Sri Aurobindo
Autobiographical Notes
and Other Writings of Historical Interest
Part Two. Letters of Historical Interest
1. Letters on Personal, Practical and Political Matters
(1890–1926)
Letters and Telegrams to Political and Professional
Associates 1906–1926
To Motilal Roy [12]1
17 April, 1914
Dear M.
The political situation here is as follows. In
appearance Bluysen and Lemaire face each other on the old lines and the 
real fight is between them. Bluysen has the support of the whole
administration, except a certain number of Lemairistes who are quiescent and in
favour of it. The Governor Martineau, Gaebelé, the Police Lieutenant and the
Commissaire form his political committee. By threats and bribes the Maires of
all the Communes except two have been forced or induced to declare on his side.
He has bought or got over most of the Hindu traders in Pondicherry. He has
brought over 50,000 Rupees for his election and is prepared to purchase the
whole populace, if necessary. Is it British rupees, I wonder? The British Govt
is also said to be interfering on his behalf and it is certain the Mahomedan
Collector of Cuddalore has asked his coreligionists to vote for this master of
corruption. A violent administrative pressure is being brought to bear both at
Pondicherry and Karikal, and the Maires being on his side the Electoral Colleges
will be in his hands with all their possibilities of fraud and violence.
Lemaire has for him most of the Christians and
Renonçants (except the young men who are for Richard) and Pierre. But the Pierre
party is entirely divided. Kotia refuses to declare himself, most of the others
are Bluysenites, the Comité Radical has thrice met without Pierre being able to
overcome the opposition against him. Lemaire had two chances, one that if the
people could be got to vote, Pierre’s influence over the mass might carry the
day for him, the other that Nandagopalu might intimidate the enemy and
counteract the administration. But Nandagopalu instead of intimidating is
himself intimidated; he is hiding in his house and sending obsequious messages
to Gaebelé and Martineau. So great at one time was the despair of the
Lemairistes, that Pierre offered through Richard to withdraw Lemaire, if Gaebelé
withdraws Bluysen, the two enemies then to shake hands and unite in support of
Richard or another candidate. Gaebelé would have been glad to accept the offer,
but he cannot, he has taken huge sums from Bluysen. The leaders are almost all
bought over by Bluysen and those who remain on Lemaire’s side dare not act. The
only weapon now in Lemaire’s hands is vague threat and rumour, that the Cabinet
has fallen, that Martineau is suspended, that the new Police Captain is his man
etc. There are also rumours of a sudden coup
d’état by Lemaire on the election day, of Appa Swami being carried off or
killed, of the [Recensement]2 Committee being in his
hands and it is true that the President is a Lemairiste. But I do not see how
these things are going to be done. There may, of course, be a sudden Lemairiste
rally, but at present it seems as if Bluysen by the help of the Administration
money, the British Government and the devil were likely to win an easy victory.
Laporte had some chance of strong backing at the
beginning but his own indolence and mistakes have destroyed it. He is now
waiting on God and Lemaire into whose shoes he dreams of stepping,– for Lemaire
has promised him that if he gets no favourable answer from France he will desist
in Laporte’s favour and Laporte being a man of faith is sitting quiet in that
glorious expectation.
Then there is Richard. He has neither agent, nor
committee, nor the backing of a single influential man. What he has is the
sympathy and good wishes of all the Hindus and Mahomedans in Pondicherry and
Karikal with the exception of the Vaniyas who are for Bluysen. The people are
sick to death of the old candidates, they hate Bluysen, they abhor Lemaire and
if only they could be got to vote according to their feelings, Richard would
come in by an overwhelming majority. But they are overawed by the Govt
and wait for some influential man among the Hindus to declare for him. No such
man is forthcoming. All are either bought by Bluysen or wish to be on the
winning side. Under these circumstances the danger is that the people will not
vote at all and the electoral committees will be free to manufacture in their
names bogus votes for Bluysen. On the other hand an impression has been made at
Karikal, where the young men are working zealously for Richard; some of its
communes are going to support him; some of the leaders who are themselves
pledged to Bluysen have promised to tell their followers that they are free to
vote for Richard if they wish; the Mahomedan leaders of Karikal are for Bluysen
or rather for his money, but the mass have resolved to vote neither for 
B. nor Lemaire, and either not to vote at all or for Richard. At
Pondicherry, Villenour has promised to declare for Richard the day before the
election so as to avoid prolonged administrative pressure. Certain sections of
the community e.g. the young men among the Christians and a number of the
Mahomedans,– Richard is to speak at the mosque and a great number may possibly
come over,– and a certain nucleus of the Hindus are certain to vote for him. We
count also on the impression that can be given during the next few days. If in
addition Chandernagore can give a large vote for Richard, there is a chance not
of carrying Richard but of preventing a decisive vote at the first election, so
that there may be a second ballot. If that is done, great numbers who hesitate
to vote for Richard in the idea that Bluysen must carry all before him, may pick
up courage and turn the whole situation,– to say nothing of the chances of
Lemaire retiring and his whole vote coming over or a great part of it.
Therefore, I say, throw aside all other considerations and let the young men of
Chandernagore at least put all their strength on Richard’s side and against the
two unspeakable representatives of Evil who dispute the election between them.
For if they do not, humanly speaking, Chandernagore seems to be doomed.
I wrote to you in my last doubtfully about Bluysen’s or
rather Gaebelé’s professions about Ch. and the Swadeshis. Since then, even
Martineau has condescended to let us know that he is trying to get the British
police sent away from Pondicherry. But all this is either sheer falsehood or
late repentance for the convenience of the moment. The damning facts are that
Bluysen saw the Viceroy on his last visit, that it is known on this occasion the
whole talk was about this cession of Chandernagore, that on his return he told
Bharati the cession of Ch was a settled fact and while before his trip
northward, he was gushing over to the Swadeshis, afterwards he roundly
declared that he could not help us openly because the Cabinet was pro-English
and he must follow the Cabinet, that he went to Karikal and declared to a number
of people (this has only yesterday come to my knowledge) that Chandernagore was
going to be ceded to the British with Bluysen’s
consent; that, on his second and present visit, he was entertained by the
Collector of Cuddalore on his way and that that Collector has condescended to
act as an electoral agent for him with his coreligionists. It is perfectly clear
now that the man has sold himself to England – selling and buying himself and
others seem to be his only profession in the world. Therefore every vote given
for Bluysen in Ch. is a vote for the cession of Chandernagore to the British.
On the other hand if you vote for Lemaire, it means the
same thing at a later date. For he was the first to broach the question in the
public press in France, he has advised the suppression of the vote in French
India, he has English connections and is an Anglophil. Not only so, but although
asked by the Hindus to recant his former views if he wanted their vote, he has
refused to do it, and this refusal has contributed largely to the failure of
Pierre to carry the Hindus with him. Let these facts be widely known in
Chandernagore, both about Bluysen and Lemaire, let it be known that Richard is a
Hindu in faith, a Hindu in heart and a man whose whole life is devoted to the
ideal of lifting up humanity and specially Asia and India and supporting the
oppressed against the strong, the cause of the future which is our cause against
all that hampers and resists it. If after that, Chandernagore still votes for
Bluysen or Lemaire, it is its own choice and it will have itself to thank for
anything that may follow.
I have more to write of these things from the spiritual
point of view, but I shall leave it till tomorrow or the day after as this
letter must go at once. Put faith in God and act. You have seen that when He
wills, He can bring about impossibilities. Do not look too much at the chances
of success and failure in this matter. 
3
Kali