{"id":2039,"date":"2013-07-13T01:39:04","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:39:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=2039"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:39:04","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:39:04","slug":"74-facts-and-opinions-28-vol-08-karmayogin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/03-cwsa\/08-karmayogin\/74-facts-and-opinions-28-vol-08-karmayogin","title":{"rendered":"-74_Facts and Opinions_28.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tKARMAYOGIN<\/font> <\/font><\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/font><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tA WEEKLY
\n\t\t\tREVIEW <\/font><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tof National
\n\t\t\tReligion, Literature, Science, Philosophy, &c.,<\/font><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\n
\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tVol. I <\/font>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t }<\/font><\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSATURDAY 15th<\/sup> JANUARY 1910<\/font><\/td>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t{<\/font>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/font>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNo. <\/font>28<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

\t\t\t\t<\/font><\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t <\/font><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tFacts and Opinions<\/font>
\n\t\t\t<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tThe Patiala Case<\/a> <\/font>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tThe Patiala case has developed a real objective, which is the
\n\t\t\tdestruction of the Arya Samaj, the men arrested being merely pawns in the game. The speech of the Counsel for the
\n\t\t\tprosecution, Mr. Grey, in no way sets out an ordinary case against
\n\t\t\tindividuals, nor is there any passage in it which gives any light as to particular evidence against the persons on their trial,
\n\t\t\tbut from beginning to end it is an arraignment of the Arya Samaj as a body whose whole object, semi-open rather than secret,
\n\t\t\tis the subversion of British rule. Mr. Norton, taking advantage of
\n\t\t\tthe presence of Sj. Aurobindo Ghose in the dock, attempted to build up in the Alipur case an elaborate indictment of the
\n\t\t\twhole national movement as a gigantic conspiracy, but he did not neglect the individual cases and made some attempt to
\n\t\t\tconceal the extrajudicial object of his oratory by a continual
\n\t\t\treference to actual evidence, relevant or irrelevant, in the case. Mr. Grey has not given himself that trouble. The political character
\n\t\t\tof his advocacy is open and avowed. But he follows his Calcutta
\n\t\t\tprecursor in the ludicrous jumps of his logic from trivial premises
\n\t\t\tto gigantically incongruous conclusions, in his heroic attempt to make bricks out of straw. His chief arguments are that the Arya Samajists read the Amrita Bazar Patrika
\n<\/i>and the Punjabee<\/i>,<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage-402<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\u2013to say nothing of the long defunct
\nBande Mataram<\/i>, \u2013and that some of the prominent members of the Arya Samaj
\n\t\t\tare politicians and yet remain members of the Arya Samaj. The
\n\t\t\tperfectly general interpretations by Swami Dayananda of the Vedic view of politics, are the basis of his attack, and
\n\t\t\teven the vehement character of the great reformer’s polemics against
\n\t\t\tother religions, the orthodox Hindu included, are pressed into the service of this unique argument. And all this is used to prejudice men under trial on a serious charge. Mr. Norton
\n\t\t\ttrifled with the traditions of the British bar by his pressing of
\n\t\t\ttrivial and doubtful evidence against the accused in the Alipur
\n\t\t\tcase, but it seems to us that Mr. Grey has departed still farther
\n\t\t\tfrom those lofty traditions. And what if the Patiala Court decides
\n\t\t\tthat the Arya Samaj is a seditious body, seditious in origin,
\n\t\t\tseditious in intention, seditious in action? Will the Government
\n\t\t\tproscribe as an illegal association this wealthy, powerful and highly
\n\t\t\torganised community containing more than half the brains and
\n\t\t\tactivity of the Punjab? Already the charge has been made that by
\n\t\t\tgiving special privileges to the Mahomedans, the Government have abandoned definitely the principle of religious
\n\t\t\tneutrality on which their rule has hitherto been founded. The
\n\t\t\tpresent Governor of the Punjab is possibly capable of such a step, \u2013after the whitewashing of the Police in the Gulab Bano case and his speech to the Loyalist deputation, we can believe
\n\t\t\thim capable of any rash and headstrong step. Fortunately, there is
\n\t\t\tlittle likelihood that Mr. Grey’s oratory will be any more effective
\n\t\t\tthan Mr. Norton’s.<\/font>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tThe Arya Samaj and
\n\t\t\tPolitics<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tWe have received a communication from a member of the Samaj in which he puts to us certain pointed questions relating to
\n\t\t\tthe aims, character and works of the Samaj and of its founder’s
\n\t\t\tteachings. We have not that direct and firsthand knowledge which would enable us to answer these questions with
\n\t\t\tany authority. But on the general question our views are known. Aryaism is not an independent religion. It is avowedly an<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage-403<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

attempt to revive the Vedic religion in its pristine purity. The Vedic religion is a national religion, and it embraces in its scope
\nall the various activities of the national life. Swami Dayananda as a restorer of Vedicism
\n\t\t\tincluded the theory of politics in his scope and revealed the
\n\t\t\tintensely national character of the Hindu religion and morality. His
\n\t\t\twork was avowedly a work of national regeneration. In dealing with
\n\t\t\tthe theory of politics as based on the Vedic religion he had
\n\t\t\tnaturally to include the truth that independence is the true and
\n\t\t\tnormal condition of a nation and all lapse into subjection must be a
\n\t\t\tsin and degeneration, temporary in its nature. No man can deny this great truth. Freedom is the goal of humanity and Aryaism was in its nature a gospel
\nof freedom, individual freedom, social freedom, intellectual freedom, freedom in all things, and the accomplishment of such
\nan all-pervading liberation cannot come about without bringing national freedom in its train. If to perceive these truths of
\nVedism and of nature is to be political and seditious, then Swami Dayananda’s teaching was political and seditious and the religion he preached may be stigmatised as political and seditious. But if sedition be limited to its proper meaning, an attempt by
\nillegal and violent means to bring about the fall of the established authority or prepare by word or action lawless opposition and
\nrevolution, then there is no sedition in the Swami’s preaching or in the belief and actions of the Arya Samaj. They use the perfectly
\nlegitimate means of strengthening the national life at all points and their objective is national regeneration through an active
\nand free religion, not political revolution. Individual members may be Loyalists, Moderates, Nationalists, even Terrorists, but
\na religious body is not responsible for the political opinions of its individual members. The religious teaching of Swami
\nDayananda was inspired by national motives, not political; and the aims of the Arya Samaj are national, not political.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tThe Arya Disclaimer<\/a><\/font> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tThe leaders of the Arya Samaj have issued a manifesto disclaiming the political motives attributed to them by the Counsel for<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage-404<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

the Prosecution in his extraordinary opening address at Patiala. But is there any use in these repeated disclaimers? To a certain
\ntype of official mind, not in the minority in this country, every movement, body, organ of opinion or centre of activity that
\nmakes for national strength, efficiency or manhood is by that very fact suspect and indeed self-convicted as seditious and its
\nvery existence a crime to be punished by the law. The Governor of the Punjab is either himself an official of this class or
\nswayed by advisers of that temper. Under such circumstances it is enough to issue once for all a strong and dignified repudiation
\nof the charge and then proceed calmly with the great work the Samaj has undertaken, serenely strong and unperturbed in good
\nfortune or evil fortune, good report or evil report, confident in God’s grace and the spiritual force communicated by the
\nfounder. This is the only course worthy of a manly community professing a robust and virile religion. Anxious repetition of
\nunheeded disclaimers seems to us undignified and futile.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tWhat Is Sedition?<\/a><\/b> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The question, what is sedition, one of those Chinese puzzles which it seems impossible to solve, nevertheless presses for solution. In Nagpur it has been established that to laugh at the holder of a Government title is sedition. In the Swaraj Case
\nJustice Chandavarkar has declared it to be the law that to condemn terrorism in strong language and trace it to its source
\nis sedition. At Patiala it is contended that to read the
\nAmrita<\/i> Bazar Patrika
\n<\/i>and the
\nPunjabee
\n<\/i>is sedition. We are not quite
\nsure that at Patiala the prosecuting counsel did not hint that to bring Christianity or Mahomedanism into contempt or hatred is sedition. And we have these remarkable cases in the Punjab, where to translate Seeley’s
\nExpansion of England
\n<\/i>or
\nMr. Bryan’s opinion of British rule in India seems to have a fair chance of being established as sedition. Mr. Stead’s
\nReview<\/i>
\nof Reviews
\n<\/i>is now known to be a seditious publication. We are not sure, either, that the
\nIndian Daily News
\n<\/i>is not even
\nworse, for it is continually trying to bring the police, who are<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage-405<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

an indispensable part of the Government established by law, into contempt and hatred, and the incorrigible persistence of
\nits efforts is sufficient proof of motive, if not of conspiracy. Now one of the charges against a Punjab accused is that he
\nwrote impugning the character of the subordinate police service
\n\t\t\t\u2013<\/font>just like the
\nIndian Daily News
\n<\/i>or Sir Andrew Fraser.
\nWe would suggest that Sir Andrew Fraser should be arrested in England and brought here to answer to the outraged police for the remarks passed by the Police Commission. The reasoning is perfectly fair. Any strong criticism, especially if
\nit is persistent, lowers the reputation of the Government and creates in people a tendency to belittle, that is to say, have a
\ncontempt for authority established by law. It is still worse if the Government is accused of injustice, say, in the matter of
\nthe deportations or the Gulab Bano case; for that inevitably creates hatred. Therefore strong criticism of the Government
\nis sedition. The
\nAmrita Bazar Patrika
\n<\/i>and
\nPunjabee
\n<\/i>strongly criticise the Government. Therefore they are seditious papers
\nand their readers seditious conspirators. Every official is a member of the Government established by law; therefore to criticise
\nstrongly an official or a policeman, still more, officials or policemen as a class, is sedition. Christianity is the religion of the
\nGovernment established by law; to criticise Christianity is to bring Christians into contempt; the Government are Christians;
\ntherefore to criticise Christianity is to bring the Government established by law into contempt. That is sedition. Therefore to
\ncriticise Christianity is sedition. To say that repression fosters Terrorism may be true, but it is seditious. To suggest a Press
\ncensorship, seriously or ironically, is to bring the administration of the law of sedition into contempt, that is, to bring the
\nadministrators into contempt; and the administrators are the Government established by law. Therefore Mr. Stead’s Open
\nLetter to Lord Morley is seditious. We are almost afraid to go on, lest, finally, we should end by proving that the
\nEnglishman<\/i>
\nitself is an intolerably seditious rag, \u2013<\/font>for does it not try to bring Sir Edward Baker and the Government generally into contempt
\nby intimating genially that they are liars, idiots and good-for-nothing<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage-406<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

weaklings,
\n\t\t\t\u2013<\/font>in connection with the Reforms and their unwillingness to put the whole population of India into prison?
\nWould it not save trouble to prohibit speech or writing in India altogether?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPage-407<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KARMAYOGIN A WEEKLY REVIEW of National Religion, Literature, Science, Philosophy, &c., Vol. I  } SATURDAY 15th JANUARY 1910 { No. 28   Facts and Opinions…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-08-karmayogin","wpcat-44-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2039","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=2039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2039\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}