Abhinav Bharat Society and V.D. Savarkar

Savarkar was deeply influenced by Bal Gangadhar Tilak's assertive nationalism and by the Chapekar Brothers — Damodar, Balkrishna, and Vasudeo Chapekar — who had assassinated British Plague Commissioner W.C. Rand in Pune in 1897 and were hanged. Inspired by this tradition, Savarkar at age 21 formed a secret society of young men committed to the overthrow of British rule. The name Abhinav Bharat ('Young India' or 'New India') echoed Mazzini's movement. The society combined physical training, oath-taking ceremonies, and ideological study of revolutionary texts with practical preparation for armed action.

In 1906, Savarkar arrived in London to study law at Gray's Inn. He became the leading figure at India House, a hostel for Indian students funded by Shyamji Krishna Varma (a wealthy Indian lawyer and journalist who ran the 'Indian Sociologist' newspaper from London). India House became a hotbed of radical politics. Savarkar organised lectures, distributed revolutionary literature, and connected Indian revolutionaries with Russian nihilists and Irish republicans operating in London. He wrote prolifically — producing 'The Indian War of Independence, 1857' which reinterpreted the Mutiny as a planned nationalist uprising deserving commemoration rather than shame.

Savarkar's '1857' book was a landmark intervention. The British narrative called 1857 a 'Sepoy Mutiny' — a localised military revolt caused by the greased cartridge controversy. Savarkar argued it was a planned war of independence involving Hindu-Muslim unity, a coordinated political plan, and genuine national aspirations. The British confiscated the manuscript even before publication, making it the first book to be banned pre-publication in British Empire history. It was eventually published in Holland and France in 1909 and smuggled into India. The book became a canonical text for revolutionaries and influenced the way successive generations of Indians understood 1857.

In 1909, Madun Lal Dhingra, associated with India House, assassinated Lt. Col. William Curzon Wyllie (Political Aide-de-Camp to the Secretary of State for India) at an Imperial Institute function in London. Dhingra was hanged and became a revolutionary hero. In India, in December 1909, Anant Kanhere assassinated A.M.T. Jackson, the Collector of Nashik who had presided over the trial of Ganesh Savarkar. The pistol used was from a batch that V.D. Savarkar had smuggled into India. Savarkar was arrested in London in 1910 on charges relating to both the Jackson murder and weapons smuggling.

While being transported by ship from England to India for trial, Savarkar jumped through a porthole near Marseilles harbour and swam to shore. He claimed asylum from French police but was physically seized by British officers before he could make his case to French authorities. This sparked an international legal dispute — France argued the extradition was illegal; Britain maintained it was valid. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in 1911 ruled in Britain's favour, but the episode made Savarkar globally famous among anti-colonial circles. He was sentenced to two consecutive life terms (50 years) and sent to the Cellular Jail in the Andamans.

Savarkar was released in 1924 after writing mercy petitions to the British government — an act that his critics argue contradicted his revolutionary stance. He went on to articulate the doctrine of Hindutva in 1923 (written while still in restricted residence in Ratnagiri), which defined India as a Hindu Rashtra and placed Hindu cultural identity at the centre of the nation. This later political ideology has made Savarkar a deeply contested figure: admired by Hindu nationalists as 'Veer Savarkar', and criticised by others for his anti-secular politics and alleged complicity in Mahatma Gandhi's assassination (he was tried but acquitted for lack of evidence). For UPSC purposes, his role in Revolutionary Nationalism is significant and historically well-documented.

• Shyamji Krishna Varma: London-based Indian revolutionary; founded India House; published 'Indian Sociologist'; fled to Paris after Dhingra's assassination case.

• Chapekar Brothers: Predecessors in Maharashtra's revolutionary tradition; killed Plague Commissioner W.C. Rand (1897); Savarkar drew inspiration from them.

• 'The Indian Sociologist': Revolutionary newspaper published from London by Shyamji Krishna Varma; called for armed resistance.

• Cellular Jail (Kala Pani): Penal colony in Andaman; housed Savarkar and hundreds of other freedom fighters in solitary cells; now a national memorial.

• Hindutva (1923 pamphlet): Savarkar's definition of Hindu identity based on Pitribumi (Fatherland) and Punyabhumi (Holy Land); distinct from religious Hinduism.

• Hindu Mahasabha: Hindu nationalist political organisation; Savarkar became its President from 1937–1943; advocated Hindu-Muslim separate nationhood before Jinah's two-nation theory.

Savarkar and Abhinav Bharat remain politically relevant in contemporary India. The BIP government conferred the Bharat Ratna posthumously — a proposal debated but not yet implemented as of 2026 — reflecting ongoing contestation over his legacy. The 1857 reinterpretation he pioneered is now accepted mainstream history. The Cellular Jail in Andaman continues to be a pilgrimage site for nationalists; its nightly Sound and Light show narrates stories of freedom fighters including Savarkar. The Pune residence where Abhinav Bharat meetings were held is a heritage site. In international law, the Savarkar Case (France v. Britain, 1911) is still cited in textbooks on extradition and state responsibility. His Hindutva ideology continues to shape Indian politics profoundly.