{"id":306,"date":"2013-07-13T01:27:13","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=306"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:27:13","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:27:13","slug":"028-the-comilla-incident-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\/028-the-comilla-incident-vol-01-bande-mataram-volume-01","title":{"rendered":"-028_The Comilla Incident.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n

\nThe Comilla Incident<\/b><\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\n <\/p>\n

<\/font>
\n<\/span>               
\n<\/span><\/font>T<\/font><\/span><\/b>HE<\/b> Comilla affair remains, after everybody has said his say, obscured by the usual
\ntangle of contradictions. The Hindu version presents a number of
\nallegations,
\n\u2014 specific, detailed and categorical<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u2014<\/span>
\n<\/span>of attacks on Hindus, making up in the mass
\na serious picture of a mofussil town given over for days to an outbreak of
\nbrutal lawlessness on the part of one section of the Mahomedan community, a
\nMagistrate quiescent and sympathetically tolerant of the rioters, and the final
\nresort by the Hindu community to drastic measures of self-defence on the
\ncontinued refusal of British authority to do its duty as the guardian of law and
\norder. A Mahomedan report belittled the accounts of Mahomedan violence and
\npresented picturesque and vivid details of Hindu aggressiveness; but as this
\nversion has since been repudiated we have to turn to the official account for
\nthe other side of the picture. But the official account
\n\u2014<\/span> well, the value of official statements is an
\nunderstood thing all the world over. Is it not a political byword in England
\nitself that no rumour or irresponsible statement should be believed until it had
\nbeen officially denied? The official version of the Comilla incident published
\non the 9th March is hard to beat as a specimen of its class \u2014 it is a most
\namazingly unskilful production over which suppression of truth and suggestion of
\nfalsehood are written large and palpable; but it presents a beautiful and
\nartistic picture of wanton and murderous Hindu violence, comparative Mahomedan
\nmoderation, and fatherly British care brooding dove-eyed and maternal-winged
\nover its irreconcilably<\/font><\/p>\n

\nquarrelsome
\nstep-children.<\/font><\/p>\n


\n           
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span>If anyone should think our characterisation of this historical document
\ntoo sweeping, we invite him to a careful study both of what it says and what it
\ndoes not say. It commences with the statement that "a series of
\nanti-Partition meetings were recently held here without incident <\/i>and on
\n6th March Nawab Salimullah arrived from Dacca to hold counter-meetings".
\nThe insertion of<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage-209<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\nthe
\nwords "without incident" is admirable. It implies that there was
\nviolent irritation between Hindus and Mahomedans on the Partition question and
\nthe latter might have been expected to show their irritation by
\n"incidents",
\n<\/span>\u2014<\/span>
\n<\/span>especially when the
\n"inflammatory" speeches of Babu Bepin Chandra Pal and other firebrands
\nare taken into account, \u2014 but they very considerately refrained. Thus
\nMahomedan moderation is contrasted with the Hindu aggressiveness which is
\npresently to be related, and the way paved for throwing the whole responsibility
\non the anti-Partition agitation and aggressive Swadeshism. Then we are informed
\nas a positive fact that a brick was thrown at the Nawab’s procession and brooms
\nheld up in derision. "This led to some disturbance and a cloth shop was entered
\n<\/i>but not looted and two prostitutes’ houses robbed." Let us pause over
\nthis delightful sentence. The outrageous assaults by the rioters which the Hindu
\naccounts carefully specify, are all hidden away and glossed over under the mild
\nand gentlemanly phrase "some disturbance"; the only specific instances
\nwhich the Commissioner will acknowledge are the cloth-shop "incident"
\nand the "incident" of the two prostitutes. But after all, what
\noccurred in the cloth-shop? It was merely "entered", \u2014 admirable
\nword! the rioters were far too polite, honourable and considerate to loot it.
\nThey simply entered for the sheer joy of entering and perhaps of gazing
\necstatically on bales of Swadeshi cloth! They also "entered" the
\nhouses of two prostitutes, but in this instance, indemnified themselves for
\ntheir trouble; still, the people robbed were merely prostitutes! It is thus
\nsuggested that the disturbance was of the most trifling character and the only
\nsufferers a shopkeeper and two prostitutes; in fact, the whole thing was little
\nmore than an amiable frolic. Of the violent maltreatment not only of students
\nand shopkeepers but of pleaders and other respectable citizens, of the forcible
\ninvasion of private houses and the attempts to break into or, let us say,
\n"enter" women’s apartments, there is not a word.<\/font><\/p>\n


\n           
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span>After this day of "entries" there is a blank in the official
\nrecord until the next evening when "the Nawab’s Secretary, a Parsi was
\nattacked while walking alone <\/i>and severely beaten with lathis by some
\nHindus". The provocation alleged to have been<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage-210<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\ngiven
\nby Mr. Cursetji is carefully omitted, and we are asked to believe that an
\ninoffensive Parsi gentleman out for an innocent and healthful evening walk was
\nwaylaid, when alone, and severely beaten because he happened to be the Nawab’s
\nPrivate Secretary. And the evening and the morning were the second day. On the
\nthird all was again quiet till that dangerous time, the evening, when an
\n"unlicensed Mahomedan procession", greatly daring, took the air like
\nMr. Cursetji before them, apparently with the innocuous object of relieving
\ntheir feelings and exercising their lungs shouting Allah-ho-Akbar. This explains
\na great deal; evidently the bands of hooligans ranging the streets and attacking
\npeople and "entering" houses were in reality "no such
\nmatter" except in vivid Hindu imaginations; they were merely
\n"unlicensed Mahomedan processions" on innocent shouting intent. Some
\nunknown person, however, fired upon this procession and killed a Mahomedan
\nbaker; and there, inexplicably enough, matters ended for the day. The shot,
\nhowever, had a powerful effect upon the authorities; it seems to have stirred
\nthem up to some faint remembrance of the elementary duties of
\na civilised administration. Accordingly our martial Commissioner telegraphed,
\nlike Kuropatkin, for "reinforcements", and pending their arrival, sent
\nfor the Mahomedan Sardars and Mullahs and "enlisted" their influence
\nto keep the peace. In the name of reason and logic, why? The account shows
\nthat all the violence and lawlessness, if we except the trifling affairs of the unlooted shop and the looted prostitutes, proceeded from the Hindus. The
\nMahomedans, it seems, kept perfectly quiet until the night of this third day,
\nwhen the only incidents were again of a trifling character; a man riding on the
\nstep of a carriage was "struck"; a Hindu peon was "struck",
\nnothing more. We are ourselves "struck" by the mildness of the methods
\nemployed by these rioters; they do not break into houses, they merely
\n"enter" them; they do not severely beat anyone as Mr. Cursetji was
\n"severely beaten" by the Hindus; they merely "strike" a man
\nor two in playful sort. Under the circumstances it is surely the leaders of the
\nHindu community who should have been enlisted "to keep the peace" \u2014
\nsay, as special constables. However, in the end, the reinforcements arrived and
\nthe Commissioner busied<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage-211<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\nhimself
\nin the fatherly British way, "inquiring personally into all allegations and
\nendeavouring to bring the leaders of both parties together". On this
\ntouching scene the official curtain falls. Who shall say after this that
\n"divide and rule" is the policy of the British bureaucracy in India?<\/font><\/p>\n


\n           
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span>We have said enough to expose thoroughly this ridiculous account of a
\nvery serious affair. It is the production not of an impartial official keeping
\nthe peace between two communities, but of a partisan in a political fight who
\nlooks upon the anti-Swadeshi Mahomedans as allies "enlisted" on the
\nside of the bureaucracy. In order to understand the affair we have to read into
\nthe official account all that it carefully omits; and for this we must fall back
\non the Hindu version of the incident. What seems to have happened is clear
\nenough in outline, whatever doubt there may be as to details. The popular cause
\nwas making immense strides in Comilla and the magnificent success of the
\nDistrict Conference had afforded a proof which could not be ignored. The
\nredoubtable Nawab Salimullah of Dacca considered it his duty to his patron, the
\nAssam Government, to stem the tide of nationalism in Tipperah. Accordingly he
\nmarched Comillawards with his lieutenants and entered the town in conquering
\npomp. That he ordered the sack of the conquered city is probably no more than
\nthe suspicion natural to excited imaginations; but it is certain that his coming
\nwas immediately responsible for the riots. His whole history, since he was
\nshoved into prominence by his Anglo-Indian patrons, has been one long campaign
\nagainst the Hindus with attempts to excite the passions and class selfishness of
\nthe Mahomedans and inflame them into permanent hostility to their Hindu
\nfellow-countrymen. It is only within the territorial limits of the Nawab’s
\ninfluence that there has been any serious friction between Hindus and Mahomedans
\non the Swadeshi and Partition questions; but so far as it has gone, its
\nimmediate results have been not only friction but outbreaks of violence and
\nlawlessness either on a small, as at Serajgunge or on a large scale as at
\nMymensingh. It is not therefore surprising that while the Conference at Comilla
\nand the recent Swadeshi meetings came off without "incident", the
\nNawab should no sooner have set his foot in Comilla than a reign of violence and
\nlawless-<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage-212<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\nness
\nbegan. At the same time it is probable that the suddenness of the outbreak was
\ndue to some immediate exciting cause. The brick story bears a suspicious
\nresemblance to the incident which set Sir Bampfylde and his Gurkhas rioting
\nofficially at Barisal; but it is likely enough that a few individuals may have
\nshown their feelings towards the Nawab in an offensive way. However that may be,
\nit seems certain that the more rowdy elements of the Mahomedan population broke
\ninto lawless riot, attacked Hindus wherever they found them, broke into shops
\nand private houses and brutally assaulted students, pleaders and other
\nrespectable Hindus, attempting even in some cases to enter the women’s
\n<\/font>
\napartments.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n           
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span>Once begun, the affair followed familiar
\nlines. As in Mymensingh, it commenced with an orgy of lawlessness on the part of
\nignorant low-class Mahomedans inflamed by the Nawab’s anti-Hindu campaign. As in
\nMymensingh, local authorities would not at first interfere, although appealed to
\nby Hindu gentlemen, and confined themselves to academic arguments as to the
\ngenesis of the outrages. As in Mymensingh, the Hindus, taken by surprise and
\ndenied the protection of the law, fell first into a panic and only afterwards
\nrallied and began to organise self-defence. At Comilla, however, they seemed to
\nhave acted with greater promptitude and energy. The disturbances continued for
\nthree days at least; but by that time the Hindus had picked themselves together,
\nthe women were removed to a safe place where they could be guarded by bands of
\nvolunteers and the whole community stood on the defensive. Two or three
\ncollisions seem to have taken place in one of which, possibly, Mr. Cursetji was
\nroughly handled, in another a Mahomedan shot dead. By this time, the
\nCommissioner had realised that the policy of non-interference adopted by the
\nBritish authorities, was leading to serious results which they cannot have
\nanticipated. The military police were telegraphed for and other measures taken
\nwhich came at least three days too late, since the mischief had been thoroughly
\ndone.<\/font><\/p>\n


\n           
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span>Divested of exaggeration and rumour, we fancy the actual facts will be
\nfound to amount to something like the above. We do not for a moment believe that
\nthe Hindus took aggressive<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage-213<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\naction
\nwithout serious and even unbearable provocation, any more than we believe that
\nthe riot was planned or ordered beforehand by the anti-Swadeshi section of the
\nMahomedans. We trust that the usual mistake of instituting cases and counter-cases will be avoided. If the Comilla nationalists wish the facts of the case to
\nbe known let them draw up a statement of their version with the evidence of the
\npersons assaulted for the enlightenment of public opinion. The time ought to be
\nnow past, in Eastern Bengal at least, when appeal to the British courts could be
\neither a remedy or a solace.<\/font><\/p>\n


\nBande Mataram<\/i>,
\n<\/i> <\/font> March 15, 1907<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage-<\/font>214<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Comilla Incident                     THE Comilla affair remains, after everybody has said his say, obscured by the usual tangle of contradictions. The Hindu…<\/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-306","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\/306","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=306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}