“Who is Savarkar? And why is he so important?”
I asked this question to myself a few months ago when I heard this name repeatedly in various news articles regarding some controversy where the BJP and Congress had locked horns and were fighting. Incidentally, I came across the this article which aroused my interest even further and I deduced that he might have been an important person who like many others had been left out of the entire narrative regarding the Indian freedom movement.
When I look back at my school days and the history we were taught I don’t remember the name of Veer Savarkar very prominently and neither have I seen his frequent mention elsewhere. We do remember the names of Mangal Pandey, Bhagat Singh and Chandrasekhar Azad but not much of Savarkar.
My interest was further aroused when i came across this book and decided to read it to learn more about Savarkar.
After completing the book here are some notes –
- First of all it is a gripping narrative. There was never a dull moment in the whole book. So you can go for it.
- Kudos to the author Vikram Sampath for the painstaking research he carried out of the vast range of original archival documents across India and abroad. He has also provided ample amount of references that the reader can cross-verify if he so desires
- Another commendable aspect is that the author has not tried to thrust his opinion of Savarkar on the reader. He neither tried to glorify Vinayak Savarkar nor condemn his actions. He has presented the facts and historical events of that period in an objective manner
- The book is an eye opener. We get to know so much about the Indian struggle for Independence. This part of the history has been completely kept hidden from the Indian population and we were made to believe that India got the freedom only due to the non-violence movement of Gandhi ji.
- When you read this book you will realize that the armed struggle was not some random historical events that we read in school books. You will understand that the armed struggle was a very well coordinated movement and had spread to large parts of India and many countries abroad.
- The amount of surveillance British had to put on Savarkar is also an indication of how important he was at that point of time.
Read this book if you want to enhance your understanding of the Indian Struggle for Freedom. Highly recommended.
