Sri Aurobindo

Bande Mataram

Calcutta, April 2^nd, 1908

Part Six. Bande Mataram under the Editorship of Sri Aurobindo with Speeches Delivered during the Same Period 6 February – 3 May 1908

Swadeshi Cases and Counsel

We have received a letter from Tinnevelly requesting the aid of a Bengali barrister to defend the Tuticorin lawyers who are now being prosecuted before the Magistrate. There ought to be no difficulty in procuring a good counsel from Calcutta, for the Bengal Bar has shown a consistent patriotism and self-sacrifice in Swadeshi cases. At the same time it is doubtful whether in most cases the money spent on securing counsel from outside is not wasted. In political cases the connection is usually a foregone conclusion. In the rare cases where a conscientious judge acquits on appeal, the local bar is quite equal to the presentation of the case. In other cases the services of counsel are a luxury rather than a necessity. Rarely one of the giants of the Bar may by sheer force of genius wring an acquittal out of a reluctant Magistrate as Mr. Byomkesh Chakravarty did in the Bande Mataram case, but even Mr. Chakravarty was unable to save the accused in the Hindustan case, and a lesser man has no chance whatever. The Madras meeting did well in devoting its fund to the maintenance of the families of martyrs rather than wasting it in a fruitless defence.

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