_A very largely attended meeting was held in Maulana Mazhar-ul-Haqu's
Compound on Friday, the 11th February 1921 at Patna when Mr. C. R. Das
addressed as follows:--_
My Friends, I must confess that it is somewhat difficult for me to
address you on a subject on which I have been talking for the last, I
don't know how many days. I am somewhat tired of making speeches. When
I came to Bankipore I thought I would simply listen to speeches and
that I shall have no trouble to address you. But I was prevailed upon
to address you. I have been reading several newspapers lately just
to understand the criticism against the policy of Non-co-operation.
I read speeches of public men and of Government, non-officials, and
of Governors. So I thought it might be hardly necessary for you to
deal with those things but it might be useful to clear the grounds of
principle and policy of the congress. I want to speak to you about the
principle of Nationalism. We have heard the word Swaraj so much that we
probably do not realise its full meaning. The principle of Nationalism
is also the principle of Swaraj. Swaraj is a convenient expression for
adopting a cause which would be of Nationalism. Long before this policy
of non-co-operation was started by Mahatma Gandhi, in fact in the year
1917, I remember what I spoke from the Congress platform at Calcutta.
You remember in those days there was a great deal of controversy as to
what would be the precise scheme of self-government. Bombay spoke the
one way and Bengal the other. There were many differences of opinion
as to what scheme of self-government there should be. Then I said it
is useless to discuss the policy; we want to govern our own country,
namely to govern ourselves and regulate our own conduct and develop the
nation in the light of our own experiences. I say we want to realise
that cause of nationalism. The moment we realise that, the moment we
realise the right that God has given us, that moment the bureaucracy
will be crushed under feet. The criticism which has been levelled
against the Congress is this, namely, that the Congress has not defined
what Swaraj is. Many people at Calcutta have taken this objection. My
answer to that is very simple. The very nature of Swaraj is such that
it is impossible to define it. Swaraj is that which you realise in your
heart to-day. How can you then define what sort of Swaraj you will get.
Realise your right, and the moment you realise that right, the moment
what you realise will become fact. If you realise less right you will
have less fulfilment, if you realise in complete and absolute right,
Swaraj you are bound to get. You cannot define it. India wants that
and the moment India realises that whole heartedly, I say that moment
Swaraj is ours. I care not whether you have Parliamentary councils,
whether legislative councils divided into so many compartments whether
you have upper house and lower houses in order to govern the country.
I want India to say in one voice that we will govern ourselves. That
is the right we have. No Government can deprive us of that right.
The moment you discover that, you will get Swaraj. Therefore, before
you think what kind of self-government we should have I want to tell
you that you should concentrate your mind, day in and day out over
the attainment of Swaraj. My justification for that is nationalism.
Do you understand what nationalism is? Many people, very genuine and
intelligent people say that they would not have nationalism because it
is antagonistic to humanity. They forget that in this God's creation
there are various nations and that India to-day pleads for her own
nationalism. Indian nationalism does not and cannot hurt humanity.
I understand by humanity several races that are inhabitants of this
earth, Indians, Europeans, Americans, Russians, and others that are
inhabitants of the globe and if I am pleading for nationalism of India
to-day how I am going against humanity and nationalism of the earth.
India's nationalism is according to her own traditions and principle,
"Live and let live" according to your right. We have no quarrel with
you but when you cut away our nationality and right, it is then we say
that we will not co-operate with you. You develop your nation in your
own way. You, Americans, you develop your nationalism in your own way.
But if you say that Indian nationalism must be fashioned in your own
way, killing our nationalism, that cannot be tolerated. Therefore you
find nationalism and Swaraj to be absolutely the same thing. Here I
give you an example. Take a garden. You see the beauty and glory of
God's creation all round the garden. But if a flower says to another
flower that it should not grow in its own way, is that possible? I say
that so far as the law of hidden nature is concerned it should go in
its own way. Each has got its own individuality, own nationality. This
nation has got an absolutely distinct individuality. Is this nation to
live according to European ideals? Do you think that an Indian can live
according to English traditions? Indian nation must grow according to
its own temperament in the light I have described. We have been trying
to build our own nation for the last 35 years, but we have discovered
to day that throughout the history of British rule every attempt made
for the development of nationality was crushed by the bureaucracy.
Wherever you strive for freedom there is every obstacle from the
officials. Therefore what happened in the Punjab became possible.
There was a Rowlat Act. It was to kill your nationalism and for that
whole of India protested. No Nationality can prosper which has got
a Government by bureaucracy of that character. Whatever you do they
will come and check you, and ruin that line for ever. Therefore it is
that the Congress has declared that every method which we had hitherto
applied has failed. At the Amritsar Congress Mahatma Gandhi was for
co-operation. I must confess I did not agree with that proposal. He is
a good-hearted gentleman.
He told me is it not better to follow faith while co-operation has
given such large promises. He thought that bureaucracy would change
its angle of vision. I said that we cannot do so. And few months
passed that Mahatma Gandhi was convinced that I was right. Congress
has declared now, having regard to what happened in the Punjab, what
happened to our Mohamedan brethren, and the passings of many oppressive
laws from time to time. Congress has declared with one voice, and all
provinces have accepted this time unanimously that the only method
which remains is that of non-co-operation. It has been explained
over and over again. Many people have asked me about that. I found
it easy to explain in Bengal. The other day I had to address a large
assembly of labourers of a mill near Calcutta. I told them that you
work at mills, you have seen machinery, well, who is it that drives the
machinery. Who is it that makes the machinery work and produce articles
and manufacture things. It is not that Burra Saheb who sits in a chair
lording over the whole business. It is you who move the machinery.
So many bags of papers come out because you move the machinery. I
told them that the huge Government is nothing but a machinery. Who
drives that machinery? It is ourselves. It is the students who read
in colleges, it is the pleaders who practice in courts, it is the
police officers, it is the Deputy Magistrates who decide cases, it is
the judges who administer laws. So in every way it is the Indian that
drives this machinery. A history of last 160 years shows explicitly
that your objects are not our objects. Our object is to foster our
development, your object is to crush our manhood. Therefore there is a
complete difference between the object of bureaucracy and ours. Think
what happened in Punjab and I cannot forget Khilafat either. These
instances you cannot forget. You remember there was a non-official
committee appointed by the Congress. Last year we all met at Benares
and we signed the joint report as non-official commissioners. The
report was drafted by Mahatma Gandhi. We examined that report and we
discussed the matter. We purposely put our demands very low. In fact we
put it so low that some of our countrymen were very angry. They asked
much more than that. And now I tell you, it is no more a secret. We had
made up our minds that we would put forward our demand and it ought to
be no more a pious resolution and we must insist upon the Government to
act up to our recommendation. Our legitimate demands were so low. Even
these demands were treated with scorn and the offenders were left scot
free. Subscriptions were raised for those villans. Ladies danced, I am
informed, to collect money for the upkeep of those villanous offenders.
We entered into a contract there in the holy city of Benares. It is for
this blunder that Mahatma Gandhi has started this non-co-operation.
His object is that their hands are polluted, therefore, whatever
their institution, no self respecting Indian can remain there. Every
Indian should take his hands off from that Government. No Indian who
has got any self-respect should go forward to help this bureaucracy.
Mahatma Gandhi started it and after that my friend Mr. Moti Lall Nehru
joined it. In Calcutta Congress I did not join it because there was
great difference of opinion. Few read my speech because I was against
non-co-operation at Calcutta. It is not a fact that I opposed that
resolution on the very ground of non-co-operation. Once I have made
up my mind to accept it, I must follow up to it. Afterwards I made
up my mind that this Non-Cooperation must be more complete from the
national point of view. I wanted to bring a more effective resolution.
So far as my practice is concerned I have not accepted a single new
case after the Calcutta Congress. I drafted another resolution. I
specially went to Benares and there discussed the resolution with
Mahatma Gandhi, with my friend Madan Mohan Malaviya, with my friend
Lall Lajpat Rai, I met again Mahatma Gandhi at Dacca and discussed
with him again and he agreed to it. Those who knew of the inner working
of Nagpur Congress might have known how I worked from morning till
night for that resolution and I tell you I succeeded. It made clear
that Non-Co-operation is that everybody should take his hands away
from the machinery of Government and that until the whole country is
not prepared for that we must go on stage by stage. That resolution is
fully satisfactory. Mr. Jayakar of Bombay opposed it. He did not join
us before. I do not know why. But I am glad to say that only the other
day he declared that he has given up his practice as a lawyer and has
become a non-co-operator. Therefore, every one who met at Benares and
took that vow in the holy city of Benares have become non-co-operators.
I have arrived at the conclusion that this life is not worth living
and I would rather much sooner die than lead a life of a slave in this
country. This country is ours given by God. We have to realise that
day and night. I say again that the moment you realise that right that
very moment Swaraj is ours. What is Swaraj? It is a right to carry
on your own right in your own way. There is another thing before I
have done. Mahatma Gandhiji's Charkha has caused much laughter before
the officials. People who are saying so are totally ignorant of our
slavery. Our slavery is more economic than political.
* * * * *
I was telling you something about Charkha, I have been asked in several
places as to how Charkha could improve matters. How could Charkha
bring Swaraj. Do you know what the facts are. Swaraj means that we
must live within ourselves. We must be self-contained. I tell you
that we are great slaves to-day. Our economic slavery is greater than
political slavery. Exploitation is carried on by the bureaucracy.
The Non-officials and officials so far as Europeans are concerned
constitute the bureaucracy. One helps the other, so exploitation and
administration are the two chief policies of the Government. I say our
economic slavery is very great indeed and constitute the main factor
of our dependence. The facts at present are that if Manchester and
Lancashire stop sending cloth our women will have to go naked. That was
not the case in India before this bureaucracy came here. Our system was
not this. I speak of Bengal because I claim to know more about Bengal.
The system obtained in India was, that so far as our necessaries were
concerned we were self-contained. We never depended on any body in
India. We made our own clothes and were independent of any race in the
world. Now just consider what Charkha can do for you. From Manchester
comes 60 crores of rupees worth of cloth every year. You will not
have to pay these 60 crores of rupees which go out of India. If a
householder works by Charkha for one or two hours a day at the end of
the year he will find himself with all the necessaries of his family.
For a clerk who gets 40 or 50 rupees per month, and who weaves his own
cloth every day, it is a great deal of saving for him. It is very easy.
One ordinary tree will yield one to 3 seers of cotton, and 1/4th of a
seer is quite enough for one Dhoti. If you use Charkha only for limited
hours daily you will get sufficient cloth for a Dhoti. This Dhoti that
I am wearing to-day will last 4 times longer than that which comes from
Manchester. I tell you, you will solve it very easily. If the work
is carried on all this year by every student and every householder,
we will see the economic independence of India to-day. Along with it
you will achieve your political independence. It is only for one year
that we are asking for Charkha and after that you can regulate your
methods. You do not want any mills. It is only for one year. Many ask,
what about ship-building, what, about navy etc., I say for God's sake,
I do not want any thing for one year. If you once secure economic
independence, I venture to say that India's economic development cannot
be prevented by any power in the world. It will grow better and better
every year. I know there is a great deal of discussion about it and
personally I can tell you that I cannot for one moment be in favour
of European industrialism at all. I shall not at all be sorry if some
of the things that are manufactured in England are not made here. Do
what you should do, work a Charkha and you will realise the result. If
you do that you will without doubt get independence. Now, gentlemen,
one word more and I have done. I have told you that non-co-operation
is the only method to achieve freedom. I have also told you that the
work of non-co-operation is very difficult. It will be destroyed if it
is not kept by non-violent method. The whole work will be impeded if
it is not carried on non-violently. Every kind of violence mental or
physical is detrimental to the method of non-co-operation. Therefore
every non-co-operator's work must be strictly non-violent. He has to
face danger after danger. Every non-co-operator will be inculcated,
beaten, outraged but he should strictly maintain non-violence. You know
the ways and methods of bureaucracy in this country. They have got
so many sections in their Penal Code which they can use against any
preacher of non-co-operation. I do not for one moment, think that these
methods can ever root out non-co-operation. They know that the moment
non-co-operation succeeds that very moment bureaucracy will be crushed.
I know they will try to destroy the method of non-co-operation by using
their penal sections. They may go on using section after section. But a
non-co-operator should never indulge in violence.
Continuing Mr. Das said that he knew that proceedings have been started
against certain workers in the district of Muzaffurpur under sections
107 and 144 of the C. P. C for delivering violent speeches. They should
not give any excuse like that to the bureaucracy. But now that they
have been served with the notices they must comply with the section.
Let the action of the bureaucracy be as autocratic, as autocratic can
be. Let them break the law, and not the non-co-operators. If they
found that the authorities were using section after section unjustly
without any justification then the congress would have to declare civil
disobedience. Time would then arrive to break the law. But that moment
had not arrived yet. Their mission was the mission of law-abiding
citizens.
If violence is used you will go against the Indian National Congress
and destroy this sacred method. You must know in your heart of hearts
the secret of Swaraj and that you will gain only by Non-co-operation.
The only feeling, the only intense desire which a Non-co-operator
should cherish, his only prayer to God, should be for the achievement
of Swaraj. Gentlemen, now I am tired. I wish our movement a success in
the province of Bihar.
* * * * *
Transcriber's note:
Inconsistencies in punctuation and spelling are as in the original.