The Pilgrims' March/Mr. Chitta Ranjan Das
CHITTA RANJAN DAS
“TO MY COUNTRY MEN”
The recent communique of the Government of Bengal, the order of the Commissioner of Police, and the various orders under Section 144 issued by Magistrates in different districts of Bengal, make it absolutely clear that the Bureaucracy has made up its mind to crush the movement of Non-Co-operation. The people of Bengal have therefore resolved to preserve with all their strength in the struggle for freedom. My message to them is one of hope and encouragement. I knew from the beginning that the Bureaucracy would be the first to break the law. It began its illegal career at the very outset by occasional orders under Section 144. It continued the unjust and illegal application of the Section in opposition to this movement. Now that the movement is about to succeed, it has adopted forgotten laws and forsaken methods, and Section 114 is being indiscriminately used to further the same object.
Our duty is clear. The Indian National Congress has declared that Swaraj is our only goal and that Non-Co-operation is the only method by which to reach that goal. Whatever the Bureaucracy does the Nationalists of Bengal cannot forget their ideal. The people of Bengal are now on their trial. It entirely depends on them whether they would win or lose. I ask my countrymen to be patient, I appeal to them to undergo all sufferings cheerfully I call upon them not to forsake the sacred work which the Indian National Congress has enjoined.
The Congress work is done and can only be done by volunteers. Let it be clearly understood that every worker, young or old, man or woman is a volunteer. I offer myself as a volunteer in the Service of the Congress. I trust that within a few days, there will be a million volunteers for the work of the Province. Our cause is sacred, our method is peaceful and non-violent. Do you not realise that the Service of our country is Service of God? I charge you to remember that no communique of earthly Governments can be allowed to stop God's worship.
I appeal to the people of Bengal to realise this truth. I pray to God that it may be given to the Bureaucracy to understand, appreciate and recognise this great truth.
TO THE CONGRESS WORKERS.
My first word and my last word to you is never to forsake the ideal of Non-violent Non-Co-operation. I know it is a difficult creed to follow. I know that some time the provocation is so great that it is extremely difficult to remain Non-violent in thought, word and deed. The success of the movement however, depends on the great principle and every worker must strengthen himself to withstand such provocation. We are too apt to throw the blame on other persons. For instance, if there is a riot in a City, we say that the hooligans were provoked to commit the riot. Let us not forget that these so-called hooligans are our countrymen. Let us not forget that we the Non-Co-operators claim to hold the country. Let us realise that to the extent to which we do not succeed in so controlling the masses, be they hooligans or not, to that extent Non-Co-operation has failed. The responsibility is ours. It does not lie in our mouth to say that wicked people have instigated the masses to break law and order. Do you not realise that the success of our movement depends on this, that no other people wicked or otherwise should be able to lead the masses or any section of our countrymen towards violence and bloodshed? If we fail to exercise control over the masses, how can we claim to have success? I am not discouraged. I do not want you to be discouraged. I pray to God that you may have sufficient strength to carry on this great battle peacefully never forsaking the ideal of Non-voilent Non-Co- operation in all its bearing.
THE CONGRESS AND
THE BUREAUCRACY
I said the other day that the Congress must be judged by the claim it makes. As we claim to hold the country we must accept responsibility for any violence anywhere in this country. One must in fairness except those places where the message of the Congress has not been allowed to be heard. We accept no responsibility with regard to the Moplah outrage. I firmly believe that that rebellion would have been impossible, had the Congress and the Khilafat workers been permitted to carry the gospel of nonviolent non-co-operation. But the position of the Congress is different regarding the recent violence in Bombay and the application of such violence under similar circumstances. Let us understand clearly the real issue which governs this assumption of responsibility. I have stated it before, but I find its real significance has not been appreciated.
Do we assert that the movement of non-violent non-co-operation has succeeded? If it has, is it not quite clear that it is because the Congress may be said to have established its control over the masses in this country? That is the only test of the success of this movement.
The continuance of such control is the measure of our success, its discontinuance must be the measure of our failure. This is also the standard by which the bureaucracy must be judged. The bureaucracy claims to hold this country. I am attaching no importance to its claim, so far as that claim is based on physical force. If that had been the only basis of its enormous claim I would have unhesitatingly declared that the bureaucracy was no more. I am dealing only with its claim so far as it depends only on the moral control which it may still exercise, Our rulers are never tired of quoting Mahatma Gandhi's assumption of responsibility as an admission of the failure of the Non-co-operation movement. That great soul never expresses himself in the faltering accents of half truth and untruth. If there has been a weakening of the control which the Indian National Congress has established let the fact be clearly admitted so it was admitted. May I not point out with equal force and with equal truth that every case of violence such as was practised in Bombay proves, and must prove, the failure of the bureaucracy to that extent? If such violence proves that the Congress had lost its hold on those who were guilty of violence, to my mind it proves as convincingly that the bureaucracy also had lost its control.
This brings out the real issue. I state it once again so that my countrymen may realise its deeper significance. The struggle for Swaraj is a struggle for this control. The India of today is a country of opposing claims and uncertain control. The Indian National Congress claims to hold the country. The bureaucracy makes the same claim. Are we right? Are they right? The coming events must furnish the answer.
APPEAL TO SUFFER CHEERFULLY.
“Our duty is clear. The Indian National Congress has declared that Swaraj is our only goal and that Non Co-operation is the only method by which to reach that goal. Whatever the bureaucracy does the nationalists of Bengal cannot forget their ideal. The people of Bengal are now on their trial, it entirely depends on them whether they would win or loose. I ask my countrymen to be patient, I appeal to them to undergo all sufferings cheerfully. I call upon them not to forsake the sacred work which the Indian National Congress has enjoined. The Congress work is done and can only be done by volunteers. Let it be clearly understood that every worker, young or old, man or woman, is a volunteer in the service of the Congress. I trust that within a few days there will be a million volunteers for the work of the province. Our cause is sacred, our method is peaceful and non-violent. Do you not realise that the service of our country is service of God? I charge you to remember that no communique of earthly Government can be allowed to stop God's worship.
To the People of Calcutta.
I do not know how long I shall be allowed to remain out of Jail. I repeat with all the emphasis I can command that every Congress and Khilafat worker must remain absolutely non-violent in thought, word and deed. I ask every citizen of Calcutta who has any sympathy for the work of the Congress and Khilafat to remember that the best and the surest way to destroy this work is to help violence in any shape or form.
I ask the people of Calcutta not to gather in large numbers at street corners as they did to-day. I knew that soldiers would be posted. I was not afraid because I had every confidence in our workers. There is no doubt there will be ample provocation. You must expect it. We must withstand this provocation, otherwise we deserve to lose. I say to our workers again that they must expect to be assaulted and they must be prepared not to be provoked into violence.
Fear of Jail, fear of assaults and fear of being shot down—these are the 3 fears which every worker must conquer before we can get Swaraj. We have conquered the fear of Jail; we are about to conquer the fear of assault. It depends on the Bureaucracy when we shall succeed in conquering the fear of being shot down.
In the meantime, I charge every one to remember that our success can only depend on non-violence so real, so perfect that all Godfearing men and women must come over to our side.
C. R. DAS
MESSAGE TO THE PERSECUTED
What shall I say to those who have suffered, who are suffering, and to those who are prepared to suffer for the cause of freedom? I repeat the message which was delivered by a Persian Poet.
Truth, love and courage:—that is all you need to learn, all that you need to remember. Faith, Fortitude, Firmness, will they falter and fail and fade at the hour of trial, in the moment of despair, asked the Saqi in a mournful strain, or will they, tried and tested emerge from the fire of life radiant, strengthened, ennobled, purified?
Nor will I forsake them, answered the youth; not even were the heavens to fall.
Thine then, said the Saqi, is the path of glory; thine a nation's gratitude; thine the fadeless crown.
Would that courage, unfailing courage, unbent courage, such as thine, be the proud possession of all?
For naught but courage winneth life's battle, naught but courage secureth soul's freedom, man's noblest, highest prize. Let courage, then, be thy gift, O God, to this wondrous land of Love and Light.
TO THE STUDENTS
on Jitendralal’s Imprisonment.
“If it is a sin to have demanded liberty for my countrymen with full and passionate intensity of soul, then I have sinned grievously, sinned beyond pardon or penitence and I rejoice that I have so sinned. If it is an offence to have asked my people to shake off the fetters of foreign servitude that degrades and dwarfs our humanity, then I am one of the most offending souls alive, and I rejoice and am thankful that God gave me the courage and hardihood to commit such an offence. And as the All-merciful gave me courage and strength in the past to speak out the truth that is within me, so I hope that He will give me endurance in the future to go through the agony of man's unrighteous persecution.”
So said Jitendralal Banerjee as I find from a certified copy of his statement made to the Magistrate. We all know Jitendralal Banerjee. I have been intimately connected with him certainly for the last five or six years of our national activity. Two years of rigorous imprisonment for saying what he believed to be true. A man who undergoes such suffering as this for the sake of truth must be understood and appreciated.
What is he Jitendralal Banerjee? I ask the student community to realise the essential truth of his life. His life has been lived up to the present moment practically before the students of Bengal. He passed his M. A. Examination in 1902 standing first in the First Class. After that he obtained the State Scholarship to proceed to England but he chose to educate himself and to educate others in this country. He served as a Professor of English in various Colleges always preferring Indian to Government Institutions. His last appointment was in the Ripon College where he served till 1911. In that year his services were dispensed with by the College authorities because he refused to give an undertaking that he would no longer take part in politics. Then began his career at the bar.
Although he had always taken part in politics from 1911-1912 he became a prominent figure in the Congress. A devoted follower of Surendra Nath Banerje, he broke away from him at the time when the whole of Bengal was intensely agitated on the question of Mrs. Besant’s election to the Presidential chair of the Congress. Since then he has been working unceasingly in support of the national cause.
There was no man in our political circle who was a more sincere friend and well-wisher of the student community. He was like a brother to every one of them who came to him, helping them with advice, with his money and in every possible way. An ardent patriot who yielded to none in his love for his country, with a heart tender and yet stern and unbending. I wish he had been among our midst at the present moment for Bengal hath need of him. We want his sincerity, we want his courage, we want his love for truth. Let his sacrifice enable us.
What is Jitendralal Bennerjee? I ask the students of Calcutta to realise the truth of his life. Words cannot convey it. The work that he did, the life which he lived, the qualities of his head and heart, all culminating in the grand sacrifice which he had the courage to make—these are more eloquent, than any words that I can employ.
I ask again: what is Jitendralal Bannerjee? I wish with all the craving of my heart that the students of Calcutta knew how to answer this question. He had given up his life for the wellbeing of his dear devoted students. Are there none now to tell us the meaning of his sacrifice not by speaking angry words, nor by shedding idle tears but by taking up the cause he loved so well and by strengthening that cause by their own sacrifice.
Merely existing is not living. I wish I could say the students of Calcutta were living as men should live, as Jitendralal Bannerjee lived. Now that his body is imprisoned, is there no one amongst the students of Calcutta who has the heart to hear the call of his soul?
APPEAL TO CALCUTTA STUDENTS.
The arrest of Lala Lajpat Raj has opened a new chapter in the history of our movement. To my mind the meaning of this arrest is significant. The bureaucracy is impatient of our success. It has lost its temper and naturally it has commenced to strike. Hitherto the attack of the bureaucracy has been more or less indirect. This is direct. Lajpat Rai is one of the pillars of the Congress movement. Through him the Congress itself has been struck. I welcome this direct attack. It means an open trial of strength between the bureaucracy and the Congress, and as the Congress year is about to close, it is time for the result to be proclaimed.
In Bengal the arrests have been equally significant. They took away Pir Badsa Mian and Doctor Suresh hand-cuffed and chained together as the most eloquent symbol of the bondage and unity of the Hindus and the Musalmans. Jatindra Mohan Sen Gupta is in Jail, proving the worth and triumph of Chittagong. Nripendra one of the most popular Professors, has shared the same fate. Professor Birendra Nath Mukherji of Rungpur has already led a thousand volunteers to prison, leaving twenty thousand more awaiting the glory of arrest. Brihmanbaria in Commilla is ready with more victims than our masters want.
But what of Calcutta? That is the question which distresses me to-day. Only five thousand workers have volunteered, only five thousand in this great City with so many schools and so many Colleges? Today six of these volunteers were arrested. They were doing Congress work, selling Khaddi and introducing Charkas. So the bureaucracy has made up its mind to stop the work of the Congress. Only five thousand in this great City and the work of the Congress about to be stopped! Have the students of Calcutta nothing to say? Is this the time for study? Art and Literature, Science and Mathematics: O—! the shame of it all when the Mother calls and these have not the heart to hear.
I feel so desolate in this great City. I see thousands and thousands of youngmen all around me wherever I go, but their faces are old with wordly wisdom and their hearts are cold and dead. I wish God had given me the strength to rekindle the fire of life in their hearts so that the youngmen of Calcutta may be young again. It is the young who fought the battle of freedom in every age and in every clime. It is the young who are purer in spirit and are ever ready for sacrifice.
I am growing old and infirm and the battle has just commenced. They have not taken me yet but I feel the handcuffs on my wrist and the weight of iron chains on my body. It is the agony of bondage. The whole of India is a vast prison. What matters it whether I am taken or left.
One thing is certain. The work of the Congress must be carried on whether I am dead or alive. Only five thousand in this great City and the work of the Congress about to be stopped! I ask again, have the students of Calcutta no answer to make?
MESSAGE TO THE COUNTRY.
Calcutta, Dec. 10.
Just after his arrest Mr. Das sent the following message—:
“This is my last message to you, men and women of India. Victory is in sight if you are prepared to win it by suffering. It is in such agony as that through which we are passing that nations are born, but you must bear this agony with fortitude, with courage and with perfect self-composure.
Remember that so long as you follow the path of non-violence you put the bureaucracy in the wrong, but move by a hair's breadth from the path which Mahatma Gandhi has mapped out for you and you give away the battle to the bureaucracy.
Swaraj is our goal, Swaraj not in compartments, not by instalments, but Swaraj whole and entire. Now it is for you, men and women to say whether we shall attain the goal for which we are striving.
To my Moderate friends I say this. Survey the history of the world from the beginning of all times. Has any nation yet won freedom by pursuing the path which you are pursuing? If the appeal should reach any waverer amongst you I ask him to consider whether he will now stand on the side of India in her conflict or with the bureaucracy? There may be compromise in the matter of datails, but there can be no compromise in the essential question that divides us from the bureaucracy and if you do not stand by India, you assuredly stand for the bureaucracy.
And to the students I say this, you are at once the hope and the glory of India. True education does not consist in learning to add two and two to make four, but it lies in the service which you are prepared to give to the Mother of us all. There is work to be done for the Mother. Who amongst you is prepared to answer the call?
THE CORRESPONDENCE.
Mr. C. R. Das forwarded for publication the following correspondence that passed between him and Mr. W. R. Gourlay, Private Secratary to His excellency the Gevernor of Bengal—:
Calcutta, dated Decmber 4.
My dear C. R. Das,
His excellency has been out all day and so I have not bad a chance to see him yet. The Indian gentleman did not convey quite the right idea. The idea he conveyed was that you had expressed a desire to have a talk with the Governor with a view to discussing the present situation and so I rang you up to tell you that if that were so I know H E. was always willing to see anyone who wished to discuss any matter of importance with him and I was going to suggest to H. E. that I should ask you to come along. I had thought of after-dinner to-night if I could fix it up. He is often in his study on Sunday night; but that might be too late now. Ring me up (No. 428 Regent, my house) when you get this and let me know if you think such a discussion would be helpful at the present time. Yours very sincerely. (Sd.) W. R. Gourlay.
148, Russa Road South, Bhowanipur
dated December 4
Dear Mr. Gourlay,
I have just received your letter. As you say there must have been some mis-understanding. Maharaja Sir Pradyot Kumar Tagore asked me whether I had any objection to see His Excellency. He was under the impression that I could not do so on account of the principle of non-co-operation. I explained to him that it was my duty to see H. E if His Excellency wished to see me. He was particularly anxious that H. E. and I should meet to discuss the question of hartal. I told him, should His Excellency send for me, I certainly, would consider it my duty to see him and discuss any matter which His Excellency might consider necessary.
I have now told you everything. If His Excellency wishes me to see him, kindly drop me a line.
Yours sincerely,
(Sd.) C.R. Das.
Calcutta December, 6.
My Dear C. R. Das,
His Excellency has learned from an Indian gentleman that in reply to a question which that gentleman put to you in the course of a conversation upon matters which are at present the subject of considerable public interest, you stated that you would be glad to act upon a suggestion which he had put forward that you should see His Excellency. Lord Ronaldshay understands that the matter under discusson at the time when you made this reply was the visit of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. Lord Ronaldshay asks me to inform you, therefore, that if you are of opinion that an interview would be of advantage at the present time, he will gladly see you and he requests me to ask if 6 p.m., to-morrow (Wednesday) December 7 would be an hour convenient to yourself.
Yours sincerely
(Sd.) W. R. Gourlay.
148, Russa Road South, Bhowanipur
December 7.
Dear Mr. Gourlay,
I do not understand from your letter that H. E. wishes me to see him. I explained the whole situation in my last letter. The rules by which non-co-operation is governed are rigid. If His Excellency thinks that a discussion with me on the present situation is helpful, it is for His Excellency to command and it is for me to obey. It is impossible for me to guess whether an interview would be of advantage or not at the present time. Judging from the present temper of the Government I doubt if it would help matters. But that is for His Excellency to judge.
Yours sincerely,
(Sd.) C. R. Das.
Government House, Calcutta December 8:—
My Dear C. R Das,
If you are free at 2-45 or at 6 p.m. this evening, His Excellency would like to see you.
The following further correspondence has since passed:—
1. From Mr. W.R. Gourlay to Mr.C.R. Das.
Government House,
Calcutta, Dec. 12
My dear C. R. Das,
The Communique has been sent to the press. Lord Ronaldshay was informed that the suggestion was made with your knowledge and that you raised no objection. He fails to understand therefore how it can be said that it was not made with your concurrence. It is not suggested that it was made on your initiative.
Yours sincerely,
W. R. Gourlay.
2. From S. J. Satyendra Chandra Mittra, Private Secretary to Deshabandhu Chittaranjan Das.
Dear Mr. Gourlay.
I am in receipt of your letter under double cover addressed to Sj C. R. Das dated the 10th of December, posted on the 11th of December at 9 15 A.M, and delivered to me at 10 A.M. today (12th December) though bearing a Post Mark of Kalighat P.O., dated the llth Decr., 3 P.M. I take it, you knew, at the time of writing this letter, that the Government of Bengal have taken Mr. Das into custody and I take it you also know that nobody is allowed either to see Mr. Das or correspond with him under the order of the Government. Under the circumstances, I regret I have to send back your letter. I have only to state that the correspondence in connection therewith has been now published in the press. That will speak for itself.
I am yours sincerely,
Satyendra Chandra Mittra.