'The Triple Stream'

‘Triveni’ is devoted to Art, Literature and History. Its main function is to interpret the Indian Renaissance in its manifold aspects.

‘Triveni’ seeks to draw together cultured men and women in all lands and establish a fellowship of the elect. All movements that make for Idealism in India as well as elsewhere, receive particular attention in these columns. We count upon the willing and joyous co-operation of all lovers of the Beautiful and the True.

May this votive offering prove acceptable to Him who is the source of the ‘Triveni’–the Triple Stream of Love, Wisdom and power!

...he that laboureth right for love of Me
Shall finally attain! But, if in this
Thy faint heart fails, bring Me thy failure!

–The Song Celestial.

BY K. RAMAKOTISWARA RAU ^l

RAJKOT AND TRIPURI

With Gandhiji fasting at Rajkot, and President Bose lying bedridden at Calcutta, the delegates to the Tripuri Congress must have felt that theirs was a pilgrimage fraught with pain. The All-India Congress Committee was to meet on the 7th, and, after formal business, to resolve itself into the Subjects Committee. But there were no official resolutions before it, for the old Working Committee had ceased to function, and a new one was not yet in being. The President was too ill to nominate his cabinet or to draft resolutions for the Congress indicating his new programme. His statement in reply to Pandit Jawaharlal was not a happy performance; it saddened friends and irritated opponents.

But, before the A.I.C.C. meeting on the 7th, the clouds lifted. The President was in Tripuri, though as an invalid. He was having consultations with individuals and with groups. Pandit Jawaharlal, Premier G. B. Pant and others were acting as peacemakers between the President and his former colleagues. But the first real burst of sunshine was the glad tidings from Rajkot that Gandhiji had broken his fast as a result of the Viceroy’s intervention. Gandhiji had staked his life on the Rajkot issue, and Truth–which to him is God–had triumphed. He had brought the problem of Responsible Government in the Indian States to the forefront, and paved the way to peace and goodwill between the Princes and the people. He might be too ill to come to Tripuri, but even in his absence the national assembly was bound to strain every nerve to retain his leadership by affirming its faith, once again, in his principles and programme–in truth and non-violence, and in the technique of Satyagraha perfected by him.

Without seeking to reverse the result of the Presidential election, Premier Pant hoped to win for the Congress the blessings and the active co-operation of Gandhiji and the veterans who had guided its destinies for twenty years. There was general agreement on the main outline of Premier Pant’s resolution. But there were two clauses to which the Bose group, the Socialists and other Left-wingers objected, and which they tried to get deleted or amended. The first related to an expression of regret at the aspersions cast on the members of the former Working Committee–good men and true–that they were intriguing with the agents of British Imperialism on the issue of Federation. Mr. Bose had made these allegations in his election appeals, and some at least of those who voted for him must have been influenced by those allegations, Having won his election on the strength of these unfair statements, he would neither withdraw them nor substantiate them. His explanation in his latest statement, in reply to Pandit Jawaharlal, as well as his remarks in the Subjects Committee while Premier Pant’s resolution was being discussed, were disingenuous. They failed to satisfy even a peace lover like Premier Pant. A responsible person holding the august office of President of the Congress ought not to take shelter behind vague rumours and impressions in the public mind. He was not courageous enough to own his mistake and to make amends, It was no wonder, therefore, that this clause was considered to be of vital importance, and a huge majority of the Subjects Committee endorsed it.

The other clause which gave trouble was the one relating to the nomination to the new Working Committee by the President in accordance with the wishes of Gandhiji. Though the clause seemed to indicate a lack of confidence in President Bose, and a desire to fetter his choice of his colleagues, the unusual circumstances in which the last Presidential election was fought out and the statement made by Gandhiji, that Dr. Pattabhi’s defeat was in effect a defeat for himself and his principles made it imperative that a clear direction should be given by the Congress about the formation of the Cabinet. If, in the momentous struggle ahead, Gandhiji’s leadership should be available, the Executive must be such as to command his confidence. This was realised to be the sole means of retaining unity within the Congress and keeping it intact as a powerful fighting machine.

Premier Pant has earned the gratitude of all India by the distinguished part he played at a crucial moment in Congress history. His speeches in the Subjects Committee and in the open session of the Congress, even more than the actual text of the resolution sponsored by him, helped to ease the tension. It is not a new programme that the country needs so much as an intensification of the old one, and an atmosphere of goodwill in which, despite differences in temper and outlook, all parties can co-operate. This was Premier Pant’s main objective. In any new Cabinet that may be formed with Gandhiji’s approval, it is inevitable that Socialist chiefs like Acharya Narendra Deo and Mr. Jai Prakash Narain should find a place, for, in the discussions at Tripuri, they revealed qualities of wisdom and statesmanship which are valuable assets to a great and progressive organisation like the Congress. They spoke with restraint, kept their following well in hand, and exerted themselves to restore harmony between the leaders. They did not succeed in carrying through their amendment to Premier Pant’s resolution, but they are nevertheless entitled to share the laurels at Tripuri with Premier Pant. They are definitely marked out for leadership in the coming years, and their emergence as peace-makers has enhanced the prestige of the Congress Socialist Party.

A HEROIC FIGURE

"Mr. Bose refuses to be removed to hospital. He would rather die at Tripuri." Such was the startling piece of news broadcast from Delhi over the Radio, late at night on the 11th. Mr. Bose traveled to Tripuri in defiance of doctors; he came to the Subjects Committee meeting on a stretcher; and he was determined not to leave Tripuri till the conclusion of the Congress session. Such heroism compels admiration. It reminds us of the late Desabandhu Das who insisted on being carried to the Legislative Council in Calcutta in an invalid’s chair. Mr. Bose is an inheritor of the Das tradition in Indian politics. Like his Guru, he seeks to throw off what he considers to be the shackles of the Gandhi tradition. He is anxious to evolve a new programme, but he is not clear in his own mind what that programme should be. The proposal to give an ultimatum to Britain with a time limit of six months has failed to enthuse the nation. When the fight is imminent, and an ultimatum is needed, it will be delivered through the nation’s sole representative in peace and war. It is this conviction that led to a re-affirmation of faith in Gandhiji’s leadership, at Tripuri. If Mr. Bose is as wise as he is heroic, he will accept the verdict of the Congress. No one need be surprised if eventually Gandhiji should give entire freedom to Mr. Bose with regard to the nominations to the new Working Committee. He is not likely to insist that everyone of the old members should be re-appointed. On the other hand, he might advise several of them to stand aside and give place to younger men. A few of the veterans may be in office, more as an indication of their desire to co-operate with President Bose, than with a view to dominate the proceedings and dictate a policy. At Tripuri, opinion was unanimous that the President should not resign. A majority of delegates elected him, and he must remain in office, placing his undoubted gifts and his great heroism at the service of the nation. The next few weeks will decide what attitude he will adopt, and on that attitude will, depend the course of Indian politics during an year of travail which may also be an year of achievement.

ANTHOLOGIES OF INDIAN VERSE

Since the award of the Nobel Prize to Shri Rabindranath Tagore, enthusiasts in various linguistic units of India have urged the claims of their provincial literatures to recognition. A genuine feeling exists that efforts ought to be made to bring the literary achievement of the writers, classical or modern, in every language to the notice of a wider public. Sometimes, exaggerated claims are put forward that the work done through a particular language is vastly superior to what is being attempted by contemporary authors in every other language of India. After all, to consider one’s own language and literature as of first-rate quality is a common but pardonable weakness. But if a correct evaluation is to be made, a comparative study of different Indian literatures is essential. Since, however, it is not possible to master more than one or two languages besides our own, scholars who are interested in the evolution of an all-India literature should make it their business to translate the best in their provincial literature into at least one other Indian language. Thus, I should like scholars in Dharwar to translate from Kannada into Marathi or Telugu with the co-operation of friends who know those languages. Along with this type of literary activity, there should be a vigorous effort to bring out anthologies of verse and prose in every Indian language, selecting the most representative passages of every age, not neglecting the folk-songs. A further step will be to translate these anthologies into some European languages like English and French, so that the literature of India may be known abroad. This is a field of work which needs many patient toilers who must feel that they are laying the foundations of a mighty edifice,–that of international understanding through literature.

l 12th March