Notes on Prophetic Vision

1. Some ten days before August 15th 1929, Venkataraman at soup sees himself in a vision falling from branch to branch of a tree. Half an hour afterwards, having returned from the soup to his rooms (Mudaliar's house near treasury) for flowers to bring to the Mother, he climbs a big tree of champak. misses his hold, falls from branch to branch on to the ground and is unable to move for a few days and cannot come to the house for the 15th celebration. Prevision.

2. A lottery is arranged for the distribution among the sadhaks of articles of small value —in order to see how the forces work on different people. Before the distribution of tickets Amrita sees in vision the number 61; he gets actually the number 62. On inquiry he learned that by mistake two tickets had been distributed to one sadhak, otherwise he would have received No. 61. Telepathic vision of the thing that was about to happen,—not prevision.

3. On Monday, 23rd February 1929 at soup, the Mother sees among a number of other visions the son of Madame Gaebele with a broken arm-bandaged, but attaches no importance to it. On Thursday she meets Madame Gaebele and is told that her son broke his wrist at football on Monday and it was put in plaster before the time of the vision. At the moment she was praying earnestly that the Mother might give her help for the arm to cure. Silent communication from the mind of another awakening telepathic vision.

Page-83

Notes on the Texts

A Letter of Sri Aurobindo to His Brother. The precise date of this Bengali letter remains as uncertain today as it was when Sri Aurobindo headed it "Date unfixable". But it is known to have been written in April 1920, probably on the seventh of the month. Its recipient was Barindra Kumar Ghose, Sri Aurobindo's younger brother. Barin, who had been sentenced to transportation for life for his part in the Alipur Bomb Conspiracy, was released early in 1920. "After returning from the Penal Settlement at the Andamans," he writes. "I had visited several spiritual centres in Bengal such as Prabartak Sangha of Motilal Roy at French Chandernagore, Sat-Sangha of Himayatpur, Pubna, founded by Anukul Thakur and Arunchal Mission started by Dayananda Thakur. Of these, the last two were attempts at modernising the old conventional Vaishnab path of spiritual life. In Prabartak Sangha, Motilal with his strong vital urge towards work was trying to materialise a Deva-Sangha or spiritual commune after the similar ideal of Sri Aurobindo. This crude beginning must have disappointed me very much and I wrote a long letter to Sri Aurobindo in a pessimistic strain. ... In my letter to Sri Aurobindo, I had asked to be taken and initialed into his Yoga system mentioning at the same time, that, far from being a Devata — a demi-God, I was iron, beaten by God into steel and forged into a fine instrument meant for work." Long extracts from Sri Aurobindo's answer were published by Barin in the journal Narayan and also as a separate booklet entitled Pondicherir Patra (Letter from Pondicherry). Since this was done very shortly after the letter was written, when much of its contents were still topical, certain passages had to be deleted. These passages were not restored to the text of the letter or to the various English translations which have been brought out in the sixty years that have intervened. Now, the publication of the complete letter has been permitted. The present translation, made especially for Archives and Research, is wholly new.

The Mother Awakes. This Bengali poem on Mother India was written by Sri Aurobindo in or shortly before 1903. The translation is by Sri Nolini Kanta Gupta.

Rise of India. This is a translation of Dwijendra La! Roy's song Bharatabarsha. In it awakening Mother India is shown in a different aspect — her charming Lakshmi and not her terrible Kali personality. The translation was at one point called " Mother India". In order to distinguish it from Sri Aurobindo's translation of another of D.L. Roy's songs. Bharata-stotra (which appears as "Mother India" in SABCL Volume 8, page 383), the editors have used for the present translation the title "Rise of India", under which it was first published in 1963 in Flames and Flowers: An Anthology of Dwijendra Lal Roy's Poems and Songs, edited by Dilip Kumar Roy. son of D.L Roy. In the Translator's Notes to that volume. Dilip writes: "Dr. Helmuth von Glasenapp. the celebrated German orientalist, had in 1921 translated this song in Berlin with my help, as he could not understand the meaning of some words. I used to sing this song everywhere in German as the Germans (and others, too. on the continent) loved the song. Years later, a Swiss-German friend (a Freundin) translated it from German into English. I recast it and sent my version

Page-84

up to Gurudev who recast it again leaving only four of my lines intact and only one of hers. So I feel one can truthfully claim this as Sri Aurobindo's own translation."When Sri Aurobindo returned his translation to Dilip on 30 April 1932, he wrote: "Dilip, You made a mistake in the fourth verse — writing the first two lines twice over except three words, so that I don't know what the third and fourth lines are. I have made something out of my own imagination on the basis of Freeda Das [Dilip's "Freundin" or lady-friend]; but if it is too far from the original, send the true version and I will see what I can do." Dilip apparently later sent him the correct lines, for we find that two lines, from "Race of wild-clouds" up to "flowery-fain", have been added by Sri Aurobindo in the margin of his translation. The original lines made by Sri Aurobindo "out of my own imagination" are given in the third footnote. The alternatives that appear in the other three footnotes are variants found in Flames and Flowers: it is not certain whether they were written by Sri Aurobindo or by Dilip.

Hymns to the Mystic Fire. These two hymns were translated at the same time as the three that follow, probably in 1912. Verse 13 of Hymn 27 is printed as it is in Sri Aurobindo's manuscript: asina is usually translated as "old": the rendering "keen and swift" was preferred by Sri Aurobindo. although "old" was not rejected entirely.

Selected Hymns. These hymns, translated at the same time as the above three, have been presented separately, since they are to Indra and not to Agni, the "Mystic Fire".

The First Hymn of the Rig-veda (series continued). These two translations were done during the period of the Arya. that is, in 1914 or a year or two after. The second translation has been published in SABCL Volume 11 as Sri Aurobindo's final rendering of the hymn. It is, however, not his final version. Several later renderings and commentaries will appear in forthcoming issues.

The Life Divine. The fifth chapter is the last complete and sequential chapter of this incomplete commentary on the Isha Upanishad. It must have been written early in 1914. The first part of the chapter, up lo and including the first sentence of the twentieth paragraph ("We have in the Gita . . ."), was revised and rewritten by Sri Aurobindo. The rest of our text is taken from his first draft. The fact that the larger portion was not thoroughly revised explains the few repetitions, etc.

Notes on Prophetic Vision. Under this title the editors publish for the first time a set of notes written by Sri Aurobindo not long after 15 August 1929. (This date is that of his birthday, an event celebrated during his lifetime by a darsana etc.). Venkataraman was a disciple of Sri Aurobindo. His own account of the incident related here appeared in the book Breath of Grace (page 364):

"August 9

      Fell from the champak tree in my garden when trying to pluck moon flower creeping on the tree. Bedridden.

August 15

      Missed the great Darshan. The Mother was kind enough to visit me twice while in bed with bad leg."

Page-85

GLOSSARY

Words already listed in the Glossary to the Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library have not been included. As in that glossary, proper names and words occurring in poems or translations have been omitted. Words are Sanskrit unless otherwise indicated. Sources of citations are given in square brackets after the definitions.

Page-86

Page-87

The Sri Aurobindo Ashram

Archives and Research Library

The literary career of Sri Aurobindo spans more than sixty years. It may seem inappropriate to speak of the "literary career" of one who was essentially a yogin, but to Sri Aurobindo yoga was not a retreat from action, but a plunge into it. Even during periods when he saw no one, he worked; he was not absorbed in inactive contemplation. And for Sri Aurobindo to work meant preeminently to write. In sixty years he produced tens of thousands of pages of poetry, philosophy, exegesis, essays, criticism, translations, journalism, letters, and notes, written in English. Bengali. Sanskrit and other languages. During his lifetime most of these writings were printed in journals and later in books. By the middle of the century some one hundred titles had been published.

      Late in the sixties, in connection with Sri Aurobindo's birth centenary (1972), the publication of his complete works was undertaken. An effort was made not only to collect all works, large or small, that had been published in any form, but to discover, transcribe and bring out any writings that had remained unpublished. The first volume of the Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library was issued in 1970. By 1972 twenty-eight volumes had been printed. A supplementary volume, containing material which had come to the editorial office too late to be included in its proper volume, was published the next year. With the issue in 1975 of a reference volume, which included an index, a glossary, and biographical and bibliographical information, the publication of the Centenary Library was brought to a close.

The Mother was active as a "literary" creator for longer even than Sri Aurobindo. And if her writings are not as extensive as his, the printed record of her conversations alone will fill more than twenty volumes. The Mother wrote and spoke both in French and in English Her collected works are presently being published in these two languages.

To preserve a written document in the form of a printed reproduction assures life only to a copy of the final draft. The document itself, the artifact which shows the hand of its creator, is only faintly represented by this copy And even the printed text itself, as it passes from edition to edition, is subject, to some degree, to loss and corruption. For this reason it is essential that the original documents themselves are preserved. They are like bullion assuring the worth of paper currency.

      Of course there is no need to insist that the manuscripts of great writers should be preserved. The veneration in which mankind's creative geniuses are held is enough to ensure that their papers are treated with reverence. But this is not enough to guarantee their preservation. Paper documents, especially those of the last two centuries, contain within them the seeds of their own destruction. Modern paper, acidic in its very composition, is made more so by the process of its manufacture. This acidity soon turns the paper yellow, then brown, and finally into a heap of dust. Before this happens, the ink often has eaten into the yellowing paper, if instead it has not faded out of existence altogether. Add to this the effects of the environment —the gradual harm wrought by heat and moisture, and the more rapid ruination brought about by atmospheric pollution—and take into consideration the destruction caused by

Page-88

insects and rodents, and one has some idea of the natural hazards which assail even the best-handled piece of modern paper. But far and away the greatest danger is man. Wilful destruction and loss aside, it is men by their careless handling who do most to destroy the written heritage of their past. Not the least part of the damage is caused by well-intentioned but misguided people who try to preserve their fragile documents in makeshift ways.

      As early as 1952 an attempt was made to repair some of Sri Aurobindo's manuscripts, and also to preserve them by means of the microfilm camera. Neither effort, however, was systematic or complete, and both were abandoned before much progress had been made. Later, while the work of collecting material for the Centenary Library was under way, the need of preserving the original documents was again recognised. There was for the first time talk of establishing a permanent archives at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. In January 1973 a proposal was submitted to the Mother and received her approval. A suitable work-space and storage area was needed, and construction was soon begun. Two rooms were added to an old French colonial house near the main Ashram buildings in Pondicherry. This house had been the Mother's residence between June 1914 and February 1915. Here she had written:

      "Oh Lord, I am before Thee as an offering ablaze with the burning fire of divine union....

      "And that which is thus before Thee, is all the stones of this house and all that it contains, all those who cross its threshold and all those who see it, all those who are connected with it in one way or another, and by close degrees, the whole earth."

The rooms occupied by the Mother in this historic house have been kept intact.

      By October 1973 the two new rooms were completed. The next year, while the editorial staff of the Centenary" Library was compiling its reference volume, two young Ashram technicians began to microfilm some of Sri Aurobindo's and the Mother's manuscripts. They also underwent training in the science of document conservation at the National Archives of India. But after these beginnings had been made, the scope of the work increased enormously. Among the manuscripts given for microfilming, quantities of unpublished material were found. The continuing influx of unexpected papers made it impossible to go about the microfilming in a systematic way. As for publication, there were many journals in which new writings could appear, but it was soon realised that occasional and sporadic publication was no solution.

      By mid 1975 the main tasks before the Archives had been made clear.

     1) To collect, arrange, classify, and conserve under optimal conditions the manuscripts of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.

      2) To repair papers needing repair, and take all other necessary steps to ensure their preservation.

     3) To microfilm the manuscripts systematically, and to collect and produce other photographic documents.

      4) To publish hitherto unpublished material systematically.

      As the Archives began to take shape, several other areas of work were recognised:

      5) To verify the texts of all published works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.

Page-89

      6) To assemble a collection of all editions of all published works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother and to prepare an exhaustive bibliography of them.

      7) To collect, arrange and make available authentic documentary information on the lives of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.

      8) To prepare and publish works of reference for students of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.

      9) To collect, arrange and store other significant research materials.

      Points 5 to 8 are in a way extensions of work that had already been undertaken by the research staff of the Centenary Library. The reference volume of that series (Volume 30) contained, besides its principal reference tools — index and glossary—sections giving errata and biographical and bibliographical information. The research staff's files relating to these areas have become the basis of whole sections of the Archives' work.

      The Archives' collection of publications by and about Sri Aurobindo and the Mother grew gradually into a small library. This growth necessitated an expansion into another building. In this place works of research will be undertaken. When, after the expansion, an official designation was needed for the Archives, the name chosen was Sri Aurobindo Ashram Archives and Research Library. As a department of the Ashram, the Archives is a part of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, a public charitable trust. Its staff consists of ten full-time and a half-dozen part-time workers, all of whom are devotees of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, and serve gratuitously.

      The nine points listed above represent the nine principal sections of the Archives' work.

      Manuscripts. The heart of the Archives' collections are the papers of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. Sri Aurobindo's manuscripts have been arranged according to a twofold division, by type and by subject. The physical types are Notebook. Loose Sheet, and Printed Book; subject classifications are General. Vedic-Linguistic, Drama, etc. By category, the numbers of notebooks and loose sheets that have been arranged and microfilmed are as follows:

      General notebooks                                               66

      General loose sheets (major groupings)                   8

      Vedic notebooks                                                  53

      Vedic loose sheets (major groupings)                      3

      Dramatic notebooks and major loose sheet

           groupings                                                         21

      Other                                                                    32

The manuscripts of Sri Aurobindo's two epics, Ilion and Savitri, have yet to be finally arranged.

      Notebooks and loose sheet groupings are numbered in series chronologically. NB Gl, the first General notebook, was used by Sri Aurobindo at Cambridge around 1890. LS Gljj, the last sub-group of General loose sheets (prose), consists of passages for the revised edition of The Future Poetry, written at Sri Aurobindo's dictation in 1950. the last year of his life. The chronological order is necessarily rough. Many

Page-90

manuscripts have no dates, and must be classified according to handwriting, notebook type. etc. Certain notebooks were used over a period of many years — sometimes during two or more distinct and widely separated periods. A few notebooks are devoted to a single subject, but in many one finds altogether unrelated writings next to one another or even mixed together in the most bewildering way. The first and most fundamental task of the Archives was to describe the contents of each notebook and loose sheet grouping page by page. It took more than two years to do this. Physical descriptions and chronological data were provided at the same time. Later other "finding aids", as they are called, such as card-files were created. Similar arrangements have been begun for Sri Aurobindo's extensive correspondence. The Printed Books category of manuscripts includes all papers used by Sri Aurobindo directly in the preparation of books for the press, as well as proofs, and corrected copies of the books themselves.

      The manuscripts of the Mother have not been finally arranged. Mostly loose sheets, they have been placed in such categories as early writings, writings for the Bulletin, letters, notes, etc. After the completion of the publication of her Collected Works, a final arrangement will be made.

      Probably more than ninety-five percent of the manuscripts of Sri Aurobindo are in the Archives' collection. Efforts are being made to obtain what remains. It is important that these precious documents are properly preserved.

      Preservation. A separate article in this issue gives an introduction to the science of preservation. Members of the Archives staff have studied the various aspects of archival conservation at institutions in India, England and America. Some of the Archives' holdings are already kept in a cold-storage room in the main Ashram building. An air-conditioner keeps the temperature of this room around 25⁰ C Another air-conditioner and a dehumidifier will have to be installed in order to maintain the temperature and relative humidity closer to optimal levels. A fumigation chamber has recently been constructed, and many books and papers have already been treated in it. Some repairing of rare first editions has been done. Experiments have been made to determine the right materials —paper, paste, etc. — for use in Pondicherry's exceedingly hot. humid and salty climate.

      Microfilming. All of Sri Aurobindo's notebooks and loose sheets, barring the manuscripts of Savitri and Ilion, and a few others received only last year, have been microfilmed systematically. The manuscripts of his two epics, which were among the first papers to be microfilmed, will be taken over again after they have been arranged more perfectly. The same applies to most of the Mother's papers and certain correspondences. The Printed Books manuscripts relating to The Life Divine have been arranged, described and microfilmed in seventeen rolls. Most first editions of Sri Aurobindo's books and the various journals in which his writings first appeared have also been photographically preserved. In connection with the biographical research discussed below, the Archives has acquired many microfilm rolls and photocopies of documents bearing on Sri Aurobindo's life from places in India and England.

      The microfilming section has its own darkroom, where photocopies can be made from negative microfilm. It is hoped that someday positive photocopies of all Sri Aurobindo's and the Mother's manuscripts and of other important documents will be produced. This will make it unnecessary to subject the originals to avoidable

Page-91

wear and tear. Also on the programme is the making of one or more positive microfilms from the original negatives. When this is done the latter can be treated specially and stored safely away, and only the former used on the Archives' microfilm reader. Most modern archives, as a precaution, store one set of positive microfilms in a place different from the one where the originals and the negative microfilms are kept. There are special problems connected with the storage of photographic prints and negatives (including microfilm) which are being studied.

      Publication. Between 1951 and 1972 many writings by Sri Aurobindo that had never been published during his lifetime appeared in journals brought out by the Ashram or groups connected with it. Later most of these writings were reproduced in books and all of them were collected in the Centenary Library. But no complete inventory of unpublished material was ever made and no strategy worked out for its systematic publication. All this became possible only after the arrangement, classification and description of the manuscripts referred to above had been completed. Material which came to light after the last volume of the Centenary Library was issued in 1973 was at first published in various Ashram and Ashram-related journals, but it was soon realised that a more systematic approach was called for. Therefore Sri Aurobindo: Archives and Research was created. This biannual journal, whose first issue appeared on 4 April 1977, was designed to be a continuation of the Centenary Library. The journal's format — type-specifications, layout, paper, etc. — is identical with that of the thirty-volume series. The order of material follows the order of the Centenary volumes — first political writings, then other early writings. Bengali pieces, poetry, etc. In the seven issues of this journal that have so far been brought out have appeared some 600 pages of previously unpublished texts and another 150 pages of research material. Eventually all writings of Sri Aurobindo deemed fit for publication (including all material published in other Ashram journals after 1975) will appear in Archives and Research.

      The publication of the Collected Works of the Mother was undertaken in connection with her Centenary (1978) and is still under way. The copy-texts for the fifteen volumes of this series have been provided by the Archives. Many of the Mother's writings had never appeared in book-form and had to be compiled. Other pieces are appearing in the Collected Works for the first time.

      The preparation of texts for publication is a complex and difficult matter, To say that Sri Aurobindo's or the Mother's writings are "edited" would be misleading, for that would imply that an editor had imposed his preferences on them, which is not the case. All texts of Sri Aurobindo's and the Mother's writings represent the authors' final intentions. But to arrive at a final text, the person responsible, whom it is convenient to call an editor, must make many decisions. A sometimes difficult-to-read manuscript must be transcribed. Certain words may require several attempts at decipherment, and some resist it altogether. More than one layer of revision may be present. If the text is being prepared from a draft that was never given final revision, the punctuation may be incomplete. Sometimes this can be reconstructed from a previous draft; at other times the editor must use his own discretion. His knowledge of the author's handwriting, habits of writing, and methods of correction are also drawn upon in other circumstances, such as when he is faced with what is clearly a slip. Sri Aurobindo admits to having made these: "Do you mean this is the first [slip] you have met?", he once wrote, in a humorous

Page-92

mood, to a disciple. " I used to make ten per page formerly in the haste of my writing. Evidently I am arriving towards a supramental! accuracy." If any verbal emendations are made to a text printed in Archives and Research, the editors state the fact clearly in their notes. It normally takes three separate readings (or, with the first transcription, four) to produce a text free from errors. Then, after three careful readings of proofs, the text can be presented in the moral certainty that the editors have not interferred in any way with the transmission of thought between the author and his readers.

      Verification. However much care may be taken, mistakes are still made. The editorial staff of the Archives not only must prepare the texts which appear in Archives and Research, but also must verify material already published in the Centenary Library. They produce, when necessary, new editions of old books, in which newly discovered material is added, and old texts are checked carefully sentence by sentence and word by word. Such a verification of the text of Savitri is in progress. It is hoped that in a few years a critical text of the poem will be brought out.

      Bibliographical. A complete collection of each edition of each book written by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother is a necessity for simple purposes of record, for the making of bibliographies, and for "textual criticism", the establishment of printed texts. Few people know that virtually every printed work that gets beyond its first edition becomes gradually more or less corrupt. This is as true of the classics as it is of modern works. The textual critic must go back to the last edition seen by the author, to the first edition, and even to the manuscript to arrive at the text the author wanted to have printed. Happily, the reverence in which Sri Aurobindo is held and the care that has been taken while printing his books have kept them relatively free from errors. A bibliography of all titles by Sri Aurobindo published up to 1974 was included in the reference volume of the Centenary Library. A complete descriptive bibliography of all his books, articles and even manuscripts would be a great help to scholars, and will be undertaken when possible.

      Biographical research. Neither Sri Aurobindo nor the Mother liked anyone lo give importance to their outer lives. But both permitted biographies of them to be written, and even provided their biographers with information. They did this in order to clear up certain misconceptions and falsehoods that had entered circulation. The Archives' staff began collecting material on Sri Aurobindo's life in order to prepare a factual chronology for the reference volume of the Centenary Library. Since then, many public and private archives, libraries, etc. in London. Cambridge. Baroda. Bombay, New Delhi, Calcutta and Madras have been searched, and large amounts of authentic biographical material have been uncovered, copied and filed. A.B. Purani's Life of Sri Aurobindo, an authentic work which was undertaken with Sri Aurobindo's approval, was revised by the Archives' staff in the light of their new material. A really complete documentary biography is a need of the future.

      Works of reference. The first research work completed by the Archives' staff was the reference volume (Volume 30) of the Centenary Library. Since then a number of other works for scholars have come out, the most important of which is Glossary of Terms in Sri Aurobindo's Writings. As new editions of Sri Aurobindo's and the Mother's works are published, the Archives provides indexes and glossaries for them. Other works of reference under preparation are a revision and enlargement of Sri Aurobindo's Vedic Glossary and a glossary (with index) of all proper names referred

Page-93

to by Sri Aurobindo in his writings. This latter work will come to many hundred pages when finally published. Mention has been made of the Archives' biographical and bibliographical projects above.

      Other Collections. The term "archives" is most often applied to organised collections of personal and institutional papers possessing research value. Quantities of such material have come to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Archives. It consists of letters and other papers, photographs, works of art, and other creations and objects, and relates to the history of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, the lives of the disciples who have lived and done yoga here, and other people who have somehow come into contact with Sri Aurobindo, the Mother or the Ashram. All this possesses research value, and, despite the shortage of storage space, it is being welcomed by the Archives and put away carefully until the time comes when it can be gone through. The Archives is also looking into the possibilities of oral history, the collection of recorded spoken documents, which is another important aspect of modern archivology.

Page-94

Care and Preservation of Papers and Photographs

In the preceding article mention has been made of the work being done by the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Archives with regard to manuscript preservation. To preserve its papers, books, photographs etc. is the fundamental concern of any archives. The science of preservation is a complex field. Many of its aspects are quite technical, and in some, new developments are constantly taking place. It would not be possible in one short article or even in a series of articles to do justice to the subject. But many people who possess precious papers would like to do something to preserve them. This article is written for such people. It gives only the most basic information. Not everything it speaks of could be safely undertaken by an untrained individual lacking the proper equipment and materials. For special problems an expert should be consulted

      To provide proper storage conditions is the most essential part of preservation. "Good conservation is usually largely a matter of good storage", says one expert. In this area a person who has important papers in his home can do much to lengthen their lives. It is difficult and. in most parts of India, impossible to maintain in the home the optimal storage climate recommended by archival institutions (relative humidity 50-60 per cent, temperature 15-20⁰C). But there are factors over which an individual can exercise control. Papers should be kept in a cool, dry part of the house, out of direct sunlight. A good almirah makes an acceptable storage place. The choice of the containers with which the papers will actually be in contact is of the greatest importance. Because of the danger of transfer of acidity, which is discussed below, papers should not be kept in ordinary cardboard boxes or wrapped in brown paper or newspaper. Boxes or folders should be made of, or lined with, material with a low acid content, such as unsized handmade paper. Sizing, the substance that gives paper its hard writing surface, is usually acidic. Sheets of unsized handmade paper should also fee used for separating papers and photographs within the box or folder. The papers should be placed flat within the box and the box should be kept horizontally. Vertical storage causes papers to sag and become crumpled. The storage place should be checked periodically for insects and mildew. In fact, any collection of books or papers should be checked regularly to see if there has been any incursion of insect pests such as bookworms or silverfish, or any growth of fungus. This is particularly important in the tropics. Checking should be done especially after periods of heavy rain.

      In an archives, protection against insects and mildew is provided by fumigation. Books or papers are exposed to the fumes of certain chemicals in a specially constructed chamber. This process must be carried out by an expert. Some protection can be given in the home simply by putting small dishes of mothballs or net bags of dried neem leaves behind books in closed bookcases and in boxes in which papers are kept. Mothballs should not be kept with photographs.

      Plastic sheets or folders should not be used as protective covers for important papers. They are acceptable only if the plastic is definitely known to be chemically inert and if the storage climate is properly stabilized to insure that there is no increase

Page-95

in moisture and no condensation within the plastic which would invite mildew and possibly cause other damage. Many clear plastics look fine when new and give no suggestion of their potential for doing harm. One cannot judge merely by appearances. Certain types of special polyester films are used in archives for the encapsulation of precious papers, but these materials are available only from archival supply houses. Clear plastic sheets bought in stores are likely to be made of chemically unstable materials such as polyvinyl chloride or cellulose nitrate.

      The problem of acidity is one of the chief concerns of the professional conservator. Most modern wood-pulp paper is acidic in its composition. (Good handmade paper, which is composed of cotton rag, is less acidic.) The inherent acidity of wood-pulp paper eventually destroys it. One need only go into any library and look at a fifty-year-old book to see the truth of this. Archival technologists have devised several methods of "deacidification". by which the acid content of the paper is neutralised and an alkaline buffer is deposited. The most widely accepted method of deacidification involves the immersion of papers in a solution of calcium hydroxide and then in a solution of calcium bicarbonate. This process can only be carried out in a laboratory. What an ordinary person can do is to protect his papers against the transfer of acidity. A piece of highly acidic brown paper allowed to lie on a less acidic white sheet will soon stain it. Acid has migrated from the brown paper to the white. For this reason papers and photographs should be wrapped or interleaved only with sheets of low-acid paper such as unsized handmade paper.

      Torn papers sometimes need to be repaired, especially in order to prevent further damage. But this should be done by an experienced person. Many rare and valuable documents have been seriously damaged by people with good intentions but insufficient knowledge and improper materials. In particular, pressure-sensitive tape should never be used for repair. With age it become brittle and discoloured, and its adhesive stains and further damages the paper. There are several acceptable methods of repair, from the time-honoured use of wheat paste and handmade paper to the more recent lamination methods, which employ cellulose acetate film and tissue paper. Each method has its advantages, and a careful choice must be made, taking into account the fragility of the paper, its rarity and value, the kind of use to which it may be subjected, and storage and climatic factors.

      A person who displays a precious paper or photograph should know that by doing so, unless exceptional and expensive precautions are taken, the life of the article displayed will be shortened. It will be subject to fading caused by sunlight, to damage produced by moisture in the air and in damp walls, and to transfer of acidity from framing materials. Many inks fade with exposure to sunlight, especially the spirit-based inks used in felt-tip pen>. These are not actually inks, but only unstable dyes. If you have a letter written with such a pen or a photograph signed with one. and you want the writing to last, put the article carefully away. A photocopy can be displayed in its place.

      Most of the precautions mentioned above in connection with papers apply also to photographs. They should be stored horizontally in a coo, place out of direct sunlight. Do not pile photographs one on top of the other: they may become stuck together and the emulsion may tear off" when they are separated. Interleave the photographs with sheets of unsized handmade paper. (Low quality, acidic paper will stain them.) If rare photographs (or documents) must be displayed, the framing

Page-96

materials should be chosen with care. Newsprint or brown wrapping paper should never be placed behind the article. Handmade paper should be used for this purpose, and also for the framing mat. A mat provides a beneficial breathing space between the article and the glass. This is especially necessary in hot climates to prevent the emulsion from sticking to the glass.

      Persons encountering special problems in the preservation of their papers or photographs may contact the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Archives and Research Library. Materials connected with Sri Aurobindo, the Mother or the Ashram are welcome; in the Archives' collection they will be preserved for posterity under the best possible conditions.

Page-97

Documents in the Life of Sri Aurobindo

1

EXTRACTS FROM THE DIARY OF G.S. KHAPARDE

24 December 1907

This was a very very busy day. We had to make arrangements about our nationalist conference. Delegates kept pouring in all the morning. Bengal, Madras. Belgaum. Dharwad, Berar, C.P and nationalists all over the country have turned up very very strong & we number over six hundred. Babasaheb Khare of Nasik, Balasaheb Deshpande of Ahmednagar and very many others, have either arrived or are on their way. Arobind Babu, Suresh Babu, & many others are here. Talks of compromise are all in the air & our party without exception are in favour of an amicable settlement. The moderates would appear to be in uncertain temper. Some are for a compromise & others for holding out indefinitely. Our conference held in Ghee-Kanta Wadi was an unqualified success. All our nationalist delegates attended. We have made a separate camp for ourselves & that is a distinct advantage. The moderates are mostly gathered in the camp near the Pandal and are more or less dispersed. They are not very well off. Tilak made a very clear & forcible statement in our conference. Mr. Arobindo Babu presided. After the conference we went to our Tekda meeting. It was unprecedentedly large, over ten thousand being present and a number of speakers spoke from our platform; Tilak, Hyder Raiza, Sardar Ajitsing, Sangavi KKV [?]. It became so late that I did not speak though people called for me. We returned to our lodgings after 9 p.m. Our meeting was a tremendous success. Compromise is more than ever talked of & not a man in our camp but has a suggestion to make.

25 December 1907

Mr. Tilak went out in the morning to bring about a compromise. I have & had my misgivings from the beginning. Sir P[herozeshah] M[ehta] is a very haughty & proud man. He will never yield. Gokhale has no backbone. Ambalal is showing no coolness & appears confused by the situation. Tilak is doing his best to bring about a compromise. I did not go out in the morning. There is great discipline in our party. In the afternoon we had our Nationalist Conference. Arobinda Babu presided and Tilak made another masterly statement, clear & concise & yet full, such as he alone can make. Everybody praises it. Bhagat is here & came to see us. Lala Lajapatraya is here and paid us a visit in Ghee-Kanta Wadi. He was not prepared to sign the Nationalist declaration nor to hold himself bound by the resolutions of the Nationalist party. 1 sent him to see Tilak & Arobinda Babu at our lodging. Lala is also talking of a compromise. Moti Babu arrived from Calcutta this evening at 10 p.m. He agreed to put up with us for a night, and we sat talking for a very very long time. Practically I had no sleep. There was a movement to increase the number of our delegates & many visitors paid their money and enrolled themselves.

30 December 1907

The moderates and the self-constituted congress officials have published a press-

Page-98

Plate 1. 

Uttarpara, March 1908

Bipin Chandra Pal (seated left), Sri Aurobindo (sealed right), and others.

Page-99

Plate 2.

Calcutta, December 1906

Seated: Lala Lajpatrai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, B.C. Pal ("Lal-Bal-Pal"), and N.C. Kelkar.

Standing: An associate of Tilak, C.R. Das, Surendranath Tagore, Dr. Munje.

Plate 3. 

Surat, December 1907

Sri Aurobindo presiding over a Nationalist conference.

(At his right is G.S. Khaparde, at his left is Tilak, speaking.)

Plate 4. 

Nationalist Leaders at Surat

Seated front: Ganesh Srikrishna Khaparde, Ashwini Kumar Dutt.

Seated centre: Sardar Ajit Singh, Sri Aurobindo, Tilak, Saiyad Haidar Reza.

Standing: Dr. Munje, Ramaswamy, K. Kuverji Desai.

note full of lies and misrepresentations. Tilak commenced a reply to it and a statement of our own this morning. His work was much interrupted by visits, and he was not able to finish it till late in the day. Towards evening. Mr Kulabhai's son came and wished me & Tilak to go and visit his father. We went after finishing the statement. There we met Shrijut Narendra Nath Sen, Mr. Ghoshal & others and sat talking about the events of the last few days. Sir Bhalchandra came there with his brother Vishnu but did not speak with us. He visited the ladies and went away. We returned on foot from Kulabhai's house. Mr. Thengadi & two others accompanied us. Tilak decided to go away tonight and did so by the midnight train. Babu Arobinda goes to Baroda tomorrow morning. I shall also leave for Berar tomorrow.

      G.S. Khaparde

2

THE MODERATES' VERSION

The twenty-third Indian National Congress assembled yesterday [26 December] in the Pavilion erected for it by the Reception Committee at Surat at 2-30 p.m. Over sixteen hundred delegates were present. The proceedings began with an address from the Chairman of Reception Committee. After the reading of the address was over Diwan Bahadur Ambalal Sakerlal proposed that the Hon. Dr. Rash Behari Ghose having been nominated by the Reception Committee for the office of President under the rules adopted at the last session of the Congress, he should take the Presidential chair. As soon as the Diwan Bahadur uttered Dr. Ghose's name, some voices were heard in the body of the hall shouting "No, no" and the shouting was kept up for some time. The proposer, however, somehow managed to struggle through his speech; and the Chairman then called upon Babu Surendranath Banerjee to second the proposition. As soon, however, as he began his speech — before he had finished even his first sentence — a small section of the delegates began an uproar from their seats with the object of preventing Mr. Banerjee from speaking. The Chairman repeatedly appealed for order, but no heed was paid. Every time Mr. Banerjee attempted to go on with his speech he was met by disorderly shouts. It was clear that rowdyism had been determined upon to bring the proceedings to a standstill, and the whole demonstrations seemed to have been pre-arranged. Finding it impossible to enforce order, the Chairman warned the House that unless the uproar subsided at once, he would be obliged to suspend the sitting of the Congress. The hostile demonstration, however, continued and the Chairman at last suspended the sitting for the day.

      The Congress again met to-day [27 December] at 1 p.m., due notice of the meeting having been sent round. As the President-Elect was being escorted in procession through the Hall to the platform, an overwhelming majority of the delegates present greeted him with a most enthusiastic welcome, thereby showing how thoroughly they disapproved the organised disorder of yesterday. As this procession was entering the Pandal a small slip of paper written in pencil and bearing Mr. B.G. Tilak's signature was put by a volunteer into the hands of Mr. Malvi, the Chairman of the Reception Committee. It was a notice to the Chairman that after Mr. Banerjee's speech, seconding the proposition about the President was concluded, Mr. Tilak wanted

Page-99

to move "an amendment for an adjournment of the Congress." The Chairman considered a notice of adjournment at that stage to be irregular and out of order. The proceedings were then resumed at the point at which they had been interrupted yesterday, and Mr. Surendranath Banerjee was called upon to conclude his speech. Mr. Banerjee having done this, the Chairman called upon Pandit Motilal Nehru of Allahabad to support the motion. The Pandit supported it in a brief speech and then the Chairman put the motion to the vote. An overwhelming majority of the delegates signified their assent by crying "All, all" and a small minority shouted "No, no." The Chairman thereupon declared the motion carried and the Hon. Dr. Ghose was installed in the Presidential chair amidst loud and prolonged applause. While the applause was going on, and as Dr. Ghose rose to begin his address, Mr. Tilak came upon the platform and stood in front of the President. He urged that as he had given notice of an "amendment to the Presidential election," he should be permitted to move his amendment. Thereupon, it was pointed out to him by Mr. Malvi, the Chairman of the Reception Committee, that his notice was not for "an amendment to the Presidential election," but it was for "an adjournment of the Congress," which notice he had considered to be irregular and out of order at that stage; and that the President having been duly installed in the chair no amendment about his election could be then moved. Mr. Tilak then turned to the President and began arguing with him. Dr. Ghose in his turn, stated how matters stood and ruled that this request to move an amendment about the election could not be entertained. Mr. Tilak thereupon said, "I will not submit to this. I will now appeal from the President to the delegates." In the meantime an uproar had already been commenced by some of his followers, and the President who tried to read his address could not be heard even by those who were seated next to him. Mr. Tilak with his back to the President, kept shouting that he insisted on moving his amendment and he would not allow the proceedings to go on. The President repeatedly appealed to him to be satisfied with his protest and to resume his seat. Mr. Tilak kept on shouting frantically, exclaiming that he would not go back to his seat unless he was "bodily removed." This persisted defiance to the authority of the chair provoked a hostile demonstration against Mr. Tilak himself and for some time, nothing but loud cries of "Shame, shame" could be heard in the Pandal. It had been noticed, that when Mr. Tilak was making his way to the platform some of his followers were also trying to force themselves through the volunteers to the platform with sticks in their hands. All attempts on the President's part either to proceed with the reading of his address or to persuade Mr. Tilak to resume his seat having failed, and a general movement among Mr. Tilak's followers to rush the platform with sticks in their hands being noticed, the President, for the last time, called upon Mr. Tilak to withdraw and formally announced to the assembly that he had ruled and he still ruled Mr. Tilak out of order and he called upon him to resume his seat. Mr. Tilak refused to obey and at this time a shoe hurled from the body of the Hall, struck both Sir Pherozeshah Mehta and Mr. Surendranath Banerjee who were sitting side by side. Chairs were also hurled towards the platform and it was seen that Mr. Tilak's followers who were brandishing their sticks wildly were trying to rush the platform which other delegates were endeavouring to prevent. It should be stated here that some of the delegates we're so exasperated by Mr. Tilak's conduct that they repeatedly asked for permission to eject him bodily from the hall; but this permission was steadily

Page-100

refused. The President, finding that the disorder went on growing and that he had no other course open to him, declared the session of the 23rd Indian National Congress suspended sine die. After the lady-delegates present on the platform had been escorted to the tents outside, the other delegates began with difficulty to disperse, but the disorder, having grown wilder, the Police eventually came in and ordered the Hall to be cleared.

      An official statement issued on 28 December 1907 by Congress officials

3

THE CONVENTION

       The 23rd Indian National Congress having been suspended sine die under painful circumstances, the undersigned have resolved with a view to the orderly conduct of future political work in the country to call a Convention of those delegates to the Congress who are agreed : —

      (1) That the attainment by India of Self-Government similar to that enjoyed by the self-governing members of the British Empire and participation by her in the rights and responsibilities of the Empire on equal terms with those Members is the goal of our political aspirations.

      (2) That the advance towards this goal is to be by strictly constitutional means by bringing about a steady reform of existing system of administration and by promoting National Unity, fostering public spirit, and improving the condition of the mass of the people.

      (3) And that all meetings held for the promotion of the aims and objects above indicated have to be conducted in an orderly manner with due submission to the authority of those that are entrusted with the power to control their procedure.

      They are requested to attend at 1 p.m. on Saturday the 28th December 1907 in the Pandal lent for the purpose by the Working Committee of the Reception Committee of the 23rd Indian National Congress.

      (Signed)      Rash Behari Ghosh.

                         Pherozeshah M. Mehta.

                         Surendranath Banerjee.

                         G.K. Gokhale.

                         D.E. Wachha.

                         Norendranath Sen.

                         Ambalal Sakerlal Desai.

                         V. Krishnaswami Iyer.

                         Tribhovandas N. Malvi.

                         Madan Mohan Malviya.

                         Daji Abaji Khare.

                         [34 more signatures]

                            and others.

Page-101

4

THE 23RD INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS, SURAT

AN ACCOUNT OF THE PROCEEDINGS:

      A Press Note containing an official narrative of the proceedings of the 23rd Indian National Congress at Surat has been published over the signatures of some of the Congress officials.¹ As this note contains a number of one-sided and misleading statements it is thought desirable to publish the following account of the proceedings : —

PRELIMINARY

      Last year when the Congress was held at Calcutta, under the presidency of Mr. Dadabhai Naoroji, the Congress, consisting of Moderates and Nationalists, unanimously resolved to have for its goal Swaraj or Self-Government on the lines of self-governing Colonies, and passed certain resolutions on Swadeshi, Boycott and National Education. The Bombay Moderates, headed by Sir P.M. Mehta, did not at the time, raise any dissentient voice, but they seem to have felt that their position was somewhat compromised by these resolutions; and they had, since then, been looking forward to an opportunity when they might return to their old position regarding ideals and methods of political progress in India. In the Bombay Provincial Conference held at Surat in April last, Sir P.M. Mehta succeeded by his personal influence in excluding the propositions of Boycott and National Education from the programme of the Conference. And when it was decided to change the venue of the Congress from Nagpure to Surat, it afforded the Bombay Moderate leaders the desired-for opportunity to carry out their intentions in this respect. The Reception Committee at Surat was presumably composed largely of Sir Pherozeshah's followers, and it was cleverly arranged by the Hon. Mr. Gokhale to get the Committee nominate Dr. R.B. Ghosh, to the office of the President, brushing aside the proposal for the nomination of Lala Lajpatrai, then happily released, on the ground that "We cannot afford to flout the Government at this stage, the authorities would throttle our movement in no time." This was naturally regarded as an insult to the public feeling in the country, and Dr. Ghosh must have received at least a hundred telegrams from different parts of India requesting him to generously retire in Lala Lajpatrai's favour. But Dr. Ghosh unfortunately decided to ignore this strong expression of public opinion. Lala Lajpatrai, on the other hand, publicly declined the honour. But this did not satisfy the people who wished to disown the principles of selecting a Congress President on the above ground, believing, as they did, that the most effective protest against the repressive policy of Government would be to elect Lala Lajpatrai to the chair.

      The Hon. Mr. Gokhale was entrusted by the Reception Committee, at its meeting held on 24th November 1907 for nominating the President, with the work of drafting the resolutions to be placed before the Congress. But neither Mr. Gokhale nor the Reception Committee supplied a copy of the draft resolutions to any delegate till 2.30 p.m. on Thursday the 26th December, that is to say, till the actual commencement of the Congress Session. The public were taken into confidence only thus far that a list of the headings of the subjects likely to be taken up for discussion

      1 See Document 2

Page-102

by the Surat Congress was officially published a week or ten days before the date of the Congress Session. This list did not include the subjects of Self-Government, Boycott and National Education, on all of which distinct and separate resolutions were passed at Calcutta last year. This omission naturally strengthened the suspicion that the Bombay Moderates really intended to go back from the position taken up by the Calcutta Congress in these matters. The press strongly commented upon this omission, and Mr. Tilak, who reached Surat on the morning of the 23rd December, denounced such retrogression as suicidal in the interests of the country, more especially at the present juncture, at a large mass-meeting held that evening, and appealed to the Surat public to help the Nationalists in their endeavours to maintain at least the status quo in these matters. The next day, a Conference of about five hundred Nationalist Delegates was held at Surat under the chairmanship of Srijut Arabindo Ghose where it was decided that the Nationalists should prevent the attempted retrogression of the Congress by all constitutional means, even by opposing the election of the President if necessary; and a letter was written to the Congress Secretaries requesting them to make arrangements for dividing the house, if need be, on every contested proposition, including that of the election of the President.

      In the meanwhile a press note signed by Mr. Gandhi, as Hon. Secretary, was issued to the effect that the statement, that certain resolutions adopted last year at Calcutta were omitted from the Congress programme prepared by the Surat Reception Committee, was wholly unfounded; but the draft resolutions themselves were still withheld from the public, though some of the members of the Reception Committee had already asked for them some days before. On the morning of 25th December, Mr. Tilak happened to get a copy of the draft of the proposed constitution of the Congress prepared by the Hon. Mr. Gokhale. In this draft the object of the Congress was thus stated; "The Indian National Congress has for its ultimate goal the attainment by India of Self-Government similar to that enjoyed by the other members of the British Empire" etc. Mr. Tilak addressed a meeting of the delegates the same morning at the Congress Camp at about 9 a.m. explaining the grounds on which he believed that the Bombay Moderate leaders were bent upon receding from the position taken up by the Calcutta Congress on Swaraj, Boycott and National Education. The proposed constitution, Mr. Tilak pointed out, was a direct attempt to tamper with the ideal of Self-Government on the lines of the Self-Governing colonies, as settled at Calcutta and to exclude the Nationalists from the Congress by making the acceptance of this new creed an indispensable condition of Congress membership. Mr. Tilak further stated in plain terms that if they were assured that no sliding back of the Congress would be attempted the opposition to the election of the President would be withdrawn. The delegates at the meeting were also asked to sign a letter of request to Dr. Ghosh, the President-Elect, requesting him to have the old propositions on Swaraj, Swadeshi, Boycott and National Education taken up for reaffirmation this year; and some of the delegates signed it on the spot. Mr. G. Subramania Iyer of Madras, Mr. Kharandikar of Satara and several others were present at this meeting and excepting a few all the rest admitted the reasonableness of Mr. Tilak's proposal.

      Lala Lajpatrai, who arrived at Surat on the morning of that day, saw Messrs. Tilak and Khaparde in the afternoon and intimated to them his intention to arrange for a Committee of a few leading delegates from each side to settle the question in

Page-103

dispute. Messrs. Tilak and Khaparde having agreed, he went to Mr. Gokhale to arrange for the Committee if possible; and Messrs. Tilak and Khaparde returned to the Nationalist Conference which was held that evening (25th December). At this Conference a Nationalist Committee consisting of one Nationalist delegate from each province was appointed to carry on the negotiations with the leaders on the other side; and it was decided that if the Nationalist Committee failed to obtain any assurance from responsible Congress officials about the status quo being maintained, the Nationalists should begin their opposition from the election of the President. For the retrogression of the Congress was a serious step, not to be decided upon only by a bare accidental majority of any party either in the Subjects Committee or in the whole Congress (as at present constituted), simply because its session happens to be held in a particular place or province in a particular year; and the usual unanimous acceptance of the President would have, under such exceptional circumstances, greatly weakened the point and force of the opposition. No kind of intimation was received from Lala Lajpatrai this night or even the next morning, regarding the proposal of a joint Committee of reconciliation proposed by him, nor was a copy of the draft resolutions supplied to Mr. Tilak, Mr. Khaparde or any other delegate to judge if no sliding back from the old position was really intended.

      On the morning of the 26th December, Messrs. Tilak, Khaparde, Arabindo Ghose and others went to Babu Surendranath Bannerji at his residence. They were accompanied by Babu Motilal Ghose of the Amrit Bazar Patrika who had arrived the previous night. Mr. Tilak then informed Babu Surendranath that the Nationalist opposition to the election of the President would be withdrawn, if (1) the Nationalist party were assured that the status quo would not be disturbed; and (2) if some graceful allusion was made, by any one of the speakers on the resolution about the election of the President, to the desire of the public to have Lala Lajpatrai in the chair. Mr. Bannerji agreed to the latter proposal as he said he was himself to second the resolution; while as regards the first, though he gave an assurance for himself and Bengal, he asked Mr. Tilak to see Mr. Gokhale or Mr. Malvi. A volunteer was accordingly sent in a carriage to invite Mr. Malvi, the Chairman of the Reception Committee, to Mr. Bannerji's residence, but the volunteer brought a reply that Mr. Malvi had no time to come as he was engaged in religious practices. Mr. Tilak then returned to his camp to take his meals as it was already about 11 a.m.; but on returning to the Congress pandal an hour later, he made persistent attempts to get access to Mr. Malvi but could not find him anywhere. A little before 2.30 p.m., a word was brought to Mr. Tilak that Mr. Malvi was in the President's tent, and Mr. Tilak sent a message to him from an adjoining tent, asking for a short interview to which Mr. Malvi replied that he could not see Mr. Tilak as the Presidential procession was being formed. The Nationalist delegates were waiting in the pandal to hear the result of the endeavours of their Committee to obtain an assurance about the maintenance of the status quo from some responsible Congress official, and Mr. V.S. Khare of Nasik now informed them of the failure of Mr. Tilak's attempt in the matter.

FIRST DAY

      It has become necessary to state these facts in order that the position of the two

Page-104

parties, when the Congress commenced its proceedings on Thursday, the 26th December, at 2.30 p.m. may be clearly understood. The President-Elect and other persons had now taken their seats on the platform; and as no assurance from any responsible official of the Congress about the maintenance of the status quo was till then obtained, Mr. Tilak sent a slip to Babu Surendranath intimating that he should not make the proposed allusion to the controversy about the Presidential election in his speech. He also wrote to Mr. Malvi to supply him with a copy of the draft resolutions, if ready, and at about 3 p.m. while Mr. Malvi was reading his speech, Mr. Tilak got a copy of the draft resolutions which, he subsequently found, were published the very evening in the Advocate of India in Bombay, clearly showing that the reporter of the paper must have been supplied with a copy at least a day earlier. The withholding of a copy from Mr. Tilak till 3 p.m. that day cannot, therefore, be regarded as accidental.

      There were about thirteen hundred and odd delegates at this time in the pandal of whom over 600 were Nationalists, and the Moderate majority was thus a bare majority. After the Chairman's address was over, Dewan Bahadur Ambalal Sakarlal proposed Dr. R.B. Ghosh to the chair in a speech which, though evoking occasional cries of dissent, was heard to the end. The declaration by Dewan Bahadur as well as by Mr. Malvi that the proposing and seconding of the resolution to elect the President was only a formal business, led many delegates to believe that it was not improbable that the usual procedure of taking votes on the proposition might be dispensed with; and when Babu Surendranath Bannerji, whose rising on the platform seems to have reminded some of the delegates of the Midnapur incident, commenced his speech, there was persistent shouting and he was asked to sit down. He made another attempt to speak but was not heard, and the session had, therefore, to be suspended for the day. The official press note suggests that this hostile demonstration was pre-arranged. But the suggestion is unfounded. For though the Nationalists did intend to oppose the election, they had at their Conference, held the previous day, expressly decided to do so only by solidly and silently voting against it in a constitutional manner.

      In the evening the Nationalists again held their Conference and authorised their Committee, appointed on the previous day, to further carry on the negotiations for having the status quo maintained if possible, failing which it was decided to oppose the election of Dr. Ghosh by moving such amendment as the Committee might decide or by simply voting against his election. The Nationalists were further requested, and unanimously agreed, not only to abstain from joining in any such demonstration as led to the suspension of that day's proceedings, but to scrupulously avoid any, even the least, interruption of the speakers on the opposite side, so that both parties might get a patient hearing. At night (about 8 p.m.) Mr. Chunilal Saraya, Manager of the Indian Specie Bank and Vice-Chairman of the Surat Reception Committee, accompanied by two other gentlemen, went, in his unofficial capacity and on his own account, to Mr. Tilak and proposed that he intended to arrange for a meeting that night between Mr. Tilak and Mr. Gokhale at the residence of a leading congressman to settle the differences between the two parties. Mr. Tilak agreed and requested Mr. Chunilal, if an interview could be arranged, to fix the time in consultation with Mr. Gokhale, adding that he, Mr. Tilak, would be glad to be present at the place of the interview at any hour of the night. Thereon Mr. Chunilal

Page-105

left Mr. Tilak, but unhappily no word was received by the latter that night.

SECOND DAY

      On the morning of Friday the 27th (11 a.m.) Mr. Chunilal Saraya again saw Mr. Tilak and requested him to go in company with Mr. Khaparde to Prof. Gajjar's bungalow near the Congress pandal, where, by appointment, they were to meet Dr. Rutherford, who was trying for a reconciliation. Messrs. Tilak and Khaparde went to Prof. Gajjar's but Dr. Rutherford could not come then owing to his other engagements. Prof. Gajjar then asked Mr. Tilak what the latter intended to do; and Mr. Tilak stated that if no settlement was arrived at privately owing to every leading congressman being unwilling to take any responsibility in the matter upon himself, he (Mr. Tilak) would be obliged to bring an amendment to the proposition of electing the President after it had been seconded. The amendment would be to the effect that the business of election should be adjourned, and a committee, consisting of one leading Moderate and one leading Nationalist from each Congress Province, with Dr. Rutherford's name added, be appointed to consider and settle the differences between the two parties, both of which should accept the Committee's decision as final and then proceed to the unanimous election of the President. Mr. Tilak even supplied to Prof. Gajjar the names of the delegates, who, in his opinion, should form the Committee, but left a free hand to the Moderates to change the names of their representatives if they liked to do so.* Prof. Gajjar and Mr. Chunilal undertook to convey the proposal to Sir P.M. Mehta or Dr. Rutherford in the Congress Camp and asked Messrs. Tilak and Khaparde to go to the pandal and there await reply. After half an hour Prof. Gajjar and Mr. Saraya returned and told Messrs. Tilak and Khaparde that nothing could be done in the matter, Mr. Saraya adding that if both parties proceeded constitutionally there would be no hitch.

      It was about 12.30 at this time, and on the receipt of the above reply Mr. Tilak wrote in pencil the following note to Mr. Malvi, Chairman of the Reception Committee :

      Sir.— I wish to address the delegates on the proposal of the election of the President after it is seconded. I wish to move an adjournment with a constructive proposal. Please announce me.

Yours sincerely,

B.G. Tilak,

Deccan Delegate (Poona).

      *The names given to Prof. Gajjar were as follows:- United Bengal-Babu Surendranath Bannerji. A. Chaudhari, Ambikacharan Mazumdar, Arabindo Ghose, Ashwinikumar Dutt; United Provinces-Pandit Madan Mohan. Jatindranath Sen; Punjab- Lala Harkisonlal. Dr. H. Mukerji; Central Provinces-Raoji Govind. Dr. Munje; Berars- R.N. Mudholkar, Khaparde; Bombay- Hon'ble Mr. Gokhale. B.G. Tilak; Madras- V. Krishnaswami Iyer, Chidambaram Pillai; Dr. Rutherford. This Committee was to meet immediately and decide on the question at issue. The names of the Nationalist representatives in the above list, except Mr. A.K. Dutt. were those of the members of the Committee appointed at the Nationalist Conference on the previous day.

Page-106

      This note, it is admitted, was put by a volunteer into the hands of Mr. Malvi. the Chairman, as he was entering the pandal with the President-Elect in procession.

      The proceedings of the day commenced at 1 p.m., when Babu Surendranath Bannerji was called upon to resume his speech, seconding the election of the President. Mr. Tilak was expecting a reply to his note but not having received one up to this time asked Mr. N.C. Kelkar to send a reminder. Mr. Kelkar thereupon sent a chit to the Chairman to the effect that "Mr. Tilak requests a reply to his note." But no reply was received even after this reminder, and Mr. Tilak, who, though he was allotted a seat on the platform, was sitting in the front row of the delegate's seats near the platform-steps, rose to go up the platform immediately after Babu Surendranath, who was calmly heard by all, had finished his speech. But he was held back by a volunteer in the way. Mr. Tilak, however, asserted his right to go up and pushing aside the volunteer succeeded in getting to the platform just when Dr. Ghosh was moving to take the President's chair. The Official Note says that by the time Mr. Tilak came upon the platform and stood in front of the President, the motion of the election of Dr. Ghosh had been passed by an overwhelming majority: and Dr. Ghosh, being installed in the Presidential chair by loud and prolonged applause had risen to begin his address. All this, if it did take place, as alleged, could only have been done in a deliberately hurried manner with a set purpose to trick Mr. Tilak out of his right to address the delegates and move an amendment as previously notified. According to the usual procedure Mr. Malvi was bound to announce Mr. Tilak, or if he considered the amendment out of order, declare it so publicly, and to ask for a show of hands in favour of or against the motion. But nothing of the kind was done; nor was the interval of a few seconds sufficient for a prolonged applause as alleged. As Mr. Tilak stood up on the platform he was greeted with shouts of disapproval from the members of the Reception Committee on the platform, and the cry was taken up by other Moderates. Mr. Tilak repeatedly insisted upon his right of addressing the delegates, and told Dr. Ghosh, when he attempted to interfere, that he was not properly elected. Mr. Malvi said that he had ruled Mr. Tilak's amendment out of order, to which Mr. Tilak replied that the ruling, if any, was wrong and Mr. Tilak had a right to appeal to the delegates on the same. By this time there was a general uproar in the pandal, the Moderates shouting at Mr. Tilak and asking him to sit down and the Nationalists demanding that he should be heard. At this stage Dr. Ghosh and Mr. Malvi said that Mr. Tilak should be removed from the platform; and a young gentleman, holding the important office of a Secretary to the Reception Committee, touched Mr. Tilak's person with a view to carry out the Chairman's order. Mr. Tilak pushed the gentleman aside and again asserted his right of being heard, declaring that he would not leave the platform unless bodily removed. Mr. Gokhale seems to have here asked the above-mentioned gentleman not to touch Mr. Tilak's person. But there were others who were seen threatening an assault on his person, though he was calmly standing on the platform facing the delegates with his arms folded over his chest.

      It was during this confusion that a shoe hurled on to the platform hit Sir P.M. Mehta on the side of the face after touching Babu Surendranath Bannerji, both of whom were sitting within a yard of Mr. Tilak on the other side of the table. Chairs were now seen being lifted to be thrown at Mr. Tilak by persons on and below the platform, and some of the Nationalists, therefore, rushed on to the platform to his

Page-107

rescue. Dr. Ghosh in the meanwhile twice attempted to read his address, but was stopped by cries of "No, no," from all sides in the pandal, and the confusion became still worse. It must be stated that the Surat Reception Committee, composed of Moderates, had made arrangements the previous night to dismiss the Nationalist Volunteers and to hire bohras or Mahomedan goondas for the day. These with lathis were stationed at various places in the pandal and their presence was detected and protested against by the Nationalist Delegates before the commencement of the Congress proceedings of the day. But though one or two were removed from the pandal. the rest who remained therein, now took part in the scuffle on behalf of their masters. It was found impossible to arrest the progress of disorder and proceedings were then suspended sine die; and the Congress officials retired in confusion to a tent behind the pandal. The police, who seem to have been long ready under a requisition, now entered into and eventually cleared the pandal; while the Nationalist delegates who had gone to the platform safely escorted Mr. Tilak to an adjoining tent. It remains to be mentioned that copies of an inflammatory leaflet in Gujarathi asking the Gujarathi people to rise against Mr. Tilak were largely distributed in the pandal before the commencement of the day's proceedings.

      It would be seen from the above account that the statement in the official note to the effect that Dr. Ghosh was elected President amid loud and prolonged applause before Mr. Tilak appeared on the platform, and that Mr. Tilak wanted to move an adjournment of the whole Congress are entirely misleading and unfounded. What he demanded, by way of amendment, was an adjournment of the business of the election of the President in order to have the differences settled by a joint Conciliatory Committee of leading delegates from both sides. Whether this was in order or otherwise, Mr. Tilak had certainly a right to appeal to the delegates and it was this consciousness that led Mr. Malvi and his advisers to hastily wind up the election business without sending a reply to Mr. Tilak or calling upon him to address the delegates. It was a trick by which they intended to deprive Mr. Tilak of the right of moving an amendment and addressing the delegates thereon. As for the beginning of the actual rowdyism on the day some of the members of the Reception Committee itself were responsible. The silent hearing given by the Nationalist to Mr. Surendranath, on the one hand, and the circulation of the inflammatory leaflet and the hiring of the goondas on the other, further prove that if there was any pre-arrange-ment anywhere for the purpose of creating a row in the pandal, it was on the part of the Moderates themselves. But for their rowdyism there was every likelihood of Mr. Tilak's amendment being carried by a large majority and the election of President afterwards taking place smoothly and unanimously. But neither Dr. Ghosh nor any other Congress officials seemed willing to tactfully manage the business as Mr. Dadabhai Naoroji did last year.

      Dr. Ghosh's speech though undelivered in the Congress pandal had been by this time published in the Calcutta papers, and telegrams from Calcutta received in the evening showed that he had made an offensive attack on the Nationalist Party therein. This added to the sensation in the Nationalist camp that evening, but the situation was not such as to preclude all hope of reconciliation. Srijut Motilal Ghose of the Patrika, Mr. A.C. Moitra of Rajshahi, Mr. B.C. Chatterji of Calcutta and Lala Harkishen Lal from Lahore, accordingly tried their best to bring about a compromise, and, if possible, to have the Congress session revived the next day. They

Page-108