of the commission, Badge was alive and working in Bombay.

### Later years[edit]

After Gandhi's assassination, Savarkar's home in Dadar, Bombay was stoned by angry mobs. After he was acquitted of the allegations related to Gandhi's assassination and released from jail, Savarkar was arrested by the government for making "Hindu nationalist speeches"; he was released after agreeing to give up political activities. He continued addressing the social and cultural elements of Hindutva. He resumed political activism after the ban on it was lifted; it was however limited until his death in 1966 because of ill health. His followers bestowed upon him honors and financial awards when he was alive.Although Savarkar and the Golwalkar, the RSS sarsanghachalak were not particularly close to each other,[72] two thousand RSS workers gave his funeral procession a guard of honor. According to McKean, there was public antipathy between Savarkar and the Congress for most of his political career, yet after independence Congress ministers, Vallabhbhai Patel and C. D. Deshmukh unsuccessfully sought partnership with the Hindu Mahasabha and Savarkar.[citation needed] It was forbidden for Congress party members to participate in public functions honoring Savarkar. Nehru refused to share the stage during the centenary celebrations of the India's First War of Independence held in Delhi.[citation needed] However, after the death of Nehru, the Congress government, under Prime Minister Shastri, started to pay him a monthly pension.[73]

### Death[edit]

On 8 November 1963, Savarkar's wife, Yamunabai, died. On 1 February 1966, Savarkar renounced medicines, food, and water which he termed as atmaarpan (fast until death). Before his death, he had written an article titled "Atmahatya Nahi Atmaarpan" in which he argued that when one's life mission is over and the ability to serve society is left no more, it is better to end the life at will rather than waiting for death. His condition was described to have become as "extremely serious" before his death on 26 February 1966 at his residence in Bombay (now Mumbai), and that he faced difficulty in breathing; efforts to revive him failed, and was declared dead at 11:10 a.m. (IST) that day. Prior to his death, Savarkar had asked his relatives to perform only his funeral and do away with the rituals of the 10th and 13th day of the Hindu faith.[74] Accordingly, his last rites were performed at an electric crematorium in Bombay's Sonapur locality by his son Vishwas the following day.[75]

He was mourned by large crowds that attended his cremation. He left behind a son, Vishwas, and a daughter, Prabha Chiplunkar. His first son, Prabhakar, had died in infancy. His home, possessions and other personal relics have been preserved for public display[citation needed]. There was no official mourning by the then Congress party government of Maharashtra or at the centre.[76] [note 1] The political indifference to Savarkar continued long after his death. [note 2].

## Religious and political views[edit]

### Hindutva[edit]

See also: Hindutva and Hindu nationalism

During his incarceration, Savarkar's views began turning increasingly towards Hindu cultural and political nationalism, and the next phase of his life remained dedicated to this cause.[77] In the brief period he spent at the Ratnagiri jail, Savarkar wrote his ideological treatise – Hindutva: Who is a Hindu?. Smuggled out of the prison, it was published by Savarkar's supporters under his alias "Maharatta." In this work, Savarkar promotes a farsighted new vision of Hindu social and political consciousness. Savarkar began describing a "Hindu" as a patriotic inhabitant of Bharatavarsha, venturing beyond a religious identity.[77] While emphasising the need for patriotic and social unity of all Hindu communities, he described Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism as one and the same. He outlined his vision of a "Hindu Rashtra" (Hindu Nation) as "Akhand Bharat" (United India), purportedly stretching across the entire Indian subcontinent. He defined Hindus as being neither Aryan nor Dravidian but as "People who live as children of a common motherland, adoring a common holyland."[78]

Scholars, historians and Indian politicians have been divided in their interpretation of Savarkar's ideas. A self-described atheist,[79] Savarkar regards being Hindu as a cultural and political identity. He often stressed social and community unity between Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains, to the exclusion of Muslims and Christians. Savarkar saw Muslims and Christians as "misfits" in the Indian civilization who could not truly be a part of the nation.[80] He argued that the holiest sites of Islam and Christianity are in the Middle East and not India, hence the loyalty of Muslims and Christians to India is divided.[80][81]

After his release from jail on 6 January 1924,[82] Savarkar helped found the Ratnagiri Hindu Sabha organisation, aiming to work for the social and cultural preservation of Hindu heritage and civilisation.[83] Becoming a frequent and forceful orator, Sarvakar agitated for the use of Hindi as a common national language and against caste discrimination and untouchability.

Focusing his energies on writing, Savarkar authored the Hindu Pad-pada-shahi[50] – a book documenting the Maratha empire – and My Transportation for Life – an account of his early revolutionary days, arrest, trial and incarceration.[84] He also wrote and published a collection of poems, plays and novels. He also wrote a book named Majhi Janmathep ("My Life-term") about his experience in Andaman prison.[85]

### Hindu orthodoxy[edit]

He was an ardent critique of Hindu religious practices he saw as irrational and viewed them as a hindrance to the material progress of the Hindus. He believed that religion is an unimportant aspect of "Hindu identity". He was strictly against the caste system and in his 1931 essay titled Seven Shackles of the Hindu Society, he wrote "One of the most important components of such injunctions of the past that we have blindly carried on and which deserves to be thrown in the dustbins of history is the rigid caste system".[86][87]

### Fascism[edit]

See also: Fascism

In a speech before a 20,000 strong audience at Pune on 1 August 1938, Savarkar stood by Germany's right to Nazism and Italy's to Fascism; their achievement of unprecedent glory in the world-stage and a successful inculcation of national solidarity justified those choices.[88] Savarkar criticized Nehru for denouncing Germany and Italy, proclaiming that "crores of Hindu Sanghatanists in India [..] cherish[ed] no ill-will towards Germany or Italy or Japan."[88] He proclaimed his support for the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in the same breath.[88]

As World War II become imminent, Savarkar had initially advocated a policy of neutralism centered on India's geostrategic equations but his rhetoric grew coarser with time and he expressed consistent support for Hitler's policy about Jews.[88][89] In a speech on October 14, it was suggested that Hitler's ways be adopted for dealing with Indian Muslims.[88] On December 11, he characterized the Jews as a communal force.[88] Next March, Savarkar would welcome Germany's revival of Aryan culture, their glorification of Swastika, and the "crusade" against Aryan enemies — it was hoped that German victory would finally invigorate the Hindus of India.[88]

On 5 August 1939, Savarkar highlighted how a common strand of "thought, religion, language, and culture" was essential to nationality thus preventing the Germans and Jews from being considerable as one nation.[88] By the year end, he was directly equating the Muslims of India with German Jews — in the words of Chetan Bhatt, both were suspected of harboring extra-national loyalties and became illegitimate presences in an organic nation.[88][89][90] These speeches circulated in German newspapers with Nazi Germany even allotting a point-of-contact person for engaging with Savarkar, who was making sincere efforts to forge a working relationship with the Nazis. Eventually, Savarkar would be gifted with a copy of Mein Kampf.[88]

In 1941, Savarkar supported Jews resettling their fatherland of Israel, in what he believed would defend the world against Islamic aggression.[89][91] It remains unknown whether Savarkar withdrew his support for Nazi Germany after the Holocaust became common knowledge.[89] However, on 15 January 1961 he had spoken favorably of Hitler's Nazism against Nehru's "cowardly democracy".[89]

### Muslims[edit]

Historians including Rachel McDermott, Leonard A. Gordon, Ainslie Embree, Frances Pritchett and Dennis Dalton state that Savarkar promoted an anti-Muslim form of Hindu nationalism.[92] Scholar Vinayak Chaturvedi states that Savarkar was known for his anti-Muslim writings.[93][94]

Savarkar saw Muslims in the Indian police and military to be "potential traitors". He advocated that India reduce the number of Muslims in the military, police and public service and ban Muslims from owning or working in munitions factories.[95] Savarkar criticized Gandhi for being concerned about Indian Muslims.[b] Chaturvedi notes that there was a "shift" in Savakar's views: in his earlier writings he argued for "Indian independence from British rule", whereas in later writings he focused on "Hindu independence from Christians and Muslims". In his 1907 Indian War of Independence, Savarkar includes Muslims as heroes.[citation needed]. In his 1963 Six Glorious Epochs, Savarkar says Muslims and Christians wanted to "destroy" Hinduism.[94]

In the 1940s, the two-nation theory was supported by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Savarkar, additionally Savarkar also urged Sikhs to establish an independent "Sikhistan".[97] While Jinnah supported a separate country for Muslims as a part of this theory, Savarkar wanted both religions in the same country where the Muslims lived in a subordinate position to the Hindus. Since then, RSS continued pursuing this unequal citizenship.[98]

## Legacy[edit]

Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays tributes to Savarkar at Parliament of India.

The airport at Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar's capital was renamed Veer Savarkar International Airport in 2002.[99] One of the commemorative blue plaques affixed on India House fixed by the Historic Building and Monuments Commission for England reads "Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, 1883–1966, Indian patriot and philosopher lived here".[100]

* A commemorative postage stamp was released by government of India in 1970.[101][102]
* A portrait of Savarkar was unveiled in the Indian Parliament in 2003.[103]
* The Shiv Sena party has demanded that the Indian Government posthumously confer upon him India's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna.[104] Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena chief, while reiterating this demand for Bharat Ratna in 2017, has also suggested that a replica of the prison cell where Savarkar was imprisoned should be built in Mumbai and the youth should be educated about Savarkar's contribution towards the 'Hindu Rashtra' and the Indian freedom struggle.[105]

In 1926, two years after the release of Savarkar from the prison, a biography titled "Life of Barrister Savarkar" and authored by a certain "Chitragupta" was published. A revised version was published in 1939 with additions by Indra Prakash of the Hindu Mahasabha. A second edition of the book was published in 1987 by Veer Savarkar Prakashan, the official publisher of writings by Savarkar. In its preface, Ravindra Vaman Ramdas deduced that, "Chitragupta is none other than Veer Savarkar".[106][107] There exists ample debate among scholars about the authenticity of this deduction.[citation needed]

In January 1924 Savarkar was released from Jail and was confined to the territories of Ratnagiri District and was banned from engaging publicly or privately in any manner of political activities. The same year, a brief biography of Savarkar was published in Marathi by Sadashiv Rajaram Ranade titled स्वातंत्रवीर विनायकराव सावरकर ह्यंचे संक्षिप्त चरित्र which in English translates to "A Short Biography of Swatantraveer Vinakarao Savarkar" in which he was first referred to as Swatantraveer throughout the biography.[108]

### In popular culture[edit]

* In the 1996 Malayalam movie Kaalapani directed by Priyadarshan, the Hindi actor Annu Kapoor played the role of Savarkar.
* The Marathi and Hindi music director and Savarkar follower, Sudhir Phadke, and Ved Rahi made the biopic film Veer Savarkar, which was released in 2001 after many years in production. Savarkar is portrayed by Shailendra Gaur.[109][110]
* The 2015 Indian Marathi-language film What About Savarkar?, directed by Rupesh Katare and Nitin Gawde, depicted the journey of a man's revenge against those who have disrespect Savarkar's name.[111]

## Books[edit]

He wrote 38 books in English and Marathi,[112] consisting in many essays, two novels called Moplah Rebellion and the Transportation,[113] poetry and plays, the best-known of his books being his historical study The Indian war of independence, 1857 and his pamphlet Hindutva: Who Is a Hindu?.[114]

## References[edit]

### Notes[edit]

1. ^ He met Savarkar, who is said to have submitted a clemency plea in which he described himself as the "prodigal son" eager to return "to the parental doors of the Government"[35]
2. ^ He described Mahatma Gandhi's nonviolence as "absolutely sinful" and criticized Gandhi's often-expressed concern for the well-being of India's Muslims.[96]

1. ^ After his death, since Savarkar was championing militarisation, some thought that it would be fitting if his mortal remains were to be carried on a gun-carriage. A request to that effect was made to the then Defence Minister, Y.B. Chavan. But Chavan turned down the proposal and not a single minister from the Maharashtra Cabinet showed up to the cremation ground to pay homage to Savarkar. In New Delhi, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha turned down a request that it pay homage to Savarkar.
2. ^ When Y.B. Chavan, as the Home Minister of India, went to the Andaman Islands; he was asked whether he would like to visit Savarkar's jail but he was not interested.[citation needed] Also when Morarji Desai went as Prime Minister to the Andaman islands, he too refused to visit Savarkar's cell.

### Citations[edit]

1. ^ "Vinayak Damodar Savarkar | Biography, History, & Books | Britannica". Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
2. ^ "Yamunabai Vinayak (Mai) Savarkar".
3. ^ Chandra 1989, p. 145.
4. ^ Keer 1966, p. 143.
5. ^ a b "Overview of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
6. ^ "Hindutva is not the same as Hinduism said Savarkar". www.telegraphindia.com. Archived from the original on 20 April 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
7. ^ Gier 2014, p. 29.
8. ^ Wolf 2010.
9. ^ Misra 1999, pp. 142–184.
10. ^ Nandy, Ashis (2 January 2014). "A disowned father of the nation in India: Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and the demonic and the seductive in Indian nationalism". Inter-Asia Cultural Studies. 15 (1): 91–112. doi:10.1080/14649373.2014.882087. ISSN 1464-9373. S2CID 144912079. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2020. "Savarkar, a hardboiled atheist who did not believe in sacred geographies, was even less embarrassed to claim the whole of India for the Hindus on the ground of sacred geography"
11. ^ Jaffrelot 2017, pp. 127–182.
12. ^ V. Sundaram (10 May 2008). "remembering all the revolutionaries of 1857". News Today INDIA TV. Archived from the original on 6 February 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
13. ^ Visana, Vikram (5 November 2020). "Savarkar before Hindutva: Sovereignty, Republicanism, and Populism in India, c.1900–1920". Modern Intellectual History. 18 (4): 1106–1129. doi:10.1017/S1479244320000384. ISSN 1479-2443. S2CID 224983230. Archived from the original on 30 September 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
14. ^ Keer 1966, pp. 318–319.
15. ^ "Lok Sabha Debates – Regarding Renaming Of Port Blair Airport in Andaman After The Name Of Port Blair airport on 8 May, 2002". indiankanoon.org. Government of India. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
16. ^ "Bhagat Singh and Savarkar, Two Petitions that Tell Us the Difference Between Hind and Hindutva". The Wire. Archived from the original on 14 October 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
17. ^ Sampath 2019, p. [page needed].
18. ^ Bhave 2009, pp. 12–13.
19. ^ Rana 2004, p. 15.
20. ^ Jyotirmaya Sharma 2011, p. 128.
21. ^ "Savarkar, Modi's mentor: The man who thought Gandhi a sissy". The Economist. 20 December 2014. Archived from the original on 6 February 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
22. ^ Tejani, Shabnum (5 January 2021). Indian Secularism: A Social and Intellectual History, 1890-1950. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-05832-4.
23. ^ Bapu, Prabhu (2013). Hindu Mahasabha in Colonial North India, 1915-1930: Constructing Nation and History. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-67165-1.
24. ^ Babli Sinha 2014, p. 129.
25. ^ Rana 2016, p. 25.
26. ^ Trehan 1991, p. 23.
27. ^ Sampath 2019, p. 276.
28. ^ Goldie 1972.
29. ^ Palande 1958, p. 456.
30. ^ Anderson 2003.
31. ^ Wagner 2010, p. 14.
32. ^ Palande 1958, p. 467.
33. ^ Palande 1958, p. 478.
34. ^ Majumdar 1975, pp. 211–213.
35. ^ Takle 2016.
36. ^ "Savarkar had begged the British for mercy". The Times of India. 3 May 2002. Archived from the original on 31 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
37. ^ Palande 1958, p. 480.
38. ^ Palande 1958, p. 469.
39. ^ Sampath, Vikram (18 October 2019o). "Rahul Gandhi must reflect on why grandmother Indira called Savarkar a patriot". The Print. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
40. ^ Palande 1958, pp. 472–476.
41. ^ Noorani 2005.
42. ^ Palande 1958, p. 477.
43. ^ Palande 1958, p. 472.
44. ^ McKean 1996, pp. 73, 79, 85.
45. ^ Keer 1971, p. 54.
46. ^ Rana 2004, p. 61.
47. ^ a b Andersen 1972, pp. 673–682.
48. ^ Malgonkar 2008, p. 13.
49. ^ Gyanendra Pandey (2006). Routine violence: nations, fragments, histories. Stanford University Press. pp. 127–. ISBN 978-0-8047-5264-0. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
50. ^ a b Amberish Diwanji (23 August 2004). "Who was Veer Savarkar?" (PHP). Archived from the original on 13 May 2006. Retrieved 28 July 2006.
51. ^ Stephen N Hay, William Theodore De Bary; William Theodore De Bary (May 1988). Sources of Indian Tradition. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. pp. 880–. ISBN 978-81-208-0467-8. Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
52. ^ G.S. Bhargava. "Apotheosis of Jinnah?". The Tribune, Chandigarh. Archived from the original on 28 January 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
53. ^ a b Prabhu Bapu (2013). Hindu Mahasabha in Colonial North India, 1915–1930: Constructing Nation and History. Routledge. pp. 103–. ISBN 978-0-415-67165-1. Archived from the original on 3 January 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
54. ^ a b Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (1963). Collected Works of V.d. Savarkar. Maharashtra Prantik Hindusabha. pp. 479–480.
55. ^ a b Shamsul Islam (2006). Religious Dimensions of Indian Nationalism: A Study of RSS. Media House. pp. 213–. ISBN 978-81-7495-236-3.
56. ^ Mani Shankar Aiyar (1 January 2009). A Time of Transition: Rajiv Gandhi to the 21st Century. Penguin Books India. pp. 75–. ISBN 978-0-670-08275-9.
57. ^ Shamsul Islam (2006). Religious Dimensions of Indian Nationalism: A Study of RSS. Media House. pp. 313–. ISBN 978-81-7495-236-3.
58. ^ Craig Baxter (1969). The jan Sangh: A biography of an Indian Political Party. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 20. ISBN 9780812275834.
59. ^ Sumit Sarkar (2014). Modern India 1886–1947. pp. 349–. ISBN 978-93-325-4085-9.
60. ^ "Charges Framed against Savarkar and other accused". savarkar.org. Archived from the original on 17 October 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
61. ^ "Written Statement of Savarkar". savarkar.org. Archived from the original on 14 October 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
62. ^ Manohar Malgaokar. "AUTHOR'S NOTE TO THE FIRST EDITION". indiaclub.com. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
63. ^ a b c d e Manohar Malgonkar (2008). The Men Who Killed Gandhi. New Delhi: Lotus (Roli Books). p. 354\. ISBN 978-81-7436-617-7.
64. ^ Abdul Gafoor Abdul Majeed Noorani (2002) Savarkar and Hindutva: the Godse connection  LeftWord Books, ISBN 81-87496-28-2, ISBN 978-81-87496-28-1 p. 4 & 114
65. ^ Mahatma Gandhi—the last phase, Volume 2 Navajivan Pub. House, 1958 p.752
66. ^ "Interview: K. Ketkar". University of Cambridge, Centre of South Asian Studies. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
67. ^ Jagdishchandra Jain (1987). Gandhi the forgotten Mahatma. New Delhi: Mittal Publications. ISBN 978-81-7099-037-6.
68. ^ a b A. G. Noorani (15–28 March 2003). "Savarkar and Gandhi". Frontline. Vol. 20, no. 6\. Archived from the original on 22 August 2009. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
69. ^ a b c d e J. L. Kapur (1969). Report of Commission of Inquiry into Conspiracy to Murder Mahatma. Government of India. Archived from the original on 9 September 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
70. ^ Rajesh Ramchandran (6 September 2004). "The Mastermind?". Outlook Magazine. Archived from the original on 25 October 2010.
71. ^ Badri Raina (29 August 2004). "RSS and the Gandhi murder". People's democracy. Communist Party of India (Marxist). Archived from the original on 12 August 2009. Retrieved 1 October 2009.
72. ^ Andersen, Walter. “The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh: II: Who Represents the Hindus?” Economic and Political Weekly 7, no. 12 (1972): 633–40. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4361149.
73. ^ McKean 1996, p. 94.
74. ^ "Savarkar dead". The Indian Express. 27 February 1966. pp. 1, 5. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
75. ^ "Savarkar's last journey". The Indian Express. Press Trust of India. 28 February 1966. p. 1\. Archived from the original on 14 October 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
76. ^ McKean 1996, p. 95.
77. ^ a b Vinay Lal (22 October 2006). "Veer Savarkar – Ideologue of Hindutva" (PHP). Archived from the original on 9 September 2006. Retrieved 22 October 2006.
78. ^ Vinayak D. Savarkar (1923). "Who is a Hindu" (PDF). Essentials of Hindutva. Ratnagiri. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
79. ^ Chandra, Bipan (June 1992). "Use Of History and Growth Of Communalism" (PDF). In Kumar, Pramod (ed.). Towards Understanding Communalism. Chandigarh: Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development. p. 384\. ISBN 978-81-85835-17-4. OCLC 27810012. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 January 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
80. ^ a b Sathianathan Clarke (2017). Competing Fundamentalisms: Violent Extremism in Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Westminster John Knox Press.
81. ^ William Elison (2016). Amar Akbar Anthony: Bollywood, Brotherhood, and the Nation. ISBN 978-0-674-49599-9. Archived from the original on 14 October 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
82. ^ Dhananjay Keer (1990). Dr. Ambedkar: life and mission. Popular Prakashan. pp. 54–. ISBN 978-81-7154-237-6. Archived from the original on 11 July 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
83. ^ Jai Narain Sharma (2008). Encyclopaedia of eminent thinkers. Concept Publishing Company. pp. 22–. ISBN 978-81-8069-492-9. Archived from the original on 11 July 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
84. ^ Vinayak Savarkar (1984). My Transportation for Life. Mumbai (India): Swatantryaveer Savarkar Rashtriya Smarak Trust.
85. ^ Vinayak Savarkar (1927). Mazi Janmathep. Parchure Prakashan Mandir. ISBN 978-81-86530-12-2.
86. ^ Sampath, Vikram (10 December 2018). "Savarkar wanted to smash caste system, cooked prawns and didn't worship the cow". theprint.in. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
87. ^ Sampath 2019, pp. 481–482.
88. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Marzia Casolari. "Hindutva's Foreign Tie-Up in the 1930s: Archival Evidence". Economic and Political Weekly. 35 (4): 222–224.
89. ^ a b c d e Bhatt, Chetan (2001). Hindu Nationalism: Origins, Ideologies and Modern Myths. Routledge. pp. 107–108. ISBN 9781859733486.
90. ^ Yulia Egorova (2008). Jews and India: Perceptions and Image. Routledge. p. 41.
91. ^ M. Friedman; P. Kenney. Partisan Histories: The Past in Contemporary Global Politics. Springer. p. 115.
92. ^ Rachel Fell McDermott; Leonard A. Gordon; Ainslie T. Embree; Frances W. Pritchett; Dennis Dalton, eds. (2014). Sources of Indian Traditions: Modern India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Cambridge University Press. p. 483\. ISBN 978-0-231-13830-7.
93. ^ Vinayak Chaturvedi (2003). "Vinayak & me: Hindutva and the politics of naming". Social History. 28 (2): 155–173. doi:10.1080/0307102032000082525. S2CID 143605490. "Savarkar had acquired an important public reputation throughout India, especially within the Hindu Mahasabha, for his nationalist and anti-Muslim writings, for his patriotic actions in India and Britain, and for having spent the bulk of his adult life as a political prisoner."
94. ^ a b Vinayak Chaturvedi (2010). "Rethinking knowledge with action: V. D. Savarkar, the Bhagavad Gita, and histories of warfare". Modern Intellectual History. 7 (2): 417–435 [420]. doi:10.1017/S1479244310000144. S2CID 145318807. "As one of the intellectual founders of Hindu nationalism, Savarkar has emerged as the most controversial Indian political thinker of the last century, gaining notoriety for his program to "Hinduize Politics and Militarize Hindudom", for his anti-Muslim and anti-Christian politics, and for his advocacy of violence in everyday life."
95. ^ McKean 1996, p. 89.
96. ^ Elder 2009, p. 880.
97. ^ Ahmad, Jamiluddin. Some Recent Speeches and Writings of Mr. Jinnah. pp. 283–284.
98. ^ Subramanian, Samanth (20 February 2020). "How Hindu supremacists are tearing India apart". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
99. ^ "Port Blair airport gets Rs 450 cr quake-proof makeover". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 9 June 2009. Archived from the original on 14 October 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
100. ^ "Search Blue Plaques". Historic Building and Monuments Commission for England. Archived from the original on 14 October 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
101. ^ "Savarkar an accomplished man, played part in freedom struggle: Abhishek Singhvi". India Today. 21 October 2019. Archived from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
102. ^ "Indian Postage Stamps - Stamps released in 1970". indianpostagestamps.com. Archived from the original on 21 October 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
103. ^ "President unveils Savarkar portrait in Central Hall of Parliament". Zee News. 26 February 2003. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
104. ^ "Shiv Sena Demands Bharat Ratna for Veer Savarkar". news.biharprabha.com. ANI. 15 September 2015. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
105. ^ Uddhav Thackeray seeks 'Bharat Ratna' for Veer Savarkar Archived 12 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Daily News and Analysis. (23 April 2017). Retrieved 17 December 2018.
106. ^ Grover 1993, p. 498.
107. ^ Salam 2018, p. 32.
108. ^ Ranade 1924, p. 7.
109. ^ Veer Savarkar (2001) Archived 26 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine. IMDb
110. ^ "Cut to Cut". Rediff. 6 September 2001. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
111. ^ Deshmukh, Gayatri (13 January 2017). "Veer Savarkar seeks his revenge on screen". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
112. ^ Goodrick-Clarke 2000, p. 46.
113. ^ Keer 1950, p. 191.
114. ^ "Resources". savarkar.org. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.

### Bibliography[edit]

* Anderson, C. (2003), The politics of convict space: Indian penal settlements and the Andaman Islands, Routledge (Taylor & Francis), archived from the original on 10 October 2019, retrieved 10 October 2019
* Andersen, Walter (1972), "The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh: III: Participation in Politics", Economic and Political Weekly, 7 (13): 673–682, JSTOR 4361179
* Bhave, Y. G (2009), Vinayak Damodar Savarkar: The Much-maligned and Misunderstood Revolutionary and Freedom Fighter, Northern Book Centre, ISBN 978-81-7211-266-0, archived from the original on 16 April 2021, retrieved 13 February 2016
* Chandra, Bipan (1989), India's Struggle for Independence, New Delhi: Penguin Books India, ISBN 978-0-14-010781-4
* Elder, Joseph W. (2009), "International Handbook of Comparative Education", in Cowen, Robert; Kazamias, Andreas M. (eds.), Hinduism, Modernity and Knowledge: India, Springer Netherlands, ISBN 978-1-4020-6403-6, archived from the original on 16 April 2021, retrieved 17 September 2017
* Gier, Nicholas F. (2014), The Origins of Religious Violence: An Asian Perspective, Lexington Books, ISBN 978-0-7391-9222-1
* Goldie, Louis (1972), "Legal Aspects of the Refusal of Asylum by U.S. Coast Guard on 23 November, 1970", Lithuanian Quarterly Journal of Arts and Sciences, 18 (3), archived from the original on 30 June 2011, retrieved 19 April 2011
* Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas (2000), Hitler's Priestess: Savitri Devi, the Hindu-Aryan Myth, and Neo-Nazism, NYU Press
* Grover, Verinder (1993), V.D. Savarkar, Deep & Deep Publications, ISBN 978-81-7100-425-6, archived from the original on 16 April 2021, retrieved 15 October 2020
* Islam, Shamsul (2006), Religious Dimensions of Indian Nationalism: A Study of RSS, Media House, ISBN 978-81-7495-236-3, archived from the original on 15 November 2019, retrieved 13 February 2016
* Jaffrelot, C. (2017), The making of Indian revolutionaries (1885–1931). In Revolutionary Passions, Routledge
* Keer, Dhananjay (1950), Savarkar and His Times, A. V. Keer
* Keer, Dhananjay (1966), Veer Savarkar, Bombay: Popular Prakashan, ISBN 978-0-86132-182-7, OCLC 3639757
* Keer, Dhananjay (1971), Dr. Ambedkar: Life and Mission, Popular Prakashan, ISBN 978-81-7154-237-6
* Majumdar, R.C. (1975), Penal Settlements in Andamans, New Delhi: Department of Culture (Government of India)
* Malgonkar, Manohar (2008), The Men Who Killed Gandhi, Roli Books, ISBN 978-93-5194-083-8, archived from the original on 16 April 2021, retrieved 25 November 2019
* McKean, Lise (1996), Divine Enterprise: Gurus and the Hindu Nationalist Movement, University of Chicago Press, ISBN 978-0-226-56009-0, archived from the original on 15 February 2017, retrieved 13 February 2016
* Misra, Amalendu (1999), "Savarkar and the Discourse on Islam in Pre-Independent India", Journal of Asian History, 33 (2): 142–184, JSTOR 41933141
* Noorani, A.G. (8 April 2005), "Savarkar's Mercy Petition", Frontline
* Palande, M.R., ed. (1958), Source Material for a History of the Freedom Movement of India (PDF), vol. 2, Maharashtra: Government of Maharashtra, archived (PDF) from the original on 14 October 2021, retrieved 25 January 2016
* Rana, Bhawan Singh (2004), Veer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar: An Immortal Revolutionary of India, Diamond Pocket Books, ISBN 978-81-288-0883-8, archived from the original on 3 June 2020, retrieved 17 September 2017
* Rana, Bhawan Singh (2016), Veer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar: An Immortal Revolutionary of India, Diamond Pocket Books, ISBN 978-81-288-3575-9, archived from the original on 3 June 2020, retrieved 17 September 2017
* Ranade, Sadashiv Rajaram (1924), A short biography of Swatantraveer Vinakarao Savarkar (in Marathi)
* Salam, Ziya Us (2018), Of Saffron Flags and Skullcaps: Hindutva, Muslim Identity and the Idea of India, SAGE Publishing India, ISBN 978-93-5280-735-2, archived from the original on 16 April 2021, retrieved 15 October 2020
* Sampath, Vikram (16 August 2019). Savarkar: Echoes from a Forgotten Past, 1883–1924. Penguin Random House India. ISBN 978-93-5305-614-8.
* Sharma, Jyotirmaya (2011), Hindutva: Exploring the Idea of Hindu Nationalism (3rd ed.), Penguin Books India, ISBN 978-0-14-341818-4
* Sinha, Babli (2014), South Asian Transnationalisms: Cultural Exchange in the Twentieth Century, Routledge, ISBN 978-1-135-71832-9, archived from the original on 3 June 2020, retrieved 17 September 2017
* Takle, Niranjan (24 January 2016), "The prodigal son", The Week, archived from the original on 14 February 2021, retrieved 19 February 2020
* Trehan, Jyoti (1991), Veer Savarkar: Thought and Action of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Deep & Deep Publications, ISBN 978-81-7100-322-8, archived from the original on 3 June 2020, retrieved 17 September 2017
* Wagner, Kim A. (2010), The Great Fear of 1857: Rumours, Conspiracies and the Making of the Indian Uprising, Peter Lang, ISBN 978-1-906165-27-7, archived from the original on 5 June 2020, retrieved 10 October 2019
* Wolf, Siegfried O. (January 2010), "Vinayak Damodar Savarkar's 'Strategic Agnosticism': A Compilation of his Socio-Political Philosophy and Worldview" (PDF), Heidelberg Papers in South Asian and Comparative Politics, South Asia Institute, Department of Political Science, Heidelberg University, ISSN 1617-5069, Working Paper No. 51, archived (PDF) from the original on 29 February 2020, retrieved 3 May 2021

## Further reading[edit]

* Kumar, Megha (November–December 2006). "History and Gender in Savarkar's Nationalist Writings". Social Scientist. 34 (11/12): 33–50. JSTOR 27644182.
* Sharma, Jyotirmaya (2011). "Vinayak Damodar Savarkar". Hindutva: Exploring the Idea of Hindu Nationalism (Third ed.). Penguin Books India. pp. 127–175. ISBN 978-0-14-341818-4.

## External links[edit]

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar at Wikipedia's sister projects

* Media from Commons
* Quotations from Wikiquote
* Data from Wikidata

* Official Website of Savarkar National Memorial
* Savarkar's Hindu Pad-pada-shahi

* v
* t
* e

Indian independence movement

History|

* Colonisation
* Porto Grande de Bengala
* Dutch Bengal
* East India Company
* British Raj
* French India
* Portuguese India
* Battle of Plassey
* Battle of Buxar
* Anglo-Mysore Wars
* First
* Second
* Third
* Fourth
* Anglo-Maratha Wars
* First
* Second
* Third
* Polygar Wars
* Vellore mutiny
* First Anglo-Sikh War
* Second Anglo-Sikh War
* Sannyasi rebellion
* Rebellion of 1857
* Radcliffe Line
* more

Philosophies
and ideologies|

* Ambedkarism
* Gandhism
* Hindu nationalism
* Indian nationalism
* Khilafat Movement
* Muslim nationalism in South Asia
* Satyagraha
* Socialism
* Swadeshi movement
* Swaraj

Events and
movements|

* Partition of Bengal (1905)
* Partition of Bengal (1947)
* Revolutionaries
* Direct Action Day
* Delhi-Lahore Conspiracy
* The Indian Sociologist
* Singapore Mutiny
* Hindu–German Conspiracy
* Champaran Satyagraha
* Kheda Satyagraha
* Rowlatt Committee
* Rowlatt Bills
* Jallianwala Bagh massacre
* Noakhali riots
* Non-Cooperation Movement
* Christmas Day Plot
* Coolie-Begar movement
* Chauri Chaura incident, 1922
* Kakori conspiracy
* Qissa Khwani massacre
* Flag Satyagraha
* Bardoli
* 1928 Protests
* Nehru Report
* Fourteen Points of Jinnah
* Purna Swaraj
* Salt March
* Dharasana Satyagraha
* Vedaranyam March
* Chittagong armoury raid
* Gandhi–Irwin Pact
* Round table conferences
* Act of 1935
* Aundh Experiment
* Indian Legion
* Cripps Mission
* Quit India
* Bombay Mutiny
* Coup d'état of Yanaon
* Provisional Government of India
* Independence Day
* Praja Mandala movement
* Lucknow Pact

Organisations|

* All India Kisan Sabha
* All-India Muslim League
* Anushilan Samiti
* Arya Samaj
* Azad Hind
* Berlin Committee
* Ghadar Movement
* Hindustan Socialist Republican Association
* Indian National Congress
* India House
* Indian Home Rule movement
* Indian Independence League
* Indian National Army
* Jugantar
* Khaksar movement
* Khudai Khidmatgar
* Swaraj Party
* more

Social
reformers|

* A. Vaidyanatha Iyer
* Ayya Vaikundar
* Ayyankali
* B. R. Ambedkar
* Baba Amte
* Bal Gangadhar Tilak
* Dayananda Saraswati
* Dhondo Keshav Karve
* G. Subramania Iyer
* Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty
* Gopal Ganesh Agarkar
* Gopal Hari Deshmukh
* Gopaldas Ambaidas Desai
* Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
* J. B. Kripalani
* Jyotirao Phule
* Kandukuri Veeresalingam
* Mahadev Govind Ranade
* Mahatma Gandhi
* Muthulakshmi Reddy
* Narayana Guru
* Niralamba Swami
* Pandita Ramabai
* Periyar
* Ram Mohan Roy
* Rettamalai Srinivasan
* Sahajanand Saraswati
* Savitribai Phule
* Shahu
* Sister Nivedita
* Sri Aurobindo
* Syed Ahmad Khan
* Vakkom Moulavi
* Vinayak Damodar Savarkar
* Vinoba Bhave
* Vitthal Ramji Shinde
* Vivekananda

Independence
activists|

* Abul Kalam Azad
* Accamma Cherian
* Achyut Patwardhan
* A. K. Fazlul Huq
* Alluri Sitarama Raju
* Annapurna Maharana
* Annie Besant
* Ashfaqulla Khan
* Babu Kunwar Singh
* Bagha Jatin
* Bahadur Shah II
* Bakht Khan
* Bal Gangadhar Tilak
* Basawon Singh
* Begum Hazrat Mahal
* Bhagat Singh
* Bharathidasan
* Bhavabhushan Mitra
* Bhikaiji Cama
* Bhupendra Kumar Datta
* Bidhan Chandra Roy
* Bipin Chandra Pal
* C. Rajagopalachari
* Chandra Shekhar Azad
* Chetram Jatav
* Chittaranjan Das
* Dadabhai Naoroji
* Dayananda Saraswati
* Dhan Singh
* Dukkipati Nageswara Rao
* Gopal Krishna Gokhale
* Govind Ballabh Pant
* Har Dayal
* Hemu Kalani
* Inayatullah Khan Mashriqi
* Jatindra Mohan Sengupta
* Jatindra Nath Das
* Jawaharlal Nehru
* K. Kamaraj
* Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi
* Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
* Khudiram Bose
* Shri Krishna Singh
* Lala Lajpat Rai
* M. Bhaktavatsalam
* M. N. Roy
* Maghfoor Ahmad Ajazi
* Mahadaji Shinde
* Mahatma Gandhi
* Mangal Pandey
* Mir Qasim
* Mithuben Petit‎
* Mohammad Ali Jauhar
* Muhammad Ali Jinnah
* Muhammad Mian Mansoor Ansari
* Nagnath Naikwadi
* Nana Fadnavis
* Nana Saheb
* P. Kakkan
* Prafulla Chaki
* Pritilata Waddedar
* Purushottam Das Tandon
* R. Venkataraman
* Rahul Sankrityayan
* Rajendra Prasad
* Ram Prasad Bismil
* Rani Lakshmibai
* Rash Behari Bose
* Sahajanand Saraswati
* Sangolli Rayanna
* Sarojini Naidu
* Satyapal Dang
* Shuja-ud-Daula
* Shyamji Krishna Varma
* Sibghatullah Shah Rashidi
* Siraj ud-Daulah
* Subhas Chandra Bose
* Subramania Bharati
* Subramaniya Siva
* Surya Sen
* Syama Prasad Mukherjee
* Tara Rani Srivastava
* Tarak Nath Das
* Tatya Tope
* Tiruppur Kumaran
* Ubaidullah Sindhi
* V. O. Chidamabaram
* V. K. Krishna Menon
* Vallabhbhai Patel
* Vanchinathan
* Veeran Sundaralingam
* Vinayak Damodar Savarkar
* Virendranath Chattopadhyaya
* Yashwantrao Holkar
* Yogendra Shukla
* more

British leaders|

* Wavell
* Canning
* Cornwallis
* Irwin
* Chelmsford
* Curzon
* Ripon
* Minto
* Dalhousie
* Bentinck
* Mountbatten
* Wellesley
* Lytton
* Clive
* Outram
* Cripps
* Linlithgow
* Hastings

Independence|

* Cabinet Mission
* Constitution
* Republic of India
* Indian annexation of Goa
* Indian Independence Act
* Partition of India
* Political integration
* Simla Conference

* v
* t
* e

Indian Revolutionary Movement

Ideologies|

* Anushilan Tattva
* Indian nationalism
* Socialism

Organizations|

* Abhinav Bharat Society
* Anushilan Samiti
* Bengal Volunteers
* Berlin Committee
* Communist Consolidation
* Dhaka Anushilan Samiti
* Ghadar Party
* Hindustan Socialist Republican Association
* India House
* Jugantar (Yugantar)
* Naujawan Bharat Sabha
* Paris Indian Society
* Workers and Peasants Party

Figures|

* Abinash Chandra Bhattacharya
* Ambika Chakrabarty
* Ajoy Ghosh
* Alluri Sitarama Raju
* Anant Laxman Kanhere
* Ananta Singh
* Anantahari Mitra
* Ashfaqulla Khan
* Atul Krishna Ghosh

* Badal Gupta
* Bagha Jatin
* Baikuntha Shukla
* Banwari Lal
* Basanta Kumar Biswas
* Basawon Singh
* Batukeshwar Dutt
* Benoy Basu
* Bhagat Singh
* Bhagwan Singh Gyanee
* Bhagwati Charan Vohra
* Bhai Balmukund
* Bhai Parmanand
* Bhupendra Kumar Datta
* Bhupendranath Datta
* Bhavabhushan Mitra
* Bina Das
* Binod Bihari Chowdhury
* Bipin Behari Ganguli

* Chempakaraman Pillai
* Chandra Shekhar Azad
* Chittapriya Ray Chaudhuri

* Deba Gupta
* Dinesh Gupta
* Durgawati Devi

* Ganesh Damodar Savarkar
* Ganesh Ghosh
* Gaya Prasad Katiyar
* Gulab Kaur
* Guran Ditt Kumar

* Har Dayal
* Hare Krishna Konar
* Haridas Dutta
* Harigopal Bal
* Hari Kishan Talwar
* Harnam Singh Saini
* Hemchandra Kanungo
* Hemu Kalani

* Jadugopal Mukherjee
* Jatindra Nath Das
* Jiban Ghoshal
* Jnanendra Das Gupta
* Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee

* Kanailal Dutta
* Kalpana Datta
* Kalyani Das
* Krishnaji Gopal Karve
* Kartar Singh Sarabha
* Kishori Lal
* Khudiram Bose
* Kunwar Pratap Singh Barhath
* Kushal Konwar

* Lokenath Bal

* Madan Lal Dhingra
* Mahavir Singh
* Manmath Nath Gupta
* Manoranjan Bhattacharya
* Matangini Hazra
* Mohit Moitra
* Mohan Kishore Namadas
* Motilal Roy
* M. P. T. Acharya
* Mukundi Lal
* Munsha Singh Dukhi

* Narendra Mohan Sen
* Niralamba Swami
* Niranjan Sengupta
* Nirmal Jibon Ghosh

* Pandit Kanshi Ram
* Panchanan Chakraborty
* Pandurang Mahadev Bapat
* Pandurang Sadashiv Khankhoje
* Prafulla Chaki
* Pramod Ranjan Choudhury
* Pratul Chandra Ganguli
* Pradyot Kumar Bhattacharya
* Prem Krishna Khanna
* Pritilata Waddedar
* Pulin Behari Das
* P. V. Kurian

* Rajat Sen
* Rajendra Lahiri
* Ram Chandra Bharadwaj
* Ramakrishna Biswas
* Ram Prasad Bismil
* Ram Rakha
* Rash Behari Bose
* Roshan Singh
* Sachindra Bakshi
* Sachindra Nath Sanyal
* Santosh Kumar Mitra
* Satyendranath Bosu
* Satish Sardar
* Shiv Verma
* Shivaram Rajguru
* Shrish Chandra Ghosh
* Shyamji Krishna Varma
* Sohan Singh Bhakna
* Sohanlal Pathak
* Sri Aurobindo
* Srish Pal
* Subodh Roy
* Sukhdev Thapar
* Suniti Choudhury
* Surya Sen

* Tarak Nath Das
* Tarakeswar Dastidar
* Tarakeswar Sengupta
* Thakur Kesari Singh Barhath
* Thakur Zorawar Singh Barhath

* Udham Singh
* Ullaskar Dutta

* V. V. S. Aiyar
* Vanchinathan
* Veer Bhai Kotwal
* Vinayak Damodar Savarkar
* Virendranath Chattopadhyaya
* Vishnu Ganesh Pingle
* Vishwanath Vaishampayan

* Yogendra Shukla

Publications|

* Bande Mataram
* Bande Mataram (Paris)
* Hindustan Ghadar
* Jugantar Patrika

Events|

* Alipore Bomb case
* Barisal Conspiracy Case
* Chittagong Armoury Raid
* Christmas Day Plot
* Delhi conspiracy case
* Delhi Conspiracy Commission
* Ghadar Mutiny
* Hindu–German Conspiracy Trial
* Howrah-Sibpur Conspiracy case
* Kakori conspiracy
* Lahore Conspiracy Case trial
* Rodda company arms heist

* v
* t
* e

India House

* Indian independence movement (revolutionary)
* Shyamji Krishna Varma
* Lajpat Rai
* British Committee of the Congress
* Dadabhai Naoroji
* Bhikaiji Cama
* S. R. Rana
* Henry Hyndman
* Indian Home Rule Society
* V. D. Savarkar
* V. V. S. Iyer
* V. N. Chatterjee
* P.M. Bapat
* M.P.T. Acharya
* Har Dayal
* Madanlal Dhingra
* Mohamed Barkatullah
* B.C. Pal
* G. S. Khaparde
* Abhinav Bharat Society
* Free India Society
* The Indian Sociologist
* The Indian War of Independence
* Paris Indian Society
* Bande Mataram
* Talvar
* Berlin Committee
* more

Authority control

General|

* ISNI
* 1
* 2
* 3
* VIAF
* 1
* WorldCat

National libraries|

* France (data)
* Germany
* Israel
* United States
* Czech Republic
* Netherlands
* Poland
* Sweden

Other|

* Faceted Application of Subject Terminology
* SUDOC (France)
* 1

*[m.]: married
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template