Tarun Karthick
Sri Vijaya Puram, 12 December 2025
The Andaman & Nicobar Islands will witness a major patriotic commemoration today as a statue of Swatantryaveer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar is unveiled near Sri Vijaya Puram in Beodanabad Village (rural South Andaman), followed by a grand patriotic programme at the DBRAIT Auditorium celebrating 116 years of his iconic composition “Sagara Pran Talamalala…”
At Beodanabad, overlooking the very sea whose waves inspired Savarkar’s timeless poem, a newly installed statue of the freedom fighter will be unveiled this afternoon. The ceremony will be led by the Sarsanghchalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Dr. Mohan Bhagwat, with Union Home Minister Mr. Amit Shah attending the event.
Lt. Governor Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi and Maharashtra’s Cultural Affairs and IT Minister Adv. Ashish Shelar will also grace the event.
Conceptualised by Mr. Ameya Hete, Founder of the Valuable Group, the statue has been sculpted by eminent artist and Maharashtra Bhushan awardee Mr. Ram Sutar. The installation, positioned by the shoreline, is likely intended to symbolise Savarkar’s unbroken spirit, nationalism, and sacrifice during his imprisonment in the Andamans.
Savarkar was incarcerated at the Cellular Jail from 1911 to 1921, undergoing some of the harshest conditions imposed on political prisoners during the colonial era. Confined in solitary cells and subjected to severe punishments, he nonetheless produced stirring literary works that strengthened India’s spirit of resistance.
The statue installation today is intended as a tribute to that historical connection between Savarkar and the Andamans, where his ideas of nationalism took enduring poetic form.
Following the unveiling, a grand commemorative programme titled “Sagara Pran Talamalala” will be held at the DBRAIT Auditorium at 3:30 pm. The event will showcase patriotic renditions honouring Savarkar’s cultural and literary legacy.
Padma Shri Pt. Hridaynath Mangeshkar and team will present a special rendition of “Ne Majasi Ne Parat Matrubhumila, Sagara Pran Talamalala…”—the very composition linked to Savarkar’s prison years in the islands.
Other celebrated works written by Savarkar and composed by Hridaynath Mangeshkar, including “Jayostute,” “Jai Jai Shivrayā,” and “He Hindu Nrisinghā,” will also be performed, echoing the freedom fighter’s passionate devotion to the motherland.
Several personalities who have worked to promote Savarkar’s ideals will be honoured during the event, among them Padma Shri Pt. Hridaynath Mangeshkar, actor Randeep Hooda, actor Sharad Ponkshe, and historian-author Dr. Vikram Sampath.
Mr. Ameya Hete, who conceptualised both events, said the ceremony is “a humble salute to India’s inspiring history of freedom” and an effort to rekindle the flame of patriotism in younger generations.
The event is being coordinated by Mrs. Manjiri Hete and Prasad Mahadkar of Merak Events.
(Edited)
