“In words are seen the state of mind and character
and disposition of the speaker.”
-
Plutarch
Hi,
Everyone! Just yesterday—following my self-imposed task of rectifying
misinformation re Savarkar that I come across anywhere—I found myself
commenting back and forth with an FB Friend (me patiently pointing out his
inaccurate, unjustified statement; he taking refuge in mockery) when he came up with
a wisecrack that surely takes the cake!
Here
I was thinking I have heard it all—the many
unjust, untrue, maligning words re Savarkar—but no! There are always some more, it seems.
I
had just made a statement to the effect that it was Savarkar’s amazing
leadership, definitely not "dictatorship," that enabled him to raise the
Hindu Mahasabha into a strong political party capable of giving competition to
the Congress in the elections.
To
my consternation his reply was: “raising the Hindu Mahasabha into a strong,
political party - Joke of the century - liked it!”
“Joke
of the century”!!! Savarkar ground himself to dust to fight for a United India, for saving India from partition and here all his work was described as a "joke"! Impossible to put my emotions in words when I read those words.
I
couldn’t help thinking again how unfortunate it is that so many Indians, far,
far from appreciating their freedom fighters, cannot even muster up a modicum
of respect for them.
However, despite
the heavily promoted distortions in Indian history, Savarkar’s role
in the politics of India, his role in raising Hindu Mahasabha from an embryo
stage to a political force is a well-documented fact. Both, reputed historians
and reputed biographers have recorded it in their books.
Any
researcher of Savarkar (even the Savarkar-bashers) should be well aware of
that. In the course of my research, I have dug up international corroboration of
this fact. I have in my possession a boxful of newspapers clippings, reports, even
an article that give testimony to Savarkar’s extraordinary political feat.
I
am going to post some of them here. Keep in mind that Savarkar was released
from twenty-seven years of British Bondage on May 10, 1937 and took over
presidency of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha only in December of 1937. He didn't have much time to turn things around!
2) Clippings from The Billings Gazette (4/25/1939) and
The Bakersfield California (4/24/1939)
By
1939 itself Savarkar was a force enough to send a cable to the President Roosevelt
of United States! These clippings (and there are several more) give evidence of
it. Savarkar’s cable reads: “If your note to Hitler was actuated by
disinterested human anxiety for safeguarding freedom of democracy from military
aggression, why not also ask Britain to withdraw armed domination over India,
allowing a free self-determined constitution? The great Indian nation can claim
as much international justice as small nations.”
This clipping says that Congress and Hindu Mahasabha
will have to agree on any decision re future of India.
Syracuse Herald (3/22/42) This clipping clearly
states that Hindu Mahasabha is one of the four “factions” whose opinions Sir
Stafford Cripps will have to consider in deciding the future of India.
Definitely HM was a political force, wouldn’t you say?
Here
is a little clipping on Savarkar’s “Militarisation Movement.”
5) Cullman Banna clipping (8/6/42)
Clearly
mentions that this photo (the original was of very poor quality) is from the
March of Time’s study “Crisis in India.” The write-up (incomplete here) gives
some particulars of Savarkar.
6) Excerpts from an interview of Savakar’s taken by an
American journalist and published in the LA Times in 1943: “But he has a
certain power of personality and is definitely a figure of some importance on
the Indian political scene today . . . How he managed it I don't
know, but despite all that confinement he was enough in tune with the spirit of
the times to get into the political whirl and come to the top of a strong
minority party which exerts a considerable influence today. He's a real story.”
7) In 1945, J. M. Deb has written a book Blood and Tears featuring all the major
parties of India and their role in Indian politics at the time. This book is
important because it records history as it happened before distortions.
He
too refers to HM as the third largest party in India. Here is a link to his
piece on Savarkar and the Hindu Mahasabha:
All
this gives a very good idea that Savarkar did indeed turn the Hindu Mahasabha into a
political force. After reading this, if there is any truth in them, no one should
find that statement the “joke of the century.”
However,
if the Hindu Mahasabha was such a political force capable of giving the
Congress a run for their money in the elections, why then did the Congress win
the elections by a landslide?
What
did happen?
That
story of (Congress) dirty politics and treachery is well covered in my novel Burning for Freedom.
Anurupa
