Savarkar is not Veer in Rajasthan textbooks

Several changes have been made to school textbooks in Rajasthan by Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in the past six months related to historical events and personalities.

The modifications have also been made to turn around the decisions taken by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in its first term.

In the old version of textbook Savarkar was prefixed with 'Veer' but in new textbook Savarkar is addressed as 'Vinayak Damodar Savarkar'

Rajasthan board of secondary education (RBSE) textbooks, rewritten under the Vasundhara Raje-led Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2017 to laud the Narendra Modi government, have been revised once again under Rajasthan's Congress government, according to a The Wire report.

According to an Indian Express report, the newly printed textbooks for the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE) have been given out in the market by the Rajasthan State Textbook Board (RSTB). The modifications were done following the recommendations made by the textbook review committee set up on February 13, 2019, to study if the earlier changes to school textbooks were made to fulfil political interests and distort history.

The aforementioned report compared the old book and the new book.

In the old version of the textbook Savarkar was prefixed with 'Veer' in the chapter on freedom movement. The chapter discusses the contribution of Savarkar in India's Independence movement to a large degree. But, in the revised version of the textbook, Savarkar is addressed as 'Vinayak Damodar Savarkar'.

In the new version of the Rajasthan textbook, the report said, "Savarkar is described as troubled by the torture inflicted on him in the Cellular Jail by the British, called himself a 'son of Portugal' in his second mercy petition on November 14, 1911. He sent four mercy petitions to the British. Following his freedom, it says Savarkar worked towards establishing India as a 'Hindu nation' and gave the call to 'militarise Hinduodom' (sic). Savarkar opposed the Quit India movement in 1942 and the creation of Pakistan in 1946. After the murder of Gandhi on January 30, 1948, he was tried on charges of conspiring for murder and aiding Godse, but he was acquitted from the case."

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue Savarkar in the previous textbook was called a 'Veer' (the brave one), but in the new and revised textbooks, he is now referred to by his given name - Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, The Wire report said.

Earlier in May this year, the former BJP government and the new Congress government in Rajasthan erupted in a war or words when changes were recommended in the Veer Savarkar biography included in the school syllabus owing to over-glorification of the freedom fighter for "political purposes".

After a controversy erupted over Congress government making changes to the biography of freedom fighter Veer Savarkar in order to teach students history in an 'honest and right way', Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said that it has been a tradition that whenever a new government comes to power, a committee is formed to review the syllabus.

BJP MLA Ashok Lahoty hit out at Congress and said, "It is an insult of 1.25 crore Indians. The Congress can see only three martyrs in the country, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. They believe that no one else has made any contribution towards the nation."

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, popularly known as Veer Savarkar, was an Indian independence activist, politician, lawyer, and writer. He is also known for coining the term 'Hindutva' and formulating the philosophy.