A Brief Review of the Freedom Movement   The Freedom Movement can be described as having gone through three phases. The first phase started almost immediately after the conquest of India by the British. It manifested itself in the form of revolts and rebellions by princes and powerful landlords who felt their power threatened. This feeling was exacerbated by the economic exploitation by the British (see Chapter 3); in addition there was the conversion work of Christian missionaries which evoked strong reactions even from the common people. We have cited a few examples in this book. Two prominent ones are: the heroic resistance of Veerapandya Kattabomman

A Short Note on Annie Besant   Annie Besant who was of predominantly Irish lineage was a renowned theosophist. In 1889, she enrolled as a member of the Theosophical Society. Devoted and diligent, she was chosen president of the Society after the death of Col. Olcott. Her interest in theosophy and Hinduism brought her to India in 1893. She lectured on Hinduism and glorified it as the fount of all religions and the cradle of civilisation.   Soon after becoming a member of the Theosophical Society she visited India for the first time in 1893. The Society was then led by Henry Steel Olcott and Besant and is today based in Chennai, and is known

The Cultural Influence on the Freedom Movement   As mentioned earlier in the chapter on the partition in Bengal, Ramsay Macdonald had exclaimed: 'Bengal is creating India by song and worship; it is clothing her in queenly garments.' In South India too, culture had a very powerful impact. We shall illustrate this phenomenon through two very powerful personalities, Subramaniam Bharati and Kamala Devi Chattopadhay.     Bharati's Literature   On 4 April 1910, a significant event occurred: Sri Aurobindo, poet, patriot and Yogi, arrived in Pondicherry from Bengal. Towards the end of 1910, V. V. S. Aiyar - Barrister Savarkar's comrad

The Pondicherry Chapter   On the 4th of April 1910, Sri Aurobindo landed in Pondicherry. He came here as the result of an 'Adesh' to pursue his spiritual tapasya. As he said later: 'I need some place of refuge in which I can complete my Yoga unassailed and build up other souls around me. It seems to me that Pondicherry is the place appointed by those who are Beyond.' But this did not mean, as it was then supposed, that he had retired into some height of spiritual experience devoid of any further interest in the world or in the fate of India. It could not mean that, for the very principle of his Yoga was not only to realise the Divine and attain to a complete spi

V. P. Menon   In this chapter we present the contribution of V. P. Menon to the Freedom Movement. To describe V. P. Menon as a freedom fighter would be somewhat far-fetched, for he was a civil servant serving the British government in India. Yet as a civil servant he played a key role firstly in the integration of the princely states into India, thus saving India from balkanisation and, secondly, he helped tide over the difficulties of Partition once the leaders of the Congress had agreed to the creation of Pakistan.     Who Was V.P. Menon?   Vappala Pangunni Menon, known as V. P. Menon, was an Indian Civil Servant who played a vital role during the par

Omkar Swami and the Assassination of Ashe   'From a terrorist revolutionary sentenced to a long prison to a spiritual ascetic and teacher would seem to many to be a far cry indeed. Yet this is exactly what happened in the case of Sri Sadguru Omkar who is today a revered octogenarian Saint who has his Ashram opposite the Nandi Hills in Kolar district', wrote Sri Dharma Vira, Governor of Karnataka in 1970.   Nilkantha Brahmachari - Sadguru Omkar's former name - was born on 4th December 1889 in Tanjore in an orthodox Brahmin family. From a very young age in high school, he was involved in national revolutionary activities. His group in South India was

Bibliography   Chapter 1   1.Complete works of Sri Aurobindo Vol 20 p64 2. From the writings of the Mother 3. Complete works of Sri Aurobindo Vol 25 p 307 4. Complete works of Sri Aurobindo Vol 36 p 499   Chapter 4   1. From Wikipedia on the internet 2. From Wikipedia on the internet 3. From Wikipedia on the internet 4. From Outlook magazine July 17 2006 and from Wikipedia 5. From Wikipedia on the internet 6. From Wikipedia on the internet 7. From Wikipedia on the internet 8. From Wikipedia on the internet   Chapter 5   The material in this chapter has been extracted from the following book: M

The Home Rule Movement   In 1910 Sri Aurobindo retired from active politics and came to Pondicherry. Earlier, both Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai were interned in jail. Bipin Chandra Pal had gone to England. Thus the Nationalist Congress was bereft of its leading personalities. There was a lull in the political activity. No doubt the Congress party led by the Moderates was still active but no real and intense political breakthrough seemed possible.   In 1914 the First World War broke out. The British were deeply involved in this war, fighting a life and death battle against the Germans. Just after the war began there was a renewal of intense political act

The Partition of Bengal and VOC   Rise of Nationalism   The nineteenth century witnessed the awakening of the national consciousness. This manifested itself not only in politics but in all fields of Indian life, culture, society and religion.   One of the most important personalities who contributed to this awakening was Swami Vivekananda. After the passing away of Sri Ramakrishna, he toured all over India as a parivrajak and got a first-hand view of the condition in which India was at that time. He made a great impression wherever he went; but it was in South India that the response was the most enthusiastic and widespread. The y

The Formation of the Indian National Congress   We have seen in the previous chapter that the chief result of the Sepoy Mutiny was to create a new awareness in the nation. The psychological forces unleashed after the Mutiny were very powerful and it was evident that before long this awareness would have to be given shape and a concrete form. However, let us first look at some of the developments that took place immediately after the Mutiny.   Soon after the Mutiny, the British Government effected major changes in India. In 1858, the East India Company was abolished. It was decided that India was to be ruled by the Crown; in other words the king