Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (28 May 1883 – 26 February 1966), popularly known as Veer Savarkar ,was an Indian independence activist, politician, lawyer, writer, and the formulator of the Hindutva philosophy.
As a response to the right wing Muslim league, Savarkar joined the Hindu Mahasabha and popularized the term Hindutva (Hinduness), previously coined by Chandranath Basu, to create a collective "Hindu" identity as an essence of Bharat (India).Savarkar was also a pragmatic practitioner of Hindu Philosophy. He advocated for validating religious myths/blind faith against the test of modern science. In that sense he also was a rationalist and reformer.
Savarkar's revolutionary activities began while studying in India and England, where he was associated with the India House and founded student societies including Abhinav Bharat Society and the Free India Society, as well as publications espousing the cause of complete Indian independence by revolutionary means. Savarkar published The Indian War of Independence about the Indian rebellion of 1857 that was banned by British authorities.
He was arrested in 1910 for his connections with the revolutionary group India House. Following a failed attempt to escape while being transported from Marseilles, Savarkar was sentenced to two life terms of imprisonment totaling fifty years and was moved to the Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, but released in 1921.
While in prison, Savarkar wrote the work describing Hindutva, espousing what it means to be a Hindu, and Hindu pride, in which he defined as all the people descended of Hindu culture as being part of Hindutva, including Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs. The words Hindu and Muslim was popularized as religions by the ruling British after their 1872 census, to replace "Hindi" which was the term used earlier to describe all people from India. (Hind).In 1921, under restrictions after signing a plea for clemency, he was released on the condition that he renounce revolutionary activities. Travelling widely, Savarkar became a forceful orator and writer, advocating Hindu political and social unity. Serving as the president of the Hindu Mahasabha (Hindu Grand-Assembly) political party, Savarkar endorsed the idea of India as a Hindu Rashtra (Hindu Nation) and opposed the Quit India struggle in 1942, calling it a "Quit India but keep your army" movement. He became a fierce critic of the Indian National Congress and its acceptance of India's partition. He was accused of the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi but acquitted by the court. He became popular with children in India in the 1970s due to a comic book published by Amar Chitra Katha. He resurfaced in the popular discourse after the coming of the BJP into power in 1998 and again in 2014 with the Modi led BJP government at the center.
The airport at Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar's capital was renamed Veer Savarkar International Airport in 2002..One of the commemorative blue plaques affixed on India House fixed by the Historic Building and Monuments Commission for England reads "Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, 1883-1966, Indian patriot and philosopher lived here".
"Calmness in preparation but boldness in execution, this should be the watchword during the moments of crisis." - Veer Savarkar