APPENDIX XVIII
DEMAND FOR AN INDIAN "REPUBLIC"
Mr. Hazrat Mohani's Address
Ahmedabad, Dec. 30—The following is the full text of the authorised translation of the address, which Moulana Hazrat Mohani delivered this afternoon and which was, from the beginning to the end a plea for the declaration from the 1st January, 1922, of an Indian Republic called the United States of India to be attained by all possible and proper means, including guerilla warfare in case Martial Law was proclaimed.
Gentlemen—While thanking you for electing me to preside over this session of the All-India Muslim League I wish to say in all sincerity that the importance of this session of the League, in which the faith of Hindustan is to be decided required the choice of a person abler than myself, such as Moulana Muhammed Ali, Dr. Kitchlew or Moulana Abdul Kulam Azad to preside over its deliberation but, unfortunately, the Government has forcibly taken away the first two gentlemen from us, I express my inability to accept the responsibility. Consequently, as the proverb goes, "if thou dos't not accept it willingly, it will be forced on thee" this great duty was placed on my weak shoulders. I wish to discharge it to the best of my ability. Success is in the hand of God.
The Aims of the League
The present condition of the League appears to be very weak, indeed, but this does not in the least derogate from its real importance for it was the All-India Muslim League which actually realised. The first and the most essential condition of Indian independence is the Hindu-Muslim unity, and now that it has been achieved it is the duty of the League to maintain it also. Besides, it is on the platform of the League that all sections of political opinion amongst the Musalmans, Extremists or Moderates, have so far been and in future will, probably, be brought together. Before going into the causes of the weakness of the League, it will be better to enumerate the aims and object of the League. These are (1) the attainment of Swaraj by the people of India by all peaceful and legitimate means; (2) to protect and advance the political, religious and other rights and interests of the Indian Musalmans; (3) to promote friendship and union between the Musalmans and other communities of India and (4) to maintain and strengthen brotherly relations between the Musalmans of India and those of other countries.
The League an Old Calendar
The first of these is also known to be the creed of the Congress. Therefore, so long as the word Swaraj is not defined in consonance with Muslim desire and the means for its attainment are not amplified, it is only natural that Muslim interests in League should be clear. The third object, Hindu-Muslim unity, is the common object both of the League and the Congress. The fourth object, the unity of Muslim world, which has been, along with other questions, connected with the Khilafat has been specially taken up by the Khilafat Committee. There remains only the second object that is the protection of the special interest of the Muslmans. As to this, so long as a much greater and more important object, that is, the attainment of Swaraj still remains unachieved, people would rather direct their united efforts against the common enemy than look after their special interests. They will be attended to when the time comes for it. As if these causes were not sufficient in themselves, to decrease Muslim influence in the League, its rules and regulations were, unfortunately, so framed that, while public opinion has developed at a rapid pace most members of the League have not moved an inch from their first position. As a result, the League remains nothing more than an old calendar. It is very necessary to remove the causes of the weakness of the League and to remove them immediately, for in proportion as we approach nearer and nearer to the goal of Swaraj the need of the League will be felt more and more, because questions of special Muslim rights will rise again with greater importance when India is free.
An Indian "Republic"
Our first duty, therefore, should be to reduce the fee for the membership of the League and thus increase its members, who will choose their representatives of the League every year. The members to the Council of the Provincial and the All-India Muslim Leagues should be chosen as in the case of the Congress every year. But the most pressing necessity of all is a change in the first object of the League to suit the changed Muslim conditions. Everyone of us knows that the word Swaraj has been definitely left vague and undefined in the creed of the Congress. The object of it has been that, if the Khilafat and the Panjab wrongs, are settled on the lines of our demands, then Swaraj within the British Empire will be considered sufficient; otherwise efforts will be directed towards the attainment of complete independence. But, gentlemen from the Muslim point of view it is not enough that we should stand for complete independence alone. It is necessary to decide upon the form that it should take and in my opinion it can only be an Indian Republic or on the lines of the United States of India.