Chachaji

Then in the meantime, the World War was in full swing and it was havoc. Even Calcutta was bombed! Then ‘Quit India’ movement of 1942 came with Gandhiji’s slogan of ‘Do or Die’.

We were waiting for Mr Asaf Ali, our president, to come and explain to us the whole position in the Provincial Congress Committee office in 1942. And he said: “Mahatma Gandhi says that the Allies are going to lose this War. And under no circumstances we should co-operate with them and help them.” So we were very happy. And then we were also informed that Mahatma Gandhi wanted this movement to be very strong and powerful, that we should remove railway tracks, burn Government property. That I could not understand. How could Mahatma Gandhi say like that and act like that? It did not fit in my way of life too.

But what happened is that the movement started and such things were happening everywhere in the country. Then, of course, I could not hold myself. I was dragged into it in spite of all that. And I had to take a very, very active part in this movement.

In the meantime I had come into contact with the Pondicherry Ashram in 1940. So it was for about a year and a half that I was going to the Ashram every third month or fourth month with Dr Indra Sen, my friend. Both of us were going together.

We went to the Ashram, and when we reached there we saw that there was a notice from Sri Aurobindo. I cannot quote the exact words—they are printed now. It was soemthing like this:

“We should co-operate with the British and the Allies in this War. Anybody in my Ashram who acts, thinks or believes otherwise should leave the Ashram. He is the enemy of the country, and he is the enemy of the Ashram.” I was much surprised. What is this? Just the opposite of what Mahatma Gandhi says. And I was more or less going to faint there when I read all that. Now I said to myself: “Now this person to believe or that person to believe?… What to do now?” And I was in a miserable condition in those days on account of this.

Then within a few days a detailed notice was again put up on the Ashram notice board, signed by the Mother as well as Sri Aurobindo, in which they thoroughly explained that the War is not between nations, but between Evil and Good, between the Asuras and the Devas. And if this is lost, the civilization of the earth will go back by ten thousand years. And under all circumstances this War must be won.”

And then we also learnt that Sri Aurobindo had contributed—although he was a Sanyasi—Rs.500/- to the ‘Viceroy’s War Fund’ and himself offered that his name could be used for war propaganda...that the British should win this War...victory for the Allies.

This was a much more serious thing for me. Those were the most difficult days in my life

Cripps Mission — takes Sri Aurobindo’s Emissary to Congress Leaders

In the meantime the Cripps Mission came to India with some proposals, and Sri Aurobindo said: “The Cripps Mission is a mission sent by the Divine Himself. The proposals should be accepted without any arguments.” Sri Aurobindo wanted this message to be conveyed to Mahatma Gandhi as well as to all the members of the Congress Working Committee.

After I came back, Mr Doraiswamy, one of the leading barristers of Madras who was also connected with Sri Aurobindo, was sent to Delhi and I moved with him in my car taking him to all the members of the Congress Committee and to Mahatma Gandhi, to explain Sri Aurobindo’s view regarding the Cripps Mission—for he was deputed to convey his message.

We learnt that Mahatma Gandhi’s view was just the opposite of Sri Aurobindo’s. He said: “The Cripps Mission is a post-dated & mutilated cheque on a crashing bank and it should not be accepted under any circumstances.”

This bewildered me very much. And I was gradually drawn towards the Ashram.

But in spite of this I had already involved myself in the 1942 movement which we carried on in Delhi.

Sharma: Mr Jauhar, do you remember the names of the persons you saw along with Mr Doraiswamy?

Chacha Ji: No, I do not know the names of the persons at all. I was only escorting him and guiding him to the places where the members of the Working Committee were living or they had session one day. But I never went with him to the persons at all.

I only knew that he was the messenger of Sri Aurobindo, to convey his view about the Cripps Mission. That the Cripps Mission—I repeat—“was a mission sent by the Divine Himself and it should be accepted without argument” was the message which Sri Aurobindo wanted to convey to all those people.

Only this much I know.

Then he went back. I do not think those people received this message seriously. They were in their own thoughts that the Britishers must be turned out. They could not foresee the future. The Britishers had to be turned out and now when they were in difficulty we should add to their difficulty and should not co-operate with them—this was the main thing probably even in the mind of Mahatma Gandhi that was conveyed to us by Mr Asaf Ali, barrister when he came back from the Congress Working Committee meeting.

Sharma: Now after Doraiswamy had seen the members of the Working Committee, did he discuss with you the gist of the talks he had with them.

Chacha Ji: No. I was much junior to him. He did not discuss anything. But I could only feel that he was not very happy.

Sharma: What were the special qualifications of Doraiswamy that Sri Aurobindo nominated him as his messenger?

Chacha Ji: Doraiswamy was a practising barrister in Madras and we used to hear that he was contributing to the Ashram or to Sri Aurobindo quite a large amount. And leaving his practice on weekends, he used to go to the Ashram and meet Sri Aurobindo. Certainly he was devoted to the cause and devoted to Sri Aurobindo.