Out of Grave
After World War I in 1918, there was a systematic demand for release of all political prisoners. In December 1919, all provincial govts opened their prisons. Many political and ordinary prisoners were set free from provincial and the Cellular Jail too. But the Govt of India held S’s release incompatible with public safety. S had passed through a critical illness in 1919. He was in the jail hospital on deathbed. But he had improved. Another woman S admired was Madame Cama.
S bore all the pain silently. But it was too much to handle. He often fell into dead faints, body burnt with constant fever. Now death began to hover over his head. Yet with a peaceful mind and composed feelings S invoked death. The jail life of any other Indian leader pales into insignificance compared to S’s horrible life at Andamans. Yet he faced jail life with great fortitude. The permanent effect of this jail life was seen later in S’s health, lonely disposition and his aloofness from society.
Years passed by. The death of Tilak in 1920 shocked all, the prisoners observed a day’s fast in the memory of the Father of Indian Unrest. Tilak’s disappearance saw the sudden appearance of Gandhi. Writing on the Movement, Shri J C Ker, a member of the ICS observed “The death of Tilak in 1920 removed Gandhi’s strongest rival for the Hindu leadership and early in 1921 the campaign of Gandhi & Ali Brothers was in full swing”. S attacked the queer definition of non-violence and truth and said that Khilafat would be an affat – calamity. And so it was the first time that religion and politics were mixed in India, in the opinion of many, was the first step towards the creation of Pakistan.
In March 1921, K V Rangaswamy, member of the Council of State moved a resolution to extend amnesty to S. He offered to stand security to assure the govt of his good intentions and honest motives. S soon left for India. The Savarkars were taken to Alipore Jail. Then S was taken to the Ratnagiri jail via Mumbai. In August 1921, the Khilafat movement ended in the Moplah rebellion in which thousands of Hindus were raped, butchered, converted. Yet Gandhi regarded these butchers as god fearing Muslims. Now the khilafat pathans rioted in the Ratnagiri jail and the Hindu prisoners were saved as they had been forewarned by S.
It was here that S wrote his immortal Hinduvta, was published under the pen name Mahratta. The whole movement for Hindu nation and Hindu polity is based on this book which defines the principles of Hindu nationalism. The book was both a result of S’s deep reflection and an intense reaction to Gandhism, which had surrendered to the anti-national demands of the Muslim reactionaries and had helped, feed Muslim fanaticism.
Said noted Arya Samaji leader and leading light of the Shuddhi Movement, Swami Shraddhananda “It must have been one of those Vedic dawns indeed which inspired our seers with new truths that revealed to the author of Hinduvta this Mantra, this definition of Hinduvta”.
In 1923 at the 3rd Ratnagiri District Political Conference, S unconditional release was demanded. Things began to change. The government agreed to release S conditionally. S accepted the conditions and signed the terms on 27/12/1923. Thus S was released on 06/01/1924, the terms read – 1) that S shall reside in Ratnagiri district and shall not go beyond its limits without govt permission. 2) He will not engage privately or publicly in any political activities without the consent of the govt for a period of five years.
The political situation in India was getting complicated since 1915. The Liberals had seceded away from the Congress while the Left Wing was growing powerful. On the eve of the Lucknow session the shrewd elements in the Muslim League adopted the Congress idea of self-government. To win over the Muslims, the Congress made a pact with the league agreeing to communal read separate electorates for Muslims. After Tilak’s death things got complicated. The pact reduced the political problem to a simple equation. If the Muslim League represented the Muslims, whom did the Congress represent? The Montagu-Chemlsford Reforms were declared in Aug 1917. The Congress was disappointed, the Brits yielded to Muslim demands fearing a Muslim rising. The Rowlatt Act passed n 1919 gave the govt the power to arrest and imprison any individual without trial. Martial law reigned in Punjab followed by the Jallianwalla Baug massacre and Gandhi’s failed non-cooperation and Khilafat movement. After its failure Sarojini Naidu declared that Gandhi should not needlessly interfere in politics. He is saint and he should be satisfied with the homage people paid to him.