We are on the eve of great changes, and the world-forces are upon us. The
victory of Kemal Pasha has broken the bonds of Asia and she is all astir
with life. It is Prometheus who spoke within her, and 'her thoughts' are
like the many forests of vale through which the might of whirlwind and
rain had passed. The stir within every European country for the real
freedom of the people has also worked a marvellous transformation in the
mentality of subject races. That which was more or less a matter of Ideal
has now come within the range of practical politics. The Indian nation has
found out its bearings. At such a time as this it is necessary for us to
reconsider and to restate our demands. Our demands regarding the Punjab
wrongs have got to be restated because many of them have already been
realised. Our demands regarding Khilafat have got to be reconsidered,
because some of them have already been worked out and we hope that before
Lausanne Commission has finished their work very little of it will remain
unrealised. Our demand for Swaraj must now be presented in a more
practical shape. The Congress should frame a clear scheme of what we mean
by a system of government which may serve as a real foundation for
Swaraj. Hitherto, we have not defined any such system of Government. We
have not done so advisedly as it was on the psychological aspect of Swaraj
that we concentrated our attention. But circumstances to-day have changed.
The desire is making us impatient. It is therefore the duty of the
Congress to place before the Country a clear scheme of the system of
Government which we demand. Swaraj, as I have said, is indefinable and is
not to be confused with any particular system of Government. Yet the
national mind must express itself, and although the full outward
expression of Swaraj covers the whole life history of a nation, the
formulation of such a demand cannot be any further delayed.