{"id":2830,"date":"2013-07-13T01:44:04","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:44:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=2830"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:44:04","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:44:04","slug":"58-bande-mataram-19-4-07-vol-06-07-bande-mataram","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/03-cwsa\/06-07-bande-mataram\/58-bande-mataram-19-4-07-vol-06-07-bande-mataram","title":{"rendered":"-58_Bande Mataram 19-4-07.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tBande Mataram<\/font><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t
\n\t{ CALCUTTA, April 19th, 1907 }<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

\n
\nAn Ineffectual Sedition Clause
\n<\/b>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nWe commented yesterday on the folly of the Punjab Government in prosecuting the
\nPunjabee <\/i>and the ridiculous and unenviable
\nposition in which the practical collapse of that prosecution has landed them. The absolute lack of courage, insight and statesmanship in the Indian Government has been always a subject of wonder to us. The English are an exceedingly able and practical
\nnation, well versed in the art of keeping down subject races at the least expense and with the greatest advantage to themselves.
\nIt is passing strange to see such a race floundering about and hopelessly at sea in dealing with the new situation in India. There
\nare three possible policies by which it could be met. We could understand a policy of Russian repression, making full use of the
\nmeans of coercion their despotic laws and practice keep ready to their hand in order to stamp out the fire of nationalism before
\nit had spread. We could understand a policy of firm repression of disorder and maintenance of British supremacy, coupled with
\nfull and generous concessions in the sphere of local and municipal self-government. We could understand a frank association of
\nthe people in the Government with provincial Home Rule as its eventual goal. The first policy would be strong and courageous
\nbut unwise; for, its only effect on a nation which has a past and remembers it would be to expedite the advent of its future.
\nThe second, if immediately undertaken, might be temporarily effective but could not for long satisfy national aspirations. The
\nthird is a counsel of perfection to which, fortunately for India’s future greatness, Mr. Blair will hardly get his countrymen to
\nlisten. Nevertheless, any of these three would be a rational and sensible policy; but the present attitude of the Government is 
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tPage \u2013 327<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n neither. It is an impossible mixture of timid and flabby coercion
\nwith insincere, grudging and dilatory conciliation. The Government looses a Fuller on the people and then at the first check
\nwithdraws him. It promises a reform and then hesitates and repents and cannot make up its mind to give it either promptly
\nor frankly. It has stored up any number of legal brahmastras <\/i>and nagapashas
\n<\/i>to bind down and destroy opposition, but it has not
\nthe courage to use them. It would like to crush the people, but it dare not; it feels it necessary to make concessions, but it will
\nnot. This is the way Empires are lost. The only instance of a coherent policy is in East Bengal where the bureaucracy has
\nenvisaged the situation as an unarmed rebellion and is treating it on the military principle of isolating the insurgent forces and
\ncrushing them with the help of local allies before the opposition can become organised and universal. It is an acute and skilful
\npolicy but it needs for its success two conditions\u2014 weakness, vacillation and cowardice on the part of the Calcutta leaders
\nand want of tenacity in the strong men of East Bengal. But the situation in East Bengal is only a local symptom. In dealing with
\nthe general disease, the Government policy is mere confusion.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n \tWe may take its treatment of sedition as an instance. The
\nclause dealing with sedition in the Penal Code is a monument of legal ferocity, but at present of futile ferocity. The offence is
\nthat of exciting contempt and hatred against the Government. The Government means the bureaucracy collectively and individually. Anything therefore in the nature of plain statement and strong comment on any foolish or arbitrary conduct on the part
\nof an official or on any unwise or oppressive policy on the part of the Government, Viceregal or Provincial, or on any absurd
\nor odious feature in the bureaucratic system, or any attempt to prove that the present administration is responsible for distress
\nand suffering in India or that bureaucratic rule is doing material and moral injury to the people and the country, falls within the
\nscope of this insane provision. For, such statements, comments and attempts must inevitably provoke contempt and “want of
\naffection” in the people; and the writer cannot help knowing that they will have that effect. Yet these are things that fall within 
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

\n\tPage \u2013
\n\t328<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\tthe natural duty of the journalist in every country which is not
\nstill in the Dark Ages.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tThe alternative punishments\u2014 the minor, running to two
\nyears’ rigorous imprisonment, the major, to the utmost penalty short of the gallows,\u2014 are of a Russian ferocity. Yet this terrible
\nsword is hung in vain over the head of the Indian journalist; for, mere imprisonment has no longer any terrors for Indian
\npatriotism and really crushing penalties can only be imposed at the risk of driving the people to secret conspiracy and nihilistic
\nforms of protest. The lower grades of the executive and judiciary are not affected by scruples, for they are neither called
\nupon to consider ultimate consequences or exposed to external censure; but the higher one rises in the official scale, the greater
\nis the deterrent effect of the fear of consequences and the fear of the world’s censure. This is the reason why ferocious sentences
\nlike that on the Punjabee <\/i>are minimised in successive appeals\u2014 a phenomenon an Anglo-Indian contemporary notices with
\ngreat disgust. The clauses 124A and 153A are therefore weapons which the Government cannot effectually utilise and to employ
\nthem ineffectually is worse than useless. If the journalist is acquitted, it is a popular victory; if lightly sentenced, public feeling
\nis irritated, not intimidated; if rigorously dealt with, a great impulse is given to the tide of nationalism which will sweep onward
\ntill this piece of civilised savagery ceases to pollute the statute-books of a revolutionised and modernised administration.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\t__________<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tThe Englishman <\/i>as a Statesman <\/b>
\n\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

\n\tThe Englishman <\/i>has a confused and wordy article in yesterday’s
\nissue which it considers especially fit “for such a time as this”; but the meaning is a little difficult to disentangle. Our contemporary has a dim perception that there is a “crisis” in the country, the nature of which it is unable to determine; but it is a very
\nterrible sort of crisis, anyway\u2014 a monster horrible, shapeless and huge. “When it matures, influences may be shot forth into
\nthe country, and possibly also in Asia, if not also back into 
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tPage \u2013 329<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n Europe through Russia, whose final issues no man can foresee.”
\nIt acknowledges that there “are some hopes” in the hearts of the people “which it would be fatuous to mock, madness to ignore”.
\nSo far as we can make out, the Englishman <\/i>has discovered a very original way of respecting and recognising these hopes.
\nIt proposes to satisfy them by appointing a large number of non-official Europeans in Mr. Morley’s new Legislative Councils along with the Nawab of Dacca and any other equally rare specimens bureaucratic research can discover among the “manlier races of the North who, if they grew turbulent, might prove more troublesome than populations of another class from further South, who, if more effeminate, are also more contented”. The meaning of this extraordinarily slipshod rigmarole is that
\nthe Englishman <\/i>has been frightened by the disturbances in Lahore which followed on the final conviction of the
\nPunjabee<\/i>
\nand is also a little uneasy at the prospect of unwelcome changes in the Legislative Councils. Hence its unusual and unsuccessful
\nattempt to overcome its customary “fatuity” and “madness”. For our part we prefer the
\nEnglishman <\/i>fatuous and mad to the
\nEnglishman <\/i>trying in vain to be sensible. In its natural state it is at least intelligible. 
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tPage \u2013 330<\/font><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bande Mataram { CALCUTTA, April 19th, 1907 }   An Ineffectual Sedition Clause   We commented yesterday on the folly of the Punjab Government in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-06-07-bande-mataram","wpcat-54-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2830","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=2830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2830\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}