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Book No. – 8 (Political Science)
Book Name – Indian Political Thought (Himanshu Roy/ M.P. Singh)
What’s Inside the Chapter? (After Subscription)
1. Introduction
2. Political Activities of Aurobindo
3. Idea of Passive Resistance
4. Cultural Nationalism
4.1. Sanatan Dharma as the World Religion
4.2. Depiction of the Nation as a Divine Entity
5. Views on Caste System
6. Views on Education
7. Economic Reconstruction and the Idea of Boycott
8. Conclusion
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LANGUAGE
Aurobindo: Nationalism and Democracy
Chapter – 19
Table of Contents
Introduction
- Aurobindo, born Aravinda Akroyd Ghose on 15 August 1872 in Kolkata, was a creative genius and a towering figure in the national movement.
- Although not a mass leader like Gandhi, he was no less influential.
- Aurobindo’s father, a district surgeon in Rangapur, wanted his children to be educated in Britain, away from Indian influence.
- He and his brothers were sent to Manchester, England in 1879, where they were placed in the care of an Anglican clergyman’s family.
- Aurobindo joined King’s College, Cambridge on a scholarship to fulfill his father’s wish of him joining the Indian Civil Services (ICS).
- After successfully passing the ICS examination, Aurobindo chose not to join the ICS and instead met with Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III in England, leading to his joining the Baroda State Service in 1893.
- In Baroda, Aurobindo worked in various departments and eventually became the vice-principal of Baroda College.
- He taught himself Bengali, Hindi, and Sanskrit due to his father’s effort to keep him away from Indian influences.
- While in service, Aurobindo secretly started taking an interest in the anti-British movements and began writing articles against the moderate Congress methods.
- By 1905, the year of Bengal’s partition, Aurobindo became deeply involved in nationalist politics and attended the Benares session of the Congress.
- In 1906, he moved to Kolkata, becoming actively involved in revolutionary activities and writing for Bande Matram.
- Aurobindo was charged with sedition for his articles but was acquitted, solidifying his position as a leader of the revolutionary faction.
- In the Surat session of 1907, Aurobindo, along with Bal Gangadhar Tilak, led the extremist faction in a split in the Congress.
- Arrested in 1908 for the Alipore Bomb Case, Aurobindo was kept in isolation in the Alipore Central Jail for a year.
- After being acquitted, his experience in jail shifted his focus from politics to spirituality, though his revolutionary spirit remained intact.
- Upon release, he delivered the famous Uttarpara speech, aligning nationalism with dharma and elevating the cause to a spiritual level.
- The British saw Aurobindo as a significant threat, with Lord Minto describing him as the “most dangerous person”.
- Within a year of his release, Aurobindo moved to Puducherry (Pondicherry), a French colony, to focus on his spiritual and philosophical pursuits.
- Aurobindo died on 5 December 1950.
Political Activities of Aurobindo
- Aurobindo initially had high expectations from the Congress Party, believing it would lead the national movement and channelize the aspirations of the masses.
- However, he grew disappointed with its debating club mentality and became a vehement critique of the party and its leadership.
- Aurobindo questioned the Congress on leadership, methods, representativeness, and commitment to Indian independence.
- He felt the Congress lacked both direction and insight.
- Aurobindo opposed the motives and methods of the early Congress, led by the moderates.
- He believed the moderate approach (constitutionalism and symbolic protests) would not yield the desired results for India.
- He criticized the moderates as loyalists, aligned with the British government and their gradual approach to reforming Indian life under colonial rule.
- Aurobindo argued for complete independence for India, rejecting the notion of improving life under foreign rule, which he saw as unnatural and harmful.
- He stated that foreign rule crushed the indigenous capacity of nations and made them dependent, leading to loss of power.
- He believed each nation had its own distinct character and individuality, and could only thrive when free.
- Liberty was essential for national development, just as individual liberty is crucial for personal growth.
- Aurobindo viewed colonization as leading to not only political enslavement but also economic, moral, and cultural imprisonment.
- He argued colonialism stifled the nation’s vitality, reducing the people to imitators rather than fostering indigenous growth.
- Aurobindo criticized the moderate goal of self-rule under colonial structures, arguing it was insufficient for true independence.
- He opposed moves like increasing representation in legislative bodies as it would legitimize British rule and strengthen their control.
- Aurobindo advocated for a representative government rather than mere representation within British structures.
- He rejected the disunity and fitness theory promoted by the British and accepted by the moderates, which justified British rule.
- Aurobindo condemned the ‘civilizing theory’ that suggested British rule was beneficial for India, seeing it as racially arrogant and based on religious exclusivism.
- He believed that placing faith in British justice was detrimental to the national resolve and self-deception.
- He criticized Congress for acting as a ‘permanent opposition’ to British rule, instead of striving for political emancipation.
- Aurobindo argued that Congress’s methods and leadership were inadequate for achieving true independence, focusing on remedial legislation rather than radical change.
- He believed the Congress should work for complete independence and that political freedom could only be obtained through struggle, not through appeals to the British.
- Aurobindo emphasized the need to arouse patriotism and national confidence, rejecting selfishness, inferiority complex, and sentimentality as obstacles to progress.
- He called upon the youth to shed mental inertia and dedicate themselves to the nation’s cause.