Savarkar’s Work Banned By British To Be Reprinted By Goa Govt To Honour The Legacy Of A ‘Glorious Patriot’

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Sunday said that the government of Goa will reprint Veer Savarkar‘s 1957 che Swatantrya Samar that was banned by the British and a lone copy of which was preserved by a Goan person.

Speaking at the Kumaon Literature Festival that was held on Sunday, he also announced the reprint of Savarkar’s epic Gomantak, that dealt with the liberation of Goa from the Portuguese rule, and that the government would distribute it across the state and country.

As reported by the Indian Express, with regard to the book ‘1957 che Swatantrya Samar’ at the closing ceremony of the festival in Panaji, Sawant said, “This book ignited the flame of patriotism among many youth and the British regime banned this book. Fortunately, only one copy of this book was saved with a Goan person, and this helped in getting it re-printed.”

“Swatantryaveer Savarkar was an unsung hero…We as Indians have largely failed to acknowledge the life and work of this glorious patriot,”he added.

Sawant also released author Vikram Sampath’s works on Savarkar and said “History should be an independent representation of the past” and that the books in question answer ‘many questions and opposes vicious propaganda’ around him.

“Unfortunately, in our country, the history that has been forced upon us, has been the propaganda of the West and what they thought about us. They thought that we were a land of snake-charmers, they thought that we were a country of the poor. But my question is, did they invade us because we were poor? The answer is definitely no,“said Sawant adding that the first person to challenge this vicious propaganda was Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.

Addressing media after the festival, Sawant also said ”when we had put up Savarkar’s portrait in the vidhan Sabha a lot of people had asked what‘s his connection with Goa, so for even those who know not of his connect with Goa, there is a need for this book to reach everyone”. Its a government project and the books will be printed in English, Marathi and Konkani, he added.