{"id":2048,"date":"2013-07-13T01:39:07","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:39:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=2048"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:39:07","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:39:07","slug":"82-the-elections-vol-08-karmayogin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/03-cwsa\/08-karmayogin\/82-the-elections-vol-08-karmayogin","title":{"rendered":"-82_The Elections.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
<\/p>\n

\nThe Elections
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nTHE GREAT election is over, the first in England which
\nhas been fought on constitutional issues since the passing
\nof the Reform Bill in the earlier part of the nineteenth century. The forces of reaction have put forth their utmost strength
\nand, in the result, have only succeeded in just equalising their own numbers with those of the official Liberal party. This partial
\nsuccess will be more fatal to the cause of reaction than a defeat.
\nFor, in the coming Parliament, the Liberal Ministry will be dependent for their very existence on the forty Labour votes that
\nrepresent the frankly socialistic element in English progressive
\nopinion. Such a state of things has never before existed in English
\npolitics and a few years ago it would have been thought impossible. Practically, Socialist opinion will rule England so long as
\nthe Asquith Ministry lasts and, if the Socialists are wisely guided
\nand refrain from abusing their opportunity, they will be able to
\ntake such steps in the modification of British politics as will
\nensure the triumph of Socialism in England at no distant date.
\nNot only will the Government depend for its very existence on
\nthe Labour vote, but it will depend for its safety on Irish support.
\nIf, therefore, the Irish also are wisely guided and do not press
\nthe favourable situation too far, the long delayed concession of
\nHome Rule is a certainty within the next two years. Necessarily,
\nthe success of the Irish and the Socialists can bear no fruit unless
\nthe veto of the House of Lords is annulled or a new elective
\nUpper Chamber takes the place of the present absurd and antiquated institution. We have not therefore erred in forecasting a
\ndemocratic revolution in England as the inevitable result of the
\naction of the House of Lords in rejecting the Budget, or, as they
\neuphemistically put it, referring it to the country. Mr. Balfour
\nhas recognised that the verdict of the United Kingdom has been
\ngiven in favour of the Budget and against Tariff Reform. The real<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage-445<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nissue is now, what it should have been throughout, the reform,
\nabolition or replacement of the House of Lords.\n<\/p>\n

\nWhen the elections were in progress, Mr. Asquith committed
\nhimself on the question of Home Rule, and, even if he wished
\nto draw back from it, in face of his dependence on Labour and
\nIrish votes he can no longer retreat. All that he has done is to
\nqualify his promise of a final solution of the Irish question by
\nstipulating that it shall contain provision for the supremacy of
\nthe Imperial Parliament as well as local autonomy of a liberal
\ncharacter for the Irish nation. This means not only the restriction of all Imperial questions to the province of the Parliament
\nmeeting in London, but the decision of questions between Ireland and England by the same body and possibly a power of
\nveto in certain matters for the British Cabinet. It is impossible
\nfor an English statesman to go farther in the direction of Irish
\nautonomy, and the Irish party will be well advised to accept
\neven this qualified autonomy and make it an instrument for so
\ndeveloping the strength of the Irish nation as to make further
\nconcession in the future inevitable. The lifework of Parnell has
\nnot gone in vain; the two great questions he brought to a head
\nby his masterly policy, the liberation of the Irish peasant from
\nrack-renting landlords and the liberation of the Irish race from
\nan unsympathetic domination, are both in process of solution
\nwithin a quarter of a century of his untimely end. Liberty is a
\ngoddess who is exacting in her demands on her votaries, but, if
\nthey are faithful, she never disappoints them of their reward.\n<\/p>\n

\nFor India, the elections are as favourable as an English election can be. We do not regard the defeat of pro-Indian Liberal
\ncandidates as a calamity. There is always a limit to the efforts
\nof members of Parliament, however sincere, who are bound by
\nties of party loyalty and discipline not to embarrass their official
\nchiefs beyond a certain point. The Labour members and the
\nNationalists are bound by no such scruples and both of these
\nparties have sympathy with India. The one problem before us
\nis how to turn that sentiment of sympathy into an effective
\nimpetus towards action; for in European politics sentiment is
\nnot a sufficiently strong motive unless it is supported by some<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage-445<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\npractical community of interests. The Irish Parliamentary party
\nwere able to bring Home Rule into the category of realisable ideals because they made it to the interest of the British parties
\nto get rid of the Irish difficulty; if that ideal is realised now,
\nit will be because the interests of the English Liberals and the
\nIrish Nationalists have become one and, therefore, they must
\naccommodate each other. It is forces that effect great political
\nchanges, not moral sentiments or vague generosities. Even a
\ngreat idea can only become operative when it is manifested as a
\nworking force with a definite aim and a distinct pressure on its
\nenvironments.\n<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nOTHER<\/span> WRITINGS<\/span> BY SRI AUROBINDO<\/span> IN THIS ISSUE
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nMoondac Upanishad of the Atharvaveda I.1<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage-447<\/font><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Elections   THE GREAT election is over, the first in England which has been fought on constitutional issues since the passing of the Reform…<\/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-2048","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\/2048","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=2048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2048\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}