The story of Savarkar’s loyalty to the British, the creator of ‘Hindutva Ideology’

In December 1909, Anant Laxman Kanhare, a 17-year-old spirited Hindu Brahmin youth, shot and killed Arthur Mason Tippetts Jackson, aka Pandit Jackson, a British civil servant who came to see a theater play in Nashik, Maharashtra.

It is recorded in the pages of history about Pandit Jackson that apart from being a government officer, he was also a historian with a keen interest in Sanskrit and Indian culture.

Also known among the people as a ‘good English civil servant’. He was then posted as District Magistrate in Nashik and was to take over as Commissioner in Bombay a few days later.

Then why did Anant Laxman Kunhare kill this ‘good British government officer’? This is said to be because Pandit Jackson, as the District Magistrate of Nashik, played an official role in the arrest and prosecution of Ganesh Damodar Savarkar, the co-founder of the Abhinav Bharat Society or Young India Society.

Another co-founder of the Abhinav Bharat Society was Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, younger brother of Ganesh Damodar Savarkar, who is considered the creator and founder of the ‘Hindutva ideology’ in India today.

The two brothers founded the Abhinav Bharat Society to contribute to India’s independence movement.

This case of murder of British officer Pandit Jackson is recorded in the history of India as ‘Nasik Conspiracy Case’. Three people, including Anant Laxman Kunhare, were hanged in the case, while several others received long prison sentences.

Among the accused in the ‘Nashik Conspiracy Case’ was Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, who was later found guilty of supplying the pistol to Pandit Jackson’s killer, Anant Laxman.

In March 1910, British police arrested Savarkar at London’s Victoria railway station. He was put aboard a ship in July 1910 to face trial in India.

When the ship reached the French port of Marseilles on July 7, they tried to escape by jumping off the ship, but were captured.

On his arrival in Bombay, Damodar Savarkar was lodged in Pune’s Yeroda Central Jail.

In 1911, a court convicted him of abetting the murder of Anant Laxman, the murderer of Pandit Jackson, the district magistrate of Nashik, and conspiring against the government, and sentenced him to life imprisonment twice and a total of 50 years in prison.

On July 4, 1911, the British government transferred Savarkar to the cellular prison known as ‘Kala Pani’ on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, declaring him a ‘political prisoner’.

Oaths of Allegiance in Pleadings for Mercy

Dr. Shamsul Islam is a former professor in the Department of Political Science, University of Delhi. He has written several books on the ‘origin’ of India’s hard-line Hindu ideological organizations and their leaders. These include ‘Savarkar: Myths and Facts’.

Speaking to Independent Urdu, he said that Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the leader of the Hindu Mahasabha and the creator of the ‘Hindutva Ideology’, had preferred full loyalty to the British government over being in jail for a long time.

Savarkar made at least five mercy petitions to the British government from 1911 to 1920. Among these petitions from 1913, 1914 and 1920 are available in the National Archives of India, the text of which describes the origins of the Guru of Hindutva.

‘The mercy petitions of 1911 and 1918, which are not available in the National Archives of India, were mentioned by him in his other three petitions.’

Independent Urdu has obtained three mercy petitions written by Savarkar in 1913, 1914 and 1920 through the mediation of Dr. Shamsul Islam and his colleague Umit Andurkar.

In his plea for mercy, delivered in person to Sir Reginald Craddock, a member of the Home Department of the British Government, in Cellular Jail on 14 November 1913, Savarkar appealed to the British government to remain loyal to, work for, and rule the ‘misguided youth’. Talk about connecting.

Savarkar’s mercy plea read: ‘Therefore, if the Government, showing its manifold benevolence and mercy, releases me, I shall be the foremost upholder and follower of the Constitution and the British Government.

‘As long as we are locked up in jail, joy cannot knock in the hundreds of thousands of homes of His Highness’s loyal Indian people because blood is thicker than water.

‘But if we are released, tears of joy will flow from people’s eyes. They will naturally raise shouts of joy and gratitude to the government. It is a government that favors forgiveness and reform rather than punishment or revenge.

‘Furthermore, by following my constitutional path, all those misguided youths in India and abroad, who used to regard me as their leader, would come back.

I am ready to serve the government in whatever capacity it wants. Because my view has completely changed and I expect my attitude to remain the same.

“Nothing will be gained by keeping me in jail, but more will be gained by releasing me.” Only the powerful have the substance to forgive, and so where can a corrupt son return but to the inherent door of government? I am hopeful that His Holiness will consider these points keeping in mind the grace and grace.’

Of all his mercy petitions, the petition of March 30, 1920 was the most detailed and like the others, it offered total loyalty and surrender to the British Government.

In it, Savarkar writes that ‘I have wasted my youth in excitement and release from prison will be like a new birth for me.’

In this detailed plea for mercy he writes, giving suggestions to the Chief Commissioner of the Andamans on border threats: ‘Therefore in 1914 when the war (First World War) broke out and there were threats of a German-Turkish-Afghan invasion of India, I Offered his services as a volunteer before the Govt.

‘Believe it or not, I am fully convinced of the constitutional path and have expressed my intention and honesty. Be filled with love and mutual respect. Be absolutely honest in offering my services for the strengthening of the British Dominion.

‘Actually I don’t think it is right to hate any caste or sect or people just because they are not Indian.

‘But if the government wants anything more from me as a guarantee, I and my brother are ready to admit non-participation in politics for a fixed period as the government thinks fit.

‘Besides, my health continues to deteriorate. I miss the good wishes of my family. Now I want to spend the rest of my life as a retired person in peace. Now there is nothing in my life that attracts me to active activities.

or any other promise, for example, to remain in a certain region or to report to the police for a specified period of time after our release, or any other suitable condition which would ensure the security of the State. To be considered indispensable, my brother and I are willing to accept.

‘Finally, I express my gratitude to the Government for the release of hundreds of political prisoners, including those freed from the Andamans, thus partially granting my petitions of 1914 and 1918. .

‘Therefore, it is now hoped that His Highness will release the remaining prisoners as well. Because their cases are similar to those of released prisoners. This includes the case of me and my brother.

‘Maharashtra in particular has been completely free from any kind of violence or any such mismanagement for the last several years.

‘On all these grounds I am sure the government will consider (my release). I am willing to accept reasonable restrictions as determined.

I agree with the current and expected reforms announced by the government. The threat of Turkish-Afghan militants from the north is equally present in both countries.

‘These circumstances have made me a faithful supporter, loyalist and partisan of the British Government. So if the government releases me, I will personally be grateful.

‘My early life was full of wonderful expectations. But I got too excited and ruined everything. It has been a very dangerous and painful period of my life.

‘Liberation will be a new birth for me. This favor of the government will touch my heart and emotions deep inside.

‘I will personally be yours for Sada, politically fruitful in the future. Pain often succeeds where strength fails.

‘Hopefully the Chief Commissioner will remember, throughout his tenure I have personally expressed my utmost respect for him. How many times I had to face disappointment during this time.

‘Certainly you will not have any grudge against me. Hope you will kindly forward my request to get me out of this state of despair.

‘You will recommend to His Excellency the Viceroy of India in my favour, Sir, may I apply this?’

Release and Loyalty

After several pleas for mercy, Savarkar was finally transferred from the Andaman and Nicobar Cellular Jail to Pune’s Yeroda Central Jail on May 2, 1921.

From here he was released on January 6, 1924 on the condition of not going out of Ratnagiri district and not taking part in any political activity for five years.

After his release, Savarkar not only refrained from participating in the freedom struggle, but also remained loyal to the British government.

Dr. Shamsul Islam says that Savarkar submitted at least five mercy petitions to the British government during his imprisonment and wrote about 20 affidavits in his lifetime.

‘He was twice sentenced to 50 years in prison but got out of the cellular jail after only 10 and a half years as he pledged full allegiance to the British government.

After his release from prison, Savarkar was given a monthly stipend of Rs.

Savarkar’s loyalty to the British government can be gauged from the fact that when Netaji (Subhash Chandra Bose) was preparing his army to fight the British, this man was recruiting young men into the British army.

‘Hindu Maha Sabha under the leadership of Savarkar set up hundreds of recruitment camps in the British army and he himself said that we recruited one lakh people.

During the Quit India Movement of 1942, when the Congress was banned, Savarkar along with the Muslim League ran governments in Sindh, Bengal and the North-West Provinces. Only two parties were not banned at that time, one was the Hindu Maha Sabha and the other was the Muslim League.

‘He not only opposed the Quit India movement but also asked Hindus not to disobey the government.

Savarkar was in favor of the Hindu king of Nepal taking over the reins of the country after the announcement of the withdrawal of the British from India.

“This person sent a telegram to the Queen of Great Britain that if you are going to hand over India to someone, hand it over to the King of Nepal because the King of Nepal is the Maha King of the Hindus of the whole world.”

Ideological guru of BJP

The Hindu nationalist party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) considers Savarkar as its ideological guru and fondly remembers him as ‘Veer Savarkar’.

Senior BJP leader and Federal Defense Minister Rajnath Singh claimed on October 13, 2021 that Savarkar had given mercy pleas to the British at Mahatma Gandhi’s suggestion.

He said: ‘Lies are spread about Savarkar. He is repeatedly said to have submitted mercy pleas for release. The fact is that Mahatma Gandhi asked them to submit these requests.’

A big political controversy arose in India on this statement of Rajnath Singh. Apart from political parties, historians and political commentators also termed this statement as an attempt to distort the actual facts.

However, Rajnath Singh is not the first person to try to justify the actions of Savarkar, who wrote mercy pleas to the British government, disturbed by the hardships of imprisonment.

In September 2004, Tarun Vijay, a writer and former editor of Panchjaniya, a spokesperson for the hard-line Hindu organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), wrote in the Indian magazine Outlook: ‘Savarkar fought as an ardent follower of Shivaji (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj). He wanted to die.

‘There was no other way, so he wrote six letters to the British requesting his release. But all these requests were rejected outright.’

Dr. Shamsul Islam writes in his book ‘Savarkar: Myths and Facts’: ‘There was nothing wrong in writing mercy petitions to the British Government by the inmates of the Cellular Jail. In fact, it was an important legal right that prisoners enjoyed.

‘There were other revolutionary figures who wrote mercy pleas to the British government. When Reginald Craddock visited the cellular prison, Savarkar was not alone in pleading for mercy.

“Apart from Savarkar, many other people also applied. However, it was only Savarkar and Brindra Ghose who wrote about giving up their revolutionary past for the sake of personal freedom.

‘There were hundreds of other revolutionaries who served the full term of their sentences in cellular jails and other prisons. They (leaders of Hindu nationalist parties) are silent on the thousands of martyrs like Bhagat Singh, Chandrasekhar Azad, Ram Prasad Bismal, Ashfaqullah Khan, Sukhdev, Rajguru and Roshan Singh who never begged for mercy or even their own. There was no relaxation in the stance.

“The saddest thing is that the image of a coward like Savarkar is kept not only in the Maharashtra Assembly but also in the Indian Parliament.”

‘Hindus Muslims are two nations’

Savarkar was born on 28 May 1883 in a Brahmin Hindu family in the village of Bhagur in Nashik.

When Savarkar was just 12 years old, he vandalized his village mosque along with his schoolmates during the Hindu-Muslim riots in Bombay and Pune.

He himself wrote about it: ‘We ransacked the mosque at the sound of our hearts and hoisted the flag of our bravery over it.’

Savarkar received his early education in Nashik and Pune and then moved to London in 1906 to study law.

Before becoming loyal to the British, Savarkar also wrote a book titled ‘The Indian War of Independence’ in 1907 on the First War of Independence of 1857, which was banned by the British government.

Interestingly, in this book, he has described Muslims as ‘heroes’ of the war of independence.

It is said that during his imprisonment in the Cellular (Kala Pani) Jail, he also wrote two Urdu Ghazals, which were found written in Urdu script in his ‘Jail Diary’ brought to light a few years ago.

Savarkar wrote a book called ‘Essentials of Hindutva’ between 1921 and 1922, in which he presented the theory of ‘Hindutva’. Then he promoted this ideology as an influential leader of the Hindu Maha Sabha.

He is accused of bringing forward the ‘Hindutva ideology’ at a time when a united front was needed to fight against the British.

In Sensuals of Hindutva, Savarkar wrote that Muslims and Christians cannot be part of ‘Hindu Rashtra’ because they do not know Sanskrit, do not have Aryan blood in their veins and their holy places are not in India.

He wrote 38 books in English and Marathi language. However, the two books (The Indian War of Independence and Essentials of Hindutva) are more popular.

According to Dr. Shamsul Islam, Savarkar was against the secular constitution and was a strong supporter of running the country’s system on a religious book called ‘Manosmriti’.

‘Not only that, he hated the tricolor flag so much. And used to say that I will never accept this flag made of khadi cloth.

Savarkar is the first person who said in 1937 Hindu Maha Sabha meeting in Ahmedabad that Hindus and Muslims are two nations. The Muslim League passed the resolution in 1940.

In 1948, Savarkar was accused of involvement in the conspiracy to assassinate Mahatma Gandhi, but was acquitted by the court for lack of evidence.

Dr. Shamsul Islam says: ‘If Savarkar’s portrait can be installed in the Indian Parliament, Jinnah’s (Muhammad Ali Jinnah) should also be installed.

‘Both believed in two-nation theory and both hated Gandhi. Both ran governments together. Rather, Savarkar has a hand in Gandhi’s murder.’

Savarkar died on February 26, 1966 at his home in Bombay. Earlier on February 1, 1966, he stopped taking medicine, eating food and drinking water.

Before death, in one of his essays titled ‘Atmahatya Nahi Atmarpan’, Savarkar said that when a person’s ability to work for his society is no longer there, it is better to wait for natural death than to ‘Atmarpan’. ‘Invite death by choice.