Nirodbaran

Talks with Sri Aurobindo

Volume 1

10 December 1938 – 14 January 1941

3 April 1940

Evening

Nirodbaran: B.C. Chatterjee seems to have been defeated by the Bose group.

Sri Aurobindo: Yes. The Hindu Sabha has got about fifteen seats. Considering that it is their first attempt, it is not bad.

Purani: The corporation election seems to me more a personal issue.

Sri Aurobindo: How personal? When the Congress fought the election it was on a political issue, to capture the corporation for the Congress. There was no personal question involved.

Purani: Bhai Paramanand has protested against a joint electorate in Sind at present.

Sri Aurobindo: Yes, he has said that a joint electorate, unless established all over India, won’t turn out to be good for a single place like Sind where the Muslims are in a majority, because the Muslims being in a majority will get all the seats. Of course there is a provision that ten percent of the votes must be secured from the opposite community but ten percent is not enough. When a joint electorate is established all over India, a minority in one province will be counterbalanced by the majority in another province; so it will serve as a check against majority rule in a province. At present the Hindus may be at a disadvantage there. Of course they depend on their majority districts where they hope to turn the scale. Otherwise unless some provisions are made for minorities, difficulties may arise.