{"id":416,"date":"2013-07-13T01:27:52","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:27:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=416"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:27:52","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:27:52","slug":"092-the-three-unities-of-sankharitola-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\/092-the-three-unities-of-sankharitola-vol-01-bande-mataram-volume-01","title":{"rendered":"-092_The Three Unities of sankharitola.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n


\nThe Three Unities of Sankharitola<\/b><\/font><\/P>
\n


\n <\/P>
\n


\n                       
\n<\/font>
\n<\/SPAN>M<\/font><\/SPAN><\/B>R.<\/b> N. N. Ghose
\nhas again attempted to answer us in his issue of the 26th August. As usual the
\nbulk of his answer is composed of irrelevant abuse, but we are glad to note that
\nexcept towards the end where his passion of spite and wounded vanity has broken
\nout in a furious yell of hatred, he has tried to curb his natural inclination to
\ncouch the logic of Billingsgate in the language of the gutter. We pointed out
\nthat Mr. N. N. Ghose’s “historical facts”
\n\u2014<\/SPAN> which he had brought forward to prove his theory that
\nNationality was possible everywhere except in India, were all blunders of which
\na schoolboy would have been ashamed, and we drew the inevitable conclusion that
\nthe sage of Sankharitola was an ignoramus in history. That was exceedingly plain
\nlanguage, no doubt, but it was relevant to the issue. A man who knows nothing
\nabout history, has no business to argue from history and foist on the public
\nconclusions drawn from his own imagination or from others
\nand distorted in the borrowing <\/SPAN>under the
\ndisingenuous pretence that they are the “laws of national growth” as ascertained
\nfrom an accurate study of the world’s past experience. And what is Mr. N. N.
\nGhose’s answer? His answer is that Srijut Aurobindo Ghose is a coward and had
\nnot courage to ride a horse and that he would never have been a patriot if he
\nhad not failed in the Indian Civil Service. Even if that be true,
\n\u2014 <\/SPAN>and we can hardly blame the Principal of the
\nMetropolitan College for judging others by his own standard of courage and
\npatriotism, \u2014 we do not see how it helps his case or goes to prove that his bad
\npremises do not vitiate his conclusions or that Nationality is impossible in
\nIndia. The question is not whether Srijut Aurobindo Ghose is a coward and a
\nself-seeker but whether Mr. N. N. Ghose is wrong in his facts and in his
\nconclusions. With regard to the facts he has practically admitted defeat. He
\nadmits that he is an ignoramus, he admits that the depths of his ignorance have
\nbeen proved to be un-<\/font><\/P>
\n


\n <\/P>
\n


\nPage-524<\/font><\/SPAN><\/P>
\n

<\/p>\n


\nfathomable. We can therefore leave him alone in the
\nfuture and confine ourselves to his opinions. An ignoramus who pretends to a
\nmonopoly of knowledge and wisdom, and is always questioning other people about
\ntheir educational qualifications, makes himself offensive and deserves to be
\nexposed but an ignoramus who confesses that he is an ignoramus is harmless and
\neven an <\/font> object
\nof kindly pity.<\/font><\/SPAN><\/P>
\n


\n           
\n<\/font>
\n<\/SPAN>Mr. Ghose argues that though his facts were
\nwrong, that does not prove that his conclusions were not right. Perhaps not, but
\nit at least creates a presumption in that direction. We shall however leave his
\nself-justification on this point for future treatment and deal with the more
\nsubstantial issues he has raised in his defence.<\/font><\/P>
\n

           
\n<\/font>
\n<\/SPAN>Mr. N. N. Ghose’s position \u2014 and we notice it only because it is the
\nposition of better men than he \u2014 is contained in the following luminous
\nsentence: “The bookish politician is not able to cite a single instance where a
\nnation was made by boycott or under any conditions other than the unities we
\nhave more than once referred to.” Here there are two propositions, one, that
\nboycott never made a nation, the other that in every case of the building up of
\na nationality there have been present as indispensable conditions and the only
\ncauses of the growth of nationality Mr. Ghose’s three precious unities, — viz.,
\na single language, a single race, a single religion. A more shallow, ignorant
\nand unfounded brace of assertions it would be difficult to imagine. We
\n<\/I>pointed out in the first article in which we condescended to notice Mr.
\nGhose’s flounderings, several instances of nations which have been welded into
\nunity and maintained their unity without possessing a single one of these
\nindispensable “unities”. As for unity of race there is not a single one of the
\nEuropean nations which is not a compound of several races, except, possibly, the
\nScandinavian peoples. In England up to the present day the Celtic races preserve
\ntheir separateness and distinct individuality: in Austria there are a
\nsuperfluity of different races and languages: Russia is a congeries of peoples:
\nItaly was built up out of various races and even after the accomplishment of
\nnational Unity the Gallo-Lombard of the North and the Latins, Oscans, Umbrians,
\nTuscans of the Centre find it difficult to un-<\/font><\/P>
\n


\n <\/P>
\n


\nPage-525<\/font><\/SPAN><\/P>
\n

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\nderstand and live with the Graeco-Italians of the South:
\nin Germany the Prussian, the Slav, the Pole, and the South German are of
\ndifferent race-types and temperaments: in Spain the Iberian, the Goth and the
\nMoor have mingled their blood: in France there are the Breton, still a distinct
\nrace, the Proven\u00e7<\/SPAN>al and the Frank as well as the Celts of the Centre and
\nthe Aquitanian, each with noticeable marks of their separate origin: in
\nSwitzerland there are three races speaking three different languages. Does Mr.
\nN. N. Ghose want any more instances? We can give him plenty if he does. If he
\nhad even the most insignificant knowledge of common facts, he would not have
\nneeded our assistance to enlighten him on the subject. Every one knows, except
\nthe Shankaritola sage, that race and nationality are two totally different
\nthings which have no necessary relation to each other, since one depends upon
\ncommon descent while the other is a geographical and political unity. One might
\njust as well say that different chemical elements cannot combine into a single
\nsubstance as that different races cannot combine into a single nation. There is
\nno such irreconcilable divergence between the races in India as to make their
\nunion an impossibility. If we turn to unity of language we find a respectable
\nnumber of nations which do not speak a single language. Three languages are
\nspoken in Switzerland, the same number in France, while Welsh holds its own in
\nGreat Britain. Unity of language, therefore, is not necessary to nationality,
\nonly the recognition of one prevalent language as the State language is
\nrequired. If America, needing to be addressed in fourteen languages by her
\nwould-be Presidents is a nation, if the Swiss speaking three different languages
\non equal terms are a nation, what reason is there that the people of India
\nshould not federate into a single political unity? As for the religious
\ndifficulty, it is an old bogey. We do not deny the difficulty created by the
\ndivisions between the Mahomedans and Hindus, but it is idle to say that the
\ndifficulty is insuperable. If the spirit of nationalism conquered the much
\nfiercer intolerance of the religious struggles in Europe after the reformation,
\nit is not irrational to hope as much for India in the twentieth century. We have
\nnot seen in Mr. N. N. Ghose’s polemics a single argument or favourable instance
\nfor his pretentious theory of the<\/font><\/P>
\n


\n <\/P>
\n


\nPage-526<\/font><\/SPAN><\/P>
\n

<\/p>\n


\nthree unities of nationalism. We do not deny that it
\nwould be a great help to us if we had a single language or professed a single
\nreligion. But we do deny that these “unities” still less the unity of race, are
\nindispensable. There is no warrant for such a view in history or in reason.<\/font><\/P>
\n


\nBande Mataram<\/I>,
\n<\/I> <\/font> August 31(?), 1907<\/font><\/P>
\n


\n
\n
\nEastern Renascence<\/font><\/a><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>
\n


\n <\/font> <\/font>
\n<\/B><\/P>
\n


\nWhen the mailed fist of young Japan was striking blows
\nafter blows at the huge Russian bear our benevolent rulers who were secretly
\ndismayed and astonished tried to put on a smiling face as best they could and
\npersuade us into the belief that Japan was only an exception which proved the
\nrule of Eastern worthlessness. Somehow or other, however, inconvenient facts
\ncropped up to challenge their favourite theory and Persia, and even Afghanistan
\nbegan to raise their heads. Even China threw away her phial of laudanum and
\nopened her eyes to the rays of the rising sun. Our honest Anglo- Indian Press
\ntried to ignore this ugly fact as long as it could; but now with a deep sigh it
\nhas to confess that the Eastern nations have secured a fresh lease of life and
\nhave begun in right earnest to set their houses in order. Here is an extract
\npublished by the Pioneer <\/I>from a circular issued by the Chinese
\nauthorities:<\/font><\/P>
\n


\n <\/font> <\/font>
\n<\/P>
\n

           
\n<\/font>
\n<\/SPAN>“Those who are able to promote agricultural enterprises, mechanical arts
\nand handicrafts, trade and mines or any other kind of business, or aid merchants
\nto subscribe capital for industrial enterprises, and succeed in them \u2014 such
\nofficials or gentry who have worked to such an end, will be rewarded by the
\nThrone to an extraordinary degree. Should anyone be able to show that he has
\nsucceeded in starting a manufactory or industrial work with a capital of over
\nten million taels, where the workmen number several thousand, such persons will
\nbe even more greatly rewarded \u2014<\/SPAN> even to the extent of being raised to the peerage.”<\/font><\/P>
\n


\n <\/font> <\/font>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nJapan joined in the race of commercial enterprise later
\nthan<\/font><\/P>
\n


\nPage-527<\/font><\/SPAN><\/P>
\n

<\/p>\n


\nIndia and outstripped her in no time and now China,
\nwhere there are no “honest Swadeshi” officials to let loose mercenary Goorkha
\nbands to crush all spirit of enterprise, may very well be expected to do the
\nsame. Here in India we lag behind and lose the race not because the other
\nEastern nations are naturally more gifted than we are but because there is that
\nbenevolent despotism which like a leaden extinguisher puts out all the fire of
\nour genius. There is scarcely a word of encouragement, and in fact there cannot
\nbe; but of repression and Swadeshi cases there is plenty.<\/font><\/P><\/p>\n

           
\n<\/font>
\n<\/SPAN>But the Time-Spirit is abroad, and out of the extinguishers leap forth
\nthe tongues of fire that will at no distant date set all obstacles ablaze. The
\nnations of the East will rear up their heads and India will be herself again.
\nRepression will only enhance the <\/font> glory of her victory and
\nhelp in putting her in the vanguard of nations.<\/font><\/SPAN><\/P>
\n\t\t


\n\t\t <\/font>
\n\t\t<\/font>
\n<\/SPAN>
\n\t\tBande Mataram<\/I>,
\n\t\t<\/I> <\/font> September 3, 1907<\/font><\/P>
\n


\n <\/P>
\n


\nPage-528<\/font><\/SPAN><\/P>
\n\t<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Three Unities of Sankharitola                           MR. N. N. Ghose has again attempted to answer us in his issue of the 26th August. As…<\/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-416","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\/416","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=416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}