Indian Political Thought: Themes and Thinkers | Third Edition | By Pearson

23

Savarkar: Hindutva and Critique of Caste System

— Sangit Kumar Ragi

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, popularly known as Veer Savarkar,¹ was born in a Marathi Chitpawan Brahmin² family in 1889 in Bhagur, a village close to Nasik. Savarkar was the second among two other brothers and a sister. His mother died of cholera when he was just nine. Seven years later, his father died in plague. He grew up under the protection and care of his elder brother, Ganesh. When he was barely 12 years old, he was married to Yamunabai, daughter of Ramchandra Triambak Chiplunkar, who supported his university education. It was from here that his revolutionary journey, in the actual sense, began.

If one looks at the writings and activism of Savarkar, one can conveniently ...