Ganesh Dāmodar Sāvarkar (13 June 1879 –[1] 16 March 1945), also called Babarao Savarkar, was an Indian politician, activist and founder of the Abhinav Bharat Society.[2]
Ganesh Damodar Savarkar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 13 June 1879 |
| Died | 16 March 1945 (aged 65) Sangli, Bombay Presidency, British India (present-day India) |
| Other names | Babarao Savarkar |
| Known for | Freedom fighter |
| Spouse | Saraswatibai Savarkar |
| Relatives | Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (brother), Narayan Damodar Savarkar (brother) |
Ganesh was the eldest of the Savarkar brothers, Ganesh, Vinayak, and Narayan, they also had a sister Mainabai, who was the penultimate child of their parents, Narayan being the youngest.[3]: 107 His parents' death laid the liability of his family at an age of twenty years.[1]
_Narayan,_Ganesh_and_Vinayak,_with_Shanta,_sister_Maina_Kale_and_Yamuna.jpg)
He led an armed movement against the British colonial government in India, he was sentenced to transportation for life as a result. The then collector of Nasik, A. M. T. Jackson was assassinated by Anant Laxman Kanhere in retaliation.[3]: 117 Dhananjay Keer describes Jackson as "part of the oppressive machinery of the British Empire" and "...responsible for deporting Babarao..."[4]: 197
M. J. Akbar writes that "The five friends who started the RSS were B. S. Moonje, L. V. Paranjpe, Dr. Tholkar, Babarao Savarkar and Hedgewar himself".[5]: 306 Rity Kohli writes that Savarkar's essay on nationalism "Rashtra Mimansa"[6]: 471 was abridged into "We, and our Nationhood, Defined", by Golwalkar, in 1938, which was the first systematic statement of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ideology.[7]