No, they don’t. They have been terrified of him!
Not because he had controversial views. Every leader including and especially Gandhi, had them.
Not because he understood machinations of forces antithetical to Bharat. Even Ambedkar had that clarity. Savarkar, however, had effective counters against them.
They were petrified not because he could wield weapons. But he could inspire a revolution. As Reginald Craddock says in the movie, he could turn the tribals of Andaman into a fighting force. He goes on to say that Savarkar was the most dangerous man he ever met(documented).
Pen isn’t mightier than the sword. Pens don’t win battles, and swords don’t write poetry. But mighty is the hand that knows when to pick the pen & when to pick the sword. Savarkar was that hand.
There is a reason the left dominates the global narrative. It is their power of articulation. For decades, the global left has mastered the art of storytelling. Savarkar has been terrifying this cabal consisting of the west, a particular community and the left, because his ideas can disrupt the Hindu society and awaken a sleeping giant. The magic of his writing and poetry churns one’s soul and makes one act. There is a reason why Bhagat Singh and many other revolutionaries derived inspiration from his classic, The Indian War of Independence 1857.
Above all, Savarkar was visionary and a strategic mind. He could foresee events that no one could. Be it China or Lal Bahadur Shastri’s strange death, he foresaw threats with immaculate clarity. There is a reason why Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa remarked that had the nation listened to Savarkar and adopted the militarization policy propagated by him and prepared itself, it wouldn’t have been placed in such a predicament, referring to the debacle of the 1962 Indo-China War.
Lastly, for the illiterates calling him out for petitions, they should learn a thing or two about tactical retreat and sarcasm.
Originally published at https://histonerd.substack.com.
