The title When Rahul’s ignorance screams, our intelligence shuts up accurately reflects the current scenario where Rahul Gandhi, the former and defeated prince of Amethi and leader of the Nehru-Gandhi clan, attempts to portray himself as a great leader or social reformer and voices opinions that lack intelligence. Rahul Gandhi appears to belittle the contribution of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, a renowned freedom fighter, who served the country in several ways and made immense efforts to ensure India’s independence. This article aims to shed light on the features and efforts of Savarkar and why it is essential to recognize his contributions.
Keshav Upadhye is a prominent face, serving in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for over two decades. He was appointed as the spokesperson of the party in the team of the former state president, Devendra Fadnavis. Being a journalist, Upadhye made his mark in a short span by making articulate views of the party and aggressively defending them on various platforms such as the Marathi and Hindi national news channels. Upadhye worked with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), and after completing his degree in Journalism from the Ranade Institute at Pune, he started out as a journalist for various newspapers and social media platforms, such as the Pudhari, Loksatta, Mumbai Tarun Bharat. He was involved in the Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini in 2006, to study the naxalite movement, and have adverse impacts on the development of Chhatisgarh. A fact-finding committee was formed to study the Solapur riots, in which Upadhye took part.
In spite of greying, Rahul Gandhi appears to lack even rudimentary political acumen and has failed to understand the significance of Savarkar. His advisors have not even taken the effort of reading Mahatma Gandhi’s views on Savarkar. However, Mahatma Gandhi had praised Savarkar for his contributions to India’s freedom struggle and also for his efforts in bringing about social reforms. Indira Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi’s grandmother and former Prime Minister of India, had personally donated Rs 11,000 for a memorial of Savarkar and her government had released a documentary on Savarkar and also released a postal stamp.
However, with Congress’s obsolescence in national politics, closest aides of Rahul Gandhi and his mother seem to have speculated a threat to the party, thus prompting them to rake up matters like Savarkar. The lack of knowledge and education on Rahul Gandhi’s part is what drives him to make such blatantly false claims and hence, the phrase “fools rush in where angels fear to tread” fits him perfectly.
Savarkar embodied numerous qualities that India should recognize and celebrate making it pertinent to honor him by holding a Savarkar Gaurav Yatra. He had gone abroad to receive an education, firmly stood for armed revolution and followed a moral path of leading India to its freedom from the British. After being exiled to the infamous Kalapani in Andaman and Nicobar islands and serving a 50-year sentence, he penned down the epic poem Kamala on cellular jail walls and numerous books covering India’s freedom struggle. He worked to break away from the caste system and encourage social reform. Saint Tukaram had also commented that when ignorance screams, intelligence shuts up and it is likely an apt description for the current situation.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has been important in recognizing Savarkar’s efforts and paying tribute to his legacy. Currently, BJP has embarked on Savarkar Gaurav Yatra which aims to honor him and bring his contribution to the nation to everyone’s attention. The effort to recognize Savarkar’s contribution is definitely commendable and rightfully acknowledges the fact that the freedom struggle was a collective effort, with people from all political sides, ideologies, and socio-economic backgrounds playing an equal part in achieving freedom.
