{"id":2837,"date":"2013-07-13T01:44:07","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:44:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=2837"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:44:07","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:44:07","slug":"133-bande-mataram-20-8-07-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\/133-bande-mataram-20-8-07-vol-06-07-bande-mataram","title":{"rendered":"-133_Bande Mataram 20-8-07.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
\n\t<\/p>\n

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

\n

\n\t
\n\t{
\n\tCALCUTTA, August 20th, 1907 }
\n\t<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

\n
\nBarbarities at Rawalpindi
\n<\/b>
\n\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nThe process of terrorism that is going on at Rawalpindi in the name of administering justice is too open and transparent to
\nrequire any unravelling. Of course, everyone who takes politics seriously thought that the British law and administration would
\nat once reveal their true nature if the people were to enter on a real struggle for self-improvement and the repression that is being resorted to in the Punjab under the pretext of trial has caused no surprise to those with whom the work for the nation’s future
\nis a duty demanding enormous self-sacrifice. But the series of episodes connected with the Rawalpindi trial in which humanity has been outraged and decency defied should nevertheless be taken to heart by the people. They demand an adequate response
\nof stern and resolute work as an atonement and recompense for the sufferings of these martyrs. No patriot would shrink
\neven from the agonies to which the accused are being subjected during the course of their trial at Rawalpindi if he could at
\nleast faintly hope from the attitude of his countrymen that they would carry on the patriotic work undaunted and with a greater
\namount of determination and energy. The man of faith no doubt is never depressed. His faith is always his stay and support. But
\nthe martyrdom becomes easier if there is the prospect of some immediate benefit to the country resulting from his sufferings.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nFrom the very beginning of the Rawalpindi trial, the bureaucratic law seems to have been whetted against the alleged
\noffenders. The refusal of bail to the accused amongst whom
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nThe exact dates of the articles published here under “August 20th” are uncertain. They<\/font><\/i>
\nappeared in the daily edition on 19 or 20 August. These issues have been lost. The<\/i>
\narticles were reprinted in the weekly edition on 25 August.<\/i>
\n   <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tPage \u2013 644<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\nthere are men of unquestioned respectability and integrity testifies to the petty vindictiveness of the judiciary which ostensibly exists to diminish crimes and not to exasperate people into their
\nperpetration. The ill-treatment of the accused can without the least exaggeration be characterised as wanton cruelty. The accused after their experience of the British law courts will find it difficult to distinguish a judge from a mediaeval executioner.
\nThe Judge could not be moved to the most elementary feeling of humanity when the accused were overwhelmed by the most
\npainful domestic calamities. One man was not allowed to see his dying son till he actually expired and was past all help or need
\nof help. This ferocity on the part of a tribunal, whose special study should be to abstain from writing the least punishment
\non a man till his guilt has been fairly established is a violation of the first principle of justice and turns a court of law into a
\ntorture chamber. A judge should not lack firmness in repressing crime but to pursue an alleged offender with implacable wrath
\nfrom the moment of his arrest is an exhibition of vindictiveness and not of due judicial austerity. The trial has now extended
\nover nearly two months and the sickening details of inhumanity practised upon the accused continue to be as distressing as ever.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nLala Hansraj and two or three others of his position have been detained in the prison without any justification. They are
\nnot the men who can even think of shirking the consequences of their patriotic actions under an alien rule. But why antedate
\ntheir punishment from the very time of their arrest. They are not men accustomed to privations and they have all been showing
\nsigns of failing health during this pretty long period of police custody. They have already served out a term of punishment
\ndisproportionate to the nature of their alleged offence. It is a brand new feature of British justice to go on with the trial of
\nmen stretched on their sick-bed in the court room. Our latest telegram from Rawalpindi says that on the 16th Lala Hansraj
\nwas shaking with fever and ague on a string cot borrowed from a constable. The internal pain was so intense that tears ran down
\nhis cheeks though he tried to be firm and cheerful and pretended that something had fallen into his eyes.
\n   
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tPage \u2013 645<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\tWe need not multiply the details of the prisoners’ sufferings.
\nWe have already sampled the treatment which the Pindi martyrs are receiving at the hands of the judiciary. We expect no mitigation of their sufferings. The alleged offence of rousing people to a spirit of active resistance perhaps justifies these barbarities in the
\neyes of the ruling class. They are innocent of all compunction and are calmly watching the effect on the people. The
\nEnglishman<\/i>
\nonce opined that even the suspected offence of inciting to a riot excuses the most monstrous treatment of the offenders. But we
\nbelieve their lesson will not be lost on our own countrymen. The heavy price that these men are paying for merely inducing the
\nspirit of self-assertion in us should nerve others to greater and greater sacrifices in the service of the motherland.
\n\t<\/span><\/p>\n

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

\n\t <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tThe High Court Miracles <\/b>
\n\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

\n\tThe situation in Bengal is one of a very peculiar kind and of
\nextraordinary interest. There is a deep and widespread unrest in the country; a movement has commenced which the bureaucracy holds to be fraught with serious danger certainly to the British monopoly of commercial exploitation, possibly to
\nthe supremacy of British officialdom. In order to save these threatened citadels the bureaucrats in the Punjab and Eastern
\nBengal have embarked on a policy of thorough-going repression in which the practically unlimited and arbitrary power of an
\nautocratic executive is backed up and confirmed by a zealous judiciary. The union of these two forces is essential to the success of the bureaucratic plan of campaign: for the strength of the bureaucratic position lies in the fact that all the powers
\nof legislation and administration are centred unreservedly and without limitation in its hands. It controls the men by whom
\nthe law and the executive administration are carried out, for it not only exercises all the patronage of both services, but wields
\nimmense disciplinary powers. It can appoint and favour such men as are likely to do its will and it can punish with substantial
\nmarks of its displeasure those who disregard its interests or do   
\n20 August 1907 }
\n\t<\/b><\/i>
\n 647<\/i> not act according to its expectations. In an hour of crisis like
\nthe present when there is a powerful movement undisguisedly directed against the continued supremacy of the present ruling
\ncommunity in all its aspects, this concentration of all powers against the insurgence of the subject people is of the most vital
\nimportance. The executive must have a free hand to deal with the opposition of the demos without being hampered by inconvenient and trammelling considerations of legal procedure and the narrow limits of legality. But in a fight with an acute and
\nintelligent people, a nation of born lawyers, this is only possible on condition that the judiciary are willing to support and confirm the actions of the executive unhesitatingly and without a qualm. These conditions have been secured in East Bengal and
\nstill more completely in the Punjab. But there is one weak point, the Achilles’ heel in the otherwise invulnerable constitution of
\nthe bureaucracy, and that is the High Court of Bengal. The oldest and most venerable institution of British rule, with the most
\nhonourable traditions of integrity and independence maintained by a series of judges learned in the law, trained to the love of
\njustice and equity and a calm judicial habit of mind, the High Court had become a thing cherished and valued, a refuge to
\nthe oppressed, a guarantee of eventual relief against executive vagaries. It had therefore attracted an almost superstitious reverence and was the chief moral asset of British rule. But the inevitable tendency of bureaucratic rule when threatened by the
\nincreasing self-assertion of the people, began eventually to affect the High Court. It is true that the High Court is independent of
\nthe executive authorities, but it is under the control of the Chief Justice, and by the simple device of securing a Chief Justice of
\nweak personality and multiplying civilian judges of the right kind the institution can easily be converted into a source of
\nstrength to the bureaucracy instead of a source of weakness. Since the beginning of the reactionary policy which followed the
\nViceroyalty of Lord Ripon, this has been the increasing tendency of the High Court and the trust and reverence of the people has
\ndecreased proportionately, and the hold of British rule on their imaginations has decreased with it.
\n   
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tPage \u2013 647<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\tWe have always held that British justice as between Indians
\nand Europeans or in cases in which the bureaucracy was judge, jury and accuser, must obviously and inevitably be a farce unless
\nand until human nature ceases to have any resemblance to its present self. Neither had we any of that enthusiastic admiration
\nfor British law and its administration which was not so very long ago the fashion among Indians of the educated class. On
\nthe contrary we were compelled to regard its procedure as costly, dilatory and often calculated to defeat justice, its penal system
\nrepressive and its punishments savage and barbarous with the cold civilised brutality of a half-baked incomplete civilisation.
\nOur respect for the High Court was tempered by a perception of the ease with which it could be captured by the bureaucracy for
\nits own ends. We have therefore always decried the old moribund belief in the excellence of the British courts and the tendency to
\nrun to them for protection in all cases of oppression and injustice. Have the recent transactions in the High Court proved us
\nwrong? They have certainly proved that there are still Judges Indian and English who can rise above the depressing atmosphere
\nand lowered traditions of this once venerated institution and equal the distinguished record of those strong fearless Judges
\nwho have now become a memory, almost a legend of the past. There has been nothing like the series of important decisions
\ngiven in a few days by Justices Mitter and Fletcher since the seven Bishops were acquitted. The bold opposition of the sense
\nof justice and respect for law to the interests of an irritated and determined government in a time of great political unrest and
\ndisturbance, is an episode which history will love to record. But is it more than an episode? We apprehend it is the last flaring up
\nof the old fire previous to extinction. The executive will surely take care not to repeat the error by which a fearless, just and religious Hindu lawyer has been placed on the Criminal Bench side by side with a young barrister Judge fresh from England and still
\nfull of the uncorrupted moral temper natural in a free country. The bureaucracy has blundered in its management of the High
\nCourt, but the power to utilize it is still in its hands and will no doubt be better handled in the near future than in the past. Let
\n    <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tPage \u2013 648<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\tus not be unduly elated by the victory in the High Court: great
\nas it has been, its causes are transient and its tenure insecure.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

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

\n\t <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tThe Times
\n<\/i>Romancist
\n<\/b>
\n\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

\n\tThe London Times <\/i>has developed a new Newmaniac all to itself. The original Newmaniac of Calcutta had the National Volunteers for his special monomania: the Times <\/i>specimen seems to have got the Arya Samaj on his brain. In a long and elaborate
\narticle he has traced the genesis of this dangerous group, its control over the bourgeoisie, its deadly seditious attempts to
\nmake use of the masses, and the final extinction of the rebellious movement by the strong and masterly policy of Sir Denzil Ibbetson. All this reads well as the romance of history, but when it is given us as a serious attempt to account for the situation
\nin the Punjab, we begin to see what a plentiful lack of wisdom and knowledge governs us in India. For we may be sure that the
\ndiet of lies which the Times <\/i>correspondent serves up as a dainty dish for the British public, is merely a daintily-seasoned version
\nof the official view in the Punjab. It is not to be questioned that the present struggle is a contest between the intellectuals
\nof India who are recruited mainly from the middle class, and the alien officials. In the struggle the former are attempting
\nto range all classes under the common banner of liberty and Indian resurgence, just as the same class has done in Russia,
\nand there is nothing in the aim or the movement which is illegitimate or immoral. If there is any immorality, it is surely
\non the side of the ruling class which is fighting for monopoly and privilege while the bourgeoisie are fighting for their own
\nself-preservation and the life and expansion of their race and nation. The Times
\n<\/i>correspondent speaks acutely enough when
\nhe says that the middle class are trying to make their will the will of the nation and the object of the bureaucracy must be to
\nprevent that consummation. But when the writer begins to trace all evil to the Arya Samaj, he at once passes into the regions of
\nromance. No doubt the lion’s share of the political spirit and   
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tPage \u2013 649<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\tgenius in the Punjab belongs to the Aryas, but that is the result
\nof the manliness of the creed preached by Dayananda and the admirable working power, self-sacrifice and gift of organisation
\nwhich the Samaj has fostered among its members. But self-sacrifice, energy, organisation are precisely what most terrify
\nthe panic-stricken Anglo-Indian, and nothing will convince him that where these are, there is not a dangerous conspiracy against
\nthe British Raj. We may tell this new Newmaniac that if there were such a serious and skilfully engineered movement as the
\none he affects to describe,\u2014 well, the special correspondent of the Times
\n<\/i>would not be touring at his ease and writing nonsense
\nat the present moment. Whatever has happened in India has been the result of great spontaneous forces without organisation or
\neven conscious purpose: those who have seen where they were going, have been a small minority.
\n    <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tPage \u2013 650<\/font><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bande Mataram { CALCUTTA, August 20th, 1907 }   Barbarities at Rawalpindi   The process of terrorism that is going on at Rawalpindi in the…<\/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-2837","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\/2837","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=2837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2837\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}