DR.
Patwardhan, and fellow-countrymen, when I came here I did not expect that I
would be sought out and commanded to lecture; I intended to slip in to see my
friends and slip out. But now I have been commanded to address you. I must
confess that making speeches is not my vocation. My weapon is the pen and not
the tongue. The People who make themselves prominent are those who are made
prominent by a benevolent Government and have two calls to obey, the first from
His Majesty's Hotel and the second from the Public, to lecture whenever
commanded to do so. I was staying back all the while, but I could not disobey
the command of my friend and fellow-countryman. Until now I was thinking of what
I was to speak. As I am not a speaker I will not be able to arrange my thoughts
readily but I shall just put before you our experiences in Bengal. You must
excuse me for my thoughts being at random,
or rather thank me that I will not tax your patience too long. The year 1907 was
an eventful year; many unusual and unfortunate things happened during that year.
The new movement was exposed to severe and fierce trials. In Bengal we had to
suffer many difficulties and trials and the last of the trials was
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the
storm at Surat this year. A number of people
asked the question: ”What next?” Our answer is: Let us see how much
more happens and how much more we suffer.” By our education
and circumstances, a negative and doubting temprament is created
in us. Men of that temperament are always asking, "Why are you going so
fast and so far? Where is the strength in you to take up such a programme ?"
We
are charged with being very superstitious and admit the charge. I myself am very
superstitious and my superstition is that we have sufficient strength and we
should succeed whatever we
undertake. I propose to expound the creed of thought that is preached in the
Bande Mataram. The nationalistic movement, which began with Swadeshi and
boycott, was not adopted by the leaders’ exhortations. The
congress movement was very strong in Bengal, but after the repressive
policy of the government, which began even before Lord Curzon, people lost hope
in the Congress. The Congress believed that by education and petitions, by
rousing the British public and the bureaucrats, success would be achieved, but
when people found all this was of no use and a mere loss of money and energy,
they became despondent abut the Congress. This feeling of despondency and apathy
towards the Congress was gaining ground in the public mind three or
four years before the Swadeshi movement. People became more and more
convinced that their efforts were doomed to failure and the Nation doomed to
decay, if the methods that had failed were to continue. Lord Curzon came and he
hastened the reactionary movement of the Government .He passed several Acts, the
Municipal Act floated by the previous Lt. Governor
of Bengal and the Universities Act. In spite of strong protest from
Bengal, where private school and colleges were started, these Acts were imposed.
Then came the partition of Bengal, which struck a blow at the heart of the
Bengali Nation. Some Indians did not understands at first why the partition was
a grievance. But the Bengali are people are a people fond of ideas and
sentiments. They were a provincial unity and did not like Partition. They were
wounded to their hearts and could not keep going along with it. They petitioned
and protested from every quarter
but met with nothing expect failure. Then there arose the question: what
to do next? Three or four years before
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the
Partition, the Swadeshi idea had been gaining ground in Bengal but it was not
accepted by the Leaders. The first shout of boycott came from Kishoregunj, an
insignificant town, which had taken no part in any movement till then; a second
shout came from Malgura (Jessore) then from Calcutta. Previously people had seen
the effect of the Chinese boycott of American goods and the leaders of Calcutta
accepted the idea of boycott and Swadeshi.
Swadeshi was first started in Poona and offered to the Bengali leaders,
who 'at that time said that Swadeshi was a mere wild dream, an impracticable
idea. Secondly, at the time of the Age of Consent Bill, the orthodox papers
preached boycott and Swadeshi but the nation was not strong enough to take them
up then. Even recently when Swadeshi and boycott were preached it was again put
forward that Swadeshi was impracticable and boycott was still more so and
against the principle of political economy. It was also urged that our
circumstances were different. We were wanting
in strength of character, we would make ourselves a laughing stock. But people
with a new spirit in their hearts did not listen to such doubts; they said,
"We will not hear these scepticisms. We want to do something and we will do
this, - namely, Swadeshi and boycott, and we insist on you that you should lead
the way." Then the leaders said, "All right, let us use them
temporarily and see what we can do." It was resolved to boycott British
goods for six months and then, if the step was found useful, to continue it. If
it succeeded, well and good. If it failed, it would be dropped. So long we were
on the wrong path. We were thinking we were weak, we had many national defects,
we were hypnotising ourselves or allowing others to hypnotise us. If we went on
thinking that we were weak, we should ever remain so. Let us believe in our
strength and let us take the idea from Vedanta, think that we are strong and
divine and powerful. Never mind the difficulties but proceed.
Don't try boycott as a temporary measure but take it as a method of
policy and carry it through. The leaders opposed this; they began to declare
their opposition publicly but people were not willing to hear them. They
resolved to make boycott a permanent measure. The people then discovered their
strength. They found that they were not weak but strong. They could carry it out
and
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would
carry it out. They were able to carry it out. The doubters were amazed
to see the boycott successful. After the first year of boycott,
though it did not redress the Partition grievances, yet it gave a
blow to the Manchester cotton trade. Now the boycott became
an accepted and permanent fact. People's strength is justified now. Another
charge that was thrown at the doors of the Indians was that they were not
capable of sacrifice. Bengal in especial would never make any sacrifice. The
Bengali people would just begin a hunt and leave it. Another thing that was done
in Bengal was the Swadeshi movement. The doubters put it forth that Swadeshi
cloth was inferior and less fine than English cloth and dearer. "How can
you expect under these circumstances the people to follow
Swadeshi permanently?" The people did not believe in them and they
proceeded and even poorer people, educated, uneducated and totally ignorant
people also began to buy Swadeshi cloth. Young men from Bengal came forward and
volunteered for the spread of Swadeshi; they undertook picketing in spite of
police troubles; they carried the gospel to every distant comer and in the
beginning sold Swadeshi cloth at cost price without taking any profits; both the
demand for and supply of Swadeshi cloth were increased by the efforts of the
young volunteers. In the end the prices
became equalised and ultimately English cloth became dearer. By self-reliance we
proved boycott and Swadeshi a success. The third thing that we have done is
national education. The people were for a long time dissatisfied with the
British system of education. After the success of boycott and Swadeshi, a cry
was raised for national schools and colleges. After much discussion, people
resolved to make national
education a fact. The Rangpur students were the first
to leave the Government school and demand a national school. Then at Rangpur was
established the first national school, after which a National University became
necessary. Voluntary contributions came from Zemindars. Now a scheme for
National primary education is being planned.
The lecturer next explained how the Bengali people
found that they were strong, bold and capable of doing things. He alluded to the
teachings of Ramakrishna and Vivekananda and gave the fable of the cub of a lion
in a sheep-fold. The
lecturer
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strongly
preached self-reliance. Then coming to show the difference between the Moderates
and the Nationalists, he remarked that all those who were self-diffident were
Moderates and all who were self-confident were Nationalists. The Moderates would
always make preparations and say, "We are not yet ready", and
they would never be ready. Then he exhorted the audience to depend upon
themselves and make themselves successful, great, prosperous and free.
Mr. Tilak proposing a vote of thanks to the Lecturer remarked that one
would never learn to swim unless one threw oneself in the water, and he
requested Babu Aurobindo to lecture more often in Poona than he intended.
The vote of thanks was carried with loud acclamation.
Babu Aurobindo was
garlanded and, after the concluding remarks from the chair, the gathering
dispersed amid loud shouts of "Bande Mataram, Shivaji ki Jai, Aurobindo
Babu ki Jai."
January 13, '1908
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