I say, therefore, that the people of this country has got the right
now, to expect some kind of responsible self-government in this country
and the time has come when we must shake off our apathy and devote
our entire energies to the consideration of the question as to the
precise form of self-government that we want in this country. The
question is a very difficult one and has got to be discussed from a
great many points. We have got to consider it from the point of view
of our nationality, I mean provincial nationality. We have got to
consider this question from a wider outlook. We cannot forget that we
live and have been living for many years in the midst of an empire.
We cannot forget that the different provinces in India are gradually
coming closer to one another and a new nationality which expresses not
only the different provinces but the whole of India is growing up in
our midst and we cannot forget that our interests, even our selfish
interests, our hopes, our ambitions are indissolubly connected with the
interest of the empire. These are all the considerations before us.
When we sit down to frame a scheme we cannot lose sight of any one of
these points.