Veer Savarkar

Our country was ensLaved

Our wishes were the commands of our foreign ruLers

Our weaLth, our resources were pLundered and ...

... shipped to foreign shores. The brave amongst us rose ...

... to chaLLenge the Empire and they gave their Lives.

But, their names are sought to be purged from history...

... their memories forgotten. But today's youth ...

... has begun writing anew independent Lndia's history

The truths which vested interests camoufLaged with their Lies...

... the impartiaL hands of Time have uncovered...

... and the effort to bring these truths to Light has begun.

Lndia's new history features a goLden era.

The saga of Veer Savarkar

Savarkar Darshan Pratishthan

Produced with the co-operation of the peopLe

Sudhir Phadke presents

VANDE MATARAM

My decision is finaL. L am returning to Lndia

How come this sudden decision?

A precipitous decision perhaps?

Do you reaLise the consequences?

WiLL L be imprisoned? Hanged?

L do not fear such consequences. - We know you are fearLess

We aLso know you wiLL Lay down your Life for country.

Yet Savarkar such sacrifice is inopportune.

Sacrifice isn't opportunistic.

Sacrifice seeks to change time and circumstance.

But your work in Paris is incompLete. - Which you may carry on, Madame Cama

LaLa HardayaL is with you. Shyamji is with you

Heed me Savarkar. Wait. - No, L can wait any more

L have recuperated from the iLLness that forced me to come here.

Madame Cama, L am gratefuL for whatever you have done for me.

But now, L must return

L received this Letter from Lndia. - What does it say?

SeveraL of my compatriots have been arrested in the Jackson murder case

Karve, Deshpande, Anant Kanheri... the British wiLL hang them aLL

As you know, L deLivered the pistoLs to them

My brother has been extradited to the jaiL in The Andamans

My sister-in-Law and my wife are homeLess

My younger brother is aLso in jaiL. My father-in-Law has Lost his job.

And... - What eLse...?

You wish to hear more?

Under poLice torture the courier who deLivered the pistoLs.

... has become a witness for the prosecution.

Without me the Abhinav Bharat campaign is doomed.

You are right but going to Lndia now means suicide.

You don't know this but arrest warrants have been issued ...

... in Lndia and EngLand for you.

We wanted to inform you onLy after you had recuperated.

Savarkar, what's on your mind?

Before Madan LaL Dhingra decided to kiLL Curzon WiLey ...

... he asked me: when is the souL ready for sacrifice?

L toLd him: When conviction has tempered the conscience.

And my conviction is firm!

Mother Goddess! You vanquished eviL! By You, L swear ...

... to secure independence for my motherLand once again...

L shaLL advocate an armed revoLution. ShouLd L succeed...

Then Like Emperor Shivaji L shaLL Lay the foundations of the Swaraj

And Your idoL L shaLL consecrate before my nation. My Mother...

My Goddess, grant me power!

O MotherLand! L saLute thee!

We wiLL not aLLow the British to destroy Lndia

They have divided BengaL. Next, they wiLL tear the country apart.

Boycott whatever they manufacture.

We aren't burning imported fabric...

... we are setting to fire the imperiaLists

Consign aLL foreign articLes to these fLames!

By burning foreign fabric, you give a new direction to freedom fighters

Lf we refuse to buy their cLoth, their government has faiLed

Lt'LL Leave them disturbed.

ALL thanks to your inspiration and your writings in Kesari.

Amassing peopLe in Pune using Abhinav Bharat was a unique campaign

L wish to take my fight into the enemy camp

You mean, you wish to go to London?

We wish to discuss it with you.

But L'm in a quandary. My absence wiLL hamper the Abhinav Bharat movement.

Your eLder brother won't aLLow that to happen

Under your guidance L may succeed.

L wish TaTya to return from London a barrister.

L saw Shyamji Verma's advertisement

A true patriot. Shyamji Verma's work in London is praiseworthy.

L shaLL recommend you. He wiLL be your sponsor in London.

He is putting up Lndian students in a pLace caLLed Lndia House.

Vinay, prepare to Leave for London!

ChaLLenging the Empire on which the Sun never sets from its very ramparts?

L am apprehensive. - Don't undermine TaTya's resoLve.

The youth consider him their Leader

L onLy spoke my mind. - L'm not riding into battLe

Just imagine me ... a barrister dressed impeccabLy suited-booted.

WiLL you put on airs then?

That'd make things difficuLt for me

TaTya, what did TiLakji teLL you this afternoon?

He toLd me not to do anything that the government might use to deny me passage

No knowing what your brother might do. - So what? By then he'LL be gone.

The government wiLL be reLieved. They think that in London ...

... L'LL have a change of heart. - You just might, you know

See TaTya? Everyone expects you to mend your ways.

Then L shaLL return to disappoint many peopLe.

Just stay the way you are.

When peopLe taLk about you, aLL of us feeL so proud.

As a son, you have done your famiLy proud.

Even when you are away we wiLL bask in your gLories.

L wish L couLd take Prabhakar aLong.

WouLdn't that be nice?

And what wiLL you do? - Accompany him. L won't Live aLone.

That's a cLever excuse for coming with me.

Do you reaLLy wish to come with me?

Lf wishes couLd fLy ...

Leave Prabhakar with my sister-in-Law and come with me.

No, how couLd that be?

You Love my son more than me.

You can take care of yourseLf.

But he can't do without me.

You are magnanimous.

L don't know what but L wish L couLd give you a gift before Leaving.

L have him. What more do you wish to give me?

True, in Prabhakar L am Leaving you with aLL L have.

He's from a middLe-cLass famiLy. On TiLak's recommendation...

...he has received a schoLarship from Shyamji Krishna Verma

Shyamji Krishna Verma? But he is against the British

Just as weLL. So we know of Savarkar.

L have a fuLL report on him...

... from the PoLice Commissioner of Poona to the Governor of Bombay.

Savarkar has been instigating the youth to revoLt.

He has been writing to incite hatred against the British.

Lf staying in our midst, he unLeashes a propaganda campaign...

... things might get difficuLt for us in Lndia

Lnform ScotLand Yard. Watch his every movement

What do you see? - The British ParLiament's grandeur

The very bastion we are battLing. You are facing the reaL enemy.

That edifice is 700 years oLd. - The symboL of British might

Vermaji, if they pride their independence so much...

... why do they ensLave us? - That's the irony!

One more reason for caLLing you here. - What?

Since you came, the poLice activiTy in and around Lndia House has increased.

And L wanted to speak in private. The coLLege admission wiLL take time.

L know. But L wish to embark upon my reaL mission right away.

L have addresses of some Lndian students.

L wiLL soon know the pLaces they frequent.

There are others who wiLL heLp you.

Bapat. Sardar Singh Rana. Madame Cama.

L aLso wish to estabLish contact...

... with revoLutionaries from LreLand, France, Russia, Egypt and Turkey

Lt wiLL give our movement worLdwide recognition

As for equipment of sabotage...

What is the matter? - L think they're eavesdropping

They're EngLishmen.

Lf we can speak EngLish they might understand Hindi too.

Anyway, Let's taLk Later

First, you must know this ciTy. Here's your battLeground.

Of course, unLess L know it L cannot strategies

SchooL hasn't begun yet. What are you writing?

Nice of you to have come. - L've come to thank you.

Had L not met you on the ship, L wouLd've abandoned this journey

Life's pLeasant in London, thanks to you. And L want to work with you.

Are you writing poetry? - Before LawschooL begins...

L want to finish transLating Mezzini's autobiography into Marathi

Mezzini. Great LtaLian revoLutionary. This book is so inspiring

Now L know what revoLution means, why it's necessary and ...

... how to become a revoLutionary. - But why are you transLating it?

L'LL send it to Lndia. To our young at Abhinav Bharat

You have a guest, sir. Tea, coffee?

What wiLL you have Harnam? - No tea-coffee.

OnLy buttermiLk but that isn't avaiLabLe.

We don't want anything. Thanks

Why are you staring at him? - Just a habit

L've Located a restaurant frequented by Lndian students.

We can go there if you want. - Right away

We must get them to visit Lndia House. There is much to be done. Come!

Let's sit over there.

L wiLL sit right here. - Then L wiLL throw you out.

No use arguing. Come and sit with us. - No, L won't sit there.

L won't use this restaurant at aLL.

Come Harnam. This insuLt we won't take.

Looks Like he's new. - But there's something about him.

Let's Look him up.

What do these British chiLdren think of themseLves?

L wanted to break his teeth. - And he wouLd've broken yours.

What use is this quarreL? - You have no right to say that.

Despite the insuLts, you're stiLL sitting there? L'm amazed!

Notjust an insuLt to our country, this is an insuLt to aLL of humaniTy.

They consider us worse than dogs.

Lf you are so proud why did you come here?

Don't you know? They are our ruLers.

And they remain our ruLers because...

... it isn't beneath your digniTy to sit in any corner you're reLegated to.

Your sense of digniTy is dead.

Maybe you're right, it's beyond cure

We're shameLess, denuded of our pride and that is why they ruLe us.

Because a few thousand EngLishmen ruLe 300 miLLion Lndians ...

... can 800-odd Lndian students here not preserve their digniTy?

How can we suffer siLentLy the indigniTy of being sequestered?

We were ensLaved when we Lost our seLf-esteem...

... and now after centuries of sLavery...

... we haven't the courage to redeem ourseLves

Let's Leave, Harnam. Any Longer and my anger wiLL consume me.

Friend!

L deepLy appreciate this attitude. Won't you teLL us your name?

L'm Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. This is Harnam

And you...? - MadanLaL Dhingra