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Archival Notes
A NEW EDITION OF THE HOUR OF GOD
Since its first appearance in 1959, The Hour of God has been among the most popular of Sri Aurobindo's shorter books. The pieces of which it is composed, although never prepared by him for publication, have a clarity and power that have endeared them to numerous readers. Most of them had first been published in journals between 1951 and 1959. In 1972 the same pieces, together with other material, were issued as The Hour of God and Other Writings, Volume 17 of the Sri Aurobindo Birth Centenary Library. This book was intended to contain all of Sri Aurobindo's posthumously published later prose writings except material on the Upanishads, Veda and linguistics, and letters, all of which had separate volumes. When a full examination of Sri Aurobindo's manuscripts was made after 1975, many hitherto unpublished writings were discovered. It became evident that a new form of presentation was required for the prose of Sri Aurobindo not published during his lifetime. An inventory was made of all writings published and unpublished. Pieces of specialised type and subject were separated out. Among those that remained three main categories emerged: (1) longer, complete and polished writings on yoga and yogic philosophy and psychology; (2) shorter writings, including notes, drafts and fragments, on the same subjects; (3) essays, complete and incomplete, dealing with these subjects in a more literary way, or with other subjects. The new, revised edition of The Hour of God that will soon be released consists of all the writings of category (1). Some of these have appeared in previous editions of The Hour of God, others not. The writings in category (2) have been collected together in a new book, From Man to Superman, part of which appears in this issue of Archives and Research. Some of the pieces included in this collection formerly formed part of The Hour of God. The writings of category (3) will be published in the future under the title Essays Divine and Human. All the pieces included in the new edition of The Hour of God have been carefully checked against Sri Aurobindo's manuscripts. Some of the texts, including the title essay, appear in the book in enlarged form, since parts of their manuscripts came to light after the original publication. The essays have been rearranged; thematic, physical and chronological factors all contributed to the new order. Despite these changes the book remains essentially what it has been, and should continue to inspire generations of readers.
THE ASSASSINATION OF NARENDRANATH GOSWAMI
The proceedings at Alipore, sensational enough in themselves, were four times shaken by acts of murder. All of the unfortunate victims were Bengalis. One was the Public Prosecutor of Alipore. Babu Ashutosh Biswas. Two others were members of the investigating police, Inspector Huq and Maulavi Shams-ul Alam. The efficiency and zeal of detective Shams-ul have been described with much humour by Sri Aurobindo in his Karakahini. He wrote these reminiscences of his jail life a few months before the Maulavi was gunned down in the high court by Birendranath Datta Gupta. Audacious as that shooting was, it cannot compare in drama and significance with the first of the acts of revolutionary justice at Alipore, the killing in the jail hospital of the approver Narendranath Goswami. Sri Aurobindo relates in Karakahini how Goswami, an early member of the secret society, was persuaded by his father, a rich landowner, to turn King's Evidence.
A Zamindar's son, he had been brought up enjoying comfort, luxury and evil ways. The harsh discipline and austerity of jail-life afflicted him greatly, and he did not hesitate to let others know this. ... As the days passed the terrible desire to get out of this torture by any means took root in his heart. At first he cherished the hope that after withdrawing his confession he might be able to prove that the police had used physical torture to make him confess his guilt. He told us that his father had made up his mind to procure false witnesses who would give appropriate testimony. But after a few days another idea came out. His father and an attorney started coming to the jail very frequently to visit him. Ultimately the detective Shams-ul Alam too began to come and see him. They carried on long and secret conversations. . . Very soon everybody had heard about Gossain's1 thirst for knowledge, and his intimacy with Shams-ul Alam, instead of remaining confidential love talk, became an open secret.2
Goswami's former companions did not take this betrayal lying down. From the time of his turning approver, reported a newspaper, the men on trial have uttered threats against Gossain promising him he will not live to enjoy the liberty he gained by turning approver and helping the police to prove their case. On the last occasion the men were on trial at Alipore, one of them on leaving the Court house was over-heard to tell Gossain that his fate was sealed.3 The police were naturally apprehensive about the safety of their star witness. "From the time Gossain became an approver, he was accomodated in the European cells [a special block for European prisoners], where he had his quarters upto the day of his death."4 The other prisoners were at the time either confined in small batches in the part of the jail dubbed the "44 decrees", or else, like Sri Aurobindo, kept in solitary confinement. Later all were put together in one large hall. But even here they were subjected to what the police thought was adequate surveillance. It was especially "those who were strong and well-built" that the authorities feared. Such boys, even if ill, had difficulty getting admitted to the jail hospital. The man in charge, one
1 "Gossain" is a familiar form of "Goswami". 2 Sri Aurobindo, Karakahini. Chapter 8 (new translation). 3 Bengalee (Calcutta). 1 September 1908. 4 National Archives of India. Private Papers Collection. I 30/2. A report in the Bengalee, 1 September 1908, says that Goswami's confinement was only for the purpose of protecting him, since, having received a full pardon, he was no longer a prisoner. Dr. Daley, had the "mistaken idea that if anything untowards happened in the jail, it would be done by the strong and excitable boys". The doctor was wrong. "In the end," continues Sri Aurobindo
It was just the opposite that happened. The incident that took place in the hospital was the work of the sick, weak, emaciated Satyendranath Bose and the ailing, quiet, soft-spoken Kanailal."5
Satyendranath Bose was the son of a younger brother of Sri Aurobindo's illustrious grandfather Raj Narayan Bose. He lived in Midnapore, where Raj Nara-yan and his brothers had been settled since around 1850. At the time of the Alipore arrests Satyen was in jail as a result of his conviction in the Midnapore Arms Act Case. Implicated in the Bomb Case, he was removed to Alipore. Satyen was at first put in the jail's quarantine yard because he was suffering from bronchial asthma. On 27 July, he was admitted to the jail hospital. On the 30th he was joined by the seriously ill Kanailal Dutt. Whether the two men had already taken their martyrs' resolution is not known, but by the 29th or 30th, the plans of their desperate act had been laid. Both were armed. It never occurred to the watchmen at the jail that the visiting mothers and sisters of the prisoners had hidden pistols in the billowing folds of their saris.6 Tearful embraces at the grating provided a perfect opportunity to pass the weapons over. They were intended for a prison-break planned by Barin and others. This never materialised, but two of the guns did not go unused. The story of the assassination is told in detail in Document 1. Other accounts provide additional details. One of them reports:
Monday morning, the 31st of August, was fixed for the third interview between Satyendra and Gossain. What happened was this: — A message was brought to the European quarters by Anrup Das, watchman, that Satyendra wanted to see Gossain. Gossain thereupon accompanied by Higgins, warder, proceeded from the European Cell towards the Hospital. Gossain and Higgins on climbing the stairs first went to the dispensary, when Gossain asked Higgins to call Satyendra. As Higgins was turning towards ward No. I he saw Kanai coming. .. . Gossain went to the verandah to the north of the staircase, where they began to talk slowly [i.e. softly]. A few minutes after Kanai, Gossain and Satyendra had gone to the verandah, a report was heard, and immediately after, Gossain was seen running into the dispensary, shouting "for God's sake, Mr. Higgins, save me. they will shoot."7
A newspaper account gives Goswami's terrified words as simply "My God, they are going to shoot me."8
5 Sri Aurobindo, Karakahini. Chapter 4. 6 Contemporary reports concentrate on female relatives (Bengalee. 1 September 1908). In his reminiscences, Nolini Kanta Gupta speaks simply of "visitors and friends". He rejects the theory, apparently first formulated by Barrister Norton, that the guns were smuggled in inside of jackfruits. See Nolini Kanta Gupta, "Reminiscences of Jail", Sri Aurobindo Mandir Annual, No. 21 (1962), p.22. 7 Private Papers I 30/2. 8 Bengalee, 1 September 1908. And shoot they did, nine times in all. "Four bullets were found, two inside the dispensary, one just outside the dispensary and one was extracted from the dead body of Narendra."9 The jail meanwhile was in a panic. "The alarm bell was clanging and the hooter blowing cheerily. The inmates of the hospital got out the best they could and spread the report that a saheb was shot and a bomb had been thrown in the hospital."10 According to Nolini Kanta Gupta, the report was not actually so exaggerated. He writes in his "Reminiscences of Jail Life":
All of a sudden, one evening [sic], the alarm bell of the jail rang out. This bell with its furious clang was rung only in a grave emergency. At the same time a prisoner ran wildly about, shouting in Hindustani, "Naren Gosain thanda ho gaya, Naren Gosain thanda ho gaya,"— "Naren Gosain has been done for, Naren Gosain has been done for!" Before we had time to think or realise what had happened, swarms of armed policemen with rifles and fixed bayonets trooped into the courtyard where we had been taking our evening [sic] stroll. They pushed us back into our quarters like a drove of sheep or as if we were animals for slaughter. Everyone was searched and we got a few rude jostlings. We were made to form a line, sit down on the spot and the order came, "Now to the 44 Degrees".11 How had two boys come to the decision to do this terrible deed? Kanai's statement at his murder-trial was simple and straightforward:
I wish to state that I did kill him. I don't wish to give any reason why I killed him. No, I do wish to give a reason. It was because he proved a traitor to his country.12
To be sure simple vengeance, although it may have played a part, was not Kanai's motive. Neither was the murder just the carrying out of the sentence of a revolutionary tribunal. Nolini Kanta Gupta explains:
Kanai and others had wanted to get rid of Naren Gosain as soon as possible, not simply because he had been a traitor to the country but in order that his testimony be rejected in the Sessions court, for his evidence would have no value unless it could be tested in cross-examination. This saved us all, at least from the clutches of the law.13
One cannot be sure how much Kanai and Satyen knew about the ultimate effect of their deed. Even the lawyers working on the case seem for some time to have been uncertain that Goswami's death would invalidate his evidence. But Nolini Kanta Gupta recently affirmed in conversation that Kanai and Satyen, acting on their own, killed Goswami with the conscious intention of saving Sri
9 Private Papers I 30/2. 10 Bengalee, 1 September 1908. 11 Nolini Kanta Gupta, "Reminiscences of Jail Life", pp. 15-16. 12 Private Papers I 30/2. 13 Nolini Kanta Gupta, "Reminiscences of Jail Life", p.16. Aurobindo. This they did, and they gave their lives doing it. Kanai and Satyen submitted to capture peaceably (see Plate 4). Their trial was held at the Alipore sessions court. Kanai was convicted and sentenced to death. Asked if he wanted to appeal this decision, he declared "There shall be no appeal." This brings up an amusing sidelight. Kanailal was a bright English scholar. During his stay in jail he learned that he had passed his college examinations. (He was pursuing these ordinary studies at the same time as attending the "technical school" at Manicktolla.)14 When Professor P.C. Roy read Kanailal's bold declaration, his reaction was to remark with a smile that here was the right use of the auxiliary verb "shall".15 Satyen was at first acquitted of the charge of murder, but later convicted (see Document 1). Because there seemed a chance of saving his life, his lawyers appealed the high court decision. Kanai, meanwhile, was hanged to death. The body of this pioneer martyr of Indian freedom was borne through the streets of Calcutta in triumph.
The procession traversed entirely the Bengali quarter. . . . The Basumati, a leading newspaper, writes: — Pice and paddy were strewn along the entire route. Ladies of every household along the line of procession loudly demanded a view of the dead, so the corpse was uncovered, and the cavalcade halted at almost every third house.16
So great was the public response that when Satyen was finally executed his body was cremated within the jail precincts, and even his ashes were not brought to Kowra-tullah ghat.17 Sri Aurobindo has devoted several pages of Karakahini to descriptions of the Bengali and English officials of Alipore Jail. As might be expected, their careers were seriously affected by Goswami's assassination. Perhaps the hardest hit was the assistant jailer Jogendra Nath Ghose, a "capable and efficient man" who had served the British long and was looking forward to retiring on pension. Only a few months of his service remained: "he used to say that he was only an inch and a half from the top of the palm tree." Unfortunately "he was able to climb only half of that inch and a half." A few days after the last visit of the jail inspector, a certain Colonel Buchanan, Goswami was killed. "Buchanan's visits to the jail became increasingly frequent. As a result, Jogendra Babu lost his job before his term was finished."18 In the ruling of the merciless Secretary to the Government of Bengal:
The Jailor, Babu Jogendra Nath Ghose, has over 30 years' service in the Department. He has always borne a high reputation, but his health has recently broken down, and he was intending to retire in January next.... He has been ordered to retire at once. Further punishment seems unnecessary in view of his long and
14 Ibid., p. 15. 15 Archives interview with Arun Chandra Dutt, 4 June 1978. 16 The Times (London) 15 November 1908. Quoted in Manoj Das. Sri Aurobindo in the First Decade of the Century, (Pondicherry, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1972), p.81. 17 Manoj Das, Sri Aurobindo in the First Decade of the Century, p. 83. 18 Sri Aurobindo, Karakahini. Chapter 3. meritorious service and his broken health.19
Sri Aurobindo had only praise for Senior Hospital Assistant Baidyanath Chatterjee.
Just as it was a Bengali, Jogendra Babu, who had full authority over the various departments of the jail, in the hospital it was a Bengali doctor, Dr. Baidyanath Babu, who was supreme.20
Sri Aurobindo had "never seen before and do not expect to see again anyone with such a large heart as Baidyanath Babu. It was as if he had been born just for doing good works and acts of kindness." His only failing was his excessive sympathy, and "It was this failing that was the real cause of his dismissal"21 The government investigator ruled:
Colonel Buchanan and the Hon'ble Mr. Oldham have found that his conduct, apart from specific instances of dereliction of duty, was open to much grave suspicion; and Colonel Macrae considers that the evidence goes to show that he was under the influence of the prisoners and wilfully and deliberately connived at the irregularities which took place. The Lieutenant-Governor finds no reason to doubt the correctness of these conclusions. The Civil Hospital Assistant has accordingly been dismissed from the service of Government.22 Sri Aurobindo found the jail superintendent Mr. Emerson "an embodiment of the almost extinct European Christian ideal." He was "peace-loving, considerate, incomparably generous, just, constitutionally incapable of showing rudeness instead of civility even towards inferiors, simply, straight forward and self-controlled." He had his failings, however, among them "a lack of energy and efficiency."23 This was not lost on the men who investigated the case. "Mr. Emerson seems to have forgotten that he is primarily responsible for the discipline of his jail in all matters and at all times", wrote the Secretary to the Government. Although no disciplinary action was taken against. Emerson, the Lieutenant-Governor felt bound "to express his very grave dissatisfaction with Mr. Emerson's administration of the Jail, as regards the lack of keenness and thoroughness which the present enquiries have disclosed."24 Finally, there is the case of Honorary Captain F.J. Daley, I.S.M.D., who was in charge of the jail hospital. Sri Aurobindo spoke highly of the doctor's qualities: Dr. Daley, although not so kind as Mr. Emerson, was a thorough gentleman and an extremely capable person.... The doctor was of Irish extraction and many of the qualities of that noble and idealistic race found refuge in him.
19 Government of Bengal. Judicial Department. File 130 of 1908, p.7. 20 Sri Aurobindo, Karakahini. Chapter 4. 21 Ibid. 22 Government of Bengal. Judicial Department. 130 of 1908, pp.4-5. 23 Sri Aurobindo, Karakahini. Chapter 4. 24 Government of Bengal. Judicial Department. File 130 of 1908, p.7. There was not the slightest cruelty in his nature. Once in a while, in a moment of anger, he would behave roughly or speak rudely. But usually he preferred to be helpful.25
Official documents confirm Sri Aurobindo's description in Karakahini of the personal care given him by Dr. Daley:
"(3) and whereas you allowed Arabinda Ghosh, a bomb case under-trial prisoner, to remain in the hospital for several days and nights, and in the same ward with Indra Nandi, without the fact of his being in the hospital being recorded in the Hospital Register as required by rules 468 and 978 of the Jail Code, or in the Observation Book kept in the hospital or in your Minute Book or any other record; "(4) and whereas, although the First Civil Hospital Assistant has stated that Arabinda Ghosh had no fever, you not only allowed him to remain in the hospital, but you also permitted him to be provided with a sick attendant, without the special sanction of the Superintendent of the Jail; ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... "(7) and whereas fresh jail milk and other comforts were given to several of the under-trial bomb case prisoners, although there is no evidence to show that they were ill or required any special medical treatment, and although sick convicts were at the time being given tinned milk."26
Sri Aurobindo was among those who enjoyed this last privilege. The doctor had to pay for his humanitarianism. Found guilty of "grave neglect of duty and want of supervision over his subordinates," Daley was "removed from the charge of the Jail Hospital and appointed to the less responsible post of Medical Officer, Eastern Bengal State Railway. Sealdah.27 Kanai and Satyen were executed in November 1908. The cases against the other revolutionaries were at that time underway in the Alipore sessions court. The prosecution strained its every muscle to convict them, especially the one they thought was behind the whole conspiracy. Sri Aurobindo, deep in yogic sadhana, faced the gallows unconcerned.
25 Sri Aurobindo, Karakahini. Chapter 4. 26 Government of Bengal. No. 552 Medl., 8 March 1909, p. 2. 27 Government of Bengal Municipal Department, Medical Branch. B-Proceedings for January 1909. Nos. 185-86, p.l. |