Right-wing ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar treated the cow as a useful animal, and not god, grandnephew Satyaki Savarkar told a Special MP/MLA Court in Pune.
During the hearing of a criminal defamation case against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi for defaming Savarkar while delivering a speech in London in 2023, Satyaki admitted that Savarkar had filed mercy petitions five times while he was in jail, but pointed out that many other political prisoners also sent such petitions to the British government.
"It is not true to say that, according to some historians, Savarkar is accused of having proposed the two-nation concept. That Savarkar made factual comments about the two-nation dispute, but the original concept was not his, but was proposed by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. It is true to say that, reference is made to Savarkar's view that the cow is a useful animal, not a god," LiveLaw quoted Satyaki as saying.
During cross-examination, Satyaki admitted that Savarkar had appealed for recruitment into the British Army during World War II.
He explained that the appeal was aimed at ensuring that young Indians received military and firearms training, while also gaining experience in different roles within the army. According to him, the idea was that once India attained independence, the country would have a trained military force of its own to safeguard its sovereignty. He further argued that Savarkar’s foresight helped India, particularly when it faced aggression from Pakistan soon after independence, as the presence of trained Indian soldiers strengthened the nation’s ability to respond.
The objections to Savarkar's views on cows or military recruitment have been made without fully understanding his role, Satyaki noted.