Did Veer Savarkar Really Commit Treachery?

The Indian National Congress recently labelled Veer Savarkar a traitor and Bhagat Singh a martyr due to the political vendetta against an ideology represented by Savarkar. Savarkar coined and defined the term Hindutva, followed by many Hindu nationalist organisations like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Congress has called Veer Savarkar a traitor because he wrote clemency petitions while imprisoned in the Andamans. Petitions were the only way of making any sort of request at the Andaman Jail.  And Savarkar, had no intentions of suffering in jail.

Savarkar believed that it is the primary duty of every revolutionary to free himself from the British stranglehold in order to return to the freedom struggle. He often expressed this opinion before fellow revolutionaries imprisoned in the Andamans.

How does suffering in jail contribute to the freedom struggle?

It has no practical, major consequence apart from gaining sympathies from few countrymen or inspiring few patriots. Admittedly, the prison administration took care of the condition of prisoners in jail by keeping it a secret. As Savarkar writes in My Transportation for Life:

A lot of people died due to the harsh conditions of the Andamans. Did their death contribute to the freedom struggle? No. Prisoners in Andaman were subjected to torture. Torture is much more painful than death. Torture is the worst punishment of all.

Savarkar was the only person sentenced with transportation for life in the Andamans twice which meant a total of 50 years. Given the harsh conditions in jail, it was impossible to live there for 50 more years.

Savarkar did not ask for complete release in the clemency petitions. He had actually asked for what his legal rights were. It should be noted that Savarkar was not supposed to be kept in a prison ‘cell’ for 50 years. It is believed that after three years the prisoners were sent outside the prison; but within the Andamans to work and later to settle, even bringing their families from mainland India.

Look at the part of Savarkar’s petition below to show what he actually asked:

Even the legal rights which were allotted to prisoners by the British government, were denied specifically to Savarkar because Savarkar was considered more dangerous than other prisoners. Even his badge in the Andaman Cell had the ‘D’ (D for dangerous) symbol. He was often blamed for someone else’s mistakes and punished unfairly.

When World War I broke out, Savarkar sent a petition to the Government of India in 1914. He averred that were the British to grant colonial self-government to Hindustan and a majority in the Central Legislative Council, revolutionaries would help Britain in the War. He gave instances of European Governments setting their political prisoners free and even those of the liberation of political prisoners in Ireland to prove his point.

In this context, he writes in My Transportation for Life:

This clearly means that his proposal was selfless and he was more interested in getting other political prisoners free. He further said-

It is important to note that Savarkar wrote My Transportation for Life while he was still under house imprisonment from 1925-26.

His prison life

The jail conditions were so harsh that many prisoners used to commit suicide. Some prisoners used to beg doctors to inject them with diseases, so that they could avoid the harsh work. Some prisoners went mad due to torturous conditions.

Indu Bhushan Roy was one such freedom fighter who committed suicide by tearing his clothes into three parts and then hanging himself from the bars of the cell ventilator. Ullaskar Dutt went mad due to harsh prison conditions and used to suffer from hallucinations.

Great revolutionary Bhai Parmanand, who was also lodged in Andaman, while writing about strike in 1919 said-

It is also important to note that many of the  jailers in the Andamans were fanatic Muslims who used to persecute Hindu prisoners and convert them forcefully. Some prisoners converted to Islam as a result. Savarkar survived all these attempts. He started a re-conversion campaign to re-convert all those prisoners who were forcefully converted to Islam.

As a result, few Muslim zealots attempted to murder him, but he survived all those attempts. Veer Savarkar’s brother, Babarao Savarkar had discovered an attempt to poison Veer Savarkar’s food and thus he saved him.

It is clear now that the clemency petitions were a strategic move.

When the enemy has his control over you, he has the upper hand. In such case, it is better to think with brain instead of thinking with the heart. A wise man never lets his ego prevail over his brain.

Shivaji too had sent similar letters and petitions to deceive the enemy as before the killing of Afzal Khan, during Siddi Johar’s siege and during his imprisonment at Agra. He had also accepted some humiliating conditions during the treaty made at the time of the siege of Purandar fort. However, Shivaji bid his time and avenged all insults when he became powerful enough. This is a clever political stratagem.

Communists also call Savarkar a coward. But what did their prophets Lenin & Stalin do? As Savarkar’s biographer J.D Joglekar says:

Reading My Transportation for Life tells you that Savarkar believed ‘living for the nation’ is better than ‘dying for the nation’. Dying for the nation is good enough, but you cannot contribute anything to the nation once you are dead. Instead, if you manage to survive, you still have the chances to fight for the nation.

Savarkar convinced many inmates to follow the same policy. Savarkar’s detractors will not tell you how many inmates Savarkar had saved. Savarkar gave hope to these people and prevented them from attempting suicide.Bhagat Singh’s comrade, Sachindranath Sanyal also followed Savarkar’s strategy.

Sanyal had received a life sentence for his complicity in the Lahore conspiracy and he secured his release through a declaration like that of Savarkar. Then he returned to his revolutionary activities and again received a life sentence as the mastermind behind the famous Kakori conspiracy.

In his autobiography Bandi Jeevan Sanyal says :

Had Bhagat Singh survived, he could have fought more. Bhagat Singh had secretly met Savarkar in the late 1920s seeking permission to publish the third edition of the 1857 War of Independence. 

What Bhagat Singh thought about Savarkar’s Hindu nationalism is unclear. However, he has noted down a quote from Savarkar’s Hindu Pad Paadshahi in his jail notes :

To conclude : one may disagree with Savarkar’s political ideology, but at least one should respect his contribution to our freedom struggle. Disagreement with ideas is fine, but mud-slinging with usage of words like ‘traitor’ is highly objectionable.