In Tamil Nadu, the sentiment, akin to Napoleon Bonaparte’s statement, “History is a set of lies agreed upon,” is ingrained in the masses through educational materials that truncate real history to uphold the Dravidian political lineage. Many Indian nationalists who fought for the country have been cast in a dark light and neglected, as only the Dravidian ideology dominates history books and publications in Tamil Nadu, purely for political sustenance.
There’s a narrative perpetuated that apart from Gandhi and Nehru, there were no connections or alliances among various leaders across nation, creating a manipulated belief that Tamil Nadu only ever supported one ideology—the Dravidian ideology. This is a blatant falsehood. One such man whose activities ingrained the nationalist spirit in Tamil people was Ma. Po. Si.
The Mourning of a Nationalist for Another Nationalist’s Demise
Mylai Ponnuswamy Sivagnanam Pillai (MaPoSi) was a pioneering Tamil nationalist leader who embraced the notion that Tamils constituted a distinct race with their own culture and integrity, rejecting the notion of Dravidians as artificial. In the context of MaPoSi’s legacy and his contemporaneous involvement in national issues, it’s noteworthy that MaPoSi and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement, were contemporaries who adhered to different ideological frameworks. While Savarkar advocated for Hindutva and the concept of a unified Hindu rashtra, MaPoSi concentrated on asserting Tamil national identity and promoting social reform within the Tamil context. Their divergent views on nationalism and identity highlight the richness of ideological diversity, yet they shared a common commitment to the broader struggle for Indian independence.
Drawing inspiration akin to Muthuramalinga Thevar’s proclamation, “The nation and divinity are my two eyes,” MaPoSi exemplified this ethos by incorporating Tamil culture into his life. When news of Savarkar’s passing on 26 February 1966, reached Madras, MaPoSi penned a comprehensive tribute on 6 March 1966 in his magazine, “Sengol,” titled “A Historical Hero Savarkar Has Become Immortal. Our Tribute to the Great Hero Who Lived by His Conscience.”
Summary of the Article
MaPoSi reflected on Veer Savarkar’s passing at the age of 83, noting his austere life dedicated to higher ideals rather than ordinary pleasures. Studying law in London, Savarkar became a revolutionary who shared his knowledge with fellow Indians there. Fearing persecution under oppressive rule, he endured years in exile, foregoing personal happiness with his wife. His attempts to evade regime oppression in London led to imprisonment. Transported back to India under guard, he endured unimaginable tortures, eventually escaping through a prison hole. Reflecting on these experiences today evokes deep empathy among Indian patriots, few of whom have suffered as he did in the pursuit of liberty.
The suffering endured by those escaping ships and reaching foreign shores resonates deeply with older patriots today, surpassing the comprehension of modern generations. Savarkar’s flight across borders, evading relentless pursuit, forms an epic chapter in Bharat’s liberation. Upon reaching French territory, he believed himself safe from British arrest under international law but was apprehended by the French and handed over to British custody, despite appeals to the International Court of Justice. This ordeal underscored the challenges faced by a prisoner seeking global justice. Only a stalwart nationalist could endure such hardships with unwavering resolve, resulting in a life sentence imposed by a British court during his Andaman Islands imprisonment, where his brother also received a life sentence.
Gandhi, in Young India, condemned the injustice and advocated for the Savarkar brothers’ release, denouncing British tyranny. Later, as a historian, Savarkar debunked myths about the 1857 revolt, affirming it as a widespread uprising, not a mere mutiny. His work “The First War of Indian Independence” ignited the liberation flame, influencing my own “Veerapandiya Kattabomman.”
Meeting Savarkar in Chennai in 1934, I debated against his methods but admired his eloquence and convictions. Today’s ruling patriots overlook the Savarkar brothers’ sacrifices, their heroic narrative fading from our national story. Yet, Veer Savarkar remains a towering figure, his legacy transcending time, rooted in Hindu nationalism drawn from epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata, advocating for “hereditary heroism.”
Between 1906 and 1908, amid Congress political landscape prioritizing job-seeking over national rights, Savarkar championed armed revolution, though Gandhi’s non-violent approach overshadowed his efforts. Future historians must grant Savarkar’s valor a significant place in India’s independence struggle. A man of conscience, he sought no reward, driven by belief in hereditary valor and a Hindu nation.
In his final years, Savarkar, bedridden and overlooked by leaders, passed unnoticed, denied the honors of a free Bharat. Times changed with leaders valuing ministers over patriots, yet Savarkar’s legacy endures, upholding Hindu traditions throughout his life. Had Gandhi lived to see Savarkar’s passing, he might have penned a tribute to this warrior. Such acknowledgments are rare from the timid.
With Veer Savarkar’s passing, an era ends in Bharat’s societal evolution, predating Gandhi’s influence. Long live the glory of Veera Savarkar!
Exerpts From the Article
MaPoSi narrates, “Veer Savarkar has passed away! At the age of (83), who lived in this earthly world, have no luck to enjoy the pleasures of life. Yes; He went to London to study as a barrister, where he became a revolutionary, stayed in the country and taught the art of revolution to many of the Indian students who camped there. Thinking that if he returned to his motherland freedom will be taken away by the oppression regime (British), losing the opportunity to strive for the liberation of the motherland, he stayed in other country for a few years and lived like a wanderer. Even though he was married, he sentenced himself to exile by not enjoying the pleasures of youth together with his wife.
Unable to stay in London, he tried to escape when the regime’s oppression targeted him, but he was unable to escape and got imprisoned. When he was brought to India by ship under police guard, he subjected himself to tortures beyond human endurance and escaped through a hole. Even if you think that incident today, it will melt your heart. He can be the only one among the Indian patriotic to suffer such great suffering.
Not only that, to even imagine what the great suffering that they received when they escaped from the ship would have been like could be understood by the old patriots who remain today. It is beyond imagination to the modern patriots. The escapee’s flight to touch the French border, and his menace created for the police who chased him, is a separate story to be included in a epic. All these for what? For the liberation of Bharat.
After reaching the limit of French, Veer Savarkar believed that the British police could not arrest him according to the international law but the French empire arrested him in violation of the international convention and handed him over to the British imperial police. Even after complaining to the International Court of Justice about this cruelty of the imperial French, justice was denied. Few people can understand the difficulty of getting the facilities and opportunities to file a case and claim in the International Court of Justice, being a prisoner. Only it is possible to the old nationalist who could accept hardships with strength. The International Court of Justice failed to provide justice to him. As a result, the devilish British court sentenced him to life imprisonment to the hero.
In the same time, when Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was imprisoned his brother Ganesh Damodar Savarkar, who had taken the heavy burden of running the family, was also sentenced to life imprisonment. Yes, it was a period when families became victims of patriotism, and both of the born brothers stayed in the Andaman island for many years.
The Savarkar brothers lived in the Andaman island for as long as Ram lived the forest life. Yes; fourteen years. A barrister spent 14 years in the Andaman Islands, an unimaginable ordeal. Condemning this atrocity and condemning the British tyranny, Gandhi wrote an editorial in his Young India magazine praising the sacrifice and urging the Viceroy to release the Savarkar brothers.
Veer Savarkar was a professor of history who had the ability to penetrate the truth in the history of the past. The British described the 1857 freedom revolt as a mutiny by a group of superstitious soldiers due to religious fanaticism, it was taught as lesson in the educational institution here ridiculing the freedom fighters. To get rid of this nonsense, Savarkar wrote a book named ‘Volcano’ (The Indian War of Independence 1957) in 1857, proved it was not a riot but a revolution led by so many people from house to house showing proper evidence . From the feeling that raised in my heart after reading that volcano, I wrote Veerapandiya Kattabomman novel, the British showcased Veerapandiya Kattabomman, who first voiced for independence, was described as a dacoit before independence. The slave intellectuals were propagating the same here .
When Savarkar came to Chennai in 1934, I met him in the office of the Arya Samaj as the secretary of the Chennai District Congress and had the privilege of talking to him for three quarters of an hour. I rejected his methods and argued that Gandhiji’s method was correct. I was impressed by his argumentative skills, I could see the firmness of a warrior’s words that came from his mouth.
When Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was suffering in the Andaman islands, wife of Savarkar’s brother passed away, his two daughters died, and the family suffered untold hardships. However, all the sufferings Savarkar brothers suffered for the liberation of this country have been ignored by today’s patriots in power.
What is Savarkar? The heroic adventure history of the patriotic tradition has become a lie, a dream, a fruit story. On this day, after the end of the war of independence, not even a generation has changed. Meanwhile, such a great accident in history. Savarkar was not a ordinary patriot, he was a historic hero. He was a “Hindu” minded nationalist. Not only today, but forever. Savarkar’s Hindu nationalism became obsolete as independent India was declared a secular state.
Savarkar was not non-violent, he was deeply committed to violence. His sense of violence was not derived from the American Revolution or the French Republican Revolution. It is derived from the Ramayana-Bharata (Mahabharat) epics given by the Hindu community. Rather than calling it “forced violence” , it would be more appropriate to say “hereditary heroism”.
Between 1906 and 1908, he planned to engage in armed revolution. At that time there was no political revolution in this country. The Congress of that day functioned as an organization to find jobs for Indians. But, a new youth community inside and outside the Congress was with revolutionary mind and the youth community realized the difference between seeking jobs for educated people and seeking rights for the country of India. The group of bulls who had studied the historical reports with attention knew that unless the enslaved society went on the path of revolution, it would be impossible to achieve independence. Yes; There is no proof that an enslaved nation can be freed by a moral struggle in those days. The new record was added to the history books only after 1919. Therefore, the non-violent people born in the later period do not blame the revolutionary movement that appeared in the earlier period.
Whatever the reason, the period between 1906 and 1908 the senior political leaders did not guide the revolutionary spirited bulls . In that situation, Savarkar himself, who was on the bulls age, bravely came forward and showed the way to the world of bulls. However, his armed revolutionary cause was defeated. Not by British imperialism, but the alternative given by Gandhiji. Savarkar became a defeat in his own way, However, his personal pride did not diminish. His methods were not accepted by the later people and his ambition to liberate the country of Bharat was successful.
Those who write the history of the war of independence, with neutrality, should give separate space to Savarkar’s heroism. Savarkar, a conscientious hero, did not expect anything from anyone as a reward for his sacrifice. His belief in hereditary valor and his determination to establish a Hindu nation in independent India, though unacceptable to us, we salute him for being a great leader who lived with conscience.
Savarkar was seriously ill lying in bed for more than two years. At that time not one of the ministers of this country went to his palace to see this great hero. Even after the death of his body was not decorated with flower garland of independent Bharat’s regime. Even if there was British rule in this country today, he would have been saluted as his true opponent. Yes; Times have changed. No. Congress rulers have changed the times. Henceforth, the patriots will not be respected. The government will respect only those die as a minister. Savarkar is called a ‘hero’ by the people of this country. Even this great man has decreed that his last rites should not be held extravagantly. He did not allow the Vaithikam ritual of Hinduism. He is unique among the patriots, he protected the uniqueness (of hinduism-persumably as the letters are not visible) throughout his life.
If non violent Ahimsa Gandhi lived on this day of the death of Savarkar, who believed in the force of arms, he would have issued a condolence statement with the heart beating emotion of a poet. Only a warrior can astound another warrior, and we can’t expect it from cowards. With the death of Veer Savarkar, the era of Bharat society has ended. The era belonged to pre-Gandhi period. Long live the glory of Veera Savarkar.”
(With inputs from TS Krishnan’s X post)
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