FIND MEN..........INTERESTS 93
a Khot in order to compel the tenant to meet the wishes of the land-lord. I do not understand why such a glaring injustice should be allowed to continue. I must say that the Government too are guilty of a charge of a grave nature in that they have countenanced such an inhuman injustice. Take the instance of the housing accommodation afforded by some mill-owners in Bombay. At the time of the strike the mill-workers stand in the fear of losing their jobs and also their quarters which makes them lose half the sting of their fight. Such a state of affairs must not be allowed to continue and todays’ Conference must find out an occasion to ventilate their feelings in this respect.
You must never forget that the remedy for the grievances that I have just mentioned lies in bringing about properly effective legislation. A measure such as that of a strike is not the sure means of removing your grievance. I do not grudge the right of the aggrieved to resort to strike. But that is not a weapon which they can everynow and then use. How to get such legislation on the statute book is again a question which you have to solve. Unless you have your own representatives in the Legislative Councils, you will not be able to do it. You must find men who will always promote your interests. While choosing your representative you must not allow yourself to be misled into believing that such leaders as the Congress are the only bodies who are fighting for your cause. If the Congress represents anything to-day, it represents nothing except an element against the British.
After the resolutions for the betterment of peasants were passed the President made a few concluding remarks thanking the Conference.” [1]
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1 : The Bombay Chronicle, dated 22nd December 1934.