Veer Savarkar Jayanti

On May 28, 2021, country paid tribute to Veer Savarkar, a famous Indian independence activist, lawyer, politician, and writer. Born on May 28, 1883, in Bhagur, a small village near Nashik in Maharashtra, Veer Savarkar was also known as Swatantryaveer Savarkar.

This renowned freedom fighter was also the President of Hindu Mahasabha from 1937 to 1943 and founded a secret organization called Abhinav Bharat Society. So in this article, we will discuss everything you need to know about Veer Savarkar Jayanti 2022 that will help you during your UPSC preparation.

There are other important days and dates of national and international importance, integral from the UPSC prelims and other government exams.

Everything You Need to Know About Vinayak Damodar Savarkar

Here are some facts you must know about Veer Savarkar.

Early life

• On May 28, 1883, Veer Savarkar was born in a Hindu Marathi family in Nashik, Maharastra.
• He got the nickname ‘Veer’ for his bravery from a young age.
• Veer Savarkar was famously known as Swatantryaveer Savarkar, and he was a well-known politician, social reformer, freedom fighter, and an institutor of Hindutva doctrine.
• Veer Savarkar was profoundly impacted by his elder brother Ganesh Savarkar in his initial childhood days.

Also, read about V D Savarkar’s Death – [February 26, 1966], relevant from the IAS exam perspective.

Contribution to Freedom Struggle and Association With Free India Society and Abhinav Bharat Society

• Veer Savarkar established a secret institution called Abhinav Bharat Society in 1904 with his elder brother, Ganesh Damodar Savarkar.
• He established student institutions like Free India Society and was associated with India House.

Propagation of the Idea of Swadeshi and Armed Revolt Against British

• Veer Savarkar propagated the concept of Swadeshi as he was against foreign good. In 1905, he decided to burn all the foreign goods in a bonfire on the auspicious Dussehra day.
• Due to his revolt against the British Government, he got arrested in the year 1909 against the charges of conspiring an armed rebellion against the Morley-Minto reform.
• He was convicted to two life sentences, implying 50 years in the cellular prison of Andaman and Nicobar Island, also known as Kala Pani punishment, in 1911.
• In the year 1924, the British Government released Veer Savarkar under stringent constraints of not participating in political activity for five years.
• During his fifty years of imprisonment, Veer Savarkar wrote a famous book named “The History of the War of Indian Independence” regarding the guerilla war schemes used in the 1857 revolt of Sepoy Mutiny.

Also Read:

Veer Savarkar as the President of Hindu Mahasabha

• Veer Savarkar was a nationalist and one of the most influential personalities of the Hindu Mahasabha, a Hindu political party and nationalist community.
• He also acted as the President of the Hindu Mahasabha for over seven years and supported the concept of a Hindu Rashtra (Hindu country).

Institution of Mitra Mela and Untouchability

• During his teenage years, Veer Savarkar created a youth institution, Mitra Mela (Group of Friends), which worked towards bringing revolutionary and national ideas.
• Apart from this, Veer Savarkar initiated one of the most influential social reform campaigns against untouchability in India. He created the Patit Pavan Temple in the Ratnagiri district to permit entry to all Hindus, including people from the Dalit community.

Veer Savarkar’s Ideology and Opinions on Quit India Movement

• Veer Savarkar was instrumental in developing the concept of a Hindu country before India’s Independence.
• He further advocated rationality and atheism and also disliked traditional Hindu opinions, and even banished the idea of cow worship as superstitious. In addition, Veer Savarkar resisted the famous Quit India Movement of 1942.

Death

• In the year 1964 when Veer Savarkar expressed his desire to attain Samadhi and began a hunger sit-down on February 1, 1966, and departed on February 26, 1966.
• He believed that his goal in life got accomplished as India attained Independence.
• In the year 2002, the Port Blair airport at Andaman and Nicobar Islands got renamed as Veer Savarkar International Airport to commemorate the good works of Veer Savarkar.

Aspirants can visit the linked article and get details about the upcoming government exams that comprise current affairs and general awareness as an important topic in the syllabus.