DAY TO DAY WITH GANDHI [ SECRETARY'S DIARY ] by Mahadev H. Desai Vol-2 ( From April 1919 To October 1920 ) SARVA SEVA SANGH PRAKASHAN RAJGHAT : VARANASI-221001 Publisher : Sarva Seva Sangh Prakashan Rajghat, Varanasi -221001 Edition : First, June 1968 Copies : 1500 Printer : A.K. Bose Indian Press ( P. ) Ltd. Varanasi. Price in India : Rs. 40.00 in Foreign : 5.00 Dollars or 3.50 Pounds A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T The quotations from the writings of Gandhiji reproduced in this Diary have been taken with the kind permission of Navajeevan Trust, Ahmedabad. We are indebted to Navajeevan Trust for granting us this permission on a nominal royalty. -Narayan M. Desai No quotations or portions in parts of whole or any translation © thereof from this Diary can be published without the permission of Sri Narayan M. Desai, Shanti Sena Mandal, Varanasi. -Publishers ¶ãã½ã : ¡ñ -?ì -¡ñ ãäÌã©ã Øããâ£ããè (½ãÖãªñÌã ¼ãã?à ?ã?ãè ¡ã ¾ãÀãè) Ôãâ¹ããª?ã? : ¶ãÀÖÀãè ´ã. ¹ãÀãè?ã ?ã¶ãìÌããª?ã? : Öñ½ã¶¦ã?ãì?½ããÀ ¶ããèÊã?ãâ? ? ãäÌãÓã¾ã : ?ããèÌã¶ã ÔãâÔ½ãÀ¥ã ¹ãÆ?ã?ãÍã?ã? : ÔãÌãà ÔãñÌãã ÔãâÜã ¹ãÆ?ã? ãÍã¶ã Àã?ãÜãã?, ÌããÀã¥ãÔããè - 221001 ÔãâÔ?ã?À¥ã : ¹ãÖÊãã ¹ãÆãä¦ã¾ããú : 1500 ½ãì³?ã? : ?ã½ãÊã?ãì?½ããÀ ºãÔãì ?ã䥡¾ã¶ã ¹ãÆñÔã ¹ãÆã0 ãäÊã0, ÌããÀã¥ãÔããè-2 ½ãîʾ㠼ããÀ¦ã : Á 0 40.00 ½ãò ãäÌãªñÍã ½ãò : 5.00 ¡ãÊãÀ ¾ãã 3.50 ¹ããõ¥¡ Publishers' Note It is a matter of privilege for Sarva Seva Sangh to have the opportunity of publishing Mahadev Desai's Diary in Hindi as well as in English. The relation between Gandhiji and Mahadev Desai is well known to all. Both names are immortal in the history of our national freedom movement. Mahadev Desai joined Gandhiji in 1917 and remained with him till 1942 when Mahadevbhai breathed his last in the lap of Gandhiji in Agakhan palace while in detention. It is amazing to note that Mahadevbhai regularly wrote his day-to-day diary despite his busiest routine with Gandhiji. Gandhiji and Mahadev Desai had such an inseparable relation that they were like two bodies with one soul. Hence, Mahadev Desai's Diary means Diary of Gandhiji's activities. While reading this Diary one feels like actually witnessing the various incidents with Gandhiji. As there are authentic records of important interviews of Gandhiji with national and international leaders, we come across even the utterings of Gandhiji in his delirious condition side by side with excerpts from Gandhiji's most important historical as well as epic speeches, we also find here Gandhiji's typical crackling of jokes with small children. There is no other Diary in history of this kind except that of Bosswel, the learned English writer, who has noted the events of Dr. Johnson's life in his diary. But the difference between these two diaries lies in the difference of the life of Gandhiji and that of Dr. Johnson. Mahadev Desai had a knack of snatching some time out of his overcrowded daily routine for some extra reading. He had enriched his diary by jotting down some references out of that study. Mahadevbhai was a voracious reader and a deep thinker. As we find in his diary glimpses of a critical study of his reading, there are sprinkling of a lucid description of some new places he had visited or a running life-sketch of some new personalities he had met. In all these writings Mahadevbhai's supreme literary genius is amply revealed. The period between 1917 and 1942 was a glorious chapter of India's non-violent struggle for Independence. We get a peep into Gandhiji's innermost thoughts through Mahadevbhai's diary. This period was packed with Gandhiji's most important interviews, correspondence, whirlwind tours all over the country. A vivid picture of the social, political and spiritual atmosphere of our country in those days is graphically drawn by Mahadevbhai in this diary. It would not be an exaggeration to say that such a publication is definitely an enriching addition to the world's literature. It is an irony of fate that Mahdadevbhai could not live long to edit his diary himself. True to his devotion he died in harness. Late Shri Naraharibhai Parikh, Mahadevbhai's dearest and nearest friend, shouldered the responsibility of editing this diary as a labour of love for a departed friend. Naraharibhai himself was suffering from a serious disease. But he persevered relentlessly and completed the editing of about 3000 pages when he succumbed to the disease. It was a tremendous task to edit the voluminous matter, which would run into about 20 volumes of about 400 pages each. The remaining volumes are being edited by Shri Chandulal Bhagubhai Dalal. The original diaries are in Gujarati. First three volumes in Hindi, covering the period of 1932-33, were published by Navajeevan Trust. The publication work of these diaries was interrupted due to some dispute over the right of publication. Finally Shri Narayan Desai, son of Mahadev Desai, got the right of publication and he generously entrusted the publication of Hindi and English editions of the Gujarati Diary to Sarva Seva Sangh without claiming any royalty. Sarva Seva Sangh is deeply grateful to Shri Narayan Desai for this generous offer. Sarva Seva Sangh has brought out five Volumes of Hindi editions chronologically right from 1917. Sixth volume is expected to be out soon. The English translation of Mahadev Desai's Diary is being done by Shri Hemant Kumar Nilkanth. The first volume of English Diary was brought out in February 1968. We are happy to bring out the Second volume within a short period of 4 months. We propose to bring out the third volume on the auspicious day of 2nd Oct. 1968. ________ PREFACE This Diary covers the period of Rowlatt Satyagraha and Non-co-operation. Every page of it bristles with Gandhiji's Herculean efforts to rouse the country from its age-long sleep That was a period of exceptional, even marvellous, awakening and enthusiasm in the history of India's struggle for freedom. Owing to the novelty of the method, the people were imbued during the period, with an extraordinary vitality. Before we could gain independence, we have offered three mighty fights : This non-co-operation struggle of 1920-21, civil disobedience fight from 1933 to 1934, and the 'Quit India' fight of 1942 and after. All the three of them were momentous struggles, but the first fight of 1920-21 has a special significance of its own, owing to the fact that that was the first time when a method of fighting, original and very novel, not only in the annals of India but in those of the world, was adopted. Gandhiji was usually the very embodiment of gentleness in heart and hand. But on the occasion of a fight he used to be so possessed with Lord Shiva's all-devastating intensity of purpose and reckless disregard of his very life, that everyone who heard or saw him used to catch the contagion of his fiery spirit. "The sun never sets on the British Empire", that was what the Imperialists used to proclaim; and the Empire had dug its roots so deep into our mind that there was a class of educated men among us-and Gandhiji himself once belonged to that class-which believed that the country's progress was never more pheno-menal than under the British regime. But Gandhiji knocked the bottom out of that overwhelming prestige of the mighty British Empire by one single word 'Satanic'. How could the people, after this telling epithet, retain any respect or awe or fear of Government officers and the police? There remained in the country none so poor as to do reverence to these Government officers. Openly and loudly, the whole mass of Indian humanity including women and children, began to cry out, "We don't want this Government." In his charming language Mahadevbhai gives us in this Diary how Gandhiji performed this miracle of bringing about such a sweeping revolution in a country so vast as India. Hardly any other Indian might have rendered the British Empire as valuable services as Gandhiji had. Twice in South Africa he had raised, under his personal leadership, Ambulance Corps made up exclusively of Indians in order to serve disabled soldiers in the Boer and Zulu wars. Though his Ambulance Corps were not expected to go to the actual front and face a hail of shots, Gandhiji had many a time freely risked his own life and those of his men by taking them right to the hottest front and bringing the wounded soldiers from there to a place of safety. When the 1 st World War of 1914-18 broke out, Gandhiji was in England. There also he had formed a Red Cross made up of Indians. Owing to the extremely heavy work of organising the Corps, he had caught pleurisy there during the bitter cold of those days. Again, during same war, he had taken up the work of recruitment for the Army in the Kaira District in 1917. The severe strain which he put himself to at that time in scouring the whole district had brought him dysentery of such a severe form that it looked for some days that he would not survive the attack. He had, till then, the faith that the retention of British connection was a sine qua non for India's progress. It was this deep faith which had impelled him to serve the Empire with such costly zeal. But even during this period of single-hearted loyalty for the British Empire, he had not failed to offer grim fights against some of the injustices inflicted on India by the Empire. Over and above, the world-famous South Africa Satyagraha, he had offered in India, non-violent fights to stop the indentured labour system, the indigo exaction in Champaran, the revenue enforcement in Kaira and the imposition of the Rowlatt Act. Then happened two big events which shook his loyalty to its roots,?the Punjab atrocities and the injustice dealt to the Muslim community in the matter of the Khilafat. All the same he curbed his urge for resistance and kept patience till, for the Punjab atrocities, the Report of the Disorders Inquiry Committee appointed by the Government, and for the Khilafat, the final answer of the British Cabinet, were not out. Upto these last blows he had remained so loyal that, supporting the main resolution at the Amritsar Congress held in December 1919, he had declared that the Montford Reforms must be accepted unconditionally and the Government given unstinted co-operation in implementing the Reforms. Tilak Maharaj had sponsored an amendment in favour of Responsive Co-operation'. At the Subjects Committee meeting Gandhiji had then taken off his cap on the dais itself, fallen at the feet of Tilak Maharaj and entreated him to accept the original resolution and withdraw his amendment. Fortunately, a compromise with Tilak Maharaj had averted the need for taking votes in the open session. But ever since then the Congress had come completely under the sway of Gandhiji. Though Gandhiji's faith in the British Empire was deep, it was by no means over-indulgent. After he came to India in the beginning of 1915, he had resolved not to deliver a single speech for full one year in response to the earnest desire of Gokhaleji. That period ended in January 1916. The first lecture he then delivered was at Benares on February 4th (1916) on the occasion of the foundation of the Hindu University. As H.E. The Viceroy had attended the function. Many Indian Princes had come there, arrayed in their ceremonious Darbari attire and dazzling ornaments. Mrs. Besant and other national leaders were also present. In that very first speech which he made after coming to India, he said his say with stunning frankness and with it announced, as it were, his own plan of action. Speaking of the dross and refuse always found around the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, he called our dirty habits and the intolerable filth found all over the country as a national disgrace. Dealing with the costly and brilliant jewellery with which the Indian princes had bedecked themselves, he said that the lordly palaces of the princes and millionaires shamed the meanness of the miserable sheds of the millions around them and added that that grave economic inequality was a menace to the country. He also stated that the imposing retinue of body-guards and aides-de-camp and the very stringent precautions and police arrangements made en route for the protection of His Excellency the Viceroy, Lord Hardinge, betrayed nothing but a distrust of the people. He went on to say that the C.I.D. (Criminal Investigation Department) always kept a vigilant watch over all the movements of our national leaders and, as a matter of fact, they lived like prisoners in their own land. He also referred to the arrogance and the steel frame of the Civil Servants. He pointed out how, owing to the fact that our educated men had to learn through the medium of a foreign tongue, English, they lost all affinity for their families and the public. He showed how the tyranny and injustice inflicted upon India by the British rule was responsible for the growth of the terrorists. Declaring that he himself was a terrorist of a kind, but, with a difference in method, he asserted that there was no need to feel afraid of anybody on earth?-neither of the princes sitting there, nor of the Viceroy, neither of the C.I.D. nor of the Emperor George V himself,?if only we had faith in God and walked in fear of Him. And then, raising his voice, he publicly professed that if ever he found that for India's uplift it was necessary that the Englishman must go away from India or that he must be driven out, he was not going to feel the slightest constraint in proclaiming that conviction from, house tops and was fully prepared to accept death as a penalty. It was but natural that a speech of this kind would shock some leaders sitting on the dais and other members of the audience who prided themselves on being sober and moderate. Mrs. Besant even went to the length of asking Gandhiji to stop. But the young blood, the students, hailed his forthright statements and cried out, 'Go on' 'Go on'. The princes and potentates began to get up from their seats and leave the meeting and there was a great clamour. Gandhiji's speech remained unfinished at that point. But the situation which Gandhiji had envisaged arose within only four years of that unforgettable speech. When he received the final answer that the British Government was not in a position to get any change made in the decision arrived at about the Khilafat, Gandhiji advised the Muslims gathered at the Khilafat Conference in March 1920 that there was only one remedy against it, and that was total non-co-operation with the Government. At the same time he told Hindus that at a time when the religion of their compatriots had been attacked, it was their duty to stand by their aggrieved brothers. The Report of the Disorders Inquiry Committee for the Punjab and other disturbances was published on 26-5-1920. Its recommendations were anything but satisfactory. And even more dangerous than the Report itself was the Resolution, which the Indian Government framed on the basis of that Report.About Sir Michael O'dwyer, the Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab, who was the arch-culprit at the back of all the in human barbarities perpetrated in the Punjab, the Resolution stated that the Government of India fully appreciated the high courage and efficiency with which Sir Michael had conducted his administration in times of stress and storm. About General Dyer who had massacred hundreds of innocent men and women in the Jullianwala Bagh, the Resolution simply stated that he had committed an error of judgment in using more military force than necessary. He was made to resign, he was not only allowed to go scot tree, but was not even rebuked for his excesses. Some Englishmen, on the contrary, honoured him, in a public address as the 'Saviour of the British Empire' and raised a fund to help him. To crown it all, even before this Report was out, the Indian Government had by an Ordinance made it impossible for any case to be filed against any of the officers who had been charged by the public with atrocious crimes. Thus, besides that of the Khilafat, the grave injustice of the Punjab became the second issue for non-co-operation. In a letter to the Viceroy dated 20-6-1920 ( see pp. 166-68 ) Gandhiji informed him of his scheme of non-co-operation. As previously fixed, the programme of non-co-operation was put before the public on the 1st of August 1920, the date that synchronised with the day of the demise of Tilak Maharaj. Then, at the end of August 1920, the Gujarat Political Conference was held and the non-co-operation resolution was passed there. After that the Indian National Congress gave the non-co-operation programme its formal seal of approval by passing a resolution in its favour at the Special Session of the Congress held in Calcutta in the first week of September. Gandhiji declared at that Congress that if the people carried out successfully the boycotts of Councils, Courts, Government titles and honours, schools and colleges, and foreign cloth, the people could, within the short span of a year, win Swaraj outright. But people rarely pay much attention to the 'ifs'. What they did was to catch the slogan,'Swaraj in A Year'. Under the non-co-operation programme, the boycott of law-courts was to be carried out by the formation of national panchayats (arbitration boards), that of Government controlled schools and colleges by the foundation of national educational institutions and that of foreign cloth by the introduction of spinning-wheels and the production of Khadi. But as it was impossible to carry out all this big programme without a substantial fund, it was decided to collect a crore of rupees before the 30th June, under the significant name of 'Tilak Swaraj Fund'. Before the time limit expired, the fund came up, not to a crore of rupees merely (ten millions,), but to a crore and a quarter and Gandhiji was acclaimed as a 'miracle-worker'. Bonfires of foreign cloth were lighted not only in big cities but in countless villages also. According to the programme over and above these items, one crore of members were to be enrolled on the Congress register and twenty lakhs (hundred-thousand) of spinning wheels were to be set working. This programme had thus both a destructive and a constructive aspect. The former type of activities, such as bonfire of foreign cloth and boycott of courts and schools etc., was meant to sweep off old and hallowed cob-webs; while the constructive activities in the programme, such as the opening of national schools, the institution of Panchayats, the increase of Khadi production, the removal of untouchability and the implementation of unity between Hindus, Muslims and other communities were aimed at bringing about a new life through the country, increasing the power of the people and making the country self-reliant. It was on these constructive activities that Gandhiji laid greater emphasis. In no other subsequent fights could Gandhiji get the chance to raise the morale as well as the purity of the people to as high a pitch as in this fight, because he used to be in the later struggles arrested almost at their very start. But during this first battle the Government was so 'perplexed' and 'puzzled' that the then Governor of Bombay had even declared that, but for the fact that Gandhiji himself stopped the struggle owing to the Chauri Chora outrage, he would have won Swaraj, because the movement had already come to 'within an inch of success.' Gandhiji never rested content with preaching to the people that non-co-operation meant self-purification, self-reliance, sacrifice, courage etc. he saw to it that they imbibed these qualities in their life; and that was how Gandhiji roused the country from its long long sleep. A wave of self-purification and enthusiasm so big as to be beyond the wildest hope of any body, swept all over the country and the people braced themselves up for sa-crifice and suffering more staggering than they ever imagined they were capable of. In order to spread the message of non-co-operation far and wide workers, inured to the comforts and soft-living of cities, began to roam about on foot from village to village, both under the scorching heat of the day and the dreadful darkness of the night. In was during that period of wonderful awakening and self-sacrifice that most of our present leaders found themselves and were moulded into what they are. Leaving aside Deshbandhu Das, Pandit Motilal Nehru and some others, who were older in age than Gandhiji, it can be indubitably stated that Jawaharlalji, Sardar Vallabhbhai, Rajaji (C.Raja-gopalachariar), Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, Rajendrababu and several others who now occupy the front rank were all trained under Gandhiji's leadership during this first fight. It is said that leaders must make some compromises in the matter of their principles and descend to the level of the people if they want to gain their full backing. If they do not do so, they are isolated and passed by. But Gandhiji never made any compromise in his principles and yet he was able to secure such solid popular support from all classes of men, as perhaps no other leader in the world had ever won. Not that Gandhiji was lacking in the spirit of compromise, but his way of treating the people was very different. He could very quickly discriminate between a point that involved a principle and was thus important and another which was not so fundamental. Hence, it was that though he remained firm as a rock in a matter where a principle was at stake, he had the spiritual power to identify himself completely with the people's view and, by agreeing in unessentials, raise them to a high level. This element has penetrated more or less into the leaders and workers also whom he had trained. And it is owing to this trait that though India is far behind some other states in point of armed force and wealth, she is enjoying a place of special importance in the comity of nations. The credit of this prestige of India goes to the powerful mantra of non-violence and self-purification which Gandhiji had given to India in 1920-21. Another marked feature of this fight lies in the fact that during that period we saw such heartening scenes of fraternity between Hindus and Muslims as have never been seen after the period. And it has become difficult to predict when we shall again see the same brotherhood. Today, at least, it seems as if the old faith and zest for Gandhiji's principles and programme have abated in the hearts even of his colleagues. All the same the deeds which he had sown are bound to sprout forth soon or late. This Diary gives us a picture of that period of unique awakening and virility among the people The only regret is that Mahadevbhai could not stay with Gandhiji all through the period. After the Punjab horrors of April 1919, Gandhiji got permission to go there as late as in October 1919. But Mahadevbhai was then laid in bed with typhoid and could not stir out for about four months. We are thus deprived of the description, from Mahadevbhai's charming pen, of the memorable scene between Gandhiji and Tilak Maharaj at the Amritsar Congress. Moreover, at Gandhiji's instance, Mahadevbhai stayed for sometime with Deshbandhu Das and for a much longer time with Pandit Motilal Nehru. A Bengali gentleman, Mr. Krishnadas, used to move about with Gandhiji at that time. He has written a book 'Seven Months with Gandhiji for that period. Another attractive feature of this Diary, as of others, is the excellent letters which Gandhiji wrote during the period. When Gandhiji had to suspend the Rowlatt Satyagraha owing to the outbursts of violence in Ahmedabad, Bombay and the Punjab, he issued leaflets to educate the public in the tenet of non-violent non-co-operation. These leaflets are reproduced in the Appendix. There are also some letters in it which explain to the public of Britain and others why Gandhiji was compelled to give up his loyalty to the British Empire and start non-co-operation. March, Narhari Parikh 1951. CONTENTS 1. Diary ? ? ? 17-310 2. Appendix I ? A. The Vow of Hindu-Muslim Unity ? 313 B. The Swadeshi Vowico?I ? ? 316 C. ,, ,, ?II ? ? 320 Appendix II A. Speech at the Satyagrahashram ? ? 323 B. Satyagraha Leaflet I ? ? 328 C. ,, ,, II ? ? 332 D. Satyagraha-Its significance ? ? 334 Appendix III A.'-K-Leaflets reb. Horniman's deportation ? 337 Index of Names ? ? ? 361 General Index ? ? ? 369?400 "Only that day dawns to which we are awake". ?Thoreau "There is no other choice left for a number of people except to resort to ascetic seclusion in a country which has been reduced to the helplessness of a widow, has been squeezed of all its valour and manliness, has been bled white and made a skeleton, has been robbed of its pristine glory and has, therefore, sunk into gloom and despair." 1-4 -'19 Letter to Miss Ferring : *"My dear child, My hand is still too shaky for steady and continuous writing. But I feel I must make the attempt to give you something in my own hand. I was so sorry I did not see you at the station. I felt keenly for you and poor Mahadev. Both of you are sensitive, almost cast in the same mould. I was shuddering as I looked through the window when the train steamed out. I felt that he would run to catch the train so madly that he would drop down in sheer exhaustion. I was glad to see him at Bezwada. I hope you wrote to the Collector as you had agreed you would. Please let me know whether he said anything in reply. Please tell the girls I am going to make daily use of the blanket sheet they have sent me. But I expect them soon to be able to weave handspun cotton and spin it themselves. The music of the spinning wheel is superior to any I know, for it is the music that finally can clothe the naked. Even when the machines will be rusting from disuse ( for man will some day get sick of the maddening speed of the machines ), posterity will still require the clothing and hand-spun yarn will be the fashion. I am asking Maganlal to send you some handspun yarn. Our train was late and we missed the connection here. So we have got an idle day. This enables me to write to you. I wish you could introduce Hindi in your school. You may consult the Superintendent about it. Have you read my plea for Hindi ? With deep love, Yours, Bapu" 5-4-'19 Letter to Mr. Andrews on the atrocities committed in Delhi on March 30th. : *"My dear Charlie, For 24 hours I was sad beyond measure over the Delhi tragedy. I am now happy over it to the same extent. The blood spilt at Delhi was innocent. It is possible that the Satyagrahis in Delhi made mistakes. But on the whole they have covered them-selves with glory. There can be no redemption without sacrifice. And it fills me with a glow to find that a full measure was given even on the first day and at the very seat of the Satanic government. I want to share the happiness with you if you can take it. I hope you received my letter answering your doubts. I have filed an appeal against you and here is a copy thereof. You can do what you like with it. But I must have Gurudev's opinion. With deep love, Yours, Mohan" To Sri Ravindranath Tagore : *"Dear Gurudev, This is an appeal to you against our mutual friend Charlie Andrews. I have been pleading with him for a message from you for publication in the national struggle which, though in form is directed against a single piece of legislation, is in reality a struggle for liberty worthy of a self-respecting nation. Charlie's description of your illness made me hesitate to write to you personally. Your health is a national treasure and Charlie's devotion to you is superhuman. It is divine. And I know that if he could help it he would not allow a single person, whether by writing or by his presence, to disturb your quiet and rest. But I find that you are lecturing in Benares. I have, therefore, in the light of this fact corrected Charlie's description of your health, which had somewhat alarmed me, and I venture to ask you for a message from you ?a message of hope and inspiration for those who have to go through the fire. I do so because you have been good enough to send me your blessings when I embarked upon the struggle. The forces arrayed against me are, as you know, enormous. I do not dread them for I have an unwavering belief that they are all supporting untruth and that if we have sufficient faith in truth it will enable us to overpower them. But all forces work through human agency. I am, therefore, anxiou to gather round this mighty struggle the ennobling assistance of those who approve it. I will not happy until I have received your considered opinion in regard to this struggle which endeavours to purify the political life of the country. If you have seen anything to alter your first opinion of it you will not hesitate to make it known to me. I value even adverse opinions from friends for though they may not make me change my course, they serve the purpose of so many light-houses to give me warnings of danger lying in the stormy paths of life. Charlie's friendship has been to me on this account an invaluable treasure, because he does not hesitate to share with me even such notes of dissent as have not yet been fully considered by him. This I count a great privilege. May I ask you to extend to me at this critical moment the same privilege that Charlile has been extending ? I hope that you are keeping well and that you have thoroughly recuperated after your fatiguing journey through the Madras Presidency. Yours sincerely, M. K. Gandhi" After the Delhi tragedy1 , Bapu issued a Press note : *"I venture to seek the hospitality of your columns to make a few remarks on the Delhi tragedy. It is alleged against the Delhi people who were assembled at the Delhi railway station, ????????????? 1. The Satyagraha against the Rowlatt Acts was to commence with the observance of a 24 hours' fast, prayer, general strike and a resolution to be passed at a public meeting declaring the people's opposition against the Acts. Sunday, the 30th of March, was fixed as the day of the commencement. But it was changed afterwards to Sunday the 6th of April, because it was feared that the whole country could not be intimated in time. But as the news of this change could not reach Delhi before the 30th the Opposition Day was celebrated there on that date. A complete hartal ( strike ) was observed. A procession was to start at 4 p. m. which was to convert itself into a meeting later on. As such, a perfect hartal was without a precedent in the annals of Delhi, the White Police Officials were alarmed at the strength of the demonstration. The morning, however, passed off quietly; but at 2 p. m. White soldiers, under one pretext or 1 that some of them were trying to coerce the swetmeatsellers into losing their stalls; 2 that some of them were forcibly preventing people from boarding tram-cars and other vehicles; 3 that some of the threw brickbats; 4 that the whole crowd that marched to the station demanded the release of the men who are said to be the coercers and who wwere for that reason arrested at the instance of railway authorities; 5 that the crowd declined to disperse when the magistrate gave the order to disperse I have read Sannyasi Swami Shraddhanandji's account of the tragedy. I am bound to accept it as true, unless it is authoritatively proved to be otherwise, and his account seems to me to deny allegations 1,2 and 3. But assuming the truth of all the allegations, it does appear to me that the local authorities in Delhi have made the use of a Nasmyth hammer to crush a fly. On their action however, in firing on the crowd, I shall seek another opportunity of saying more. My purpose in writing this letter is merely to issue a note of warning to all Satyagrahis. I would, therefore, like to observe that the conduct described in allegations 1 to 4, if true, would be inconsistent with the Satyagraha Pledge. The conduct described in allegation 5 can be consistent with the Pledge, but if the allegation is true, the conduct was premature, because the ??????????? another, fired machine guns near the Delhi station on persons proceeding to form the procession. About a dozen persons were wounded and some killed. A short time after, firing was again resorted to at Chandni Chowk, near the Clock Tower, with about ten persons wounded as the result. All the same the procession did start under the leadership of Swami Shraddhanandji and the meeting also was held. About forty thousand persons attended it. When, after the meeting was over, Swami Shraddhanandji was arranging to let the people go home quietly, one Gurkha soldier pointed a rifle at his chest and said, "I'll finish you." Nothing daunted, Swamiji replied, "Here I am. You can blaze away." Immediately eight or ten rifles were pointed straight at him. But as Swamiji stood his ground without flinching, the Gurkha soldiers felt ashamed of firing on an unarmed man and went away. committee contemplated in the Pledge has not decided upon the disobedience of order that may be issued by Magistrates under the Riot Act. I am anxious to make it as clear as I can that in this movement, no pressure can be put upon people who do not wish to accept our suggestions and advice. The movement being essentially one to secure the greatest freedom for all, Satyagrahis cannot forcibly demand the release of those who might be arrested, whether justly or unjustly. The essence of the Pledge is to invite imprisonment and until the committee decides upon the breach of the Riot Act, it is the duty of Satyagrahis to obey, without making the slightest ado, magisterial order to disperse etc., and thus to demonstrate their law-abiding nature. I hope that next Sunday at Satyagraha meetings, all speeches will be free from passion, anger or resentment. The movement depends for its success entirely upon perfect self-possession, self-restraint, absolute adherence to truth and an unlimited capacity for self-suffering. Before closing this letter, I would add that in opposing the Rowlatt legislation, the Satyagrahis are resisting the spirit of terrorism which lies behind it and of which it is a most glaring symptom. The Delhi tragedy imposes an added responsibility upon Satyagrahis of steeling their hearts and going on with their struggle until the Rowlatt legislatioin is withdrawn." 6-4-'19 Sunday was celebrated magnificently in Bombay. Nearly two lakhs must have gathered on the beach. Their march to Madhav-bag was so perfectly quiet and imposing as to astound the most sceptic. And this despite the fact that the mill-workers were not allowed by the mill-owners to join. But they were also not called upon to take a day off. The Muslims also rose wonderfully to the occasion. Bapu, Mrs. Sarojini Naidu and Jamnadas went to the Masjid near Peel House and delivered soul-stirring addresses. A resolution to take the Swadeshi pledge on the Ram-navami Day ( the ninth of Chaitra, a lunar month, celebrated all over India as Sri Ram's birthday ) was passed. Then here was another suggestion at the Masjid meeting to the effect that Hindus and Muslims must congregate at the Jumma Masjid and take the holy vow that they will behave as united members of a family with such sincerity and purity of heart that everyone would be convinced that they were never separate even in a dream and can never be separated. An excellent article entitled 'Day of Humiliation and Prayer' was published in The Indian Social Reformer. There were many exhilarating letters, but the best of them was from Borodada ( Dwijendranath Tagore ) : *"My most revered friend Mr. Gandhi, I wish with all my heart that you will go on unflinchingly with your work of helping our misguided people to overcome Evil by Good. At times it seems to me that the penance and fasting which you enjoin are not quite the things that are necessary and therefore may be dispensed with. But on the second thought I find that we are not competent to judge the matter aright from our stand-point. You are deriving your inspiration from such a high source that, instead of calling in question the appropriateness of your saying and doings, we ought to thankfully recognize in them the fatherly call of Providence full of divine wisdom and power. May the Almighty and All-merciful God be your shield and strength in this awful crisis. Your affectionate old Borodada, Dwijendranath Tagore." As he sent this letter to Mr. Horniman for publication ( in The Bombay Chronicle ), Bapu wrote to him : * Dear Mr. Horniman, The accompanying is a great letter. You know Dwijendranath. He is the eldest brother of Sri Rabindranath Tagore and is leading, like his father the late Devendranath Tagore, practically the life of a Sannyasi. I think he is over eighty years old. The letter therefore is, I think, worth reproducing. I would even suggest a photoprint of the letter. But the object of my writing is not merely to send the enclosed to you. It is to ask you, if I may, to dip your pen in the ink of love for tomorrow's leading article in the Chronicle. I know I have now come to know you enough to be able to understand that you are quite capable of writing such an article, and if you will accept my suggestion, I would like you also to make it a signed leader. Yours sincerely, M. K. Gandhi" 7-4-'19 The following was published today as an unregistered newspaper by way of disobedience of the Press Act : ( Please read, copy and circulate among friends; and also request them to copy and circulate this paper. ) No. 1 Price : One Pice SATYAGRAHI ( Editor : Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Laburnum Road, Gamdevi, Bombay ) Published every Sunday at 10 A. M. Bombay, 7th April, 1919 Notice to Subscribers This paper has not been registered according to law. So there can be no annual subscription. Nor can it be guaranteed that the paper will be published without interruption. The editor is liable at any moment to be arrested by the Government and it is impossible to ensure continuity of publication until India is in the happy position of supplying editors enough to take the place of those arrested. We shall leave no stone unturned to secure a ceaseless succession of editors. It is not our intention to break for all time the law governing publication of newspapers. This paper will, therefore, exist so long only as the Rowlatt legislation is not withdr OUR CREDENTIALS Our credentials are best supplied by answering the question, 'What will the Satyagrahi do ?' Satyagrahi has come into being for the sake of ensuring the withdrawal of the Rowlatt legislation. Its business, therefore, is to show the people ways of bringing about such withdrawal in accordance with the principles of Satyagraha. The Satyagraha Pledge requires the signatories to court imprisonment by offering civil disobedience by committing a civil breach of certain laws. This publication can, therefore, show the best remedy in one way and that is by committing civil disobedience in the very act of publishing the journal. In other forms of public activity the speaker is not obliged to act as he preaches. The object is to show that this contradiction is a fault. It is a wrong method of doing public work. The method of Satyagraha is unique. In it example alone is precept. Therefore, whatever ( measures ) are suggested herein will be those that have been tested by personal experience, and remedies thus tested will be like well-tried medicines more valuable than new ones. We hope, therefore, that our readers will not hesitate to adopt our advice based as it will be on experience. NEWS Yesterday many great events took place; but none was as great as the way how, owing to the ceaseless efforts of Satyagrahis, the mill-hands celebrated the National Day by working in their respective mills although they were unable to get permission of their employers. INSTRUCTIONS TO SATYAGRAHIS We are now in a position to expect to be arrested any moment. It is, therefore, necessary to bear in mind that, of anyone is arrested, he should without causing any difficulty allow him-self to be arrested and, if summoned to appear before a court, he should do so. No defence should be offered and no pleaders engaged in the mater. If a fine is imposed with the alternative of imprisonment, imprisonment should be accepted. If only a fine is imposed, it ought not to be paid, but that his property, if he has any, should be allowed to be sold. There should be no demonstration of grief or otherwise made by the remaining Satyagrahis by reason of the arrest and imprisonment of their comrade. It cannot be too often repeated that we court imprison-ment and we may not complain of it when we actually receive it. When once imprisoned, it is our duty to conform to all prison regulations, as prison reform is no part of our campaign at the present moment. A Satyagrahi may not resort to surreptitious practices, of which ordinary prisoners are often found to be guilty. All a Satyagrahi does, can only and must be done openly." 8-4-'19 Left for Delhi at night. Two leaflets, one on Hindu-Muslim unity and the other on the Swadeshi vow1 were written and sent to the Press before we started. 9-4-'19 In the evening Bapu was served with Government orders at a railway station called Palwal ( near Delhi ), forbidding him to enter the limits of Delhi and the Punjab provinces and asking him to reside within the limits of the Bombay Presidency. Bapu disobeyed the orders and he was immediately arrested. He asked me to proceed alone to Delhi and inform Sharaddhanandji2, who was requested to keep the people quiet. Hastily he dictated his message to the public on his arrest. I wired the news to Vallabhbhai. After meeting Shraddhanandji I left Delhi for Bombay, and called Maganlalbhai and Narhari to Bombay for mutual consultation. Here is the Message : *"To My Countrymen, It is a matter of the highest satisfaction to me, as I hope to you, that I have received an order from the Punjab Govern ment not to enter that province and another from the Delhi Govern-ment not to enter Delhi, while an order of the Government of ????????? 1. These are given in Appendix I, A, B and C. 2. See footnote on the Delhi tragedy appearing on page 19 and 20. India, served on me immediately after, restricts me to Bombay. I had no hesitation in saying to the officers who served the Order on me that I was bound in virtue of my Pledge, to disregard it which I have done and I shall presently find myself a free man, my body being taken by them into their custody. It was galling to me to remain free whilst the Rowlatt legislation disfigured the Statute-book. My arrest makes me free. It now remains for you to do your duty which is clearly stated in the Satyagraha Pledge. Follow it and you will find it will be your Kamadhenu,1 I hope there will be no resentment about my arrest. I have received what I was seeking, either withdrawal of the Rowlatt legislation or imprisonment. The departure from truth by a hair's breadth or violence committed against anybody, whether Englishman or Indian, will surely damn the great cause the Satyagrahis are handling. I hope the Hindu-Muslim unity, which seems now to have taken a firm hold of the people, will become a reality and I feel convinced that it will only be a reality if the suggestions I have ventured to make in my communication to the Press are carried out. The responsibility of the Hindus in the matter is greater than that of the Mohammedans, for the latter are in a minority, and I hope they will discharge their responsibility in a manner worthy of their country. I have also made certain suggestions regarding the proposed Swadeshi vow. Now, I recommend them to your serious attention and you will find that, as your ideas of Satyagraha become matured, Hindu-Muslim unity and Swadeshi are part of Satyagraha. Finally, it is my firm belief that we shall obtain salvation only through self-suffering and not by Reforms dropping on us from England, no matter how unstintingly they may be granted. The English are a great nation, but they try to suppress the weaker people if they come in contact with them. They are themselves very courageous and have borne untold suffering so they only respond to courage and suffering. Partnership with them is only possible after we have developed indomitable ??????????? 1. The heavenly wish-fulfilling cow. courage and a faculty for unlimited suffering. There is a fundamental difference between their civilization and ours. They believe in the doctrine of violence or brute-force as the final arbiter. My reading of our civilization is that we are expected to believe in soul-force or moral force as the final arbiter and this is Satyagraha. We are groaning under the sufferings, which we could avoid, because we have swerved from the path laid down for us by our ancient civilization. I hope that Hindus, Mohammedans, Sikhs, Parsees, Christians, Jews and all who are born in India or who have made India their land of adoption will fully participate in these national observances and I hope too that women will take therein as full a share as men." 11-4-'19 Bapu was brought to Bombay and released at 1 p.m. He intended to offer civil disobedience by going back to Delhi immediately, but on coming to Bombay, he learnt that the people were indulging in violent outbreaks. Bapu went to Pydhonie to pacify a large crowd that had collected there. He saw the mounted police posed for a charge on the crowd to disperse it forcibly. Some of the people began to throw brickbats at the police. Bapu appealed to the crowd to remain peaceful, but his voice could not reach far enough. In the end the lancers rushed upon the crowd and dispersed it. Bapu saw the Police Commisssioner, who said, "People are not going to remain under your control, and if we do not take stern measures, there would be a far greater loss of life and property." A public meeting was held in the evening on the Chawpatty beach. Bapu read his following written message to the public : " Brothers and sisters, This is not the moment for me to enter into the near past. I must refer to what has just happened. As you see I have been set free by the Government. The two days' detention was no detention for me. It was like heavenly bliss. The officials in charge of me were all attention and all kindness to me. Whatever I needed was supplied to me, and I was afforded greater comforts than I am used to when free. I have not been able to understand so much excitement and disturbance that followed my detention. It is not Satyagraha. It is worse then duragraha ( antonym of Satyagraha ). Those who join Satyagraha demonstration are bound at all hazards to refrain from violence, not to throw stones or to injure anybody in any way whatsoever. But in Bombay, we have been throwing stones. We have obstructed tram-cars by putting obstacles in the way. This is not Satyagraha. We have demanded the release of about 50 men who have committeed deeds of violence. Our duty is quietly to submit to being arrested. It is a breach of religion or duty to endeavour to secure the release of those who have committed deeds of violence. We are not, therefore, justified on any grounds whatsoever in demanding the release of those who have been arrested. I have been asked whether a Satyagrahi is liable for the results that follow from the movement. I have replied that he is. I, therefore wish to suggest that if we cannot conduct this movement without the slightest violence from our side, the movement might have to be abandoned or it may be necessary to give it a different and still more restricted shape. The time may even come for me to offer Satyagraha against ourselves. I would not deem it a disgrace if a Satyagrahi dies. I shall be pained to hear of the death of a Satyagrahi. But I shall consider it to be a proper sacrifice given for the sake of the struggle. If however, those who are not Satyagrahis, who have not joined the movement, who are even against it, receive any injury at all, every Satyagrahi will be responsible for that sinful injury. My responsibility will be a million times heavier. I have embarked upon the struggle with a due sense of such responsibility. I have even just heard that some Englishmen have been injured. Some may have died from such injuries. If so, it would be a great blot upon Satyagraha. For me Englishmen too are our brethren. We can have nothing against them. And for me sins such as I have described are simply unbearable. But I know how to offer Satyagraha against ourselves as against our rulers. What kind of Satyagraha can I offer against ourselves on such occasions? What penance can I do for such sins ? The Satyagraha and the penance I can conceive of can only be one and that is for me to fast and if need be by so doing to give up this body and thus to prove the truth of Satyagraha. I appeal to you that you will all quietly disperse, keep the peace and even refrain from acts that may, in any way, bring disgrace upon the people of Bombay. We need not consider the conduct of the police, nor is this the occasion for such consideration. We are beholden to H. E. the Governor and the police for the entire absence of rifle-fire, or gun-fire. But the one thing to be remembered is that we should learn how to observe perfect peace and how to undergo intelligent suffering. Without this there is no Satyagraha." ( From 12th to 20th April Mahadevbhai has written nothing in his diary. Bapu got the news of the disturbances in Ahmedabad on the 12th and he left Bombay for Ahmedabad the same night. When he reached there on the 13th morning he found the martial law in force. From the station he went straight to Mr. Pratt, the Commissioner ( of the Northern Division ). He expressed his grief at the events and asked for Mr. Pratt's permission to call a meeting to persuade the public to give up violence. The Commissioner gave the permission to hold a meeting at the Ashram, away from the city. But as it was felt that the people could not be informed in time for that same day's meeting, it was held in the afternoon of the 14th, so that the people could reach home before dusk after the end of the meeting. Bapu had specifically requested the Commissioner to see that there was absolutely no harassment from the soldiers to persons going to and from the meeting. It was a very successful meeting, and about two thousand persons were present. Mr.Vallabhbhai read out Bapu's written speech. The speech and the leaflets he thereafter issued to explain to the people the essence of Satyagraha are given in Appendix-II. Bapu observed a fast for three days as an act of penance on his part for the people's crimes. Then he began to see the rioters personally in order to wean them away from violence. With regard to this activity there was a friction between him and the C.I.D. ( Criminal Investigation Department ). The latter wanted him to disclose the names of those who had confessed their crimes to him and thus help the department in punishing the offenders. But Bapu said that he was a reformer first and last, that his business was simply to make on offender see his crime, repent of it and reform himself, and that he could not act as a reformer if he got the offenders punished by giving away their names to the police. After a few days' stay at the Ashram Bapu went to Bombay and had an interview with the Governor. Mahadevbhai has recorded his talk with Bapu on their return to Ahmedabad. -Editor. ) 21-4-'19 Bapu went to Ahmedabad today in response to Vallabhbhai's letter : 'All the private bungalows in the Shahibag area as also the Gujarat Club ( a lawyers' private club ) have been requisi-tioned by the military. Soldiers have been posted even around his own bungalow.' Then there was the news that the Court Martial Ordinance No. 4 has been applied to Gujarat. All this filled me with mixed feelings of anger, irritation and anxiety. I felt that these Government moves were only shadows cast by coming ominous events. Bapu entrained from Colaba ( starting station ) and I from Grant Road ( another Bombay station ). I had given a hint of this dire possibility to one or two friends. One of them got into my compartment. When the other was about to get into Gandhiji's, Bapu said, "Be prepared for any development." "Bapu, has there not been a serious development already ?" I put in. "Quite possibly," rejoined Bapu. Seeing my face somewhat fallen, Bapu asked, "Are you all a little uneasy and afraid ?" "Yes,"I replied; "don't you feel there is a cause for fear ?" "Not the least. There is not an iota of fear in me," Bapu said. "But I don't mean to say," I explained, "that you are afraid or that there is any reason for you to feel afraid. Who would ever say so about you? Bapu my question is, 'Don't you think we are justified in feeling worried' ?" "I know quite well what you mean," Bapu answered, "but I say that your worry is groundless." "How do you think so ?" I questioned. "What do the preparations described by Vallbhbhai indicate ? Don't you feel that it is only to get some breathing time for themselves, only to mobilise their resources, that the Government has set you free for a while ? All these maneuvers appear to me only as preparation for your re-arrest." Bapu smiled; "What are you talking, Mahadev ! Arrest me ? Pshaw! Preparations for my arrest ? Impossible. True, they will imprison others, perhaps many others. They will indeed isolate me, but me they will not touch". "Bapu," I objected, "say what you may. I cannot but feel they will have the courage to send you even to jail. May they not arrest you right tomorrow ? I assure you, not a tear will drop from my eyes this time also, as at the previous occasion, but I simply want to know your view." "And Bapu," I added, "may they not even shoot you outright ? If their days are numbered the Government may do even that." " Tut-tut, what a fancy! How could they summon up that courage ? It would be a tragedy too terrible for them," observed Bapu. "There are two devils in the Government, Pratt and Sir William Vincent, who will not feel ashamed to disgrace the Government and those two may give the order to blow off the tallest among us," I insisted. "You are right that far," Bapu agreed partly. "Those two are shameless, but the thing you fear will not happen. It is against the Brithsh tradition." "But are not the present atrocities themselves a departure from that tradition ?" I countered. "This Government is showing greater meanness even than the South African." "Agreed," Bapu rejoined; "but they will not carry it to the extent you say. Things may happen in their regime like their present deeds in the Punjab, but shooting me would be going too far. And don't you see they have not finished Savarkar1?not Ajit Singh also ? Would they then dispatch me ?" "Do you know, Bapu," I persisted, "What Reginald Craddock says about you ?" "No, I don't. What does he say ?" inquired Bapu."He says," I quoted, " 'a misguided saint is more dangerous than a hundred agitators'. These are his very words, and if they take you for an enemy would they ever stop at anything ?" Bapu said, "What's wrong with his remark ? Is not a misguided saint really more dangerous ? That I am not misguided is another thing. And what a happy consummation, if they shoot me ! But they won't. No, not me specially. But wait. After my interview with Governor the day before yesterday, one can't say what may happen." "Yes," I said, "It's exactly that interview which has been weighting in my mind. You have left nothing undone in inflaming the Governor. You have simply challenged him to do his worst. Could there be anything more provoking than what you told him ?" "But how could I help letting myself go ?" Bapu said, "I have certainly given him a bit of my mind." "So now," I said, "he must have already gone to Simla with the distorted version of all that you said in his pocket. Bapu, I tell you they will not hesitate to do the worst against you. In South Africa you were not only one but thousands in one. But here we are only a handful at your back. No wonder if they think they could crush us." "In South Africa." Bapu pointed out, "genuine Satyagrahis were few enough to be counted on one's fingers. There are many more of sterling worth here. Whatever that be I plainly see that the country's star has risen and it will rise to a height that will stagger one's imagination. If they shoot me, people are sure to rise in revolt. There would be a revolution, and I cannot be held the least responsible for any bloodshed that may follow." I said, "Bapu the question will appear queer and unbecoming, but let me out with it. If you are executed and your very devoted followers, in their blind fury, commit violent outrages, is not their action likely to distress your soul ?" "Undoutedly," Bapu said."If that happens, it would be an extremely ???????????? 1. Savarkar and Ajit Singh were sentenced to penal servitude for their violent political crimes. painful result. It would only mean that they had not learnt the A B C of Satyagraha. Satyagraha itself would be tainted and get a severe set-back. What you can do, however, is to resort to such extreme ( non-violent ) measures as would compel the Government to sentence you also to death." "Quite true," I said, "and your word, Bapu, shall be honoured." Then in a tone of finality Bapu asked me to go to sleep. But my mind still revolved round the same subject. How could I then keep quiet ? "Only one question, if you please", I pleaded. Bapu gave in with a titter : "Yes go on. "I continued," Bapu. you once told us that a man must be judged from his acts and not as an individual apart from them and that those who adored you must do so only on the basis of your acts; you have been repeatedly telling us, "If you really want to hold me in reverence, you must admire my acts and put them into practice." In that context, I cannot help asking myself what one remark which you made this morning really means. You said, "How can we hate anybody ? It is his deeds which we may hate." If your former precept is true, this latter view seems to be rather inconsistent and defective. If a man's actions are a prerequisite for basing our adoration for him, how can we isolate a man from his misdeeds and hate them only ?" Bapu said, "Why don't you see this simple psychological truth ? Hatred of an act elevates our character and that of an individual lowers it, whereas in adoring a man on the basis of his qualities and deeds only we uplift ourselves morally." I said, "I accept your argument from the moral angle, but psychologically it seems impossible to separate a man from his acts." "And it passes my understanding," rejoined Bapu, "how you find it so. You put down, as it were, the arithmetical rule of three : 'If we respect one man for his qualities and acts, we must hate another for his vices and misdeeds.' But that is not the right attitude. It is not always that a man admires someone else on the basis of his virtues or deeds only. For instance, Shastriar and Natesan consider many of my acts as worthless. But for me personally they have a very high respect. So just as they find it difficult to approve of my acts though they admire me, so does an ordinary man find it difficult to eschew hating a man for his misdeeds. I can, therefore, understand that you may think it psychologically impossible to set a man apart from his acts and condemn the latter only. But, personally, I do not find it at all difficult. Take only the most recent incident. The other day, when I interviewed the Governor, he gave vent to very exasperating remarks; but was I, therefore, in any way, angry with him ? Not the least. I for one would sincerely render him personal service if I got a chance. And why should I despise him ? There is no man on earth who commits a sin with the full awareness of his wickedness. Man acts but as he is impelled by the nature he is endowed with. Why should we then blame his person ? What's the reason for my feeling no hatred whatever for the Englishman ? I see that anybody who belongs to a ruling race would behave exactly as he does. What I should, therefore, do is to reform the rulers' mentality through my loving service. Then look at Mrs. Besant. Has anybody ever spat as much venom as she has been doing ? But is there a trace of hatred for her in me ? None at all. Should one condemn or pity her for the perversion of her intellect after growing grey with so many years' splendid service to the country ? To condemn her is to kick a falling person. That's why at the A. I. C. C. (All India Congress Committee ) meeting I specially saw to it that I should select the chair just beside hers and I kept a vigilant watch in order that none insulted her. Had anyone done so, he would have got a severe reprimand from me. The feeling of hatred in a man is a sign of his moral weakness. Only a weak man can be carried away by hatred. Call it love or charity, whatever you like, but that feeling indicates moral strength. Hatred shows the extinction of the religious spirit. Man's charity sprints from innate generosity. Generosity is not only the source but the product also of charity and the really brave are generous-minded." I was vanquished. I had nothing to say against this exposition. I only said, "Now I have caught your point. What I thought to be psychologically impossible for man now appears to be truly so only for me, in a way, in the sense that the attitude of hating the deed but not the doer is impossible for my present mentality. I have but to admit my spiritual weakness to that extent. I had submitted to that weakness today all the day long. I have been hating Mrs. Besant, Mr. Patel and the Governor, but that indicates only my own mental weakness. Let me say at the same time, I have shaken myself free from that feeling". Bapu remarked, "Yes, I can quite understand your mentality. But I know I am right in saying that there is no hatred whatever in my mind. I also know I invite by this assertion the charge of claiming to be extraordinarily large-hearted. But that doesn't matter. Why should there be any constraint in stating what I really am ? Though I am now fifty, shall I tell anybody that my age is forty-nine? I have but to tell the exact truth about my body, no matter if it grows better or worse. The same about the mind. I am everyday progressing in broad-mindedness. How can I deny the existence of this progress or the resulting state? If I did, it would be no modesty but simply its pretence. So I say that quality is at present in full bloom in me and it is an undoubted fact that there is nobody for whom I nurse any ill-feeling. Did I hate my brother though he was a drunkard, a pilferer and a smoker ? Never. I had told him, "Brother, I am going to have nothing to do with you-so long as you don't give up your bad habits. But I said al that out of nothing but a feeling of love for him." "But", I interposed, "in this instance, it could be argued that it was because he was your brother that you behaved so lovingly with him." Pat came the answer, "Quite true. That's just why in the Satyagraha Leaflet No. 3, I have said that a man who behaves lovingly towards members of his family has gone a step above the level of the beast. When that man experiences the same love for the men of his village, he rises a step higher. The man who loves his province is above him. In this scale of progress comes at the top the rare individual who, instead of hate and anger, returns love for the most venomous opponent living in any part of the world, and who is large-hearted enough to consider the whole world as his kith and kin.1 O ! the majesty and sublimity of such large-heartedness ! The man behaves in a manner more kingly than the Emperor of the world, no matter how hard he is struck by his opponents. You know, in Gulliver's Travels the Lilliputians used to sit on the palms of the Brobdingnagians and they often pinched them, struck them, even drew some blood out of them, but did the Brobdingnagians resent this behaviour ? They only took it for a little tickling; that's all. We have to treat others exactly in that manner. Believe me when I say that it was due to this attitude that I was not provoked in the least against Mir Alam when he rained blows on me and wounded me in South Africa. And it is due to this same feeling that I disregard completely the wounds the British Government inflicts on me. That is why there is no feeling of hatred in my heart against it." My heart was surcharged with awe and reverence towards this soul elevated to such high-mindedness. And I could not help giving vent in language to the feeling. I bowed before him and said, "Please forgive me. May I assure you that your talk has effaced the feeling of hatred that I was nursing ?" 26-4-'19 Deportation of Horniman. Message to the public about it. Many persons were sitting in the drawing room of Revashankarbhai's house eagerly waiting to hear Bapu's view on the event. Bapu dictated a leaflet on the subject addressed to the public and for several days thereafter Bapu issued such leaflets daily. He gave the public excellent education that way. ( All these leaflets have been reproduced in Appendix-III ) ( In connection with this matter, Mahadevbhai has written the following note on a loose piece of paper. It is undated, but the context indicates that it should belong to this period. It contains fragments of Bapu's talk with the Police Commissioner of Bombay. ) 1. Gandhiji quotes here a part?ÌãÔãì£ãõÌã ?ãì??ìâºã?ã?½ãá ?of the Sanskrit saying : ?ªãÀÞããäÀ¦ãã¶ããâ ¦ãì ÌãÔãì£ãõÌã ?ãì??ìâºã?ã?½ ãá ã The world itself is their family in the eye of the large-hearted. The Commissioner began with the bureaucratic air of wisdom. He said, "The Governor had asked me if any disturbance would ensue on the arrest of Horniman, and I had told him that the Hindus of the country would raise a storm if Gandhi were arrested since he is a religious-minded Hindu, but nothing of the kind would happen in the case of Horniman." Bapu answered back, "But for Satyagraha, you would have realized the vanity of your boast. You would have simply burnt your fingers, if he had been arrested any other time. There would have been violent outbursts in Bombay, mammoth meetings of protest all over the country and for one full year you would have known no peace. It is only due to Satyagraha that all this commotion has been kept down. Yes, it's true that it is Satyagraha which has kindled the conflagration in the country. But would it not have broken out even without Satyagraha sooner or later ?" The Commissioner asked Bapu, "Why did you not take up at once the suggestion for starting Satyagraha made by Horniman and others when they visited you at your Satyagrahasharam? Will you tell me all that happened at the meeting ?" Bapu stated all the facts from start to finish : "The fact is, it was I who suggested Satyagraha, from my sick-bed in Bombay. They hailed it. I told them at the time, " You see I am a disabled invalid. If you have the strength, gird up your loins. Horniman, Vallabhbhai, Mohanlal Pandya and many others declared forthwith their readiness for Satyagraha, but that was because they had faith in me." The Commissioner : "Do you know how worthless your colleagues are ?" Bapu : "Yes, I know." Then he began to discuss Horniman, Shankarlal, Vallabhbhai, Mohanlal Pandya and others. He was down upon everyone, but seemed to be deliberately avoiding any mention of Shankarlal. He said, "How did you happen to fall in with a man of no character like Horniman ? " Bapu stopped him and said, "I don't want to hear any scandal about him. Whatever be his private character, he has rendered yeoman service to the country." The Commissioner was a little subdued and tried to expostulate : "It's because I don't like that you should come in his contact when he returns here on his release, that I was speaking of him." "Thank you so much for your kindness, but I have nothing to do with such bazaar slanders." But even then the man would not keep quiet. Bapu, therefore, said, " All right. Go on." So he did his worst in blackening Horniman. Oomar also was not spared. "Oomar beats even Horniman in adventures of that sort. Jamnadas is clean, but he has no sense, etc. etc." Then he asked, " Had Vallabhbhai no hand in the Ahmedabad disturbances ? And Mohanlal Pandya ?" "None whatever", asserted Bapu. "You have no idea of their exertions for peace. Like Vallabhbhai, Mohanlal Pandya worked under me in the Kaira District. I have not seen a man who understands better than he the essence of Satyagraha." The talk reverted to Oomar. It seemed there was a deep-seated venom in his heart for Oomar. Bapu told him, "Do you want to hear my view of Oomar ?" He said, "Yes." Bapu continued, "A millionaire's son, quite young, may be a little too free with the other sex, but in sterling worth you can't find the like of him in Bombay. Draw out the sting against him, rather have a corner in your heart." "I can have it if you transform a man of his type." That brought Bapu to the talk about his principle. "There is no sense in talking to me in that strain. Unlike you I am a reformer, a man who gathers even terrorists around him. I will bring round a man who gathers even terrorists around him. I will bring round all of them to healthy ways of life, as I have already done with many." The Commissioner remarked, "Then according to you there is no need for the State to have a police force." Bapu replied, "I am sorry, I have to put up with the police force as a necessary evil, as I have to do with the railway and the telegraph departments. Our ideals are poles apart. There is no common ground between us. You are worshippers of brute force. You have made Mars your God. Were I a member of the League of Nations I would get all your machine guns and submarines and aeroplanes and what not destroyed and would carry a resolution that those who might be itching to fight could do so with lathis only." Commissioner : "Don't you think your men have deceived you ?" Bapu : "No. There was only one person who had deceived me and he was my friend in my unripe teens. All the otherswho tried to cheat me have found in the end that their attempts had recoiled upon themselves and have apologized to me. Andwhat does it matter to me if my friends play me false ? If Vallabhbhai is kidding me, let him. It is he who will have to suffer." Commissioner : "Did not the Kaira people take a material part in the Ahmedabad disturbances ?? ?Did not Sharma take with him 200 men to Ahmedabad ?" Bapu : "No part ? ?I don't know Sharma at all. But that he took 200 men with him is a canard." Mr. Curry, the Superintendent of the C. I. D., was sitting just by the side of the Commissioner. He said, "I should like to know your views on the Rowlatt Act." Bapu : "Bring me the text. I will explain." The volume was brought. Bapu fell upon the very object of the Bill. "Many of you have no scruples about doing anything. And many have no sense. Are such persons to be the judges as to which places are the hot-beds of crime and which are not ? And where men of no qualms and no intelligence take the field, what would they do except playing havoc ? Leopards may change their spots but not you, the bureaucracy, your ways. How is it possible to trust you ?" They were dumbfounded at this vehement attack and said, " We will continue our dispute on the Rowlatt Bills after studying it more carefully, but we are certain we will be able to convince you of your serious blunder in offering Satyagraha against the Bills." Bapu : "I am open to correction." "Yes," they agreed, "We know you don't hesitate to confess your error if you find it." Amidst laughter and good humour the meeting dispersed. Bapu infers from this talk that all those referred to in it will be arrested but he will be left free as a harmless lunatic. But if the mad man does some serious mischief, he too will be clapped. Only the future can show to what extent the government's object is realized. Bapu has agreed to be the editor of The Bombay Chronicle if the censorship orders against it are withdrawn. Panditji ( Malaviyaji ) has gone on a visit to the Governor in order to discuss the matter. But there is one difficulty. The security of the Chronicle has been forfeited and Bapu will never agree to giving a fresh security in order to conduct the paper. It is likely, therefore, that Bapu may turn Young India1 into a daily and be its editor. Letter from Chandrashankar Pandya dated 18-4-'19 from Agra : "I am sending herewith a little poem 'Gandhijine Charane'( At Gandhi's Feet ). It's too innocent to be a ' Black Act'. I take it that you are not going to do Satyagraha against it." AT GANDHI'S FEET At Gandhi's feet we bow our head; And our heart along with the head. Deaf to public appeals and woes, The rulers threw in agony's throes Through the Black Acts they passed In blackness unsurpassed- The suppressed millions. But now we find Courage from Gandhi's dauntless mind. In Britons our faith we put, and got But poverty by hermits sought; How long to them our knees to bend In silent suffering that has no end ? 1. The Young India was a weekly magazine conducted by a syndicate and published in Bombay. The management was largely in the hands of Messrs. Shankarlal Banker and Oomar Sobani. After Mr. Horniman's arrest they entrusted it to Bapu and it was decided to make it a bi-weekly in order to fill up to some extent the gap made by the supression of the Chronicle, From May to October the paper continued to be published in Bombay. On the 7th October, it was made a weekly and printed and published in Ahmedabad in the Navajivan Mudranalaya. Moderates failed, Extremists failed, Leaders, patriots out they sailed; One resort we have but now, Gandhi's Satyagraha vow. In the darkness of despair all round India at last a Star has found; The Star of Strength, of Hope benign ?Gandhi, blessed with grace divine. Bapu's reply : I was so glad to get a letter from you as I was anxious to know of your state of health. What sticky ailment could it be that you are still not recovering ? There is an institution in Agra which provides for Kuhne baths ( a nature-cure method ), Pandit Hridayanath Kunzru was all praises for it. Since you are at Agra, you may perhaps find the baths helpful to you, if you take advantage of the institution. I am returning your poem for revision by you. Your love distinctly peeps out from the lines, but I expect a still better creation from you - specially during your illness. I suggest you should use some other adjective than 'black' for the Acts. You may, if you like, call them 'stringent'. The word 'black' is indicative of anger. You will agree that the language must be such as adorns its theme-Satyagraha here. In that sense the sentence, 'We put faith in Britons' is out of place. We have done nothing wrong in trusting the Britishers, but it was in losing faith in ourselves that we stumbled. God helps only him who helps himself. And so do the British. Can they excel even God ? 'Silent suffering' is the very mantra ( potent charm ) of Satyagraha,-but undergone deliberately for relieving some distress. When I, for one, speak of Satyagraha I would not bring in the Moderates and others by way of a disparaging contrast. I am sending you my latest leaflet. I wish you to read it and then hope you will be inspired by Saraswati (Goddess of learning), so that you may gives us lines dilating upon the boundless power of Satyagraha and upon the superiority of civil disobedience over insolent and ignorant breach of law. On reading your letter again, I find that you had felt the fear of Satyagraha committed even against your poem. It has so happened that your fear has proved almost true. But what can the poor Satyagraha do ? He has but to say what he feels. I am sorry my wrist does not still give me satisfying work, otherwise I would have written the letter in my own hand. There is no need to hurry over giving me the revised version of the poem. Write it down only as and when your health permits. What a long time Keats took to compose that one single immortal line, "A thing of beauty is a joy for ever !" ( This seems to be the right place for insertion of the following undated summary of Bapu's observations jotted down by Mahadevbhai himself on a loose piece of paper. ) "A war is being waged between religion and irreligion? ? Horniman's service was unique. In spite of some acerbity in the articles of the Chronicle, I always used to say none could match Horniman's service to the country. He had picked up the right spirit of journalism. He had given free scope for initiative to all under him. What should we do by way of honouring his great service ? A fast. ( I trembled at the thought. ) We have but to exhort the people to carry on the good fight. As we go on doing so we will continue to rise to greater and greater heights. What does it matter if the Government, with careful scrutiny, packs off to jail everyone of us ? And if they belabour us, all the better. But that is not in the blood of the Britisher. They will not persecute Horniman. All they want to do is to assert themselves and have their way. We want to show them that they cannot afford to ignore the people's wish? ? It is the mental state that counts in fasting? ?Can anybody stand comparison with Horniman ? We are going through a period of intense training and discipline. We can certainly explain to the people that though we may have to suffer terribly, it is a holy war we are waging. In the onward rush of our movement the Rowlatt Acts will be swept off in a trice. We have to challenge the very existence of this Government. Before the ( All India ) Congress Committee also I put these three things : Before throwing the gauntlet we must convince the public that it has to maintain perfect peace, that there may not be any resolution about Hindu-Muslim unity, but individually everyone must cherish the mentality for it; and that we all must consider our sufferings as acts of prayer to God. Success is a certainty then? ? Fasting does not lie in mechanically going without a meal. Its essence lies in the propelling motive behind it, i.e. in the prayerful cry to God. What is the hallmark of our hoary civilization ? Peacefulness. Not that we did not fight, but we were not always thinking of and preparing for war as they are doing now. Even during the Mogul rule, there was not this modern craze for war-preparation. The Mogul sword was blunt, not sharp. Nobody then cared to go on inventing ever more powerful armory. We wanted, on the contrary, to come out of the barbarous belligerent mentality of man. Those people, on the other hand, regard it a sign of honour and greatness to be fully equipped with powerful arms. I can never forget Prof. Wilson's language.1 If India chooses to align with such people I, for one, would regard it as no better than alignment with animals." 4-5-'19 Bombay : Letter from Andrews : Protest against taking a vow. He had taken two vows in childhood and had to give them up. The fact pained him for some time afterwards. Vows are an impediment to self-development. Some other arguments besides this. Also an account of the situation in the Punjab. Bapu's reply : *"I can't get the time to send you a book-a mere letter gives me no satisfaction. I feel so confident that your view of vows can be shown to be wrong. Your interpretation of the action of Rama shows that you have not understood it properly. And what is he meaning of 'swear' in the passage from the Bible quoted by you ? May not your interpretation of that passage also be at ??????????? 1. See Bapu's letter to Andrew dated 25.2.'19 Vide Vol. I, page 299-300. fault ? To me the life of Jesus was one simple vow from which no earthly power could oust him. Your two vows mentioned in your letter were a parody. They were not subjects for taking vows over. Why should a man hesitate to stand before his Maker and say; 'Please, Sir, with your help I shall never tell an untruth' ? But I can't stand before my Maker and say 'I shall never forsake this sty or that.' I may not be clear enough, but you will admit I am frank enough and how can love help being that ? "Did you ascertain why the floggings were administered ? I should like to know. "As you know, The Chronicle has suspended publication by reason of the order of pre-censorship. Young India will, therefore, be turned into a bi-weekly. Later it may become a daily. It is to be published under my supervision. Can you find time to write for it ? You may write on swadeshi, Hindu-Muslim unity, Satyagraha, Rowlatt legislation etc. "We can't accept the Rowlatt Bill even under the reservation suggested by you, namely, it is not to be enforced without the previous sanction of the Legislative Council. Our objection is not merely that it may be misapplied, but we object also to the arbitrary procedure laid down in it, for the trial of offenses enumerated in it. I would not let even a supposed anarchist be tried summarily or under a special procedure of subversion of judicial checks and certainly not under an ordinary law giving extraordinary powers. Exceptional powers have been reserved for exceptional situations. Executive authority cannot be allowed to deal with exceptional situations in anticipation. "Do please remain by the side of Shraddhanandji as long as it is necessary. And when you are free I would so like you to come down so that we may review the situation. "Yes, in the midst of all the carnage, prosecutions, martial law, military dispositions, I find the law of Love answering fully and being abundantly proved. "With love to you and Swamiji, Ever yours, Mohan" A letter to Maulana Abdul Bari1 : *"? ?I think there is a lack of consolidated Mohammedan opinion on Islamic questions. Everybody feels keenly and nobody comes forward with a reasoned and representative statement. I wish there was one by the Ulemas. It would not matter a bit if it was presented in Urdu or Arabic. An accurate translation can be easily made. I immensely like your idea of a mixed Hindu-Mohammedan Commission to investigate causes of discord among the communities and to suggest remedies leading to permanent unity. I think, however, that this is not the proper time for it. The energy of everybody is, and must be, concentrated upon the Rowlatt legislation, Islamic questions and Reforms. Probably we shall come much closer together in the process of getting these questions solved to the satisfaction of the whole of India and at the end of a settlement of these questions, a Commission such as you have suggested can do much effective work." Wrote a letter today to Mr. Guider also re. the words2 he ( Bapu ) used in his speech at Ahmedabad. 5-5-'19 To Maganlalbhai : "The swadeshi movement will gather great momentum, but what burns my heart is the fact that we are not ready. After my talk with Sir Fazalbhai3, one thing is indelibly imprinted in my mind: the production of swadeshi cloth is the fundamental basis of any great swadeshi movement. Hence, I am all the more con-firmed in my original view that every Indian home must ply the spinning wheel and the hand-loom. I suggest that Santok ( Mrs. Maganlal ) should visit Vijapur and return well-trained in spinning. You should get all the yarn in stock with you woven into ?????????? 1. A Nationalist Muslim Doctor of Islamic theology who later on became well-known for his services to the country. 2. 'bhanela' and 'yojit', explained in Bapu's reply to Lord Hunter vide infra, d. 9-1-1920. 3. Sir Fazalbhai Karrimbhai, a leading businessman and owner of a group of cotton mills in Bombay. cloth as soon as possible. You must also see that the hand-looms in Ahmedabad weave the maximum mill-spun yarn they can. Deccan-style saries are woven in Ahmedabad, but chiefly from foreign yarn and foreign silk. Can we not get Deccani saries made out of indigenous yarn ? Avantikabehn assures me that Deccani women will not reject swadeshi saries even if they are thicker in texture. We have nothing to offer at present by way of swadeshi cloth to women. That is our miserable plight ! I wish you to exercise your brain as much as you can over this subject of swadeshi. You may show this letter to Kaka and others also. And you must bear in mind that dhoties from hand-spun yarn are woven for me at least in the expected time. Spinning activity in the Ashram is 'must'. It does not seem likely that I may see you all at least for some time more. "Do take care of your health." Letter to Harilal on the same day: "Your letter of Chaitra1 Vad 10 to hand. My health is going down a little. There is excessive pressure on the brain. God will maintain this body as long as He wants to take work from it. I have not read the particular issue of The Englishman, and we do not take it. It would indeed be a good idea if you could send me cuttings from it whenever necessary. "Mrs Besant is in a pitiable state. She cannot see her way to any course of action. "How could you even think of doubting whether the Government would withdraw in future the Rowlatt Bills ? As long as the Satyagrahis are alive and kicking, how is it possible for the Rowlatt Bills to remain for long on the Statute-book ? I for one am certain that, unless there is an outbreak of violence, they will be repealed within only a few months. I say so not from any inside information, but from my unflinching faith in Satyagraha." "I have never dissuaded bhai Pragji from any course of action. But he seems now to have come to the decision of going ????????? 1. Vad or badi dark half of a lunar month, Chaitra comes near about April. to Madras and of taking Parvati with him there. In that decision, too, I had had no part. "To me personally it does not seem advisable for you to go to South Africa. I for one would wish that since you people call yourselves Satyagrahis, you will content yourselves with a smaller profit and deal only in swadeshi goods. "The children are all O.K. They do not seem to me to be wistfully remembering Rajkot or Calcutta. I am glad they are quite acclimatised here in the Ashram. It seems Rami is recovering. 'Jivan' ( an Ayurvedic tonic ) of the best quality has been sent for her from here. "Madhavdas has talked to me of your want of money. He has accepted my advice. I have told him I wish you to raise your economic state by self-help, i. e., without getting any loan. Owing to his unstable mind Medh ( an Indian Satyagrahi during the South Africa struggle ) may be rash and incur too many debts to enable him to keep his promises of repayment; you are adventurous and seized with the ambition of becoming rich in a trice. Pragji cannot resist the temptation of plunging into politics. It would not take you long under these circumstances to be crushed under a heavy debt. I wish you, therefore, not to undertake business ventures on borrowed money. Moreover, I may be sent to jail or exiled any moment. When that happens, I take it as practically certain, that you cannot help giving up your business to join the fight. How, under these circumstances, can you do business with other people's money ? In the country where injustice is rampant, honour and nobility lie in voluntary poverty. It is impossible in India of the present day to amass wealth without directly or indirectly sharing in the prevailing injustice. Bapu's blessings" 6-5-'19 Chi. Nirmala1, "We have not yet come to grips in our fight, but the combat is bound to deepen in future. We are all going to observe a fast ?????????? 1. Daughter-in-law of Gandhiji's sister, Raliatbehn. on Sunday. I wish you did the same. Mr. Horniman, whose deportation is the cause of the fast, was a man of many good qualities and has rendered great service to our country. "No monetary help from me is now possible for any repairs in the house. That is Chi. Shamaldas's and Chi. Kaku's business. I have never laid any claim on patrimony. "Could there be anything dearer to me than pujya Behn's ( respected sister Raliatbehn's ) and your stay in the Ashram ? Pujya Behn had personal experience of everybody in the Ashram holding her in reverence and honouring her slightest desire. And for myself, at the holy sight of her face every morning I used to remember Mother's face as well as Father's and feel myself purified. I wish you both came to stay in the Ashram as early as you could. I long to see you proficient in spinning and weaving. I regard that work as worship itself and so a religious duty. Gifts of food and raiment are given an exalted place in our religion and I am convinced that the man or woman who produces clothes for the use of the public is doing a very meritorious deed? ?" 19-5-'19 In the train from Ahmedabad to Bombay. "Bhaishri 5 Sakarlal,1 "I write this letter a little later than I expected to. I am in the look out for Bhai Amritlal. I expect Mama ( Mr. Phadke, an Ashram inmate ) to go there in June, and he will, I trust do the work very well. We have but to be able to conduct that school2 very efficiently. "What delights me specially is the grammatical errors you have pointed out. Bhai Mahadev will write you in greater detail. I am indeed trying very hard to write faultless Gujarati. It is quite possible never the less that mistakes may creep in, since whatever command I have over the language has been gained out of my love for it. I have always been too busy to get any ?????????? 1. A gentleman known for his literary knowledge and taste. 2. The first school for 'untouchables' started by Gandhiji. time for a regular, systematic study of the language. The new meaning given to the root shak has been deliberate. The words nirbhaya etc. have not been purposely used in an unusual sense, but though Bhai Mahadev seems to defend the departure, I will accept the decision which you two may arrive at after mutual discussion. Where you differ from him, I will accept your veiw so long as I have not acquired any authentic knowledge because I believe there may be more detached judgment in your thinking. You may please continue to suggest improvements in my language and I am going to regard them as a sign of pure love. "Now about the Bhagwadgita. Had not my interpretation of its message arisen in my mind independently of my love for non-violence, I would have definitely declared that though the Bhagwatgita is opposed to ( non-violent ) Satyagraha, the latter alone is the correct principle of human conduct. It is only because the Gita has been very badly misinterpreted and misused, that I have put before the public this meaning which I had accepted many years ago. "I value Anandshankarbhai's1 view highly, and yet even if he disagrees, I would not change my own view of the Gita, based as it is on personal experience. It is quite true the Bhagwadgita enjoins the continued performance of one's allotted work without any attachment to results. But it is from that principle itself that I deduce Satyagraha as a natural corollary. Of all persons, that man at least who has no attachment for the fruit of his action will never kill anybody but will sacrifice himself. Killing others betrays impatience and impatience shows attachments. This is just a tiny fraction of my argument, but I do not wish to convince you or anyone else by argumentation. And even if I wished, I do not suppose I have the power to do so. I have with me, however, a far greater power and that is of self-experience. I had a hazy glimpse of this message of Satyagraha ?????????????? 1. A well-known Gujarati philosopher and literateur whose book " Primer of Hinduism" Gandhiji was never tired of eulogising. in the Gita as early as in 1889, when I had my first perception of the Book, and the more I read the Book, the more was this glimpse transformed into a clearer vision. That such a wonderful philosopher and wise man like Krishna should pour forth all his sublime teachings ( of 'the Gita' ) merely to prod a historical person in flesh and blood like Arjuna to fight his enemies arrayed in a battlefield would be like 'killing a buffalo to get a strip of leather'1. That view casts a slur on Krishna if He is God incarnate and does injustice to Arjuna if he was, a heroic and sensible veteran. "I am certain you will not dismiss these thoughts as chaff, but I wish you to even imbibe them. I am sure you will easily agree that the value of the interpretation, however erudite, of a religious precept is nothing before the one based on the real experience of that precept by a man of very common learning." "Dear Manibehn,2 "I came to know yesterday of the death of your respected father; but I could not run down to you to give you any solace. Separation from a dear one is always distressing. One of our poets says: "Relatives by blood, are selfish persons and at the end of life will keep aloof." I forget the poet's name. If we reflect deeply, we will find that the cause of our grief is not our love for the departed soul but our selfishness. Were it not so, how could we, who delight in leaving a dilapidated house for a brand new one, feel any grief when a beloved soul discards his old worn-out body and takes a new one ? This applies to all cases of death whether of old men or young. Only the Maker knows when a particular body becomes useless for the indwelling soul. It is not given to man to probe into that mystery. But I did not want to say all this to you. At present my mind is set on the deeper questions of life and hence all this came out from my pen. What I want to say is this: To have the sublime death your father met with is a desideratum for all. There are only a very ???????????? 1. Translation of a Gujarati proverb. 2. Mrs. Narahari Parikh, wife of the editor of these diaries. few men who, without having to take any service from others and to undergo any suffering themselves, die so unexpectedly. Your father will always be counted among those exceptionally lucky souls. To lament over any death is wrong and useless, but to grieve over this should be impossible. That is why it is not condolence I offer you, but congratulation." 20-5-'19 Letter from some friends from Surat putting some doubts on Satyagraha for clarification. Reply : "After some rambling, your letter came to my hands only today. You covert my signature, but I do not think you should entertain such a desire. I am physically so weak that I cannot .ign all my letters, nor can I dictate as many as I would like to "The doubts you have raised will continue to arise, so long as India does not grasp the true spirit of Satyagraha, and you, too, will have but to keep patience till then. "Once any Satyagraha starts, it ends only when it realizes its object. There may be periods during which it appears as if the Satyagraha has been snuffed out, but in reality it has not stopped even then. At the time when a Satyagraha is likely to be misinter preted as the very opposite of it ( duragraha ), its postponement itself is, in fact, the beginning of real Satyagraha. Satyagraha is such a sublime and subtle concept that only repeated contemplations and experiences can give us a knowledge of it even to a partial extent. According to my perception of the prevailing circumstances I see the possibility of starting Satyagraha, in its civil disobedience form in July. It may be begun even earlier, if new circumstances demanding the step arise. "It is possible that some of the items and forms of Satyagraha may have to be repeatedly dropped for a while. I find it some- what impossible to show to you what great spiritual power comes from fasting and other religious practices, because you have been fasting on specific occasions as a matter of routine for years past. But had there been the spirit of Satyagraha ( insistence on truth ) behind those fasts, here would have been no need to write to me apart from what you have done. If you have not been able to see any difference between the fast you observed for the Horniman case and the others you might have observed formerly, I must say you have deceived yourselves. It is my conviction that our fight is prolonged to the extent of the lack of the Satyagraha spirit in us. Physical renunciation without the spirit of vairagya ( apathy towards sense objects ) at its back is not real renunciation. If those of you who have given up their all, such as a paying job, have gained ( spiritually ) nothign out of your sacrifice, your renunciation was futile. Only he must give up his job who cannot feel at ease without giving it up. His action alone should be really called 'sacrifice of a regular service.' There should have been a sense of satisfaction and joy instead of reluctance and pain in tendering your resignation from your service. I see that those of you who have resigned their jobs have not had that uplifting experience. That is exactly why you now feel yourselves stranded like Trishanku.1 "Who am I to afford you an opportunity to offer Satyagraha ? The Satyagrahi is ever free and independent. But you can certainly consult me. It is indeed true that where a mass Satyagraha is going on, a Satyagrahi must follow the common discipline of the Satyagrahis. All the same everyone, on becoming a Satyagrahi, automatically gets an opportunity to offer Satyagraha. How can those who are uneasy and in a state of doubt be called Satyagrahis ? To be a Satyagrahi is as difficult as a sword-dance. "If even after all this explanation I am unable to resolve your doubts, I can only advise you to keep patience. If you think that the only true meaning of Satyagraha is to go to jail, one can then go to jail by disobeying any law he likes. If that is how Satyagraha can be offered, every prisoner now in jail is a Satyagrahi. ??????????? 1. A legendary king who remains suspended midway between heaven and earth, because the sage Vishwamitra wanted to send him alive to heaven by the power of his austerity and the gods by their power wanted to hurl him back to the earth. "Satyagraha can only mean purposeful civil disobedience of that law which has no bearing on moral conduct. If I could show you a disobedience of that type just at present, I would myself go in for it at once." 28-5-'19 To Miss Ferring from Bombay : *"My dear child, "Mahadev has made himself ill by his self-will. A self-willed friend, brother, son or secretary often fails at the critical moment. Mahadev is all these four rolled into one. At first, I thought I would revenge myself upon him by fasting. In that case you would have come down upon me with that remarkable text from the Bible, 'Vengeance is mine'. I am, therefore, adopting a less drastic method-doing the letter-writing myself. It is a pleasurable sensation for me to do continuous writing for any length of time. My hand too works fairly steadily. "I wish you would not torture yourself so, for not sharing the sorrows of those you love; for you to finish your agreement is severe enough self-restraint. It is absolutely necessary. If you have real love, as I know you have, it must silently, but none the less surely, affect your present surroundings. 'No thought, no act is lost', says the Bhagwadgita. You are, therefore, doing your duty to the full by patiently and conscientiously doing your present work. Even the fresh energy you will get on the hills is to be used for the sake of your work. Why then worry ? "The swadeshi vow extends to personal clothing only. I dare not ask you to deny yourself the use of Danish gifts from loved ones. It is enough if in future you buy only swadeshi cloth and let your other things also be swadeshi so far as possible. We shall discuss greater changes when we meet again. "Mr. Andrews passed a few days with me. He is now in Delhi. Do te Sundaram I was grieved to hear of his illness. He must make himself healthy and strong. With love, "Bapu" 1-6-'91 To Ramdas From Sabarmati : "Chi. Ramdas, "I have your letter. I have been regularly dictating letters for you. I don't think there has ever been a gap of a whole month. I am glad you have taken up a job under bhai Mohanlal. I am quite certain you must not be abusing his generosity, his goodness and love, which you so enthusiastically speak of, but I would like you to work there with double care and zest in order to give him some return for all his love etc. In a service under a relative or a friend, the disadvantages [nearly balance the advantages. Definitely we get some special facilities there which we do not in serving a stranger. But, owing to the leniency we enjoy at the former's service, there is also the disadvantage of falling into the temptation of abusing it and becoming dishonest in our work. I wish you, therefore, to keep a vigilant watch over your mind. I must, at the same time say that I have no fear about you on that score. I have seen that you deserve the love you are given and am certain you will only shine out in your work there. Serve the shop with all the sincerity of a proprietor. Never feel shy about admitting your ignorance and learn from others whatever you do not know. When I first went to South Africa, I had absolutely no idea as to what 'p. note' meant. For a few days hid my ignorance, but at the cost of increasing uneasiness. I realized that it was impossible for me even to understand Dada Abdulla's ( Gandhiji's first client ) case, so long as I did not know what the abbreviation 'p. note' stood for. I, therefore, declared my ignorance forthwith. When I came to know that this formidable 'p. note' meant only 'promissory note', I burst into a loud laugh, not at my ignorance but at my false shame, because no dictionary could have revealed this mystery of 'p. note' to me. So the straight thing is to immediately ask a knowing person whatever we are ignorant about. It matters little if we are dubbed fools, but it would be really harmful if, out of our ignorance, we commit a blunder. "I hope you are hale and hearty. Stick to the post and earn an honest penny out of it. And do open your heart to me unreservedly. Ba often tells me that you are now grown-up and must be called here so that your marriage could be arranged. I have given a definite 'no' to the proposal and have told her that if you wanted to marry you would be frank enough to tell me so. I have also told her that I have asked you to speak out plainly and without any constraint your feelings on the matter. That has kept Ba quiet. I have often declared that in these times of dire distress, when India is in a very adverse situation-in a miserable plight in fact-it is the special and emergency duty of every Indian not to think of marriage. Naturally, therefore, I would wish you also to lead to the last a life of self-restraint and brahmacharya (continence). In that life, increasingly as years pass, your passionate urges calm down, you grow in physical and mental strength and finally you forget the whole idea of marriage. But I must not judge you by my standards. I have given you a promise that, my views apart, if you think of getting married, I will do my best to help you. You will, therefore, trust me and declare your view without any fear of my disapproval. You may forget that I am your father. Regard me as a friend and put my friendship to a test. "I keep sufficiently healthy for the work I am putting forth. I take goat's milk twice a day and fruit thrice. There is still physical weakness, but I don't think there has been any slackness in mental vigour. I am always engaged in some work or other right from 6 a. m. to 10 p. m. But I cannot now do with out a midday nap of 30-40 minutes. In spite of this continuous work my brain does not seem to be over-exerted at 10 p. m. The fight ( Satyagraha ) is going on. Civil disobedience will be resumed in a short time. I meet with new experiences as well as repetitions of the old. There have been till now as many hopeful, as disappointing, features of the struggle. "I get letters from you fairly regularly, but Manilal seems to be rather lethargic. Neither he, nor you have given me any news about his case. I am anxious to know what defence Manilal put up. I do intend to write to him, but lest the idea slips from my mind, you will not fail to send this letter to him. I wish you, both the brothers, sent me a copy each of your photographs. Do you care to read books ? Do you offer the daily morning prayers ? If you don't, let me remind you once again that you should never fail to do them. The habit of reading good books is, I am quite certain, extremely beneficial and you will appreciate its value in times of great difficulties. And the worth of morning and evening prayers and other religious practices, one finds by experience, grows day by day. They are verily the nourishment of the soul. Just as the body becomes a skeleton without food, so does the soul wither without this spiritual sustenance." "Chi. Maganlal, "Only on coming here ( Sabarmati ) I came to know that you are at Vijapur. I am glad you have gone there, though I was eager to meet you. My remarks about yarn were not at all meant as a rebuke? how can I blame you ??but they were to make you more keen about the matter. It was meant to nudge you to give the priority I give to this yarn question. I wanted, and I still want, to say that you should direct your mind towards restricting other activities as much as possible. It is for you to say who can lay the axe and on what activities after reviewing the whole situation. Though certainly I used to believe that the Ashram should strive for a very large output of cloth from swadeshi yarn, on deeper consideration I found that my demand from the Ashram was misplaced and I repaired the mistake by my letter from Surat. We may reduce, or wind up, those of our activities one by one which, we may feel certain, others are going to take up. We must, on the other hand, expand that activity which is essential and yet slow to arouse faith in others. Hand-spinning is one such. Moreover, the more experience I gain the more I am convinced that machinery will keep us enchained in slavery for ever. I have been seeing ever more clearly that the views I have expressed in 'Hind Swaraj' on machinery are a hundred percent true. I have been making deeper researches into the domain of Satyagraha also.I realize that it is the cleanest weapon as well as the most suitable at once to the weakest and the strongest. On their own, many businessmen will get mill-yarn woven into cloth. I can, therefore, get that work done by outsiders in a short time, but, for ourselves, let us concentrate on the hand-spinning activity. The day before yesterday some Punjabis came to me. They informed me that their womenfolk, both of high and low status, spin their yarn at home and get it woven by the local handloom weavers. That means, the price of the yarn for their clothes equals that of the cotton used in them. This fact deserves to be chewed and digested. You have done well in taking Keshu with you there. If he returns an expert in hand spinning, he can teach us all and that is enough for our maintenance." *"Dear Miss Schlesin, "Ramdas advises me that you have passed your teacher's examination with some distinction. You do not want me to congratulate you, I know. I am simply anxious that you should get through your final examination, because I expect you one of these days to take your place in India. The summer months are trying enough, but the winter months give you sufficient compensation. I hope you had all you wanted without any inconvenience. You will not hesitate to come to me for more, if necessary. "Satyagraha is going on merrily. Civil disobedience is ex-pected to commence very soon. How I often wish you were here, for more reasons than one ! I must plough the lonely furrow. It often makes me sad when I think of all my helpers of South Africa. I have no Doke1 here. I have no Kallenbach2. Don't ???????????? 1. A kind-hearted missionary of Johannesburg. He was very sympathetic towards the Indian struggle in South Africa and even assisted it. It was he who carried Bapu to his home when Bapu fell down unconscious from the lathi-blows of a Pathan. Very lovingly both he and his wife nursed Bapu back to health. He has moreover the distinction of being probably the earliest biographer of Gandhiji. 2. Bapu's German friend. He was a flourishing architect in Johannesburg. Contact with Bapu gave him the healthy infection of 'plain living and high thinking.' When Bapu broke up his house in Johannesburg owing to the exigencies of the fight, he used to stay at Kallenbach's. The latter even joined the Satyagraha there and suffered incarceration. He gave away his extensive farm know where he is at the present moment. Polak1 in England. No counterpart of Kachalia2 or Sorabji3. Impossible to get the second edition of Rustamji4. Strange as it may appear, I feel ??????????????? for use of the families of the Satyagrahis sent to jail. It was this property that was entitled 'Tolstoy Farm'. At the end of the struggle he accompanied Bapu to England and fully intended to go with him to India also. But the first World War broke out just then and he was detained as a prisoner in England, because he was a German national. 1. Another very close friend and loyal colleague of Bapu in South Africa. He was formerly an Assistant Editor of a paper, The Critic in Transvaal, but left the job and joined Bapu's Indian Opinion. He went to England and travelled all over India to get support for the South African Satyagraha. His contact with Gandhiji began by his service under him as an 'articled clerk' and then he became a full-fledged lawyer. He also went to jail as a Satyagrahi. 2. Ahmad Mohammad Kachalia. A distinguished colleague. In his 'Satyagraha In South Africa' Bapu says in effect : "Neither in South Africa nor in India have I come across a man who could surpass him in bravery and sincerity of purpose. He had sacrificed his all for the service of the Indian community, Every time I had to deal with him I found him a man of his word. He was a strict Muslim, but was at the same time equally friendly with Hindus?..Throughout the long South African struggle Kachalia was always among the foremost most who kept their vows in letter and in spirit." 3. Sorabji Shapurji Adajania. A first rank Satyagrahi in the S. A. struggle. He had made a deep study of the principles behind the struggle and was able to give valuable advice to Gandhiji during the progress of the fight. Gandhiji says that his suggestions were always imbued with firmness, discrimination, generosity and peacefulness. After the end of the struggle Dr. Pranjivandas Mehta offered a scholarship to enable any really deserving Satyagrahi to proceed to England and return a barrister, so that he could take the place of Gandhiji and serve the South African Indians. Bapu selected him as his fittest successor. Sorabji had already caught the Hon. Gokhale's eye during his visit to S. Africa. In England he came in greater contact with Gokhale who was charmed with him. On his return to S. Africa as a barrister he started practice and also took up the thread of public service in Bapu's absence. His simplicity, his loving heart and unsophisticated manners as well as his sociability soon made him a very popular figure. But this promising career was cut short by the hand of death when he was still in the prime of youth, at the age of 35. 4. Parsi Rustomji. A leading businessman in South Africa, an old client and a personal friend of Gandhiji. He never stinted in giving monetary help for the fight in South Africa and courted jail also. Even after Gandhiji's return to India, he used to help him with money for the many activities Gandhiji sponsored in his motherland. lonelier here than in S. Africa. This does not mean that I am without co-workers. But between the majority of them and me there is not that perfect correspondence which used to exist in S. Africa. I do not enjoy the same sense of security which you all gave me there. I do not know the people here; not they me. This is all gloomy, if I were to brood over it. But I do not. I have not the time for it. I have a few moments of leisure just now. Ramdas's letter reminds me of your existence in S. Africa and I am giving myself the momentary pleasure of sharing my innermost thoughts with you. But now on more." 6-6-'19 Mrs. Naidu, Mr. Ramaswamy and Mr. and Mrs. Jinnah left for England. The following three letters were sent through Mrs. Naidu for personal delivery. They give in brief Bapu's views on the present situation, his reactions to Mr. Montagu's speech etc. "Laburnum Road, Bombay. *"My dear Henry ( Polak ), "I see you have been wrestling with Cotton. I think he has floored you with his quotation from The Servant of India. But both you and I have survived the fall. I rejoice ( almost ) in the wreckage about me. Shraddhanandji gone. Mr. Jamnadas has left. Some others may follow suit. These occurrences do not baffle me as does violence from the people. But I approach the 1st of July with confidence. The Government are prepared for emergencies. And I shall avoid all demonstration. Civil disobedience will be intensive, not extensive, this time. Please make it clear to Mr. Montagu that there can be no peace in India without the withdrawal of the Rowlatt legi-slation.1 He is badly served by the permanent officials here. Take the ?????????? 1. Though the outburst of violence compelled Gandhiji to suspend civil disobedience, time and again, his determined opposition to the Rowlatt Bill's succeeded to the extent that the "Black Acts" remained a dead letter and were never enforced. horrible misrepresentations about Mr. Horniman. The real reason for his deportation will probably be never given. Read Young India carefully. Most of the leading articles are mine. I am virtually editing it. See the Sind article. More revelations are yet to come. If Mr. Montagu wants to do justice, he has to do things with better eyes than those of the officials who, wishing to support a system to which they owe their present position, cannot be expected to give him an impartial version of affairs. Rowlatt Act must go. Mohammedans should be satisfied and substantial reforms granted. For the Punjab tragedy, an impartial committee with the power to revise sentences is an absolute necessity. Give these 4 things, and peace can be had in this unhappy land. There will be no plenty so long as India is exploited for Britain's sake. Take the second increase in the rate of exchange. It means a loss to India of crores of rupees without any corresponding gain. It means a bonus to Lancashire and to the Civilians. But these matters can be adjusted if people's minds are eased by the relief above mentioned. Rowlatt legislation represents the Government determination to defy public opinion. The attitude is intolerable on the eve of Reforms. "This will be presented to you by Mrs. Naidu. She is a wonderful woman. I have compared her to Mirabai1. I have seen nothing to alter that opinion. She will give all my messages of love to you and the family. Yours, BHAI" "P. S. : Will you contribute to Young India ? I wish you would." *"Dear Mr. Horniman, "I was much relieved to hear of your safe arrival. I was deeply hurt to read Mr. Montagu's reference to you. I daresay ?????????? 1. A mediaeval princess of Mewar, in Rajasthan, known for her hymns and her fearless devotion to Lord Krishna. you have vindicated yourself. You will see my reference to the matter in Young India. "Mrs. Naidu will tell you all about the situation here. There will be no peace in India until the Rowlatt legislation is withdrawn. Mohammedan sentiments must be appeased and the Punjab sentences revised. Will you write for Young India ? *"Dear Mr. Shastriar, "I would like you to glance at the leading columns of Young India. Most of the leading articles are either written by me or under my supervision. I can vouch for all the facts stated therein. The state of things revealed there shows the true official attitude. Rowlatt legislation is its embodiment. Hence, my unbending opposition. The Government do not need it to stamp out revolutionary crime. They need it to harass people. The administration of the Defence of India Act shows the way the people can be harassed. There can be - will be - no peace in the land unless that legislation is withdrawn. Mr. Montagu's defence of it is untenable. His remarks about Mr. Horniman are totally unjust and untrue. The Punjab horrors have produced a burning letter from the Poet1. I personally think it is premature. But he cannot be blamed for it. May I hope that you and other friends will refuse to take the Reforms if they are not given to a people made contented by removing substantial causes of discontent ? "I hope you have benefited the change." 7-6-'19 A severe castigation of a young journalist of Bombay : *"Dear? ? ? "It is dangerous to call me 'Revered Father' as you will see presently. I have no doubt about your prodigality. The very slovenliness of your writing is eloquent proof of it and it requires a prodigal son to write to his adopted 'Revered Father' ?????????? 1. Outraged at the atrocities in the Punjab. the Poet, Rabindranath Tagore, wrote a scathing letter to the Viceroy to announce his relinquishment of the title of knighthood. a letter containing almost as many corrections as there are lines in it written anyhow and unrevised. A son frugal in his adjectives, obedient in reality, would write to his father, especially when he is deliberately adopted, a careful letter written in his best hand-writing. If he has not enough time, he will write only a line, but he would write it neatly. "Your article on .. ? was ill-conceived and hurriedly written. It could not be printed in Young India, nor is it worth printing in any other paper. You will not reform him by letters of that character, nor will you benefit the public thereby. Your second article is not much better? ? You really lose yourself in the exuberance of your own verbosity. If you will give more attention to the thought than a mere lengthening out of your story, you will produce readable matter. "Why have you inflicted certificates on me ? How can they influence me when I know you so well ? I neither consider you 'well-informed' nor 'forceful' as a writer and Mr. Menon must know very little of journalistic capacity if he really considered that you were able to acquit yourself with credit in any journalistic capacity. Now you see how difficult it will be for you to please me and yet I will be easy enough. If you take pains in future, I would certainly take you as helper for Young India in spite of your many limitations as soon as you are free from your Ahmedabad obligation. I think you owe it to Mr. Chatterjee and the A. P.1 to finish the work you have : You can even help me from Ahmedabad by giving me bright and graphic notes on the trials, not in the nature of carping criticism of the Government or of the local legal agent. You should try to give pen-pictures of men and manners. Surely there must be many humorous touches about the proceedings; but probably you will have little time for writing anything at the present moment." "Chi. Chhaganlal, "I have your letter. I do not think anybody will send orders for our Khadi from Calcutta etc. There may be stray buyers ?????????? 1. Associated Press of India. from Bombay or Ahmedabad. I, for one, regard it as quiet improper to add 5% as our own charge. We must give our labour entirely free. Only then can we ask the Swadeshi Stores to rest satisfied with only a 5% profit. How can we take any profit for an article we want to be widely patronised ? And we get our maintenance from other sources already. Unless the goods have already been sent to Bombay, do not send them till I write to you. It would be good to do so only after I have a talk with Vithaldas. I have been told here that at the old Swadeshi Stores nobody cares to buy our Khadi. If it is really so, we will have to consider this question seriously. I trust you will take the assistance of any other person but never of Chhotalal or Jagannath. If you don't get any advance payment for our goods from the Swadeshi Stores, you will let me know and I will make some arrangement about it." 3-7-'19 Letter to Sri. Rajagopalachari re. the future of the Satyagraha movement : *"You must add to Kalinath Roy1 the South African question and again get together Mr. Natesan, the Diwan Bahadur (Vijayaraghavachari) and others representing different groups. I see that we will have to extend the scope of Satyagraha activity to all spheres of life and to all other questions. I am seriously thinking of altering the constitution of the Sabha to make it a permanent body. The whole thing is in a nebulous state. The South African question has compelled attention to this aspect of our activity. We who are representing no party must try wherever we can to bring the groups on a common platform where there are, or can be, no differences of opinion. "You will see my letter to the press on the South African question. We should hold meetings and pass resolutions calling upon the Government to do their duty. Cables should be sent ???????????? 1. Editor of The Tribune, sentenced to 2 years' rigorous imprisonment together with a fine of Rs. 1000/- or, in default, six months, further rigorous imprisonment by a Martial Law Commission. to the Secretary of State also. You will see, The Times of India has come right round to us. You should try on your side to get the English element to go with us in this matter. I am still in correspondence with the Viceroy on the Rowlatt legislation. Civil disobedience has, therefore, been delayed. I do not propose to attempt to go to the Punjab but cross the Bombay border at some other point. I hardly think it right to challenge prosecution formally regarding the Punjab. I ought to do so, if there was any doubt about my position. What I mean is any such challenge will appear theatrical and I abhor such display. The Punjab authorities have looked sufficiently foolish by naming me as a conspirator and yet leaving me alone. I would take away from that effect by committing the folly of saying, "why do you not prosecute me" when I know they do not want to and dare not. Do you follow my argument ? I am anxious to convince you that it would be wrong to adopt your suggestion." 4-7-'19 There was a letter from Mr. Arundale1 requesting Gandhiji to evolve a common platform where all political leaders ( including Gandhiji ) could join in working for the improvement of the Indian Reforms Bill proposed under the Montagu-Chelmsford Scheme. Gandhiji's reply : *"I have read and re-read your kind letter for which I thank you. I am publishing the letter in Young India together with this reply. Much as I should like to follow your advice, I feel that I am incompetent for the task set forth by you in your letter. I am fully aware of my limitations. My bent is not political but religious and I take part in politics because I feel that there is no department of life which can be divorced from religion and because politics touch the vital being of India almost at every point. It is, therefore, absolutely necessary that the political relations between Englishmen and ourselves should be put on a ???????? 1. Mrs. Besant's colleague and Editor, NEW INDIA. sound basis. I am endeavouring to the best of my ability to assist in the process. I do not take much interest in the reforms because they are in safe hands and because reforms-cum-Rowlatt legislation mean to my mind a stalemate. Rowlatt legislation represents a poisonous spirit. After all, the English civilians can, unless Indian opinion produces a healthy reaction upon them, reduce the reforms practically to a nullity. They distrust us and we distrust them. Each considers the other as his natural enemy. Hence, the Rowlatt legislation. The Civil Service has devised the legislation to keep us down. In my opinion, that legislation is like the coil of the snake round the Indian body. The obstinacy of the Government in clinging to the hateful legislation in spite of the clearest possible demonstration they have had of public opinion against it, makes me suspect the worst. With the views enunciated above, you will not wonder at my inability to interest myself in the reforms. Rowlatt legislation blocks the way. And my life is dedicated among other things to removing the block. Let there be no mistake. Civil resistance has come to stay. It is an eternal doctrine of life which we follow consciously or unconsciously in many walks of life. It is the new and extended application of it which has caused misgivings and excitement. Its suspension is designed to demonstrate its true nature, and to throw the responsibility for the removal of the Rowlatt legislati