{"id":820,"date":"2013-07-13T01:30:37","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=820"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:30:37","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:30:37","slug":"23-poona-speech-vol-27-supplement-volume-27","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/01-sabcl\/27-supplement-volume-27\/23-poona-speech-vol-27-supplement-volume-27","title":{"rendered":"-23_Poona Speech.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n


\nPoona Speech<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\n                         
\n<\/span><\/i><\/font>Babu Aurobindo Ghose, Editor of Bande
\nMataram, <\/span>arrived privately in Poona on Saturday evening. On Monday
\nafternoon, he was entertained at Pan Supari Parties, at Prof. S. M. Paranjape’s
\n(Kal) at Swadeshi Vakhar, then Godse’s Swadeshi Stationery Shop and at
\nNarayandas Chhabildas Shop. Babu Aurobindo addressed a Meeting on Monday
\n(January 13, 1908) evening at Gayakawad Wada (Tilak’s premises) where people
\nthronged from 4 o’clock. Mr. S. K. Damle, Pleader proposed Dr. Anna Saheb
\nPatwardhan, the Maharshi of Poona, to the Chair. Dr. Patwardhan, introducing the
\nLecturer observed that Aurobindo Babu was the fourth Bengali leader to address
\nthe Poona public. The first two, Kesab Chandra Sen and Babu Pratap Chandra Roy,
\nhad preached the new doctrines of the Brahmo Samaj. The third had been
\nSurendranath, the President of the 11th. I.N.C., in 1895. The fourth or the
\npresent one was their friend and brother, the leader of the new spirit in
\nBengal. Then Dr. Patwardhan asked the Babu to begin the speech.<\/font><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

                           Babu Aurobindo Ghose addressed the audience thus:<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/span><\/font>D<\/b><\/font><\/span>R.
\nPatwardhan, and fellow-countrymen, when I came here I did not expect that I
\nwould be sought out and commanded to lecture; I intended to slip in to see my
\nfriends and slip out. But now I have been commanded to address you. I must
\nconfess that making speeches is not my vocation. My weapon is the pen and not
\nthe tongue. The People who make themselves prominent are those who are made
\nprominent by a benevolent Government and have two calls to obey, the first from
\nHis Majesty’s Hotel and the second from the Public, to lecture whenever
\ncommanded to do so. I was staying back all the while, but I could not disobey
\nthe command of my friend and fellow-countryman. Until now I was thinking of what
\nI was to speak. As I am not a speaker I will not be able to arrange my thoughts<\/span>
\nreadily but I shall just put before you our experiences in Bengal. You must
\nexcuse me for my thoughts being at  <\/span>random,
\nor rather thank me that I will not tax your patience too long. The year 1907 was
\nan eventful year; many unusual and unfortunate things happened during that year.
\nThe new movement was exposed to severe and fierce trials. In Bengal we had to
\nsuffer many difficulties and trials and the last of the trials was<\/p>\n

<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage-62<\/font>\n<\/p>\n

\n

the
\nstorm at Surat this year. A number of people 
\n<\/span>asked the question: \u201dWhat next?\u201d Our answer  is: Let us see how much
\nmore happens and how much more we suffer.\u201d By our education 
\n<\/span>and circumstances, a negative and doubting temprament is created 
\n<\/span>in us. Men of that temperament are always asking, "Why are you going so
\nfast and so far? Where is the strength in you to take up such a programme ?"
\nWe
\nare charged with being very superstitious and admit the charge. I myself am very
\nsuperstitious and my superstition is that we have sufficient strength and we 
\n<\/span>should  <\/span>succeed whatever we
\nundertake. I propose to expound the creed of thought that is preached in the
\nBande Mataram. The nationalistic movement, which began with Swadeshi and
\nboycott, was not adopted by the leaders\u2019 exhortations. The  
\n<\/span>congress movement was very strong in Bengal, but after the repressive
\npolicy of the government, which began even before Lord Curzon, people lost hope
\nin the Congress. The Congress believed that by education and petitions, by
\nrousing the British public and the bureaucrats, success would be achieved, but
\nwhen people found all this was of no use and a mere loss of money and energy,
\nthey became despondent abut the Congress. This feeling of despondency and apathy
\ntowards the Congress was gaining ground in the public mind three or  
\n<\/span>four years before the Swadeshi movement. People became more and more
\nconvinced that their efforts were doomed to failure and the Nation doomed to
\ndecay, if the methods that had failed were to continue. Lord Curzon came and he
\nhastened the reactionary movement of the Government .He passed several Acts, the
\nMunicipal Act floated by the previous Lt. Governor    
\n<\/span>of Bengal and the Universities Act. In spite of strong protest from
\nBengal, where private school and colleges were started, these Acts were imposed.
\nThen came the partition of Bengal, which struck a blow at the heart of the
\nBengali Nation. Some Indians did not understands at first why the partition was
\na grievance. But the Bengali are people are a people fond of ideas and
\nsentiments. They were a provincial unity and did not like Partition. They were
\nwounded to their hearts and could not keep going along with it. They petitioned
\nand protested from every quarter   
\n<\/span>but met with nothing expect failure. Then there arose the question: what
\nto do next? Three or four years before<\/p>\n

<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage-63
\n <\/font><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/span>the
\nPartition, the Swadeshi idea had been gaining ground in Bengal but it was not
\naccepted by the Leaders. The first shout of boycott came from Kishoregunj, an
\ninsignificant town, which had taken no part in any movement till then; a second
\nshout came from Malgura (Jessore) then from Calcutta. Previously people had seen
\nthe effect of the Chinese boycott of American goods and the leaders of Calcutta
\naccepted the idea of boycott and Swadeshi. 
\n<\/span>Swadeshi was first started in Poona and offered to the Bengali leaders,
\nwho ‘at that time said that Swadeshi was a mere wild dream, an impracticable
\nidea. Secondly, at the time of the Age of Consent Bill, the orthodox papers
\npreached boycott and Swadeshi but the nation was not strong enough to take them
\nup then. Even recently when Swadeshi and boycott were preached it was again put
\nforward that Swadeshi was impracticable and boycott was still more so and
\nagainst the principle of political economy. It was also urged that our
\ncircumstances were different. We were  <\/span>wanting
\nin strength of character, we would make ourselves a laughing stock. But people
\nwith a new spirit in their hearts did not listen to such doubts; they said,
\n"We will not hear these scepticisms. We want to do something and we will do
\nthis, – namely, Swadeshi and boycott, and we insist on you that you should lead
\nthe way." Then the leaders said, "All right, let us use them
\ntemporarily and see what we can do." It was resolved to boycott British
\ngoods for six months and then, if the step was found useful, to continue it. If
\nit succeeded, well and good. If it failed, it would be dropped. So long we were
\non the wrong path. We were thinking we were weak, we had many national defects,
\nwe were hypnotising ourselves or allowing others to hypnotise us. If we went on
\nthinking that we were weak, we should ever remain so. Let us believe in our
\nstrength and let us take the idea from Vedanta, think that we are strong and
\ndivine and powerful. Never mind the difficulties but proceed. 
\n<\/span>Don’t try boycott as a temporary measure but take it as a method of
\npolicy and carry it through. The leaders opposed this; they began to declare
\ntheir opposition publicly but people were not willing to hear them. They
\nresolved to make boycott a permanent measure. The people then discovered their
\nstrength. They found that they were not weak but strong. They could carry it out
\nand<\/p>\n

<\/font><\/p>\n

\nPage-64<\/font>\n<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/span>would
\ncarry it out. They were able to carry it out. The doubters <\/span>were amazed
\nto see the boycott successful. After the first year of <\/span>boycott,
\nthough it did not redress the Partition grievances, yet it <\/span>gave a
\nblow to the Manchester cotton trade. Now the boycott <\/span>became
\nan accepted and permanent fact. People’s strength is justified now. Another
\ncharge that was thrown at the doors of the Indians was that they were not
\ncapable of sacrifice. Bengal in especial would never make any sacrifice. The
\nBengali people would just begin a hunt and leave it. Another thing that was done
\nin Bengal was the Swadeshi movement. The doubters put it forth that Swadeshi
\ncloth was inferior and less fine than English cloth and dearer. "How can
\nyou expect under these circumstances the people to follow<\/span>
\nSwadeshi permanently?" The people did not believe in them and they
\nproceeded and even poorer people, educated, uneducated and totally ignorant
\npeople also began to buy Swadeshi cloth. Young men from Bengal came forward and
\nvolunteered for the spread of Swadeshi; they undertook picketing in spite of
\npolice troubles; they carried the gospel to every distant comer and in the
\nbeginning sold Swadeshi cloth at cost price without taking any profits; both the
\ndemand for and supply of Swadeshi cloth were increased by the efforts of the
\nyoung volunteers. In the end the prices
\nbecame equalised and ultimately English cloth became dearer. By self-reliance we
\nproved boycott and Swadeshi a success. The third thing that we have done is
\nnational education. The people were for a long time dissatisfied with the
\nBritish system of education. After the success of boycott and Swadeshi, a cry
\nwas raised for national schools and colleges. After much discussion, people
\nresolved to <\/span>make national
\neducation a fact. The Rangpur students were the <\/span>first
\nto leave the Government school and demand a national school. Then at Rangpur was
\nestablished the first national school, after which a National University became
\nnecessary. Voluntary contributions came from Zemindars. Now a scheme for
\nNational primary education is being planned.<\/p>\n

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

     
\n       <\/span>The lecturer next explained how the Bengali people
\nfound that they were strong, bold and capable of doing things. He alluded to the
\nteachings of Ramakrishna and Vivekananda and gave the fable of the cub of a lion
\nin a sheep-fold. <\/span>The
\nlecturer
\n<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n


\nPage-65
\n <\/font>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

strongly
\npreached self-reliance. Then coming to show the difference between the Moderates
\nand the Nationalists, he remarked that all those who were self-diffident were
\nModerates and all who were self-confident were Nationalists. The Moderates would
\nalways make preparations and say, "We are not yet <\/i>ready", and
\nthey would never be ready. Then he exhorted the audience to depend upon
\nthemselves and make themselves successful, great, prosperous and free.<\/p>\n

<\/font><\/p>\n

            
\n<\/span>Mr. Tilak proposing a vote of thanks to the Lecturer remarked that one
\nwould never learn to swim unless one threw oneself in the water, and he
\nrequested Babu Aurobindo to lecture more often in Poona than he intended.
\n            The vote of thanks was carried with loud acclamation.<\/font><\/p>\n

           
\nBabu Aurobindo was
\ngarlanded and, after the concluding remarks from the chair, the gathering
\ndispersed amid loud shouts of "Bande Mataram, Shivaji ki Jai, Aurobindo
\nBabu ki Jai."<\/font><\/p>\n

January 13, ‘1908<\/p>\n

\nPage-66<\/font><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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