Veer Savarkar and Ignorant Rahul Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi seems not to be interested in breaking the widely held notion regarding his ignorance of even most common of the facts. His recent comment in Loksabha on Savarkar at least confirms this. He went on holding Savarkar as an idol of BJP in contemptible manner. This reflects how unwilling he is to know India and its great personalities. Or else he must have been aware of what great feats Veer Savarkar’s life composed of. Savarkar was the first Indian student to have been expelled from the school because of patriotism; he was world’s first such barrister who was not awarded degree even after having passed the exams; he was the first Indian called so-called mutiny 1857 a first Indian freedom fighting. He is first such author of the world whose book ‘Indian War of Independence of 1857’ was confiscated [by British] even before its publication; and he was the first revolutionary who was awarded two life- imprisonments.

Along with successful poet, dramatist, novelist, story-writer and historian Veer Savarkarwas a great social reformer as well. Among many great works that he did the most prominent one was regarding social harmony. So as to remove the caste based untouchability in the religious affair, as also in social life, he initiated in great way the tradition of mass singing of devotional songs[ Bhajans], which had no place for caste-barrier of any kind. Touring different places of Maharashtra, he campaigned against the caste-based segregation then practiced in the schools.

So that not because of lack of money the so-called low-caste children may be deprived of attending the schools he collected the funds from the prosperous -class and, thus, provided the slates and chalks to them, and monetary incentives to their parents. Festivals like Diwali, Dasera, and MakarSankranti were the occasions for him to visit the localities resided by the castes like Mahars [low-caste people mainly found in Maharashtra], Charmkars [cobble s] and Valmikis [sweepers]. Not alone he did all this, notably. This work of his was comprised of the people hailing from the different upper castes.

Making the use of the local custom of Haldi-Kumkum [religious celebration, belonging particularly to Maharashtra, of the women-folk to mark their happy and long married life] for the cause of social-harmony, he with his wife,Yamunabai or Mai, used to organize the function of “Get-together” for the women folk of all castes, including those being called untouchables, to celebrate it together. Starting a pan-Hindu café, he employed a Mahar to look after it. Anybody coming to meet Savarkar was supposed to consume something from it from the hands of Mahar first. Most strange thing regarding untouchability was that Mahar used to think they would get defiled on taking meal sitting with Valmikis; and that Valmikies refused to sit with Charmkars while doing so. Means, with upper castes all were willing to sit to take meals, but when it came to sit with fellow untouchables the same willingness soon took the form ofmutual contempt.

To deal with this Savarkar started SarvjatiSahabhoj [mass-feast composed of all the castes] in a great way. One such grand Sahabhoj he once organized even in ‘PatitpavanMandir’, which he got it build in Ratnagiri with the purpose of bringing harmony in the realm of religion. This was the temple where all could enter to perform the religious rites. “That race which has no strength to protect its existing temples has forfeited its right to build new ones. The objective of this temple is to build that strength. Today, it is not just the Mahar, Chamar or the untouchable community that is degraded, the entire Hindu society, slave that it has become of foreign rule is degraded. I will call Him who raises this entire degraded Hindu nation as Patitpavan. I will call only Him who restores all that we Hindus have lost as Patitpavan”- was his view behind the concept of such temple. One can hold low-view about such a great devoted nationalist only when he is ungrateful to motherland.

Obviously, without getting upon his wn study so long as Rahul Gandhi keep uttering the script written by the sycophants around him he will get nothing in his hands but embracement.

By-Er.RajeshPathak