In Savarkar season, Godhra reminds Advani of Partition

Advani said the attack on the Sabarmati Express in Godhra that triggered communal violence in Gujarat reminded him of partition days in 1947 when trains were stopped, burnt and people butchered. He reiterated that both the godhra incident as well as the subsequent violence in different parts of Gujarat were equally reprehensible.

The event was not an ordinary one. Specially called for the occasion were Savarkar’s son Vishawas Savarkar and other family members of the man who spent 10 years in Andaman’s Cellular Jail here. Sudhir Phadke, the music director who recently brought Savarkar to life on celluloid was also invited, and one could spot tears trickling down Advani’s cheeks when he embraced Phadke.

Savarkar’s contribution to the nation’s freedom , Advani said, was as great as that of Bhagat Singh, Ashfatullah Khan and Chandrashekhar Azad, with each one of them contributing in their own way.