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Home , Bipin Chandra Pal, Sri Aurobindo

Orissa Review August - 2007

Sri Aurobindo and Freedom of

Siddhartha Dash

A prominent nationalist leader in the first decade and culture. In 1879, at the age of seven, of the last century pioneered the Aurobindo was sent alongwith his two other revolutionary movement in . He was a brothers to England by his father to insulate him versatile genius, a profound thinker, erudite against any Indian influence. In England, he stayed scholar, flaming patriot and a pivotal force in at first in with Drewett family where awakening the country to the need for he was perfectly trained in English and . In independence. regarded him as 1884 Aurobindo was admitted into the famous "highest synthesis of the genius St. Paul's school in London. of ". Then, he joined King's Tagore painted him as the College in Cambridge as a "Messiah of Indian Culture and student in humanities stream. Civilisation". CR Das called After two years of study Aurobindo as the 'poet of in King's College, he passed patriotism, the prophet of the first part of the Classics nationalism and the lover of Tripos in first division. Even humanity." as a youth growing up in Aurobindo was born on England, Aurobindo dreamed 15th August 1872 at Calcutta of liberating his motherland in an established Bengali from British rule. During his family. He was the third child stay at Cambridge, he of his parents. His father delivered many revolutionary Krishnadhan Ghosh was a doctor by profession, speeches. While in England, he came in contact who had great fascination for Europlan culture. with a revolutionary organization known as the On the contrary, his mother Swarnalata Devi was 'Indian Majlis'. Later on, he joined another secret a staunch supporter and admirer of Indian tradition called 'the Lotus and Dagger'.

55 Orissa Review August - 2007

In 1890 Aurobindo competed for the much These revolutionary centres would eventually coveted ICS examination, won position, but was organize armed insurrection against the British disqualified in the riding test. In 1893, after a long Raj. Arobindo was, however, convinced that this gap of fourteen years Aurobindo came back to strategy would be successful only if it will be India. Maharaja Sayaji Rao Gaekwad of Baroda supported by a large public movement. persuaded him to join in his . He In this connection, it may be mentioned that joined in the service first in the Aurobindo emerged in the Indian political scene revenue department, then as a Professor of much earlier than Gandhi and MN Roy. His was English and finally as the acting Principal of the mastermind wherefrom emanated most of the National College, Baroda. "These were, governing ideas of Indian nationalist movement. "Aurobindo writes", years of self-culture of literary In the beginning, Aurobindo was not a pacifist. activity and of preparation for future work". He was convinced that a nation had the right to Towards the end of his stay at Baroda Aurobindo obtain its freedom from foreign rule by whatever began revolutionary activities. In 1899 he means necessary. It was only after 1905 that arranged for a dynamic Bengali Youth Yatin Aurobindo directly entered into active politics. The Banerjee to receive military training in Baroda decision of the then British to divide army. After two years of successful training, Yatin Bengal province into two separate parts shocked went to Bengal, which was the citadel of the whole country. That was the time when the revolutionary activities, as Aurobindo's emissary people of Bengal were thoroughly indignant and to engage in revolutionary recruitment and outraged. Aurobindo felt that the time for public organization. Yatin was later assisted by another propaganda had come. Immediately, he left patriotic Bengali youth Barindra, who afterwards Baroda service that fetched him 500 pound a year formed his own revolutionary group. In 1902 and gladly accepted the duties of the principal in Aurobindo joined a secret society of Western the National College, Calcutta at a bare India headed by a Rajput noble called Thakur subsistence allowance of 10 pound a month. That Saheb. He brought about a sort of liaison between was a time when the moderate politicians the secret society of Thakur Saheb and a dominated Indian politics. Aurobindo ridiculed revolutionary group in Bengal led by P. Mitter. them and pleaded for extreme politics of Tilak, This bears ample testimony to the organizing skill and . Soon, he of Aurobindo, who even before entering into began writing editorials for 'Bande Mataram', an active politics was accepted as the intellectual English daily, started by Bipin Chandra Pal. He leader of the revolutionary movement in Bengal. contributed articles for other journals like It was Aurobindo's intention to build up a net- 'Jugantara', 'Indu Prakash' and ' Yogin'. work of strong revolutionary centres all over the It would be most appropriate to mention country to impart military training to the youth. here that Sri Aurobindo was first among Indian

56 Orissa Review August - 2007 political leaders to use the word 'Independence' as an undertrial prisoner. In 1910 he left active instead of ''. He had the courage to declare politics and stayed in as a '' till openly for complete and absolute independence. his death on 5th December, 1950. He wrote "there are some who fear to use the To Sri Aurobindo, India is not just a piece word 'freedom' but I have always used the word of land, not merely a collection of people. It is a because it has been the of my life to aspire conscious Spiritual Being, a Divine Power, a towards the freedom of my nation". It was Shakti, Devi, Goddess. India is Mother India, a because of his boldness of speech and writing living form of the Divine Mother. India must be that he was made the target of British politics. free from foreign control, for only then could she No wonder, Viceroy Lord Minto described develop and manifest the greatness of her soul. Aurobindo as the "most dangerous man in India". 'Love India', Sri Aurobindo urged his In the hands of Aurobindo, the application countrymen, 'serve her, sacrifice all for her, so of moral force took the shape of a full-scale non- that she may be free.' violent non-cooperation and passive resistance Reference : movement on the occasion of the Bengal partition movement in 1906. What was at first a protest S.J. Chakravorty - The Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo, Delhi, 1971 movement against the partition soon developed A.B. Purani - The life of Sri Aurobindo, Pandicherry, into a broader movement of 'Swadeshi and 1958 Swaraj' under his inspiration. The goal of this N. Dhar - Aurobindo, Gandhi & Roy, Calcutta, 1986 policy included the boycott of British products M. Das - Sri Aurobindo in the First Decade of the and institutions, the purchase of Swadeshi Century, Pondicherry, 1972 (indigenous) goods, the development of Swadeshi Sri Aurobindo - India's Rebirth, Mysore - 1993 industries, arbitration courts, colleges and schools and the use of passive resistance. It was because of the growing Nationalist movement in Bengal, Sri Aurobindo was tried twice for sedition and was acquitted both the times. In May 1908 he was arrested in the famous Alipore bomb case. Siddharth Dash lives at N-4/205, IRC Village, He was acquitted after spending one year in jail Bhubaneswar - 751015

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