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Tomorrow's Meeting
THE
great opportunity of Srijut Bepin Chandra Pal's return has been utilised for a
demonstration such as Calcutta has not yet witnessed, but the occasion will not
be perfect unless the public complete their homage to the soul of Nationalism by
coming in their thousands to hear him at the Federation Hall Ground on Saturday
when the congratulations of the country will be given to him on his return to
the great work he has yet to accomplish. He has returned with a double strength,
a position of impregnable security in the hearts of his countrymen and a new
conception of his work which is precisely what is needed for its fulfilment. On
Saturday we expect to hear his first deliberate utterance after his
imprisonment. As a leader of the Nationalist Party, he has spoken before, but he
will speak now as a voice of prophecy, a thinker whose thoughts do not proceed
from himself but are guided from within.
Tomorrow the life of Nationalism will resume its mighty current. Since
Bepin Chandra went to prison, it has been half deprived of its old impetuous
flow, wandering amid shoals and quicksands, distracted by cross-currents,
uncertain whither its course was bound. The constant inspiration of his thoughts
was wanting, the impetus of his presence ceased to move the springs of
Nationalist endeavour. Tomorrow he resumes his place at the post of honour, the
standard-bearer of the cause, the great voice of its heart, the beacon-light of
its enthusiasm. We were in a semi-darkness while that light was absent,
uncertain and bewildered as to our course while that voice was silent and the
standard was held by weaker hands, the post of honour filled by untried
champions.
When the Federation Hall Ground is filled and overflowing tomorrow, we
shall realise how great was the loss of his presence, how weak we were in the
absence of the man with a mission; for each of the men who stand before the
country today has a work set for him to do and which he alone can do aright. It
is the mis-
Page-795
sion
of Bepin Chandra to lead the thought of the movement, to inspire it with his
utterances, to keep the fire of its enthusiasm burning, while others carry out
the detail work, education, propaganda, Swadeshi, arbitration, self-defence or
whatever other things may be given to their hands to do. From Bengal the ideas
of the new age must proceed, from Bengal must come the life of the movement, its
high sense of principle, its fearless courage, its greatness, its broadness of
view and keenness of vision. From Bengal the stream must flow, which will
cleanse India of her impurities. If the work is to be well done, each man must
recognise his proper work and do it. The clash of conflicting egoisms, the
desire to monopolise, the pride of success must disappear from our midst, and be
replaced by our intense self-effacement, an enthusiasm of sacrifice, an exalted
conception of the high Power at work and the constant sense that we are only His
instruments. It is for this reason that we have recently laid stress on this
great truth; no advance can be made, no mighty success obtained unless we are
able to perceive the divinity of the movement, realise the necessity of
subordinating ourselves, overcome the tendency to break into cliques and cabals
and apportion to each his allotted portion in the one united work. If anyone
tries to outstep his sphere and appropriate the work of others, there will be
confusion, disturbance of harmony and temporary failure. The only way to avoid
it is for all to realise that the work is not theirs, that their right is only
to a portion, that no man is indispensable and only so long as he acts within
his own province and on the lines laid down for him by his capacities, his
inspiration and his circumstances, is he even useful. This harmony is necessary
for the rapid progress of the movement. If each man knows his place and keeps to
it, the harmony is possible. All the discords, the quarrels, the failures which
have marred our work have been due to the desire of leadership, the obstinacy of
prepossessions, the arrogance of egoism which wishes to claim the ownership of
God's work.
Bepin Chandra's place has been marked out for him by his powers of
oratory, his knowledge of politics, his enthusiasm and unconquerable vitality of
hope and confidence, his unequalled power to excite and inspire. The awakening
of Madras is the
Page-796
sign-manual
of the Almighty upon his mission. He has only to be true to himself and the
cause to complete that stupendous beginning and send the same stream of life
beating through the atrophied veins of all India, till one unanimous voice, one
tremendous impulse works from the Himalayas to Cape Comorin, from Assam to
Bombay and the whole country, molten into a burning mass of enthusiasm, is
finally fused in one and ready to be hardened into steel of perfect temper,
beaten into shape and fined to perfect sharpness by the workmanship divine, so
that it may be a weapon in the hands of the Most High to slay ignorance and
barbarism throughout the world.
A
true feeling of comradeship is the salt of political life; it binds men together
and is the cement of all associated action. When a political leader is prepared
to suffer for the sake of his followers, when a man, famous and adored by the
public, is ready to remain in jail rather than leave his friends and
fellow-workers behind, it is a sign that political life in India is becoming a
reality. Srijut Chidambaram Pillai has shown throughout the Tuticorin affair a
loftiness of character, a practical energy united with high moral idealism which
show that he is a true Nationalist. His refusal to accept release on bail if his
fellow-workers were left behind, is one more count in the reckoning. Nationalism
is or ought to be not merely a political creed but a religious aspiration and a
moral attitude. Its business is to build up Indian character by educating it to
heroic self-sacrifice and magnificent ambitions, to restore the tone of nobility
which it has lost and bring back the ideals of the ancient Aryan gentleman. The
qualities of courage, frankness, love and justice are the stuff of which a
Nationalist should be made. All honour to Chidambaram Pillai for having shown us
the first complete example of an Aryan reborn, and all honour to Madras which
has produced such a man.
Page-797
The
Anti-Swadeshi Campaign
The
official campaign against the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company is now drawing
to a head. The enquiries made by Sub-Collector Ashe as to the list of
shareholders are sufficiently ominous, while the case against the Tuticorin
lawyers is an almost undisguised attempt to ruin the Company by making it
practically illegal to farther its interests. All India is looking on with
interest to see the end of this campaign. If it succeeds, we shall know that the
peaceful development of Swadeshi is impossible under British rule. Whatever
disguises the local bureaucracy may try to throw over the issue, there is no man
in India who has not understood the issue.
Bande Mataram,
March 27, 1908
Page-798
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