Aurobindo Akroyd Ghosh, known more as Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950), a sage, creative writer and a patriot, was born in Calcutta on August 15, 1872. He was a prophet of Indian Nationalism, a great political and spiritual leader of the country, a linguist, a dramatist and poet of rare merit. He was the third son of an anglicized father, Dr. Krishnadhan Ghosh and Srimati Swarnalata Devi, a Kayastha family in Calcutta. His mother Swarnalata Devi was the daughter of a religious and social reformer, Rajnarayan Basu, revered as the ‘Grandfather of Indian Nationalism’. Even though brought up and educated in England, Aurobindo had strong affinity for motherland. He must be given the credit of the ideal of
ingraining into the minds of people and the Indian National Congress the idea of political independence.
He was more emphatic than either Lokmanya Tilak or Bipin Chandra in articulating the legitimacy and requirement of complete independence. Aurobindo carried forward the legacy of Bankimchandra Chatterjee and Swami Vivekananda’s attempt to equate India with ‘mother’. It was the need of the hour to inflame Indians with patriotism. Many literary and non-literary writings of Aurobindo promote militant nationalism. |
