Aditi etc.), so that there is no fear of loss or stoppage there. I
may add that we can no longer get our full supply of milk here as the milkmen
have no sufficient supply of fodder and Nestlé which helped us is cut off with
the rest.Sri Aurobindo
Autobiographical Notes
and Other Writings of Historical Interest
Part Three. On Indian and World Events 1940–1950
1. Public Statements, Messages, Letters and Telegrams
On the Integration of the French Settlements in India 1947–1950
Letters to Surendra Mohan Ghosh [2]1
I am sending you a statement made regarding our food
situation and prospects by Dyuman who is in charge of that department. This is a
new situation; formerly, the fruit was stopped, vegetables were passing through
the Customs and the Customs officers were very favourable to the Ashram and made
no difficulties. All that is now finished; it appears that very strict orders
have been given and nothing can pass. Personal supplies in small quantities sent
as offerings from Madras no longer arrive. Even the Calcutta merchants who
supplied us with food and other goods say that they cannot get permits any
longer. We are told that the Railway is no longer booking goods to Pondicherry.
A certain number of vegetables of a very high quality are grown in our vegetable
gardens; it is not quite certain that the supply of seeds which necessarily
comes from outside will not fail us and in that case that resource will go.
There are other statements that have been made by responsible people in Madras
which indicate a sort of blockade of goods against the French Settlements. The
one good thing is that the Railway people here have withdrawn their statement
that our books were prohibited and have begun to send by Railway large parcels
of our magazines (Advent, Bombay Annual, Path Mandir Annual, Aditi etc.), so that there is no fear of loss or stoppage there. I
may add that we can no longer get our full supply of milk here as the milkmen
have no sufficient supply of fodder and Nestlé which helped us is cut off with
the rest.
At present we have no final or definite news about the things for which we were to rely on Kamraj Nadar. He has only recently returned from Ceylon after which he was to deal with our affairs. Our representatives in Madras were told by him, we hear, that some of these affairs were the province of Madras Government and some could only [be decided]2 at Delhi; he would find out exactly which was which and do what he could [for]3 us; each case will have to be dealt with on its merits. It is now the 6th May and as yet we have heard nothing. So for the moment that is all.
6 May 1949
1 As a youth, Surendra Mohan Ghosh (1893–1976) was a member of the Anushilan Samiti, a revolutionary organisation that had been founded by Sri Aurobindo and others in 1902. Later he joined the Indian National Congress. From 1938, he was president of the Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee. During the 1940s, he had a series of private meetings with Sri Aurobindo, during which the two spoke of political and yogic matters. In 1946 he became a member of the Constituent Assembly, which was charged with drafting India’s constitution. In 1948 and 1949 Sri Aurobindo wrote several letters to him about political matters. Two are published in the subsection containing material dealing with the integration of the French Settlements; another, on the Cabinet Mission Proposals, appears in the subsection containing material dealing with Indian independence. The letter in the present subsection was written on 6 June 1948, after Surendra Mohan informed Sri Aurobindo that he wished to resign from the position of president of the Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (B.P.C.C.).{{1}}The letter was occasioned by a diplomatic conflict between the government of free India and the government of French India.{{1}}Sri Aurobindo dictated this letter on 6 May 1949, when the problems created by the customs cordon were at their worst.
2 MS (dictated) decide
3 MS (dictated) from