Veer Savarkar shapes PM Modi’s Marseille visit.
Marseille, a historic port city in southern France, holds deep ties to India’s fight for independence. As part of his three-day visit to France, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will conclude his trip in Marseille. On Wednesday, he will join French President Emmanuel Macron at the Mazargues War Cemetery to pay tribute to the Indian soldiers who bravely fought and lost their lives in World War I.
Beyond its historical significance, Marseille is key in strengthening diplomatic ties. The visit will facilitate high-level discussions with key allies outside Paris, following a similar precedent set when Prime Minister Modi hosted President Macron in Jaipur last year.
As part of this engagement, Prime Minister Modi and President Macron will also inaugurate the newly established Consulate General of India in Marseille, further deepening bilateral relations.
The city is also etched in India’s freedom struggle due to a remarkable episode involving revolutionary leader Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, known as Veer Savarkar. On July 8, 1910, while being transported to India for trial aboard the British ship Morea, Savarkar made a daring escape.
Seizing an opportunity, he slipped through a porthole, swam to the shore, and attempted to flee. However, French authorities soon captured him and handed him back to the British, a move that triggered diplomatic tensions between France and Britain.
France later contended that Savarkar’s extradition violated international law, arguing that proper legal procedures had not been followed. The incident became a contentious issue, highlighting the complex political dynamics of that era.
In 1911, the case was presented to the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which acknowledged an “irregularity” in Savarkar’s arrest but ruled that Britain was not legally bound to return him to France.
French authorities argued that since Savarkar had reached French soil in Marseille, he should have been subjected to France’s legal system instead of being hastily handed over to the British without proper legal proceedings.
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The incident sparked widespread outrage, with the French press and human rights organizations condemning it as a violation of France’s sovereignty and international law. They criticized the transfer as an “unlawful and improper extradition.”
France strongly demanded Savarkar’s restitution, insisting that his arrest and handover lacked legal justification under existing extradition treaties.
