“Main Gandhi hoon, Savarkar nahi. Maafi nahi mangunga.” By saying this the great Nehru-Gandhi clan and Amethi’s defeated prince Rahul Gandhi may have tried to portray himself as a great revolutionary or a social reformer or may be a great leader. But I fail to understand why Rahul Baba needs to exhibit his devoidness of intelligence at all times.
To apprehend the glory and grandeur of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar is impossible for him especially considering his fathomless acumen. Despite greying, this gentleman does not seem to have got the wisdom of what must and must not be spoken. Of course, the Almighty is to be blamed for failing to grant him the wisdom. Even the advisors, based on whose advise this Gandhi junior blabbers, have not taken the pains to read what Mahatma Gandhi had opined about Savarkar. Had some of them taken the effort of reading Mahatma Gandhi, they would have been able to open the eyes of the other pro-Congress intellectuals, supporters and journalists.
If you refer to the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi: e-book, Publication Division, GOI, Volume 59, Page no. 384, vide a letter sent to freedom fighter MR Jaykar on February 25, 1933, Mahatma Gandhi had praised Savarkar for his significant contribution in bringing about social reforms. In his letter, Mahatmaji had admitted that Savarkar had indeed done a great social work by establishing The Patit Pavan Mandir in 1931 in Ratnagiri,it is a standing testimony of his indefatigable commitment to social reform.. Mahatma Gandhi had also asked Jaykar to give this letter to Savarkar. Mahatma Gandhi’s respect and affinity for Savarkar can be distinctly felt at many places in this book.
The then Bihar government had banned Savarkar’s Hindu Mahasabha from holding its meeting in Bihar. Mahatma Gandhi had released a pamphlet protesting that decision on December 27, 1941. In that letter, Gandhiji had coined Savarkar as ‘Veer Savarkar’. Also, in the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi: Volume 81, Page No. 391- 392 it is mentioned that Rahul Gandhi’s grandmother and former Prime Minister Late. Indira Gandhi had personally donated Rs 11,000 for Swatantryaveer Savarkar’s memorial. Interestingly, the postal stamp on Swatantryaveer Savarkar was released by Indira Gandhi’s government only when she was the Prime Minister. It was her government that had produced a documentary on Swatantryaveer Savarkar.
Raising questions about Savarkar’s contribution in the freedom struggle and also making statements about the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh seems to have become an inevitable necessity for Rahul Gandhi and the Congress. Congress’s obsolescence in national politics and despite the congress strongholds created by regional chieftains like Mamata Banerjee, Chandrashekhar Rao and Arvind Kejriwal in their respective regions, closest aides of Rahul Gandhi and his mother seem to have gauged existential threat to party. And hence they feel that the mother-son duo must rake up issues like Savarkar again and again. And since Congress’s prince does not have the basic political acumen, he is unable to gauge whether he will really derive any political benefit from it. This reminds me of the phrase – ‘fools rush in where angels fear to tread’. It aptly suits Rahul Gandhi, isn’t it?
I absolutely do not intend to waste my time writing about Rahul Gandhi’s ‘profound’ knowledge. But I take this as an opportunity to inform the next generation the splendid contributions made by Swatantryaveer Savarkar. And that is the reason why the Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to hold Savarkar Gaurav Yatra. Savarkar’s contribution to India’s freedom struggle is unparalleled. He had to pay a huge price for this contribution. Unfortunately, his contribution was not given due justice when the history of our freedom struggle was being penned down. Savarkar was transported to the infamous Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to serve 50 years imprisonment by the British. Prisoners sent from India were subjected to endless torture in the Andaman jail.
Savarkar, who penned the epic poem ‘Kamala’ on the walls of the Cellular Jail during the sentence of Kalapani in Andaman, was indeed a man of prodigious talent. It is difficult for Rahul and his bootlickers to apprehend Savarkar who wrote to the Motherland “Sacrifice for you is like life! Living without you is death!” Savarkar made prison walls the paper and with thorns and nails, he wrote the epic poem ‘Kamala’. He wrote several books describing the freedom struggle, one of it being the ‘1857 che Swatantrya Samar’ which was later translated in English and titled ‘The Indian War of Independence – 1857’ and ‘Saha Soneri Pane’ (Six Golden Pages). His autobiography ‘Majhi Janmathep’, the Marathi plays titled ‘Sanyasta Khadg’ and ‘Ushaap’, the aarti ‘Jaidev Jaidev Shivraya’ in praise of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his poem ‘Sagara Praan Talamalala’ are the literary assets that bear witness to his exemplary talent. Rahul Gandhi, who can never speak without a teleprompter or someone guiding him from the back, will never be able to understand the greatness of Savarkar.
After returning to Ratnagiri from Andaman, Savarkar took up the unique task of improving the society and made tireless efforts to eliminate caste discrimination in Hinduism. Savarkar, who had gone abroad for education, had acquired a barrister degree and strongly advocated the armed revolution. I do not intend to reiterate the true merit of Savarkar, who sacrificed both, his family and his home for the freedom struggle to Rahul Gandhi.
On this occasion, I am reminded of a parable about a
donkey and a tiger arguing over whether the grass is yellow or green. While the
donkey said that the grass is yellow, the tiger insisted that it is green.
Since both of them were firm on their stance, they decided to end the controversy
and they both go to the lion, the king of the jungle. Hearing their argument,
the lion declares that the tiger be jailed for a year. Hearing the king’s
verdict, the donkey happily goes into the forest but the tiger walks up to the
lion asking him the reason for punishing him. The lion said that you have not
got punished for your opinion that the grass is green, but for wasting your
time arguing with that donkey. Saint Tukaram had also in his abhanga stated
that when ignorance screams, intelligence shuts up.
(Article Pre-Published in Times of India Online –03
April 2023)
Keshav Upadhye, Chief Spokesperson
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