The Shinde-Fadnavis government has decided to create a tourism circuit dedicated to Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. The circuit will comprise five places, which include his birthplace Bhagur in Nashik, his hostel room at Fergusson College, Pune, and a temple called Patit Pawan Mandir that he established in Ratnagiri district. The announcement has come months after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi slammed Savarkar for his mercy petitions to the British government.
Tourism minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha said that many people were unaware of the significance of the places in the Savarkar circuit, and the government would go all out to create awareness about them. “We will provide infrastructure and other facilities to make them tourist spots,” he said. “We will also collaborate with tour operators to add the Savarkar tourism circuit to their tour packages and will provide them with financial assistance, if necessary.”
The state archaeological department has already commenced restoration of Savarkar Waada, his residence at Bhagur. The Hindutva leader’s hostel room at Fergusson College, Pune, the Patit Pawan Mandir that he set up and the Ratnagiri jail where he was lodged are on the tourism circuit as well as the memorial in the name of his brother, Ganesh ‘Baburao’ Savarkar, at Sangli and Savarkar’s national memorial in Mumbai.