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Bande Mataram { CALCUTTA, December 13th, 1907 } The Surat Congress
When the All-India Congress Committee first betrayed its charge and degraded itself from the position of a high arbiter and guide in all national affairs to that of a party machine subservient to a single political tactician, we said that there were but two courses open to us, either to refuse to accept a party trick engineered in defiance of justice, decency and all the common rules of public procedure and to hold our own Congress at Nagpur, or to go in force to Surat and, if we could not swamp the Congress, at least to show that into whatever farthest nook or corner of India Sir Pherozshah Mehta might fly for refuge, he could not get rid of the presence of Nationalism, to fling ourselves at once on Gujarat and organize Nationalism there, so that the Loyalist’s chosen haven of refuge might become another place of shipwreck. In any case, we said, we must have a Conference of Nationalists this year and organise Nationalism all over the country. We have not concealed our opinion that the session at Nagpur would be the preferable course, as being both the most logical and the manliest and involving the least waste of energy now and in future. But such a course was out of the question unless all could agree upon it, and this was not found possible. Especially when Mr. Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai, fresh from his exile, were in favour of attending the Surat session, there could be no further question of our course. It has been decided, then, to attend the Surat Congress in what force we can muster at this short notice and do our best to hold the ground we have gained, as well as to see that certain questions which were held over last year are not held over again. A Nationalist Conference has also been arranged by the efforts of the Nationalists at Surat and
Page – 786 arrangements will be made for Nationalist delegates, a ticket of one rupee being issued to each delegate for the recovery of expenses. We call upon Nationalists in Calcutta and the Mofussil, who are at all desirous of the spread of Nationalist principles and Nationalist practice all over India, to make ready at whatever inconvenience and, if they find it humanly possible, go to Surat to support the Nationalist cause. We are aware of the tremendous difficulties in our way. Surat is far-distant, the expenses of such a journey are almost prohibitive, for only a small percentage of our party are men of means, and the time for preparation is almost nil. And yet we must go. What is a Nationalist good for if he cannot make up by his enthusiasm and energy for his other deficiencies, if he cannot make nothing of difficulties and turn the impossible into the possible? It is to sweep away difficulties and to strike the word impossible out of the Indian's dictionary that our party has arisen. The leaders of the Deccan call us; Lala Lajpat Rai, a name now made sacred to us all, is waiting to see the first fruit of his sufferings in the increase of patriots wedded to the principles for professing and practising which he has suffered, and the people of Gujarat are waiting eagerly for our advent. If Bengal goes there in force it will, we believe, set flowing such a tide of Nationalism as neither bureaucrats nor Bombay Loyalists are prepared to believe possible. The Christmas concessions given by the Railway companies reduce the expense to a minimum and for those who travel by the intermediate, Rs. 75 at the outside should be enough. For we are going not as holiday sightseers making a national occasion an excuse for a Christmas jaunt and we do not demand comfort on the way or luxuries when we arrive. We must go as poor men whose wealth is our love for our Motherland, as missionaries taking nothing with them but the barest expenses of the way, as pilgrims travelling to our Mother's temple. We have a great work to do and cannot afford to be negligent and half-hearted. Be sure that this year, 1907 } , is a turning-point of our destinies and do not imagine that the session of the Surat Congress will be as the sessions of other years. Let us fear to miss by absenting
Page – 787 ourselves the chance of helping to put in one of the keystones of the house we are building for our Mother’s dwelling in the future, the house of her salvation, the house of Swaraj. __________
Misrepresentations about Midnapore
A correspondent has written to the Bengalee denying the truth of certain statements in the Bande Mataram‘s account of the Midnapore Conference which the Bengalee characterises as misrepresentations. We are willing to be corrected in any points of fact where we may have made a mistake, but the correspondent in question is either ill-informed or is ignoring facts. (1) He says that the Magistrate was not invited but came to the meeting apprehending a row. We ask, who gave the Magistrate the information that there was likelihood of a row? Who wrote the letter which the Magistrate declared to be Mr. K. B. Dutt’s and which was in Mr. K. B. Dutt’s handwriting? What was the object of the letter if not to invite the presence of the Magistrate and the police to overawe Mr. K. B. Dutt’s opponents? It is possible that none formally invited the officials. Why then were the volunteers informed that the Magistrate was coming and they must give up their lathis? It is entirely untrue that the “rowdiness of a section of the meeting nearly culminated in a disturbance,” in the sense of a resort to violence. There was plenty of shouting and confusion, but never any likelihood or the appearance of a likelihood of a resort to violence. The only violence was the assault on a delegate by the Moderates on the second day. (2) The statement about the bomb-incident, by which is apparently meant the attempt by unknown persons to wreck the Lieutenant-Governor’s special seems to have been an afterthought. The incident was not known in Midnapore till Sunday evening and not a word was breathed about it by Mr. K. B. Dutt as a reason for putting by the volunteers’ lathis. It is not true that the Captain of Volunteers was sent for by the Magistrate and readily yielded. The Captain was sent to the Magistrate,
Page – 788 doubtless at the latter’s request, and made to resign because he could give no assurance about the lathis. Not a single volunteer gave up his lathi, nor was there any prohibition of lathis in the Magistrate’s orders forbidding processions. (3) It matters little by what stages the enthronement of the Police Superintendent was prepared. The fact remains that he was given the central chair on the platform to which only a distinguished guest invited by the Committee or a visitor whom the whole country respects is entitled. It is a fact that the President frequently turned to confer with him when there was disorder and on at least one occasion made use of his presence to threaten his opponents, declaring that he would see that law was enforced. All this, it seems, was only common courtesy. It may be so; we as “rowdies” cannot be expected to understand Moderate courtesy but it seems to us that such courtesy is an insult to the whole nation. (4) Mr. Dutt was certainly understood by many of the delegates to say that those who would not obey him as chairman (before he was elected President) might go out. It is possible that he may have been misunderstood or has forgotten it, and we do not care to press the point, as its only importance was an incident throwing light on his temper and attitude. As for the correspondent’s nonsense about discretion and valour, we did not know that it needed so much valour to leave the presence of K. B. Dutt, the Bold. The delegates were restrained by other Nationalists from leaving the Pandal and it was certainly discretion to allow another chance to the President designate before taking the serious step of secession.
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