A citadel of strength⁵

There was a time when hooligans used to torture the people of Bengal like anything. What they did was to inform the residents of certain houses that they were going to rob them, and then they did in fact come and rob them. They used to molest the women, torture the maids, steal what money they could and cause tremendous damage. As a consequence, many rich people left the city, while many others remained in a state of constant anxiety.

One day, the hooligans informed a particular house that they were going to come and plunder. The maids of the house were all frightened to death. Some of them immediately decided to leave the house, whereas others could not make up their minds. Finally, they all came to the decision that they would leave and allow the hooligans to take whatever they wanted. But at that moment, a young boy in the family, who was only twelve years old, said, “No! I shall not go. You can go. They will not be able to take anything, I assure you.”

His uncle was thoroughly surprised. He exclaimed, “Oh, so you are the greatest hero! You will stay and they will kill you!”

The boy said, “I will not be killed. But you go. I have some older friends who are experts in stick arts and they can fight the hooligans.”

The uncle said, “Don’t be a fool.”

“No, uncle,” the boy pleaded, “give me a chance. I will not be harmed and, I assure you, nothing shall be stolen.”

“All right, my child, then you do it,” replied the uncle.

So the boy went and brought his friends, who knew the art of self-defence as well as how to attack people with their sticks.

When the hooligans came, there was a terrible fight. Many people were severely injured, but nobody was killed. In the end the hooligans were badly defeated, all because of the tremendous inner strength that this young boy possessed.

Eventually this young boy became the literary emperor of Bengal: Bankim Chandra Chatterji. His remarkable courage and manliness were allied with a patriotic fervour, a seer-vision and an inspiration-flood that aroused the great sub-continent of India. It was he who composed India’s national song, Bande Mataram, which came from his famous novel Ananda Math.

Bankim Chandra demands our candid admiration. As a child, he mastered the Bengali alphabet at one sitting and, as he grew older, he revealed his true genius as a great patriot and a great lover of Mother India and of mankind.