Veer Savarkar- A profile in courage

Exile in Paris

The trial and execution of Madan Lal Dhingra  , was traumatic for Veer Savarkar in many ways. It was not just a question of losing a close associate. It was the crackdown on him and his associates, that was really traumatic. The British never trusted Savarkar, and had always kept an eye on him. Now with the , the British targeted Savarkar even more vehemently than before. Savarkar was isolated, for his support to Dhingra, with most other nationalist leaders distancing themselves from him. The British Government shut down India House, Savarkar was forced out, and had to stay for some time at Bipin Chandra Pal's home in London.

However with increasing pressure by the British Government on him, Savarkar felt it better to leave London. No home to stay, starving on the streets, and followed by detectives at every stage, life was miserable for Savarkar. He wandered seeking shelter, but was turned out at every lodge. For some days, he sought refuge with a German lady there. Tired and weary, Savarkar left for Brighton, a small seaside town in England, where he stayed in the company of Niranjan Pal. This is where he composed one of his more well known poems.

Take me O Ocean! Take me to my native shores. Thou promised me to take me home. But thee coward, afraid of thy mighty master, Britain, thou hast betrayed me. But mind my mother is not altogether helpless. She will complain to sage Agastya and in a draught he will swallow thee as he did in the past.

Savarkar still continued his activities at Brighton, he had to get Dhingra's statement published and propagate it all over. He got the letter published in the Daily News through his friend David Garrett. Through Shyamji Varma, he got it published in various Irish and American papers, ensuring it reached out to as many as possible. Savarkar was now proving too hard to handle, for other Indian nationalist leaders. Gandhiji had earlier met Savarkar at India House in 1909, but disagreed with his methods. Savarkar believed in open conflict, as he once stated.

We feel no special love for secret organizations or surprise and secret warfare. We hold that whenever open preaching and practicing of truth is banned by enthroned violence, then alone secret societies and warfare are justified to combat violence by force.

Savarkar felt bitter and betrayed after his discussions with Gandhiji, who in turn attacked the revolutionaries and their methods. The ideological conflict between these two would define the contours of the freedom movement in the 20th century.

Savarkar spent his time in the library, reading up books, letters and original manuscripts in the British museum. Reading up on the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny, Savarkar began to pen what would be his magnum opus. Till then, the 1857 Revolt, was called as a Sepoy Mutiny by English scholars, historians. Savarkar called it the First War of Independence, and completed his book in Marathi on the landmark event. He sent the manuscript to his brother Baba Rao in Nashik, evading the British who tried their best to get their hands on it. However Savarkar managed to evade them, and get the book published in Holland in 1909. Soon the book was circulated all over, in China, Japan, India, America, mostly smuggled under a fake name, in this case Charles Dicken's Pickwick Papers. The translated version of this book would be an inspiration to future revolutionaries ranging from Bhagat Singh to Netaji Subash Chandra Bose.The idea of the I.N.A. and particularly the Rani of Jhansi segment seems to have originated from Savarkar's proscribed publication on the 1857 Mutiny-K.F.Nariman

P.K.Atre, the well known Marathi author and journalist, called Savarkar, the greatest Marathi writer since Dhyaneswar. After Dhingra was hanged, the threats to Savarkar grew even more strident. His supporters in India were persecuted and harassed, the stress was taking a toll on his health. He spent some time at Wales in a sanatorium, to recover from the breakdown. 

However the crackdown on his followers intensified, his brother was exiled to Cellular Jail, his family was destitute and homeless. The tragic news coming from India upset Savarkar, who was also found guilty in the assassination of Jackson at Nashik. George Clarke, the new Governor of Bombay, intensified the crackdown further, he was the Collector of Nashik earlier, which explained his stance towards the revolutionaries. Clarke, targeted Savarkar directly, and soon began to build up a case against him. With the warrant coming from Bow Street Court, London in 1910, charges were leveled against Savarkar. Of sedition, waging war against Her Majesty, distributing weapons illegally to his followers. His followers in India were arrested, tortured, some of them even turned informers.Savarkar's own son passed away, his elder brother Baba Rao was in Cellular Jail, his younger brother Ganesh was arrested in the Nasik Conspiracy case. 

And finally with his life now in danger, Savarkar left to Paris in 1910, from where he would carry out his activities again. Along with Madame Bhikaji Cama and Shyamji Verma, Savarkar continued his struggle against the British rule and continued to be as active as ever, writing articles for Talwar and began to create an awareness in the Indian community here about the need for India's independence.  However the fact that his followers and associates were being arrested and tortured in India, was weighing heavily on his mind. 

It was one of the most testing phases of his life, should he go back to London, and surrender to the British, that would effectively mean the collapse of the revolutionary movement he had built up there.  But at the same time, he felt an effective leader would be one who would put himself right in the forefront of the action, much like Shivaji who attacked Afzal Khan personally.  The answer to his dilemma came on a bright sunny morning in Paris, where he used to have his regular morning walks. As he walked across the green lawns, and the small ponds filled with duck and fish, his mind felt a sort of relaxation.  He reclined and began to glance through an Indian newspaper.  The first chapter of the Nashik conspiracy against Jackson was over,  and Kanhere was sentenced to death along with his colleagues. He glanced to see if his brother's name was there, and then it hit him straight.

What right did he have to enjoy the pleasures of the soothing garden around him, when his colleagues and associates were rotting in some damp, dark prison, just for him?  He had many a time preached about going to prison for the sake of the country, face torture, and yet here he was hiding away in comfort, while his associates suffered. It was then he took the most critical decision of his life, of leaving Paris for London.

On returning home, he called his colleagues Madam Cama, Lala Hardayal,  Shyamji Krishna Varma and showed them the newspaper. In spite of their best efforts to dissuade him from going back to London, he remained steadfast.  And on March 3, 1910 he boarded the train from Paris, and crossed over to England at the Channel. It was like walking straight back into the lion's den. But Savarkar was prepared to face the lion, that was wreaking havoc on his family members and followers. He did not want that others should suffer because of him.  As he sat in the train to London he was aware that he was being watched at every moment.  The moment he got down at Victoria Station, he was surrounded by the police from all sides and taken to a waiting room. Served with a warrant, and locked up in a small room, in the English cold.