After the uproar over Defense Minister Rajnath Singh’s statement about Savarkar and Mahatma Gandhi, historian Vikram Sampat has presented evidence. He has also shared those lines from the book, in which it is clear that Mahatma Gandhi had asked Savarkar to file a mercy petition. Sampath has answered the questions being raised on the statement of the Defense Minister with evidence. In the collection of information given about the works of Mahatma Gandhi on the website of Gandhi Sevagram Ashram, there is a mention of Gandhi’s letter which he wrote to ND Savarkar that is Savarkar’s brother. This letter of Mahatma Gandhi is present on page number 348 of Volume 19 of ‘Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi’.
In this letter Mahatma Gandhi wrote to ND Savarkar, ‘Dear Savarkar, I have your letter. It is difficult to give you advice. However, I suggest that you prepare a short petition explaining the facts of the case to make it clear that the crime committed by your brother was purely political. I am giving this suggestion so that public attention can be focused on the matter. In the meantime, as I have told you in an earlier letter, I am going my own way in this matter.’
After this Mahatma Gandhi wrote an article in ‘Young India’ on 26 May 1920 to make this matter an issue. Historian Vikram Sampat says that when part of Gandhi’s letter is already there, then why is there so much noise on this statement of Rajnath Singh. Keeping all the evidence in the tweet, he wrote, ‘I hope you will not say that Gandhi Ashram has distorted these letters.’
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In a book release program, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh had said that Savarkar, who was in jail at the behest of Mahatma Gandhi, had written to the British for mercy petition. He said that different types of lies were spread about Savarkar. It was said that Savarkar had filed several petitions before the British for mercy. But the truth is that Savarkar had filed a mercy petition at the behest of Mahatma Gandhi.
