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Bande Mataram { CALCUTTA, July 9th, 1907 }
A Curious Procedure
That the bureaucracy and its instruments should look with disfavour on the Bande Mataram and dread the increase of its circulation, is only to be expected; but the means by which they combat its diffusion are sometimes of a peculiar, if characteristic kind. An up-country agent writes to us: “The police and the Government officials are obstructing us much. They are threatening the servants with punishment and imprisonment, if they sell the Bande Mataram paper, because the paper writes against Government. So the poor illiterate people of this place are afraid of selling them.” We are often advised to keep our agitation within the limits of law; we would suggest that the bureaucrats might show us the example. If in order to prevent the growth of an infant Nationalism and its new-born exponent, an all-powerful bureaucracy is compelled to stoop to such petty persecution and intimidate people from a peaceful avocation by the illegal menaces of their underlings, the as yet weak and disorganized people of this country may surely be excused if they are sometimes carried beyond the precise limits of moral suasion in struggling against the most powerfully organized commerce in the world backed by the whole administrative strength, the police, magistracy and troops of the British Indian Empire. As to the paltry meanness of such obstructions, we say nothing; “melancholy meanness” and bureaucracy have always gone hand in hand in all climes and ages.
Page – 582 Association and Dissociation
The Maharaja of Darbhanga has dissociated himself from the “extremists” and Hare Street is wild with delight. But really, what else did the Englishman expect? A great landholder of the Maharaja’s position is hardly more of a free agent than the ruler of a “protected” State. He is so exposed to official pressure and has so much to lose that it would indeed be miraculous if he did not insist in season and out of season on his loyalty. If the Maharaja had been a declared Nationalist and suddenly recanted, we could have understood the joy of Anglo-India over the sheep that was lost and again is found. But he has on the contrary been always avowedly loyal, moderate and platonically patriotic. In fact we believe the speech of Darbhanga marks rather a setback to Anglo-Indian hopes than an incident over which there need be any exultation. Recently there was a secret conclave of high dignitaries in the Maharaja’s house, at which there were some strange planetary conjunctions, Sirish Sarvadhicari of the Hindu Patriot sitting cheek by jowl with Srijut Surendranath Banerji to consult on the situation. At this meeting of opposites it was proposed, we believe, to issue a loyal manifesto after the fashion set by the Punjab. But owing to the opposition of the popular leaders who would not hear of such a betrayal and self-degradation the proposal fell through. We do not know how far the report is true, but if the proposal was made and failed, a personal declaration must obviously have been resorted to by the Maharaja when the hope of finding companions in sin had to be renounced. The Maharaja is to be pitied for having to dissociate himself from his countrymen in this crisis of their destinies.
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