The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1909-12-16
Taraknath Das a Student at
Norwich University
in 1908
EDUCATIONAL WANDERING
His Activity for Free India Has
Brought Him Into DisfayOr With
Great Britain-Frequently Obliged
IN Move On

the students of Norwich University,
announced a few weeks ago, that
Taraknath Das pronounced Dos)
was coming East to take up a course
of political science at Harvard no
one was specially disturbed at the
announcement for few people know
who and what Taraknath Das is, yet
though only twenty-five years OF
age he is of sufficient Importance so
that the British Government has
had it's eye on him for some years
and he has been obliged to move on"
like poor Joe more than once because
of the diplomatic representations of
that Government.
Taraknath Das is a Hindu, preach
er of violence, apostle of freedom,
dreamer of revolution, a man who,
If the movement for the freedom Of
India shall ever become of conse-
quence will be found, as he is today,
high in the councils of the revolu-
tionists and active in the operations
that involve personal danger His
brief career shows with what earn
estness and persistence the leaders
of the movement for Indian national
liberty carry on the work, and what
this youth has accomplished indi-
Gates that England may yet have
formidable movement to confront,
one that cannot be put down as was
the Sepoy rebellion, because it will
rest on a racial demand for free
dom instead of the prejudice insti-
gated by religion.
The interest people of this vicinity
have in the movement for free India
is small, but there is an interest in
Taraknath Das, the apostle of Free
India, because he was for nearly a
year a student at Norwich Univer-
sity in Northfield.
Taraknath Das was born near Cal
cutta. He is short of stature, with
the swart visage of his race and it's
vegetarian ideas, with piercing black
eyes, proven athlete, student and
an organizer.
Though born of poor parents, he
was able to gain the rudiments of an
education and when quite young had
progressed far enough to enter the
University at Calcutta. But he had
fallen under the spell of some of the
men who had aspirations for the fu-
ture of their country, his independent
ideas made him an undesirable char
acter and he was dismissed from the
university because the British rulers
of his land had become suspicious or
afraid of him.
He had studied long the history of
ancient India, and had become thor
oughly imbued with the love of his
race. He read with shame the story
of the disintegration of his Nation
and it's subsection to British rule,
and, stirred by the enthusiasm of his
! elders, began to believe that the race
might be welded into a nation. After
his dismissal from the University he
visited all the important cities of
India and carefully studied condi-
tons. He found much to cause him
pain and sorrow but found nothing
that would enable him to work for
the cause on which he had set his
heart. Japan was not then on pleas
ant terms with England, and since he
must go abroad Japan seemed the
place for him to go. He had accum-
ulated enough money to pay his
steamship fare to Toxic but had not
enough to pay for food on the voy-
age. So he starved all the way to To-
kio. The voyage was not very long
and he did not suffer any permanent
ly unfavorable results from that
period of privation.
But Toxic did not prove the city
he had imagined. Wages are low in
TOXIC, perhaps not as low as in In
Ola, but too low to hold out any
hope that he could accumulate
enough to enable him to do any
work that would help the cause of
free India. A merchant in Toxic
advanced the money to enable him IN
come to the United States. He did
not starve on his way from the land
OF cherry blossoms to the land of
freedom, but when he landed in Sc
attic he had not money enough IN
support him three days. He quickly
round employment in a hospital and
before long accumulated enough to
enable him to enter the University
OF Washington. Religion and per-
sonal preference combine to make
MIN vegetarian and he is really
enthusiastic ON the matter, SO II
does not cost fTaraknath Das much
} TO furnish his table, and he can ex-
list about as cheaply as Joe Coul.
ombe, who went through Norwich
University on a diet of peanuts.
lie had to leave Washington Uni
Versity as he had to leave that al
Calcutta. From Washington he went
TO California and was for a time q
student at the State University al
Berkeley. He continued his work for
free India there and was dismissed