Bengal Swaraj Party

AS seen from a Calcutta telegram published in these columns yesterday, JM Sengupta, Swarajist member of the Bengal Legislative Council and CR Das’ chief lieutenant, has been elected President of both the Bengal Swaraj Party and the Provincial Congress Committee. There can be no two opinions about Sengupta’s ability, and after the recent statement by Mahatma Gandhi in an interview with the Englishman, that while there was more than one Bengal Swarajist who was qualified for leadership, the one that was the best fitted, so far as combined ability, experience and knowledge of Swarajist working went, was Sengupta, his election to the leadership was almost a foregone conclusion. One thing which Sengupta conspicuously lacks is the personal magnetism of the late illustrious leader. But that is a disadvantage which he shares with all other possible rivals. Besides, the personal magnetism, which goes with a high order of political and social leadership, is always developed and perfected by opportunity. No Swarajist in Bengal could possibly have this opportunity while the towering and overshadowing personality of Das was there. He was one of the kindest and sweetest of men and to no man that ever lived was such a thing as the deliberate keeping down of other men more thoroughly repugnant than to him. But the very kindness and sweetness of his nature, added to his splendid genius and high intellectual ability, dwarfed all other men. England felt the same difficulty on the death of Gladstone, though there were men like Harcourt, Bannerman and Asquith, not to speak of Roseberry.

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