A quote advanced to support the armed populace fantasy is from Mohandas Gandhi, the leader of nonviolent resistance to British rule in India. His objective of Indedepence was achieved in 1947. Gandhi wrote in Chapter XXVII, "The Recruiting Campaign," in his autobiography, My Experiments with Truth:
'Among the many misdeeds of the British
rule in India, history will look upon the
Act depriving a whole nation of
arms as the blackest. GO TO
"Arms" in this context were military arms not
the personal weapons of private individuals.
The context of "depriving of the whole nation
of arms" was the refusal of the British to conscript
Indians into the British Army during the First
World War. Gandhi was an extreme anti-militarist.
The statement is odd coming out of him, but he
used the circumstance for political purposes to
advance the cause of Home Rule and Independence.
444 MY EXPERIMENTS WITH TRUTH
was presented, and I agreed to attend the
conference. As regards the Muslim demands I
was to address a letter to the Viceroy.
XXVII
RECRUITING CAMPAIGN
So I attended the conference. The Viceroy
was very keen on my supporting the
resolution about recruiting. I asked for
permission to speak in Hindi-Hiridustani.
The Viceroy acceded to my request, but
suggested that I should speak also in
English. I had no speech to make. I spoke
but one sentence to this effect: 'With a
full sense of my responsibility I beg to
support the resolution.'
Many congratulated me on my having spoken in
Hindustani. That was, they said, the first
instance within living memory of anyone
having spoken in Hindustani at such a
meeting. The congratulations and the
discovery that I was the first to speak in
Hindustani at a Viceregal meeting hurt my
national pride. I felt like shrinking into
myself. What a tragedy that the language of
the country should be taboo in meetings held
in the country, for work relating to the
country, and that a speech there in
Hindustani by a stray individual like myself
should be a matter for congratulation?
Incidents like these are reminders of the
low state to which we have been reduced.
The one sentence that I uttered at the
conference had for me considerable
significance. It was impossible for me to
forget either the conference or the
resolution I supported. There was one
undertaking that I had to fulfil while yet
in Delhi. I had to write a letter to the
Viceroy. This was no easy thing for me. I
felt it my duty both in the interests of the
Government and of the people to explain
therein how and why I attended the
conference, and to state clearly what the
people expected from Government.
In the letter I expressed my regret for the
exclusion from the conference of leaders
like Lokamanya Tilak and
RECRUITING CAMPAIGN 445
the Ali Brothers, and stated the people's
minimum political demand as also the demands
of the Muslims on account of the situation
created by the war. I asked for permission
to publish the letter, and the Viceroy
gladly gave it.
The letter had to be sent to Simla, where
the Viceroy had gone immediately after the
conference. The letter had for me
considerable importance, and sending it by
post would have meant delay. I wanted to
save time, and yet I was not inclined to
send it by any messenger I came across. I
wanted some pure man to carry it and hand it
personally at the Viceregal Lodge.
Dinabandhu Andrews and Principal Rudra
suggested the name of the good Rev. Ireland
of the Cambridge Mission. He agreed to carry
the letter if he might read it and if it
appealed to him as good. I had no objection
as the letter was by no means private. He
read it, liked it and expressed his
willingness to carry out the mission. I
offered him the second class fare, but he
declined it saying he was accustomed to
travelling intermediate. This he did though
it was a night journey. His simplicity and
his straight and plainspoken manner
captivated me. The letter thus delivered at
the hands of a pure-minded man had, as I
thought, the desired result. It eased my
mind and cleared my way.
The other part of my obligation consisted in
raising recruits. Where could I make a
beginning except in Kheda? And whom could I
invite to be the first recruits except my
own co-workers? So as soon as I reached
Nadiad. 1 had a conference with Vallabhbhai
and other friends. Some of them could not
easily take to the proposal. Those who liked
the proposal had misgivings about its
success. There was no love lost between the
Government and the classes to which I wanted
to make my appeal. The bitter experience
they had had of the Government officials was
still fresh in their memory.
And yet they were in favour of starting
work. As soon as I set about my task, my
eyes were opened. My optimism received a
rude shock. Whereas during the revenue
campaign the people readily offered their
carts free of charge,
446 MY EXPERIMENTS WITH TRUTH
and two volunteers came forth when one was
needed, it was difficult now to get a cart
even on hire, to say nothing of volunteers.
But we would not be dismayed. We decided to
dispense with the use of carts and to do our
journeys on foot. At this rate we had to
trudge about 20 miles a day. If carts were
not forthcoming, it was idle to expect
people to feed us. It was hardly proper to
ask for food. So it was decided that every
volunteer must carry his food in his
satchel. No bedding or sheet was necessary
as it was summer.
We had meetings wherever we went. People did
attend, but hardly one or two would offer
themselves &s recruits. 'You are a votary of
Ahimsa, how can you ask us to take up arms?'
'What good has Government done for India to
deserve our co-operation?' These and similar
questions used to be put to us.
However, our steady work began to tell.
Quite a number of names were registered, and
we hoped that we should be able to have a
regular supply as soon as the first batch
was sent. I had already begun to confer with
the Commissioner as to where the recruits
were to be accommodated.
The Commissioners in every division were
conferences on the Delhi model. One such was
Gujarat. My co-workers and I were invited to
it. We attended, but I felt there was even
less place for me here than at Delhi. In
this atmosphere of servile submission I felt
ill at ease. I spoke somewhat at length. I
could say nothing to please the officials,
and had certainly one or two hard things to
say.