...he
that laboureth right for love of Me
Shall
finally attain! But, if in this
Thy
faint heart fails, bring Me thy failure!
–The
Song Celestial
THIS is Triveni, Vol. XX, No. 1, and published from
Madras though edited from Bangalore. Tired, but happy,–that is how I feel. It
is a great mercy that Triveni is alive. Sri S. Viswanathan, the
Publisher, has relieved me of the anxiety about the business aspect of the
journal. For the first time in twenty years, I am free to give adequate
attention to an editor’s proper work of editing. But it will be some months
before I can settle down and accustom myself to the new situation. It is like
exchanging a precarious independence for a dignified Dominion status. I must
strive to be worthy of the opportunity now given to me, of working and not
worrying.
The long and toilsome journey ,on which I started
in December 1927 came to an end on the 15th of August 1948. A small incident
symbolised to me the turn of the wheel. I happened to be in Madras and staying
in the Y.M.I.A. Buildings, George Town, where Triveni was originally
planned and had an office for several years. There was a great demand that
morning for persons who could hoist the flag of freedom in different parts of
the city. And my friend, the Superintendent of the Y.M.I.A., wanted me to go up
a flight of stairs and a narrow ladder and perform the ceremony. I pulled at a
rope, and the flag flew proudly over the spot where the great Dr. Besant carried
on her campaign for Home Rule. Her Commonwealth of India Bill was the
forerunner of the Indian Independence Act; the Home Rule flag of red and green
led the way to the Congress flag of 1921 and ultimately to the Dominion flag of
today. I had been a member of the Home Rule League before I came into the
Gandhian movement, and was, therefore, happy to officiate at the simple
ceremony which, in a sense, linked those two fighters for Indian freedom. As
the flag flew, I said to myself: “The arduous journey is over. After much
wandering, Triveni is back in its birthplace.”
By a welcome coincidence, Manjeri S. Isvaran,
Assistant Editor of Triveni when the office was in the Y.M.I.A., is once
again cooperating with me as Deputy Editor, looking through manuscripts, passing
proofs, reviewing books, and writing stories and literary essays as in the old
days. We two and M. Chalapati Rau (now Editor of The National Herald,
Lucknow) were like the Three Musketeers, while K. Chandrasekharan was the
D’Artagnan of the group. I am looking forward to the day when Chalapati Rau
will come down South and take his place on the staff of Triveni. That
will be a dream come true.
One year of freedom has taught India many things of
freedom is to be retained, we must develop strength of will, soundness of
judgment, and the desire to lead a more purposive life as a nation. The
tendency to claim preferment in return for services rendered during the freedom
struggle, has brought in an element of selfishness into our public life. Worse
still, large sections of citizens who had kept aloof front political activity
in the pre-freedom days have infiltrated into political organisations, with a
view to utilising power personal ends. Both these types have to be weeded out,
if a clean political existence is to become possible.
A new alignment of political parties is inevitable,
and, when elections under the new Constitution are held, a party like that of
the Socialists under Sri Jayaprakash Narayan is likely to emerge as a powerful
opposition group. People, who now owe allegiance to the Congress but are
dissatisfied with its policy and programme, will rally round the Socialists. In
India, as in other countries, a swing to the Left is noticeable, and as the
Socialists are committed to parliamentary methods for achieving their ideal of
a Socialist State, they will attract large numbers occupying a middle position
between the present-day Congress and the Communists. One of the tasks before
any party in power is to treat political opponents with courtesy, long as they
do not resort to violent methods or seek to undermine the foundations of the
State.
The happiness and dignity of the ordinary citizen
must be secured by providing not merely food, clothing, and shelter, but
opportunities for moral and intellectual growth. No democracy can function
without the intelligent participation in public affairs of the average citizen.
The general level of intelligence has to be raised by setting up higher
standards in education, and by the wide diffusion of the art and literature of
the nation. The wielders of power should endeavour to elevate the citizen, from
a mere manual worker to a sharer in the cultural heritage of the race. This,
indeed is the meaning of the famous expression, “Let us educate our masters.”
India and the U.N.O.
The belated admission of Pakistan of her
participation in the Kashmir campaign, has created a new problem for the U.N.O.
Commission on Kashmir. At Lake Success, the Pakistan delegate, Mr. Zafrulla
Khan, pleaded ‘not guilty’ to the charge of abetting the raiders. The only
admission he would then, make was that Pakistan was in sympathy with the Azad
Kashmir movement; if any Pakistan troops were in action, they were there as
private individuals. When the commission was actually on the spot and could see
things for themselves, it became necessary for Pakistan to invent a motive for
the presence of her armed regiments in Kashmir. They were there to forestall
India’s planned invasion of Pakistan!
To call upon both India and Pakistan to ‘cease
fire’ under such conditions, is a blatant violation of all normal and
well-understood canons of international law. Jammu and Kashmir no form integral
parts of the Indian Dominion by virtue of the State’s accession. Indian troops
must be there so long as, Indian territory is violated. It is the Commission’s
first duty to compel the withdrawal of Pakistan troops and of the raider from
Indian soil. After that is accomplished, Pakistan must be told that the holding
of a plebiscite is none of her concern, that, as the Government of India have
always been willing to abide by the vote of the people, the vote can be taken
by the present Government of Jammu and Kashmir headed by Sheikh Abdullah,
subject to the supervision of the Commission. While the vote is being taken,
the troops of the Indian Union may be asked to confine themselves to certain
strategic positions. The nature of the reply of the Nehru Government to the
‘cease fire’ proposal of the Commission is not yet known. But we may be certain
that it is in accordance with the policy hitherto laid down, of not permitting
the authority of the National Government of Sheikh Abdullah to be questioned or
whittled down, and of refusing to admit Pakistan’s claim to interfere in
Kashmir affairs, directly or indirectly.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad is planning to refer the
Indo-Hyderabad dispute to the General Assembly of the U.N.O. to be held in
Paris in September, and Syria is expected to sponsor the case. The attitude’ of
the United Kingdom on this question has already been indicated by Messrs.
Attlee and Noel-Baker in their replies to Mr. Churchill in the House of
Commons. India will naturally resist any attempt to bring up a domestic issue
before the U.N.O. Hyderabad is not, and never has been, an independent sovereign
State. By the terms of the Standstill Agreement with India, the State’s
external relations are controlled by India. Hyderabad is like the proverbial
drowning man catching at a straw. The appeal to the U.N.O. will further stiffen
the attitude of the India Government. The Nizam who is virtually a prisoner in
the hands of the Razakars, can be saved only by decisive action by the Union.
When he is a free agent, he may be trusted to read the signs of the times and
agree to accede or abdicate.
Broadly speaking, India’s relations with the U.N.O.
have not been happy. Further blundering on the part of the Kashmir Commission
or the General Assembly can only lead to strained relations. Peacemakers ought
to take sides. In trying to put the Indian troops in Kashmir on the same level
as the Pakistani raiders, the Commission have erred grievously. Any meddling by
the U.N.O. over the Hyderabad issue must mean a final snapping of the bond
between India and the U.N.O.
While the anti-Hindustani agitation of a small but
very vocal group has gained much publicity, the efforts of lovers of Sanskrit
to retain its present position in the educational. system in Madras have
received scant attention. The only concession the Government of Madras was willing
to make was the inclusion of Sanskrit, as an alternative to Hindustani or other
Indian languages, in the ‘second language’ group. The study of a classical
language like Latin or Greek is considered to be of great importance in Britain
and on the Continent. Sanskrit, Arabic, or Persian ought to occupy a similar
position here in India. The roots of Indian culture lie embedded in Sanskrit,
and all Indian literatures have been enriched by continually drawing
inspiration from this ‘language of the gods.’ In the South particularly, the
cultivation of Sanskrit has been looked upon as a mark of culture. Some years
ago, when the Sanskrit Honours Courses were sought to be abolished, public
opinion asserted itself and saw to it that this retrograde step was not taken.
The correct attitude to Sanskrit would be to treat it as an alternative to
Tamil, Telugu, or Kannada in the ‘first language’ section. While instruction
through the medium of the local language may be admitted as sound educational
policy, and while the study of that language as a language may also be
insisted upon, it ought to be possible to provide for the teaching of Sanskrit
during a number of periods taken from out of those allotted to the study of the
local language. Thus, if six periods a week are devoted to the compulsory study
of the first or regional language, students of Sanskrit may be permitted to
attend three out of them, and learn Sanskrit during the remaining three
periods. A minimum quantum of teaching of the regional language will be common
to all, while those who wish to cultivate Sanskrit will be able to acquire it.
In the long run, it will be found that their failure to avail themselves of the
entire course in the regional language is not a serious handicap, for they
equip themselves with scholarship in a classical language, which will help them
to a keener and more correct understanding of the classics in their own
language. And since all instruction will be through the mother-tongue and some
periods every week are devoted to its literature, there is no reason to be
afraid that they will be at a disadvantage when they speak or write it. This
aspect of the problem must be pressed on the attention of those in authority.
Without a correct approach to this all-important subject, the cultural heritage
of India is in danger of being ignored, and the primacy in Sanskrit scholarship
so long held by the South may soon be a thing of the past. To imagine that the
claims of Sanskrit conflict with those of the regional language, is to ignore
the entire history of Indian culture, and the part that Sanskrit has played
during the long centuries of our evolution as a cultured people.
Sri Challa Jagannadham, M.A., B.L., Assistant
Editor of the Andhra Prabha, an important Telugu Daily of Madras, had a
serious heart attack at 11 A.M. on the 17th while working at his desk in the
office. He was removed to a nursing home and he passed away at 3 A.M. on the
19th. Following so close on the demise of Sri K. Punnaiah, the loss of this
dear friend has affected me deeply. Jagannadham was my junior by a few years,
but I always looked up to him as a wiser person. He belonged to my District,
passed through the same educational institutions in Guntur, Masulipatam, and
Madras, and even practised law in my home-town for some years. And, like me, he
preferred journalism to law, and devoted the best years of his life to editing
the Andhra Patrika. The last few years were given to the Andhra
Prabha.
Cultured, sweet-tempered, and affectionate,
Jagannadham won the love and regard of a large circle of friends. The men who
work in Indian language newspaper offices, as distinguished from those who work
for Indian newspapers or periodicals conducted in English, have a tough job,
wearing out their lives in translating the unending mass of telegrams reeled
off by the teleprinter and dealing with the correspondence and the newsletters
from the remotest villages, illegible, un-typed, and often libellous. They are
ill-paid, treated with scant courtesy, and placed on grades inferior to those
of their compeers in the English section. And yet, these are the makers of
Indian journalism and its heroes. They are the nation-builders and effective
liaison officers between the Government and the millions who matter. Jagannadham
belonged to this noble band, and gave himself to his work in a spirit of
consecration. By his passing away, South Indian journalism is definitely
poorer. To personal friends like me, the loss is incalculable.
Bangalore, August 22