There are those who would wish to bargain, that is to say, when we are
suggesting to the Government in all seriousness that certain measures
are necessary for carrying out the Prime Minister's Message we are told
that it is bargaining, that we want to exploit England's difficulty!
What is England doing now? This is a simple fact and I do not wish to
conceal it. What is our interest in the war? Our only interest is our
country. What is England doing now? England asks us to help her in
this war. And why should we help her? If we are to help her, we must
first of all feel that this country is our own country (Cheers)--that
India has in fact and not in name, her rightful place in the British
Empire (Loud Cheers). That is what we say. That is what great statesmen
in England have said again and again. If this is your real intention,
tell the people so--tell them "it is your own country, manage your own
affairs and defend your own country" and you will then see what we
can do (Hear, Hear). The only thing that we want is to feel that this
is our country. If it is not our country, what does it matter to us?
(Cheers). If it is our country it affects us; it affects our personal
interests, it affects our selfish interests, it affects our future--and
we are ready for any sacrifice. You say that we want to exploit
England's difficulty. And if we say that England is exploiting at this
time our helplessness, that would at once be condemned as unwise and
unworthy. Those who wish to realise themselves, those who wish to make
the people of this country realise that India is their own country,
that India is a part, an integral part--not shadowy or imaginary but
a real part of the British Empire--well, they are to be condemned as
persons who would exploit England's difficulty (Shame). That is how the
Conference was held at Delhi.