Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Ghadar Party and Rabindranath - Santa Barbara, CA (contd-13/2)

(Flag of Ghadar Party)
Rabindranath compared British Administration with that of Mughal era and placed the former to be better than the latter and commented that "India was not prepared for self-government." Ramchandra the then leader of Ghadar Party. " Ramchandra, the then leader of Ghadar Party, in a second letter written to Examiner on 3rd Oct. wrote praising the Editor for his comments of his previous letter on 5th Oct;
" In spite of Tagore's literary achievements, he now stands for what we call Old India . Let it be clearly understood that there six million monks in India who are nearly all sages and philosophers like Tagore, many of them being men of the highest spiritual attainments. They all disapprove of modern science and look for social improvement solely through individual spiritual growth. Their position is made clear by the assertion of Tagore that a certain old woman whom he met in India, and who could neither read nor write, represented to him the highest ideal of human life     because of her realization of god . Indirectly and unknowingly, those who teach taht knowledge of God is all, are really running India..... How did Tagore secure the Nobel Prize ? Not, undoubtedly, for realizing God, but for his literary achievements. Let us note further that Tagore's literary works were largely written on behalf of the Nationalist cause. This activity was considered inimical to English ascendency in Inia. The Briish Government knows how to do away with such activity. They issued a secret order that Hindu officials should not send their children to Tagore's school at Bolepur. Later, the Government offered Tagore Knighthood, which he accepted, and two British missionaries , Rev.C.F.Andrews and W.W.Pearson, became teachers in the school. This was done in spite of great protest in the "Indian Press", thesde two men being regarded as agents of the Government. From that time on Tagore's philosophy was changed, and Tagore began to speak gently of the British Government."  
Another incident took place on 5th Oct. The senior Prof. Bishen Singh Mattu on behalf of Khalsa Deon Society  of Stockton City with his two companions Umrao Singh and Pardam Singh came to invite Rabindranath when in-front of Palace Hotel two persons, an one-handed  one  Jiban Singh and another H.Singh Hateshi intervened, began to wrangle, and as a result of the white turban of Professor fell down on the street. Whenthey were arrested they defended by saying that they were the employees of Ramchandra who released them from the court on a bail of $ 20 each.This news were focussed inthe local papers , Call,  Examiner and Times.
Los Angeles Examiner published written statement of Rabindranath on 5th oct;
" I have cancelled no engagements and I came to Santa Barbara by train which had been arranged for me some days before by my manager.As for a plot  to assassinate me, I have the fullest confidence in the sanity of my countrymen, and shall fulfill my engagements without the help of police protection. I take this opportunity emphatically to assert that I do not believe there was a plot to assassinate me, though I had to submit to the farce of being guarded by the police, from which I hope to be relieved for the rest of my visit to this country."
The matter ended here.