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Savarkar: Echoes of a Forgotton Past, Vol. 1: Part 1
Vikram Sampath, Pratik Sharma (Narrator)
4.59
1,094 ratings211 reviews
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Akhil Parekh
24 reviews5 followers
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April 12, 2020
Exceptionally detailed account of Savarkar. Was surprised that how little had been taught to us about him in schools. One of the exceptional freedome fighters with incisive writing. No wonder Britishers thought of him as the fearsome Indian freedom fighter. It's a must must read if you want to know more about Indian history and Savarkar's contribution to the freedom of India.
What I really liked about the book was it's very detailed account of a specific time frame. Its nicely edited (one of the big issues that I find with most Indian authors). And most importantly it's engaging and will never make you feel lost at any given point.
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Rohit Harip
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July 5, 2020
A detailed and well articulated Journey of Veer Savarkar who was constantly lynched by his antagonist. A systematic conspiracy anf defamations was run by pseudo liberals . This book exposes all these efforts and throw the light on the great work done this visionary.
A must read book and it should be in bookshelf.
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Lasic
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March 13, 2020
Unbiased book on Savarkar.
Must read.
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Prashant Deshpande
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September 7, 2019
Must read .... to understand complex phenomenon that was Savarkar.
Important book. It provides a refreshing look at Savarkar's life. Importantly, it goes in details of the Hindutva philosophy and his scientific approach. Although these writings were available in Marathi, author has done a great job translating them, thus making them available to non Marathi readers. Looking forward towards second half.....
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Amit Kachroo
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February 29, 2020
Well researched book of an icon, revolutionary whose ideas and vision are still valid in modern India. Can’t recommend any better read to anyone who wants to know Indian history from ground up perspective.
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Vinay
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September 11, 2019
The best u can get ur hands on
non-fiction
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Varun Tipnis
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August 29, 2020
The definitive book on the life and times of Swatantrya Veer Savarkar!
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Hemanth
73 reviews22 followers
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April 23, 2020
If Vikram Sampath’s biography of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar has to be reviewed in one word, it has to be, “unputdownable”. But why read a tome of around 600 pages about Savarkar? What is his relevance to modern India? Was he even a freedom fighter? He is surely no Gandhi or even a Nehru one may say. On the contrary, he is a much-maligned figure today and even a whiff of association with him or a word of appreciation for his ideas is bound to make one a pariah from the “intellectual circles”. The Author, therefore, has to be congratulated for daring to write a biography of the “much-maligned Savarkar”. This is also evident from the “Advance Praise for the Book” section, where many eminent persons have applauded the Author more for his courage in attempting to write such a book than the actual merits of the book.
Context: The Revolutionary movement
Coming back to the questions raised as to why one should read such a book, my answer is twofold: one, the official-clean version of Indian history continues and perpetuates the colonial prejudices ignoring all revolutionaries and two, even the supposedly independent/scholarly historic works till recently were written through a Marxist lens, with fond hopes of a revolution. Even these Author s have not covered such revolutionaries in depth.
Only recently, alternative voices have appeared on the Indian History scene who, though influenced by western models and ideas, still attempt to look at Indian history through the Indian lens. While we were taught that we have achieved freedom only because of Gandhi, Nehru and the Congress but now we know there were scores of others who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of this country.
The Congress-led independence struggle is given so much credit and coverage that hardly anyone has heard the names of Vasudev Balwant Phadke, Anant Laxman Kanhere, Chapekar brothers, Madan Lal Dhingra, Nani Gopal etc.,. They have conveniently been relegated to the dustbins of history. But the Author salvages them while setting the context for Savarkar’s foray into the freedom struggle and introduces readers to scores of underground revolutionaries, who refused to play within the supposedly legal contours of the British rule and sought to overthrow the British through an armed revolution without caring about sacrificing their lives.
Savarkar: The Revolutionary
Savarkar, himself was enamoured by revolutionaries like Garibaldi and Mazzini from a young age and set up “Abhinav Bharat” on the lines of Young Italy to fight the British. Being a voracious reader, he was quick to use his pen as a sword to inspire others to take up the revolutionary path. His book on the 1857 revolt titled “The Indian War of Independence” became a bible of sorts to the underground revolutionaries of India. The Author ’s meticulous research shows how this book influenced other revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh, Subhash Chandra Bose etc., with each of them getting the banned book printed to inspire their associates. In fact, as pointed out by the Author, Bhagat Singh was so inspired by Savarkar that he had made it compulsory for new recruits to his party to read Savarkar’s life story.
The Author also elaborately discusses Savarkar’s attempts at making bombs/smuggling weapons into India which give a fascinating and hitherto unknown insight into the courageous work of the underground revolutionaries who were spread across the world.
The Book is fairly neutral as it does not gloss over Savarkar’s role in the assassination of Curzon Wyllie by Madan Lal Dhingra in London as Dhingra was hugely inspired by Savarkar to commit the murder. The author also provides the reactions of moderates on such momentous events and compares them with the reactions of revolutionaries. When even the British press/officials were sympathetic to certain acts of the revolutionaries, the moderate Indian leaders toed the British line, sometimes more fervently than the British.
Heroic Escape, unfortunate arrest:
The most fascinating part of the book for me was Savarkar’s heroic escape from SS Morea while being deported to India from London. When the streamer was docked at Marseilles, France en route to India, Savarkar jumps from the toilet’s porthole and swims to the shore. Unfortunately and after a tiring chase, he was caught by the French police who promptly handed him over to the British police in spite of Savarkar’s request to be produced before a French Magistrate as he would be eligible for political asylum in France.
The Author ’s brilliant research shines through when he discusses the international law debacle that ensued on Savarkar’s arrest in France. As the handing over of Savarkar to the British police was severely condemned in the French press, the French government was pressurised to seek for Savarkar’s release. While Britain refused to release him, it agreed to refer the dispute to The Hague Arbitration Tribunal. After hearing all the parties including Savarkar, who was represented by Jean Longuet on the basis of a power of attorney signed by Savarkar, the Tribunal found no violation of international law as there was “no fraud or force to obtain possession of a man seeking refuge in the foreign territory”. As the author points out, the Hague award was severely condemned across Europe.
The Cellular Jail
Savarkar’s last hope was dashed by The Hague award upholding his arrest. On his return to India, a special Tribunal was set up to try Savarkar but without a jury or the right to appeal. In a botched-up trial, he was found to be guilty of “abetment of waging war” and was sentenced to “transportation for life” and his property was forfeited. In another trial, the same Tribunal held him to be guilty of abatement to murder and again sentenced him to “transportation for life”. In total, he was sentenced to 50 years of jail for his revolutionary activities in India and London and in spite of his request, the British refused to allow both the sentences to run concurrently. Thus, landing him in the Cellular Jail, Port Blair.
The Author recreates the Cellular Jail with a detailed description of the inmates who were incarcerated along with Savarkar. The harsh conditions, human rights violation by the British and Savarkar’s almost comical retorts to Jailor Bailee though heart-wrenching, make it a lively read. Savarkar’s successful attempt at reforming the jail system in the Cellular Jail is also discussed in detail.
Clemency Petition
Much noise is made about the Clemency Petitions submitted by Savarkar and on the basis of these Petitions, he is branded as a “British stooge” by his critics. The Author demolishes such allegations on the basis of historical evidence. He quotes Craddock’s report wherein Craddock, who had visited the jail to investigate its conditions, states that Savarkar has not expressed any regret or repentance but he had changed his views. Further, the Author bolsters his argument relying upon jail entries which show that Savarkar was punished several times for protesting and not cooperating with the Jail Authorities. Also, the fact that he was incarcerated for 12 long years i.e. more than any other freedom fighter shows the kind of threat he posed to the British and how far he was from being a British stooge.
Hindutva:
The Author has taken great pains to point out that Savarkar’s conception of Hindutva was not merely religious but political and geographical. The factors that went into the making of a Hindu, as per Savarkar, was common blood, common culture, common epics, common laws and rites, the Sanskrit language, common feasts and festivals, and the shared work of art and literature. Of great importance is Savarkar’s criticism of the caste system and his efforts to rid Hinduism of the caste system. In fact, Savarkar goes to the extent of arguing that the caste system is not a part of Sanatan Dharma and there can be no unity unless Hinduism is rid of the case system.
Review:
When biographies of such polarising figures are written they either become a hagiography or a polemic against the person, depending on the Author ’s bias. In the instant case, the Author is as neutral as a biographer could be trying to show Savarkar’s life without embellishing his actions to make it more palatable to his readers. This, however, is only the first part in the series and ends with Savarkar’s release from the Cellular jail. It would be interesting to see how Vikram Sampath deals with the second and the most controversial part of Savarkar’s life including his alleged involvement in Gandhi’s murder.
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Balraj Parmar
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June 28, 2021
Vinayak Savarkar is perhaps the most debated but least understood character of our times, On one side the congress-"left" intelligentsia consider him to be a traitor, a coward, a British stooge, and worse, on the other, the "right" wing, Hindutva supporters consider him a pure faultless icon devoid of human fallacies. As always the truth lies somewhere in between, and Mr. Sampath has presented a brilliant, neutral(or as neutral can be in my opinion), immaculately researched and lucidly written masterpiece.
I picked up this book after listening a talk by Mr. Sampath on YouTube and I am blown away by this, it is easily one of my all time favorite books now, and I will recommend this to everyone interested in History and Politics!
The book takes us on a journey from the tragic origins of Savarkar's life where he loses his parents early, to his establishing one of the earliest revolutionary secret societies in India in the form of "Mitra Mela" and "Abhinav Bharat". We follow Savarkar to his life in London where in the "India House" hostel he starts an inter continental revolution of sorts with an idea to liberate India by force. In this regard, the book serves not only as a biography of Savarkar, it also gives us a window to look at the revolutionary freedom movement in India with leaders like Savarkar, Madame Bhikhaji Cama, Shyamji Krishna Varma and others which is generally missing from our public discussion, education, and consciousness. I wish that the author writes a dedicated book on the revolutionary struggle as it is a story that deserves to be told in full.
We are exposed to different facets of Savarkar's life as an author, a social reformer, a revolutionary, and a rationalist with the help of primary sources and Savarkar's own writings which have been presented for reader's purview. Savarkar's role as a social reformer and his ideas and work related to caste discrimination is perhaps unknown, His views on caste are perhaps much closer to Ambedkar than Gandhi, Savarkar like Ambedkar calls for destruction of the caste system which is one of the shackles bounding Hindu society according to him. His views on widow remarriage, industrialization, food and dining, traveling overseas, cow worship and many other topics are much ahead of it's time and came as a surprise to me.
Coming to the two more contentious topics on which much of the criticism of Savarkar is based in popular perception: 1. "Mercy petitions" and 2. Hindutva, The author has presented the clemency petitions in full and explained the historical/legal context and while it seems the author has a particular view on this, he has left readers to form their opinion once they have the historical/legal context and read the petitions on their own.
The book explains the religious background of the Khilafat movement, Gandhi's support for it, Moplah massacre, development of Muslim league as a powerful force which is the background of "Essentials of Hindutva" the first book written in English by Savarkar where he developed and described his idea of Hindutva while he was jailed in Ratnagiri which is his counter to political Islam and Gandhi's ideas regarding Indian nation. Reader is free to agree or disagree/criticize with Savarkar's ideas but this background and context of the political reality of India when the ideas were written gives a better lens from which the idea should be analyzed rather than "cancelling" him without ever seriously reading/nitpicking and understanding him, as is often the case today where Instagram stories and Tweets serve as the source of news and opinions for a large young urban population.
We see Savarkar's spirit sort of breaking as well he and his brother goes through a long and unique suffering in the Cellular Jail for more than 10 years which is visible in the change in his writings, we also see changing politics in India in the backdrop and see Congress change from Hume to Gokhale and Tilak to finally Gandhi.
I eagerly look forward to the second part of this book which will tell the story of Savarkar after his release from jail, his work as a social reformer in Ratnagiri, and his role in Hindu Mahasabha. I am also interested in seeing author's findings in perhaps the most contentious issue in Savarkar's life which is his alleged role in assassination of Gandhi.
Overall, a highly recommended book if you are interested in History and Politics as Savarkar, or at least playing politics in his name is much more relevant today than ever, no matter what your political and ideological belief.
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Renuka Govind
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December 26, 2022
Disappointment, that's the word to describe this book. I heard Vikram Sampath on Seen and the Unseen podcast years ago and since then this book was on my TBR list. I went with great hope and expectation but was met with disappointment from the get-go.
I have grown up listening to stories of Savarkar, it is almost a right of passage for any marathi child. I know his name is surrounded in mires of controversies but regardless of that I cant help but weep whenever I listen to Ne Majasi Ne. It wont be far fetched to say, his stories along with Shivaji's propelled me to study history so one can only imagine my hopes from this book. Alas, it was all in vain.
Vikram Sampath has not written a book on Savarkar, rather than that it's an ode. According to him, Savarkar can do absolutely no wrong and even if he does, it must be due to constraints of his circumstances. Sadly, author does not see other contemporary personalities with the same lens. He ridicules Gandhi and others but continues to worship Savarkar. This book also suffers from bad editing. There are pages upon pages written about details that should not have been included in this particular book. At one point, I skipped an entire chapter just to see if it still made sense chronologically and it did. It felt as if I had not missed anything at all. I wondered the need to include entire poems and pieces of literature along with its translation. Why oh why was Marathi written in Latin script I will never understand, it infuriated me to no end because the translation followed immediately anyway. I would have liked to read the original marathi works in devanagiri.
These are just tip of the iceberg when it comes to this book. I went into it with clean slate but came out with the understanding that it is indeed a propaganda book for selected audience. Those who want to know the actual history of Savarkar might want to look into certain Marathi books than this poor attempt at history.
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Bhushan
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March 28, 2020
Well researched and interestingly written
The effort and the research that has gone into creating this masterpiece is pretty evident. This book not only covers the life of Swatantryaveer Savarkar but also gives a glimpse of India's freedom struggle.
A very inspiring book.
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Radhika Saimbi
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July 20, 2020
A few years back I remember my father in law talking about Savarkar and I just kept wondering, who is this freedom fighter about whom we were not taught in our history books!!
This biography is an eye-opener about Indian freedom history, set up from 1887-1924 this book will give glimpses of hardships and sacrifices of many unsung freedom warriors. And Savarkar was one of them about whom we rarely find anything in school books or in history. Born in a small village in Maharashtra and while growing up he had only one dream, of about complete freedom of India. He was one of a few people in Indian history who stood as solid as a rock in every situation.
This biography elucidates how Savarkar was an influential figure. I find him very realistic and the one with the enigmatic vision.
A must-read for every Indian to understand his ideologies and philosophies about Hindutva.
This review is a thanks note to the author who has done an incredible job in doing such intense research about Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. Vikram Sampat has articulated this book so well, it was definitely a page-turner for me.
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Harish Singhal
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February 26, 2021
WHAT A BOOK !
A Brilliant piece of meticulous research, painstakingly out together without biases or prejudice, Vikram sampath has written the finest biography he has done such an extraordinary research. Thank you Sir.
This book is about , a man, a rashtrawadi (without condition I must say), a poet, a freedom fighter, The Most dangerous man India has ever produced, a man who got 2 transportation of Life, The Father of Hindutva, A reformist, A thinker, A man who stood for common rights.
This book is about Vinayak, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar or I must say Swatantryaveer Savarkar. This is a name which evokes different emotions in different people.
The skeletons of Indian history are now tumbling out. The gap between reality and public perception in terms of the freedom struggle, is laid bare in this factual and non hagiographic account of the life of Vinayak. This book makes justice to this most dreaded and untouchable freedom fighter and class apart revolutionist of India. The book smashes the lie of mercy petition of Savarkar, which often is used to malign this legend.
I must not reveal anymore, I want you to find out the truth for yourself.
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Anurag Mishra
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July 22, 2020
It's rare in a life memoir of a great leader ( who is bound to be controversial to some segment) where story is portrayed in a non dramatic and non exaggerating way. The story is so well paced from his birth to his release from the yervada jail .with all the events from his young life ...to his inner poet and his inspirations ( some are real gems which could be read again and again) . The author has done a brilliant job in the presentation of the events ...with correct sequencing and describing the prelude wherever required. The author has not given much of his comments and has mentioned the reading of events all together could help to form a opinion and left to the reader instead of imposing it. The 12th chapter on caste is the best part of the book.
So much could be known from this book about savarkar apart from his famous "hindutva " ideologue . Looking forward to the next part.
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Girish
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December 19, 2020
Quite a coincidence that I finished reading this biography(covering 1883-1924 period) on Savarkar on the day of his birth anniversary.
Before starting this, I had several doubts. The biggest one was on the petitions written by Savarkar, and overall, I was curious about what has he done for India.
And after reading this book along with the references and other historical facts, all doubts are cleared. Along with brilliant insights into the lives of several other freedom fighters who have not found much-needed mention in our history books.
One point which is crystal clear to me is that he was NOT A COWARD. Only those with vested interests or no information of the history can call him a coward. He stands among those freedom fighters who faced cruelest of the systematic British atrocities. And yes, death looks way too cute in front of those atrocities.
If you get the chance, do read this book.
Enough said!!!!
#VeerSavarkar
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Prakhar Khandal
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September 29, 2019
Savarkar, Echoes from a Forgotten Past, is one of the finest biographies. Author has done an extensive research delving into almost every aspect of Savarkar's life. This oeuvre showed me a narrative, demystifying one of the most reviled and recondite personality expounding his principles, proclivities psyche and intellect. This memoir proffers everything be it Vinayak's hankering for a Hindu Rashtra or the much hated Hindutva, his dislike for casteism, untouchability and reconversion of Hindus.
Vikram sampath has consummated a very strenuous and unremitting task giving provenance for each epistle, book, archives and annals there was. Do read this masterpiece and you'll know why Vinayak wanted what he wanted.
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Deepanshu Aggarwal
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May 22, 2020
Vikram Sampath has done a wonderful job in this biographical work on Veer Savarkar. Writing about a controversial figure who's been unjustifiably demonized is never easy. Sampath's years of painstaking research into the life of this freedom fighter was spread across multiple continents wherein he went through reams of archival papers and documents stored in various countries' museums, libraries, archives etc. Not surprised to see his research resulting in as wonderful and factual a book as possible. He's successfully demolished the anti-Savarkar rhetorical narrative of India's left-'liberal' establishment with simple hard facts.
A must read book for students and others interested learning about India's anti-colonial movement, history, ideology.
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Anirudh Naveen
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April 24, 2020
Absolutely fascinating. This is a must-read in today's times when there is a tendency to fit erstwhile leaders into contemporary discourse, and Savarkar has been maligned extensively. This book gives a wonderful portrayal of the man's national outlook and concerted efforts at passionately arousing the populace to the call of freedom. As Sampath wonderfully puts it, Savarkar exemplifies the proverb- Pen is mightier than the sword. A must read for all Indians. Sampath has done a service to Bharat🙏
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Vijaya Singh
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March 3, 2021
Veer Savarkar is one of India's most influential and debated freedom fighter. With the recent debate around Hindutva and Savarkar's ideologies i wanted to know more about him and his ideologies. This book by Vikram Sampath is so well researched and i have begun to admire Savarkar as a leader, thinker, orator and a great strategist.
It's a shame that there is so little that people know about him. We need to have more such books to talk about our great leaders whose stories and contributions have not been spoken off much.
A must read and i am eagerly waiting for the 2nd volume.
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Lsharathkumar
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July 11, 2020
Savarkar! A name that evokes different emotions in different people! The question is why? To seek answers to this, Dr.Vikram Sampath has embarked on a long arduous journey through Indian history. Traversing through roads that few have dared to traverse. This is a brilliant objective analysis of Veer Savarkar's life upto 1924. I feel every Indian should read this book. I refuse to reveal anymore, for I want you to find out the truth for yourself!
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Gauri Pande
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January 6, 2020
A brillIant treatise exploring the life of a much maligned , much misunderstood patriot . Just as the prologue says ‘ all works of history are interim reports , each generation looks back and drawing from its own experience presumes to find patterns that illuminate both past and present ‘ - this book will go a long way in aiding the churn that is underway in political thought in the country .
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DR.ABHISEK MONDAL
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July 19, 2020
Really loved it... Eagerly waiting for the second part of the book..Read my first biography...Happy to know about veer savarkar ji one of the greatest son of India...The leftist biased historian had made us forget about him... thanks Vikram sampat ji...hardcore research had been done...also liked the photos attasted at last....
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Shivaramakrishnan.V
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August 22, 2020
Excellent fact based book.
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Saravana Sastha Kumar
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November 16, 2020
What can I say? ...I've wasted 43 years not knowing this man. Thank you Vikram Sampath. Awaiting volume 2.
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Yagnik Kalariya
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July 14, 2020
I have not known about Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the freedom fighter whose life history somehow got buried or not explored in detail. This book by Vikram Sampath has shown many aspects of Savarkar. I think one should read it to know the struggle Savarkar has gone through for our country and for us. Waiting for the second book from Vikram.
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Srinivas Nidugondi
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May 1, 2020
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The best biography I have read. With a brilliant narrative the author captured the life of this great man wonderfully - it’s a shame that the story has not been told earlier
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Ankit
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March 8, 2020
To get the real perspective on Sarvarkar away from the bits and pieces available in mainstream media, this is a must read
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Swapnil Panditrao
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March 29, 2020
Exceptional!! This is the book that needs to b translated in every indian language and must be read by every Indian.
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Chetana
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June 24, 2020
There're very few biographies on Savarkar so I thought I'd give this a shot. The book was more or less a white-washed eulogy of Savarkar. He's portrayed as an uncomplicated and sensible political figure, and the author is annoyingly selective about what he chooses to share (e.g. "Savarkar was a handsome, sharp, smart, young man" x 100) and what he doesn't (e.g. Savarkar's bigoted, communal writings post-1924). What was interesting though was the book sheds light on an aspect of history I had never encountered. I didn't, for instance, know shit about Savarkar and Jinnah's joint opposition to Gandhi's Khilafat Movement or Savarkar's initial support for separate electorate system. Got me wanting to know more about his intellectual trajectory...but without the glorification, of course.
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