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Savarkar #1
Savarkar: Echoes from a Forgotten Past, 1883–1924
As the intellectual fountainhead of the ideology of Hindutva, which is in political ascendancy in India today, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar is undoubtedly one of the most contentious political thinkers and leaders of the twentieth century. Accounts of his eventful and stormy life have oscillated from eulogizing hagiographies to disparaging demonization. The truth, as always, lies somewhere in between and has unfortunately never been brought to light. Savarkar and his ideology stood as one of the strongest and most virulent opponents of Gandhi, his pacifist philosophy and the Indian National Congress.
An alleged atheist and a staunch rationalist who opposed orthodox Hindu beliefs, encouraged inter-caste marriage and dining, and dismissed cow worship as mere superstition, Savarkar was, arguably, the most vocal political voice for the Hindu community through the entire course of India's freedom struggle. From the heady days of revolution and generating international support for the cause of India's freedom as a law student in London, Savarkar found himself arrested, unfairly tried for sedition, transported and incarcerated at the Cellular Jail, in the Andamans, for over a decade, where he underwent unimaginable torture.
From being an optimistic advocate of Hindu-Muslim unity in his treatise on the 1857 War of Independence, what was it that transformed him in the Cellular Jail to a proponent of 'Hindutva', which viewed Muslims with suspicion?
Drawing from a vast range of original archival documents across India and abroad, this biography in two parts-the first focusing on the years leading up to his incarceration and eventual release from the Kalapani-puts Savarkar, his life and philosophy in a new perspective and looks at the man with all his achievements and failings.
An alleged atheist and a staunch rationalist who opposed orthodox Hindu beliefs, encouraged inter-caste marriage and dining, and dismissed cow worship as mere superstition, Savarkar was, arguably, the most vocal political voice for the Hindu community through the entire course of India's freedom struggle. From the heady days of revolution and generating international support for the cause of India's freedom as a law student in London, Savarkar found himself arrested, unfairly tried for sedition, transported and incarcerated at the Cellular Jail, in the Andamans, for over a decade, where he underwent unimaginable torture.
From being an optimistic advocate of Hindu-Muslim unity in his treatise on the 1857 War of Independence, what was it that transformed him in the Cellular Jail to a proponent of 'Hindutva', which viewed Muslims with suspicion?
Drawing from a vast range of original archival documents across India and abroad, this biography in two parts-the first focusing on the years leading up to his incarceration and eventual release from the Kalapani-puts Savarkar, his life and philosophy in a new perspective and looks at the man with all his achievements and failings.
624 pages, Hardcover
First published August 16, 2019
About the author
Vikram Sampath
16 books294 followersBorn and raised in Bangalore, Vikram Sampath completed his schooling in Bangalore at the Sri Aurobindo Memorial School and Bishop Cotton Boys' School. He thereafter obtained a Bachelors in Engineering in Electronics and a Masters in Mathematics from one of India's most reputed schools, BITS-Pilani. He then went on to obtain an MBA in Finance from S P Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai. Vikram has worked in many leading multinational firms like GE Money and Citibank and currently is a Team Leader with a information technology company in Bangalore.
His first book, Splendours of Royal Mysore: The Untold Story of the Wodeyars has been widely acclaimed across India, and has been termed as one of the most definitive accounts on the Mysore royal family in recent times. His second book "My Name is Gauhar Jaan!" - The Life and Times of a Musician is the biography of Gauhar Jaan, India's first classical musician to record on the gramophone. The book has been hailed by several luminaries in India and abroad, and has also won the prestigious ARSC (Association of Recorded Sound Collections) International Award for Excellence in Historical Research - the first Indian book to have ever won this honour. Vikram's third book Voice of the Veena: S Balachander - A Biography narrates the story of eminent Veena maestro late Padmabhushan Dr. S Balachander.
Vikram has been a Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study (Wissenschaftskolleg) in Berlin, Germany (for 2010-11) where he studied the early gramophone recordings of Indian music. He has also established the Archive of Indian Music (AIM) as a private Trust that seeks to digitize and preserve old gramophone recordings of India.
Vikram publishes regularly in leading Indian dailies and magazines on a wide array of topics. In addition, Vikram is also a serious student of Carnatic Classical vocal music and has been training under various eminent practitioners of the art form. Subjects related to history, music, art and culture are close to his heart.
His first book, Splendours of Royal Mysore: The Untold Story of the Wodeyars has been widely acclaimed across India, and has been termed as one of the most definitive accounts on the Mysore royal family in recent times. His second book "My Name is Gauhar Jaan!" - The Life and Times of a Musician is the biography of Gauhar Jaan, India's first classical musician to record on the gramophone. The book has been hailed by several luminaries in India and abroad, and has also won the prestigious ARSC (Association of Recorded Sound Collections) International Award for Excellence in Historical Research - the first Indian book to have ever won this honour. Vikram's third book Voice of the Veena: S Balachander - A Biography narrates the story of eminent Veena maestro late Padmabhushan Dr. S Balachander.
Vikram has been a Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study (Wissenschaftskolleg) in Berlin, Germany (for 2010-11) where he studied the early gramophone recordings of Indian music. He has also established the Archive of Indian Music (AIM) as a private Trust that seeks to digitize and preserve old gramophone recordings of India.
Vikram publishes regularly in leading Indian dailies and magazines on a wide array of topics. In addition, Vikram is also a serious student of Carnatic Classical vocal music and has been training under various eminent practitioners of the art form. Subjects related to history, music, art and culture are close to his heart.
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September 25, 2023
While in school, I was simple enough to think that history was a faithful written record of events. As Dan Brown points out, being the winner’s account, it is inherently corrupt. Many years back, in his inimitable style, Joseph Campbell advocated reading mythology over history, as the latter is unreliable. Political writing traditionally has been dominated by leftist historians. In ‘Enlightenment Now’, Steven Pinker suggests that this was regarded as good, since they often challenged norms. While that was the past, this has largely lost its purpose now. This is now leading to a tussle with other viewpoints emerging.
I was aware that the prime objections to Savarkar have been that he was weak in petitioning for his release from prison and that he spread hatred. Even based on the little I knew, I felt that the first accusation is weak – you cannot hold writing petitions against a man imprisoned for long in extremely harsh conditions. Nevertheless, I wanted to know more about the man, even otherwise, not just to reach judgements on these two points. I have heard Vikram Sampath a few times and find him mature and intelligent. There was also a recent debate I watched between him and Pavan Varma (whom I respect as well) which I found delightful even though they have different viewpoints. This first book covers the period till 1924 when he was released from prison. Vikram Sampath sets the tone in the preface itself, discussing the deep divisions of Savarkar’s legacy. The NDA government of Vajpayee planned for a plaque for Savarkar in Andamans, which the UPA government promptly removed, and later it was back with the NDA government coming to power.
This is a very detail-oriented book with extensive coverage of Savarkar’s childhood, family, political views & prison term. He had his differences with Mahatma Gandhi’s views which came to the fore many times. Savarkar’s view was that violence and non-violence are binaries and individuals cannot sit firmly on either side for life (he had a lot of respect for the Italian revolutionary Mazzini). Any philosophy which has no counter to other peoples violence is flawed. Gandhiji as we know was firm in his advocacy of absolute non-violence. In fact, in his book “Mahatma Gandhi”, Dr S Radhakrishnan mentions that Gandhiji was against even governments / law enforcement using violence, however, impractical that may appear to many of us. Savarkar was disappointed by what he regarded as the servitude and gullibility of many Indians on falling prey to the English policy of divide & rule. To start with, he said 1857 should be regarded as the first war of independence and not a local mutiny, and also wrote a book on it. Savarkar started Abhinav Bharat, and his writings (he wrote many poems as well) & speeches got to be very popular. He later moved to the UK for higher studies. In one instance, when Gandhiji visited UK and gave a talk on the lessons from Lord Rama’s life, Savarkar was quick to point out that neither a fast-unto-death nor petitions would have helped rescue Sita. There was the case of Madan Lal Dhingra who was awarded the death penalty in the UK for murdering Curzon Wyllie, assistant to the Secretary of State for India. Savarkar’s view was this cannot be viewed as a simple crime. Hypothetically, if Germany were to invade England, the English people would consider it justified to kill the invading Germans. By that standard, we cannot condemn all violence against the English. Gandhiji, expectedly, disagreed and did not regard this analogy as correct.
The English government soon came to the conclusion that Savarkar was dangerous and ordered his extradition to India from the UK. The route had the ship going via France, and Savarkar tried to escape. As he swam from the ship and reached ground, he saw a French policeman to whom he said he wants to apply for asylum. The policeman did not understand him, and by then some others from the ship had caught up with him and he was packed off to India. This set off an interesting legal tangle – in theory since Savarkar said he wanted asylum – he should have been heard in France. Nevertheless, a tribunal setup subsequently came to the conclusion the process cannot be reversed. Madame Cama, Shyamji and VVS Aiyar tried their best to help him, but nothing could be done. What followed was a largely pre-determined trial where Savarkar was found guilty of waging war against the English government and sentenced to a harsh imprisonment term in Andaman (a double life sentence totalling to 50 years). The details of his imprisonment and state of affairs in the cellular jail make for especially painful reading. His elder brother Babarao was there as well, and his younger brother Narayanrao was imprisoned in India for a time. The entire family property (including his father in law’s) was auctioned and the family was left with nothing. His son died while he was in prison, and later his sister-in-law as well.
His first petition requesting release from prison was in 1913 and in that letter, he promised to abide by British law if released, other than pointing out various injustices meted out to him. Vikram Sampath says there are multiple views on this – was this a cowardly act or was this a ploy to get out? In my view it was neither – he weighed his options and decided he could lead a useful life yet outside prison and reconciled to pay the price (as would have most others in his circumstance). His younger brother continued to try hard for his release and finally got a boost when Gandhiji replied to him, and also wrote a long article asking for his release. Gandhiji pointed out that the family had suffered extensively, and also that Vinayak Savarkar could not be directly linked to any act of violence leading to loss of life. Finally, he was to be a free man after nearly 14 years, under the condition that he cannot take part in any political activities for 5 years (extended twice).
Despite our claimed powers of intellect and reasoning, all we want to do is (sub-consciously) segregate people into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ buckets. Why we tend to do this, and how groupism & social media makes it worse, is adequately explained by a combination of behavioural and neuro-science (such as in books by Robert Sapolsky, Lisa Barrett & Brene Brown). No human being is either – and especially not Savarkar, he was very complex – intelligent, articulate, poetic & also radical. As a person deeply influenced by Gandhiji’s life & teaching, there is quite a lot I disagree about Savarkar’s views. Yet, as he himself points out, right action is never a simple choice. Also, consider that this is a man & a family who gave everything and lost everything they had for the country, without a second thought.
This book has a lot to offer in terms of details of Savarkar’s life, but also various complex issues he debated during his lifetime. The critical aspect is on the lower side, but it has a lot of original primary content which readers can use to reach their own judgement. I will read Book 2 a few months hence, which I think will more fully address the second of the controversies I mentioned at the start of the post.
I was aware that the prime objections to Savarkar have been that he was weak in petitioning for his release from prison and that he spread hatred. Even based on the little I knew, I felt that the first accusation is weak – you cannot hold writing petitions against a man imprisoned for long in extremely harsh conditions. Nevertheless, I wanted to know more about the man, even otherwise, not just to reach judgements on these two points. I have heard Vikram Sampath a few times and find him mature and intelligent. There was also a recent debate I watched between him and Pavan Varma (whom I respect as well) which I found delightful even though they have different viewpoints. This first book covers the period till 1924 when he was released from prison. Vikram Sampath sets the tone in the preface itself, discussing the deep divisions of Savarkar’s legacy. The NDA government of Vajpayee planned for a plaque for Savarkar in Andamans, which the UPA government promptly removed, and later it was back with the NDA government coming to power.
This is a very detail-oriented book with extensive coverage of Savarkar’s childhood, family, political views & prison term. He had his differences with Mahatma Gandhi’s views which came to the fore many times. Savarkar’s view was that violence and non-violence are binaries and individuals cannot sit firmly on either side for life (he had a lot of respect for the Italian revolutionary Mazzini). Any philosophy which has no counter to other peoples violence is flawed. Gandhiji as we know was firm in his advocacy of absolute non-violence. In fact, in his book “Mahatma Gandhi”, Dr S Radhakrishnan mentions that Gandhiji was against even governments / law enforcement using violence, however, impractical that may appear to many of us. Savarkar was disappointed by what he regarded as the servitude and gullibility of many Indians on falling prey to the English policy of divide & rule. To start with, he said 1857 should be regarded as the first war of independence and not a local mutiny, and also wrote a book on it. Savarkar started Abhinav Bharat, and his writings (he wrote many poems as well) & speeches got to be very popular. He later moved to the UK for higher studies. In one instance, when Gandhiji visited UK and gave a talk on the lessons from Lord Rama’s life, Savarkar was quick to point out that neither a fast-unto-death nor petitions would have helped rescue Sita. There was the case of Madan Lal Dhingra who was awarded the death penalty in the UK for murdering Curzon Wyllie, assistant to the Secretary of State for India. Savarkar’s view was this cannot be viewed as a simple crime. Hypothetically, if Germany were to invade England, the English people would consider it justified to kill the invading Germans. By that standard, we cannot condemn all violence against the English. Gandhiji, expectedly, disagreed and did not regard this analogy as correct.
The English government soon came to the conclusion that Savarkar was dangerous and ordered his extradition to India from the UK. The route had the ship going via France, and Savarkar tried to escape. As he swam from the ship and reached ground, he saw a French policeman to whom he said he wants to apply for asylum. The policeman did not understand him, and by then some others from the ship had caught up with him and he was packed off to India. This set off an interesting legal tangle – in theory since Savarkar said he wanted asylum – he should have been heard in France. Nevertheless, a tribunal setup subsequently came to the conclusion the process cannot be reversed. Madame Cama, Shyamji and VVS Aiyar tried their best to help him, but nothing could be done. What followed was a largely pre-determined trial where Savarkar was found guilty of waging war against the English government and sentenced to a harsh imprisonment term in Andaman (a double life sentence totalling to 50 years). The details of his imprisonment and state of affairs in the cellular jail make for especially painful reading. His elder brother Babarao was there as well, and his younger brother Narayanrao was imprisoned in India for a time. The entire family property (including his father in law’s) was auctioned and the family was left with nothing. His son died while he was in prison, and later his sister-in-law as well.
His first petition requesting release from prison was in 1913 and in that letter, he promised to abide by British law if released, other than pointing out various injustices meted out to him. Vikram Sampath says there are multiple views on this – was this a cowardly act or was this a ploy to get out? In my view it was neither – he weighed his options and decided he could lead a useful life yet outside prison and reconciled to pay the price (as would have most others in his circumstance). His younger brother continued to try hard for his release and finally got a boost when Gandhiji replied to him, and also wrote a long article asking for his release. Gandhiji pointed out that the family had suffered extensively, and also that Vinayak Savarkar could not be directly linked to any act of violence leading to loss of life. Finally, he was to be a free man after nearly 14 years, under the condition that he cannot take part in any political activities for 5 years (extended twice).
Despite our claimed powers of intellect and reasoning, all we want to do is (sub-consciously) segregate people into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ buckets. Why we tend to do this, and how groupism & social media makes it worse, is adequately explained by a combination of behavioural and neuro-science (such as in books by Robert Sapolsky, Lisa Barrett & Brene Brown). No human being is either – and especially not Savarkar, he was very complex – intelligent, articulate, poetic & also radical. As a person deeply influenced by Gandhiji’s life & teaching, there is quite a lot I disagree about Savarkar’s views. Yet, as he himself points out, right action is never a simple choice. Also, consider that this is a man & a family who gave everything and lost everything they had for the country, without a second thought.
This book has a lot to offer in terms of details of Savarkar’s life, but also various complex issues he debated during his lifetime. The critical aspect is on the lower side, but it has a lot of original primary content which readers can use to reach their own judgement. I will read Book 2 a few months hence, which I think will more fully address the second of the controversies I mentioned at the start of the post.
July 3, 2024
Brilliant neutral unbiased book. It doesn't lean towards any side. Its a very good book on great revolutionary. Savarkar was a key player in India's freedom struggle and must be given due credit for it. I had always wanted to know more about Mr. Savarkar's life and work before making my own opinion about him rather than falling for those who are more interested into peddling their own "narratives".
We get to learn a lot about the young man Vinayak Savarkar, his leadership, his bravery, his intelligence, his sacrifices and the unthinkable hardship that he had to endure through the prison years. The kind of hardships faced by him during his 14 years at Andaman Cellular Prison, show his resolve and mental strength. He led the Revolutionary movement for Indian freedom from London but was forced to flee. He made a dramatic escape from the porthole of a ship at Marseilles, France and the British Government forced his extradition to India. He was tried for sedition and held in solitary confinement for more than 17 years. He did not know that his elder brother was in the cell next to his. He was released after World War I as part of the General Amnesty given to political prisoners as a follow up on the Montagu Chelmsford Reforms. This book also brings other side of Savarkar for having sharp memory. For first 5 or 7 years he wasn't allowed to touch pen, book or pencil, he was able to easily recalled all those immortal poems he have composed. Savarkar was visionary and way ahead of his times. He always believe in education and educating everyone. Savarkar was sheer genius. He was a great thinker, writer, historian and orator. Sadly for some parties he is being mocked. This book gives a beautiful background of the turmoil in Maharashtra and the political scenario in India. More than anything else it helps you understand what a few people went through to make this freedom we take for granted possible.
A patriot and a politician with a grand and profound vision of India, this unassuming man was continuously vilified by ideologues who were patronized by the dynastic fascists regimes since the Transfer of Power in 1947. Ideologues belonging to the Congress and the Communist parties have vilified him for years. No Congress leader ever faced the kind of inhuman torture that Veer Savarkar did at Kala Pani. Those who ridicule him should be reminded of the Nabha jail incident where Jawaharlal Nehru's father grovelled and pleaded with the Viceroy for his son to be released.
This book have photographs, sources, notes and appendices, references and citations which help us to get more clarity. Even i was so ignorant regarding Savarkar and made some stupid comment about him when i was having a discussion about him with my friends. Now i am eagerly waiting for 2nd volume.
Like my friend said we need to read more of non congress leaders and more of non North India leaders biography.
After reading this book, I want to read books on
1. Lal Bahadur Shastri
2. Atal Bihari Vajpayee
3. Chakravarti Rajagopalachari
4. Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi
5. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
6. Syama Prasad Mukherjee
7. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar
8. V. P. Menon
and many others
We get to learn a lot about the young man Vinayak Savarkar, his leadership, his bravery, his intelligence, his sacrifices and the unthinkable hardship that he had to endure through the prison years. The kind of hardships faced by him during his 14 years at Andaman Cellular Prison, show his resolve and mental strength. He led the Revolutionary movement for Indian freedom from London but was forced to flee. He made a dramatic escape from the porthole of a ship at Marseilles, France and the British Government forced his extradition to India. He was tried for sedition and held in solitary confinement for more than 17 years. He did not know that his elder brother was in the cell next to his. He was released after World War I as part of the General Amnesty given to political prisoners as a follow up on the Montagu Chelmsford Reforms. This book also brings other side of Savarkar for having sharp memory. For first 5 or 7 years he wasn't allowed to touch pen, book or pencil, he was able to easily recalled all those immortal poems he have composed. Savarkar was visionary and way ahead of his times. He always believe in education and educating everyone. Savarkar was sheer genius. He was a great thinker, writer, historian and orator. Sadly for some parties he is being mocked. This book gives a beautiful background of the turmoil in Maharashtra and the political scenario in India. More than anything else it helps you understand what a few people went through to make this freedom we take for granted possible.
A patriot and a politician with a grand and profound vision of India, this unassuming man was continuously vilified by ideologues who were patronized by the dynastic fascists regimes since the Transfer of Power in 1947. Ideologues belonging to the Congress and the Communist parties have vilified him for years. No Congress leader ever faced the kind of inhuman torture that Veer Savarkar did at Kala Pani. Those who ridicule him should be reminded of the Nabha jail incident where Jawaharlal Nehru's father grovelled and pleaded with the Viceroy for his son to be released.
This book have photographs, sources, notes and appendices, references and citations which help us to get more clarity. Even i was so ignorant regarding Savarkar and made some stupid comment about him when i was having a discussion about him with my friends. Now i am eagerly waiting for 2nd volume.
Like my friend said we need to read more of non congress leaders and more of non North India leaders biography.
After reading this book, I want to read books on
1. Lal Bahadur Shastri
2. Atal Bihari Vajpayee
3. Chakravarti Rajagopalachari
4. Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi
5. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
6. Syama Prasad Mukherjee
7. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar
8. V. P. Menon
and many others
August 16, 2019
One heck of a book. Finished this book in 3 days. Finally i got to read a book on Savarkar. Loved it. Admiring it. Eagerly waiting for 2nd book. More books need to be written on non Hindi or Bengali leaders. I am sure every regional place have their leaders. We need more such books. This book was wow. I came to know so many things. Finally without any agenda someone wrote book on him.
October 1, 2019
Histories of the world have always been distorted over the years, with the true facts remaining unknown to the common man. Shri Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, has been one such great freedom fighter who has always been depicted as a controversial personality in all these years, thanks to this distorted Indian history by the various political factions right from the days of independence. As noted author, Meghnad Desai has rightly said that Savarkar has long been a subject of abuse and adulation, both based on incomplete understanding of his life and ideas.
I had always been wanting to know more about Mr. Savarkar life and work, and make my own opinion about him rather than what has been potrayed by the successive ruling governments till now.
This book is truely an eye opener. The author, Mr. Vikram Sampath, has written an excellent book, higlighting to the reader both the dark and bright sides of Savarkar.
I recommend common men like me to read the book and understand a great freedom fighter and revolutionary of Indian Independence of Mr. Savarkar's stature.
The book talks of right from his early years at his native place in Bhagur and then subsequently at Nasik, the events that inspired him, especially that of the execution of Chaphekar brothers. The book very beautifully explains Savarkar's idea behind setting up Abhinav Bharat and how it grew from a fledgling organisation to a large following of like minded people who wanted to fight against the oppression by the British government.
Two phases of his life which had a major impact on Savarkar was during his stay at India House in London and subsequent arrest with transportation to the Andaman Cellular Prison.
The kind of hardships faced by him during his 14 years at Andaman Cellular Prison, show his resolve and mental strength. Although these phases of his life gave to the world beautiful poetry and writtings which truely depict one's love for his motherland.
The book also brings to fore the other side of Savarkar, as having super human memory. I recollected instances cited in the book, where during his initial 5-6 years in prison he was not even allowed pen, pencil or paper, all those immortal poems that he composed where stored in recesses of his memory.
The only point that I would like to point out is the sudden abrupt ending of the book after Savarkar's release. The author should have written about Savarkar's life post his release from Ratnagiri Prison.
However, all in all its an excellent read and highly recommended book to readers.
I had always been wanting to know more about Mr. Savarkar life and work, and make my own opinion about him rather than what has been potrayed by the successive ruling governments till now.
This book is truely an eye opener. The author, Mr. Vikram Sampath, has written an excellent book, higlighting to the reader both the dark and bright sides of Savarkar.
I recommend common men like me to read the book and understand a great freedom fighter and revolutionary of Indian Independence of Mr. Savarkar's stature.
The book talks of right from his early years at his native place in Bhagur and then subsequently at Nasik, the events that inspired him, especially that of the execution of Chaphekar brothers. The book very beautifully explains Savarkar's idea behind setting up Abhinav Bharat and how it grew from a fledgling organisation to a large following of like minded people who wanted to fight against the oppression by the British government.
Two phases of his life which had a major impact on Savarkar was during his stay at India House in London and subsequent arrest with transportation to the Andaman Cellular Prison.
The kind of hardships faced by him during his 14 years at Andaman Cellular Prison, show his resolve and mental strength. Although these phases of his life gave to the world beautiful poetry and writtings which truely depict one's love for his motherland.
The book also brings to fore the other side of Savarkar, as having super human memory. I recollected instances cited in the book, where during his initial 5-6 years in prison he was not even allowed pen, pencil or paper, all those immortal poems that he composed where stored in recesses of his memory.
The only point that I would like to point out is the sudden abrupt ending of the book after Savarkar's release. The author should have written about Savarkar's life post his release from Ratnagiri Prison.
However, all in all its an excellent read and highly recommended book to readers.
July 25, 2020
What a man Savarkar was.
After more than 75 years of vilification calumny and creating fake history to justify his prosecution Vinayak Savarkar is getting his due. Vikram Sampath in his recent biography of Savarkar has clearly shown that his release from prison in Andaman was part of a general amnesty granted under the Chelmsford Montagu Reforms. Fake history is a real problem in India.
Eagerly waiting for 2nd part.
After more than 75 years of vilification calumny and creating fake history to justify his prosecution Vinayak Savarkar is getting his due. Vikram Sampath in his recent biography of Savarkar has clearly shown that his release from prison in Andaman was part of a general amnesty granted under the Chelmsford Montagu Reforms. Fake history is a real problem in India.
Eagerly waiting for 2nd part.
October 15, 2019
Besides being a good biography overall, this one does especially good coverage of his post-grad times in London/"India House" days when he initially became famous as a revolutionary - mentoring and interacting with not just students like Madanlal Dhingra [which is quite well known], but also surprisingly personalities such as Sikandar Hayat Khan [later CM of British Indian Punjab during the 35-47 period] , MPT Acharya [later a famous Indian Communist] etc.
It would have been nicer to see a slightly better and coherent coverage of his pre-student days - although this is indeed covered - its often at very uneven pace - but then again its tougher to have information about before someone starts becoming newsworthy.
Overall a must-read, especially but not only for readers from outside Maharashtra or a Marathi-speaking background who have limited exposure to some of Savarkar's songs / poem / literary work ,and his life events in general
It would have been nicer to see a slightly better and coherent coverage of his pre-student days - although this is indeed covered - its often at very uneven pace - but then again its tougher to have information about before someone starts becoming newsworthy.
Overall a must-read, especially but not only for readers from outside Maharashtra or a Marathi-speaking background who have limited exposure to some of Savarkar's songs / poem / literary work ,and his life events in general
September 7, 2019
Covers Savarkar's journey from birth till his incarceration in the Andamans, and eventual release in 1924.
Fantastic book! A must read for all Hindus. The man is an inspiration and the book highlights just why. His greatness shone through even in the Cellular jail where he became the root-cause for several reforms.
And like any good book, this one leads to many others. Go grab it.
Fantastic book! A must read for all Hindus. The man is an inspiration and the book highlights just why. His greatness shone through even in the Cellular jail where he became the root-cause for several reforms.
And like any good book, this one leads to many others. Go grab it.
February 20, 2020
This is an exceptionally well researched and articulated book ever written on Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. The sheer amount of information gathered in this book is beyond comparison. I am spellbound at this vast magnitude of information that is carefully crafted and executed beautifully.
Having been a huge fan of V.D. Savarkar, I enjoyed each and every page of this book. It took me substantial amount of time to finish reading this book. But, it was worth it. The struggle and the aspiration of V.D. Savarkar to attain the Independence from the British and too see his motherland attain her full and glorious swaraj is captured brilliantly. From his childhood, till his adolescence, his youth the book captures a tale that is warming, heart wrenching and an eye-opener.
V.D. Savarkar is an exceptional personality in amassing the people towards a greater cause of Indian Independence. His oratory skills, his fierce poems, his political speeches has made him a larger than life hero among the Indians yesterday and today as well. The book captures every little details of how his life has evolved over the years.
The decade he spent his life in the Cellular Jails of Andaman's is gut wrenching episode that one can read. His conduct, his Positive attitude and the way he inspires people to keep up their spirits high even during such times is commendable.
The debate over whether he wrote any mercy petitions or demanded his release as per the laws of the then British Government will get a clarity by reading this book. The book is just a part 1 of V.D. Savarkar's life. There is more to come in the 2nd part of this book.
I am waiting for the 2nd part of this book to come out. A brave attempt by the author Vikram Sampath in bringing out the hero V.D. Savarkar in its truest form. Would highly recommend this book to everyone. A must read!
Having been a huge fan of V.D. Savarkar, I enjoyed each and every page of this book. It took me substantial amount of time to finish reading this book. But, it was worth it. The struggle and the aspiration of V.D. Savarkar to attain the Independence from the British and too see his motherland attain her full and glorious swaraj is captured brilliantly. From his childhood, till his adolescence, his youth the book captures a tale that is warming, heart wrenching and an eye-opener.
V.D. Savarkar is an exceptional personality in amassing the people towards a greater cause of Indian Independence. His oratory skills, his fierce poems, his political speeches has made him a larger than life hero among the Indians yesterday and today as well. The book captures every little details of how his life has evolved over the years.
The decade he spent his life in the Cellular Jails of Andaman's is gut wrenching episode that one can read. His conduct, his Positive attitude and the way he inspires people to keep up their spirits high even during such times is commendable.
The debate over whether he wrote any mercy petitions or demanded his release as per the laws of the then British Government will get a clarity by reading this book. The book is just a part 1 of V.D. Savarkar's life. There is more to come in the 2nd part of this book.
I am waiting for the 2nd part of this book to come out. A brave attempt by the author Vikram Sampath in bringing out the hero V.D. Savarkar in its truest form. Would highly recommend this book to everyone. A must read!
August 6, 2022
The struggle for India’s independence contained two distinct streaks from the very beginning. One stream followed a conciliatory approach towards the rulers by petitioning and putting gentle pressure through influencing public opinion. The other followed violent means, often physically eliminating top-ranking bureaucrats and sowing terror in the minds of administrators. The British naturally favoured the former and brutally suppressed the other. The Indian National Congress followed the nonviolent path and revolutionaries like Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Aurobindo or Bhagat Singh strode the violent one. Not that the Congress protests were always peaceful. But the big difference was that the officials who were killed by Congress workers were always small fry – like the ordinary policemen at Chauri Chaura who were burnt alive – and hence expendable for the British. The revolutionaries targeted the big fish like district collectors, police superintendents and even the viceroy himself. So the British crushed the revolutionaries and sapped their spirit. Savarkar was transported to Andamans with fifty years of hard labour, Aurobindo was exiled and Bhagat Singh sent to the gallows. Finally, they handed power over to Congress and left India. Then came the strangest part. Congress, which virtually got power on a platter, assumed monopoly rights over the freedom struggle cleverly erasing and airbrushing the revolutionaries and falsely inflating the contributions of the Nehru dynasty. Savarkar was one such fighter who was relegated to the footnotes of fabricated official histories. This book tells his story and is the first part of a two-volume series. Vikram Sampath is a Bengaluru-based historian and author. He has doctorate degrees in history and music and is currently a senior fellow at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi.
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar is the intellectual fountainhead of the ideology of Hindutva and also one of the most contentious political thinkers. Accounts of his life oscillate between glorifying hagiographies to reproachful demonization. However, his thoughts on social structure were highly progressive. He was an atheist and staunch rationalist. He opposed the caste system and dismissed cow worship as mere superstition. Savarkar advocated unification of Hindu society. However, he stoutly opposed unreasonable Muslim demands and became a sore thumb for the Muslim League in pre-partition days and for the Left-Islamist ecosystem in independent India. His ideology did not involve hatred for the enemy. He considered the British as enemies only till the time they subjugated India. Once India was liberated, they should be accepted as friends and fellow beings. Similarly, the animosity between Hindus and Muslims was necessitated in the past when Muslims were aggressive invaders and rulers and the Hindus the submissive ruled. But in the present situation, the equation changed to that of brotherhood. Both are the children of the soil of India. While driving home this point, Savarkar insisted that religion should not be above country.
Savarkar’s early activities are given due prominence in the book. He founded a revolutionary outfit called ‘Abhinav Bharat’ which professed violent struggle to achieve freedom from the foreign masters. It demanded total independence – purna Swaraj – in the first decade of the twentieth century which preceded similar demands from the Congress by three full decades. The organisation was modelled on the revolutionary groups in Ireland and Russia. All the members were not known to each other to prevent leakage of personal details. Giuseppe Mazzini, the Italian nationalist who strived for the unification of Italy, was Savarkar’s hero. He translated Mazzini's biography to Marathi as an inspiration to young men. The similarities between India and Italy were manifold. Like our country, Italy was also divided into several kingdoms under the suzerainty of Austria.
In 1906, the young Vinayak managed to obtain a scholarship offered by Shyamji Krishna Varma and sailed to London. He took up residence in India House which was the favourite dwelling place of other revolutionaries. Sampath presents a detailed view of Savarkar’s activities and the minute attention he gave to exploit every loophole provided by British law and custom. Britain celebrated the suppression of the 1857 Rebellion with much fanfare on its fiftieth anniversary in 1907. Large gatherings and adulatory speeches filled the air, but Savarkar shocked them all by convening a parallel meeting at India House and exalting the rebel leaders who were demonized in the British narrative. In fact, Savarkar coined the term ‘First War of Independence’ for the 1857 struggle. Taking sustenance from the spirit of 1857, he preached Swaraj and Swadharma – love for one’s country and religion – as the two cornerstones of Indian revolution. This conceptualization was at variance with Marxist hypothesis and made him different among other European revolutionaries. His work made him a target of surveillance by secret police.
Savarkar’s life in England for four years was the last in his life as a free young man. This part of the book makes for poignant reading. He continued to write incendiary articles and smuggle modern weapons to India. He also prepared a manual to make and use bombs. Ganesh Savarkar – Vinayak’s elder brother – was also an eager member of his revolutionary society. He was arrested in India on charges of involvement in subversionary activities and awarded transportation for life to the Andamans. The bomb manual was also recovered from him. Meanwhile, an Indian youth named Madan Lal Dhingra shot dead Curzon Wyllie in London because this officer was suspected to be snooping on Indian revolutionaries (He is not to be confused with Lord Curzon, the viceroy of India). Savarkar’s hand was seen in this incident also. In 1909 Arthur Jackson, district collector of Nashik, was shot dead by an Abhinav Bharat activist which was thought to be in retaliation for Jackson’s involvement in sentencing Ganesh Savarkar. Vinayak was arrested in London and extradited to India. He escaped from the ship while it berthed at Marseilles, France, but the French policeman who caught him handed him back to his pursuers. This caused a great diplomatic hue and cry. Savarkar was eventually punished with double transportation for life which meant fifty years of incarceration. All his property was forfeited and auctioned, including his spectacles and personal copy of the Bhagavad Gita. These were later ‘mercifully’ returned to him to use as government property.
The foremost accusation levelled against Savarkar today is that he had sent several mercy petitions to the government in which he regretted his revolutionary work and pledged loyalty to the government in future. This book approaches this touchy subject in an objective manner. The author admits that Savarkar had indeed behaved in a way that smacked of a weak spirit during his prison term that dragged on for years and years. The book suggests two reasons for this. It is quite evident that being locked up in a jail on a remote island with no prospect of release before death, this was the language to be used in order to obtain remission or release. It is obviously no use reiterating revolutionary credo in a mercy petition. Savarkar had no intention of honouring these pledges to a colonial master taken under duress. So liberals portray it as a sign of cowardice while it could be a tactical move to get out of jail. Jail history shows that even after the petitions, he continued strikes in prison and given punishment for it. This does not indicate the temperament of a man who was willing to cooperate with the British. He was given back-breaking work such as grinding oil mills. The prisoner was held in the place of a bullock and forced to go round and round to extract coconut oil. Jailers treated him as the ‘father of unrest’ in the Andaman and he was forced to continue the same work routine even after years of prison life when other prisoners’ conditions were slightly relaxed and they began to earn some money.
The author has been eminently able to bring forward Savarkar’s transformation from a radical revolutionary to a sober organizer of Hindu society during imprisonment. The Hindu community was poorly organized and disunited that it was very easy to subjugate them. They were perpetually divided along caste lines which made them doubly vulnerable to attacks. This was most painfully obvious in the Cellular Jail. On entry into the cell, the first act that was committed for a Hindu prisoner was to cut his sacred thread while Muslims were allowed to keep their beards and the Sikhs their hair. The Hindu prisoners were kept under the most bigoted Muslim warders and jamadars, most of them Pathans who were actually thrilled to brutalize a kafir (p.272). The warders forbade Hindu prisoners from reading their religious scriptures pronouncing them indecent and dispersed the gathering that read such books. Religious conversion of prisoners also went on in the sly by threat of torture or coercion. Savarkar returned several of them back to the Hindu fold.
Savarkar coined the term ‘Hindutva’ which is the guiding principle of BJP which rules India at present. Sampath spends some time in lucidly explaining the concept to readers. Hindutva is beyond mere religious adherence. Hinduism is only a derivative, a fraction of Hindutva. Inability to understand this difference has given rise to much misunderstanding among sister communities. Adherents of foreign religions can also become a part of Hindutva if they love this land not only as a pitrbhu (fatherland) but also as a punyabhu (holy land). This was a test Muslims supporting the restitution of the Khilafat failed. The Ottoman sultan was a religious leader of the Muslims, but the Khilafat campaign also betrayed the supra-national allegiance Islam claimed from its believers. Hindutva, on the other hand, is a term of ethnic nationalism and the name matters a lot to Indians that can even be identified as the first layer of Indian identity. It has immense relevance for Indian society. Those who subscribe to this concept are one; they can intermarry without caste considerations. Savarkar quoted many examples from mythology to prove that inter-caste marriages were common in ancient times.
This book is the first of two volumes in the series, covering the period from his birth in 1883 to release from prison in 1924 after spending 14 years behind the bars. But this was not freedom, rather a change to house arrest. The book contains a good sampling of his writings and poems. A notable feature is the author’s level-headed handling of the narrative. It is definitely not a eulogy. Sampath does not stoop to uncritical adulation. The character-traces are objective and logical. Having completed the first part, readers feel the anticipation for what is in store in the second and final part when Savarkar begins his real work in India. A lot of research has gone into the making of this book. A curious thing to note is that Savarkar subscribed to the Aryan invasion theory which was quite fashionable in his time and supported by British-sponsored academia. The book is easy to read though a bit large.
The book is highly recommended.
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar is the intellectual fountainhead of the ideology of Hindutva and also one of the most contentious political thinkers. Accounts of his life oscillate between glorifying hagiographies to reproachful demonization. However, his thoughts on social structure were highly progressive. He was an atheist and staunch rationalist. He opposed the caste system and dismissed cow worship as mere superstition. Savarkar advocated unification of Hindu society. However, he stoutly opposed unreasonable Muslim demands and became a sore thumb for the Muslim League in pre-partition days and for the Left-Islamist ecosystem in independent India. His ideology did not involve hatred for the enemy. He considered the British as enemies only till the time they subjugated India. Once India was liberated, they should be accepted as friends and fellow beings. Similarly, the animosity between Hindus and Muslims was necessitated in the past when Muslims were aggressive invaders and rulers and the Hindus the submissive ruled. But in the present situation, the equation changed to that of brotherhood. Both are the children of the soil of India. While driving home this point, Savarkar insisted that religion should not be above country.
Savarkar’s early activities are given due prominence in the book. He founded a revolutionary outfit called ‘Abhinav Bharat’ which professed violent struggle to achieve freedom from the foreign masters. It demanded total independence – purna Swaraj – in the first decade of the twentieth century which preceded similar demands from the Congress by three full decades. The organisation was modelled on the revolutionary groups in Ireland and Russia. All the members were not known to each other to prevent leakage of personal details. Giuseppe Mazzini, the Italian nationalist who strived for the unification of Italy, was Savarkar’s hero. He translated Mazzini's biography to Marathi as an inspiration to young men. The similarities between India and Italy were manifold. Like our country, Italy was also divided into several kingdoms under the suzerainty of Austria.
In 1906, the young Vinayak managed to obtain a scholarship offered by Shyamji Krishna Varma and sailed to London. He took up residence in India House which was the favourite dwelling place of other revolutionaries. Sampath presents a detailed view of Savarkar’s activities and the minute attention he gave to exploit every loophole provided by British law and custom. Britain celebrated the suppression of the 1857 Rebellion with much fanfare on its fiftieth anniversary in 1907. Large gatherings and adulatory speeches filled the air, but Savarkar shocked them all by convening a parallel meeting at India House and exalting the rebel leaders who were demonized in the British narrative. In fact, Savarkar coined the term ‘First War of Independence’ for the 1857 struggle. Taking sustenance from the spirit of 1857, he preached Swaraj and Swadharma – love for one’s country and religion – as the two cornerstones of Indian revolution. This conceptualization was at variance with Marxist hypothesis and made him different among other European revolutionaries. His work made him a target of surveillance by secret police.
Savarkar’s life in England for four years was the last in his life as a free young man. This part of the book makes for poignant reading. He continued to write incendiary articles and smuggle modern weapons to India. He also prepared a manual to make and use bombs. Ganesh Savarkar – Vinayak’s elder brother – was also an eager member of his revolutionary society. He was arrested in India on charges of involvement in subversionary activities and awarded transportation for life to the Andamans. The bomb manual was also recovered from him. Meanwhile, an Indian youth named Madan Lal Dhingra shot dead Curzon Wyllie in London because this officer was suspected to be snooping on Indian revolutionaries (He is not to be confused with Lord Curzon, the viceroy of India). Savarkar’s hand was seen in this incident also. In 1909 Arthur Jackson, district collector of Nashik, was shot dead by an Abhinav Bharat activist which was thought to be in retaliation for Jackson’s involvement in sentencing Ganesh Savarkar. Vinayak was arrested in London and extradited to India. He escaped from the ship while it berthed at Marseilles, France, but the French policeman who caught him handed him back to his pursuers. This caused a great diplomatic hue and cry. Savarkar was eventually punished with double transportation for life which meant fifty years of incarceration. All his property was forfeited and auctioned, including his spectacles and personal copy of the Bhagavad Gita. These were later ‘mercifully’ returned to him to use as government property.
The foremost accusation levelled against Savarkar today is that he had sent several mercy petitions to the government in which he regretted his revolutionary work and pledged loyalty to the government in future. This book approaches this touchy subject in an objective manner. The author admits that Savarkar had indeed behaved in a way that smacked of a weak spirit during his prison term that dragged on for years and years. The book suggests two reasons for this. It is quite evident that being locked up in a jail on a remote island with no prospect of release before death, this was the language to be used in order to obtain remission or release. It is obviously no use reiterating revolutionary credo in a mercy petition. Savarkar had no intention of honouring these pledges to a colonial master taken under duress. So liberals portray it as a sign of cowardice while it could be a tactical move to get out of jail. Jail history shows that even after the petitions, he continued strikes in prison and given punishment for it. This does not indicate the temperament of a man who was willing to cooperate with the British. He was given back-breaking work such as grinding oil mills. The prisoner was held in the place of a bullock and forced to go round and round to extract coconut oil. Jailers treated him as the ‘father of unrest’ in the Andaman and he was forced to continue the same work routine even after years of prison life when other prisoners’ conditions were slightly relaxed and they began to earn some money.
The author has been eminently able to bring forward Savarkar’s transformation from a radical revolutionary to a sober organizer of Hindu society during imprisonment. The Hindu community was poorly organized and disunited that it was very easy to subjugate them. They were perpetually divided along caste lines which made them doubly vulnerable to attacks. This was most painfully obvious in the Cellular Jail. On entry into the cell, the first act that was committed for a Hindu prisoner was to cut his sacred thread while Muslims were allowed to keep their beards and the Sikhs their hair. The Hindu prisoners were kept under the most bigoted Muslim warders and jamadars, most of them Pathans who were actually thrilled to brutalize a kafir (p.272). The warders forbade Hindu prisoners from reading their religious scriptures pronouncing them indecent and dispersed the gathering that read such books. Religious conversion of prisoners also went on in the sly by threat of torture or coercion. Savarkar returned several of them back to the Hindu fold.
Savarkar coined the term ‘Hindutva’ which is the guiding principle of BJP which rules India at present. Sampath spends some time in lucidly explaining the concept to readers. Hindutva is beyond mere religious adherence. Hinduism is only a derivative, a fraction of Hindutva. Inability to understand this difference has given rise to much misunderstanding among sister communities. Adherents of foreign religions can also become a part of Hindutva if they love this land not only as a pitrbhu (fatherland) but also as a punyabhu (holy land). This was a test Muslims supporting the restitution of the Khilafat failed. The Ottoman sultan was a religious leader of the Muslims, but the Khilafat campaign also betrayed the supra-national allegiance Islam claimed from its believers. Hindutva, on the other hand, is a term of ethnic nationalism and the name matters a lot to Indians that can even be identified as the first layer of Indian identity. It has immense relevance for Indian society. Those who subscribe to this concept are one; they can intermarry without caste considerations. Savarkar quoted many examples from mythology to prove that inter-caste marriages were common in ancient times.
This book is the first of two volumes in the series, covering the period from his birth in 1883 to release from prison in 1924 after spending 14 years behind the bars. But this was not freedom, rather a change to house arrest. The book contains a good sampling of his writings and poems. A notable feature is the author’s level-headed handling of the narrative. It is definitely not a eulogy. Sampath does not stoop to uncritical adulation. The character-traces are objective and logical. Having completed the first part, readers feel the anticipation for what is in store in the second and final part when Savarkar begins his real work in India. A lot of research has gone into the making of this book. A curious thing to note is that Savarkar subscribed to the Aryan invasion theory which was quite fashionable in his time and supported by British-sponsored academia. The book is easy to read though a bit large.
The book is highly recommended.
April 15, 2020
This book will always be an important turning point of my life.
Veer Savarkar was someone who was always admired at home and considered to be a true freedom fighter so I was not unknown to his efforts.
But Vikram Sampath did an extremely supreme job of bringing to us the first 40 years of Veer Savarkar's life in a concise form and that too in English.
In an age where we are used to English more than our Indian languages, this was necessary.
Because of a dear friend, I was also fortunate to have attended Vikram Sampath's lecture on the same in Mumbai.
Coming to the book, it is extremely well written and the important events have been brought together very well.
Also, we do find out in between lines that we have given too much importance to certain people who don't deserve it and probably that has been the main reason for our troubles.
But then again, some of us knew this already.
Will wait for the part 2 of this book and by that I mean Veer Savarkar's life after 1924.
Would advise you to read this and also the original writing of Veer Savarkar.
And apply his thinking in our lives.
And by that lets honour the best freedom fighter/ Indian National our country has ever produced.
Veer Savarkar was someone who was always admired at home and considered to be a true freedom fighter so I was not unknown to his efforts.
But Vikram Sampath did an extremely supreme job of bringing to us the first 40 years of Veer Savarkar's life in a concise form and that too in English.
In an age where we are used to English more than our Indian languages, this was necessary.
Because of a dear friend, I was also fortunate to have attended Vikram Sampath's lecture on the same in Mumbai.
Coming to the book, it is extremely well written and the important events have been brought together very well.
Also, we do find out in between lines that we have given too much importance to certain people who don't deserve it and probably that has been the main reason for our troubles.
But then again, some of us knew this already.
Will wait for the part 2 of this book and by that I mean Veer Savarkar's life after 1924.
Would advise you to read this and also the original writing of Veer Savarkar.
And apply his thinking in our lives.
And by that lets honour the best freedom fighter/ Indian National our country has ever produced.
December 26, 2022
Disappointment, that's the word to describe this book. I heard Vikram Sampath on Seen and the Unseen podcast years ago and since then this book was on my TBR list. I went with great hope and expectation but was met with disappointment from the get-go.
I have grown up listening to stories of Savarkar, it is almost a right of passage for any marathi child. I know his name is surrounded in mires of controversies but regardless of that I cant help but weep whenever I listen to Ne Majasi Ne. It wont be far fetched to say, his stories along with Shivaji's propelled me to study history so one can only imagine my hopes from this book. Alas, it was all in vain.
Vikram Sampath has not written a book on Savarkar, rather than that it's an ode. According to him, Savarkar can do absolutely no wrong and even if he does, it must be due to constraints of his circumstances. Sadly, author does not see other contemporary personalities with the same lens. He ridicules Gandhi and others but continues to worship Savarkar. This book also suffers from bad editing. There are pages upon pages written about details that should not have been included in this particular book. At one point, I skipped an entire chapter just to see if it still made sense chronologically and it did. It felt as if I had not missed anything at all. I wondered the need to include entire poems and pieces of literature along with its translation. Why oh why was Marathi written in Latin script I will never understand, it infuriated me to no end because the translation followed immediately anyway. I would have liked to read the original marathi works in devanagiri.
These are just tip of the iceberg when it comes to this book. I went into it with clean slate but came out with the understanding that it is indeed a propaganda book for selected audience. Those who want to know the actual history of Savarkar might want to look into certain Marathi books than this poor attempt at history.
I have grown up listening to stories of Savarkar, it is almost a right of passage for any marathi child. I know his name is surrounded in mires of controversies but regardless of that I cant help but weep whenever I listen to Ne Majasi Ne. It wont be far fetched to say, his stories along with Shivaji's propelled me to study history so one can only imagine my hopes from this book. Alas, it was all in vain.
Vikram Sampath has not written a book on Savarkar, rather than that it's an ode. According to him, Savarkar can do absolutely no wrong and even if he does, it must be due to constraints of his circumstances. Sadly, author does not see other contemporary personalities with the same lens. He ridicules Gandhi and others but continues to worship Savarkar. This book also suffers from bad editing. There are pages upon pages written about details that should not have been included in this particular book. At one point, I skipped an entire chapter just to see if it still made sense chronologically and it did. It felt as if I had not missed anything at all. I wondered the need to include entire poems and pieces of literature along with its translation. Why oh why was Marathi written in Latin script I will never understand, it infuriated me to no end because the translation followed immediately anyway. I would have liked to read the original marathi works in devanagiri.
These are just tip of the iceberg when it comes to this book. I went into it with clean slate but came out with the understanding that it is indeed a propaganda book for selected audience. Those who want to know the actual history of Savarkar might want to look into certain Marathi books than this poor attempt at history.
April 11, 2020
Exceptionally detailed account of Savarkar. Was surprised that how little had been taught to us about him in schools. One of the exceptional freedome fighters with incisive writing. No wonder Britishers thought of him as the fearsome Indian freedom fighter. It's a must must read if you want to know more about Indian history and Savarkar's contribution to the freedom of India.
What I really liked about the book was it's very detailed account of a specific time frame. Its nicely edited (one of the big issues that I find with most Indian authors). And most importantly it's engaging and will never make you feel lost at any given point.
What I really liked about the book was it's very detailed account of a specific time frame. Its nicely edited (one of the big issues that I find with most Indian authors). And most importantly it's engaging and will never make you feel lost at any given point.
July 5, 2020
A detailed and well articulated Journey of Veer Savarkar who was constantly lynched by his antagonist. A systematic conspiracy anf defamations was run by pseudo liberals . This book exposes all these efforts and throw the light on the great work done this visionary.
A must read book and it should be in bookshelf.
A must read book and it should be in bookshelf.
March 13, 2020
Unbiased book on Savarkar.
Must read.
Must read.
September 6, 2019
Must read .... to understand complex phenomenon that was Savarkar.
Important book. It provides a refreshing look at Savarkar's life. Importantly, it goes in details of the Hindutva philosophy and his scientific approach. Although these writings were available in Marathi, author has done a great job translating them, thus making them available to non Marathi readers. Looking forward towards second half.....
Important book. It provides a refreshing look at Savarkar's life. Importantly, it goes in details of the Hindutva philosophy and his scientific approach. Although these writings were available in Marathi, author has done a great job translating them, thus making them available to non Marathi readers. Looking forward towards second half.....
February 29, 2020
Well researched book of an icon, revolutionary whose ideas and vision are still valid in modern India. Can’t recommend any better read to anyone who wants to know Indian history from ground up perspective.
September 10, 2019
The best u can get ur hands on
August 29, 2020
The definitive book on the life and times of Swatantrya Veer Savarkar!
April 23, 2020
If Vikram Sampath’s biography of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar has to be reviewed in one word, it has to be, “unputdownable”. But why read a tome of around 600 pages about Savarkar? What is his relevance to modern India? Was he even a freedom fighter? He is surely no Gandhi or even a Nehru one may say. On the contrary, he is a much-maligned figure today and even a whiff of association with him or a word of appreciation for his ideas is bound to make one a pariah from the “intellectual circles”. The Author, therefore, has to be congratulated for daring to write a biography of the “much-maligned Savarkar”. This is also evident from the “Advance Praise for the Book” section, where many eminent persons have applauded the Author more for his courage in attempting to write such a book than the actual merits of the book.
Context: The Revolutionary movement
Coming back to the questions raised as to why one should read such a book, my answer is twofold: one, the official-clean version of Indian history continues and perpetuates the colonial prejudices ignoring all revolutionaries and two, even the supposedly independent/scholarly historic works till recently were written through a Marxist lens, with fond hopes of a revolution. Even these Author s have not covered such revolutionaries in depth.
Only recently, alternative voices have appeared on the Indian History scene who, though influenced by western models and ideas, still attempt to look at Indian history through the Indian lens. While we were taught that we have achieved freedom only because of Gandhi, Nehru and the Congress but now we know there were scores of others who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of this country.
The Congress-led independence struggle is given so much credit and coverage that hardly anyone has heard the names of Vasudev Balwant Phadke, Anant Laxman Kanhere, Chapekar brothers, Madan Lal Dhingra, Nani Gopal etc.,. They have conveniently been relegated to the dustbins of history. But the Author salvages them while setting the context for Savarkar’s foray into the freedom struggle and introduces readers to scores of underground revolutionaries, who refused to play within the supposedly legal contours of the British rule and sought to overthrow the British through an armed revolution without caring about sacrificing their lives.
Savarkar: The Revolutionary
Savarkar, himself was enamoured by revolutionaries like Garibaldi and Mazzini from a young age and set up “Abhinav Bharat” on the lines of Young Italy to fight the British. Being a voracious reader, he was quick to use his pen as a sword to inspire others to take up the revolutionary path. His book on the 1857 revolt titled “The Indian War of Independence” became a bible of sorts to the underground revolutionaries of India. The Author ’s meticulous research shows how this book influenced other revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh, Subhash Chandra Bose etc., with each of them getting the banned book printed to inspire their associates. In fact, as pointed out by the Author, Bhagat Singh was so inspired by Savarkar that he had made it compulsory for new recruits to his party to read Savarkar’s life story.
The Author also elaborately discusses Savarkar’s attempts at making bombs/smuggling weapons into India which give a fascinating and hitherto unknown insight into the courageous work of the underground revolutionaries who were spread across the world.
The Book is fairly neutral as it does not gloss over Savarkar’s role in the assassination of Curzon Wyllie by Madan Lal Dhingra in London as Dhingra was hugely inspired by Savarkar to commit the murder. The author also provides the reactions of moderates on such momentous events and compares them with the reactions of revolutionaries. When even the British press/officials were sympathetic to certain acts of the revolutionaries, the moderate Indian leaders toed the British line, sometimes more fervently than the British.
Heroic Escape, unfortunate arrest:
The most fascinating part of the book for me was Savarkar’s heroic escape from SS Morea while being deported to India from London. When the streamer was docked at Marseilles, France en route to India, Savarkar jumps from the toilet’s porthole and swims to the shore. Unfortunately and after a tiring chase, he was caught by the French police who promptly handed him over to the British police in spite of Savarkar’s request to be produced before a French Magistrate as he would be eligible for political asylum in France.
The Author ’s brilliant research shines through when he discusses the international law debacle that ensued on Savarkar’s arrest in France. As the handing over of Savarkar to the British police was severely condemned in the French press, the French government was pressurised to seek for Savarkar’s release. While Britain refused to release him, it agreed to refer the dispute to The Hague Arbitration Tribunal. After hearing all the parties including Savarkar, who was represented by Jean Longuet on the basis of a power of attorney signed by Savarkar, the Tribunal found no violation of international law as there was “no fraud or force to obtain possession of a man seeking refuge in the foreign territory”. As the author points out, the Hague award was severely condemned across Europe.
The Cellular Jail
Savarkar’s last hope was dashed by The Hague award upholding his arrest. On his return to India, a special Tribunal was set up to try Savarkar but without a jury or the right to appeal. In a botched-up trial, he was found to be guilty of “abetment of waging war” and was sentenced to “transportation for life” and his property was forfeited. In another trial, the same Tribunal held him to be guilty of abatement to murder and again sentenced him to “transportation for life”. In total, he was sentenced to 50 years of jail for his revolutionary activities in India and London and in spite of his request, the British refused to allow both the sentences to run concurrently. Thus, landing him in the Cellular Jail, Port Blair.
The Author recreates the Cellular Jail with a detailed description of the inmates who were incarcerated along with Savarkar. The harsh conditions, human rights violation by the British and Savarkar’s almost comical retorts to Jailor Bailee though heart-wrenching, make it a lively read. Savarkar’s successful attempt at reforming the jail system in the Cellular Jail is also discussed in detail.
Clemency Petition
Much noise is made about the Clemency Petitions submitted by Savarkar and on the basis of these Petitions, he is branded as a “British stooge” by his critics. The Author demolishes such allegations on the basis of historical evidence. He quotes Craddock’s report wherein Craddock, who had visited the jail to investigate its conditions, states that Savarkar has not expressed any regret or repentance but he had changed his views. Further, the Author bolsters his argument relying upon jail entries which show that Savarkar was punished several times for protesting and not cooperating with the Jail Authorities. Also, the fact that he was incarcerated for 12 long years i.e. more than any other freedom fighter shows the kind of threat he posed to the British and how far he was from being a British stooge.
Hindutva:
The Author has taken great pains to point out that Savarkar’s conception of Hindutva was not merely religious but political and geographical. The factors that went into the making of a Hindu, as per Savarkar, was common blood, common culture, common epics, common laws and rites, the Sanskrit language, common feasts and festivals, and the shared work of art and literature. Of great importance is Savarkar’s criticism of the caste system and his efforts to rid Hinduism of the caste system. In fact, Savarkar goes to the extent of arguing that the caste system is not a part of Sanatan Dharma and there can be no unity unless Hinduism is rid of the case system.
Review:
When biographies of such polarising figures are written they either become a hagiography or a polemic against the person, depending on the Author ’s bias. In the instant case, the Author is as neutral as a biographer could be trying to show Savarkar’s life without embellishing his actions to make it more palatable to his readers. This, however, is only the first part in the series and ends with Savarkar’s release from the Cellular jail. It would be interesting to see how Vikram Sampath deals with the second and the most controversial part of Savarkar’s life including his alleged involvement in Gandhi’s murder.
Context: The Revolutionary movement
Coming back to the questions raised as to why one should read such a book, my answer is twofold: one, the official-clean version of Indian history continues and perpetuates the colonial prejudices ignoring all revolutionaries and two, even the supposedly independent/scholarly historic works till recently were written through a Marxist lens, with fond hopes of a revolution. Even these Author s have not covered such revolutionaries in depth.
Only recently, alternative voices have appeared on the Indian History scene who, though influenced by western models and ideas, still attempt to look at Indian history through the Indian lens. While we were taught that we have achieved freedom only because of Gandhi, Nehru and the Congress but now we know there were scores of others who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of this country.
The Congress-led independence struggle is given so much credit and coverage that hardly anyone has heard the names of Vasudev Balwant Phadke, Anant Laxman Kanhere, Chapekar brothers, Madan Lal Dhingra, Nani Gopal etc.,. They have conveniently been relegated to the dustbins of history. But the Author salvages them while setting the context for Savarkar’s foray into the freedom struggle and introduces readers to scores of underground revolutionaries, who refused to play within the supposedly legal contours of the British rule and sought to overthrow the British through an armed revolution without caring about sacrificing their lives.
Savarkar: The Revolutionary
Savarkar, himself was enamoured by revolutionaries like Garibaldi and Mazzini from a young age and set up “Abhinav Bharat” on the lines of Young Italy to fight the British. Being a voracious reader, he was quick to use his pen as a sword to inspire others to take up the revolutionary path. His book on the 1857 revolt titled “The Indian War of Independence” became a bible of sorts to the underground revolutionaries of India. The Author ’s meticulous research shows how this book influenced other revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh, Subhash Chandra Bose etc., with each of them getting the banned book printed to inspire their associates. In fact, as pointed out by the Author, Bhagat Singh was so inspired by Savarkar that he had made it compulsory for new recruits to his party to read Savarkar’s life story.
The Author also elaborately discusses Savarkar’s attempts at making bombs/smuggling weapons into India which give a fascinating and hitherto unknown insight into the courageous work of the underground revolutionaries who were spread across the world.
The Book is fairly neutral as it does not gloss over Savarkar’s role in the assassination of Curzon Wyllie by Madan Lal Dhingra in London as Dhingra was hugely inspired by Savarkar to commit the murder. The author also provides the reactions of moderates on such momentous events and compares them with the reactions of revolutionaries. When even the British press/officials were sympathetic to certain acts of the revolutionaries, the moderate Indian leaders toed the British line, sometimes more fervently than the British.
Heroic Escape, unfortunate arrest:
The most fascinating part of the book for me was Savarkar’s heroic escape from SS Morea while being deported to India from London. When the streamer was docked at Marseilles, France en route to India, Savarkar jumps from the toilet’s porthole and swims to the shore. Unfortunately and after a tiring chase, he was caught by the French police who promptly handed him over to the British police in spite of Savarkar’s request to be produced before a French Magistrate as he would be eligible for political asylum in France.
The Author ’s brilliant research shines through when he discusses the international law debacle that ensued on Savarkar’s arrest in France. As the handing over of Savarkar to the British police was severely condemned in the French press, the French government was pressurised to seek for Savarkar’s release. While Britain refused to release him, it agreed to refer the dispute to The Hague Arbitration Tribunal. After hearing all the parties including Savarkar, who was represented by Jean Longuet on the basis of a power of attorney signed by Savarkar, the Tribunal found no violation of international law as there was “no fraud or force to obtain possession of a man seeking refuge in the foreign territory”. As the author points out, the Hague award was severely condemned across Europe.
The Cellular Jail
Savarkar’s last hope was dashed by The Hague award upholding his arrest. On his return to India, a special Tribunal was set up to try Savarkar but without a jury or the right to appeal. In a botched-up trial, he was found to be guilty of “abetment of waging war” and was sentenced to “transportation for life” and his property was forfeited. In another trial, the same Tribunal held him to be guilty of abatement to murder and again sentenced him to “transportation for life”. In total, he was sentenced to 50 years of jail for his revolutionary activities in India and London and in spite of his request, the British refused to allow both the sentences to run concurrently. Thus, landing him in the Cellular Jail, Port Blair.
The Author recreates the Cellular Jail with a detailed description of the inmates who were incarcerated along with Savarkar. The harsh conditions, human rights violation by the British and Savarkar’s almost comical retorts to Jailor Bailee though heart-wrenching, make it a lively read. Savarkar’s successful attempt at reforming the jail system in the Cellular Jail is also discussed in detail.
Clemency Petition
Much noise is made about the Clemency Petitions submitted by Savarkar and on the basis of these Petitions, he is branded as a “British stooge” by his critics. The Author demolishes such allegations on the basis of historical evidence. He quotes Craddock’s report wherein Craddock, who had visited the jail to investigate its conditions, states that Savarkar has not expressed any regret or repentance but he had changed his views. Further, the Author bolsters his argument relying upon jail entries which show that Savarkar was punished several times for protesting and not cooperating with the Jail Authorities. Also, the fact that he was incarcerated for 12 long years i.e. more than any other freedom fighter shows the kind of threat he posed to the British and how far he was from being a British stooge.
Hindutva:
The Author has taken great pains to point out that Savarkar’s conception of Hindutva was not merely religious but political and geographical. The factors that went into the making of a Hindu, as per Savarkar, was common blood, common culture, common epics, common laws and rites, the Sanskrit language, common feasts and festivals, and the shared work of art and literature. Of great importance is Savarkar’s criticism of the caste system and his efforts to rid Hinduism of the caste system. In fact, Savarkar goes to the extent of arguing that the caste system is not a part of Sanatan Dharma and there can be no unity unless Hinduism is rid of the case system.
Review:
When biographies of such polarising figures are written they either become a hagiography or a polemic against the person, depending on the Author ’s bias. In the instant case, the Author is as neutral as a biographer could be trying to show Savarkar’s life without embellishing his actions to make it more palatable to his readers. This, however, is only the first part in the series and ends with Savarkar’s release from the Cellular jail. It would be interesting to see how Vikram Sampath deals with the second and the most controversial part of Savarkar’s life including his alleged involvement in Gandhi’s murder.
June 28, 2021
Vinayak Savarkar is perhaps the most debated but least understood character of our times, On one side the congress-"left" intelligentsia consider him to be a traitor, a coward, a British stooge, and worse, on the other, the "right" wing, Hindutva supporters consider him a pure faultless icon devoid of human fallacies. As always the truth lies somewhere in between, and Mr. Sampath has presented a brilliant, neutral(or as neutral can be in my opinion), immaculately researched and lucidly written masterpiece.
I picked up this book after listening a talk by Mr. Sampath on YouTube and I am blown away by this, it is easily one of my all time favorite books now, and I will recommend this to everyone interested in History and Politics!
The book takes us on a journey from the tragic origins of Savarkar's life where he loses his parents early, to his establishing one of the earliest revolutionary secret societies in India in the form of "Mitra Mela" and "Abhinav Bharat". We follow Savarkar to his life in London where in the "India House" hostel he starts an inter continental revolution of sorts with an idea to liberate India by force. In this regard, the book serves not only as a biography of Savarkar, it also gives us a window to look at the revolutionary freedom movement in India with leaders like Savarkar, Madame Bhikhaji Cama, Shyamji Krishna Varma and others which is generally missing from our public discussion, education, and consciousness. I wish that the author writes a dedicated book on the revolutionary struggle as it is a story that deserves to be told in full.
We are exposed to different facets of Savarkar's life as an author, a social reformer, a revolutionary, and a rationalist with the help of primary sources and Savarkar's own writings which have been presented for reader's purview. Savarkar's role as a social reformer and his ideas and work related to caste discrimination is perhaps unknown, His views on caste are perhaps much closer to Ambedkar than Gandhi, Savarkar like Ambedkar calls for destruction of the caste system which is one of the shackles bounding Hindu society according to him. His views on widow remarriage, industrialization, food and dining, traveling overseas, cow worship and many other topics are much ahead of it's time and came as a surprise to me.
Coming to the two more contentious topics on which much of the criticism of Savarkar is based in popular perception: 1. "Mercy petitions" and 2. Hindutva, The author has presented the clemency petitions in full and explained the historical/legal context and while it seems the author has a particular view on this, he has left readers to form their opinion once they have the historical/legal context and read the petitions on their own.
The book explains the religious background of the Khilafat movement, Gandhi's support for it, Moplah massacre, development of Muslim league as a powerful force which is the background of "Essentials of Hindutva" the first book written in English by Savarkar where he developed and described his idea of Hindutva while he was jailed in Ratnagiri which is his counter to political Islam and Gandhi's ideas regarding Indian nation. Reader is free to agree or disagree/criticize with Savarkar's ideas but this background and context of the political reality of India when the ideas were written gives a better lens from which the idea should be analyzed rather than "cancelling" him without ever seriously reading/nitpicking and understanding him, as is often the case today where Instagram stories and Tweets serve as the source of news and opinions for a large young urban population.
We see Savarkar's spirit sort of breaking as well he and his brother goes through a long and unique suffering in the Cellular Jail for more than 10 years which is visible in the change in his writings, we also see changing politics in India in the backdrop and see Congress change from Hume to Gokhale and Tilak to finally Gandhi.
I eagerly look forward to the second part of this book which will tell the story of Savarkar after his release from jail, his work as a social reformer in Ratnagiri, and his role in Hindu Mahasabha. I am also interested in seeing author's findings in perhaps the most contentious issue in Savarkar's life which is his alleged role in assassination of Gandhi.
Overall, a highly recommended book if you are interested in History and Politics as Savarkar, or at least playing politics in his name is much more relevant today than ever, no matter what your political and ideological belief.
I picked up this book after listening a talk by Mr. Sampath on YouTube and I am blown away by this, it is easily one of my all time favorite books now, and I will recommend this to everyone interested in History and Politics!
The book takes us on a journey from the tragic origins of Savarkar's life where he loses his parents early, to his establishing one of the earliest revolutionary secret societies in India in the form of "Mitra Mela" and "Abhinav Bharat". We follow Savarkar to his life in London where in the "India House" hostel he starts an inter continental revolution of sorts with an idea to liberate India by force. In this regard, the book serves not only as a biography of Savarkar, it also gives us a window to look at the revolutionary freedom movement in India with leaders like Savarkar, Madame Bhikhaji Cama, Shyamji Krishna Varma and others which is generally missing from our public discussion, education, and consciousness. I wish that the author writes a dedicated book on the revolutionary struggle as it is a story that deserves to be told in full.
We are exposed to different facets of Savarkar's life as an author, a social reformer, a revolutionary, and a rationalist with the help of primary sources and Savarkar's own writings which have been presented for reader's purview. Savarkar's role as a social reformer and his ideas and work related to caste discrimination is perhaps unknown, His views on caste are perhaps much closer to Ambedkar than Gandhi, Savarkar like Ambedkar calls for destruction of the caste system which is one of the shackles bounding Hindu society according to him. His views on widow remarriage, industrialization, food and dining, traveling overseas, cow worship and many other topics are much ahead of it's time and came as a surprise to me.
Coming to the two more contentious topics on which much of the criticism of Savarkar is based in popular perception: 1. "Mercy petitions" and 2. Hindutva, The author has presented the clemency petitions in full and explained the historical/legal context and while it seems the author has a particular view on this, he has left readers to form their opinion once they have the historical/legal context and read the petitions on their own.
The book explains the religious background of the Khilafat movement, Gandhi's support for it, Moplah massacre, development of Muslim league as a powerful force which is the background of "Essentials of Hindutva" the first book written in English by Savarkar where he developed and described his idea of Hindutva while he was jailed in Ratnagiri which is his counter to political Islam and Gandhi's ideas regarding Indian nation. Reader is free to agree or disagree/criticize with Savarkar's ideas but this background and context of the political reality of India when the ideas were written gives a better lens from which the idea should be analyzed rather than "cancelling" him without ever seriously reading/nitpicking and understanding him, as is often the case today where Instagram stories and Tweets serve as the source of news and opinions for a large young urban population.
We see Savarkar's spirit sort of breaking as well he and his brother goes through a long and unique suffering in the Cellular Jail for more than 10 years which is visible in the change in his writings, we also see changing politics in India in the backdrop and see Congress change from Hume to Gokhale and Tilak to finally Gandhi.
I eagerly look forward to the second part of this book which will tell the story of Savarkar after his release from jail, his work as a social reformer in Ratnagiri, and his role in Hindu Mahasabha. I am also interested in seeing author's findings in perhaps the most contentious issue in Savarkar's life which is his alleged role in assassination of Gandhi.
Overall, a highly recommended book if you are interested in History and Politics as Savarkar, or at least playing politics in his name is much more relevant today than ever, no matter what your political and ideological belief.
March 27, 2020
Well researched and interestingly written
The effort and the research that has gone into creating this masterpiece is pretty evident. This book not only covers the life of Swatantryaveer Savarkar but also gives a glimpse of India's freedom struggle.
A very inspiring book.
The effort and the research that has gone into creating this masterpiece is pretty evident. This book not only covers the life of Swatantryaveer Savarkar but also gives a glimpse of India's freedom struggle.
A very inspiring book.
July 19, 2020
A few years back I remember my father in law talking about Savarkar and I just kept wondering, who is this freedom fighter about whom we were not taught in our history books!!
This biography is an eye-opener about Indian freedom history, set up from 1887-1924 this book will give glimpses of hardships and sacrifices of many unsung freedom warriors. And Savarkar was one of them about whom we rarely find anything in school books or in history. Born in a small village in Maharashtra and while growing up he had only one dream, of about complete freedom of India. He was one of a few people in Indian history who stood as solid as a rock in every situation.
This biography elucidates how Savarkar was an influential figure. I find him very realistic and the one with the enigmatic vision.
A must-read for every Indian to understand his ideologies and philosophies about Hindutva.
This review is a thanks note to the author who has done an incredible job in doing such intense research about Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. Vikram Sampat has articulated this book so well, it was definitely a page-turner for me.
This biography is an eye-opener about Indian freedom history, set up from 1887-1924 this book will give glimpses of hardships and sacrifices of many unsung freedom warriors. And Savarkar was one of them about whom we rarely find anything in school books or in history. Born in a small village in Maharashtra and while growing up he had only one dream, of about complete freedom of India. He was one of a few people in Indian history who stood as solid as a rock in every situation.
This biography elucidates how Savarkar was an influential figure. I find him very realistic and the one with the enigmatic vision.
A must-read for every Indian to understand his ideologies and philosophies about Hindutva.
This review is a thanks note to the author who has done an incredible job in doing such intense research about Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. Vikram Sampat has articulated this book so well, it was definitely a page-turner for me.
February 26, 2021
WHAT A BOOK !
A Brilliant piece of meticulous research, painstakingly out together without biases or prejudice, Vikram sampath has written the finest biography he has done such an extraordinary research. Thank you Sir.
This book is about , a man, a rashtrawadi (without condition I must say), a poet, a freedom fighter, The Most dangerous man India has ever produced, a man who got 2 transportation of Life, The Father of Hindutva, A reformist, A thinker, A man who stood for common rights.
This book is about Vinayak, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar or I must say Swatantryaveer Savarkar. This is a name which evokes different emotions in different people.
The skeletons of Indian history are now tumbling out. The gap between reality and public perception in terms of the freedom struggle, is laid bare in this factual and non hagiographic account of the life of Vinayak. This book makes justice to this most dreaded and untouchable freedom fighter and class apart revolutionist of India. The book smashes the lie of mercy petition of Savarkar, which often is used to malign this legend.
I must not reveal anymore, I want you to find out the truth for yourself.
A Brilliant piece of meticulous research, painstakingly out together without biases or prejudice, Vikram sampath has written the finest biography he has done such an extraordinary research. Thank you Sir.
This book is about , a man, a rashtrawadi (without condition I must say), a poet, a freedom fighter, The Most dangerous man India has ever produced, a man who got 2 transportation of Life, The Father of Hindutva, A reformist, A thinker, A man who stood for common rights.
This book is about Vinayak, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar or I must say Swatantryaveer Savarkar. This is a name which evokes different emotions in different people.
The skeletons of Indian history are now tumbling out. The gap between reality and public perception in terms of the freedom struggle, is laid bare in this factual and non hagiographic account of the life of Vinayak. This book makes justice to this most dreaded and untouchable freedom fighter and class apart revolutionist of India. The book smashes the lie of mercy petition of Savarkar, which often is used to malign this legend.
I must not reveal anymore, I want you to find out the truth for yourself.
July 21, 2020
It's rare in a life memoir of a great leader ( who is bound to be controversial to some segment) where story is portrayed in a non dramatic and non exaggerating way. The story is so well paced from his birth to his release from the yervada jail .with all the events from his young life ...to his inner poet and his inspirations ( some are real gems which could be read again and again) . The author has done a brilliant job in the presentation of the events ...with correct sequencing and describing the prelude wherever required. The author has not given much of his comments and has mentioned the reading of events all together could help to form a opinion and left to the reader instead of imposing it. The 12th chapter on caste is the best part of the book.
So much could be known from this book about savarkar apart from his famous "hindutva " ideologue . Looking forward to the next part.
So much could be known from this book about savarkar apart from his famous "hindutva " ideologue . Looking forward to the next part.
December 18, 2020
Quite a coincidence that I finished reading this biography(covering 1883-1924 period) on Savarkar on the day of his birth anniversary.
Before starting this, I had several doubts. The biggest one was on the petitions written by Savarkar, and overall, I was curious about what has he done for India.
And after reading this book along with the references and other historical facts, all doubts are cleared. Along with brilliant insights into the lives of several other freedom fighters who have not found much-needed mention in our history books.
One point which is crystal clear to me is that he was NOT A COWARD. Only those with vested interests or no information of the history can call him a coward. He stands among those freedom fighters who faced cruelest of the systematic British atrocities. And yes, death looks way too cute in front of those atrocities.
If you get the chance, do read this book.
Enough said!!!!
#VeerSavarkar
Before starting this, I had several doubts. The biggest one was on the petitions written by Savarkar, and overall, I was curious about what has he done for India.
And after reading this book along with the references and other historical facts, all doubts are cleared. Along with brilliant insights into the lives of several other freedom fighters who have not found much-needed mention in our history books.
One point which is crystal clear to me is that he was NOT A COWARD. Only those with vested interests or no information of the history can call him a coward. He stands among those freedom fighters who faced cruelest of the systematic British atrocities. And yes, death looks way too cute in front of those atrocities.
If you get the chance, do read this book.
Enough said!!!!
#VeerSavarkar
September 28, 2019
Savarkar, Echoes from a Forgotten Past, is one of the finest biographies. Author has done an extensive research delving into almost every aspect of Savarkar's life. This oeuvre showed me a narrative, demystifying one of the most reviled and recondite personality expounding his principles, proclivities psyche and intellect. This memoir proffers everything be it Vinayak's hankering for a Hindu Rashtra or the much hated Hindutva, his dislike for casteism, untouchability and reconversion of Hindus.
Vikram sampath has consummated a very strenuous and unremitting task giving provenance for each epistle, book, archives and annals there was. Do read this masterpiece and you'll know why Vinayak wanted what he wanted.
Vikram sampath has consummated a very strenuous and unremitting task giving provenance for each epistle, book, archives and annals there was. Do read this masterpiece and you'll know why Vinayak wanted what he wanted.
May 22, 2020
Vikram Sampath has done a wonderful job in this biographical work on Veer Savarkar. Writing about a controversial figure who's been unjustifiably demonized is never easy. Sampath's years of painstaking research into the life of this freedom fighter was spread across multiple continents wherein he went through reams of archival papers and documents stored in various countries' museums, libraries, archives etc. Not surprised to see his research resulting in as wonderful and factual a book as possible. He's successfully demolished the anti-Savarkar rhetorical narrative of India's left-'liberal' establishment with simple hard facts.
A must read book for students and others interested learning about India's anti-colonial movement, history, ideology.
A must read book for students and others interested learning about India's anti-colonial movement, history, ideology.
April 23, 2020
Absolutely fascinating. This is a must-read in today's times when there is a tendency to fit erstwhile leaders into contemporary discourse, and Savarkar has been maligned extensively. This book gives a wonderful portrayal of the man's national outlook and concerted efforts at passionately arousing the populace to the call of freedom. As Sampath wonderfully puts it, Savarkar exemplifies the proverb- Pen is mightier than the sword. A must read for all Indians. Sampath has done a service to Bharat🙏
March 2, 2021
Veer Savarkar is one of India's most influential and debated freedom fighter. With the recent debate around Hindutva and Savarkar's ideologies i wanted to know more about him and his ideologies. This book by Vikram Sampath is so well researched and i have begun to admire Savarkar as a leader, thinker, orator and a great strategist.
It's a shame that there is so little that people know about him. We need to have more such books to talk about our great leaders whose stories and contributions have not been spoken off much.
A must read and i am eagerly waiting for the 2nd volume.
It's a shame that there is so little that people know about him. We need to have more such books to talk about our great leaders whose stories and contributions have not been spoken off much.
A must read and i am eagerly waiting for the 2nd volume.
July 11, 2020
Savarkar! A name that evokes different emotions in different people! The question is why? To seek answers to this, Dr.Vikram Sampath has embarked on a long arduous journey through Indian history. Traversing through roads that few have dared to traverse. This is a brilliant objective analysis of Veer Savarkar's life upto 1924. I feel every Indian should read this book. I refuse to reveal anymore, for I want you to find out the truth for yourself!
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