RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Tuesday slammed the critics of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, saying the freedom fighter was defamed as part of an organised campaign after Independence.
Bhagwat said those critical of Savarkar will have Swami Vivekananda, Dayanand Saraswati and Swami Aurobindo as their next targets.
“The target of these critics is not the individual, but the ideology of 'dharma' that defines India's cultural history. Our definition of 'dharma' (religion) is a principle that unites,” Bhagwat said.
“Our method of worship is different, but the ancestors are the same. They are very patriotic. Those who went to Pakistan during partition, did not get respect there,” he said.
He was speaking after releasing the book ‘Veer Savarkar: The Man Who Could Have Prevented Partition’ authored by Information Commissioner Uday Mahurkar and Chirayu Pandit.
The RSS supremo said Savarkar had referred to the first war of Independence in 1857 and a united fight of the saffron flag of Hindus and the star crescent of Muslims against the British.
“Our two biggest setbacks in that period were the failure to maintain this Hindu-Muslim unity and joining the Khilafat movement,” Bhagwat said.
Earlier, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh accused Savarkar's detractors of “spreading lies” about the mercy petitions filed by him with the British government.
“His detractors fail to realise that Savarkar had filed the mercy petitions at the advice of Mahatma Gandhi. He did so as his right as a prisoner and not as a stooge of the British government as is made out to be,” Singh said.
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(Published 12 October 2021, 17:48 IST)
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