Mr. C. R. Das, in moving the Non-co-operation resolution at the Indian National Congress, Nagapur, 1920, said:—
I rise to move the resolution on Non-co-operation. I shall presently read the resolution before you; but before I do that, I ask you to consider it very carefully, word by word, and line by line, because I must emphatically deny the charge that the Non-co-operation resolution which was passed in the Subjects Committee, is weaker, and not stronger, than the resolution, which was passed in Calcutta. Let me first read this resolution. (Reads resolution). Gentlemen, let me put before you in a few words the scheme of it. We say that our wrongs, including the Khilafat, and the Punjab wrongs—I do not enumerate the wrongs because they are so many—that each wrong, so far as I am concerned, is a cause of the attitude that I have taken up. We declare that our wrongs are of such a nature that we must attain Swaraj immediately (hear, hear). Then, we declare that all other methods, which we have employed up to now, have failed and that, the only method which is left for us, is, the method of non-violent non-co-operation (hear, hear); and we declare that there must not be any mistake about it that this Congress has resolved definitely, clearly and without any ambiguity, that the whole of this scheme of non-co-operation shall be put in force to secure our rights and to attain Swaraj; and we declare further that, in the meantime, those things which we resolved upon at Calcutta, are to continue but not only those things, we are to direct our activities in other directions as well. Here I pause for a moment to consider the question which, I regret, has been raised, namely, that this resolution is weaker than the Calcutta resolution. May I ask you to consider in what respect is it weaker? I claim it is stronger it is fuller, it is more complete. In the Calcutta resolution, there was no clear declaration that this National Congress has resolved to put in force the entire scheme of non-co-operation down to the non-payment of taxes although I believe with Mahatma Gandhi that that may not be necessary. But still if that is necessary I want it to be clearly stated that the people of India will not shirk from putting that into force. Then we say that, in the meantime, till that call is sounded—and you must remember, gentlemen, directly the call is sounded, that call has to be obeyed by all sections of the community, lawyers, students, trades-men, merchants, agriculturists, every body, every section in the country must respond to that call (hear, hear) and do you understand what that means. That means that this tyrannical machinery of the Government is regulated—is driven, not regulated—by whom, not by the Bureaucracy but by the Indians; and it means that the moment that call is sounded, every Indian is to take his hands off that machinery (hear, hear) and compel this Government to do what you like. But ours are not the hands which will move your machinery (hear, hear). That is putting in force the entire scheme. Then, let us consider what we have got to do in the meantime. The Calcutta resolution was confined to the students and lawyers and a general resolution about boycott of foreign goods. Here we say we keep the same injunction with regard to students but we differentiate between students under 16 and students above 16. Then, with regard to lawyers, we keep not only the same thing, we re-affirm the Calcutta resolution, but we say that we are not satisfied with the way in which that resolution has been responded to by lawyers; and we say that greater effort must be made to secure that; and also we refer to the scheme of settlement of disputes by private arbitration. Then comes the economic question, and we say that the economic drainage is one of the greatest wrongs from which we have suffered: and we say that a Committee of experts must be appointed at once to form and organise a plan of boycott of foreign goods. Then we come to the other question. We come to the boycott of Councils. We say that it has succeeded, and we say further what naturally follows from that, namely, that the men who are at present occupying those seats are not representatives of the people of India (Hear, Hear). Not only do we stop there, but we go further, that those people who pretend to represent them do not represent them, and therefore we call upon the voters not to take any political assistance from those people. And then we appeal generally, for unity in favour of the depressed classes, in favour of every section of the community which require protection and development more than we do. This is the scheme of the resolution. In what respect is it weaker? In respect of lawyers? I say 'no,' because it re-affirms but it continues to call upon lawyers to act up to that resolution. Is it weaker in any point? From the point of view of students, I say 'no.' I have guarded against students coming out under false sentiment. I think that it is right, that this greatest national assembly in India should declare that those students who feel the call of duty and conscience should immediately come out, regardless of consequence (Hear, hear). Is it weaker in respect of the boys under 16 years? I say what is weakness, and what is strength? We make it stronger by making it more just and more practical. Is it weaker in respect of the economic question? I do not admit that, because in the general resolution which you had and which Mahatma Gandhi himself was to carry out, we have got a systematic plan of economic boycott and a practical boycott—a boycott which will not only be spoken of but acted upon by every Indian worth the name. I ask again,—where lies the weakness of such a resolution? It is nothing but the result of undue suspicion. I am making no appeal. I am making no personal appeal in my favour; but I do ask you to remember that when I say anything I mean it, and in my life on public questions I have never said anything which I do not believe in. Some of you may suspect, but all I can say, brother, ask me any question and I will answer, ask me what I intend to do, I will answer. Beyond that I will not refer to personal questions. I call upon you, in the name of all that is holy, to carry this resolution without one single dissentient voice. I want you to declare it to the nation and to the bureaucracy, and to the nation to realise their God-given rights. The rights exist, but rights have got to be realised. The rights exist because this is the eternal law of life; but still every man and woman and every nation on earth has got to realise those rights. Realise the fact that we have got those rights and the moment you realise that the bureaucracy or any cracies in the world cannot stand against you and I want you to tell the bureaucracy that we have made up our minds to realise it, and we have made up our minds to compel you to recognise that which we have got. May God grant us strength not only to pass this resolution but to work upon this resolution and to carry out the great idea of which this resolution is the expression (loud cheers).
NON-CO-OPERATION
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.