Kurundkar on Savarkar

 Article Link: Here

    Citizens of this country have many motives. Character-assassination of great sons and daughters of India for gaining an edge in Vote-bank politics is not a new trend. Specifically, the communists, because they can't run businesses, can't enlighten the society by mixing therein, can't forge organizations based on Harmoniousness, and run a pan-India party for decades without getting split, entrench in mud-slinging to sway the un-studied.

    In recent times, mud-slinging on Tilak, Savarkar, and Ramdas has become proof of one becoming an "intellectual". It is considered a fait-accompli to question Savarkar's mercy petitions, Tilak’s politics of Castes, and whether Ramdas was really a guru of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

    On the other hand, those who idolize the above three, have displayed a lot of foolishness. Expounding the greatness of these three in measured and powerful words is not a feat easily available to the subscribers of Hindutva. It is not that these three have not committed any mistakes.

    But it has become a crime to hold someone in high esteem and criticize them at the same time.

    The pseudo-liberals have ordained that Tilak, Savarkar, and Ramdas are not to be held in high esteem and the Hindutva-people have created an atmosphere where one can not criticize these three. On the other hand, to become a true-blue liberal, one must not criticize Gandhi, Nehru, Ambedkar, Shahu or Phule and to become a true Hindutvite, you must atleast keep ignoring the five above.

    A real intellectual like Narhar Kurundkar, who was (almost) free from such vices, has word-sketched the characters of eminent persons in quite a balanced manner, while criticizing and holding the person in high-esteem.

    Kurundkar’s article on Savarkar is quite known in Marathi readers. For the non-Marathi readers, it is being translated here.

    Kurundkar, though a Socialist, coming from Marathwada, could not ignore the excesses of Islamist ideology. Therefore, he would not dishonour Savarkar’s Hindutva, either by fear or by ignorance. Even though he could not be called a devotee of Savarkar, he has evaluated Savarkar, in quite appropriate manner. Therefore I am recommending the article to everyone.

Article by: Narhar Kurundkar, included in book “Anvay”

Translation: Ved Gumaste

Editorial Assistance for translation: Nachiket Nitsure  

Article Link: Here