Unpublished Documents Show Savarkar’s Vision of a Scientific, Inclusive India

Newly uncovered archival material highlights Vinayak Damodar Savarkar’s commitment to rationalism, minority rights and a merit‑based society.

Sridhar D. Damle’s research, which spans Indian, British and American repositories, includes a 1906 draft that explicitly states that religion and scripture are human inventions and that policy decisions must rest on science and human welfare.

The documents also record Savarkar’s insistence that every religious community receive equal citizenship, freedom to practice its faith and protection of cultural heritage, while upholding a unified Indian nation.

Damle points out that Savarkar opposed the partition of India, feared that the Congress might accept division, and exchanged ideas with B. R. Ambedkar on the subject, as reflected in correspondence found in the archives.

The forthcoming book will present these findings and embed the full suite of digitised files in an open‑access platform, encouraging a nuanced re‑evaluation of Savarkar’s social reform agenda.