Veer Savarkar's Interview - Rising Hindutva

Among the last interviews that Savarkar gave was the one to Shridhar Telkar for the RSS magazine Organiser, for its Diwali edition of 1965. The complete transcript of this delightful interview, which is a ‘first-person’ looking back of the entire stormy life that Savarkar led, is as under:

Q: Looking back, what are the most thrilling memories, which you still cherish?

Q. You have been a great revolutionary in your time and a great fighter for India’s freedom. Tell me, how and why you became a revolutionary?

Q. When you were a political prisoner in the Andaman Island, you were cut off from the main currents of Indian life and soil. How then, did your mind function, and what were your dominant thoughts?

Q: How would you compare Indian Revolutionaries with Revolutionaries in Russia and China?

Q: Do you think that the ‘1857 Mutiny’ was India’s first organized revolt against the British for the freedom of the country as a whole? Some historians say that the ‘1857 Revolt’ was organized by half a dozen disgruntled but daring leaders who banded together for the maintenance of their respective privileges and status. What do you think ?

Q: What are the factors, which contributed to the liberation of our country?

Q: Did Gandhiji and other Congress leaders persuade you at any time to join the Congress? If they did, why did you not join the Congress?

Q: Assuming you had joined the Congress years ago, don’t you think you would have served your country and your ideology in a positive way?

Q: What is the India of your dreams?

Q: Some think that you believe in a Hindu Nation because you are a fanatic communalist. What have you to say about it?

Q: What are your views on the present state of affairs in India?

Q: What of the future?