Rassegna storica del Risorgimento

326 Gita Srivastava
fought forifiie cause of the Unification of Italy, were highly praised by Surendranath Banerjea in his lectures
I lectured upon Mazzini but took care to teli the young men to abjure his revolutionary ideas .1S)
The impact of the biographies of Mazzini and Garibaldi and the speeches of Surendranath Banerjea was much felt by the young men of the country. One of the great revolutionaries of Indian freedom movement, Bipin Chandra Pai, wrote:
Mazzini's life and particularly his sensitive patriotism... tyrannies of the Austrian army of occupation in Italy, who showed scant regard for the ordinary rights and liberties of the Italian people and treated even the Italian intellectuals of the middle class as members of an inferior race, literally as helots and slaves, made a profound impression upon our sensitive minds ... We saw or imagined a great similitude between the position of Italians under the Austrian domination and our own position under British rule... .,6)
Another effect of these biographies of Italian nationalist leaders, although little noticed at that time and less known in later days, was big with future consequences.17) The familiarity of young Bengalis with the <c Young Italy movement led to the growth of secret politicai societies. Bipin Chandra Pai speaks of his own youthful days:
We commenced to read the writings of Mazzini and the history of * Young Italy* movement... the new inspiration imparted to young Bengal by Surendranath's presentation of the life of Mazzini and Italian freedom movement led many of us to form secret organisations .18)
Biographies of Italian Nationalists in Urdù Literature
In 1881-82 Lala Lajpat Rai, the great orator, a keen and intrepid patriot, inspired educationist, social reformer, journalist and writer, read a small biography of Mazzini contained in a speech of Surendranath Banerjea
*5) SURENDRANATH BANERJEA, Speeches and Writings, Madras, 1918, p. 271.
tó> B.C. VAL, Memoirs of My Life and Tim-es, Calcutta, 1932, voi. I, pp. 245-246.
ÌT> R.C. MAJUMDAR, op. cit., p. 483.
W B.C. PAL, op. cit., pp. 246-248.