Tarun Karthick
Sri Vijaya Puram, 13 December 2025
The shores of the Andaman Sea at Beodnabad village in Rural South Andaman bore witness to a deeply evocative tribute to Veer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar on 12 December 2025, as a towering statue of the freedom fighter was unveiled in the presence of senior national leaders. The unveiling, carried out by RSS Sarsanghchalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, marked a significant moment in the long and profound association between Savarkar and the Andaman Islands.
The installation of the statue was conceptualised and realised under the leadership of Ameya Hete, Founder of the Mumbai-based Valuable Group. Coinciding with the unveiling, the organisation hosted a grand commemorative programme in Sri Vijaya Puram to mark 116 years of Savarkar’s iconic poem ‘Sāgara Pran Talamalala…’—a literary work that has, for over a century, symbolised the anguish of separation from the motherland and the unyielding resolve for India’s freedom.
The evening event drew the presence of several eminent dignitaries, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, RSS Sarsanghchalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat, Lieutenant Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi (Retd.), Maharashtra Minister for Cultural Affairs and Information Technology Adv. Ashish Shelar, and Member of Parliament from Andaman and Nicobar Islands Bishnu Pada Ray, among others.
The programme unfolded as a cultural and emotional homage to Savarkar’s life, thought, and legacy. Patriotic musical performances by artists brought from Maharashtra filled the venue with a powerful sense of nationalism. Central to the evening was the presence of Padma Shri awardee Pt. Hridaynath Mangeshkar, one of the few living individuals who had personally known and interacted with Savarkar. Through personal recollections, he shared how Savarkar had entrusted him with literary works that were transformed into enduring musical compositions. Several of Savarkar’s poems, including ‘Sāgara Pran Talamalala…’, set to music by Pt. Mangeshkar, were rendered during the programme, creating a poignant bridge between history, literature, and living memory.
As part of the occasion, Pt. Hridaynath Mangeshkar, actor Randeep Hooda, historian Dr. Vikram Sampath, and noted artist Sharad Ponkshe were felicitated for their respective contributions in taking Savarkar’s ideas and legacy to wider audiences through music, cinema, literature, and performance.
Summarising his remarks, Maharashtra Minister Adv. Ashish Shelar highlighted the extraordinary confluence of events that brought together the unveiling of Savarkar’s full-length statue in the Andamans, the commemoration of the historic poem, the release of publications and musical works aimed at future generations, and the presence of Pt. Hridaynath Mangeshkar himself. He reflected on Savarkar’s multifaceted personality—poet, revolutionary, thinker, reformer, and nationalist—emphasising that despite enduring long years of incarceration, Savarkar’s intellectual and spiritual strength remained unbroken. He noted that Savarkar’s life demonstrated how physical confinement and suffering could not hinder inner growth, resolve, or national commitment.
Lieutenant Governor Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi (Retd.) spoke on the deep and inseparable bond between Veer Savarkar and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. He recalled Savarkar’s imprisonment in the Cellular Jail from 1911 to 1921, where he endured solitary confinement, hard labour, and severe punishment intended to crush his spirit, but instead emerged stronger and more inspiring. He traced the various memorials and recognitions dedicated to Savarkar across the islands over the decades, underscoring how the unveiling of the new statue at Beodnabad added another proud chapter to this legacy. He also reflected on ‘Sāgara Pran Talamalala…’ as a poetic expression where the restless sea mirrors the nation’s yearning for freedom, imparting a message of courage, resolve, and nation-building that continues to inspire generations.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in his address, placed the event within the broader historical and emotional landscape of the Andaman Islands. He described the islands as a sacred land shaped by the sacrifice, suffering, and supreme patriotism of countless freedom fighters. Recalling the era of the dreaded Kala Pani punishment, he highlighted how Savarkar transformed a place once associated with despair into a symbol of national pilgrimage through his endurance and intellectual resistance. He spoke of Savarkar’s courage, sense of duty towards the motherland, and unwavering belief in national unity, noting that the newly unveiled statue would stand for decades as a source of inspiration for India’s youth. He also reflected on Savarkar’s literary brilliance, linguistic contributions, role in shaping nationalist thought, and efforts toward social reform, stressing that his life and work provided multiple pathways for future generations to understand patriotism beyond slogans—through duty, discipline, courage, and lifelong commitment to the nation.
RSS Sarsanghchalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat, summarising Savarkar’s legacy through a philosophical lens, emphasised that remembrance was meaningful only when it led to emulation. He explained that Savarkar’s life represented a rare completeness, where thought, action, sacrifice, creativity, and devotion to the nation existed in perfect harmony. Dr. Bhagwat underlined that Savarkar’s poetry, activism, scholarship, and reformist ideas were all expressions of an intense and selfless love for the motherland. He observed that Savarkar’s patriotism was not confined to resistance against colonial rule but extended to a lifelong vision of a strong, united, culturally rooted, and forward-looking India. He called upon citizens to translate remembrance into daily conduct, urging individuals to contribute to national progress through their own professions, families, and social roles with discipline, selflessness, and commitment.
The programme concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Ameya Hete, Founder of Valuable Group, who expressed gratitude to all dignitaries, artists, organisers, and islanders for making the event a collective tribute to Savarkar’s enduring ideals. The evening witnessed enthusiastic participation from islanders across communities and age groups, turning the commemorative programme into a shared expression of remembrance, reverence, and renewed national resolve.
As the strains of ‘Sāgara Pran Talamalala…’ echoed across Sri Vijaya Puram, the evening reaffirmed that Savarkar’s words, written more than a century ago on a distant shore, continue to stir hearts, ignite reflection, and bind generations to the idea of an undivided and dedicated India.
