Evening Talks with Sri Aurobindo

30th December, 1939

Disciple : The Hindu Mahasabha this year has got a large number of delegates from the two provinces with Muslim majority.

Sri Aurobindo : The two provinces with a Muslim majority?

Disciple : Do you think that the Hindu Mahasabha if it is organized would weaken the Congress?

Sri Aurobindo : The Congress may allow the Mahasabha to settle the question with the Muslims by organizing the Hindus instead of nationalist Hindus quarreling among themselves. If the Congress can do something effective then it would be all right.

Disciple : There are some people who object to "Vande Mataram" as a national song. And some Congress men support the removal of some parts of the song.

Sri Aurobindo : In that case the Hindus should give up their culture.

Disciple : The argument is that the song speaks of Hindu gods, like Durga and that is offensive to the Muslims.

Sri Aurobindo : But it is not a religious song. It is a national song and the Durga spoken of is India as the Mother. Why should not the Muslims accept it? It is an image used in poetry. In the Indian conception of nationality the Hindu view would naturally be there. If it cannot find a place there the Hindus may as well be asked to give up their culture. The Hindus don't object to "Allah-ho-Akbar".

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Disciple : If they call India "Allah-ho-Akbar" then Hindus would not object to it.

Sri Aurobindo : It is not in the Hindu nature to object to such things. Why should not the Hindu worship his God? Otherwise, the Hindu must either accept Mohammedanism or the European culture or become atheists.

Disciple : And why should not the Muslims accept some Hindu idea, if for nothing else then for coming to a settlement?

Disciple : The Congress says the question cannot be solved as long as the third party is there.

Sri Aurobindo : I told C. R. Das (in 1923) that this Hindu-Muslim question must be solved before the Britishers go, otherwise there was a danger of civil war. He also agreed and wanted to solve it.

Disciple : The Congress thinks if the Britishers go, the Muslims may be forced to come to a settlement.

Sri Aurobindo : The Congress says: whatever agreements we come to must be accepted by the Britishers.

Disciple : If the parties come together the Viceroy cannot oppose it.

Sri Aurobindo : Of course not. He would say: come to a settlement and we will accept it. It is only two ways of looking at the same things. But it is better to have a settlement before, because otherwise any third party might take advantage and come in. It is no use having again somebody else to dominate India.

Disciple : Any neighboring countries can come and even distant countries like Japan cannot be ruled out; even Russia. But how is this problem to be solved?

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Sri Aurobindo : The best solution would be if Congress got the majority of the nationalist Muslims on their side, and then take the Sindh Premier who wants to be with them. Thus they can retain Sindh for the Congress – and then in the Punjab they could come to some understanding with Sikandar Hayat Khan. If they had not driven out Khalikuzaman in U. P. there would have been no Muslim League in the U. P. If the Congress had joined with the Krishak Party in Bengal then the Congress would not be so badly off.

Instead of doing what was necessary the Congress is trying to flirt with Jinnah and Jinnah simply thinks that he has to obstinately stick to his terms to get them. The more they try the more Jinnah becomes intransigent.

Disciple : There was an idea that the Congress should have mass contact with the Muslims and it is unfortunate that the Congress did not take it up.

Jinnah is appealing to the Hindu Minorities to join him. So why should not the Congress ask Muslims to be with it? If the Congress does not do anything then I think the Hindu Mahasabha will do some good after all. Don't you think so?

Sri Aurobindo : That is not the best thing. But if the Hindus organized themselves then it would make some rational Muslims think again and it would give men like Sir Akbar, who want to come to a compromise, a chance to intervene.

Disciple : The Khilafat agitation was a great mistake; it only added to the fanaticism of the Muslims without giving them patriotism or nationalism.

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