"The Father of Hindutva"
His extradition to India, and eventual double life imprisonment sentences to be served at the infamous Kaala Pani prison, christened one of the darkest chapters in Savarkar's life. He was, reportedly, restrained in chains, flogged, and resigned to six months of solitary confinementUnlike numerous political prisoners who were driven to insanity or committed suicide, Savarkar showed remarkable resilience and was ultimately rewarded for it in January 1924
VInayak Damodar Savarkar The Hero of 'The History of the War of Indian Independence'
Double life imprisonment sentences to be served at the infamous Kaala Pani prison in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, He was, reportedly, restrained in chains, flogged, and resigned to six months of solitary confinement. Tied to the mill, he was made to extract oil all day, while being denied even basic access to toilets or water. By some accounts, he was often forced to eat rotten food infested with worms and insects as punishment for his 'crimes' against the government.
In his book, Savarkar: Echoes from a Forgotten Past, 1883–1924, Vikram Sampath documents how Savarkar appealed that "every true Indian needs to resolve in his or her mind to absolve oneself of… seven fetters", that is, Vedoktabandi (exclusivity of access to Vedic literature), Vyavasayabandi (continuation of a profession by virtue of one’s birth), Sparshabandi (practices of untouchability), Samudrabandi (forbidding the crossing of the seas to go to foreign lands), Shuddhibandi (disallowing reconversions to Hinduism), Rotibandi (the practice of inter-caste dining), Betibandi (rigidity in abolishing inter-caste marriage). These reformist ideas subsequently became provisions under the Indian Constitution. Savarkar also wrote how, "In what is construed as a 'low caste' — the Mahars — we have had such illustrious saints as Chokha Mela and such brilliant thinkers such as Dr Ambedkar, whose piety and intellect far surpasses many a Brahmin’s."