{"id":1086,"date":"2013-07-13T01:32:28","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:32:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=1086"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:32:28","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:32:28","slug":"42-facts-and-opinions-16-10-1909-vol-02-karmayogin-volume-02","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/01-sabcl\/02-karmayogin-volume-02\/42-facts-and-opinions-16-10-1909-vol-02-karmayogin-volume-02","title":{"rendered":"-42_Facts and Opinions 16-10-1909.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n

\nFacts and Opinions<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\nVolume I – Oct. 16, 1909 – Number 17<\/font><\/p>\n

\n Gokhale’s
\n Apologia<\/b><\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n            <\/font>
\nW<\/font>e do not think we need waste much
\nspace on the arguments of the recent speech in which Mr. Gokhale has
\nattempted to reconcile the contradictory utterances in which
\nhis speeches have lately abounded. Vibhishan’s utterances are of little
\nimportance nowadays to anyone except the Government and Anglo-India, who are naturally disposed to make
\nthe most of his defection from the cause of the people. Justice
\nChandavarkar, who long ago gave up the cause of his country
\nfor a judgeship and whose present political opinions can be
\nestimated from his remark in the Swaraj case, grandiloquently
\ncondemned the "vilification" to which Mr. Gokhale has been
\nexposed, and declared that condemnation from such quarters
\nwas the greatest compliment a man like his prot\u00e9g\u00e9 could have.
\nOf course the worthy judge could not foresee that the Englishman
\n<\/i>would hail the first Servant of India as a brand plucked from the
\nburning and compliment him on being the only righteous and
\nright-thinking man among Indian politicians, \u2014 which is, after
\nall, a little hard on Sir Pherozshah Mehta and Mr. Harkissen
\nLal. But in the same report that enshrines Mr. Chandavarkar’s
\nsemi-official rhetoric, we have it that the Commissioner of Police
\nand his deputy were present to support the speaker with their
\nmoral influence and loudly applauded his sentiments. Surely
\nthis was a yet greater compliment to Mr. Gokhale, \u2014 the greatest he could receive. And if we suppose, with the Bombay
\nJudge, that the condemnation of his countrymen is an honour
\nfor which the erstwhile popular leader eagerly pants, surely the
\nsupport and loud applause of the two highest police officials in
\nthe land, and one of them his old friend, Mr. Vincent, of whom
\nhe must have pleasant memories connected with his famous
\napology to the British army, \u2014 must have been yet dearer to the<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 238<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

statesman’s heart. Only three things
\nare noteworthy in the
\nspeech itself. Mr. Gokhale fervently declares that it is not only
\nthe duty of every Indian to shun religiously all aspirations
\ntowards independence, but also to rush to the defence of the
\nGovernment when it is attacked. This explains Mr. Gokhale’s
\nrecent speeches. It is a pity that he awoke to the sense of his duty
\nso late; otherwise, not being overburdened by a sense of consistency he might have rushed to the help of the Government against
\nhimself when he was loudly advocating political boycott and even outdistancing
\nthe most extreme Nationalist by suggesting the refusal of payment of taxes. The
\nsecond thing we note, is the remarkable statement that, even if we try to use peaceful methods,
\nthe Government will not long allow them to retain their peaceful character. This
\ncan mean only that the Government will deliberately force the advocates of Indian freedom to use violent
\nmeans by persecuting the use of lawful and peaceful methods. We had recently to dissent from a much more limited suggestion
\nby Sj. Bepin Pal, but an aspersion of this kind from Mr. Gokhale,
\nnot on officials but on the Government whom he is supporting
\nso thoroughly in their policy, is amazing. Truly, Mr. Gokhale
\nhardly seems to know what discretion means. In the same way he tried to teach
\nthe young men of India, among whom he admits that the gospel of independence has gained immense ground,
\nthat violence was the only road to the realisation of their cherished ideal. Finally, we find Mr. Gokhale appealing to the
\npeople of this country to give up their ideals from personal self-interest and the danger of harassment and martyrdom which
\nattends the profession and pursuit of the new politics. Truly has
\na mighty teacher arisen in India ! We could have passed by an
\nargument based on the doubt whether our course was right and helpful to the
\ncountry, but this sordid appeal to the lowest motives in humanity, selfishness and cowardice, makes one’s gorge
\nrise. And this is the man who claims, we hear, to have preceded
\nthe Nationalists as a prophet of self-sacrifice and the cult of the motherland. Well may we echo the cry of the Israelite malcontents, "These be thy gods,
\nO Israel !"<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 239<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n The
\n People’s Proclamation<\/a><\/b><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nIn our last issue we commented on the
\nimportance and significance of the People’s Proclamation as part of the celebration
\nof the 16th October. It is a curious irony of Fate that, immediately
\nafterwards, it should have been deliberately decided by our
\nleaders to drop the Proclamation from the proceedings. We do
\nnot know in what particular quarter of that quaking morass of
\nfears and apprehensions which is called the mind of our leaders,
\nor in answer to what particular touch the tremor arose which
\nhas manifested itself in this amazing excision. The mutilated
\ncopy of last year’s circular which is disgraced by this act of inexplicable backsliding and timidity, comes out under the signatures
\nof Sjts. Surendranath Banerji, Motilal Ghose and Rai Jotindranath Chaudhuri. We are certainly astonished to find Moti Babu’s
\nname under such a document and we can only assume that it was
\nasserted without getting his consent or that consent was asked
\nand given by telegraph from Deoghur without his being informed
\nof the omission. Originally, there was another honoured name
\nin that place, but the gentleman who bore it declined to sign unless the omission was rectified, and Moti Babu’s name seems to
\nhave been thrust in at the last moment in order to fill up the gap,
\n\u2014 a proceeding not very complimentary to one of the first living
\nnames in Bengal. Nor do we quite understand how Rai Jotindranath Chaudhuri induced himself to be a consenting party to
\nthe omission, if indeed he knew of it. Be that as it may, the
\nNationalist leaders will do their duty in opposing this act of
\nculpable weakness. But we are curious to know how the people
\nwill take it. Their attitude will be some sign of the present altitude of the political thermometer. The tone and temper of the
\nmovement showed a distinct rise till the Hughly Conference,
\nsubsequently it seems to have been sinking. And no wonder, with
\nsuch leadership. Even a nation of strong men led by the weak, blind or selfish,
\nbecomes easily infected with the vices of its leaders. And the strength of Bengal though immensely increased,
\nis not yet the perfect and tempered steel that it must become,
\nhard as adamant and light in the lifting.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 240<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n The
\n Anusilan Samiti<\/a><\/b><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nThe proclamation of the Anusilan Samiti
\nin Calcutta is one of
\nthe most autocratic and unjustifiable acts that the bureaucracy
\nhave yet committed. The Calcutta Samiti has distinguished itself, since the beginning of its career, by the rigidity with which it
\nhas enforced its rule of not mixing as an association with current
\npolitics and confining itself to such activities as were not only
\nunobjectionable, but of such a nature that even the most autocratic Government, provided it had the least sympathy with the
\nmoral and physical improvement of its subjects, must wholly
\napprove. Its original and main motive has been the improvement
\nof the physique in the race, and there has been no instance in
\nwhich the Samiti has gone beyond its function as a physical
\ntraining institution or tried to use the improved physique for any
\ncombined purpose. Beyond this the main activities have been
\nturned to the help of the Police and the public on such occasions
\nas the Ardhoday Yog, to the organisation of famine relief, in
\nwhich the Samiti has done splendid work, and recently to other
\naction recommended by the Government itself. We believe it
\nhas even to a certain extent enjoyed the approbation of high
\nEuropean officials. It is indeed an ironical comment on the
\ndemand for co-operation that the only great association born
\nof the new movement which has shown any anxiety to depart
\nfrom a line of strict independent activity and co-operate with the
\nGovernment, should have been selected, at this time of peace and quiet, for
\nproclamation on the extraordinary ground that it interferes in some undefined and mysterious way with the administration of the law. Advocates of co-operation, take note. Meanwhile what can the man in the street conclude except that the
\nGovernment is determined to allow no organisation to exist
\namong the Bengalis which has the least trace in it of self-help,
\ntraining and patriotic effort ? For no explanation is vouchsafed
\nof this arbitrary act. In an august and awful silence the gods of
\nBelvedere hurl their omnipotent paper thunderbolts, careless of
\nwhat mere men may think, confident in their self-arrogated
\nattributes of omnipotence, omniscience and omni-benevolence,
\na divine, irresistible and irresponsible mystery.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 241<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n The
\n National Fund<\/a><\/b><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nWe have received a letter from Mr. A.
\nC. Sen of Delhi in which
\nhe recommends that the National Fund should be utilised for a
\nSwadeshi Museum. The necessity of such an institution has
\nbeen engaging our attention for some time, and no one can dispute the immense advantages that will accrue from it; but the
\ninstitution, if properly conceived and managed, needs only a
\nsmall initial fund for its support in the first stages of its existence
\nand will soon become self-supporting. It is quite unnecessary  to
\ndivert to it a large sum like the National Fund. Meanwhile,
\nif we allow divided counsels to obtain as to the disposal of the
\nfund, the only result will be that it will remain where it is, useless
\nand unused. We note that the opposition to the proposal unanimously passed at Hughly emanates from a few individuals whose
\njustification for professing to speak in the name of the subscribers
\nis not yet clear, the Anglo-Indian papers who are interested in
\npreventing the erection of the hall, and, among Indian papers,
\nthe Hindu Patriot<\/i>, the Indian Mirror<\/i>, and the Indian Nation<\/i>,
\nall
\nof them papers of a limited circulation and opposed to the
\nnational movement in its most vital features. We are not aware
\nthat any organ of the popular party, Moderate or Nationalist,
\nhas opposed the sense of the country as formulated in Sj. Surendranath Banerji’s resolution at Hughly.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 242<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Facts and Opinions Volume I – Oct. 16, 1909 – Number 17 Gokhale’s Apologia               We do not think we need waste much space…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-02-karmayogin-volume-02","wpcat-23-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1086"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1086\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}