NEILL STATUE SATYAGRAHA

[Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav]

Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav

Gandhian Scholar

Gandhi Research Foundation, Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India

Contact No. – 09415777229, 094055338

E-mail- [e-mail];[e-mail]

 

 

 

NEILL STATUE SATYAGRAHA

 

 

 In accordance with the promise made by the volunteers connected with this movement, they have sent me papers giving the particulars I had asked for. From them it appears that during the six weeks that the struggle had been on when the papers were sent to me, thirty volunteers had courted imprisonment. Of these 29 are Hindus and one Mussalman, one lady aged 35 and one girl aged 9, her daughter. Of these thirty, two apologized and got them released. The apology of a few, if it does not become infectious, does not matter. ‘Blacklegs’ will be found in every struggle. The men who have gone to jail are not noted men. This is no loss; rather it is a gain in a Satyagraha struggle which requires no prestige save that of truth, and no strength save that of self-suffering which comes only from an immovable faith in one’s cause and from a completely non-violent spirit. The volunteers must not be impatient. Impatience is a phase of violence. A satyagrahi has nothing to do with victory. He is sure of it, but he has also to know that it comes from God. His is but to suffer. The papers give me an account of income and expenditure. The income is given in detail and amounts to Rs. 228-2-6. The expenditure amounting to Rs. 228-2-6 [sic] is made up as follows : Meals, etc., Rs. 71-7-9, conveyance Rs. 53-2-6, notices for meetings, etc., Rs. 39-4-0, establishment and postal charges Rs. 21-8-9, lights at meetings Rs. 22-8-0. I am not satisfied with these expenses. I have asked for more details.

But subject to correction, I would warn the satyagrahis against spending much on meals, conveyances and lights. I know that my own meetings are not free from extravagance in these items. The Congress work too is not unopened to the charge of over expenditure. But it is better to illustrate what I mean by what happens to me, the self-styled representative of Daridranarayana. Where six oranges will do, sixty are brought; where one car will do, six are ready, and where a hurricane lantern will serve the purpose, incandescent burners are produced. Let the satyagrahis understand that they have to use every pice they get as a miser uses his hoards. I suggest their getting a local man of note to take charge of their moneys and a philanthropic auditor their accounts free of charge. Strictest honesty and care are necessary in the handling of public funds. This is an indispensable condition of growth of a healthy public life. The third paper I have before me is their appeal to the public. A satyagrahis appeal must contain moderate language. The appeal before me though unexceptionable admits of improvement. “Not only Neill but his entire nefarious breed must go”, is a sentence that mars the appeal. General Neill is no more. What we have to deal with is the statue and not even the statue as such. We seek to destroy the principle for which the statue stands.

We wish to injure no man. And we wish to gain our object by enlisting public opinion not excluding English opinion in our favour by self-suffering. Here there is no room for the language of anger and hate So much for the volunteers. The public owe a duty to them. They may not go to jail but they can supervise, control and guide and help the movement in many ways. Agitation for the removal of the statue is agitation for the removal of but a symptom of a grave disease. And while the removal of the statue will not cure the disease it will alleviate the agony and point the way to reaching the disease itself. It is also often possible to reach a deep-seated disease by dealing with some of its symptoms. As long therefore as the satyagrahi volunteers fight the battle in a clean manner and strictly in accordance with the conditions applicable to Satyagraha, they deserve public support and sympathy.