Taking the cause of Hindutva and nationalism further, the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government has decided to celebrate the birth anniversary of Veer Savarkar on May 28 as the ‘Swatantryaveer Gaurav Din’. Shinde made the formal announcement on Tuesday.
“To commemorate the momentous occasion, many events and activities shall be organised to highlight Veer Savarkar’s huge contribution to India’s freedom movement, propagate his ideology, and focus on his campaigns for social reforms and abolition of untouchability, all over the state,” Shinde said.
A revolutionary freedom fighter and Hindutva ideologue, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (May 28, 1883 -February 26, 1966), is a revered icon in Maharashtra. Next month will mark his 140th birth anniversary.
After the new Shiv Sena-BJP government came to power, it decided to organise events at Savarkar’s birth and death anniversaries.
It may also be pointed out that after the Election Commission legitimised the Shinde faction as the real Shiv Sena and allotted them the bow and arrow symbol, they reiterated the demand for conferring Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honour on Savarkar and made a formal request to the BJP-led Centre led by Narendra Modi.
After Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s repeated comments on Savarkar, Shinde and Fadnavis had led Swatantryaveer Savarkar Gaurav Yatras in the state.
A grand theme park dedicated to Savarkar would be built at Bhagur in Nashik district, his birthplace.
A tourism circuit involving places like his birthplace Bhagur in Nashik, his hostel room at Fergusson College in Pune, and a temple called Patit Pawan Mandir that he established in Ratnagiri district, the Swatantryaveer Savarkar Rashtriya Smarak in Mumbai among others has also been launched.
From May 21 to 28, to observe Savarkar's birth anniversary, the government has planned ‘Veer Bhoomi Parikrama’.
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