Vinayak Damodar Savarkar birth anniversary: 10 interesting facts about the social reformer

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Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, also known as Veer Savarkar, was born on May 28, 1883 in Bhagpur village near Nasik in Maharashtra. He had three siblings -- brothers Ganesh, Narayan and sister Maina. Veer Savarkar earned "Veer" nickname at the age of 12.

He is remembered for coining the term 'Hindutva' which speaks of the Indian culture and religious identity. His writings and speeches ignited a sense of national pride and inspired countless individuals to fight for independence.

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Savarkar's life was full of ups and downs. He was instrumental in forming the idea of a Hindu nation before the Independence. He also championed atheism and rationality and also disapproved orthodox Hindu belief.

He was elected as the president of Hindu Mahasabha in 1937 and served the post till 1943. Savarkar led the party into a coalition with the Muslim League in order to fight the 1937 Indian Provincial Elections against the Congress.

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar's birth anniversary, let's take a look at some lesser-known facts about him:

• In 1903, in Nashik, Savarkar and his older brother Ganesh Savarkar founded the Mitra Mela, an underground revolutionary organization, which became Abhinav Bharat Society in 1906.
• Inspired by Lokmanya Tilak's appeal to boycott British goods and propagate the idea of ‘Swadeshi', he burnt out all the foreign goods on Dussehra in 1905. In 1911, he was sentenced to 50 years imprisonment in Kala Pani, the cellular jail of Andamans.
• He was released from Jail in 1924 under strict conditions of not taking part in politics for five years.
• Savarkar was against social ills like casteism and untouchability. He helped children from lower castes receive formal education and established a temple where all castes could pray together. He wrote an essay titled Seven Shackles of the Hindu Society (1931) where he denounced caste-based restrictions in Hindu scriptures.
• In his book Hindutva, Savarkar advocated the idea of two separate nations for Hindus and Muslims. The theory was later passed as a resolution by the Hindu Mahasabha in 1937.
• In 1964, Veer Savarkar wished to attain Samadhi as India had already gotten independence. He started a hunger strike on 1 February 1966 and breathed his last on 26 February 1966.
• In 2002, the Port Blair airport in Andaman was named Veer Savarkar International Airport.