Savarkar’s Dadar Bungalow: Legacy, Politics, and the Future of Shivaji Park

Savarkar’s Dadar bungalow may soon be razed. On the surface, it’s a redevelopment project like hundreds of others reshaping Mumbai. But this one carries weight. A lot of it.

This is not just a crumbling residential structure. It’s a symbol, of one of India’s most polarising ideologues, of a political movement that shaped modern Hindutva, and of a neighbourhood that has long been the heartbeat of Marathi pride and protest. Shivaji Park is not just geography. It’s memory, it’s movement, it’s metaphor.

So, what happens when that memory risks being bulldozed?

A house full of history

Constructed in 1938, Savarkar Sadan is not just where Vinayak Damodar Savarkar lived. It’s where he held meetings with the likes of Subhas Chandra Bose. It’s also where Nathuram Godse visited shortly before assassinating Mahatma Gandhi.

That alone makes the bungalow historically significant, and politically charged.

For decades, Savarkar’s descendants continued to live in the building. In the 80’s and 90’s, it grew upward with the help of development rights, becoming a layered patchwork of old and new, private and public. Today, ownership is scattered, with family members, private owners, and a trust that runs a tiny museum in one room.

The structure is visibly ageing. Leaks, seepage, and weak interiors are common complaints. Several residents have reportedly signed off on redevelopment. A builder has shown interest. On paper, it’s all legal. Mumbai’s rules say 51% consent is enough. The numbers are there.

But the story is not that simple.

Politics, memory, and a city in flux

Savarkar’s Dadar bungalow is more than a building, it’s a flashpoint. For some, it’s sacred ground. For others, it’s politically inconvenient.

The BJP, which often champions Savarkar’s legacy, has seen four terms in power in Maharashtra since 2011. Yet the proposal to grant the bungalow heritage status, first recommended by Mumbai’s heritage committee in 2009, still sits idle in a file in the urban development department.

That inaction speaks volumes.

Critics like Prof Pankaj Phadnis, who once lived in the building, are asking pointed questions. If the BJP truly reveres Savarkar, why hasn’t it preserved his home? Why does the push for redevelopment come with so little pushback?

Supporters of redevelopment argue that the property is private. Savarkar himself insisted on keeping the Sadan in family hands. Still, heritage activists and historians warn that once it’s gone, the chance to officially recognise and preserve it may vanish forever.

In a country where statues are built to signal power, the silence around a heritage tag for Savarkar Sadan is hard to miss.

Shivaji Park: A legacy under pressure

Shivaji Park has always stood for political drama. It’s where leaders are made, where parties test their muscle, and where movements are born. The area is steeped in the kind of cultural and political capital that makes buildings like Savarkar Sadan more than mere structures.

And yet, like much of Mumbai, it’s also under constant pressure to ‘modernise.’ Redevelopment is not new here. Two adjacent plots, including one that once housed classical vocalist Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki, are already part of the builder’s plan. The new structure could stretch across multiple plots and command staggering real estate value.

Is this just a case of crumbling walls and rising demand? Or is something deeper at stake?

Heritage vs Development: The ticking clock

A petition in the Bombay High Court sought heritage status for the bungalow as far back as 2008. The heritage committee agreed in 2009, assigning it ‘Grade II A’ status, a category that allows internal changes but protects the exterior from alteration. But the final clearance never came.

The catch? The rulebook for declaring national monuments demands that a site be at least 100 years old. Savarkar Sadan will hit that mark in 2038. If it does not exist by then, it won’t qualify, unless the law is changed. And that’s what groups like the Abhinav Bharat Congress are now asking courts to consider.

Meanwhile, the Swatantryaveer Savarkar Rashtriya Smarak Trust is trying to strike a compromise, asking for more space for a museum in the new building and insisting the mezzanine floor retain the name Savarkar Sadan. But even that is still ‘under discussion,’ not a done deal.

What are we willing to forget?

The larger question is not just about Savarkar. It’s about what cities remember, and what they quietly erase. In the race to build higher, faster, and sleeker, how do we treat places that hold uncomfortable or complex legacies?

It’s easier to name roads and airports after icons than to deal with the messy truth of their homes.

Savarkar’s Dadar bungalow may soon fall to the hammer. If it does, a critical piece of Shivaji Park’s soul will go with it, and perhaps, a chance for future generations to ask hard questions in the very place where history once echoed.

Savarkar Sadan at a Glance