Amit Shah showers praises on Veer Savarkar

Mumbai: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah, while delivering his keynote address at Savarkar Sahitya Sammelan in Thane on Friday, said that Veer Savarkar was the first philosopher-freedom fighter who demonstrated connect between patriotism and cultural nationalism.

“He tried to endorse the importance of cultural nationalism in the country's life. In all sense, Savarkar was the person who could think and predict about things much before. All those who keep attacking Savarkar must read him first. Savarkar was a social reformer who was ahead of his time. We need to take his thoughts all over India so that the next generation can learn Indian values through them.”

Shah was in Thane for the 29th Savarkar Sahitya Sammelan (Literature fest) organised by three different organisations working on freedom fighters’ philosophy.

"Everything that crosses limits (ati in Marathi) becomes dangerous. Savarkar understood that very well. When ahimsa crossed that limit, Savarkar wrote a drama named ‘Sanyast Khadga’ which rejects the unnecessary importance of ahimsa,” said Shah.

"Untouchability was one of the serious problems in Hindu society. Savarkar stood against it. He organised programmes where people from all castes would share the pangat (dining table). Not just that, Savarkar vehemently opposed 'Sapta Bandi' (seven bans) rituals in his life time," he said.

The BJP chief also mentioned that had the country listened to Savarkar on issues like China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and North East, many of the problems today would have been resolved. “When we read him, we feel what a great visionary he was when he predicted future problems. This is why we need the next generation to read Savarkar. Savarkar is the only poet in the history of the world who wrote poems in his own blood,” said Shah.