Modern Politics is Using Savarkar Over Gandhi
Modern Politics is Using Savarkar Over Gandhi
In the ever-shifting landscape of Indian politics, historical figures have often been reinterpreted, reimagined, and, at times, manipulated to fit the needs of the present. The recent political trend in India shows a growing preference for invoking Vinayak Damodar Savarkar over Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi — two icons who represent sharply contrasting visions of India’s past and future. While Gandhi symbolizes peace, non-violence, inclusivity, and moral politics, Savarkar stands for assertive nationalism, militarized pride, and a vision rooted in cultural homogeneity. The replacement of Gandhi’s ideals with Savarkar’s philosophy is not merely a shift in historical emphasis; it is a reorientation of India’s political soul.
The Ideological Contrast
Gandhi believed in Ahimsa (non-violence) as a tool of strength, not weakness. His struggle was not just against British colonialism, but against injustice in every form — caste oppression, communal hatred, and economic exploitation. For him, freedom was meaningful only if it was accompanied by compassion and equality.
Savarkar, on the other hand, believed in a more muscular and exclusionary form of nationalism. His concept of Hindutva defined Indian identity not by citizenship or shared culture, but by religious and ethnic belonging. Where Gandhi saw the nation as a moral community, Savarkar saw it as a cultural fortress.
This difference lies at the heart of the political reinterpretation unfolding today. Modern political narratives increasingly favor the assertiveness of Savarkar over the restraint of Gandhi — perhaps because in the era of aggressive politics, moral humility finds little space.
Politics of Memory and Convenience
The use of Savarkar’s image today is not purely ideological; it is strategic. Political parties, especially those aligned with Hindu nationalist ideologies, have revived Savarkar as a counter-symbol to Gandhi — not because of an intellectual debate between the two, but because Savarkar fits the current mood of majoritarian politics. He represents strength, pride, and defiance — attributes that resonate with a generation disillusioned by corruption, weak governance, and moral preaching.
Gandhi’s politics demanded sacrifice, introspection, and self-restraint — qualities less appealing in a world obsessed with power, dominance, and identity assertion. As a result, modern politicians find it easier to project Savarkar as a hero who stood for Hindu pride than to remind people of Gandhi’s call for self-purification and universal love.
Media and Cultural Reinvention
Media, cinema, and social platforms have played a crucial role in this transformation. Films and speeches glorify Savarkar as a misunderstood patriot, while Gandhi is often reduced to a sermonizing figure, outdated and impractical in today’s world. This selective storytelling is shaping public memory, especially among the youth, who are increasingly alienated from the ideals of simplicity and tolerance that Gandhi embodied.
Memes, slogans, and digital propaganda now portray Savarkar as the symbol of courage and nationalism, while Gandhi is derided as soft and naïve. This distortion is not accidental — it serves a political purpose: to replace the moral foundations of Indian democracy with cultural uniformity and emotional nationalism.
The Changing Face of Nationalism
Nationalism today is no longer about building bridges; it is about drawing boundaries. Gandhi’s nationalism was inclusive — he saw Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, and atheists as children of the same land. Savarkar’s nationalism was exclusive — he drew lines around what it meant to be “truly Indian.”
Modern politics, with its divisive electoral strategies, finds the latter more convenient. Unity in diversity, once India’s proudest slogan, is now being quietly replaced by uniformity in ideology.
The Political Calculus
Political parties invoke Savarkar to mobilize emotions, not ideas. By glorifying his imprisonment in the Cellular Jail or his defiance of the British, they tap into nationalist pride. But they ignore his petitions for mercy, his complex relationship with colonial power, and his ideological hostility toward Gandhi’s methods. Gandhi, in contrast, cannot be easily weaponized — his message of forgiveness and inclusivity dilutes the polarizing rhetoric of modern politics. Hence, Gandhi is remembered on his birth anniversary but forgotten in political practice.
Consequences of This Shift
Replacing Gandhi with Savarkar in the public imagination has far-reaching consequences. It changes how a nation understands its freedom struggle and its moral compass. It redefines patriotism not as love for all citizens, but as loyalty to one’s own group. It replaces dialogue with dominance, and compassion with conformity.
When Gandhi’s statues stand neglected and Savarkar’s portraits are garlanded in government offices, it is not just a symbolic change — it is a rewriting of India’s conscience. The danger lies not in honoring Savarkar’s contributions, but in doing so by erasing Gandhi’s relevance.
The Need for Balance
History is not a battlefield of heroes and villains; it is a mirror of human complexity. Savarkar was an intellectual and a revolutionary, and his contributions to India’s freedom movement deserve study. But Gandhi’s philosophy is what gave moral legitimacy to India’s independence. To elevate one by diminishing the other is to misunderstand both.
India needs both — Savarkar’s courage to challenge oppression and Gandhi’s wisdom to restrain hatred. But modern politics, driven by electoral arithmetic and cultural polarization, prefers confrontation over coexistence.
Conclusion: The Soul of India at Crossroads
The choice between Gandhi and Savarkar is not about two men — it is about two moral directions. Gandhi’s India was built on empathy, self-rule, and moral courage. Savarkar’s India, as interpreted by today’s politics, is built on identity, pride, and power.
In a time when truth is often louder than it is deep, Gandhi’s silence and simplicity are inconvenient. Yet, the real test of a nation’s maturity lies in its ability to honor both its warriors and its saints, its strength and its compassion.
If modern politics continues to replace Gandhi’s moral imagination with Savarkar’s ideological fervor, India risks losing not just a symbol, but its very essence — the soul that made freedom meaningful.
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