Speech by Rastraguru Surendranath Banerjee (1905)
Sir,— we are assembled here to-night to perform what I, for one, regard as a solemn patriotic duty and, in respect of which, I will add that we are not to be deterred therefrom by the frowns or the smiles of power. I think, Sir, our countrymen have proved, by the hard logic of facts which have transpired within the last few months, that the Bengali of to-day is a very different personage from the Bengali as he is represented to be by historians, more anxious to round off their sonorons periods than to tell the real and veritable truth.
Our countrymen have proved and the martyrs, whom we are about to honour to-day, have had a large share in it, our countrymen have proved by their sufferings that repression will not daunt them. We have read the lessons of history and we have read in a book, which we highly prize, that the blood of the martyrs is the cement of the Church.
Our cause, consecrated by the sufferings of our youngmen, will grow in stregth and vitality as the years roll on. We have heard the story of the young men of Mymensing. They were sent to the lock-up in connection with some Swadeshi incident. As soon as they found themselves within their prison cells, they made the prison walls resound with the echoes of their patriotic songs. The hearts of the jailers were touched, for after all they are human. They brought them food which they declined to partake of. The terrors of the law will not indeed daunt us. We have cheerfully submitted to the stroke of the whip. With equal alacrity have we suffered the rigours of imprisonment; and now are gathered together in this hall to declare to the world that those, who have suffered for their devotion to the Swadeshi cause, have not been degraded in our estimation but that on the contrary, their punishments have enhanced the public respect which is felt for them and have won for them a high place in our affectionate regard. It is not indeed possible for us to reverse the decrees of our rulers. We are impotent our voice and our vote count for nothing in the counsels of the Empire. But, in our social and domestic concerns, we are still all powerful. Here we permit no intrusion of any kind on the part of any one.
Here, in this domain which is exclusively reserved for us, we say. “Hands off – this is our affair and not yours.” If we cannot reverse the decrees of our rulers, we can, at any rate, guide and control the public mind of Bengal. If we cannot modify the punishments which have been inflicted, we can, at any rate, neutralize their effect upon public opinion. If the object of punishment be to deter by degrading, we say that those who have suffered in the Swadeshi cause shall not be degraded. If the object of punishment be to deter by the infliction of pain, we say that pain cheerfully borne is no deterrent, and pain is cheerfully borne when the plaudits of the whole community and the mandate of an approving conscience follow the infliction. It has been asked whether it is constitutional to hold a demonstration such as this, and if constitutional, whether it is wise and expedient? I venture to answer both these questions in the affirmative.
The authorities of the State hold their powers as a trust for the public good. The public are their masters and they are truly public servants—not in a figurative, but in a higher and literal, sense. The public have therefore every right to sit in judgement on their conduct. They do so every day in connection with executive orders. The same principle applies to judicial decisions.
Our Anglo-Indian fellow-citizens have set an excellent example to us in this respect. You know what they do when they believe that any of their community has been wrongly punished by a court of law. They agitate, and agitate and never cease to agitate until they have obtained some sort of redress, You know what they did in connection with the Bain case. Even after the accused had been discharged by the High Court, they submitted a protest to Government, with a view to prevent a recurrence of proceeding such as those which had formed the subject matter of their complaint. We are, therefore, quite within our rights in holding this demonstration. But is it wise and consistent with prudence and considerations of expediency I confess this is, a question somewhat more difficult and complicated.
But I ask—is it possible to overlook the moral significance and the educative value of a demonstration like this? If the political and moral education of the people be a supreme factor in the evolution of national life, then I venture to hold that the demonstration of to-day is abundantly justified. It might be said that a meeting like the present will still further irritate our rulers. I fear it is too late in the day to bring forward an argument of this kind. We have been offending our rulers rather too frequently in recent years. The Indian National Congress is a huge offence. The smaller Provincial Couferences are so many offences on a somewhat reduced scale. Our political agitations are a perennial source of irritation. The agitation against the partition of Bengal is cordially detested as implying a perverse determination, on our part, not to accept what is regarded as an accomplished fact.
I ask you—are you prepared to give up the Congress, to close your Conferences, to abandon political agitation and to accept the partition of Bengal and go down on your knees and invoke the blessing of Almighty Providence on your rulers for the boon which they have thrust upon you against your wishes and which, forsooth, you in your folly, are not able or are unwilling to appreciate! I fear, you are not prepared to do anything of the sort. I fear, it is too late in the day to discuss the question of pleasing or displeasing the authorities. We cannot hunt with the bounds, and run with the hare. We cannot serve both God and Mammon. For my part, as one going down the vale of years, I will say this, that I have made my choice—definite, clear and pronounced Have you made yours?
I ask you whether you have decided to serve God or Mammon; whether you will consecrate yourselves to the service of your country or the furtherance of your personal self-aggrandisement? Let there go forth a spontaneous outburst of expression from this great gathering that we, who are assembled here, are resolved to live and die for the Swadeshi cause. The line of cleavage between the rulers and the ruled is becoming wider day by day. I ask—who is responsible for it? God knows that that awful burden does not rest upon our heads. Our rulers are responsible. Those who misapprehned the situation and who coming from the wilds of the Central Provinees, misunderstand the termper and character of the people of Bengal are accountable for the unhappy tension and excitement which prevail throughout these provinces. They seek to repress, where the sovereign remedy is conciliation. They seek to quench the flame by the application of force, and the flame blazes forth with redoubled fury. But whatever may be the defects of our rulers—and there has been a distinct deterioration in their qualities—our course of duty is plain and simple, namely to serve our country with unflinching devotion to her interest and to the cause of constitutional agitation which we are resolved to uphold.
You, gentlemen, have by your sufferings set up a noble example, and it is because we mean to profit by that example that we are here tonight. We desire to record a vote of confidence in your favour—not in your interest, but in our own—we want to declare to the world that your punishments have not degraded you, that punishments cheerfully borne in the country’s cause, never degrade any one, but they are the passports to public honour and popular applause and affection and to the affection and gratitude of the country. Martyrs in our cause, go forth from this hall impressed with the conviction that in honouring you we proclaim to the world our firm determination to honour the future martyrs of our race. You are among the first of the glorious band. I am sure, you will not be the last. But whether first or last, in your sufferings you had our sympathies and now in the hour of your triumph you enjoy, in an unstinted measure, the blessings of your fellow countrymen. In honouring the martyrs, however let us not forget the cause for which they have suffered. I ask you to rise from your places and cry out Bande Mataram.
(At this the whole meeting rose to a man and there was a loud and prolonged shouting of Bande Mataram.)
Continuing, the speaker said:—Renew the Swadeshi vow—the solemn vow—before you go, that you will abstain, as far as in your power lies, from purchasing and using foreign goods, and that you will, to the best of your powers, use and purchase home made and indigenous articles. Will you take this vow in the presence of God and man?
Loud and prolonged cries of Bande Mataram.
