{"id":285,"date":"2013-07-13T01:27:06","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:27:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=285"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:27:06","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:27:06","slug":"041-a-man-of-second-sight-vol-01-bande-mataram-volume-01","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/01-sabcl\/01-bande-mataram-volume-01\/041-a-man-of-second-sight-vol-01-bande-mataram-volume-01","title":{"rendered":"-041_A Man of Second Sight.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n

\nA
\nMan of Second Sight<\/span><\/b><\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n   <\/font>    
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span>T<\/font>HE<\/font><\/b>
\ntendency not to mince matters is in itself a virtue seldom appreciated by
\npeople who in consequence of long subjection cannot rate boldness in any form at
\nits proper value. But to awaken boldness in a nation which has lost the sense of honour and self-respect, has always been the first engrossing effort of those
\npolitical thinkers who meant to do their duty by the country honestly and
\nsincerely. The capacity to look facts in the face and support a true grasp of
\nthe situation by a programme at once bold and heroic, has always met with a
\nbelated recognition when fallen nations have begun their first struggle towards
\nemancipation. The charge of being wild and mischievous dreamers, cursed satanic
\nperversity and a rash haste to mislead and destroy, has invariably been laid at
\nthe door of people who tried to initiate great national revivals. The outburst
\nof indignation with which the new school propaganda is being received in some
\nquarters, is therefore perfectly natural. But it is not these unbelievers whom
\nwe want to reach and influence. The Pharisees and Philistines will ever dog our
\nfootsteps and try their best to dissuade us and to defeat us. They will even try
\nto bring about the persecution of the true patriots; but this too none need
\nfear; for suffering only makes men stronger to bring about the redemption of
\ntheir country. Timidity at such times is dignified with the name of prudence,
\nmoderation and humanitarianism; but it is mere scum and dross which bubbles to
\nthe surface; meanwhile the true metal is being purified for use below. The
\nprocess of purification is always accompanied by such surface impurities, but
\nthey only serve to bring truth and sincerity into bold relief. These politicians
\nare intoxicated with the ideal of a prosperous serfdom and cannot realise how it
\neats into the very vitals of a nation. It is largely because the honour and
\nemoluments of a selfish few, whom the alien bureaucracy seek to humour for
\nvictimising the rest, are brought into jeopardy that we hear such hysterical
\ndenunciations<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage-277<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nof the straightforward and fearless efforts of the Nationalists. "Let their
\nconduct be such as not to savour of ingratitude to the benefactors.
\nWhen we find so many broad-minded Englishmen fighting our cause in and out of
\nParliament, when we see a Viceroy showing every consideration to our feeling
\nand sentiments, when we see a Secretary of State openly sympathising with our
\naspirations, when we see the administration of the country shaping itself to
\nmodern needs, when we see all these and many more signs of the bright future
\nawaiting us — we should take heart to abandon petty querulous feelings and set
\nourselves earnestly to the task of self-preparation. Before we aspire to govern
\nour country we must learn to govern our own selves."
\n        Such are the ratiocinations and exhortations of the prophet of the Indian
\nMirror. <\/i>His powers of vision evidently excel the ability of common men and
\namount to something more than second sight. He sees Englishmen fighting our
\ncause in and out of Parliament, where the ordinary eye can only see a number of
\ninsignificant Members of the Parliament asking questions which lead to nothing
\nand advising an oppressed nation to wait in patience for a far-off millennium.
\nHe sees a Viceroy showing every consideration to our feeling and sentiments
\nwhere common beings can only see a policy of insincerity. He sees a Secretary of
\nState openly sympathising with our aspirations where others
\ncan only see a Radical Minister professing liberalism and practising
\nhide-bound conservatism. He sees the administration shaping itself to modern
\nneeds where we poor mortals can only see an out-of-date and semi-civilized
\nsystem, refusing to be modernized and reformed. This it is to be an occultist
\nand dabble in white magic! And what does it all come to? That some slight and
\nineffectual reforms have been. vaguely promised, whose only result will be to
\ngive a few more individuals the chance of getting name and fame at the expense
\nof the country. The Mirror <\/i>is in terror of losing this chance because of
\nthe spread of Nationalism; hence its hysterical appeals and chidings. The
\ncountry is not likely to be diverted by these selfish and narrow-minded considerations from the mighty movement into which it is casting itself or held
\nback from the great goal of national autonomy.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage-278<\/span><\/p>\n

\n


\n
\nPassive
\nResistance in The Punjab<\/a><\/b><\/font>
\n<\/font><\/b><\/span>
\n
\n<\/span> We are glad to find that Passive Resistance is being boldly carried into effect
\nin the Punjab. The recent demonstrations at Lahore which followed the <\/font>Punjabee
\n<\/font><\/i>conviction have evidently come as a shock upon the white population. So long
\nas the political ferment created by the new spirit was mainly confined to
\nBengal, Anglo-India comforted itself by saying that the Bengalis were an
\nunwarlike race unlikely to cause real trouble. Their main uneasiness was lest
\nthe agitation should spread to the martial races of whom alone they are afraid
\nand whom they lose no opportunity of flattering and trying to separate from
\nthe Bengalis. Englishmen respect and fear those only who can strike and, being a
\nrace without imagination or foresight, they are unable to realise that national
\ncharacter is not immutable or that the Bengalis, who could once fight both
\non sea and land, might possibly revert to the ancient type and put behind them
\ntheir acquired timidity and love of ease. Now, however, their fears are being
\nrealised. Anglo-Indian journals had already begun to perceive the truth that
\nthere is a real unity in India and that "Lahore has become
\na political suburb of Calcutta". The Lahore demonstrations have carried the
\nconviction home. Accordingly we find the <\/font>Englishman <\/font><\/i>groping about in an
\nintellectual fog in search of such novelties as concession and reform, while in
\nthe Punjab itself the panic is taking the form of incipient terrorism. Sirdar
\nAjit Singh of the Lahore Patriot’s Association has been doing admirable work
\namong the masses. His most recent success has been to induce the Jat peasantry
\nto boycott the Government canals as a protest against an iniquitous water-tax.
\nAs a result the Deputy Commissioner in imitation of the Fuller Administration,
\npublished this remarkable order,<\/font><\/span>
\n–<\/font><\/span>–<\/font><\/span>
\n<\/font><\/span>"Ajit Singh of
\nLahore is forbidden to address any public meeting in Multan district. If he
\ndisobeys, he will be arrested." The only result was that Sirdar Ajit Singh
\naddressed a meeting of 15,000 men in defiance of this ukase and the police stood
\nhelplessly by. We pointed out in our last article on Passive Resistance that
\nGovernment by ukase would always be one of the methods the government must instinctively resort
\nto in order to snuff out our resistance and that<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage-279<\/span><\/p>\n

\n


\n
\nit was the imperative duty of every patriot to resist such arbitrary orders. We
\nare glad to see that the Punjab has promptly taken up the challenge thrown down
\nby the bureaucrat.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

B<\/span>ande
\nMataram<\/i>, <\/i>April 23, 1907<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>
\nBy The Way<\/b><\/span><\/font><\/a><\/p>\n


\n
\n<\/span>
\nThe Englishman <\/i>and Mr. N. N. Ghose, faithful brothers in arms, were
\nbeside themselves with joy last week. What had happened? Had Nationalism by some
\ndivine miracle been suddenly blotted out of the land? Had the spirit of
\nNobokissen appeared to his devotee and admirer and prophesied the eternal
\ncontinuance of the British domination in India? Or had Mr. N. N. Ghose been at
\nlast elected to the Legislative Council? No, but happy signs and omens,
\nprophetic of these desirable events, have appeared in the political heavens.
\nHence this war-dance of victory in Hare Street and Sankaritola. The great Twin
\nBrethren, the black Aswin and the white, the two heavenly physicians of our
\npolitical maladies, have laid a joint finger on the national pulse and
\ndiscovered that the fever of Nationalism is passing away and the patient
\nreturning to a healthy state of loyalty and contented servitude.
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n


\n
\n        The epoch-making pronouncement of the Indian Mirror <\/i>is the chief source
\nof joy and comfort to these allied powers. The Mahatma of Mott’s Lane has waved
\nhis wonder-working hand and Nationalism is no more. Narendranath has spoken; the
\nBritish Empire is saved. It is not surprising that the discoveries made by the Indian
\nMirror <\/i>should have awakened admiring wonder and delight in Hare Street,
\nfor they are certainly such discoveries as are only made once or twice in the
\ncourse of the ages. The Mirror <\/i>has discovered that all is for the best in
\nthe best of
\nall possible Governments. It has detected libralism in Mr. Morley’s Indian
\npolicy and a passionate desire for reform in Anglo- India. And to crown all, it
\nhas found out that the Extremists,<\/font>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage-280<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t–<\/span>– those bold,
\nbad, dangerous men, — represent a party which consists only of themselves. This
\nis a discovery worthy of Newton or Kepler, and it has naturally filled Hare
\nStreet with delighted awe. An ordinary man might ask, of whom else should the
\nparty consist? But such criticism would be profane in the face of so much occult
\nknowledge.
\n<\/span>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n


\n
\n        The Englishman <\/i>sits at the feet of Babu Narendranath Sen like a pupil,
\nwith lifted eyes full of childlike wonder and admiration. Mr. N. N. Ghose
\nwelcomes his neighbour on equal terms as a fellow-loyalist and
\nfellow-discoverer. For Mr. N. N. Ghose has also been industriously discovering
\nthings, not only in natural history, but in political science. The other day he
\ndiscovered the surprising fact that Mr. Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai do not belong
\nto the new school of politics — a discovery which will certainly edify and
\nastonish both the hearers of Lala Lajpat Rai’s speeches and the readers of the Kesari<\/i>.
\n<\/i>He has discovered too that the new school have no "constructive
\nprogramme" and are do-nothing politicians. Unhappily, this is a discovery
\nwhich Mr. N. N. Ghose is in the habit of making about his opponents and critics
\never since he attacked Shambhunath Mukherji, in language of astonishing
\ncoarseness, so it lacks the charm of novelty.
\n<\/span>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n*<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n


\n
\n        The Amrita Bazar Patrika <\/i>has also become an object of Mr. N. N.
\nGhose’s
\nscientific investigations. He has discovered that this great organ of public
\nopinion is returning to light, — in
\nother words, that it was mad and is becoming sane. We do not precisely know why.
\nThe passages quoted from the Amrita Bazar Patrika <\/i>merely report views
\nwhich it has been insisting on for a long time past and the programme which it
\nsets before the public is one in which the Amrita Bazar <\/i>and the new
\nschool are in entire agreement. In the opinion of Mr. Ghose, however, this
\nprogramme shows an insufficiently broad view, and he holds<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage-281<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

out an
\nominous threat of broadening Srijut Motilal Ghose’s intelligence. For the
\npresent, however, "we reserve our suggestions" and the Amrita
\nBazar <\/i>is spared this painful operation. In passing, Mr. Ghose informs a
\nstartled world that in regard to constructive works he has his<\/span> own ideas. Evidently
\nhe has a constructive programme up his sleeve and is awaiting the dramatic
\nmoment for dazzling the world by its appearance. But for how long will he
\ncondemn us to hold our breath in awed expectation?
\n <\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n<\/span>
\n     
\nThe Amrita Bazar <\/i>finds occasion to condemn such effusive receptions as
\nBabu Surendranath received at Rajashahi, and, in doing so, disclaims the charge
\nof envy and jealousy which is usually brought against it when it criticises the
\nmoderate leader. Immediately the Indian Nation <\/i>falls on its neck and
\nweeps joyfully, "I too have been accused. Embrace me, my
\nfellow-martyr." We doubt whether our contemporary will quite relish being
\nput on a level with Mr. N. N. Ghose and the<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n


\n
\nIndian Nation<\/i>. <\/i>Its editor is
\na recognised political leader and his paper has from early days been a power in
\nthe land, read and relished in all parts of India and even in England; but Mr.
\nN. N. Ghose is only Mr. N. N. Ghose
\nand the circulation of his weekly is — well, let us say, confined
\nto the elect.
\n <\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n <\/span>
\n     
\nThe Hare Street journal has undergone a startling transformation. It is trying
\nto write sympathetically and pretending to have political ideas. This is rather
\nhard on the unfortunate people who
\nare compelled to read its outpourings; for the attempt to make
\nsome sense out of its leaders involves an agonising intellectual strain, which
\none naturally resents because it is not in the day’s work. If our contemporary
\ngoes on much longer in this strain, we shall all have to go on strike and either
\npetition the Government to pass prohibitive legislation or else organise passive
\nresistance. As a sort of  anti-popular Red Indian in war-<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage-282<\/span><\/p>\n

\n


\n
\npaint and on the war-path, brandished tomahawk in hand and yelling wild and
\nweird war cries, the Englishman <\/i>is picturesque and amusing. But its new
\ndeparture makes neither for instruction nor for entertainment.<\/font><\/span>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

\n
\n                                                   
\n<\/span>
\n        It followed up its great pronouncement. "For such a Time as this" with
\nan almost equally fog-bound leader on "Swaraj". This document begins
\nby entreating us to give up our political aspirations out of respect for the
\nlamented memory of Professor Huxley. After paralysing our wits with this stroke
\nof pathos, the Englishman, <\/i>not to be outdone by the Mirror <\/i>or the Nation,
\n<\/i>announces a political discovery of its own. Our moderate friends, it
\nappears, have been labouring under a serious delusion. The Liberal Party
\ncannot give us reform, even if it would, but there is one who can and will, and
\nit is — the Government of India! Codlin’s the friend, not Snort. We congratulate
\nour moderate friends on the delightful choice that is open to them. Minto’s the
\nsympathiser, not Morley — Minto will give you Swaraj, — the Englishman <\/i>stands
\nguarantee for it. But after bidding us kowtow to the Government of India because
\nit alone can help or harm us, our contemporary with light-hearted inconsistency
\ndeclares that our habit of kowtowing to those who can help or harm us, is the
\nchief reason of our unfitness for Swaraj. It seems, on the other hand, that our
\nbehaviour is very disrespectful towards those who cannot help or harm us,
\ne.g., Tommies, coolies and the Englishman<\/i>. <\/i>The Anglo-Indian rules India
\nbecause of his paternal kindness to the coolie; until we too learn to enquire
\nhabitually into the state of the coolie’s spleen with our boots and overwhelm
\nhim with vigorous and lurid terms of endearment in season and out of season,
\nwe shall not be fit for self-government. No wonder the Mirror <\/i>asks us
\nsolemnly to lay our hand on our hearts and declare truthfully whether we are
\nmorally, mentally and physically fit for self-government. If this is the
\nloyalist test, we answer sorrowfully, "No."<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n*<\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage-283<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nPolitical discoverers are not confined to this side of India. The lndu <\/i>of
\nBombay is full of impotent wrath against Mr. Morley for prolonging Lord
\nKitchener’s term and gives him a severe journalistic whipping for his
\nmisconduct. The lndu <\/i>is extremely anxious, as a good moderate should
\nbe, for the safety of the British possessions in India; it has discovered that
\nLord Kitchener is not a good
\ngeneral and is capable of nothing more heroic than digging up dead Mahdis, so
\nit clamours for a better general who will defend the British Empire more
\neffectively and spend less over it. Poor Mr. Morley! Even the Indu <\/i>has
\nfound him out at last. We cannot expect our contemporary to realise that only in
\na free and prosperous India can defence be both effective and inexpensive. The
\npresent Government has to provide both against aggression from outside and
\ndiscontent from within, and this means a double expenditure. But what is the use
\nof the lndu’s <\/i>shaking its moony fist in Mr. Morley’s face and calling the
\ndarling of moderatism bad names? Much better were it done to send a petition
\nwith two lakhs of signatures for Lord Kitchener’s recall, and, having done that,
\n— sit content<\/span>.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n


\nB<\/span><\/i>ande
\nMataram<\/i>, <\/i>April 24, <\/i>1907<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nPage-284<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Man of Second Sight           THE tendency not to mince matters is in itself a virtue seldom appreciated by people who in consequence…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-01-bande-mataram-volume-01","wpcat-8-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285","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=285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}