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