{"id":365,"date":"2013-07-13T01:27:34","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:27:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=365"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:27:34","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:27:34","slug":"007-the-proposed-reconstruction-of-bengal-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\/007-the-proposed-reconstruction-of-bengal-vol-01-bande-mataram-volume-01","title":{"rendered":"-007_The Proposed Reconstruction of Bengal.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n

\nThe Proposed Reconstruction of Bengal*<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n 
\n<\/font>\n<\/p>\n

\nPARTITION
\nOR ANNIHILATION?<\/font> <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/b>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n 
\n                       
\n<\/span><\/font>IN <\/font>
\nTHE<\/font><\/span><\/b>
\nexcitement and clamour that has followed the revolutionary proposal of Lord
\nCurzon’s Government to break
\nBengal into pieces, there is some danger of the new
\nquestion being treated only in its superficial aspects and the grave and
\nstartling national peril for which it is the preparation being either entirely
\nmissed or put out of sight. On a perusal of the telegrams which pour in from
\nEastern Bengal one is struck with the fact that they mainly deal with certain
\nobvious and present results of the measure, not one of which is really vital.
\nThe contention repeatedly harped on that Assam is entirely different to us in
\nrace, language, manners etc. is in the first place not altogether true, and even
\nif true, is very bad political strategy. In these days when the whole tendency
\nof a reactionary Government is to emphasize old points of divisions and create
\nnew ones, it should plainly be the policy of the national movement to ignore
\npoints of division and to emphasize old and create new points of contact and
\nunion. The Assamese possess the same racial substratum as ourselves though the
\nhigher strata may be less profoundly Aryanised and their language is a branch of
\nBengali which but for an artificial diversion would have merged into the main
\nstream of Bengali speech. Why then should we affront our brothers in Assam and
\nplay the game of our opponents by declaring them outcast from our sympathies?
\nThe loss by
\nEastern Bengal of a seat on the Legislative Council is again the
\nloss of a delusion and does not really concern its true national welfare. Even
\nseparation from the Calcutta High Court if it should come about, means very
\nlittle now that the High Court has definitely ceased to protect the liberties of
\nthe people and become an informal department of the Government. The dislocation
\nof trade caused by its diversion from <\/p>\n

Calcutta<\/p>\n

to <\/p>\n

Chittagong<\/p>\n

might be a calamity of the first magnitude to<\/p>\n

Calcutta<\/p>\n

but its evil effects<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/font> <\/font> <\/p>\n


\n      
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span>*  <\/span><\/font>
\n<\/font> <\/span>
\nAn
\nincomplete article found among early manuscripts.<\/font>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

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

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage-76<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\non
\nEastern Bengal would, the enemy might well argue, be of a very
\ntemporary character. The transfer of advanced provinces to a backward Government
\nis, no doubt, in itself a vital objection to the measure but can be at once met
\nby elevating the new province to the dignity of a Lieutenant-Governorship with a
\nLegislative Council and a
\nChief Court. Indeed by this very simple though costly
\ncontrivance the Government can meet every practical objection of a political
\nnature that has been urged against their proposal. There are signs which seem to
\nindicate that this is the expedient to which Government will eventually resort
\nand under the cover of it affect an even more extended amputation than it was at
\nfirst convenient to announce; for Rajshahi as well as Faridpur and Backergunje,
\nare it appears also to be cut away from us. There would remain the violation of
\nBengali sentiment and the social disturbance and mortal inconvenience to
\ninnumerable individuals which must inevitably accompany such a disruption of old
\nties and interests and severance from the great centre of Bengali life. But our
\nsentiments the Government can very well afford to ignore and the disturbance and
\ninconvenience they may politely regret as deplorable incidents indeed but after
\nall minor and temporary compared with the great and permanent administrative
\nnecessities to be satisfied. Will then the people of Eastern Bengal finally,
\nseeing the Government determined pocket the bribe of a separate Lieutenant-Governorship,
\na Legislative Council and High Court and accept this violent revolution in our
\nnational life? Or will
\nWestern Bengal submit to lose
\nEastern Bengal on such terms? If not, then to nerve them for the
\nstruggle their refusal will involve they must rely on something deeper than
\nsentiment, something more potent than social and personal interests, they must
\nhave a clear and indelible consciousness of the truth that this measure is no
\nmere administrative proposal but a blow straight at the heart of the nation. The
\nfailure to voice clearly this, the true and vital side of the question can arise
\nonly from want of moral courage or from that fatal inability to pass beyond
\nsuperficialities and details and understand in their fulness deep truths and
\ngrand issues in politics which has made our political life for the last fifty
\nyears so miserably barren and ineffective. That it springs largely if not
\naltogether from the<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage-77<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\nlatter
\nis evidenced by the amazing apathy which allows Western Bengal to sit with
\nfolded hands and allow Eastern Bengal to struggle alone and unaided. Eastern
\nBengal is menaced with absorption into a backward province and therefore
\nstruggles; Western Bengal is menaced with no such calamity and can therefore sit
\nlolling on its pillows, hookah-pipe in hand, waiting to see what happens; this
\napparently is how the question is envisaged by a race which considers itself the
\nmost intelligent and quick-witted in the world. That it is something far other
\nthan this, that the danger involved far more urgent and appalling, is what I
\nshall try to point out in this article.<\/font><\/p>\n


\n           
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span>Unfortunately, to do this is impossible without treading on Lord Curzon’s
\ncorns and indeed on the tenderest of all the crop. We have recently been
\npermitted to know that our great Viceroy particularly objects to the imputation
\nof motives to his Government \u2014 and
\nnot unnaturally; for Lord Curzon is a vain man loving praise and sensitive to
\ndislike and censure; more than that, he is a statesman of unusual genius who is
\nfollowing a subtle and daring policy on which immense issues hang and it is
\nnaturally disturbing him to find that there are wits in India as subtle as his
\nown which can perceive something at least of the goal at which he is aiming. But
\nin this particular instance he has only himself and Mr. Risley to thank, if his
\nmotives have been discovered — or let us say, misinterpreted. The extraordinary
\nfarrago of discursive ineptitudes which has been put forward…<\/font><\/p>\n


\n(Incomplete)<\/font> <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/i><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage-78<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Proposed Reconstruction of Bengal*   PARTITION OR ANNIHILATION?                             IN THE excitement and clamour that has followed the revolutionary proposal of Lord…<\/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-365","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\/365","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=365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}