Category: Savarkar: Defining Moments
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In the history of India’s Swadeshi movement, it was Vinayak Damodar (Veer) Savarkar, not ‘Mahatma’ Gandhi, who first organized a public bonfire of foreign goods. A fact which gets often sidelined or ignored by ‘biased INC’ historians. In 1905, when he was in his early twenties, Vinayak Damodar (Veer) Savarkar became a passionate student leader…
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The meeting between M.K. (Mahatma) Gandhi and Vinayak Damodar (Veer) Savarkar in Ratnagiri in 1927 was one of those rare encounters in Indian history where two towering, yet ideologically opposed, figures came face to face. Though often overlooked, this event offers a unique window into the clash of philosophies that would shape the future of…
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In the historiography of India’s struggle for independence, references typically focus on imprisonment, exile, or capital punishment as instruments of colonial repression. Less frequently noted, however, is the annulment of academic qualifications as a form of political sanction. The case of Vinayak Damodar (Veer) Savarkar (1883–1966) stands out in this regard: he became the first…
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On the morning of July 8, 1910, Vinayak Damodar (Veer) Savarkar managed to escape from his British guards aboard the steamer S.S. Morea, anchored in the French harbor of Marseille. After a brief swim from the docked ship to the quay, he set foot on French soil. Savarkar’s Plan Behind the Escape By reaching the…
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Vinayak Damodar (Veer) Savarkar’s escape attempt at the French port of Marseilles on July 8, 1910, remains one of the most daring and dramatic episodes in the history of Indian freedom fighters in Europe. Years later, in his final press interview, Savarkar himself described it as the most memorable event of his life. What unfolded…
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On 1 July 1910, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was removed from Brixton Prison under the heaviest of guards. His fate had been sealed: the British authorities had resolved to send him back to India to face trial in connection with revolutionary activities and the Nasik Conspiracy Case. For this purpose, he was placed aboard the French…
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The dramatic London chapter of Vinayak Damodar (Veer) Savarkar’s life reached a decisive turning point in March 1910. On Sunday, 13 March 1910, Savarkar was arrested at Victoria Station while waiting for a train. For months, the British authorities had been keeping him under close surveillance, suspecting his involvement in revolutionary networks that had sprung…
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On Sunday, 13 March 1910, Vinayak Damodar (Veer) Savarkar’s revolutionary mission in Europe met a dramatic turning point. That evening, as he arrived by train from Newhaven (via Paris) at Victoria Station in London, he was arrested by officers of the Metropolitan Police under charges of sedition, conspiracy, and waging war against the British Crown.…
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Vinayak Damodar (Veer) Savarkar’s time in Paris (1909–1910) marked a decisive chapter in his revolutionary journey. It was a period of exile, reflection, and renewed determination, shaped by both personal hardship and the escalating storm of the Indian independence struggle. A Period of Strain and Loss The latter part of 1909 was fraught with turmoil…
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On 9 June 1906, Vinayak Damodar (Veer) Savarkar departed Bombay aboard the S.S. Persia, embarking on a voyage that would decisively shape both his intellectual trajectory and his role in the Indian nationalist movement. While framed outwardly as a student’s pursuit of legal studies in England, the journey was imbued with deeper significance: it marked…