मेरा आजीवन कारावास / माझी जन्मठेप (स्वातंत्र्यवीर सावरकर - काले पानी का ऐतिहासिक संस्मरण)

then, if they felt that it was no use reading. But here they must add to their knowledge even for the sake of their ideals, rather than rot without knowledge as they were bound to do, if they did not make a special effort to keep their minds active I further brought home to them the fact that if winning freedom was difficult enough, retaining it after it had been won was more difficult stall. And until their minds were trained perfectly, they would never realise this fact of politics and political advancement. In a free nation no constructive work can be undertaken by those who were Ignorant of subjects like history, economics and science of politics and government. I cited to them the instance of Persia. Revolution in Persia set the people free. But because the poetical revolutionaries were ill- equipped in the art of government, in the essentials of good government and of reform and progress, when power came to them they had to depend upon foreign experts in finance and economics, in the knowledge of trade and business- organisation, and to carry on with the help of these experts. It led to chaos and confusion, all over the field, in the economic, Industrial and public life of Persia, it led to maladministration, indiscipline and nepotism in public servants. Want of knowledge was the root of all these evils Mere destructive action, leading to anarchy and the reign of terror, and resulting in dictatorship, benefits no nation On the other hand, it sets back the clock of progress. This has been ever the lesson of history And its best Illustration is the French Revolution of 1789. Blind fury is ever national suicide, and if it is not controlled in time it exposes a country to danger from without as well as to danger within its own domains That is the lesson of that revolution for all time to come. The story of the Chinese Republic from its early beginning down to this day conveys the same lesson. That was because the leaders of the Chinese Revolution were inept in the, art of government And they had to Import administrators from abroad to establish peace, order and good government These were naturally Interested in their own countries and exploited the anarchy in China to serve their own ends; and China remained as backward as it was in the pre-revolutionary era. Hence, no political revolutionary, if he really loved his own country, can afford to be ignorant and to trade on the ignorance of his own countrymen. The more they know the practical art of good government, sound administration, and of the management of their country in every walk of public life, the better it is for them and their country when they came into their own. In this respect, the so-called 'moderates' were better equipped than their friends, the extremists. And political prisoners must learn to follow in their footsteps. The moderates can claim among them economists, administrators, and statesmen of the highest rank like Gokhale, R. C Dutt, Ranade and Sir T. Madavrao. I asked them frankly, "Have you any one to rival them?" Hence to waste their time in idleness in this prison was sheer folly and shortsightedness. It was equally useless to be rotting and despondent. They had better keep their minds well employed and active by study and hard thanking on problems they shall have to tackle hereafter. And the subjects Indispensable for future equipment were Constitutional History, Politics and Economics I said, "Every one who presumes to think of his own country, to dabble in politics, and to aspire to political leadership, must needs possess full and deep knowledge of subjects like politics, economics and constitutional history To be wanting in such