Savarkar Got 'Swatantryaveer' Title For His Work, No Official Govt Gazette Regarding It : Grandnephew Tells Court

While there were at least 568 revolutionists lodged in the Andaman Jail from 1900 till 1940s, only right-wing ideologue Vinayak Savarkar was given the title of "Swatantryaveer", his grandnephew Satyaki Savarkar told a Special MP/MLA Court in Pune, on Monday (April 13).

Satyaki is presently being cross-examined in the ongoing trial in the criminal defamation case he has filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for allegedly defaming Savarkar. He is being cross-examined by advocate Milind Pawar, who represents the Leader of the Opposition (LOP).

In his testimony, recorded by Special Judge Amol Shinde, Satyaki said, "Swatantryaveer is a title, not a degree. There is no official government gazette with regards the title. The public started calling Savarkar as Swatantyraveer. There are many great revolutionists who are not known to history or whose names have not been studied in depth. Therefore, perhaps such revolutionists are not seen in history to have received the title Swatantryaveer."

To a specific query raised by Pawar asking if it would be appropriate to address all the revolutionary heroes who contributed to the freedom struggle as Swatantryaveer, Satyaki explained that there were "armed" and "unarmed" revolutionists in the freedom struggle.

"Unarmed revolutionists participated in many movements under the leadership of Gandhiji, but the title Mahatma was enthusiastically given by the people only to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. The unarmed revolutionists who joined the movement were not called Mahatma. Similarly, not all the soldiers who joined the Azad Hind Sena were called Netaji. Accordingly, as the people overwhelmingly decided, the title of Swatantryaveer was given to V Savarkar. Of course, this does not diminish the contribution of any revolutionists or Swatantryaveer to the freedom struggle," Satyaki explained.

Satyaki maintained that the government did not officially confer the title Swatantryaveer on Savarkar, but his works got him the same. He even referred to various political figures, both before and after Independence, who acknowledged Savarkar's work.

"The contribution of Savarkar in the freedom struggle has been acknowledged by great leaders of the pre-independence era like martyr Bhagat Singh, Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, etc. In the post-independence era, former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Sharad Pawar has referred to Savarkar as Swatantryaveer in his speech. Former Prime Minister of India, Late Indira Gandhi, has also honoured Savarkar by issuing a postage stamp on him and calling him Veer Savarkar. Considering the opinions of all these people, it seems that Savarkar received the title of Swatantryaveer for his work," Satyaki told the court.

Further, Satyaki denied that 'Swatantryaveer title to have been popularised by certain political figures of a certain ideology. He accepted that the writings of Sadashiv Ranade, who gave the title to Savarkar, were not official historical documents, but his writings were biographical and reflect his thought process.

Satyaki, while responding to a specific query that if it would be correct to call all the revolutionaries as freedom fighters, said he has no objection to calling all revolutionists Mahatma, Swatantryaveer, Krantikarak, Krantiveer, Netaji or Lokmanya etc. In his testimony, Satyaki further affirmed that Savarkar was a revolutionist like other revolutionary heroes and that all the revolutionists must get equal respect.

"I have given respect to the revolutionists. But I sincerely feel that the then government should have given equal respect to everyone," he said.

Further, Satyaki pointed out that he couldn't specify why books on other revolutionists, who were lodged in the Andaman Jail, could not get equal or similar fame like Savarkar. He also stated that there is no official report on record which compared the sacrifices of each revolutionist.

In his testimony, Satyaki also pointed out that Savarkar wrote books in English, Hindi, Marathi and even in Punjabi (Gurmukhi script). He also said that Savarkar even wrote Gazhals in Urdu.

Satyaki also said that different writers have interpreted Savarkar's work differently.

"If there is no historical basis for it, the literature he wrote can be interpreted in many ways. It is true to say that, some writers call Savarkar's actions strategic, while others criticise him. Many writers differ on the role of Savarkar. If it is based on historical evidence, that perspective can be considered honest, but if there is no evidence, such a perspective can be considered dishonest," Satyaki stated.

Last week, Satyaki had deposed that the title was not conferred on Savarkar by the Government but by his biographer Sadashiv Ranade.