Not just Veer Savarkar, both his brothers were ardent nationalists as well. To Savarkar goes the credit of terming the 1857 revolt as the First War of Independence. Until then, it was known as the Sepoy Mutiny. He changed the nature of discourse about the struggle against the British. The prison in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where he was jailed, is a place of pilgrimage today for millions of Indians. His portrait hangs in Parliament. For the leader of a national party to use such derogatory language about a patriot and nationalist, is a case fit to be investigated by police.
—Rakesh Sinha, Rajya Sabha MP
