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| Source: the Internet Archive |
Freedom Through Disobedience was the presidential address by the Bengali patriot and visionary Chittaranjan ("C. R.") Das (1870-1925) at the thirty-seventh session of the Indian National Congress held at Gaya on 26th December 1922. Iqbal acknowledged it as an embodiment of his own spiritual principle (see the post 'C. R. Das and Iqbal' on The Republic of Rumi).
It was published by Arka Publishing House, George Town, Madras in 1922.
Memorable Excerpt:
What is the ideal which we must set before us? The first and foremost is the ideal of nationalism. Now what is Nationalism? It is, I conceive, a process through which a nation expresses itself and finds itself, not in isolation from other nations but, as part of a great scheme by which, in seeking its own expression and therefore its own identity, it materially assists the self-expression and self-realization of other nations as well. Diversity is as real as Unity. And in order that the unity of the world may be established it is essential that each nationality should proceed on its own lines and find fulfilment in self-expression and self-realisation. The Nationality of which I am speaking must not be confused with the conception of nationality as it exists in Europe to-day. Nationalism in Europe is an aggressive nationalism, a selfish nationalism, a commercial nationalism of gain and loss. The gain of France is a loss of Germany, and the gain of Germany is a loss of France. Therefore French nationalism is nurtured on the hatred of Germany and German nationalism is nurtured in the hatred of France. It is not yet realised that you cannot hurt Germany without hurting Humanity and in consequence hurting France; and that you cannot hurt France without hurting Humanity, and in consequence hurting Germany. That is European nationalism; that is not the nationalism of which I am speaking to you to-day. I contend that each nationality constitutes a particular stream of the great unity, but no nation can fulfil itself until it becomes itself and at the same time realises its identity with Humanity. The whole problem of nationalism is therefore to find that stream and to face the destiny. If you find the current and establish a continuity with the past, then the process of self-expression has begun, and nothing can stop the growth of nationality. (pp.20-21)
Greetings,
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for sharing this about C. R. Das.
This is such a very important point expressed in this quote about precisely what kind of nationalism a society seeks to embody. One is a nationalism inspired by fear, the other by growing into wholeness.
This sentence is very powerful:
"I contend that each nationality constitutes a particular stream of the great unity, but no nation can fulfil itself until it becomes itself and at the same time realises its identity with Humanity."
This is precisely what Iqbal seems to be saying, that is, his emphasis on the value of the social organism, and how education should support the evolution of this social consciousness. This all points directly toward not some uniform unity (i.e., a simplistic, mechanical combining of parts), but a unity consisting of the inherent value of multiple diverse social entities evolving, collectively, into something much greater.
This brings to mind Mary P. Follett's use of the term "process" to describe what is to occur when bringing people together into a genuine democracy. She describes this as not one entity influencing another, but an "intermingling of all in the social process," this being "the process which purifies." Her writings on this "process" (which is almost a mystical concept) are strikingly close to Iqbal's works on how consensus may work, that is, by bringing *all* people together, considering the opinions of *everyone* and leaving none out, with this being what facilitates a society to evolve.
C. R. Das writes, "...no nation can fulfil itself until it becomes itself." You could also say this about the individual - No individual can fulfill him/herself until they become themselves, fully themselves, and not imitations of other selves.
Note: It's interesting how the word "Humanity" is capitalized in this excerpt.
This is an amazing post...inspiring. Thank you again for sharing it.
All good wishes,
robert
All these great men who lived long ago have left for us a wealth of knowledge.When we read it with interest there is a lot we can learn.I say we are fortunate that their lectures have been preserved so well,that we are in a privileged position to read and learn from it.Our goal should be to see if others can be helped by the message of these great people,who spent their whole life working on things that will be useful for the generations coming after them.The word 'Nationalism'explains why it should not be the kind that Europe follows,because it goes against what humanity needs.Theirs is a commercial nationalism and aggressive nationalism which Mr. C.R.Das points out.It should be an expression not in isolation of other nations but part of a great scheme.To establish the unity of the world each nationality should proceed on its own lines and find fulfilment in self- expression and self- realization.
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