Hailing Veer Savarkar as a staunch nationalist, Rajnath Singh said, “Lies were spread about Savarkar repeatedly. It was spread that he filed many mercy petitions seeking his release from jails…It was Mahatma Gandhi who asked him to file the mercy petitions.”
“He was an icon of Indian history and will remain so. There can be a difference of opinion about him, but to look down on him as inferior is not appropriate and justifiable. He was a freedom fighter and a staunch nationalist, but people who follow the Marxist and Leninist ideology are the ones who accuse Savarkar of being a fascist…,” Singh said, adding that the hatred towards Savarkar is illogical and unplaced. Talking about Savarkar as a freedom fighter, he said his commitment for freedom was so strong that the British sentenced him to life imprisonment twice.
Watch his comment below:
#WATCH | Lies were spread about Savarkar. Time & again, it was said that he filed mercy petitions before British Govt seeking his release from jail… It was Mahatma Gandhi who asked him to file mercy petitions: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at launch of a book on Savarkar y’day pic.twitter.com/Pov4mI0Ieg
— ANI (@ANI) October 13, 2021
Questioning the Union Minister’s claim, historian S Irfan Habib took to Twitter saying, “Yes, monochromatic history writing is really changing, led by the minister who claims Gandhi asked Savarkar to write mercy petitions. At least it is accepted now that he did write (the petitions). No documentary evidence is needed when the minister makes a claim. New history for new India.”
Yes, monochromatic history writing is really changing, led by the minister who claims Gandhi asked Savarkar to write mercy petitions. At least it is accepted now that he did write. No documentary evidence needed when minister makes a claim. New history for New India.
— S lrfan Habib (@irfhabib) October 13, 2021
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief and Member of Parliament (MP) from Hyderabad Asaduddin Owaisi slammed the Union Minister stating that the claim is a move to distort history. “They are presenting distorted history. If this continues, they’ll remove Mahatma Gandhi and make Savarkar the father of the nation, who was accused of the murder of Mahatma Gandhi and was pronounced complicit in the inquiry of Justice Jeevan Lal Kapur,” Owaisi said.
They are presenting distorted history. If this continues, they’ll remove Mahatma Gandhi & make Savarkar the father of the nation, who was accused of the murder of Mahatma Gandhi & was pronounced complicit in the inquiry of Justice Jeevan Lal Kapur: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi https://t.co/1aEsVMgZLC pic.twitter.com/ue2Q8Oxy3Z
— ANI (@ANI) October 13, 2021
Shunning the claim, filmmaker Rakesh Sharma wrote on Twitter, “Savarkar wrote six mercy petitions, begging for clemency. His 1913 petition refers to the first one written in 1911, just months after being jailed at Andamans. Gandhi returned to India from S Africa only in 1915. Minister-ji peddling WhatsApp propaganda?! (sic).”
Utter nonsense!
Savarkar wrote 6 mercy petitions, begging for clemency. His 1913 petition refers to the first one written in 1911, just months after being jailed at Andamans.
Gandhi returned to India from S Africa only in 1915. Minister-ji peddling WhatsApp propaganda?! https://t.co/NXVP8wBmwU
— Rakesh Sharma (@rakeshfilm) October 13, 2021
Journalist and Editor of The Wire Siddharth Varadarajan wrote, “So to justify the apologies VD Savarkar wrote — and his subsequent life of serving British imperialism by dividing Indians on religious grounds — Rajnath & Bhagwat seek the support of Gandhi, the very man Savarkar was credibly accused of plotting to kill!”
So to justify the apologies VD Savarkar wrote—and his subsequent life of serving British imperialism by dividing Indians on religious grounds—Rajnath & Bhagwat seek the support of Gandhi, the very man Savarkar was credibly accused of plotting to kill! https://t.co/cgDzreArOb
— Siddharth (@svaradarajan) October 13, 2021
Many others pointed out that Savarkar’s first petition was submitted in 1911, while Gandhi returned to India from South Africa only in 1915.
Some Historical Facts:
Savarkar was lodged in the Cellular Jail on July 4, 1911. Within six months, he submitted a petition for mercy.
His second mercy petition was submitted on November 14, 1913.
Gandhi Ji returned to India from South Africa only on January 9, 1915. pic.twitter.com/lBdZz5z8PY
— Ravi Nair (@t_d_h_nair) October 13, 2021
Meanwhile, during the event on Tuesday, Union Minister Rajnath Singh further claimed that in “Savarkar’s concept of Hindutva, the word ‘Hindu’ for him was not associated with any religion and it was linked to India’s geographical and political identity. For Savarkar, Hindutva was associated with cultural nationalism.”
Echoing Rajnath Singh, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat claimed Savarkar’s ideology of Hindutva never suggested differentiating between people on the basis of their culture and methodology of worshipping god.
“Savarkar used to say, why do we differentiate? We are the sons of the same motherland, we are brothers. The different methodologies of worship have been the tradition of our country. We have been fighting for the country together,” Bhagwat claimed. Underlining that Savarkar was not an enemy of the Muslims, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief said he had written many ghazals in Urdu. “Several people talked about Hindutva and unity in the Indian society, it was just that Savarkar spoke about it loudly and now, after so many years, it is being felt that had everyone spoken loudly, no division (of the country) would have happened,” he added.
(With PTI inputs)
Source: TheNewsMinute.com