choice of profession and career as a lawyer.
in the year 1893 chitta ranjan came back to india and joined the calcutta bar. the profession of law was not to his taste, for his literary talents dictated him to take up the role of a teacher. but the consideration of the heavy liabilities of his father left him no other alternative. he thought that in the legal profession alone was there any chance of clearing off his paternal debts. to choose a profession is always a perplexing business and it was doubly so in the case of chitta ranjan. it is especially perplexing if to choose a profession means to discover one's own capability and to do the work one is fitted to undertake in life. "how unfold one's little bit of talent; and live, and not lie sleeping while it is called to-day." that is the great problem. but it occurs only to those who are troubled with a sense of duty and not to those whose ambition is to "get on". it was therefore no small embarrassment for chitta ranjan to choose the legal profession.
within a short time of his joining the calcutta bar, chitta ranjan took upon himself the responsibility of all his father's debts; but as a newly enrolled barrister, he earned very little and therefore could not hope to clear the heavy debts of his father immediately. this forced him at the very commencement of his professional career to join his father in seeking the protection of the insolvency court. it was not because he wished to get rid of the liabilities but in the absence of any other alternative he declared himself as an insolvent which act weighed heavily on his mind and was the source of much uneasiness. however it was not only a[10] filial duty, but a point of honour with chitta ranjan to share the indignity with his father. this was the first instance of chitta ranjan's honesty and uprightness during his professional career.
the first stage of a professional career is very tormenting. there lies all around only palpable darkness where occasionally beams forth the flickering light of hope. at that time the whole future life appears to be a desert where the faint ray of hope glimmers like a mirage. but it is almost unconceivable how tormenting must have been the state of mind when over and above this uncertainty there was the uneasiness arising from heavy liabilities and consequent loss of social prestige. but one thing haunted his mind day and night and caused him the greatest pain. by his insolvency he was very seriously handicapped not only in his professional but also in his public life. but for it, chitta ranjan would have long ago thrown himself into all political and patriotic movements of his country and won the position of leadership which has now fallen upon him and to which he was entitled by his capacity, patriotism and uncommon talents.
though his exceptional abilities were universally recognised, from the very beginning of his career, as a member of the high court bar, he could not secure adequate scope for them for a good many years; pecuniary struggles forced him to abandon the chances of a successful practice in the high court for the mofussil practice which is more profitable to a junior barrister. indeed at that time he was put into such pecuniary difficulties that he could not even meet his house-hold expenses with all his exertions and on many an occasion he had to walk the whole way to the court for want of tramfare. but his was a spirit which the frowns of adversity could not daunt. by dint of energy and perseverance he pushed on and on till at last he became one of the most prominent and honoured members[11] of the bar. true genius does not long remain concealed, it waits for an opportune moment to reveal itself. chitta ranjan's genius as a lawyer waited for such an opportunity and in no time manifested itself before the admiring gaze or the public.
the years 1907 and 1908 are ever memorable in the history of bengal. the current of a new spirit had flowed in, inundating every nook and corner of the province. the soul of the nation became awake. a divine touch had just broken the eternal sleep of the nation. lashed into action by the high-handed measures of lord curzon, the lethargy of the people died away, they tried for the first time to stand upon their own legs and boldly face the world without fear of death. in an evil moment lord curzon sanctioned the partition of bengal against the united voice of the people. this led to the manifestation of a new spirit in bengal. a heavy out-burst of anti-european feeling followed; a strong hatred against every form of europeanism, a revengeful attitude to their commerce and industry, a growing apathy to everything associated with them, led to the repudiation or abandoning immediate anglicised past, and a new spirit entered into politics and created a mighty and dynamic yearning towards a truly national future. this had for its realisation at its basis swaraj, national education and boycott.
persecutions were inaugurated by the bureaucratic government. on the third of may 1908 in the still hours of night srijut aravinda ghosh, the leader of the national movement of bengal, along with other brilliant young men were arrested on a charge of being implicated in a conspiracy against the established government. evidence of all sorts was piled up by the prosecuting counsel. at this critical moment providence sent chitta ranjan to take up the case in defence of aravinda and other accused. the[12] prosecution dragged on for more than a year. for this long period chitta ranjan conducted the defence case at a great personal sacrifice. this celebrated conspiracy case pushed chitta ranjan into the fore front of the calcutta bar. for more than six months he was engaged in this case, and even for his house-hold expenses during these months, he had to incur a large debt. the acquittal of aravinda at once raised the reputation of chitta ranjan in the eyes of his countrymen. after this he took up the defence of the famous dacca conspiracy case without charging any fees at a great personal loss and also volunteered to defend the boycott cases of bengal earning thereby the lasting gratitude of the whole nation. providence also rewarded him amply for his good work and from the very day that he came back to take up the broken threads of his high court practice, he found himself on the high road to both fame and wealth.
we have already said that under peculiar circumstances chitta ranjan was forced to take shelter in the insolvency court. but it was never his intention to deceive his creditors and no one could with propriety ascribe this motive to chitta ranjan who spent his earnings right and left for allaying the distress of the needy and the poor. consequently as soon as he found his position in the legal profession secure, chitta ranjan's first thought was to remove the stain of insolvency from his father's name and his own and he started to pay off every pie of those old debts. "this is the first time", said mr. justice fletcher, "that a discharged insolvent publicly accepted his old liabilities and applied for a formal discharge of his insolvency." this unusual act of strict uprightness raised chitta ranjan das to the position of a great moral hero.
during his professional career chitta ranjan conducted many cases. since the release of aravinda he was engaged in almost all the note-worthy cases of the high court and[13] of the mofussil on one side or the other, his daily fees exceeding a thousand rupees. his reputation as a profound lawyer spread even outside bengal. in the long-drawn dumraon raj case he has all along been engaged on the side of the dumraon raj. when mr. vaidya, the then secretary of the home rule league in the central provinces was sentenced to eighteen months' rigorous imprisonment, chitta ranjan went to nagpur to defend him. mr. vaidya was acquitted and chitta ranjan became very popular in the central provinces. on the acquittal of mr. vaidya, chitta ranjan addressed many meetings on swaraj and although he earned nothing in the case, he gave a large donation to the local home rule league. the citizens of nagpur as a mark of deep gratitude and respect presented to him an address in a silver casket. after a few months of this case chitta ranjan went to rangoon to defend dr. mehta and his co-workers in the national cause who were convicted under the defence of india act. mr. das addressed the court on the illegality of the act itself securing thereby the release of dr. mehta and others. shortly after this he was engaged by the kutubdia internees at chittagong. those young men were kept in a house infested with serpents and they were compelled to fly away for fear of death. but this was a grave offence in the eyes of the government.
in all these cases chitta ranjan charged no fees, but conducted them with the utmost zeal. whenever he was engaged in a case he made it a point to bring all his intelligence and capacity to bear on it. it was not rare in his life that he meditated on a case for hours together before coming to any conclusion. he would then be so deeply immersed in contemplation that he lost all external consciousness like a yogi wrapt in meditation upon something serene and divine.
he had often returned briefs of cases to which he thought he would not be able to give proper attention. legally he[14] was not bound to return the fees but moral scruples dictated him this course. for such acts of honesty he was much respected by the litigants. often he had taken up the cases of the poor without charging them any fees and thereby earned the lasting gratitude of his countrymen. it was for his honesty and integrity apart from his legal acumen that the government of india selected chitta ranjan from among the leading counsels of india to conduct the munition board case even when they knew him to be the leader of the extremist party in bengal. at first chitta ranjan hesitated to represent the crown and told the government that unless he was allowed to follow the dictates of his conscience to the best interests of his country he would not accept the brief. when the government agreed in all these conditions he gave his consent to the contract. the accused party knew that chitta ranjan had not yet received brief for the crown, they came to his house, placed before him a cheque of several lacs and entreated him again and again to come to their defence. but chitta ranjan, true to his words, said with a smile, "gentlemen, i am sorry i cannot comply with your request, when i have once given the government my words of consent, i am morally bound to take up their case." the greedy merchants were taken aback at such indifference to money and faithfulness to his promise; they could not but admire this act of chitta ranjan, though they had to go away disappointed.
throughout his professional career he showed courage and independence. we shall here cite an instance of his uprightness. in a case at noakhali one mr. cargil, the local magistrate, was an witness for the crown. he was given a special seat in the court. chitta ranjan was on the defence-side, his searching cross examinations annoyed mr. cargil who in an insulting tone called him "babu." chitta ranjan would not tolerate this. he said with a[15] retort "mr. cargil, you know that out of courtesy i have allowed you a special seat instead of making you stand in the witness box. i hope you will not fail to return the same courtesy to others." chitta ranjan was not made of such stuff as to bear any insult. whenever there was any injustice done in a court, he would protest against it fearlessly and if it was not rectified he would leave the court unhesitatingly. it was for this reason that chitta ranjan left the court in the dacca conspiracy case when in spite of his protests the court was not just to his cause.
as a lawyer chitta ranjan earned a good deal. for the last three years his income was about fifty thousand rupees a month. many are of opinion that no lawyer of india had ever earned so much. more over there is no doubt that his income would have been much enhanced if he could exclusively engage all his time in the legal profession. he took up the political cases almost without any fees and also served on the punjab enquiry committee for more than four months at a great personal sacrifice. this unrivalled practice he has given up unhesitatingly at the call of his mother country.
such was the career of chitta ranjan at the bar for about a quarter of a century, rich in details, famous for acuteness and noble in uprightness.
