‘Savarkar plea to British was part of tactical ploy’

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has returned from a high-voltage campaign in Gujarat. He is one of the BJP’S star campaigners for elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. He spoke to Zia Haq on various issues. Edited excerpts:

You have just returned from Gujarat. What is you your assessment of the upcoming elections?

You’ll see on result day. There is no contest for us. The fight is between the Congress and AAP for the runners up slot. Rahul Gandhi, as usual, is missing from the state. It is weird that he is never physically present in the real battleground himself. You’ll see (when results are out).

You are in Delhi to prepare for the 400th birth anniversary of Lachit Barphukan, an Ahom general revered by the Assamese. You said India’s historiography is now being finally corrected. Please explain.

All Indian history was written by Leftists in India and for some reason, they have distorted it. Savarkar spent 26 years in jail for the sake of the motherland. The real story is that his petition to the British was part of a strategic and tactical move on his part to come out of the Cellular jail. Because he had a great vision for our motherland, which he had to accomplish in his lifetime, he employed this tactical move. And he succeeded to come of jail and serve the motherland. He knew he couldn’t waste his life in jail and had to propagate Hindutva and “Desh Bhakti”.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi showed Savarkar’s mercy petition at a recent rally, quoting the latter as saying that he was willing to be subservient to the British?

What Rahul Gandhi is doing is “paap” (sin). It will be costly. Who are we, who have no contribution in the freedom struggle, to pass judgement on people like Savarkar, or even Ambedkar or Gandhi. You can’t pass distorted judgements on a man who spent 26 years in jail for the sake of “Bharat Mata” (motherland Bharat). Savarkar needs a reappraisal. We are doing it.

Can you explain what is being done in this regard?

The BJP is nationally celebrating the 400th birth anniversary of Lachit Barphukan, the great Assamese general who defeated the Mughals and kept them out of the North-east for all time to come. Our historians for some reason present history as if we were a people defeated by the Mughals, who established their rule all over India. Wrong. The Mughals never achieved much in south India and failed to conquer the North-east. They only conquered a part of India.

So, history is being rewritten now by the BJP?

We are only correcting distortion of history. You will now have chapters on Lachit Barphukan in NCERT curriculum. An award by the Indian Army is being instituted in his name. We will welcome a Bollywood movie on him or by an Assamese filmmaker, but the script will be vetted by us, not by me personally, but by rightwing historians. Because Bollywood has its own commercial compulsions, you see. So, we don’t want to compromise with reality. Similarly, we have put out Savarkar’s true historical fact.

But records show Savarkar did pledge subservience to the British?

That’s what I am saying. These are great nationalists. When we write to Mahamahim President of India, don’t we say “yours faithfully”? The British were the rulers then. These are courtesies. Savarkar’s petition was actually a strategic and tactical move to get out of prison and serve the nationalist cause. Leftist historians never mentioned this.

You are clearly a rising star in the BJP. Are we looking at larger roles for you outside Assam?

Whatever responsibility is given to me, it can even be a district-level karyakarta (party worker), I will dutifully do it. Right now, my priority is development of Assam. We are taking all communities irrespective of caste, race and ethnicity together. Honourable Prime Minister’s mantra is same at the national level and state level: saabka saath, saabka vikas (Everyone’s participation, everyone’s progress).