{"id":2915,"date":"2013-07-13T01:44:34","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:44:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=2915"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:44:34","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:44:34","slug":"214-bande-mataram-6-4-08-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\/214-bande-mataram-6-4-08-vol-06-07-bande-mataram","title":{"rendered":"-214_Bande Mataram 6-4-08.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 6th, 1908 } <\/b> <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\nThe Constitution of the Subjects Committee
\n<\/b>
\n\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nWhen we first wrote of the Constitution we pointed out the importance of the Subjects Committee as the first approach towards the democratisation of the Congress. The whole assembly of delegates is too large and too loose a body to discuss what
\nresolutions shall be placed before it or what particular form of words should be used. This has necessarily to be done by
\na smaller body. But before the Subjects Committee came into existence these questions were decided irresponsibly by a small
\ncabal of leaders in secret. When the first difference arose between the old leaders and younger men the prospect of a difference
\nof opinion on the platform of the Congress was sufficient to bring about the substitution of a Committee for the cabal. It
\nwas a step forward but a very small step. The Committee was nominated by the cabal, not elected by the Congress, with the
\nresult that only those who were likely to be subservient to the cabal, their satellites, their mofussil lieutenants or others who
\nwere too prominent to be ignored, became members of the Committee. The change widened the basis of the oligarchy, it did not
\nintroduce a democratic principle. The Committee met to consent to what the leaders proposed, the Congress met to consent
\nto what the Committee suggested. Freedom of discussion was restricted in the Committee by the autocratic intervention of
\ndominant members of the cabal, in the Congress it was tabooed as a violation of unity.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nIn any future constitution of the Congress the election of the Subjects Committee must be regulated by the principles of democratic representation, not of oligarchic nomination. The state of things during the last two years has been one of transition,
\n   
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\n <\/p>\n

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\n\tthe leaders attempting to dictate their choice to the delegates,
\nthe delegates attempting to force theirs on the leaders, and the formation of the Subjects Committee has been invariably the
\noccasion of scenes of tumult, confusion and chaos which were painful to all lovers of orderly procedure. The only remedy is the
\nfrank acceptance of the principle of democratic representation. At Surat when the Bengali delegates were electing their representatives on the Subjects Committee, Srijut Surendranath Banerji let fall a remarkable expression of sentiment which explains the
\ndifficulty felt by the leaders in frankly accepting the principle of district or divisional election which can alone ensure that
\nthe Subjects Committee will represent the will of the country. “If the delegates are allowed to elect their representatives,” he
\nsaid, “the best men will not be chosen.” The aristocratic nature of the objection was a surprise to many of the delegates, for it
\ncontains the very essence of the oligarchical spirit. The distrust of the people, the sense of aristocratic superiority, the confidence
\nof superior wisdom which it conveyed are the stamp of this spirit in all ages. The best men are the men of position, rank,
\nstatus, the men with a stake in the country, the men who have succeeded and are on the top of the ladder, and these have a
\nright to lead by virtue of their position apart from the will of the people. The party of privilege in all ages have posed as the
\nsuperior people, the monopolists of wisdom, the optimates <\/i>or best men, the
\nboni <\/i>or good people. The party opposed to them
\nare the ignorant, the pestilent demagogues, the crazy fanatics, the men without stake or substance who wish to create a revolution in order to benefit themselves. If democratic election is allowed, these men will be elected in increasing numbers and
\nshoulder out their betters. This spirit of oligarchical exclusiveness is the
\n\tsecret of all the friction which has been evident and the scenes of anger,
\n\tstrife and disorder, the frequent outbreaks of popular indignation which
\n\thave marked the Conferences and Congresses since the birth of the democratic
\n\tspirit. The Congress oligarchs, unwilling to allow that spirit to assert
\n\titself, are yet unable to disavow openly the principles of democracy in the
\n\tname of which they demand from the bureaucracy rights and  <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

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\n

\n\tprivileges which they themselves refuse to the rank and file of
\ntheir own followers. The conflict goes on behind the scenes and the outbreaks in the Conference or Congress are rare and the
\nresults of a growing impatience of the evasions, tricks, shufflings by which the leaders try to hold an untenable position. They can
\nneither disown democracy nor frankly accept it. They are eager to keep up its forms, determined to exclude its spirit. We shall not
\ndwell farther on this aspect of the question, for the democratic spirit cannot be permanently repressed or baffled by evasions.
\nThat the constitution must be based on democratic principles is one of the axioms with which we have started. The Subjects
\nCommittee is the brain of the Congress and must be democratised if the Congress itself is to be democratic. Otherwise we
\nshall have a repetition of the scenes which we are all anxious to avoid. An oligarchical Subjects Committee preparing resolutions
\nwhich have to be repeatedly challenged in the full house, is an unworkable arrangement. The delegates must be made to feel
\nthat the Committee is really representative of their wishes and opinions and the inclination to scan with suspicion the Subjects
\nCommittee’s resolutions and amend them in full house, will then disappear.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tThe election of the members of the Committee is at present no election at all, but a scramble for the membership. It must
\nbe reduced to order and rule by a serious, settled and deliberate form of election. The representatives of each division in a
\nprovince must be allowed to sit separately and vote their choice of representatives for their own division, the names must be
\nwritten down by a temporary secretary and handed in to the Secretary for the Province who will read out the full list of
\nnames to the assembled delegates of the Province. These names should be sent in to the Secretaries of the Congress who will
\nput in the full list as soon as the President’s address is over. In this way the business of forming the Subjects Committee can
\nbe done quietly, timely and thoroughly. No objection should be allowed from one division against the choice of another division
\nor from one Province against the choice of another Province.
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\tBut the method of election is not the only obstacle in the
\n   
\n\t<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

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\n

\n\tway of full correspondence between the will of the Subjects
\nCommittee and the will of the Congress. The method of discussion in the Committee is at present hampered by irregularities
\nwhich often prevent the real sense of the Committee from being properly ascertained. It is only when a strong and conscientious
\nPresident acquainted with the forms of discussion in a free country sits in the chair, that the proceedings of the Committee are
\nworthy of itself. These irregularities arise partly from ignorance of the rules of debate, partly from over-eagerness to make points
\nand score tactical successes. The only remedy is for the rules of discussion to be formalized, made known to each member and
\nrigidly enforced by the President. When this is done, the habit of orderly discussion will gradually create a public sentiment
\nagainst excess of party spirit. Finally, the secrecy of the sitting is a feature which ought not to be continued. It is undemocratic in its origin, fosters irresponsibility and helps to create misunderstanding and facilitate crooked methods. There is no
\nreason why our discussions should not be carried out in the full light of day, since we have nothing to conceal; on the contrary,
\nthe knowledge of the discussion in the Subjects Committee will serve the same end as the publicity of Parliamentary discussions
\nin free countries. It will keep up a living interest in the people, educate the public mind to deal with political questions in a
\ngraver and more responsible spirit, accustom the representatives of the people to feel that they are speaking and acting with the
\neye of all India upon them and train the country to prepare itself the habits of mind, speech and action which are necessary for
\nthe success of representative government. Secrecy is the enemy of good government, but it is still more fatal to self-government.
\nPublicity is the very breath of life to democratic institutions. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\tThese then are the changes which we would suggest for
\nthe democratisation of the Subjects Committee\u2014 the members to be elected by the divisions of each Province by a regular and
\norderly method, the discussions of the Committee to be regulated by fixed rules of procedure and the sitting to be thrown open to
\nthe Press and the public or at least to the delegates. When these changes have been effected, the foundations of representative
\n   
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t
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\n

\n\tgovernment in India will have been laid, for it is only out of the
\nCongress that representative institutions can arise in India. The Congress is the seed and only by the proper development of the
\nseed can the life of the tree be ensured.   
\n\t<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n\t <\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\tPage \u2013 1013<\/font><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bande Mataram { CALCUTTA, April 6th, 1908 }   The Constitution of the Subjects Committee   When we first wrote of the Constitution we pointed…<\/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-2915","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\/2915","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=2915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2915\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}