Swatantryaveer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar’s birth anniversary was celebrated on 28 May 2019. On this occasion Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to VD Savarkar and said that the nation will always remember sacrifices made by Veer Savarkar during the freedom struggle.
About V D Savarkar (1883 – 1966)
- Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, popularly called as Veer Savarkar was born on 28 May 1883 near Nasik in Maharashtra.
- He was a freedom fighter and called 1857 revolt as the first war of independence.
- Organizations: founded by him include Abhinav Bharat Society (in Pune) and Free India Society (in London).
- Literary work: He has written “Joseph Mazzini- Biography and Politics.” He has published “The Indian War of Independence” about Indian rebellion of 1857 (also called The First War of Independence and “Sepoy Mutiny” of 1857). Savarkar wrote the book ‘Hindutva: who is hindu?’ (during his prison term in Ratnagiri Jail)
- He was not amongst the founder of Hindu Mahasabha, but did serve as its president from 1937 to 1943. He was a member of India House.
- He opposed the Quit India Movement struggle (in 1942) calling it a “Quit India but keep your army” movement.
- He endorsed the ideal of India as a ‘Hindu Rashtra’ and is also credited with developing Hindu nationalist political ideology of ‘Hindutva’.
- In his honour the airport at Port Blair, capital of Andaman and Nicobar has been named as Veer Savarkar International Airport.