‘Gandhi advised Savarkar to file mercy petition,’ Rajnath Singh’s statement has set liberal tails on fire

Speaking at the launch of the book ‘Veer Savarkar: The Man Who Could Have Prevented Partition’ written by Uday Mahurkar and Chirayu Pandit, India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh riled up the leftist cabal, with his statements that Veer Savarkar filed mercy pleas on Mahatma Gandhi’s suggestion.

Calling Savarkar a ‘freedom fighter’, Singh said that the former’s commitment for freedom was so resilient that the British sentenced him to life imprisonment, twice. “Lies were spread about Savarkar repeatedly. It was spread that he filed many mercy petitions for seeking his release from jails…. It was Mahatma Gandhi who asked him to file the mercy petitions…,” said the union Minister.

He further added that ignoring or admonishing Savarkar was not pardonable, “You may have a difference of opinion about our heroes but to have one perspective about them is not right. Savarkar was a great freedom fighter. Ignoring him and insulting him is not pardonable. He will always be a great freedom fighter. Some people who have certain ideologies raise questions on Savarkar. Twice he was sent to lifetime imprisonment by the British. He used to believe in discussion,”

A riled-up left ecosystem

However, the entire left-liberal machinery that doesn’t waste a heartbeat in canceling Veer Savarkar, jumped on the bandwagon and started discrediting Rajnath Singh for his statements. While some leftist ‘sheeps’ claimed that Savarkar wrote the first mercy petition in 1911 and that Gandhi returned to India in 1915, they conveniently sidestepped the discussion that Gandhi did indeed write the letters suggesting Savarkar to file the mercy petition.

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In a letter published in “Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi” volume 19, page 348, Mohandas Gandhi writes to Narayanrao Damodar Savarkar and states, “DEAR DR. SAVARKAR, I have your letter. It is difficult to advise you. I suggest, however, your framing a brief petition setting forth the facts of the case bringing out in clear relief the fact that the offence committed by your brother was purely political. I suggest this in order that it would be possible to concentrate public attention on the case. Meanwhile as I have said to you in an earlier letter, I am moving in the matter in my own way.”

Shifting goalposts

Marxist-Islamist historian Irfan Habib, notorious for bending according to his convenience, tweeted, “Yes, monochromatic history writing is really changing, led by the minister who claims Gandhi asked Savarkar to write mercy petitions. At least it is accepted now that he did write. No documentary evidence needed when minister makes a claim. New history for New India.”

However, historian, Vikram Sampath took Irfan to the cleaners with his razor-sharp rebuttals and had a field day preaching him for shifting goalposts.

“The chronology of your own tweets, shifting of goal posts, selective quoting & peddling lies in public amply proves to any sane person abt who is misinterpreting history here. Other than ad hominem attacks against me there’s no justification you can give. I feel sorry for you!

Veer Savarkar — a true freedom fighter

Veer Savarkar was a freedom fighter and one of the pioneers of the Hindutva ideology, however, his name and his contribution to the Indian society continue to give a harrowing time to the left-liberals of the country. A collective, ongoing effort has been orchestrated to disparage Savarkar and omit his contributions from the history books.

A freedom fighter, nationalist, thinker, author, and poet, Swatantra Veer Savarkar is truly a source of inspiration for crores of Indians. Such was his aura and ability to inspire the masses that the British captured him and sent him to Cellular Jail (Kalapaani) in Andaman from 1911 to 1921 where he faced unspeakable acts of torture and atrocities. For many years, he didn’t even know that his brother Ganesh was interned in the same jail.

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After enduring incessant torture for 10 years, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was transferred to the Ratnagiri prison in 1921, under an amnesty order issued by the then Emperor of India, the British King George V. He spent three more years in that prison until he was finally released on conditional terms in 1924. He wasn’t allowed to participate politically until 1937.

Despite what the leftist cabal believes, Veer Savarkar was and will always be remembered by this grateful nation as a patriot who led the country through troubled times, and as a champion of true democracy.