In News:

=> Recently, the Prime Minister of India  has paid tributes to Veer Savarkar on his jayanti.

About Vinayak Damodar Savarkar:

=> Popularly known as Veer Savarkar, was born on 28 May 1883 in Nashik.

=> He was a multidimensional personality - a freedom fighter, social reformer, writer, poet, historian, political leader and philosopher - all combined into one He is known for coining the term ‘Hindutva’

=> He was a visionary social reformer, a forward-looking liberal, an iconoclast in many ways and an eminently  practical strategist who wanted to free India from colonial rule, if necessary,  by violent armed resistance.

Roles played in Freedom Struggle:

=> He got involved in radical activities while in London and  he actively read up on the history of India and decided to organise anti-British activities on the lines of the 1857 revolt.

=> He was against foreign goods and propagated the idea of Swadeshi. In 1905, he burnt all the foreign goods in a bonfire on Dussehra. He was arrested in 1909 on charges of plotting an armed revolt against the Morley-Minto reform.

=> In 1910, he was arrested over his association with the revolutionary group India House. He was sentenced to two life sentences i.e. 50 years in the cellular jail of Andamans, also known as Kala Pani, in 1911.

=> He was released in 1924 under strict conditions of not participating in politics for 5 years.

=> Mitra Mela: In his teenage years, Savarkar formed a youth organisation.

=> Known as Mitra Mela (Group of Friends), this organisation was put into place to bring in national and revolutionary ideas.

=> Patit Pavan: Mandir He started one of the most powerful social reform movements against untouchability in India”, built Patit Pavan Mandir in the Ratnagiri district to allow entry to all Hindus, including Dalits.

• “He was the first to envision a casteless India”

Views on Quit India Movement of 1942:

=> He opposed the Quit India Movement of 1942.

=> He was accused of having a role in the conspiracy to assassinate Mahatma Gandhi but was later acquitted by the court.

Initiatives to honour him:

=> In 2002, Port Blair airport at Andaman and Nicobar Islands was renamed Veer Savarkar International Airport.

=> Historian Vikram Sampath’s concluding volume on the life and works of Veer Savarkar will hit the stands on July 26.

=> The book is titled “Savarkar: A contested Legacy (1924-1966). Recently, a book named “Veer Savarkar:

=> The Man Who Could Have Prevented Partition” was released.

By: ASRAF UDDIN AHMED