‘When animosity, terror and violent explosions will cease,
And the life will be reborn, on the eve of new peace,
Your affection will express thanks in memories,
Of those comrades who fought in your fearless ranks,
And you will honour the valour in immortal sons,
At that hour remember the blood of my martyr sons’.
Sarojini Naidu’s political innings had in fact started when she delivered her first public speech on a social platform. But in India at that time social issues were hopelessly entwined with political situations.
That speech was delivered by her in Calcutta in the year 1902 under the baton of Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Then, her political career batted on the songs of freedom endlessly scoring runs with every line of her verses. After Gokhale Mahatma Gandhi took over and her politics flourished under his benevolent guidance and inspiration.
Sarojini met Gandhi in 1914 for the first time before the Ist World War broke out. Gandhi’s simplicity and his crusade against racial whites in South Africa had made a mighty impression on her. About the meeting she writes—
‘My first meeting with Mahatma Gandhi happened in miraculous circumstances in London before the Ist World War began. He had come to London after scoring several victories in South Africa.
He had successfully experimented with a new mode of protest called ‘Satyagraha’ in South Africa. Gandhi had won the battle for Indian contract labourers who were called ‘Girmit’ (distorted form of the word ‘Agreement’ by the natives. Europeans used to take Indian labourers to S. Africa to work on their farms on signed ‘Agreements’ that reduced them to the status of slaves. Abject poverty forced rural Indians to agree to those conditions that became worse once they reached S. Africa where racial white regime was in power headed by despotic General Smutt). Finally Smutt had to given in to Gandhi’s ‘Satyagraha’.
That had made Gandhi a famous name all over as a crusader.
When Gandhi arrived at London I could not reach the port in time to welcome him.
On the third day of his stay in London I went to meet him who was supposed to be putting up in some part of Kensington.
I was guided to the stairs of an old fashioned house.
Upstairs I saw a shaven headed man sitting on a black jail blanket spread on the floor.
The door was open. The door appeared to be framing him like a picture. The funny figure was eating a liquid which looked like whey from a wooden bowl like the ones used in the prisons. The liquid I later learnt was tomato and olive oil puree.
I could not help laughing at the comic figure who was supposed to be a great leader.
He looked up and heek-heek’ed at me saying, ‘So! You should be Sarojini Naidu. Who else will dare to be so daringly impudent? Come, eat with me.’
I sniffed and said, ‘Is this horrible solution whey?’
Thus, began our friendly association which blossomed into an unique camaraderie and a very long fruitful guru-shishya relationship which continued through thirty years of India’s freedom struggle without disruption even for an hour.’
In 1915 Sarojini’s father Aghornath passed away in Calcutta and soon after her mentor Gopal Krishna Gokhale too died. That left a wide chasm in her life.
That was when Gandhi materialised and filled the void. He had come back to India after successfully conducting Satyagraha movement in S. Africa. Back in India Gandhi had started creating ripples in the national political waters.
Sarojini Naidu’s political stock was gradually going up. Her speech delivered at 1916 Lucknow Congress Session had enthralled the audience so much that she began to be counted among the top socio-political leaders of the country.
She spoke in poetic language—‘‘I am merely a vision standing on the tower of dreams. Inspite of some problems and pitfalls I see the invincible soul of the country art progressing towards the objective goal speedily on its victory march. We are one and are so united that no outside power or colonial rule can deprive us of our fundamental rights and facilities. We can not be denied our facilities we have gained the right of and we are demanding formally in one voice.
Centuries have gone by, old voids have filled up and old wounds have healed. Each one of us is filled with the new awareness that the best hope for the future lies in unified service to the motherland. No one amongst us is so mean, weak or selfish who would think that the personal comforts were preferable to the service of the motherland.
Our personal miseries get relief when we suffer for the motherland. Its worship cleanses us of our sins. Living for the motherland is the greatest victory and becoming a martyr in her cause is gaining the priceless crown of immortality.’’
On this occasion she severely condemned the slave like treatment meted out to the Indian contract labourers in South Africa, Fiji and other countries. In this regard she whole heartedly supported the views of Gokhale.
She addressed Lucknow Congress—‘The shame of miseries our women went through in the foreign lands requires to the washed off with the blood of our hearts. Tonight the words you heard here surely must have inflamed you.
Men of India! Make that flame the funeral pyre of contract labour practice called Girmitiya System. Although I am a woman still you must be feeling the shame of your outraged mothers and sisters. I consider it the insult of whole womankind. It can not be tolerated.’
In 1916 Lucknow session itself Sarojini met Jawaharlal Nehru for the first time. Nehru was very impressed with her touching oratory.
Later he expressed it in the following words—‘I remember that during those days Sarojini Naidu’s skillful oratory influenced me greatly. Her speeches used to be odes to patriotism and nationalism. I was an idealist nationalist. During my student days I had developed a vague fascination for socialistic thoughts. That fascinations evaporated.’
The cordial relationship struck by Sarojini and Jawaharlal Nehru continued throughout their lives. For Sarojini Nehru became like her brother easily and for Nehru she became his comrade. Only the death could disrupt this association.
Sarojini Naidu and her fellow travellers on the voyage of freedom march of India went on and on. The final success came nearer and nearer as the events unfolded in progressive sequence.
