Sri Aurobindo
Karmayogin
Political Writings and Speeches — 1909-1910
Karmayogin: A Weekly Review
Saturday 16th October 1909 — No.17
Facts and Opinions
The People's Proclamation
In our last issue we commented on the importance and significance of the People's Proclamation as part of the celebration of the 16th October.
It is a curious irony of Fate that, immediately afterwards, it should have been deliberately decided by our leaders to drop the Proclamation from the proceedings.
We do not know in what particular quarter of that quaking morass of fears and apprehensions which is called the mind of our leaders, or in answer to what particular touch the tremor arose which has manifested itself in this amazing excision.
The mutilated copy of last year's circular which is disgraced by this act of inexplicable backsliding and timidity, comes out under the signatures of Sjts.
Surendranath Banerji, Motilal Ghose and Rai Jotindranath Chaudhuri.
We are certainly astonished to find Moti Babu's name under such a document and we can only assume that it was inserted1 without getting his consent or that consent was asked and given by telegraph from Deoghar2 without his being informed of the omission.
Originally, there was another honoured name in that place, but the gentleman who bore it declined to sign unless the omission was rectified, and Moti Babu's name seems to have been thrust in at the last moment in order to fill up the gap,— a proceeding not very complimentary to one of the first living names in Bengal.
Nor do we quite understand how Rai Jotindranath Chaudhuri induced himself to be a consenting party to the omission, if indeed he knew of it.
Be that as it may, the Nationalist leaders will do their duty in opposing this act of culpable weakness.
But we are curious to 
know how the people will take it.
Their attitude will be some sign of the present altitude of the political thermometer.
The tone and temper of the movement showed a distinct rise till the Hughly Conference, subsequently it seems to have been sinking.
And no wonder, with such leadership.
Even a nation of strong men led by the weak, blind or selfish, becomes easily infected with the vices of its leaders, and the strength of Bengal though immensely increased, is not yet the perfect and tempered steel that it must become, hard as adamant and light in the lifting.