New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said that Savarkar’s patriotism and valour cannot be questioned as he hit back at those contesting his commitment to India and its freedom struggle.
He asked people raising such doubts to have “some shame”, news agency PTI reported.
The Union Home Minister’s remarks come amid the widespread debate over Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s recent speech where he said that VD Savarkar, a venerated Hindutva ideologue, had filed mercy petitions before the British at the advice of Mahatma Gandhi.
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Amit Shah on Friday garlanded the portrait of Savarkar at the cellular prison in Port Blair where hundreds of freedom fighters were incarcerated during India’s long freedom struggle.
This event came as part of 75 years of India’s Independence which is being celebrated as “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”.
“How can you doubt the life, the credentials of a man who was sentenced to two life imprisonments, made to sweat like a plodder bullock (kolhu ka bail) to extract oil at this prison. Have some shame,” he told a gathering, as quoted by PTI.
Savarkar had everything that he needed for a good life, but he chose the tough path, which indicated his unwavering commitment to the motherland, Amit Shah said. He further stated that “there cannot be a greater pilgrimage than this cellular jail. This place is a '”mahatirth” where Savarkar experienced inhuman torture for 10 years but did not lose his courage, his bravery”.
The Union Home Minister went on to add that the sobriquet “veer” was bestowed on VD Savarkar not by any government but by the people of the country in endorsement of his indomitable spirit and courage. “This title fondly given to him by 130 crore people of India cannot be snatched away,” he asserted.
Besides this, Amit Shah also laid a wreath at a memorial to the martyrs of the freedom struggle. He noted that most people in today’s India were born after Independence and so did not get an opportunity to “die for the country”. “I urge the youth of today to live for this great nation,” he said.
About The Controversy
Earlier this week, a major row erupted after Rajnath Singh targetted the critics of VD Savarkar, saying he was being defamed over the mercy petitions.
“Time and again, it was said that he filed mercy petitions before the British government seeking his release from jail...The truth is, he didn't file mercy petitions to get himself released. It is a regular practice for a [jailed] person to file mercy petitions. It was Mahatma Gandhi who asked him to file mercy petitions,” Rajnath Singh had said at a book launch, as quoted by PTI.
This drew polarising reactions wherein BJP’s opponents who criticised the statement, dubbed it as an “attempt to rewrite history”.
Supporters pointed to Mahatma Gandhi’s article in Young India, a weekly paper, seen as building a case for Savarkar and his brother Ganesh who spent 10 years after they were sentenced for life for waging a war against the state.
Vikram Sampath, who has written a two-part biography on the Hindutva ideologue, also took to Twitter sharing portions pertaining to the issue from his book.
On the other hand, those opposing Rajnath Singh’s speech pointed to the timeline of events, as also mentioned in a BBC report which states: “Gandhi's “intervention” in the affair happened after Savarkar had already begun filing his pleas - in fact he was not even in India when the first such plea was filed”.
Meanwhile, supporters also argue that writing such pleas was normal at that time and did not make him an apologist, as the mercy petition where VD Savarkar calls himself “prodigal son” longing to return to the “parental doors of the (British) government”, continues to be cited to contest his contribution to the Indian freedom struggle.