Sri Aurobindo

Bande Mataram

Calcutta, August 7^th, 1907

Part Four. Bande Mataram under the Editorship of of Sri Aurobindo (28 May – 22 December 1907)

Our First Anniversary

The Bande Mataram has completed the first year of its existence. It was started on the 6th of August last year and its anniversary falls strictly on that date. But it is only in the fitness of things that the organ of Indian Nationalism should choose the birthday of Nationalism in the country for the purpose of observing its anniversary. The 7th of August, therefore, has another importance to the Nationalists of Bengal who brought into existence their accredited journal just in time to hail that historic date. We shall only be telling the truth if we notice here that the birth of our paper took place under the most favourable auspices. It came into being in answer to an imperative public need and not to satisfy any private ambition or personal whim; it was born in a great and critical hour for the whole nation and has a message to deliver which nothing on earth can prevent it from delivering. The Bande Mataram has been before the public for a year and it has, we believe, rendered a tolerably fair account of itself. It claims that it has given expression to the will of the people and sketched their ideals and aspirations with the greatest amount of fidelity. It is for this reason that it has received a splendid reception in almost all the provinces of India. The amount of support it has got in the first year of its existence surpasses all previous records in Indian journalism. The political ideal of the people has changed, the desire for freedom is a force to be reckoned with and if anybody has any doubt on the point, success of the Bande Mataram should set it at rest. Our constituents are aware of the difficulties in our way and we hope they will stand by us till we shall have fulfilled our mission.

This work was not included in SABCL, vol.1 and it was not compared with other editions.