Today, on the 28th of May, we celebrate the birth anniversary of a visionary thinker, a prolific writer and orator, a revolutionary freedom fighter and one of the founding members of the historical India House. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar of Veer Savarkar as he is popularly known, needs no introduction. His fiery pen and bold actions inspired countless patriots to fight for India’s independence. Today we rediscover Savarkar’s ideas which hold a deep relevance for Modern Bharat as the nation continues its renewed march towards greatness.
A Nation Above Politics
Savarkar forcefully advocated for politics as only a means and never the end of a democratic setup. His ideas spoke of a unified and greater national identity, one based on the ancient civilizational idea of Bharat and the spiritual and cultural ethos that should guide all political endeavours. It is this idea and spirit that should transcend differences and debates between people and between parties as they move in unison towards a singular goal.
Today, as politics becomes increasingly competitive, as leaders often place partisan interests over the national good, and as people become further divided on political and ideological identities, Savarkar presents a much-needed ideal. At the heart of Savarkar’s vision for India was the belief that national interest and civilizational consciousness should rise above partisan divisions.
A Pragmatic Foreign Policy
Savarkar argued for a pragmatic foreign policy. He outlined that foreign policy should be balanced and serve national interests above everything. No nation is a permanent friend or foe. He advocated that India should not make any move in the geopolitical sphere that is not linked to its interests, under the pressure of any other nation.
Today, as the multilateral order stands fractured and as the United States under the Trump administration has increasingly signalled that national interests often take precedence in international relations, Savarkar’s ideas serve as a reality check for India and remind us of the need for a dynamic foreign policy that responds to the interests of the time. These principles continue to reflect Veer Savarkar’s ideas on statecraft and India’s place in the world.
A Strong Defence and Research Base
“Why are America, Russia, and Britain called the ‘big nations’, while India is not? Is it because they are superior in terms of spirituality, population, territory, or intellect? No. It is because they are superior in military power. They possess the most formidable weapons – atomic, aerial, and biological. That is why they are called great, while others are deemed lesser. What they declare becomes the global direction.”
Sangta Parva, p. 139
Savarkar thus reminded us of the need for a strong defence base before a strong Bharat can be built. He fervently declared that India should carry spiritual wisdom in one hand and strength in the other. To achieve this vision, he laid down the need for research and development in weaponry and warfare. Only then, he argued, could India add weight to its words of neutrality and global peace.
In an increasingly uncertain geopolitical environment, marked by technological competition and shifting global power equations, these reflections continue to make Veer Savarkar’s ideas relevant to contemporary discussions on national security and strategic autonomy.
A United Civilizational Nation
Savarkar drew an important distinction between the nation and the state. He saw a glorious civilization, one he wrote about in detail in The Six Glorious Epochs of Indian History as the bedrock of the modern state and its development. Modern boundaries alone do not define the Indian nation; the Indian civilizational idea extends far beyond them. Political boundaries have shifted over centuries, but the civilizational continuity of Bharat has endured.
These ideas are not only to be realised by the state but also by its citizens. India needs to establish a credible deterrence while also voicing and defending its sovereign rights over territories such as PoK and Aksai Chin. At its core, Savarkar’s vision for India called for a confident and united nation that derives strength from its civilizational consciousness.
India’s Place in the World
While espousing these ideas, Savarkar saw India’s place in the world as that of a strong military power, a strong innovator, an economic powerhouse, and an equally strong spiritual force. To accomplish this, he called upon the youth and every Bharatiya, invoking their collective strength and endeavour.
This aspiration for a strong, self-confident, and globally respected nation lay at the centre of Veer Savarkar’s ideas and continues to resonate as India seeks to play a larger role in shaping the global order.
The words and pledge of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, that “Every true Bharatiya must take a firm pledge to strive with all their might for the prestige and supremacy of our independent Indian Republic,” continue to guide our mission at India House.
More than six decades later, Veer Savarkar’s ideas and Savarkar’s vision for India continue to inspire conversations on national strength, self-reliance, and India’s place in the world.