Shri Modi pays rich tributes to Veer Savarkar on his Punya Tithi
'When many called 1857 a Sepoy Mutiny, Veer Savarkar called it the 'First War of Independence'.
On Tuesday 26th February 2013 Shri Narendra Modi paid rich tributes to Veer Savarkar on his Punyatithi. Shri Modi tweeted,” 'When many called 1857 a Sepoy Mutiny, Veer Savarkar called it the 'First War of Independence'. Tributes to the legend on his Punyatithi.”
Last year, in May Shri Modi had released the Gujarati DVD of a film on Veer Savarkar. During his speech Shri Modi praised Veer Savarkar’s vision and spoke about how Veer Savarkar had envisioned today’s problems. Shri Modi had also said that Savarkar’s contribution to the nation was great but we haven’t been able to give anything in return.
Additionally, Shri Modi had shed light on a side of Veer Savarkar which has generally been ignored in mainstream historical discourse. Shri Modi spoke about Veer Savarkar’s contribution as a social reformer and how he fought for temple entry for Dalits in Ratnagiri. In 1938, he was in Baroda when Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad heard him from his car. He got so inspired that he called Savarkar the next day and interacted with him on Dalit emancipation.
Shri Narendra Modi stressed on the need to present the true history of India’s freedom struggle before the public. Shri Modi had said that there were several great men who were not treated well by history. He had said, “Equally unfortunate is the fact that there were many great men who tried to end social untouchability but instead became victims of political untouchability. Veer Savarkar is a prime example of this.”
