Veer Savarkar as Social Reformer

 

Swatantrayaveer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (28th may 1883 to 26th February 1966) was a fearless freedom fighter, social  reformer, writer,  dramatist,  political  leader and  philosopher. Unfortunately, Savarkar has been a victim of  malice and misinformation. Those who disagree with Savarkar’s political views start with assumption that he was an obscurantist and a reactionary bigot.

 

As a considerable part of his literature is in Marathi, his thoughts and achievements in several spheres are largely unknown outside Maharashtra, Savarkar is largely known as a revolutionary freedom fighter and exponent of Hindutva.It is not widely known that he was also an outstanding social reformer. His contribution in the field of social reform is relevant even today. Savarkar’s anniversary which falls on 28th May provides an excellent opportunity to dispassionately evaluate his contribution as a social reformer.

 

 

On 13th March 1910, Savarkar was arrested in London. He was subsequently sentenced twice to Transportation for life, to the Andaman islands. The sentences of Transportation were to be served in succession a total sentence of 50 years, Unparalleled in the history of the British Empire. Public outcry in India forced the British to release Savarkar from the cellular jail on 2 May 1921. From May 1921 to 6 January 1924, Savarkar was successively kept in Alipore, Ratnagiri and Yarvada jails. Mounting public pressure again forced the British to release him from jail. But so wary were the British of Savarkar that they asked him to stay within the confines of Ratnagiri District, a backward place in coastal Maharashtra.

 

 

Savarkar was also asked “to sustain from any participation public or private in politics.” These restrictions on Savarkar were meant only for five years. But it was extended to 13 years of interment. Savarkar remained in Ratnagiri from 8th January 1924 to 17th June 1937 in internment. Savarkar plunged wholeheartedly in the field of social reform during this internment in Ratnagiri.

 

 

Veer Savarkar believed that during his life time, Hindu society had been weakened by seven shackles namely sparshabandi or untouchability, Shuddhibandi or prohibition of reconversion, betibandi or prohibition of inter-caste marriages, rotibandi or prohibition of inter-caste dining, sindhubandi or prohibition of seafaring, Vyavasyabandi or prohibiton of following profession of other castes and Vedoktabandi or prohibition of performing Vedic rites.

 

 

Savarkar favoured, the use of the word poorvaasprushyoor or Ex-untochables Savarkar rebelled against scripture- based caste division and termed it as a mental illness that gets cured instantly when the mind refuses to accept it. He believed caste divisions are only practices.”They are not coterminous with Sanatan Dharma…. Sanatana Dharma will not die if the present day distortion that is caste-division is destroyed(1930, Jatyuchchedak nibhanda or essays on aboltion of caste,SSV 3 : 444). His drama “Ushaap”(Antidote to a curse) deals with untouchability , kidnapping of women, shuddhi and duplicity of conservatives.

 

 

Savarkar rejected the theory that caste division was a conspiracy of the Brahmins or the Brahmins and Kshatriyas. He held that the blame for the atrocities perpetrated by the higher castes on lower castes due to scripture based caste division lies with all castes, from the Brahmin to Bhangi (Balmiki), not with Brahmins and Kshatriyas alone. This scripture based- caste division enabled the bhangi to assert his superiority over the Dom, hence everyone in his own way preserved and is still preserving it.

 

 

The blame for unnecessarily allowing it to thrive rests on everyone…So the best way is to accept that everyone is to be blamed and that the responsibility reform is collective. Savarkar believed that every untouchable caste considers some other lower caste untouchable. Everyone destroyed edifice together. Now in the fitness of things, let all of us Hindus together rebuild it on the firm foundation of all embracing Hindutva. (1935, Ksha Kirane or X-rays, Samagra Savarkar Vangmaya, vol 3, p. 178)

 

 

Veer Savarkar practiced what he preached. As he himself has said, “He who gives up verbosity and acts as per the principle of irrespective of whether others do it or not, as far as I am concerned, I will practice reform on a daily basis.” Alone is a true reformer. He practiced what he preached.In 1925, Savarkar started a survey of the Mahrwada or the locality of Mahars, an ex-untouchable caste among the Hindus. He organized mass singing of bhajans. He toured small towns around Ratnagiri such as Dapoli, Khed, Chiplun, Devrukh, Sangameshwar, Kharepatan, Devgad and Malvan and made speeches decrying the practice of caste-based segregation and ensured that schools in these places stopped this pernicious practice.

 

 

He ensured that children of so called low castes such as Mahars, Chamans and Bhangis (or Balmikis) compulsorily attended school by distributing chalk and slates and giving monetary incentives to their parents. He exposed schools that continued the policy of caste-based segregation and sent false reports to higher authorities. Savarkar said,” once the children are educated, they will not observe caste hierarchy in later life. They will not feel the need to observe caste division. In addition, The government should abandon the little, “special schools for low caste children.

 

 

This very little creates a feeling of inferiority among children attending school”( Balarao Savarkar,ibid,p.159)To ensure that untochabilty disappeared not just from schools but also from homes, Savarkar visited numerous houses accompanied by people from different castes on the occasion of Hindu festivals like Dusshera and Makar Sakaranti to distribute traditional sweets. Savarkar’s wife Yamunabai or Mai organized mass haldi-kumkum gatherings of Hindu women. At such gatherings, Savarkar ensured that women from ex-untouchable castes applied Kumkum to women of ‘higher’ castes.

 

 

He gave complimentary passes of his dramas to ex-untouchables so that they may freely mingle with people of other castes. To improve the lot of the ex-untouchables, Savarkar gave monetary assistance and raised a musical band of ex-untouchables.

 

 

On 1May 1933, Savarkar stared a café open to Hindus of all castes including untouchables. This was the first pan-Hindu café in the whole of India, He had employed a Mahar to serve water, tea, etc. S R Date who later edited Savarkar’s complete works has narrated his own experience when he went to pay a visit to Savarkar as a youngster. Savarkar asked Date whether he had had a cup of tea in the pan-Hindu café. When Date Said he did not drink tea, Savarkar asked him to have a glass of water there. Savarkar met Date only when the latter did his bidding, The café always made loss. But Savarkar made up for the deficit from his own pocket.

 

 

At that time his financial condition was precarious. He was living on a paltry monthly allowance of Rs 60 granted by the British Administration.Savarkar with the aid of his associates got a temple built called “Patitpavan (Patit=fallen; pavan= holy.) It was open to all the castes of Hindus including lower caates. Mr Bhagoys Seth Keer (a building contractor) extended all possible financial help for the construction of this temple. On Mahashivratri day i.e. 10 March 1929, Shankracharya Dr Kurtakoti laid the foundation stone of this temple. Then Shivu Chavan (a Balmiki boy who was taught by Savarkar himself to read and write) rendered a heart-rending lyric composed by Savarkar. The priest of this temple was not necessarily to be Brahmin.

 

 

 

Prohibition of reconversion to Hinduism was one of the main problems of Hindu society during the period Savarkar lived. Savarkar believed that “to claim that the homecoming of those who have strayed into a foreign religion breeds hatred whilst reserving one’s own right to convert is like a thief who guards his right to steal and claims that hatred will breed if his victims take back what he has stolen from them.”Savarkar believed that Hindus who have been converted to other religions by hook or crook, have every right to reconvert themselves to Hinduism.According to him land conquered by Muslims through conversion far exceeds that won by them after fighting the Hindus.

 

 

According to Savarkar every Hindu imbibes along with his mother milk, the teaching that ‘tolerance to other religions is a noble sentiment.’ But no one ever teaches him the spirit of this teaching. If that other religions, also displays the same tolerance to our religion than tolerance to other religions is certainly a noble sentiment. But this principle cannot be applied without regard to circumstances. It cannot be applied to Muslims who consider the merciless destruction of Hindu dharma and extermination of kafirs (infidesls) to be a pious act or to Christians. Under those circumstances, reaction to such intolerant actions, showing ferocions intolerance to such atrocities, to those other religious is a truly noble sentiment.

 

 

He considered his thoughts in the social sphere to be even more important than his spectacular escape from the ship into the ocean. However, Savarkar was not an armchair reformer. His activities in the social sphere were not less revolutionary than his exploits in armed struggle. Former Prime minister of India Shri Atal Bihari Vaajpaye on the occasion of Veer Savarkar Jayanti in Pune in 2006 in his speech stated “ Veer Savarkar was the epitome of unapologetic, uncompromising Nationalism. But Savarkar’s patriotism was also adorned with his unique characteristics of social reformer.

 

 

He was not only a fierce nationalist but his nationalism was not blind to the short comings of his contemporary society. He had the guts to face, question and fight the negativities of society that were stopping Indians from attaining true freedom. Not a mare social reformer, he was the social sculpturist who addressed the flaws and had the vision to create the perfect Indian from it.

 

 

Ravi Prakash Arora

I.A.S Retd. UP Cadre

56, Phase 1, Vasant Vihar,

Dehradun, 248006

Uttarakhand

Mobile No. – 9838938044

E-mail – [email protected]