P L Deshpande
in Andaman cell.
By Prem Vaidya
Shree Prem Vidya
worked for the Films Division of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of
Government of India from 1954 to 1985. He rose from being a Cameraman to the
position of Producer/Director. His greatest contribution was production of the
documentary on Veer Savarkar, released in 1983. While shooting for the
documentary on Savarkar on the
Deshpande was a
man of many talents; actor, writer, orator, film director and musician. He
acutely observed peculiarities of human behaviour. He was awarded the title Padma
Bhushana by Government of India. In 1974 he was elected President of Marathi
Sahitya Sammelan and also President of Marathi Natya Sammelan in the same year.
Deshpande and his
talented wife Sau Sunita donated hundreds of thousands of rupees to charities
without seeking any publicity.
However, P.L was
obsessed with Gandhi and Nehru. Just as die-hard communists saw nothing wrong
in Stalin, P.L. saw nothing wrong in Gandhi and Nehru. During the election
campaigns of 1945/46, Gandhi and Nehru assured Hindu voters that they will
never agree to partition of
Deshpande was
unmoved by the horrors of partition and felt nothing of the treachery of Gandhi
and Nehru. He never visited refugees who fled from
It had been
Savarkar’s misfortune that his work, foresight and thoughts were appreciated by
Hindus some 20 to 30 years later
Against this
background it was a great surprise that in 1983 Deshpande aged 64 should speak
so eloquently about Savarkar. Hence the title of the article – A true story of
the last century. Let us see what Prem Vaidya tells us about that episode -
By Prem Vaidya
A true story of
the last century.
In life, one
always experiences the extreme difficulties in pursuing a good cause. However,
when faced with darkness from all sides, one also experiences some wonderful
unforgettable moments.
In November 1977,
I was asked to prepare an outline for a documentary film on Veer Savarkar.
Unfortunately the work never got started. Then came Mrs Gandhi back in power in
January 1980 and surprisingly on
I was asked to
start producing a documentary on Savarkar at the earliest. I covered the part
of Savarkar’s life in Bhagur,
Savarkar was
brought to the prison here 72 years earlier. P.L was taken along the same
route. P L climbed the three storeys and after walking along a long and narrow
corridor came to the cell where Savarkar was once kept. He went inside and in a
choking voice said, “Our Tatya (pet name given to Savarkar by his family) was kept
here?” He could not say another world. P.L always used to make people laugh.
This was the unusual face of P.L that we were seeing. We never saw him so
sombre before.
The cell barely
measured 13 by 7 foot. With greatest respect, P L put a garland on the picture
of Savarkar hung on the wall. For a moment or two, there was dead silence. Then
some one said with great emotion, “Vande Mataram …. Bharat Mata Ki jai …..Long
live Veer Savarkar. “
P L walked down
to the ground level. This was the place where prisoners were once flogged
during the British Raj. P.L then gave the most thrilling speech in memory of
Veer Savarkar. He said –
“Friends, I
consider today as a day of great fortune. I do not believe in
re-birth, so I
cannot say that I must have done something good in my previous birth as a
result of which I have been given this opportunity. I say that I have done
something somewhere in this life and as a result, I have this opportunity
today.”
“We have just
garlanded Savarkar’s picture. We always refer to that room as
“A cell in
Andaman”. But when a radiant person like Savarkar is kept there it becomes like
a sacrosanct part of a temple. Before we take our meals we say Tejaswinaa
vadhee tamastu. We say those words without realising their meaning. But if
we have to search for a person in modern Indian History, who in his body, mind
and soul was illustrious, we have to point out to Veer Savarkar. His life
teaches us that we should utilise every second of our life to remain ever
glowing. He was an enemy of darkness, whether that was in the form of
ignorance, blind faith or slavery imposed by a foreign rule, he always fought
against it.
Have faith in Science
A man has to
struggle against three forces namely, Man and Nature, Man and another man, Man
and himself. These battles are constantly going on. Maratha Saint Tukaram
says,” We have to fight day and night.” In any war, you must believe that you
are going to win. Any one, who thinks he would lose, would never win. Savarkar
had emphasised time and again, “At least die fighting.”
He said, ”fight
wherever you see ignorance.” We need to show great respect for him for
preaching faith in Science to resolve our problems. He asked us to be
Science-oriented. He spent all his life for that. No other leader has preached that
we should follow Science as Savarkar has done. Unfortunately we do not even
read what he had preached. If I were to ask you, how many of you have read
the writings of Savarkar, I am sure very few would raise hands. The more we
read his thoughts in depth, the more we realise what prophesies he had made. On
what basis was he saying, “ A day will come when people will erect statues of
us here?” He knew that once you start a fight with determination nothing can
stop you. We have to follow Science in today’s times. There is no alternative
to this or else we would become simpletons.
Be fearless
We say that 26
February is a day of Savarkar’s atmarparna
(Self-immolation)* but that is in the words of mortals. His every day was a day
of self-immolation.
Savarkar was a
tremendous force in this cellular jail in Andaman. We feel terrified even when
we just visit his cell. Can you imagine what he must have felt at the thought
of spending 50 years in this place and that too in the company of those vicious
scoundrels who would not hesitate to kill for a penny? And yet, he believed
that one day the shackles would be broken up and be removed. He once told his
fellow political prisoners “A day will come when our statues will be erected on
this ground.” What a self-confidence!! He was convinced that he would cause
changes to take place. Hindu Dharma tells us that we are the sons of nectar (Amrutasya
Putrah); we are here not just to die one day but live with dignity.
Savarkar knew that God never favours the weak. He always denounced feebleness.
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* Note - There is
no equivalent word for atmarpana in
English. In 1966, at the age of 83, Savarkar decided that his life’s mission was
accomplished and decided to say good-bye to the world. He fasted for 20 days
and left this world on
You have
probably read what punishments he suffered in Andaman, from his book My
Transportation for Life. However I am certain that, in this book, he has
not described even 10 % of what he actually suffered, because he did not want pity or sympathy
from us, neither did he want people to react and merely say, “My God, what
horrors Savarkar suffered.” He wanted youngsters to react and say, “I too am
prepared to suffer like Savarkar for our nation.”
In his old days
he did not meet many people. It is my conviction that he did not want any one
to see him as a tired old man with little energy. Just as a lion would not like
to be seen weak in his old days but would prefer the spectre of being seen as a
roaring animal in jungle. Similarly, Savarkar did not see many people in his
old age. And it was because of this that he fearlessly met his death by atmarpana (self-immolation).
Savarkar always despised
the weak, feeble, incapacitated, and those devoid of backbone. This is apparent
in his writings, dramas, and speeches. He always told us, “You are descended
from the divine (tejasya putraha).” At the same time, he did not want
arrogance. Like
“As I shall not
be a slave, so I shall not be a master.” In his book My Transportation for
Life we find that he had a vision of a nation state encompassing ALL human
race. (And yet today many Indian leftists brand him as a stooge of the British)
How could he have tolerated the
Shree Harshe has
requested me that I should tell you some of my personal reminiscences of
Savarkar. To tell you the truth I never dared go near him. He was like the Sun.
We see Sun only from a distance for we fear that if we go any nearer we will be
burnt. I met Savarkar through his books. I heard him speak on the occasion of
his 75th birthday. What a thrilling experience it was. I heard his
speeches as a young boy. They were like flow of the river
Great linguist
Savarkar has made
our language rich. Today we use many words once coined by him. But we know very
little how he had to fight for introducing their use and how he was ridiculed
by scholars of those days. Ah, those words were created by a sage and not by a
Government Department. For ‘Reporter’ he suggested ‘Vartahar’, one who
carries away the news. Today we say Mahapaur and not Mayor. Same goes
for Sampadak (Editor) and the titles of others in the newspaper
industry. In the Film industry, the words we use freely were all gifted by
Savarkar. But at the time he suggested those words he was laughed at and
ridiculed.
If you feel that
youngsters should be able to speak fluent Marathi, then make them read
Savarkar’s essays loudly every day. They will become great Scholars of language
as well as of thoughts.
I give just one
example of his Rationalism. In his will, he had stated that his body should be
cremated in an electrical furnace, meaning that a dead body has no further
function of any kind. But many a so-called Secularists insisted that his ashes
should be immersed in the waters of
Legacy of Savarkar
Persons like
Savarkar never die, nor ever say Goodbye. They are eternal. Even one line or
one word of from them gives us inspiration. In one of his poems Savarkar said –
Kshana to Kshanat Gela. Sakhi hatacha sutonee.
“Moment was lost
within a moment. My friend, it was gone for ever.”
What a wonderful
idea! For this one line, he should have been given the Noble prize. He has
become eternal because of his creations as this. We only have to see if out of
his own light of wisdom, a ray from his light can produce a spark in our mind.
When we offered flowers in his cell in memory of him we experienced something
unique, we were emotionally moved. If we retain that sensation, it would make
us a bit more fearless if circumstances demand. Our Bharatiya culture asks us
to become fearless. Why did Savarkar suffer such hardships in this place? It
was for our better future. Today we have come here as free men and women, which
was made possible because of the hardships suffered by Savarkar and others. We
revere him and want to participate in his Punya. If a man dies we merely
observe his death anniversary and perform Shraaddha. But death
anniversaries of persons like Savarkar are called Punyathithi, which are
a day of remembrance as well as an auspicious day. That is the difference
between the two. On the days of Punyathithis we are lucky that we share
some Punya of such great persons. We have inherited Freedom and
Fearlessness from Savarkar.
One of the most
inspiring poems for freedom was composed by Savarkar.
Jayostute
Shree Mahanmangale Shivapsade Shubhade ….
What a wonderful
poem! Let me tell you the thrilling experience I recently had. During his
internment in Ratnagiri (1924 to 1937) Savarkar worked hard for the
emancipation of the untouchables. He organised get together of people of all
castes, social functions in which untouchables would be admitted, the famous
Patit Pavan Mandir which was the first temple open to all Hindus including the
untouchables. Savarkar wanted them to give up caste differences among
themselves; and get educated.
Recently I went
to a village Mhaisal near Sangli. My friend Mr Madhukar-rao Deval runs a
co-operative project for the Dalits. These people used to be so poor that their
women had only one set of clothes and therefore were ashamed to come out of
houses. But today, the circumstances have changed. They came out in expensive
clothes. I was told that they were going to sing a song. From my recent
experiences I naturally assumed that it must be a film song. It would be harsh
to start with and these women would sing even more harshly and make me
miserable. But surprise! surprise!! They sang Savarkar’s famous song Jayostute
shree Mahanmangale Shivapsade Shubhade …
I was thrilled. I
thought to myself, “It is not I who should be listening to this, it should have
been Savarkar being present here to listen to this song. He would have then
appreciated what seeds he sowed and where it had borne fruit. He should have
experienced at least one moment of this singing.”
The seeds sown by
him have been so deep rooted. Persons like him can never die by any vicious
attacks, or neglect or propaganda against them. They are self-made. They live
like the great Banyan trees providing comforts to others in their hour of need.
There is a
difference between ordinary drinking water and holy water dispensed by a priest
in a temple. There is difference between normal tap water which we use for
bathing and the water of holy river Ganga. A place where we merely wash our
bodies is called a bathroom. But a place where water cleanses mind as well as
body is called a Tirtha. Our holy river Ganga does both; therefore it
has become a Tirtha. Today, we have gathered at such a Tirtha. Andaman
has become a place of pilgrimage.
Really, so much
has happened here in this place that every Indian should come here and bow to the
memory of our freedom fighters like Savarkar. We need to think how his
thoughts could be spread in all the Indian languages. I have expressed this
wish to Balarao Savarkar who was
Veer Savarkar’s personal secretary for 14 years. He has devoted all his life
for this mission. I am sure we all will support him in his endeavour.
Once again I bow
to the memory of our freedom fighters, who were imprisoned here. To remind our
people every year, there should be a day of celebrations, right here in the
Cellular Jail on national level. And it should be presided by the highest
authority of the country.
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Notes –
* Balarao
Savarkar died in Mumbai in November 1997. P L Deshpande died in Pune in June
2000.
* On 3 May 2003
Entire Works of Savarkar in Hindi was published in 10 volumes by Prabhat
Prakashan of New Delhi, under the auspices of Indian Prime Minister A B
Bajapayee.
Original article
by Prem Vaidya published in Tumhi Ahmi Apan Saglech a Marathi
bi-monthly of the period 21 February to 6 March 2000, edited by Avinash
Dharmadhikari of Pune.
Translated by Dr
V S Godbole in November/ December 2004