In 2010 when the Aurobindonian community was celebrating the centenary of Si Aurobindo's arrival in Pondicherry, my book Sri Aurobindo. His Political Life and Activities saw the light of day This book was a chronological account of Sri Aurobindo's political activities based mainly on unpublished Government documents of the British era, recollections of his associates and contemporaries, his own autobiographical accounts and press reports. The book earned critical acclaim from scholars and researchers and soon went for a second edition. Late Manoj Das, the foremost successful bilingual writer of India, considered it a repertoire of information and quoted extensively from it along with other British Government documents provided to him from the Archives of Overman Foundation in his magnum opus, Sri Aurobindo: The Life and Times of the Mahayogi which was published in 2020.
After the publication of Sri Aurobindo: His Political Life and Activities, it occurred to me how did the Indian press follow Sri Aurobindo dangerous man in India by the British Government who was considered the most after his publicly announced retirement from political activities in November 1910? Did he gradually become a forgotten political figure or did the press take a keen interest in Sri Aurobindo, the philosopher and mystic who did win quite a few hearts and the attention of seekers of spiritual light with his writings which were serially published in the Aryu, the monthly philosophical review, which Sri Aurobindo edited and published from Pondicherry for a period of six and a half years? To find out the answers to the aforementioned queries a casual search was made by me at the newspaper archives of the National Library of Kolkata. What began as a casual query evolved into a passionate quest when I observed that Sri Aurobindo's movements were closely observed and reported in newspapers and that his views and utterances were given utmost importance. It was evident that the logic of 'out of sight, out of mind was not applicable for him. Rather there was an avid interest in him, his books and the philosophy which he preached through his books. My quest took the turn of a full-fledged but difficult research which went on for days, months and years. I visited several other institutions located in various cities where old newspapers and magazines were preserved although not in the best of condition. It was undoubtedly a difficult task for the search was continued not knowing what the final.
result would be There were certain events of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry, which were not covered by the leading newspapers but were done by not-so-famous and short-lived newspapers and it was quite difficult to procure those files. Fortunately, press reports on Sri Aurobindo and his Ashram which had appeared in the lesser-known newspapers were preserved in the Archives and Research Department of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry With the kind permission of Shri Manoj Dasgupta, the Managing Trustee of Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, I was granted access to these reports which were collected by some of the early members of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Although these devoted disciples had preserved the news cuttings with utmost care, they had missed to mention the dates on which the news reports had appeared. Nevertheless, these press cuttings are of immense significance from the archival perspective at times.
When it was assumed that no new press reports would be available and that the search was finally over, quite unexpectedly I would come across some more newspaper clippings on Sri Aurobindo Once it so happened that at a time when I felt that this project was finally over, a well-wisher showed to me a scrapbook from his father's collection in which many press reports on Sri Aurobindo covering the period 1949-50 were preserved. These new reports further enriched my collection And thus, I would recommence my search with the expectation to find some more precious press coverage In this way, the work continued for twelve long years. By the time the seal of completion was put to the project, it dawned to me that after a few more weeks the year 2022 would start. And what better occasion could it be to publish the press reports on Sri Aurobindo on the occasion of his 150th Birth Anniversary!
The first volume of Sri Aurobindo and His Ashram in Contemporary Newspapers including consists of press reports from the period 1909 (that is, after Sri Aurobindo's acquittal from the Alipore Bomb Trial) to 1935. Every available news and articles those published in various magazines irrespective of their nature, have been included in this volume. On one hand there are eloquent tributes paid to Sri Aurobindo and on the other hand there are harsh criticisms as well as misrepresentation of facts. Nothing has been left out considering the historical significance of these reports.
The speeches of Sri Aurobindo which he had delivered in 1909 after his acquittal from the Alipore Bomb Trial had appeared in the Bengalee and the Karmayogin (of which he was the editor) Since the texts of his speeches have been published by Sri Aurobindo Ashram Publication Department as a separate book entitled Speeches as well as included in the volume Karmayogin: Political Writings and Speeches 1909-1910, these have not been incorporated in the present volume with the exception of two speeches the texts of which had appeared in the Times of India on 11th and 15th October 1909 respectively.
In these press reports, the reader would observe that Sri Aurobindo's name has been spelled as 'Aravinda', 'Arabindo', etc. Keeping in mind the archival significance of these reports, the names have been quoted as they had appeared in print.
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