{"id":2885,"date":"2013-07-13T01:44:22","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:44:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=2885"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:44:22","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:44:22","slug":"225-bande-mataram-22-4-08-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\/225-bande-mataram-22-4-08-vol-06-07-bande-mataram","title":{"rendered":"-225_Bande Mataram 22-4-08.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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

\n

\n\t
\n\t{
\n\tCALCUTTA, April 22nd, 1908 } <\/b> <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nThe Future and the Nationalists
\n<\/b>
\n\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nWhatever view we take of the present situation, the first duty of every
\nNationalist is to take care that the great principles of Nationalism are not
\ninfringed by any concession to the party of fear and self-interest which would
\nimperil the future of the movement and the destiny of the nation. All the
\narticles we have written on the Convention have been the expression of a
\nmomentary policy dictated by the great and almost universal desire in the
\ncountry that a split should be avoided. But we should never forget that policy
\nis subordinate to principle. As a democratic party, it is our duty to bow to the
\nwill of the majority in all matters which do not break the mould of Nationalism
\nto serve the interests of a moment. Unity is at present a means and not an end
\nin itself. As we have often pointed out, unanimity is not unity but merely an
\naffectation of unity. There is an idea in many minds that our salvation lies in
\nthe removal of all differences, religious, social and political, but we may wait
\nfor many millenniums before such an utopia can be reached in this world.
\nDifferences of religion, social status and political opinion there must be.
\nUnanimity is a condition only possible to a nation whose heart is numbed and
\nwhose intellect has ceased to be active; for diversity is the very condition of
\nactivity, its cause and again its result. No one can deny that the differences
\nof opinion which have arisen among us are largely responsible for the
\nextraordinary political activity which has kept India astir for the last two
\nyears and set the whole world looking towards the banks of the Ganges in eager
\nexpectation of a new birth among the nations. On the other hand the activity
\nitself has emphasized and increased the differences of opinion both between the
\nparties and in the parties 
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

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\nthemselves. The only thing we have to see to is that this diversity
\nis not allowed to break up the nation into warring factions, and we are therefore anxious to save, if possible, the Congress from
\nextinction, because the Congress at present is the only ground of unity in diversity, the only field where all can meet to diverge and
\nagain meet without loss of principle or violence to conscience. It is a centre into which the different streams of thought and
\nactivity in the country can flow and mix with each other, to again separate and work in their own channels till the time to meet
\nand intercommunicate again arrives. The Congress, therefore, provides the point of unity which prevents the diversity of our
\npolitical activities from dissolving our political life into so many disconnected units.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nUnity, as we have said, is a means and not an end. To agree is easy if we are willing to sacrifice our principles, but such
\nagreement is not unity; it is sacrificing the soul of the nation so that an artificial appearance of unanimity may be preserved.
\nNo unity can be desirable which is inconsistent with growth or with the march of the people towards the realization of their
\ngreat destiny. Growth is the object, unity only one of the means, and if the means can only be had on condition of sacrificing the
\nobject, the means and not the object must be sacrificed. If the Convention refuses to associate with the Nationalists except on
\ncondition of the latter sacrificing their principles and stultifying their intellectual convictions, the demand for unity can no longer
\nbe pressed on the Nationalist party, which will then be free to take its own course without reference to anything but its own
\nprinciples and the exigencies of its propaganda. We have done our best to carry out the demand of the people for unity; the
\nrefusal comes from the other side and there the responsibility will rest. If the country desires unity, it is for the country to
\nenforce it by refusing to countenance a body claiming to be the Congress and yet taking its stand on the negation of unity. The
\nNationalists cannot sit as beggars at the doors of the Convention waiting till the doors be opened to them. They are the builders of
\nIndian nationality, the inheritors of the future, and their work calls them. If the Convention wants at any time in the near
\n   
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n\t
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\n

\n\tfuture to retrace its steps and become one with the Nationalists,
\nit knows the conditions, but time will increase the difficulty of reunion and the conditions will change as the sacrifices made by
\nthe Nationalists for the sake of their cause become greater and their work advances. It is time for us to turn from the attempt to
\npatch up matters with men who are pledged to disruption and concern ourselves with our own proper work.
\n\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\tThat work is too heavy for us already, and it will become still more difficult under the new circumstances with an enemy
\nin the house as well as an enemy outside. If we are to face the task with any hope of success, it must be with a much
\nstricter organisation, a general closing up of our ranks and the creation of instruments for united work and mutual cooperation. We have hitherto been able to work in a scattered and desultory fashion because we were able to use the Congress
\norganisations brought into existence by the demand for practical work and to take part in and give our stamp to existing bodies.
\nThe Convention’s new District Associations will consist only of men pledged to the creed. Wherever an Association refuses to
\nbe bound by the creed, it will be excluded from the Conventionalist Congress and regarded as a Nationalist body. Under
\nthese circumstances the country’s demand for unity will become impossible of fulfilment and rival organizations will spring into
\nexistence in every province and every district, one pledged to association with the bureaucracy, the other to boycott and
\n\t\tself-help. If these bodies admit both parties, they will stand apart from any existing organization. Such a state of things can only
\nbe temporary, but it is for a time inevitable if the Convention constitution is carried out. The Nationalists are bound to protect
\nthemselves from the attempt to exclude them from political life by organizing themselves in such a way that they may become
\na force in the country which neither bureaucrats nor Loyalists can either ignore or think it an easy task to crush. Organization,
\ntherefore, will be the first difficulty to overcome. When once we have succeeded in organizing our at present scattered forces,
\nthe spirit of progress once awake will work for us and through us giving us greater and greater following and strength till the
\n    <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

\n\t
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\n

\n\twork of building up the nation becomes so evidently ours that
\nthe whole country will range itself under our standard. Then and only then will that unity become possible which can create
\na nation.    <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tPage \u2013 1055<\/font><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bande Mataram { CALCUTTA, April 22nd, 1908 }   The Future and the Nationalists   Whatever view we take of the present situation, the first…<\/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-2885","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\/2885","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=2885"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2885\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}