It should commence its work for the year, by a clearer declaration of
rights of the different communities in India under the Swaraj Government.
So far as the Hindus and Mahomedans are concerned, there should be a clear
and emphatic confirmation of what is known as the Lucknow pact and along
with that there should be an emphatic insistence of each others' rights.
And each should be prepared to undergo some kind of sacrifice in favour of
the other. Let me give an instant to make my meaning clear. Every devout
Mussalman objects to any music in front of a mosque and every devout and
orthodox Hindu objects to cows being slaughtered. May not the Hindus and
Mussalmans of India enter into a solemn pact so that there may not be any
music before any mosque and that no cows may he slaughtered? Other
instances may be quoted. There should be a scheme of a series of
sacrifices to be suffered by each community so that they may advance
shoulder to shoulder in the path of Swaraj. As regards the other
communities such as Sikhs, Christians and Parsees, the Hindus and
Mohamedans who constitute the bulk of the people should be prepared to
give them even more than their proportional share in the Swaraj
administration, I suggest that the Congress should bring about real
agreement between all these communities, by which the rights of every
minority should be clearly recognised in order to remove all doubts which
may arise and all apprehensions which probably exist. I need hardly add
that I include among Christians not only pure Indians but also
Anglo-Indians and other people who have chosen to make India their home.
Such an agreement as I have indicated was always necessary but such an
agreement is specially necessary in view of the work which faces us
to-day.