Indian Majlis : (Urdu majlis=assembly). Since Rammohan Roy, some Indians & Englishmen lobbied in England for administrative reforms in India. In 1873, a speech at the Cambridge University Union by Chowdhury Asutosh (q.v.) reading at St. John’s, Cambridge, was instrumental in the passing of a motion by Syed Mahmud “that in the opinion of this House, England has failed in her duties to India”. This led to the formation of the Majlis where Indian students in England held political discussions & debates on England’s treatment of India – while the Government kept a close watch. Though an ICS probationer, Sri Aurobindo not only joined the Majlis but was for a time its secretary – facilitating his rejection by India Office. Among other members, his friend K.G. Deshpande became another target of the Govt., while Hari¬singh Gaur & Moropant Joshi, latter ‘earned’ their knighthoods. Jawaharlal Nehru, a former member: “More effort was spent at the Majlis in copying Parliamentary & University Union style & mannerisms than in grappling with the subject.” Even when Swaraj, Boycott & Swadeshi of the Nationalist Party had seized the minds of the Indian masses, he adds, they remained “parlour-firebrands” who on return rarely took “any effective part” in the freedom struggle. [Several sources + Nehru’s Autobiography]
... on him. ² He took an intelligent interest in all public questions of those days and formed his own independent judgment and opinion about them. It was during his stay at Cambridge that the "Indian Majlis", an association of Indian students, was started. It played an important role in the social life of Indian students in England and ¹ Ibid.; also cf. Sri Aurobindo, Supplement (Pondicherry:... changed now, as alterations have been made to it since 1890. The chief preoccupations of Aurobindo at Cambridge were: (1) studies, for the Tripos and the I. C .S., (2) participation in the Indian Majlis and zeal for Indian independence, (3) writing poetry. A few months after his Tripos success, Aurobindo won a prize for Greek iambics and another for Latin hexameters. He also passed all the I. C... but more likely it was due to his flagging interest in the I. C. S. career on account of his preoccupation with the idea of Indian independence. In fact, writing poetry and participating in the Indian Majlis were the two activities that interested him. Study and success in examinations were necessities. Most of the poems written at Cambridge by Aurobindo were published at Baroda in 1895 in his book ...
... work for the liberation of India generally and also to take up one particular line of work in furtherance of that aim. While at Cambridge, Sri Aurobindo had participated in the meetings of the Indian Majlis, acted as their secretary for a time, and made many speeches breathing a revolutionary spirit. These facts must certainly have come to the notice of the authorities in England. The "Lotus and... students in England had come together with a purpose that beyonded the mendicancy and moderatism of the accredited political leaders in India. Again, through his participation in the debates of the Indian Majlis, Sri Aurobindo had been able to throw out the first suggestive hints of the idea of revolution that was already slowly unfolding within his political consciousness. Page 34 IV ... addition to the Service") leaves a bad taste. How did he; arrive at his "obiter dictum"? It doesn't seem unlikely that he had come to know of Sri Aurobindo's speeches at the meetings of the Indian Majlis, his association with the "Lotus and Dagger", and even of his revolutionary bent of mind. As Sri Aurobindo recorded later, these must have had their part "in determining the authorities to exclude ...
... subject, particularly among us Indian students." "Were there many Indians at Cambridge?" "Oh yes! It was there that I first met other Indians. Together we formed a group which we called the 'Indian Majlis'. It was primarily a political group. We discussed the British exploitation of our country and ways and means to free her from this slavery. At one time I became the secretary of this group. I think... Bengali nursery rhyme that whoever works and studies well gets to ride in cars and carriages? Well, I didn't get to ride a horse! (Laughter) Anyway, I believe that by then all the activities of the Indian Majlis were being reported to the India Office. Whenever famous or prominent Indians visited Cambridge, we would invite them to attend the Majlis meetings. They were rather old and moderate in their views;... not know that I had become an out-and-out revolutionary openly declaring my intention to help destroy the British empire, and this was the main substance of the fiery speeches I was making at the Indian Majlis. If Mr. Prothero had known about these activities of mine, he would most certainly have changed his opinion of me. "Anyway, the evening when I was told that I had failed in the I.C.S. examination ...
... Mother's Chronicles - Book Four 29 The Indian Majlis There was, apart from poetry, another subject in which Sri Aurobindo's interest was far from 'sporadic' It was in 1891 that Charles Stewart Parnell (born 1846) died. He had led a movement in favour of home rule in Ireland. From A. A. Ghose's pen flowed the following lines: "O... protest. A. A. Ghose followed closely all public questions and Page 216 began to keep a finger on the pulse of politics. It was in 1891, during his stay at Cambridge that the 'Indian Majlis' was started. It was an association of Indian students. The Majlis played an important part in the social life of Indian students in England and very often moulded their political outlook. It was... country. But the 'firm decision' took full shape only towards the end of another four years. It had already been made when he went to Cambridge and as a member and for some time secretary of the Indian Majlis at Cambridge he delivered many revolutionary speeches which, as he afterwards learnt, had their part in determining the authorities to exclude him for the Indian Civil Service; the failure in the ...
... country. But the 'firm decision' took full shape only towards the end of another four years. It had already been made when he went to Cambridge, and as a member and for some time secretary of the Indian Majlis at Cambridge he delivered many revolutionary speeches." Dr. Ghosh wished that Sri Aurobindo should go in for the Indian Civil Service. In deference to his father's wish, Sri Aurobindo got... have allowed him to do." The reason why the British Government did not give him another chance for passing in the riding test was, of course, the fact that his revolutionary speeches at the Indian Majlis "had their part in determining the authorities to exclude him from the Indian Civil Service...." "Among the Indians in London he and his brothers formed a part of a small revolutionary group ...
... , apart from wishing to keep the I.C.S. as British as possible, had reasons for being suspicious of this Indian candidate. In Cambridge he had been a member and for some time secretary of the ‘Indian Majlis’ (association or assembly) which on the surface was a kind of social organization, but which was in fact an assembly of patriotic Indian students. This group was infiltrated by government spies... Barely six months after his arrival in his motherland, Aurobindo Ghose made his entry into Indian politics with a bang. K.G. Deshpande, who together with Aurobindo had been a member of the Indian Majlis at Cambridge, asked him to express his opinion on the current political situation in a series of articles for the Indu Prakash, the newspaper of which Deshpande was the editor. Aurobindo complied ...
... to any Indian influence, himself helped to turn Sri Aurobindo's mind towards his motherland. Sri Aurobindo's growing interest in politics led him to take part actively in the affairs of the Indian Majlis, an association of Indian students studying at Cambridge which had been formed a few years earlier; and although it was apparently a social club, in fact it was more a union of politically-minded... him to take the riding test in India - there were precedents which permitted this. But it is possible that Sri Aurobindo's patriotic activities at Cambridge, such as the speeches he made in the Indian Majlis, had come to the notice of the authorities and they felt that he would be a thorn in the flesh of the Government were he allowed to join the ICS. Little did they realise that, by his other activities ...
... 30ff; time of privation, 31; Senior Classical Scholarship, 31; holidays with Manmohan, 32ff; success in ICS examinations, 33; at King's College, 33ff; Oscar Browning on, 33-34; member of Indian Majlis and 'Lotus & Dagger', 34,37,183,281; 'Riding Test', 36ff; rejection from ICS, 37; appointment in Baroda, 37; songs to Myrtilla, 38ff, 71; on Parnell, 42; on Goethe, 42; at Apollo Bunder, 46, 64... the divinities, 642H; the women actors, 643; the intended conclusion, 643-4; similes, 644H; its metre, 645; the "unwomanly" woman, 646; Herbert Read on, 690 Imam, Syed Mehdi, 579 'Indian Majlis', 34, 37,183, 281 Indian Patriot, The, 244, 340 Indu Prakash, 55, 57, 59, 184ff, 188, 194, 206, 217, 218, 220, 228, 268. 277, 281, 338, 514 In the Moonlight, 164-66 ...
... country. But the "firm decision" took full shape only towards the end of another four years. It had already been made when he went to Cambridge and as a member and for some time secretary of the Indian Majlis at Cambridge he delivered many revolutionary speeches which, as he afterwards learnt, had their part in determining the authorities to exclude him from the Indian Civil Service; the failure in the ...
... Sri Aurobindo's "Pilgrim of the Night": "I made an 90Bengali saying: "Gopa! is a very good boy." 91Translated badly from the French: des blocs pour soutenir la table.' 92The Indian Majlis was an Indian association in London when Sri Aurobindo was a student there. Situations and subjects relevant to India were discussed there, and young Sri Aurobindo learnt of the ill-treatment ...
... Paul's. 1890 July Admitted as a probationer to the Indian Civil Service. October 11 Admitted on a scholarship to King's College, Cambridge. While at Cambridge, joins the Indian Majlis, a student group; makes speeches advocating Indian freedom. 1891 August to April 1892 Works on "The Vigil of Thaliard", a long ballad left unfinished. 1892 ...
... Harisingh Gaur gave his vote against the Nationalist Party! In the evening talk Sri Aurobindo gave this reminiscence about Gaur: "He was one of the students with me in England. I heard him in the Indian Majlis and in the College Union. I wonder if he had anything serious in him? But he was clever and spoke well. Once during a speech he said, 'The Egyptians rose up like a man', refering to their national ...
... St. Paul's. 1890—July Admitted as a probationer to the Indian Civil Service. October 11 Admitted on a scholarship to King's College, Cambridge. While at Cambridge, joins the Indian Majlis, a student group; makes speeches advocating Indian freedom. 1891—August to April 1892 Works on "The Vigil of Thaliard", a long ballad left unfinished. 1892 — May Passes the first ...
... India - with passages underlined that related to the Government's acts of commission or omission. His political consciousness thus awakened, Sri Aurobindo took an active part in the debates of the Indian Majlis at Cambridge, and later joined the secret society, the "Lotus and Dagger" in London. His interest in the Irish liberation movement under Parnell s, perhaps, a reflection of Sri Aurobindo's increasing ...
... others [revolutionaries]. Deshpande requested me to write something in the Indu Prakash." We fleetingly came across Deshpande in Cambridge. Along with Sri Aurobindo, he was a member of the Indian Majlis there. In The Harmony of Virtue which he wrote while at Page 25 Cambridge, Sri Aurobindo named his chief character, Keshav Ganesh, after his college mate. After his return from ...
... objection made at any time and he continued to preside over some of these debates until he left Baroda. It was in England while at Cambridge that he made revolutionary speeches at the meetings of the Indian Majlis which were recorded as a black mark against him by the India Office. Page 68 × MS (dictated) at ...
... canalised into the idea of the liberation of his own country. At Cambridge University, between 1890 and 1892, Sri Aurobindo gave a number of "revolutionary speeches" before the "Indian Majlis", a student club. These speeches have unfortunately been lost. The only record of his political thinking at this time are some jottings he wrote in a notebook under the heading "India Renascent" ...
... me another chance. DR. MANILAL: Why? SRI AUROBINDO: My record was too bad. DR. MANILAL: How? SRI AUROBINDO: They thought that I was a revolutionary, giving seditious speeches in the Indian Majlis. There was a man named Mehedi Hussain, an Indian deputy magistrate—I don't know why he went to England—who used to come to the Majlis and was supposed to be a spy. He may have reported me to the ...
... Sri Aurobindo's work, a third position , a "something else" we desperately need, we who are neither narrow-minded materialists nor exclusive spiritualists. Thus, he became secretary of the "Indian Majlis," an association of Indian students at Cambridge, delivered revolutionary speeches, cast off his English first name, and joined a secret society called "Lotus and Dagger" (!) (Though, in this case ...
... service. 1890-92 Joined King's College, Cambridge. Passed high in the first part (first class) of Classical Tripos in one year. 1892 Was Secretary of Indian Majlis, Cambridge, started this year. Gave speeches to the Mailis and to gatherings of Indian students on Indian politics, hinting at armed rebellion as the only means of attaining ...
... secured a prize for Greek and Latin iambics. Besides he passed the I.C.S.final examinations with credit. Of extra-curricular activity, too, there was much: for example, nationalist speeches at the Indian Majlis and writing poetry. But, from another point of view, it was a life bereft of the usual consolations of a home. Sri Aurobindo left Cambridge for London in October 1892. He was expected ...
... soon see great revolutionary changes, and that he himself was destined to play a part in the movement; at Cambridge the feeling hardened into a settled conviction. He took a leading part in the Indian Majlis and was for a time its secretary. Later, in London, he joined the still-born secret society the 'Lotus and Dagger' when each member vowed to work for the liberation of India. His deep interest ...
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