Sri Aurobindo
Karmayogin
Political Writings and Speeches — 1909-1910
Karmayogin: A Weekly Review
Saturday 4th December 1909 — No.22
Facts and Opinions
Chowringhee Humour
The Statesman as a friend was intolerable; as a humorist it is hardly less difficult to bear.
There was an elephantine attempt at sardonic humour in a recent article in which it weightily urged the educated community to overlook defects and take full and generous advantage of the great opportunity from the benefits of which they have been excluded.
That is the peculiar humour of these reforms.
They are a Barmecide's feast, gorgeous dishes and silver covers with only unsubstantial air inside, and even from that chameleon's feast the educated classes are carefully excluded, except in a pitifully infinitesimal degree.
Yet the Anglo-Indian papers are indignantly remonstrating with the educated classes for not crowding to the table where there are no seats for them and feasting themselves fat on the dainty invisible meats which others are so eager to partake of.
It may be asked why others are so anxious for these aerial privileges.
Well, that is because it is only the educated classes who are really hungry for substantial political food, the others are eager to see and handle the gorgeous dishes and the silver covers, to say nothing of the kudos of having dined at so rich a house and its material advantages to the individual.
But the educated Hindus have had a surfeit of specious outsides and are learning to merge the interests of the individual in the good of the nation.