Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, a prominent figure in India's independence movement, is remembered differently today compared to his death in 1966. While then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and CPI leader Hiren Mukherjee lauded him as patriotic and anti-imperialist, recent events show a stark contrast. Congress President Sonia Gandhi boycotted a portrait unveiling, and leftist groups labeled Savarkar 'anti-national,' highlighting a shift in political perspectives surrounding his legacy and the Hindutva ideology he popularized.