Opposition party Shiv Sena (UBT), known to be critical of the Centre, also praised Modi’s recognition of Savarkar’s contributions. Party leader Sanjay Raut called the Prime Minister’s visit “a matter of pride."
New Delhi: During a visit to the historic French port city of Marseille, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid tribute to Veer Savarkar’s escape from a British ship in 1910 — a moment he described as emblematic of the freedom fighter’s “courageous” role in India’s independence movement.
Savarkar, being taken from Britain back to India aboard a British vessel, jumped into the waters at Marseille in a bid to evade arrest. Mistaken for a ship’s crew member, he was handed back to British authorities by a French brigadier. When France realised its error after the ship had departed, it demanded Savarkar’s return, leading to a diplomatic dispute that was ultimately referred to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at The Hague.
In a post on social media platform X, Modi said, “In India’s quest for freedom, Marseille holds special significance. It was here that the great Veer Savarkar attempted a courageous escape. I also want to thank the people of Marseille and the French activists of that time who demanded that he not be handed over to British custody.”
Opposition party Shiv Sena (UBT), known to be critical of the Centre, also praised Modi’s recognition of Savarkar’s contributions. Party leader Sanjay Raut called the Prime Minister’s visit “a matter of pride.”
Records from the PCA, an international organisation established in 1899 to resolve disputes between nations, show that Britain and France submitted the matter for arbitration in October 1910. The PCA ruled in February 1911 that Britain was not obliged to return Savarkar to French authorities, despite the irregularity in his arrest on French soil.
According to the PCA’s historical documents, Savarkar was being transported to India to face trial for abetment of murder. After swimming ashore at Marseille, he was apprehended by a French maritime officer who believed he was a British crewmember. That misunderstanding led to his handover to British agents and his subsequent departure from Marseille.
The French government later objected, calling the incident a “defective extradition,” but the PCA ultimately decided that Britain bore no obligation to restore Savarkar to France.
