The distinguished patriot's father, Shrijut Damodarpant Savarkar, was an educated gentleman who belonged to the chitpavan section of the Maratha Brahmins. His life is the subject of this biography.This section has long been an eyesore for English Imperialists of the Curzon type because of the peculiar guilt it carries for having produced men who were at the forefront of the Indian forces' struggle for independence over the past two hundred years.Balaji Vishwanath, the first Peshwa, was a chitpavan.A chitpavan was Bajirao, one of the greatest generals India ever produced;Chitpavan was Panipat's hero;Chitpavans include the great Indian statesman Nana Fadnavis, Nana Saheb, Vasudeo Balwant, and the Chaphekar brothers and Ranade, who were hanged as murderers for killing the British officers who were in charge of the Plague administration in Poona