PEOPLE CEMENTED............INDEPENDENT 45
to pass the Resolution declaring Independence as the goal of India. It is for you to declare what view you will take of the political ideal of the Indian National Congress. The demand for independence we may dismiss from our consideration. It is impracticable and in my opinion it will be disastrous in the present state of the country. It is only people cemented by the feeling of one country, one constitution and one destiny who may take the risk of being independent. No one can deny that this country is miles distant from this position. The ideal of Dominion Status seems to me superior for it has in it the substance of Independence without the attendant risks involved in complete Independence. We must therefore refuse to give our support to the ideal of Independence about the utility of which even Congressmen entertain grave doubts.
- But what shall we say regarding the demand for Dominion Status which is the same thing as Swaraj or government of the people, for the people and by the people? As to this you must really think well before you decide. There can be no doubt that the advent of the British in India has been a great boon to the country. Without this providential connection it seems to me very doubtful if the intellectual awakening of India could have been as great or as fast. Without the contact of European Civilization with its basic conceptions of liberty, equality and fraternity Indian Society could never have been driven to feel the sense of shame in respect of the many social customs that have been recognized as part of its social and moral code. It is this live contact between the two civilisations which has by cruel contrast forced upon India the revaluation of its social values and the recognition of many of its social customs as so many social wrongs. This has set India as nothing could have done on the road to regeneration. Without the advent of the British, India could never have had the tremendous advantage of a common system of government and a common system of law. These are instruments of no mean potency for the welfare of any country. But their value to India is inestimable. They have prepared the soil of India for the roots of Indian nationalism to go to the depth they have gone and have also laid down the foundations of a stable Government.