Savarkar’s surrender to the British The conditions in the prisons of the Andamans were no doubt harsh but a few pa-triots faced it courageously. But Savarkar was not one among them. He appealed for clemency, first in 1911 and then again in 1913, the latter during the visit of Sir Reginald Craddock. In a letter dated November 14, 1913 Savarkar (convict no. 32778) wrote to the Home Minister of the Government of India: “I hereby acknowledge that I had a fair trial and just sentence. I heartily abhor meth-ods of violence resorted to in days gone by and I feel myself duty bound to uphold law and constitution [British] to the best of my powers and am willing to make the re-form [i.e., the Montague-Chelmsford reforms of 1919 which did not satisfy the de-mands of the nationalist movement] a success in so far as I may be allowed to do so in future” (From facsimile of Savarkar’s letter, Frontline, April 7, 1995. Italics added). We read again: “If the government in their manifold beneficence and mercy release me, I for one cannot but be the staunchest advocate of constitutional progress and loyalty to the English government which is the foremost condition of that progress […] Moreover, my conversion to the constitutional line would bring back all those mislead young men in India and abroad who were once looking up to me as their guide […] The Mighty alone can afford to be merciful and therefore where else can the prodigal son return but to the parental doors of the government” (From facsimile of Savarkar’s lettter, Frontline, April 7, 1995. Italics added). In response to the petition, the British Government released him under the condition that he will stay in Ratnagiri district and will seek the permission of the government to leave the district and also that he will not engage in any public or private political activi-ties without the consent of the government. The period of conditions lasted till 1937. It is important to note here that Savarkar in his letter acknowledged that he had a fair trial. He also accepted the conditions set by the British without any compunction. He stated that if released he would be a staunch advocate of the British policies. The lan-guage of his letter is clearly servile and it brings out the coward in him. In 1920 Gandhi wrote in Young India about Savarkar’s attitude towards the British: “They [the Savarkar brothers] both state unequivocally that they do not desire inde-pendence from the British connection. On the contrary, they feel that India’s destiny can be worked out in association with the British” (The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, vol. 17, 462.Henceforth CWMG). Thus Savarkar ‘forfeited’ his claim to be a revolutionary freedom fighter and bartered the country’s independence to obtain his own personal freedom. This act of surrender to the British alone is sufficient to obliterate all the revolutionary feats attributed to him by his contemporary followers.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Aug 2013 19:07:54 +0000
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