Review of the book “Savarkar: Echoes from a Forgotten Past 1883-1924”

               When it comes to books I am much of a non-fiction fanatic. I always looked for stories that are fact-based and are actual incidents that give you real-life perspectives. I am neither a rightist and defiantly not a leftist. But whenever I used to see chaos arise around just by the name of ‘Savarkar’ I always thought about why some people hate him and why some people take a stand for him.  

               I wanted to be on neither of the sides. All I wanted was to know about the person. The perspectives that surround him on both sides are unsatisfactory. So, I purchased the book ‘Savarkar: Echoes from a Forgotten Past 1883-1924’ by Vikram Sampath. This is the first book I have with me from the author. I saw a small clip of Vikram Sampath talking in one of his publishing shows and I liked how he portrayed his work ethic. Where he says that their duty as historians is to tell people what they haven’t heard or read with facts. When I searched him online, I saw this book and instantly intimidated me to unravel the facts about this man ‘Savarkar’. I purchased this book around the beginning of October month of 2024 and finished by December beginning of 2024. You know this lengthy book only took me roughly a bit over 2 months to finish reading. And here is a short review of what I think.

              At the beginning itself, Vikram Sampath tells a harsh truth that stuck in mind throughout the book when he says ‘Savarkar: a name that was used by the political parties for their benefits and the person’s values that he gave for this land were forgotten’. Not the exact words but this is what I made up of his words. It makes sense. Most of the people who talk trash about Savarkar might not know his full name also. I even doubt the people who take a stand for him might also not know his full name. This book starts from the very beginning of a kid who always looked to walk towards the light to a man who fights to see the light. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar or Tatya was a bright mind since the beginning. We can see his patriotic ideology was not something that came to him by his father but it was a self-realisation. We can also see his skills with the words from his various poems that are just exemplary in this book. The drive to free his motherland at any cost from the British. We can know that Savarkar growing up was never an ordinary kid. Maybe the times they were born were the matter that made them so much stronger, I guess. To that matter not only him every freedom fighter who made independence happen is no ordinary being. Their ideology and beliefs are totally on a whole other level than today’s. However, the author takes you year by year giving you a sense of what all might have happened in those periods. What I thought was Vikram Sampath did not want to talk about Savarkar alone but the circumstances in which he was captured were the base of the whole book. You can get an idea of more political environment around that period and also about some prominent political figures like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi, Gokhale and so on. And also how the printing press, the literature, and how they used to express through poems, verses and a lot of articles things come into action. You can get a great deal of ideas about what was so scary about the prison that was in Andaman and Nicobar. Which is also known as “Kaala Paani”. Many leftists say Savarkar begged for mercy but you might give it a thought was it begging for mercy or the other way around? The author has pinned every single petition or letter that he has sent while he was in prison. Why was he the only political figure that the British Empire have always looked to keep him quiet? Many questions like this have been rooted in my mind. The book is well narrated and the best part which I liked was it keeps you in synchronization with the narration throughout the book. It is not only about an individual but also about the nation where the Western way of politics was born. In the end, the author comes to a matter of individuality which intrigues you more to know the person and ends it right there making you crave to continue with the second part.

               So, the question that stands in front of you is why should you read this book? I would

recommend this to even the leftist who oppose Savarkar could give it a try because as I mentioned earlier this book here not only highlights the individual ideologies but a whole revolution of politics in India. To know the politics of today you also need to know how it all started. What I feel after reading this book is that the politics we as a nation are part of is one that is borrowed from the Westerns. 

LINK TO BUY BOOK: Savarkar: Echoes from a Forgotten Past 1883-1924’ by Vikram Sampath