Gandhinagar, May 28 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday paid tributes to Veer Savarkar on his birth anniversary, describing him as a lifelong patriot who dedicated himself completely to India’s freedom struggle and social reform.

Addressing a public gathering in Sonipur village of Gujarat’s Gandhinagar district, HM Shah said Vinayak Damodar Savarkar had earned the title “Veer” through his courage and sacrifices rather than through any official recognition.

“Savarkar ji was such a patriot that the government never needed to give him any title of honour. Every child in the country remembers him as Veer Savarkar,” HM Shah said.

The Union Minister said Savarkar devoted his entire life to freeing India from British rule and highlighted the harsh punishment he endured during the freedom movement.

“In the entire freedom movement, he was the only leader and freedom fighter to receive two life imprisonment sentences in one lifetime,” HM Shah said.

Recalling Savarkar’s imprisonment in the Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, HM Shah narrated an incident involving a British jailer.

“When the British jailer mockingly told him that he had received a sentence of 120 years and could never leave the prison, Savarkar replied that the British government itself would not survive that long and India would soon become free,” HM Shah said.

The Home Minister also referred to Savarkar’s writings on the 1857 uprising, saying the revolutionary leader challenged the British description of the movement as merely a rebellion.

“The British called the 1857 freedom struggle a rebellion. Savarkar wrote a book titled ‘The Indian War of Independence 1857’, which the British banned even before publication out of fear,” HM Shah said.

He further claimed that Savarkar wrote patriotic poetry on the stone walls of the Cellular Jail using his own blood because he was denied paper and pen.

HM Shah also highlighted Savarkar’s role in social reform, particularly his work against untouchability and his efforts to promote Indian languages.

“It was Savarkar ji who opened temples for the Dalit community and established the Patit Pavan temple during that period,” he said.

The Union Home Minister said Savarkar’s contribution extended beyond the freedom movement to social and cultural reform in Indian society.

HM Shah concluded by offering tributes to Savarkar, saying he bowed before him “with deep reverence” on the occasion of his birth anniversary.

--IANS

mys/pgh