This part of the Congress programme has created a foul atmosphere of
hypocrisy, intolerance, imposture and conceit in the Congress Camp, in
which modesty, self-respect, and honesty often time find it hard to hold
their place. In our enthusiasm, we forget that many lawyers value their
profession for the training it affords in courage, truthfulness, honor
and toleration. No other profession trains a young man so well to
withstand and expose injustice and to uphold the tradition of truth and
honor. Our past political history of thirty-three years is a brilliant
record of the services rendered by lawyers to the Congress cause. If a
greater sacrifice than before was needed now on their part, a direct
call on their self-respect and patriotism on this footing should have
been made, but no good has arisen from putting the lawyer under the ban
of ridicule and infamy. The call made upon them was singularly harsh. No
other class of public workers was required to give up his means of
livelihood. The importing merchant supports British prestige as much as,
if not more than the lawyer and yet he stalks unabashed in the Congress
camp without closing his shop. No ban was put on litigants, without whom
the lawyer cannot thrive. I am therefore, surprised that notwithstanding
so much hardship, so many lawyers have come out and are to be found in
the vanguard of the movement. The few courts of justice, we called into
existence have not had enough support and are a mockery.