Sri Aurobindo. Draft of a Prospectus of 1907 // Bande Mataram: Political Writings and Speeches. 1890

The Bande Mataram Publishers and Printers Company have now been conducting the daily paper Bande Mataram for a full year and are now in a position to approach the public with an offer of shares on which a dividend for the next year is practically assured. So long as the paper was carried on at a loss and its future ill-assured, the Company had to invite the public to invest in it rather as a patriotic undertaking which deserved support than as a promising business enterprise; but the paper is now self-supporting and in a short time at the present rate of increase will be a paying concern, provided the capital required is subscribed. The following statement will show the present financial condition and give some basis for forming an opinion as to future prospects.

Amount of Shares already subscribed.	7,000
Loans advanced on condition of repayment by the raising of shares	18,000
Outstanding liabilities.	9,000
Liabilities to be converted into shares	1,500
Farther outlay necessary for Press and Type	1,000
Farther outlay necessary for Press and Type	35,500²
Full amount of maximum Capital in Shares	50,000
Amount of Capital to be raised in order to stand clea	r 27,000
Amount of Shares the Company has still the power to raise	43,000
Budget of Monthly Expenses sanctioned by the Directors	[no entry]

This work was not included in SABCL, vol.1 and it was not compared with other editions.

¹ This text was written by Sri Aurobindo in his own hand on a loose sheet of paper. It is an incomplete draft of a prospectus for the Bande Mataram Publishers and Printers Company, offering shares to the public for their financial as well as their patriotic value. The text must have been written late in 1907, “a full year” after the Bande Mataram began to appear under the aegis of the company.