Historical Negation, Insult To Freedom Struggle”: Pinarayi Vijayan Slams Centre For Placing Savarkar Over Gandhi
A political storm has erupted after the Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry shared an Independence Day poster featuring VD Savarkar’s image placed above Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, and Subhash Chandra Bose.
The move has drawn sharp criticism from opposition leaders, who accuse the BJP-led government of attempting to rewrite history and glorify controversial figures at the cost of India’s freedom struggle icons.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched a scathing attack on the Centre on Saturday, calling the move “a mockery of the freedom struggle” and “a deliberate attempt to whitewash the divisive history of the RSS.”
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In a strongly worded statement, he said: “Trying to bestow the title of ‘father of freedom’ on Savarkar – a man who wrote mercy petitions to the British and whose party even boycotted the first Independence Day celebrations – while diminishing Gandhi is historical negation. RSS had no role in the freedom movement, and to glorify them now is to insult the memory of martyrs from Punnapra-Vayalar to the Wagon Tragedy.”
The Chief Minister added that RSS, banned after Gandhi’s assassination, stood opposed to the very ideological foundations of the national movement, which was rooted in unity across caste, religion, and language. He accused the ruling dispensation of “replacing pluralistic nationalism with divisive Hindutva nationalism.”
Read Also: Savarkar Over Gandhi: Govt’s Independence Day Poster Sparks Outrage
Congress leader KC Venugopal also condemned the government, noting that the poster elevated “a British mercy petitioner like Savarkar over Gandhi, who gave India its freedom,” while completely sidelining leaders such as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
CPI(M) MP John Brittas went further, reminding that Savarkar was tried in connection with Gandhi’s assassination and, though acquitted, was later found to have circumstantial links by the Kapur Commission. He said the government’s poster “undermines the secular values of the Constitution” and demanded an unequivocal condemnation from all democratic forces.
The controversial Independence Day poster featured images of Gandhi, Savarkar, Bose, and Bhagat Singh alongside the Red Fort, the tricolour, and the Ashoka Chakra, with the greeting “Happy Independence Day.”
The deliberate elevation of V.D. Savarkar over Mahatma Gandhi is not a coincidence but a calculated act. The government’s actions undermine the nation’s commitment to its secular constitution. It is pertinent to note that Savarkar was an accused in Gandhi’s assassination, though… pic.twitter.com/hSZ6mpkW4G
— John Brittas (@JohnBrittas) August 15, 2025
Opposition parties argue that this is part of a wider attempt to recast India’s freedom history, replacing leaders of sacrifice and non-violence with divisive figures.
