The Great Escape of Swatantryavir Savarkar.

The History that made Swatantryavir Vinayak Damodar Savarkar Savarkar a national hero! He was being taken to India by a ship which was berthed at Marseilles, France, on July 8, 1910. Savarkar wriggled out of the porthole and swam a great distance in the cold water to reach the shore. He had earlier told his friends, including Madame Bhikaji Cama, to meet him at Marseilles, but they arrived late. Since Savarkar did not speak French, he was unable to tell the local policeman that he was a political prisoner. So the local policeman handedover Swatantravir Savarkar to the British Police. This great event that resonated across India.

He is the first political prisoner whose daring escape and arrest on French soil became a cause celebre in the International Court of Justice at The Hague. This case was mentioned in many International Treaties at that time.

He was tried, and on December 24, 1910, sentenced to 50 years in prison. On July 4, 1911, he was sent to Port Blair's Cellular Jail.