India for Indians / Enlarged Edition

by Chitta Ranjan Das

Now, they say, well, it is only a few of you educated people who will exercise the franchise, How can you represent the country? You will be only an oligarchy. The Government, instead of being in the hands of the bureaucracy, will be transferred into the hands of an oligarchy—of another bureaucracy. My answer to that is that we do not want that. I ask you particularly to consider that question, gentlemen, and to realise its importance. My answer to them is that we do not want it. We want the franchise to be extended far and wide—we want our ryots and our cultivators to enjoy that franchise. We want them to exercise their franchise. It is against our self-interest but we want that it should be done because after all the difference between those who are against the granting of Home Rule to this country and ourselves is this: bureaucracy is against it because the granting of Home Rule means death to the bureaucracy. The Europeans, the Anglo-Indian merchants in Calcutta are against it because it is against their interest, because they thrive well under the protecting shelter of this bureaucracy. Our personal interest also lies in not getting the franchise extended all over the country—but rather in keeping it confined within the educated community, an insignificant portion of the Mahomedan community and an equally insignificant portion of the Hindu community, a few Brahmins, Baidyas and Kayesthas. If you grant franchise to all the people of this country where shall we be? In saying this I remember a conversation I had with an old friend of mine who shall be nameless. This gentleman said to me, well, if you get Home Rule, what does it mean? It means that the common people of this country will have a voice—it means they will have power and we, Brahmins, Baidyas and Kayesthas, where shall we go? I said to him in answer that they will go to a very hot place where they deserve to go. Gentlemen, I want you to realise this.

WHAT ARE WE FIGHTING FOR?

Gentlemen, we are not fighting for our narrow sordid self-interest—we are not fighting for the interest of to-day—we are not fighting for the betterment of myself or yourselves—of the present generation or of the educated community. If there are any selfish ideals pursued by any portion of our community, I stand dissociated from them and I say I take my stand on this and nothing more—it does not matter what happens to me—it does not matter what happens to the present generation—it does not matter what happens to the educated community of to-day, but what matters with me is the development of the nation (Cheers.) I look forward to the time when the Bengalee nation will rise and stand in all its glory. I do not care whether I am alive or dead at that moment (Loud Cheers)—whether my children will be living then or not—but the time will come when by God's grace, Bengalees as a nation will make themselves felt and will stand in all their strength and face the world. That is the ideal which appeals to me every moment of my life. I feel within myself that that is my appointed task. I shall devote all that I hold dear to the service of that cause and—if I die in that attempt—what then? "Fail we alone"?—if I die in this work, I believe I shall be born in this country again and again, live for it, hope for it, work for it with all the energy of my life and with all the love of my nature, till I see the fulfilment of my hope and the realisation of this ideal (Loud Cheers).

SHALL WE FOLLOW A LEADER OF YESTERDAY EVEN WHEN HE IS WRONG

Gentlemen, when we started this agitation—basing it on the ideal to which I have just referred—ever since then we have been living under a cross fire. The bureaucracy has been against us, as it is natural they would be against us, as it is natural they should be against us. But I am sorry to say that along with these there is a party of Bengalees in Calcutta who also have set themselves against the fulfilment of this noble ideal. When I read the criticisms which appear in the Statesman or the Englishman I feel glad because I know that we have succeeded in exposing the illogical position which they take. But when I read similar things in the Bengalee, I assure you, I feel a great pain in my heart. I cannot understand it. Is this ideal to be pursued from the consideration of purely personal question? We have been told that the leaders of yesterday are the only people who can lead us. I do not deny their claim to lead. But I am not one of those who would follow a leader simply because he was a leader yesterday. I want him to lead. Anybody who leads the real politics of the country at the present time is a man whom I honour and I am prepared to bow down and take the dust of his feet. But if a man comes to me and says: look here you will have to do this—it does not matter what the people of Bengal want—I am the leader of Bengal—this has been done by me—it has got to be supported—well, my answer to him is: "thou imposter!" No one has got that right. We stand or fall as we pursue or desist from the popular cause. I am nothing. No leader is anything. The strength belongs to the nation whose representative I am, whose representative every one of us may become. It is not my own strength. It is the peoples' strength. Take your stand on that and we will worship you as a leader, as a martyr, as anything which you can claim but fall short of that ideal once by a hair's breadth, your claim is no longer to be recognised. If I have expressed myself strongly, believe me, gentlemen, it is because I have felt deeply—I feel, I have been stabbed to the heart by this attitude—this contempt of public opinion.

WAS THERE AN UNDERTAKING?

Now, gentlemen, you all know that we are expecting a scheme of self-government from the British Parliament. What that scheme is I do not know. No one has got the right to know but we are expecting some scheme. We heard that Mr. Montagu had shown or talked about the outline of that scheme to some Indian leaders—Mr. Surendranath Banerjea of Bengal, Pundit Madan Mohan Malaviya of the U. P. and Mr. Shastri of Madras and certain other gentlemen. I do not know if it is true but I suspect it is. We are also told—it is not admitted—we are told that some of these gentlemen had given a promise to the Secretary of State that they would get the people of this country to accept that scheme. I am not saying that this is admitted but that is what I have heard.

THE CONFIDENTIAL LETTER.

Now what do we find after that? A few days after Mr. Montagu's departure, a confidential letter over the signature of Babu Satyananda Bose was circulated and anybody who reads that letter will see that the attempt is to give up what was decided in the Bengal Provincial Conference for all Bengal,—to give it up, and to take whatever is offered to us by the Secretary of State! Why was that circular issued? Was it only Mr. Satyananda Bose who circulated this or was there a party behind it? We know Mr. Satyananda Bose is a follower of Mr. Surendranath Banerjea. Was it the attempt of only Mr. Satyananda Bose or was it a subtle attempt made in the dark to throw out to the people the suggestion that they ought to be satisfied with anything which it may please Mr. Montagu to give, to prepare the ground for the acceptance of Mr. Montagu's scheme? After that we heard that a special session of the Congress would be held in Bombay.