Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi-VOL017

1.
LETTER T0 SIR CLAUDE HILL

S T. S TEPHEN ’S C OLLEGE ,
DELHI ,
April 26, 1918
DEAR SIR CLAUDE HILL,
It was not without considerable pain that I had to decline the

honour of serving on any of the Committee that will be appointed at
the eventful Conference1 or speaking to the main resolution2 .
I feel that the Conference will be largely abortive with the
most powerful leaders excluded from it. The absence of Mr. Tilak,
Mrs. Besant and Ali Brothers from the Conference deprives it of any
real weight.3 I must confess that not one of us who were present at
today’s meeting has the influence of these leaders with the masses.
Refusal to have them at the Conference shows that there is no real
desire to change the attitude hitherto adopted by those who are
holding the reins of Government. And without any real alteration in
the spirit all your concessions will lose their grace and force and will
fail to evoke genuine loyalty from the masses. If I understand the
purpose of the Conference aright, you wish to work upon the masses.
How to evoke in the Indian the loyalty of the Englishman is the ques-
tion before the Indian leaders. I submit that it is impossible to do so
unless you are prepared to trust the trusted leaders of the people and
to do all that such trust means. So far as Ali Brothers are concerned
there is no proof of their guilt before the public and they have emph-
atically repudiated the charge of having corresponded with the ene-
my. Most Mahomedans think what the Brothers think on the situation.
I feel that for other reasons also I could not effectively serve on
1
This was the War Conference convened by Lord Chelmsford.
2
The resolution read as follows: “That this Conference authorizes and requests
His Excellency the Viceroy to convey to His Majesty the King-Emperor an
expression of India’s dutiful and loyal response to his gracious message, and
assurance of her determination to continue to do her duty to her utmost capacity in the
great crisis through which the Empire is passing.”
3
Tilak had not been invited; but, after an interview with the Viceroy on April
27, Gandhiji wired asking Tilak to attend the Conference. This he declined to do as
Government would not rescind the externment order issued against him. Annie
Besant, too, had received no invitation, while the Ali Brothers were still in
internment.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 1

the Conference. I have just read the Home Mail papers. They deal
with the secret Treaties. The revelations make painful reading, I do not
know that I could call the Allies’ cause to be any longer just if these
treaties are truly reported. I do not know what effect the news will
produce on the Mahomedans of India. The Government will best
serve the Empire if they were boldly to advise His Majesty’s
Government to recede from the false and immoral position they
placed themselves in by these treaties. No one will be more glad than I
would be to find that my reading of the papers is totally incorrect.1
There will be no domestic peace in India so long as local
officials administer affairs as they have been doing in Kaira. I am sure
the Viceroy does not wish that the people should not resist injustice
and tyranny. I do hope that the contemplated spoliation in Kaira will
be stopped at once and the just demand of the Kaira people will be
complied with.
I would like to warn the Government against accepting or
initiating conscription. I hope it will never flourish on the Indian soil.
But, in any case, it ought not to be introduced until all voluntary
efforts have been honestly made and failed. You will admit that the
leaders have with remarkable self-restraint hushed all the tales of the
forcible recruitment that is reported to have gone on hitherto. I
venture to think that the danger point has been reached.
Lastly a thorough education in Home Rule has now so widely
penetrated the masses that nothing short of very substantial evidence
of the near advent of Home Rule will secure the real co-operation of
the people.
You will now understand and perhaps appreciate my reluctance
1
Some light is thrown on the background to these observations of Gandhiji in
Charles Freer Andrews, p. 132. Gandhiji had asked Andrews to join him on his way to
the War Conference. “In the train on his way there Andrews read in the English New
Statesman an account of the predatory ‘secret treaties’ unearthed by revolutionaries
from the Russian Foreign Office; Great Britain was a signatory of these treaties,
notwithstanding her public declarations of the disinterestedness of her fight for
freedom. Andrews thrust the papers before Gandhi. ‘How can you take part in a war
conference while this sort of double-dealing is going on?’ he demanded.” This was
another reason why Gandhiji had initially refused to attend the Conference. Lord
Chelmsford, however, in the course of an interview, repudiated the report about the
treaties as having emanated from interested quarters and expressed his disbelief that
the British Cabinet would enter into a treaty to cede Constantinople to Russia. It was
on the basis of this clarification that Gandhiji finally agreed to participate in the
Conference.
2 THE COLLECTED WORKS OF MAHATMA GANDHI

to speak or to serve on the committees. I can best demonstrate my
good wishes by abstaining from the Conference.
Will you please place this letter before the Viceroy at the earliest
possible opportunity?
From the manuscript of Mahadev Desai’s Diary. Courtesy: Narayan Desai
2. LETTER T0 J. L. MAFFEY
S T. S TEPHEN ’S C OLLEGE ,
DELHI ,
April 27, 1918
DEAR MR. MAFFEY,
I duly received your wire as also your note of the l9th instant
for both of which I thank you.
The development which the situation has since undergone
renders the discharge of the [Ali] Brothers more than ever imperative.
After considerable hesitation and much deep thought, I have come to
the conclusion that I cannot take part in the Conference and serve the
cause for which it has been called. My reasons are set forth in my
letter to Sir Claude Hill,1 copy of which I beg to enclose herewith. I
do not know whether His Excellency would still like to see me about
the Brothers. I am in Delhi up to the 29th, but can naturally prolong
my stay if necessary.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
N.A.I.: Home, War (Deposit): October 1918, No. 26
1
Vide the preceding item.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 3

3. LETTER TO J. L. MAFFEY
DELHI ,
April 27, 1918
DEAR MR. MAFFEY,
In fear and trembling I have decided as a matter of duty to join

the Conference. After the interview with His Excellency1 and
subsequently with you, I feel I could not do otherwise.2
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
4. LETTER T0 J.L. MAFFEY

DELHI ,
April 28, 1918
DEAR MR. MAFFEY,
I would like you please to secure for me His Excellency’s

permission to deliver my speech at the Conference today in Urdu. I
intended to send a translation of it, but I think that I shall speak most
effectively by merely speaking the words necessary to support the
resolution in question. The answer to my request you will perhaps
send per Mr. Andrews.
1
This took place on April 27.
2
Gandhiji received the next day the following message from Maffey: “The
Viceroy does not believe in your ‘fear and trembling’. Nor do I ! His Excellency is
very glad indeed to hear that you will join the Conference. I have written to Sir Claude
Hill to inform him that you will join the Man Power Committee which meets at 11
a.m.”
Earlier Gandhiji had received, according to Mahadev Desai’s Diary, Vol. IV,
the following message from the Viceroy: “Please assure all your friends that I have
already done what I possibly could do. The Scheme submitted will not be exactly the
Congress-League Scheme, but will substantially be like it. I hope tomorrow there will
be no bargaining, no huckstering therefore. The whole world—especially all in
England—will be watching with anxiousness what happens tomorrow, everybody’s
eyes are fixed on tomorrow and I do hope there will be no huckstering.”

Will you please tell me how long you are going to stay in
Delhi ? 1
Yours sincerely.
M.K. GANDHI
5. SPEECH AT WAR CONFERENCE2
DELHI ,
April 28, 19I8
I consider myself honoured to find my name among the
supporters of this resolution. I realize fully its meaning and I tender
my support to it with all my heart.3
From a photostat of the original in Gandhiji’s hand: G. N. 2225
1
To this Gandhiji received the next day the following reply from Maffey: “I
now find that in this morning’s rush I did not read the end part of your letter and only
dealt with the first question—your speech. If I may deal with that, may I say that I
know the Viceroy felt very much touched by your presence, by the simple words you
said and the way you said them. I am so glad that you see scope for definite work
ahead. It is all wanted and you will not regret it. Standing out for rights is not always
the best way of getting them. If you can believe in us, fight for us and don’t be
impatient with us. We leave tonight, but if at any time I can be of service let me
know.”
2
This has been extracted from “Letter to G. A. Natesan”, 12-5-1918.
3
Gandhiji has referred to his speech in the Man-Power Committee in his
autobiography as follows: “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-Hindustani. 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.” Vide
An Autobiography, Part V; Ch. XXVII
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 5

DELHI ,
April 29, 1918
DEAR MR. MAFFEY,
It was kind of you in spite of your overwhelming work to reread

my letter and find time to answer it.1
Pray convey my thanks to His Excellency for his kindly
sentiments.
I am preparing two letters 2 for you which will follow you to
Simla. I hardly think I shall be ready before you leave. One of them
will contain definite suggestions in which you may use my services
and the other will simply complete my view on the situation.
My trust in you is not to be easily shaken. I entirely endorse
what you say about rights. But I have no business to inflict a long
letter on you.
I always feel that I am committing a sin when I write to
you.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
N.A.I.: Home, War, Political: October 1918, No. 27
1
Vide footnote to “Letter to J. L. Maffey”, 24-4-1918.
2
Vide “Letter to Viceroy”, 29-4-1918, and “Letter to J. L. Maffey”,
30-4-1918.

7. LETTER TO VICEROY
DELHI ,
April 29, 19181
SIR,
As you are aware, after careful consideration, I felt constrained
to convey to Your Excellency that I could not attend the Conference
for reasons stated in my letter 2 of the 26th instant. But after the
interview you were good enough to grant me, I persuaded myself to
join it, —if for no other cause, then certainly out of my great regard
for yourself.
One of my reasons for abstention,—and perhaps the strongest,
—was that Mr. Tilak, Mrs. Besant, and the brothers Ali, whom I regard
as among the most powerful leaders of public opinion, were not
invited to the Conference. I still feel that it was a grave blunder not to
have asked them, and I respectfully suggest that the blunder might be
partially repaired if these leaders were invited to assist the Government
by giving it the benefit of their advice at the Provincial Conferences
which, I understand, are to follow. I venture to submit that no
Government can afford to disregard leaders who represent large
masses of the people, as these do, even though they may hold views
fundamentally different. At the same time, it gives me pleasure to be
able to say that the views of all parties were permitted to be freely
expressed at the Committees of the Conference. For my own part, I
purposely refrained from stating my views, either at the Committee on
which I had the honour of serving—or at the Conference itself. I felt
that I could best serve the objects of the Conference by simply
tendering my support to the resolutions submitted to it,—and this I
have done without any reservation. I hope to translate the spoken
word into action as early as the Government can see its way to accept
my offer, which I am submitting simultaneously herewith in a separate
letter. I recognize that, in the hour of its danger, we must give, —as we
have decided to give—ungrudging and unequivocal support to the
Empire, of which we aspire, in the near future, to be partners in the
1
Though drafted on this date, it appears to have been sent to the Viceroy at
Simla only the following day, with a covering note addressed to J. L, Maffey; vide the
following item.
2
Vide “Letter to Sir Claude Hill’; 26-4-1918.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 7

same sense as the Dominions overseas. But it is the simple truth that
our response is due to the expectation that our goal will be reached all
the more speedily on that account—even as the performance of a duty
automatically confers a corresponding right. The people are entitled
to believe that the imminent reforms alluded to in your speech will
embody the main, general principles of the Congress-League Scheme,
and I am sure that it is this faith which has enabled many members of
the Conference to tender to the Government their whole-hearted co-
operation.
If I could make my countrymen retrace their steps, I would
make them withdraw all the Congress resolutions, and not whisper
“Home Rule” or “Responsible Government” during the pendency
of the war. I would make India offer all her able-bodied sons as a
sacrifice to the Empire at its critical moment; and I know that India by
this very act would become the most favoured partner in the Empire
and racial distinctions would become a thing of the past. But
practically the whole of educated India has decided to take a less
effective course, and it is no longer possible to say that educated India
does not exercise any influence on the masses. I have been coming
into most intimate touch with the ryots ever since my return from
South Africa to India, and I wish to assure you that the desire for
Home Rule has widely penetrated them. I was present at the sessions
of the last Congress, and I was party to the resolution that full
Responsible Government should be granted to British India within a
period to be fixed definitely by a Parliamentary Statute. I admit that it
is a bold step to take, but I feel sure that nothing less than a definite
vision of Home Rule—to be realized in the shortest possible time—
will satisfy the Indian people. I know that there are many in India who
consider no sacrifice too great in order to achieve the end; and they
are wakeful enough to realize that they must be equally prepared to
sacrifice themselves for the Empire in which they hope and desire to
reach their final status. It follows, then, that we can but accelerate our
journey towards the goal by silently and simply devoting ourselves,
heart and soul, to the work of delivering the Empire from the
threatening danger. It will be national suicide not to recognize this
elementary truth. We must perceive that, if we serve to save the
Empire, we have in that very act secured Home Rule.
Whilst, therefore, it is clear to me that we should give to
the Empire every available man for its defence, I fear that I cannot say

the same thing about financial assistance. My intimate intercourse with
the ryots convinces me that India has already donated to the Imperial
Exchequer beyond her capacity. I know that, in making this statement,
I am voicing the opinion of the vast majority of my countrymen.
The Conference means for me, and I believe for many of us, a
definite step in the consecration of our lives to the common cause. But
ours is a peculiar position. We are today outside the partnership. Ours
is a consecration based on the hope of a better future. I should be
untrue to you and to my country if I did not clearly and
unequivocally tell you what that hope is. I do not bargain for its
fulfilment. But you should know it. Disappointment of the hope
means disillusion.
There is one thing I may not omit. You have appealed to us to
sink domestic differences. If the appeal involves the toleration of
tyranny and wrongdoing on the part of officials, I am powerless to
respond. I shall resist organized tyranny to the uttermost. The appeal
must be to the officials that they do not ill-treat a single soul, and that
they consult and respect popular opinion as never before. In
Champaran, by resisting an age-long tyranny, I have shown the
ultimate sovereignty of British justice. In Kaira, a population that was
cursing the Government now feels that it, and not the Government, is
the power when it is prepared to suffer for the truth it represents. It is,
therefore, losing its bitterness and is saying to itself that the
Government must be a Government for the people, for it tolerates
orderly and respectful disobedience where injustice is felt. Thus,
Champaran and Kaira affairs are my direct, definite, and special
contribution to the war. Ask me to suspend my activities in that
direction, and you ask me to suspend my life. If I could popularize
the use of soul-force, which is but another name for love-force, in the
place of brute force, I know that I could present you with an India that
could defy the whole world to do its worst. In season and out of
season, therefore, I shall discipline myself to express in my life this
eternal law of suffering and present it for acceptance to those who
care. And if I take part in any other activity, the motive is to show the
matchless superiority of that law.
Lastly, I would like you to ask His Majesty’s Ministers to give
definite assurances about Mahomedan States. I am sure you know that
every Mahomedan is deeply interested in them. As a Hindu, I cannot
be indifferent to their cause. Their sorrows must be our sorrows. In
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 9

the most scrupulous regard for the right of these States, and for the
Muslim sentiment as to places of worship and in your just and timely
treatment of the Indian claim to Home Rule, lies the safety of the
Empire.
I write this, because I love the English Nation, and I wish to
evoke in every Indian the loyalty of the Englishman.
I remain,
Your Excellency’s faithful servant,
M. K. GANDHI
NADIAD,
April 30, 19181
DEAR MR. MAFFEY,
In pursuance of my declaration at the Conference yesterday, I

wish respectfully to state that I place my services at the disposal of the
authorities to be utilized by them in any manner they choose, save that
I personally will not kill or injure anybody, friend or foe.
But it would be better perhaps if I were to state how, in my
opinion, my services may be best used.
In the first place, it is necessary in order to make my work
effective that I should receive permission to go to Chindwara and see
the brothers Ali. I would like to confer with them and ascertain from
them their advice as to the objects of the Conference. I have little
doubt that they will approve of co-operation. If the Government
would accept the request originally made by me, they would
instantaneously soothe both Hindus and Mahomedans by releasing
the brothers, if only as a war measure, in order to advance the objects
of the Conference. I shall be content for the time being with the
permission to see them. I merely state that their release would, from
the war standpoint, be a more effective act. Of course I shall reserve to
myself the right to press for their release in any case.
Further I desire relief regarding the Kaira trouble. Relief will
1
The letter appears to have been drafted on April 29 but actually sent on
this date.

entirely disengage me from that preoccupation which I may not
entirely set aside. It will also enable me to fall back for war purposes
upon my co-workers in Kaira and it may enable me to get recruits
from the district. The problem there is extremely simple. I have
suggested that the revenue—now probably less than four lakhs of
rupees—be suspended this year, with the proviso that those who can
will be put upon their honour and expected to pay revenue
voluntarily. I have already offered myself to see that the well-to-do
cultivators pay the revenue. If this offer is not acceptable, I have
suggested an impartial committee to inquire into the differences
between the authorities and the cultivators. I suggest that action in this
matter be taken as a war measure. This will obviate the fear of the
relief being regarded as a precedent.
Pray understand that my offer is not conditional upon relief in
either case. I merely ask for relief in the two cases in furtherance of
the common object.
As for my work, I would like, for the time being, to travel about
the country and place before the people the desirability of offering
their services and ascertain the possibilities of success. I would, if I am
to do this, like detailed information as to the areas in which, in the
opinion of the experts, work should be done and some instructions as
to the nature of it and any further information that they may consider
I should possess.
If it is desired that I should personally wait on any of the
officials or meet you, I would be prepared to come up to Simla. You
may give me as short a notice as you like after the 4th of May. My
address would be Nadiad.
I suppose I must give you something of my past record. I was in
charge of the Indian Ambulance Corps consisting of 1,100 men
during the Boer Campaign and was present at the battles of Colenso,
Spionkop and Vaalkranz.1 I was specially mentioned in General
Buller’s despatches.2 I was in charge of a similar corps3 of 90 Indians
at the time of the Zulu Campaign in 1906, and I was specially thanked
1
Vide “Indian Ambulance Corps in Natal”, 14-3-1900, “Indian Ambulance
Corps”, 18-4-1900,”and Speech at Calcutta Meeting”, 19-1-1902.
2
Ibid
3
Indian Stretcher-bearer Corps, vide “Indian Stretcher-Bearer Corps”, Before
19-7-1906..
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 11

by the then Government of Natal, Lastly, I raised the Ambulance
Corps in London consisting of nearly 100 students on the outbreak of
the present war, and I returned to India in 1915 only because I was
suffering from a bad attack of pleurisy brought about while I was
undergoing the necessary training.1 On my being restored to health, I
offered my services to Lord Hardinge, and it was then felt that I
should not be sent out to Mesopotamia or France, but that I should
remain in India. I omit reference to renewals of my offer to Provincial
authorities.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
9. LETTER TO J.L. SMAFFEY
NADIAD,
April 30, 1918
DEAR MR. MAFFEY,
I would like you please to read the letter to the Viceroy and wire
to me at Nadiad whether His Excellency has any reason why it may
not be published.2 It is intended to counteract forces of darkness. I am
simply besieged with inquiries as to my position. The people are
befogged. Dame rumour is doing all the mischief she can. I want to
overtake her. You will forgive me for my apparent impatience.
The other enclosure3 contains my offer. You will do with it what
you like. I would like to do something which Lord Chelmsford would
consider to be real war work. I have an idea that, if I became your
recruiting agent-in-chief, I might rain men on you. Pardon me for the
impertinence.
The Viceroy looked pale yesterday. My whole heart went out to
him as I watched him listening to the speeches. My God watch over
1
Vide “Letter to Dr. Abdurrahman”, 1-10-1914 to “Letter to C. Roberts”, 16-
10-1914 & “Letter to G.K. Gokhale”, 26-11-1914.
2
On May 2, Maffey telegraphed to Gandhiji: “You may publish letter at your
own discretion. No authority for doing so should be quoted.”
3

and protect him and you, his faithful and devoted Secretary. I feel
you are more than a secretary to him.
Yours sincerely,
M.K. GANDHI
PS. The Reverend Mr. Ireland of St. Stephen’s College has kindly offered to
deliver this letter into your hands.
M.K.G.
10. LETTER TO SIR WILLIAM VINCENT

April 30, 1918
DEAR SIR WILLIAM VINCENT,
I ruffled you on Sunday. But I really came to further the object
for which you have overworked yourself. I merely came to tell you
that the release of the Brothers Ali was calculated to encourage
recruiting. If I did not believe this, it would have been sinful for me to
expect you to give me a single minute of your time.
You asked me whether I had brought the authorities a single
recruit. I suggest to you that it was not a fair question and one might
truly serve the Empire and yet not bring a single recruit.
I hope you will not resent this letter, but accept it as an honest
explanation of a visit which you so hastily misunderstood.
11. LETTER TO RABINDRANATH TAGORE1

DELHI ,
April 30 [1918]
DEAR GURUDEV,
Much as I should like to keep Mr. Andrews with me a little
longer, I feel sure that he must leave for Calcutta tonight. I know you
want his soothing presence by you whilst you are keeping indifferent
health. And you must have him while you need him. We are on the
threshold of a mighty change in India. I would like all the pure forces
to be physically present in the country during the process of her new
1
Gandhiji sent this letter to Tagore through Andrews, after he heard that the
two were to go abroad.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 13

birth. If therefore you would at all find rest anywhere in India, I
would ask you and Mr. Andrews to remain in the country and kindly
to lend me Mr. Andrews now and then. His guidance at times is most
precious to me.
Mr. Ambalal has asked me to say that he will welcome you and
your company as his honoured guests in his bungalow at Matheran.
The season there ends about the middle of June. Mr. Ambalal is also
prepared to secure for you accommodation at Ooty if you so wish. I
suggest that it would be better if you come and stay at Matheran for
the time being and then decide whether you will pass the rest of the
hot season at Ooty.
I do hope you will soon recover from the nervous strain you are
suffering from.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
From the original in Gandhiji’s hand: G. N. 2291
12. LETTER TO MAGANLAL GANDHI

NADIAD,
[April-May, 1918]
CHI. MAGANLAL,
The letter from Limbdi is encouraging. What I advise is that you

should, yourself go to Limbdi and, having taught them the work, post
someone else, if necessary. I am sure in my mind that you should now
stir out. If you feel like it, you may leave Limbdi occasionally for a
day or two and go to the Ashram. Ultimately, we can put Mama there,
if we find it necessary. It won’t be possible to teach everything in a
month and you will be able to tell them so, or explain it to them, after
going there. I would advise you to get Shivlal to come over to us,
offering him, even, something more by way of pay. When you go,
you can see his father in Wadhwan and pacify him. Explain to him
that the Ashram is not for turning everyone into good-for-nothing
mendicants. Give him names and other particulars of persons in the
Ashram who are earning. If Shivlal comes over, it will be easier for
you to leave the place. I should like you to go to Limbdi, whatever the
difficulties. It will be better if you take Ba with you. She will look
after your meals and will also do some work among the women.

Santok certainly cannot go now. She will mind the accounts and look
after the girls. If you have not sent a spinning-wheel to Anasuyabehn
by now, please do so. It is time we started spinning in the Ashram.
This can be done only after you have paid a visit to Vijapur and seen
the thing for yourself. Is respected Khushalbhai fit enough to join any
of the activities? Would he like to? Devbhabhi may also be made to
take interest.
Blessings from
BAPU
From the handwritten original in Gujarati: C. W. 5729. Courtesy: Radhabehn
Choudhri
13. LETTER TO HARILAL GANDHI

[ON THE TRAIN ,]
May 1, 1918
I got your letter in Delhi. What shall I write to you ? Everyone
acts according to his nature. The true end of all effort in life is to gain
control over the impulses of one’s nature; that is dharma. Your faults
will be forgotten if you make this effort. Since you are emphatic that
you did not commit the theft, I may believe you but the world will
not. Bear the world’s censure and be more careful in future. You
should give up your notion of what the world means. Your world is
your employer. Have no fear if you are tried in a court of law. If you
take my advice, do not engage a lawyer. Explain everything to the
advocate on the other side.
You had in your hand a diamond which you have thrown away,
thanks to your rash and impatient nature. You are no child. Not a little
have you tasted of the good things of life. If you have had enough Of
that, turn back. Don’t lose heart. If you are speaking the truth, don’t
lose your faith in it. There is no God but Truth. One’s virtues are no
dead matter but are all life. It is a thoughtless and self-willed life you
have lived so far. I should like you to bring wisdom and discipline
into it.
As things happened, I have done something very big in Delhi. 1
You will find some account of it in the papers. I have no time to write
about it. Mahadev will find some time to do so. He was an eyewitness
1
The reference is obviously to his part in the War Conference.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 15

to it all. He has taken your place, but the wish that it had been you
refuses still to die. I would have died broken-hearted if I had no other
sons. Even now, if you wish to be an understanding son without
displacing anyone who has made himself such to me, your place is
assured.
Blessings from
BAPU
[From Gujarati]
Mahadevbhaini Diary, Vol. IV
14. FRAGMENT OF LETTER TO V. S. SRINIVASA

SASTRI
[BOMBAY,
May 3, 1918]
Your “ N o ” had a real value to me. The “Ayes” had no
value at all. 1
15. SPEECH AT ANTYAJ CONFERENCE, BIJAPUR2

May 5, 1918
Before moving the resolution extending support to the Congress-League
Scheme and recommending to the Government to recognize the place of Antyajas,
Gandhiji asked twice:
How many Antyajas are present at this meeting?

Finding that there was none, he said, in Hindi:
Why are we wasting our time here, then, keeping awake till this
hour of twelve? We are like the parrot endlessly repeating Narayana,
1
At a Bombay meeting, Sastri raised a point of order against moving a
resolution on the Kheda Satyagraha on the ground that seven days’ notice of the
resolution had not been given. Gandhiji offered, in that case, to withdraw the
resolution. All except Sastri said they did not want this to be done; Sastri regretted he
could not agree to the resolution. It was dropped.
2
This was the second Depressed Classes Mission Conference. B. S. Kamat
presided.

Narayana. I would advise Bhai Shinde1 to give up calling such
conferences and to engage himself in some solid work. We can purge
ourselves of the sin of untouchability only through purity of heart.
Genuine feeling alone will ensure results, not any unnatural efforts.
We pass resolution after resolution for the removal of untouchability,
but the result has been nil. To prevent the unanimous passage of the
resolution, one gentleman argued that the Conference will serve no
practical purpose. I say the same thing.
When I read out the resolution recommending acceptance of the
Congress-League Scheme, I had hoped that it would be supported by
a member of the Antyaj community, but there is none here at all. What
is then the point of passing it? What weight will it carry with Mr.
Montagu? I cannot move it. This Conference has no right to pass such
a resolution and, therefore, we cannot bring it up here. It would be
enough if we gave up behaving unnaturally and took to straight
forward ways. We don’t observe the varnashram. The Brahmin has
given up his dharma, the Kshatriya and the Vaisya theirs, and we cling
to what is no part of our religion. We are not fit for swaraj
What should they who demand swaraj do for the Antyajas? Our
friends like Lord Sydenham are bound to put this question to us, and
in reply we shall have to hang our heads in shame. He who demands
swaraj must give swaraj to others. It is a principle in law that he who
seeks justice should render it to others. I would ask you to give up all
this play-acting and in all sincerity of heart offer prayers at this
midnight hour so that our sinfulness, our hardness of heart, may
disappear.
[From Gujarati]
1
V. R. Shinde
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 17

16. REPLY T0 GOVERNMENT PRESS NOTE ON KHEDA
CRISIS1
[AHMEDABAD ,]
May 6, 1918
The Government Press Note2 on the Kaira trouble is remarkable
for the sins both of omission and commission. As to the paragraph
devoted to Messrs Parikh and Patel’s investigations, I wish only to say
that, at the interview with His Excellency the Governor, the Commissi-
oner challenged the accuracy of their statements. I Immediately
suggested the appointment of a committee of inquiry. Surely, it was
the most proper thing that the Government could have done, and the
whole of the unseemly executions, the removal of the cultivators’
milch cattle and their ornaments, the confiscation orders, could have
been avoided. Instead, as the Press Note says, they posted a Collector
“of long experience”. What could he do? The best of officials have
to move in a vicious circle. They have to carry out the traditions of a
service which has made of prestige a fetish and which considers itself
to be almost infallible, and rarely admits its mistakes.
With reference to the investigation by Mr. Devdhar and his co-
workers, the Press Note leaves on the reader the impression that the
Commissioner had responded to their suggestions. At the interview at
which I was present he challenged the report they had submitted to
him and said distinctly that, whatever relief he granted would not be
granted because of the report, which, he said in substance, was not true
in so far as it contained any new things, and was not new in so far as it
contained any true statements.
I cannot weary the public with the tragedy in the Matar Taluqa.
In certain villages of the Taluqa which are affected; by the irrigation
canals, they have a double grievance: (1) the ordinary failure of crops
by reason of the excessive rainfall, and (2) the total destruction of
crops by reason of overflooding. In the second case, they are entitled
to full remission. So far as I am aware, in many cases it has not been
granted.
1
A brief summary of the statement appeared earlier in New India on
May 6.
2
This was issued on April 24.

It is not correct to say that the Servants of India Society stopped
investigation in the Thasra Taluqa because there was no case for
inquiry, but because they deemed it unnecessary, so their report says,
as I had decided to inquire into the crops of almost every village.
The Press Note is less than fair in calling my method of inquiry
“Utopian”. I do adhere to my contention that, if the cultivators
statements may be relied upon, my method cannot but yield
absolutely reliable results. Who should know better than the cultivator
himself the yield of his crops? I refuse to believe that lakhs of men
could conspire to tell an untruth when there was no great gain in view
and suffering a certainty. It is impossible for thousands of men to
learn by heart figures as to the yield—actual and probable—of even
ten crops so that the total in each case would give less than a four-
anna crop. I contend that my method contains automatic safeguards
against deception. Moreover, I had challenged the official annawari
alike of kharif and rabi crops. When I did so, the rabi crops were still
standing. I had, therefore, suggested that they could cut the rabi crops
and test the yield and thus find the true annawari. I had suggested this
specially of Vadthal. My argument was that if the cultivators’
annawari of such rabi crops was found to be correct and the officials’
wrong, it was not improper to infer that the cultivators’ valuations
regarding the kharif crops were also right. My offer was not accepted.
I may add that I had asked to be allowed to be present when the
Collector visited Vadthal which was taken as a test village. This request
was also not accepted.
The Note is misleading inasmuch as it states that, in arriving at
my annawari, I have not taken into account the rabi crops or the
cotton crop. I have taken these crops into account. I have simply
questioned the logic of the official system. The reason is obvious. If
out of a population of one thousand men, only two hundred men
grew rabi crops, it would be highly unjust to the eight hundred men to
force up their annawari if without the rabi crops their crops showed
only four annas or under.
I am surprised at the gross inaccuracies in the paragraph
devoted to the crops in Limbasi. In the first instance, I was not present
when the official inquiry was made, and in the second instance the
wheat, which is valued at Rs. 13,445, included wheat also from two
neighbouring villages, so that out of the crops estimated at Rs. 13,445
three assessments had to be paid. And what are Rs. 13,445 in a
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 19

population of eighteen hundred men? For the matter of that, I am
prepared to admit that the Limbasi people had a rice crop which too
gave them as many rupees. At the rate of forty rupees per head per
year to feed a man, the Limbasi people would require Rs. 72,000 for
their food alone. It may interest the public to know that, according to
the official annawari, the Limbasi wheat alone should have been
worth Rs. 83,021. This figure has been supplied to me by the
Collector. To demonstrate the recklessness with which the Press Note
has been prepared, I may add that if the Limbasi people are to be
believed, the whole of the wheat crop was on the threshing floor.
According to their statements, nearly one-third was foreign wheat. The
Limbasi wheat, therefore, would be under Rs. 9,000. The official
annaweri is ten annas. Now, according to the actual yield, the wheat
annawari of Limbasi was eleven annas as against the official ten
annas. Moreover, a maund of wheat per bigha is required as seed and
the Limbasi cultivators had 3,000 (Rs. 3 per maund equals Rs. 9,000)
maunds of wheat on 1965 bighas; i.e., the wheat crop was a trifle over
the seed. Lastly, whilst the crop was under distraint, I had offered to
the Collector to go over to Limbasi myself and to have it weighed so
that there might be no question of the accuracy or otherwise of the
cultivators’ statement. But the Collector did not accept my offer.
Therefore, I hold that the cultivators’ figures must be accepted as true.
Merely to show how hopelessly misleading the Press Note is, I
may state that the Gujarat Sabha did not pass a resolution advising
passive resistance. Not that it would have shirked it, but I felt myself
that passive resistance should not be the subject of a resolution in a
Sabha whose constitution was governed by the rule of majority, and so
the Gujarat Sabha resolution left it open to individual members to
follow their own bent of mind. It is true that most of the active
members of the Sabha are engaged in the Kaira trouble.
I must repudiate totally the insinuation that I dissuaded payment
by people who wished to pay. The figures given in the Press Note
showing the collection in the different talukas, if they prove anything,
prove that the hand of the law has hit them hard and that the fears of
the ravanias and the talatis have proved too strong for them. When
after confiscation and sales under execution the Government show a
clean bill and no arrears, will they contend that there was no case for
relief or inquiry?
I admit that the suspension is granted as a matter of grace and

not as a matter of right enforceable by law, but the concession is not
based on caprice, but is regulated by properly defined rules, and the
Government do not contend that if the crops had been under four
annas, they could have withheld suspensions. The sole point
throughout has been the difference as to annawari. If it is true that, in
granting concessions, the Government take into account also other
circumstances, e.g., in the words of the Press Note, “the general
economic situation’s, suspension is doubly necessary this year
because of the plague and high prices. The Collector told me
definitely that he could not take this last into account. He could grant
suspension only under the rules which had reference only to crops
and nothing else.
I think I have shown enough here to warrant a committee
of inquiry and I submit that, as a matter of principle, it would be worth
while granting the inquiry even if one cultivator remains with an
arrear against him, because there is nothing found to attach and the
Government might be reluctant to sell his lands. The people have
challenged the accuracy of talatis figures. In some cases there are
talatis themselves ready to come forward to show that they were asked
to put up the annawari found by them. But if the inquiry is now held
to be unnecessary,1 why do the Government not grant suspension,
especially when, admittedly, there is only a small number left to
collect from and more especially when, if suspension is granted, well-
to-do cultivators are ready to pay.
It is evident now that Government have surrendered the question
of principle for which the Commissioner has stood.
The Viceroy has appealed for the sinking of domestic
differences. Is the appeal confined only to the raiyats or may the
officials also yield to the popular will, when the popular demand is not
immoral or unjust and thus produce contentment?
If distress means starvation, I admit that the Kaira people are not
starving. But if sale of goods to pay assessment or to buy grain for
1
The Government note said: “The Government regret their inability to accept
the pressing request which Mr. Gandhi and others are making for an indep-endent
inquiry. The agriculturists really cannot claim to have the land .revenue suspended or
remitted. They can only ask for relief as a matter of concession; but even if we were to
assume that the Government is prepared to appoint such a committee it is clear that
such an inquiry can be of little use, for final authority must vest in the Land Revenue
Department.”
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 21

food be an indication of distress, there is enough of it in the District. I
am prepared to show that hundreds have paid their assessment either
by incurring debts or by selling their trees, cattle or other valuables.
The most grievous omission in the Press Note, however, is that of the
fact that collections are being made in a vindictive spirit. The
cultivators are being taught a lesson for their contumacy so called.
They are under threat to lose their lands worth 3 crores of rupees for
an assessment of 4 lakhs of rupees. In many cases a quarter of the
assessment has been exacted as a penalty. Is there not in the above
narrative room for a doubt that the officials may be in the wrong?
New India, 9-5-1918
17. SPEECH AT BOMBAY PROVINCIAL CONFERENCE

[BIJAPUR,
May 6, 1918] 1
Mahatma Gandhi made a vigorgus speech in support of his resolution on the
indenture system at the second day’s sitting of the Bombay Provincial Conference.
Mr. Gandhi moved:
This Conference emphatically urges that nothing short of a
complete abolition of the indenture system of recruitment of labour in
any form will meet the evils of the system which is a form of slavery
which socially and politically debases the labourers and is detrimental
to the economic and moral interests of this country.
Mr. Gandhi spoke in Hindi and giving a resume of the indenture system
referred to the degrading effects which it had produced on our people in the Colonies.
He also described how it had lowered India and Indians in the estimation of the
European peoples. He condemned the Inter-Departmental Committee’s
recommendations on this question and said in an emphatic manner that the system
should go once for all and that no reservations whatsoever should be made.
Young India, 8-5-1918
1
The Conference, according to Bombay Secret Abstracts was held from May 5
to 8 at Bijapur. Vithalbhai Patel presided.

18. SPEECH AT ANTYAJ CONFERENCE, BIJAPUR
May 6, 1918
I have committed a serious indiscretion. A friend came and said
that I was unnecessarily creating a disturbance in Bijapur which is
divided into two camps. I did not know the real position. I have not
come to throw the apple of discord and to exacerbate the feelings of
the parties.
Lokamanya Tilak must be here to guide you and me. I am
but a child of three in politics. I have yet to see, to consider, and
to learn things. I apologize for creating this disturbance.
In common meetings one may explain his views thoroughly freely
without being charged with the idea of creating a disturbance. As I
propose to put into practice the programme I have mapped out, I
should not be anxious to ascertain the feeling running in all parts of
India. But as you are all come here with preconceived notions, I
cannot discuss my position here. I would like to exchange views and
understand your feelings and deciding motives and reach the backs of
your minds. But I shall prefer to come here in a calmer atmosphere
and shall only then come to steel your hearts when we are not
cramped with resolutions before us. I think Mr. Kelkar has taken the
most reasonable position and that, at this stage, we must accept the
Congress Committee’s resolution.
19. LETTER T0 MAHADEV DESAI1

[NADIAD,]
May 9, 1918
BHAISHRI MAHADEV,
I never dreamt that you would so completely misunderstand
what I said out of boundless confidence in you. I did expect that,
because you are so much attached to me, it would be something of a
shock to you to have to go to Champaran. But how could you
possibly imagine that, thinking you unworthy, I had found this
1
This was in reply to Mahadev Desai’s letter of May 8, remonstrating
against Gandhiji’s wish that the former proceed to Champaran.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 23

indirect way of getting rid of you? I thought you were the only
person who could come up to my expectations and, therefore, I
suggested your going to Champaran. I believed that the work at
Badharwa was not beyond the capacity of Durga. Maybe I was wrong
in my estimate. At present, I shall only tell you, for your peace of
mind, that all your guesses are wrong. It was my respect for the
capacity of you both which prompted me to make the suggestion. I
have told both Raojibhai and Devdas that I would be hard put to it
without your help. You have made yourself indispensable to me. I
meant what I wrote to Polak. You have not disappointed me. It is for
your efficiency and your character that I have chosen you to help me
in my political work and you have not disappointed me. Add to this
the fact that you can cook khichdi1 for me, with so much love. More,
when we meet.
[From Gujarati]
20. LETTER TO ESTHER FAERING

[SABARMATI ,]
May 11, 1918
MY DEAR ESTHER,
I have your letter. I shall—we shall look forward to your
coming to the Ashram during Xmas. The main buildings will then
have been ready and the weather will be delightful.
I hope you have read my letter2 to the Viceroy as also my letter3
in reply to Mr. Pratt’s speech. They contain in the briefest form my
views on Government and the philosophy of life, and the one to the
Viceroy shows in the vividest form the view I take of the law of love
and suffering. Passive Resistance expresses the idea in the crudest
form. Indeed, I dislike the phrase as a weapon of the weak. It totally
misrepresents the law of love. Love is the epitome of strength. Love
flows the freeliest [sic] only when there is entire absence of fear.
Punishments of the loved ones are like balm to the soul.
Will you not try an absolute fast for your liver? You may drink
1
Boiled rice with pulses, vegetables, etc.
2
Vide “Letter to Viceroy”, 29-4-1918.
3
Vide “Letter to The Bombay Chronicle”, 15-4-1918.

boiled water copiously and, if that is not enough, you may drink
orange juice diluted with water. If you feel weak and faint, lie in bed,
better still take a cold hip bath, i.e., sit in a tub with your legs and the
upper part of the body out of water. It is most invigorating. There is
nothing like fasting for liver complaints.
Yours sincerely
BAPU
21. LETTER TO G. A. NATESAN

S ABARMATI ,
May 12 [1918] 1
DEAR MR. NATESAN,
Here is my speech2 .
I consider myself honoured to find my name among the
supporters of this resolution. I realize fully its meaning and I tender
my support to it with all my heart. I had your note with the Rs. 100.
You do not now need any reply to the note!
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
22. SPEECH AT DHUNDAKUVA3

May 13, 1918
Mahatmaji began to address the people by saying that the result of their
struggle was a nearly complete, if not a complete, victory inasmuch as Mr. Pratt had
not been able to execute his threats and carry out his vow. He divided vows into two
classes, viz., divine and devilish. Those vows were divine which could not be broken
and should be carried out even at the cost of life, and which could stand resistance.
Devilish vows were those that required ever to be resisted. A satyagrahi made it his
1
The speech was the one Gandhiji made at the Man-Power Committee of the
War Conference on April 28, 1918.
2
The speech was the one Gandhiji made at the Man-Power Committee of the
War Conference on April 28, 1918.
3
A village in Borsad taluka
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 25

business to offer his resistance to such vows every time and everywhere. And Mr.
Pratt’s was such a vow, that is, of the devilish type. Mr. Pratt had always been
respected by him (the speaker), and he was no bad officer, but those who were not bad
officers sometimes committed serious blunders. Mr. Pratt’s object was to punish the
agriculturists for their disobedience of Government’s authority, but he could not
punish them as he chose the devilish means.1 The whole district was now fired with a
spirit that was never in the people before. They had awakened to a sense of their
rights. Mahatmaji explained to them that in defending themselves against
oppression by passive resistance to it, they had blessed the oppressor also, just as
Prahlad by his passive resistance blessed his oppressive father. Had Mr. Pratt been
allowed to execute his threat, the whole nation would have raised a cry of horror, and
Mr. Pratt would no doubt see some day that he was luckily spared that catastrophe.
Before concluding, he said he could not omit to refer to one painful incident
that had been brought to his notice. He had been told that the mukhi in Dabhasi was
using his evil influence to persuade people to evade the effects of attachments by
keeping money easily accessible to attaching officers. It was, Mahatmaji said,
incredible that people could be so simply deluded. It was nothing short of voluntary
mischief on the people’s part, and calculated to spoil the whole movement.
We will respect the officers, but we won’t assist them; we will
give them food and shelter, but surely we will not voluntarily point out
to them the things to be attached. He who believes that he can evade
the effects of attachment by keeping ready things for being attached,
has missed the whole spirit of the struggle.
The Dabhasi incident, he repeated, had shocked him, and he hoped it would
nowhere be repeated. One thing more he would add in conclusion. He had heard that
revenue officers had to go without food and water from some places. He would like to
suggest that passive resistance did not mean molestation of others, but simple and
pure voluntary suffering. He feelingly concluded by observing that there ought not to
be a single house or village which belonged to a satyagrahi where there was not the
practice of truth in word and deed, where no sweet words were spoken, and where one
had to go away without food and shelter.
The Bombay Chronicle, 16-5-1918
1
During the month, Government resorted increasingly to confiscation of land
for realization of revenue arrears; but later, forfeiture of land was largely set aside and
dues realized through auction of movable property.

23. LETTER T0 HANUMANTRAO
[KATHLAL,]
May 15, l9I8
The Hindu comments on Mr. Shastriar’s speech 1 are damnable
and I think that the best answer to them is not to notice them. Mr.
Kasturi Ayyangar2 is a man who is not to be convinced by any appeal
to reason or sense of justice. He has his own notions and he sticks to
them with an obstinacy I have rarely seen in any other man. Those
who know Mr. Shastriar are not affected by the Hindu comments.
Those for whom Mr. Kasturi Ayyangar’s word is gospel truth will
listen to no correction. His (Shastriar’s) unapproachable character and
his scholarly attainments may be trusted to take care of themselves
and to bear down in the end the obsession of his bitterest enemies. I
think Mr. Shastriar will give a good account of himself when anyone
else is weighed in the balance and found wanting and I think he
knows this and he is supremely happy in the consciousness of it. You
and I, therefore, have no cause to feel perturbed over the vagaries of
Mr. Kasturi Ayyangar or for that matter of anybody else. But all of us
have to conspire and, if possible, compel him to look after his body
which I hold is not beyond repair.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
From the manuscript of Mahadev Desai’s Diary. Courtesy: Narayan Desai:
24. LETTER TO DABHOLKAR

May 15, 1918
I have your letter. I am grateful to you for writing to me so
frankly. There is not a trace of “policy” in my letter.3 I wrote what I
believe to be true, every word of it. You have summed up my ideas
perfectly. I do believe that, if we were to sacrifice ourselves silently in
our thousands, swaraj would be ours today. If you could not see how
this can be even after reading that letter of mine, it is hardly possible
1
Delivered at the War Conference
2
Kasturi Ranga Ayyangar, editor of The Hindu
3
Vide ‘‘Letter to J. L. Maffey”, 30-4-1918.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 27

for me to explain it in this one. I would, therefore, request you to read
that letter repeatedly and to ponder over every word of it till you have
understood it. The effort will not go unrewarded. I did not write that
letter in a hurry. I took great pains over it and wrote it in perfect
sincerity and entirely out of my love for the country. I think my
tapascharya must be still imperfect if the letter is not clear enough or
seems to lend itself to two interpretations. If the country understands
my plan and carries it out, I am sure it embraces everything, swaraj
and many other things besides. To say that we shall fight [in the war]
after swaraj is granted seems, to me at any rate, to betray complete
ignorance of the meaning of swaraj. I do not admit that, as a
representative of the people, I am in duty bound to place before the
public all the letters that I write to the Viceroy. All through my life,
there have been a good many, and to my mind important, actions of
mine in my representative capacity which have remained, and will ever
remain, unknown. My first letter1 to His Excellency the Viceroy was
meant for him alone. I cannot give publicity to the views which I
expressed to him as to a gentleman and a friend. To publish the
courteous but bitter language used in that letter would be inviting
mischief. I have given publicity to such part of my conversation with
him as would bear being made public. My second letter relates to what
I intend to do and, in comparison to the first one, is not very
important.
[From Gujarati]
25. LETTER TO DR. PRANJIVAN MEHTA

May 15, 1918
As for the struggle in Kheda, what shall I say? It is a very big
one. No one is prepared to believe that this agitation can be carried on
only with two or three thousand rupees by way of travelling and other
expenses. I asked them to return the sums, which had been collected,
about Rs. 25,000 and I find I have to refuse offers of money from
many quarters. If I accept money, the struggle will lose its purity;
dishonesty will creep in and the people will fall morally. By not
accepting contributions, I have saved myself from all this and have
1

been able to keep the fight clean. The whole of India has watched and
appreciated this fight. It has been a matter of regret to me that
Shastriar has not done so. He will, in course of time. He is a man of
noble soul and I have no fears, therefore. I have no doubt whatever
that the fight is justified,
[From Gujarati]
26. LETTER TO VALJI G. DESAI

NADIAD,
Vaishakh Sud [On or before May 16, 1918] 1
BHAISHRI VALJI,
I spoke to Panditji at length about you. He said that he would

soon send for you and accommodate you somewhere. Will you be
ready? He will not give less than Rs. 200/- for a start.
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
From a photostat of the Gujarati: C.W. 11269. Courtesy: Valji G. Desai
27. SPEECH AT SANDESAR2

May 16, 1918
The plucky people of this village have shown great courage.
The remarkable thing about these gatherings is that women attend
them in large numbers and listen to the speeches with great
interest. It cannot be said of the Kheda struggle that the men
and women do not know what they are doing.
The first duty of a satyagrahi is to ascertain whether he is on the
side of truth in what he is about and, if he is assured of that, he should
fight for it even at the cost of his life. One who is desirous of giving
up his life for the sake of truth is ever ready to do so, when there is
occasion to fight for truth. In some of our fights carried on in the
1
It appears from the contents that this letter was written in 1918. Vaishakh
Sud corresponds to the period covering May 11 to May 25. During this period
Gandhiji was in Nadiad on May 11, 12 and 16.
2
This has been collated with a Gujarati report in Kheda Satyagraha.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 29

name of satyagraha, the reason of our failure lies in our not sticking
to the truth on all occasions. They cannot be called satyagrahis who
talk of truth, but do not translate it into their actions. They know the
value of truth and yet, on occasions, they are not on the path of truth.
Those who fight for justice must ever be ready to do justice to others.
One has to be true in thoughts as well as in acts. All scriptures say that
he who wishes to enter the Temple of Justice must become pure
himself. Just as we should enter a temple only after taking a bath and
with holy thoughts in the mind, so also, it is only a man of a pure
mind who can enter the Temple of Justice. It is a divine law that none
with a profane mind may enter there. Those who would have justice
should deal out justice to others. That is the first duty of a satyagrahi.
At Agas station, Vallabhbhai handed me a note. If what he
said in it is true, I am afraid we show no regard for justice. In that
note, members of the Dhed1 community had complained that, for four
years, the village people had not given them any part of their share [of
the produce]. I do not know whether the complaint is justified or not.
If it is, the matter should be settled immediately. Since we demand
justice for ourselves, I would request you to do justice to others. I was
telling someone this morning that the people of Kheda were happy
with this struggle because it was an opportunity for them to rise. We
are, at the moment, fighting the Administration and believe that God is
on our side. We now refuse our free services to Government officers.
We tell Kumbhars2 , Dheds and Bhangis that they need not work so.
Even if they offer to pay those who are agreeable may work, others
may not. Even if scavengers, potters and barbers are offered the fullest
payment, they may or may not serve, as they please; they have a right
to decide. If we, too, acknowledge this right of theirs, we shall have
qualified ourselves for full swaraj. We may succeed in overthrowing
this Government, but, assuming in our arrogance that none dare
overthrow us, we shall have taken the tyrant’s place ourselves. Some
Englishmen tell me that I shall have to regret what I am teaching the
people. But I am perfectly clear in my mind about this and I see no
error in what I am doing. I am convinced that I have given the right
advice to the people so far. What I tell them about their duty to the
Government, I would not hesitate to tell one section of the community
about its duty to any other. Even if that should cost me my head, I
1
One of the communities regarded as untouchables
2
Potters

would not give up truth. As my head is at the disposal of the
Government, so also is it at the disposal of the people. When the
people abuse their authority over the poor and oppress them, I would
advise the poor to resort to satyagraha and not to leave the path of
justice. That is the only road to happiness. The weapon that has fallen
into your hands is invaluable. No one can stand against it. One who
has realized the beauty of it would firmly say that there is no other
religion but that of truth. I have already told you that we have won.
This struggle is not for the suspension of land revenue only. If it were
so, that could have been obtained long ago. In this struggle, there is
much more than that. Even Mr. Pratt admits that this struggle is not
for suspension of land revenue only, but it involves the interests of
thirty crores of people. It is a struggle between the will of the people
and the prestige of officials. We must, by now, realize that the
authority of Government is nothing before that of the people. No
government has ever yet come into existence which could successfully
resist the will of the people. When the people are determined to get
their rights, they will have them. We do not want to be discourteous
and, at the same time, we would not be slaves. A satyagrahi will never
forget his manners, nor give up his point; he will not send away a
Government officer unfed. He will offer him water, food and
accommodation and thus show his nobility. The Government officer
has become our guest and, therefore, whether friend or foe, we should
treat him with courtesy. He can take away nothing from us against
our will. When any of them arrives to execute an order of attachment,
it is not for us to place our jewellery and our household utensils
before him. If he finds anything of ours and has it attached, we should
keep calm and not give way to fear. Justice and truth are to be
weighed against money. I would appeal to you to understand all this.
This is a struggle for self-government. We wish that we may get
it. But what is the use of that authority in the hands of the weak and
the emasculated ? The dead body is unable to make use of the sword
in its hand, or of the heap of corn placed before it. So a worthless man
is unable to do anything. Such a man has no right to eat. It is said in
the Gita that he who eats without performing yajna is a thief. The
meaning of a yajna is that the body is for the people, for God. It
means that one should sacrifice one’s self and give up one’s all. That
is the real yajna. He who eats without performing mahayajna is a
thief. No authority could ever tyrannize over a nation that has
understood this. If the true meaning of this saying could blend with
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 31

our blood and flow in our veins, we have nothing else to win. Then we
have won everything. Satyagraha is a celestial weapon. That man only
can fittingly hold it who possesses manliness and courage. If we all act
up to it after having well understood it, it will be said of India that this
is not a land of cowards but of thirty crores of gods.
28. LETTER TO RAMBHAU GOGATE

S ATYAGRAHASHRAM ,
S ABARMATI ,
Vaishakh Sud 6 [May 17, 1918]
BHAISHRI RAMBHAU GOGATE,
Kotwal’s sister may come now, if she feels like it. But the heat
here is so great these days that it will be terrifying to any one who has
been living in Indore. I would therefore advise her to come after June
15. The rains will start soon after that and the air will be a little cooler,
or humid at any rate. At present, the sky pours down heat and
scorching winds are blowing at all hours. When she comes [in June],
Ba will be here and she will assuredly have her company. I am writing
this letter after consulting Ba. I hope she has made herself familiar
with the customary diet here and the routine of life, etc.
Vandematram from
MOHANDAS GANDHI
From a photostat of the Gujarati original in Gandhiji’s hand: G. N. 3614

ON THE TRAIN ,
May 18, 1918
In full confidence that the request contained in my letter of the
29th will be accepted, I am busy making recruiting preparations. But
1
I shall not commence work before I have your reply.2

30. LETTER T0 MAGAGANLAL GANDHI

NEARING AGRA,
[May 18, 1918]
CHI. MAGANLAL,
I have made you thoroughly miserable; my intention, however,
was to soothe you. Harshness is conquered by gentleness, hatred by
love, lethargy by zeal and darkness by light. Your love flows in
driblets; but, as a mere drizzle of rain goes to waste, so, I see, does love
oftentimes. It is a heavy downpour of rain which drenches the soil to
fullness; likewise, only a profuse shower of love overcomes hatred.
Where you go wrong is in expecting justice. Go on doing justice
yourself. Love is not love which asks for a return. If one were
overflowing with love oneself, where could one store the love others
might give? This is the hidden significance of seeing all as one. When
Mira felt the stab of love, she was one with God. This is the principle
of advaita in actual practice. Follow as much of this as you can; keep
cheerful at any rate.
Blessings from
BAPU
From the Gujarati original in Gandhiji’s hand: C.W. 5728. Courtesy:
Radhabehn Choudhri
1
2
Maffey sent extracts from his correspondence with Gandhiji to Lord
Willingdon, Governor of Bombay, and informed Gandhiji of his action. For
Gandhiji’s correspondence with the Governor of Bombay, vide “Letter to J. Crerar”,
30-5-1918.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 33

31. LETTER TO C. F. ANDREWS
[MOTIHARI,]
May 23, 1918
I did not feel moved when I read of Willie’s1 arrest. I
sympathize too with the Viceroy’s feelings. Why should he [be] called
upon to investigate matters of this nature when there is a deadly war
going on? Willie and we should meekly suffer. There is no principle
at stake in Willie’s case. There is no question of race prejudice and
none of public feeling. Some must be content to be imprisoned for
their views or actions. What is necessary is to correspond with Willie.
He will fight his way to freedom, if he needs it. To be anxious about
him is to do him injustice. I feel sure that he is happy where he is. I
think that public agitation is unnecessary. If you feel like me, you
would write a manly letter to the Viceroy for worrying him. I
sometimes feel that many of these Englishmen who go through the
terrible strain of war without collapsing must be yogis. They would be
fit for moksha if their yoga was employed for a better cause.
32. LETTER TO VALJI G. DESAI

MOTIHARI,
[On or before May 24, 1918] 2
BHAISHRI VALJI,
I have talked to Panditji about you. He asked me about the

salary you would expect. I suggested Rs. 300/-. I got the impression
that he thought the amount a little too high. So I want to ask you what
is the minimum you will accept.
Bandemataram from.
MOHANDAS
From a photostat of the Gujarati: C.W. 11270. Courtesy: Valji G. Desai
1
W. W. Pearson
2
It appears from the contents that this letter was written in 1918 and after the
letter written to the addresses from Nadiad on or before May 16; vide the preceding
item. Gandhiji was in Motihari on May 20, 21, 23 and 24.

33. LETTER TO HANUMANTRAO
May 25, 1918
What I want you to do is not to sever your connection with the
Society1 ; but remaining in the Society do the Hindi work. I would like
Mr. Shastriar to permit you to go to Allahabad, stay there a year and
learn Hindi fairly well, then return to Madras and side by side with
your other work spread a knowledge of Hindi among the Telugu
people. The fact of your having studied Hindi will enlarge the scope
of your work and enable you if the occasion arose to work among the
masses outside the Madras Presidency. I do not know whether you
have noticed it. I have. There is almost an unbridgeable gulf between
the Dravidians and all the other Indians. The shortest and the most
effective bridge is undoubtedly the Hindi language. English can never
take its place. When Hindi becomes the common language among the
cultured classes the Hindi vocabulary will soon filter down to the
masses. There is something undefinable about Hindi which makes it
the easiest language to learn and somehow or other there is a licence
taken about Hindi grammar such as I have not known to be taken
about any other language. The result is that the learning of Hindi
becomes largely a matter of memory only. Hence do I say that for
doing national work a knowledge of Hindi is an absolute necessity.
What can be better than that a member of the Society should give
himself a training in Hindi? Mr. Gokhale once told me that he wanted
a knowledge of Hindi to be obligatory on the part of all the members
and that he wanted Hindi to be the language spoken at the Society’s
meetings. He added that the Tamilians and especially Mr. Shastriar
presented the greatest difficulty. He was too old to learn it !!!
You seem to think of Satyagrahashram as something apart from
the Society. But I do not. During the last days of Mr. Gokhale’s life
on this earth his wish was that I should open a branch in Gujarat and
bring to life a province which appeared to be politically dead. It fills
me with pride to know that I have played a humble part in carrying
out the programme. It is a matter not of much moment that
Satyagrahashram for very sound reasons cannot be recognized as a
branch. The work is there. In so far as it is good in my estimation the
credit is the Society’s, the failures are due to my limitations and need
1
Servants of India Society
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 35

not be shared by the Society. When in the fullness of time, I have got
over my limitations, the Ashram will merge in the Society. Till then
even if you wanted to come to the Ashram I would not admit you
except as a loan from the Society. So you see that in thinking of you
as a candidate for learning Hindi I have not even conceived the
possibility of your severance from the Society.
34. SPEECH AT PATNA

May 25, 1918
Mr. Gandhi returned from Motihari to attend a meeting in Patna City on the
25th ultimo. While in Champaran, he visited the District Magistrate and Sub-
Divisional Officer, Bettiah, and then went on and saw his schools at Shikarpur,
Madhuban and Dhakka. While at Motihari, he stayed with Babu Gorakh Prasad.
Numbers of ryots visited his camp, but most of them were instructed to take their
grievances to their local representatives. His visit caused a mild excitement as usual.
The meeting in Patna over which the Hon’ble Mr. Purnendu Narayan Sinha
presided was an unusually crowded one, some 8,000 persons attending including over
300 sadhus. It would seem that the people expected a more fiery speech than the one
actually delivered, for the enthusiasm evinced at Mr. Gandhi’s arrival waned very low
as the speech proceeded.
In his opening remarks he referred to the subject of a universal language in
India and hoped that within a few years Hindus would learn Persian and Muhammadans
would study Sanskrit, so that the two languages might eventually combine. He then
went on to say that he had no time to speak to them regarding affairs in Champaran
or”the disgraceful episode at Shahabad, but he would say that mutual goodwill
between Muhammadans and Hindus would not be attained by recourse to the Special
Tribunals; that was a question of mutual consultation and arrangement. The main
subject of his speech was”Our Present Condition”. The time had arrived for Indians to
make their choice. Such opportunities only come once in the lifetime of a nation. He
was addressing his remarks more specially to the educated classes. India had been
called on for another army; already some seven or eight lakhs were serving outside
India and another five lakhs were to be recruited this year. These persons were paid by
Government and earned their living by military service. India could not be proud of
them, and derived no benefit from their existence. The self-government that the
people were clamouring for was not the self-government that he had in mind. They
must have a self-government army, and for this it was incumbent on them to supply
the five lakhs that Government wanted without waiting for Government to recruit

them. The advise he gave them was to raise a republican army, and he called on the
people”to go along with him and go wherever the Government directed”. (At this
stage a fairly large number of people quietly slipped away from the meeting). If they
did not provide the men, Government would obtain them somehow or other if
necessary by enforcing legal compulsion.
Another matter that be wished to speak to them about was the idea that self-
government meant the dismissal of the British from India—this was impossible. All
they wanted was to become a great partner in the British Empire. A great leader of
India had said.”We are prepared to fight, but on this condition, that you pledge
yourself to grant self-government to India.” In his opinion, this was not a straight
way of obtaining self-government. He advocated that India should provide the men
wanted, and impose no conditions— any calamity that overtakes the Empire is one
that overtakes India as well. The English race had two outstanding characteristics,
they lived in friendship with those who know how to die and those who know how to
kill, and they helped those who helped themselves; they would be of one heart with
those who claimed their rights at the very first moment they showed their strength
and their determination to obtain these rights. Two essentials are necessary in self-
government—power over the army and power over the purse, and that is why he
repeatedly said that India’s ambition to obtain self-government would be blasted if
they missed this opportunity of obtaining military training and assisting the Empire,
and thereby obtaining self-government. This opportunity would never come again.
Only those who are weak are compelled to think of making conditions—the strong
impose no conditions.
Bombay Secret Abstracts, 1918
35. SPEECH AT KHANDHALI1

[May 27, 1918]
The men and women of Khandhali have shown great pluck and
courage. But . . . just as when a river is overflowed we are not able to
use the overflowing water and just as it flows away to the sea in vain,
so some of your boldness and courage is also wasted away. When a
Government official went to attach her property, a woman let loose
her buffalo. She has committed a blunder in so doing, so also the
Government officer who struck her with his umbrella. But remember
that you must not commit such blunders. A true satyagrahi cannot do
so. The first thing to do in any struggle of satyagraha is to stick to
1
After his return from Motihari, Gandhiji visited Khandhali, a village in Matar
taluka, and addressed a public meeting on the significance of satyagraha.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 37

truth. If we make a very subtle definition of truth, it includes many
things. But because our definition of truth is rather narrow, we are
compelled to add a little to it. In this struggle we are not to oppose
anybody, we are not to abuse anybody. If the opponent abuses us, we
have to tolerate it. If he gives a blow to us with a stick, we have to bear
it without giving a blow in return.
Secondly, a satyagrahi has to be fearless. He has only to
perform his duty. You know that so long as we stick to truth, we
remain absolutely free from fear. You will always get protection if
your dealings will be straightforward. When we are in the wrong, we
feel very nervous about us. Those gentlemen who have committed the
crime 1 have run away from the village. But you have not run away in
the struggle of satyagraha. Always stick to truth; never be
mischievous. A satyagrahi will always welcome imprisonment or a
warrant, if he has committed a crime. Even if he has not committed it,
he should welcome it. What if it is not committed and yet it be proved
in Court? The Government has authority over this body, not over the
soul. The soul can be conquered through love. A satyagrahi
understands this and, therefore, whether he has committed a crime or
not, he remains fearless. The gentleman who has removed the cattle
unlawfully, will, I hope, admit his mistake and boldly say that he will
undergo any punishment that may be ordered for him. Only thus
shall you be elevated.
It is no theft if we do not allow our goods to go into the hands
of Government officers. So long as they have not fallen in their hands,
you can take them to another village, you can bury them, you can
remove your cattle and take them anywhere you like. But no sooner
are they attached, either by a horde of Government officials or by any
one of them, we should not even touch them. We are not going to help
Government in attachments, we do not protect our cattle for them, but
as soon as any Government officer attaches our buffalo, we have no
right to take it back. Brothers and sisters, I appeal to you to act
accordingly. It is not our business to speak insolently to officers or to
let loose our cattle when they come to us.
The Collector told me that the raiyats are very gracefully acting
in the struggle, but such tricks as are played by some Khandhali
people mar the beauty of the struggle. I beg of you not to do so
again. Real bravery lies in receiving rather than in giving blows.
1
This consisted in letting loose the buffaloes attached by revenue officials.

Yesterday, I was reading my Gita. Therein I saw that one of the
characteristics of a Kshatriya was ‘apalayanam’ ! It means that in face
of danger a Kshatriya does not fall back, but, on the contrary, sticks to
his post. If our Government will not fight with the Germans as it does
now, if our soldiers go and stand before them weaponless and will not
use explosives and say,”We will die of your blows”, then, I am sure
our Government will win the war at once. But such an action requires
samskar and India possesses most of it. The vegetables that grow in
India will not grow properly in England. The seeds of samskar will
flourish in India. Pure bravery lies in the power of endurance. It is
real satyagraha. It is mean to run away in face of danger.
Then he appealed to the gentleman who had committed the crime to admit it
and to undergo the punishment that the law might inflict on him. He then asked the
raiyats to act cautiously but courageously and requested them to be hospitable towards
Government officers. Finally he said that they had already attained success in their
struggle and congratulated them on their great pluck and courage.
36. LETTER TO J. KER

S ATYAGRAHA ASHRAM,
May 29, 1918
DEAR MR. KER,
I passed yesterday afternoon at Navli. As you may be aware, a

boy is being prosecuted under the charge of having devised means of
hurting the officials during the performance of their duty. The boy, I
am convinced, is utterly innocent. The culprit, I am grieved to say, is a
rather important personage, Chaturbhai Patel. He made a clean
confession yesterday and gave me authority to disclose the name to
you. His excuse is that he was misled into thinking that there would be
no attachments on a particular morning but the attachments were there
all the same. This excited him and by way of revenge he put stinging
nightshade on the quilts that were to be used by the officials. Of
course this is no defence at all and I tender my apology for any
inconvenience that might have been caused by Chaturbhai’s
thoughtless action. I believe, as a matter of fact, the officials escaped
scot-free and some men of our own party were stung when I came
upon the scene, but after the rest of the Navli people joined the
struggle, Chaturbhai began to help them. He and the officials are, I am
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 39

told, on friendly terms and it is evident that Chaturbhai had planned a
practical joke. He is now thoroughly repentent. I suggest withdrawal
of prosecution against the boy referred to and I venture to suggest
also that no notice be taken of Chaturbhai’s action. But if you
disagree, Chaturbhai is quite prepared to stand trial. The hearing of
the case against the boy is to resume tomorrow.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
From a copy: C.W. 10690. Courtesy: Chhaganlal Gandhi
37. LETTER TO J. CRERAR

S ABARMATI ,
May 30, 1918
1
DEAR MR. CRERAR ,
I have just received Mr. Maffey’s letter in which he refers me to
His Excellency the Governor regarding the offer of my services which
I made immediately after the Conference at Delhi. 2 From Mr.
Maffey’s letter I gather that he sent extracts from the correspondence
between him and me to His Excellency. Will you kindly let me know
His Excellency’s wishes regarding my offer and the suggestions made
in my letter to Mr. Maffey in so far as they refer to Kaira?3
Yours sincerely,
M. K. G ANDHI
India Office Judicial and Public Records: 3412/18
1
James Crerar, Secretary to the Governor of Bombay
2
Vide “Letter to J.L. Maffey”, 30-4-1918.
3
Acknowledging this letter, Crerar wrote in his reply of June 1: “His
Excellency will cordially welcome your co-operation, which he hopes will be directed
more particularly to the encouragement of recruiting in the Northern Division,
though there will be a wide field for effort in regard to the development of resources
and in other directions. Government are at present engaged in working out a scheme
for giving effect to the resolution of the Delhi Conference and these measures will be
considered at the Conference to be held in Bombay on June 10th. His Excellency
hopes that you will be able to attend the Conference and that he will have an
opportunity of seeing you personally.

38. LETTER TO MAHATMA MUNSHIRAM
S ABARMATI,
Vaishakh Vad 5 [May 30, 1918]
DEAR MAHATAMAJI,
I have your affectionate and moving letter. I am late in
answering it for lack of time. [Only the other day] in Delhi I was
saying to Chi. Indra,”Has Mahatmaji forgotten me?” Two or three
days later I got your letter. I was so happy. The land of the Kheda
district ryots that had been attached has been given back. They will
have little pecuniary loss now. They have gained much strength from
this struggle.
Your letter gives me strength. When funds from work run low, I
shall certainly remember you.
I hope you have some relief from your pain. May God keep
you.
All the members of the Ashram are looking forward to your
visit. We shall all become impatient if you exceed the time limit.
All the Ashramites send you their namaskars.
Yours,
MOHANDAS GANDHI
From a photostat of the Hindi original in Gandhiji’s hand: G. N. 22071
at that time. As suggested in you letter of April 30th to Mr. Maffey, he will be glad,
when the organizations which will, it is hoped, result from the Conference, have been
set on foot, to indicate in more detail the directions in which you services can be
most profitably utilized. As regards the revenue situation in Kaira, His Excellency
considers that this, like all other questions of internal administration, must be dealt
with separately on its merits, and that there should be no confusion of issues in regard
to the great and urgent purposes of the Conference, but a whole-hearted and united
effort without distinction of race, class or creed. He feels sure that you will concur in
this view and by your example and influence support his endeavour to secure the most
complete unanimity and co-operation which the present grave crisis requires.”
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 41

NADIAD,
May 31, 1918
DEAR MR. KER,
I observe that my two letters regarding the Navli and Khandli 1

incidents have proved misfires. I have failed in driving home the point
I wished to make. I appreciate and accept the legal position you have
taken up. The parties are being advised to make the necessary
confessions before the court. The case I give below is much simpler
than the Navli and the Khandli ones. I worry you with it as I have no
desire to take any undue advantage of legal plans or to advise the ryot
wilfully to disregard lawful orders. Bhula Desai owns among others
survey No. 711/1 in Nawagam. This has not been declared forfeited in
the notice of forfeiture dated the 31st March, 1918 which refers to
591,596 and others. Since the forfeiture notice and that dated the 20th
instant had been issued for the sale of onion crop standing in the field,
the sale was advertised for the 29th but it did not take place. The
holder had meanwhile pointed out the illegality of the notice and had
urged that it might be withdrawn. But the Assistant Collector has
passed an order dated the 28th instant to the effect that removal of
crop would be treated as theft. The onion crop is ready to be cut and
may be seriously damaged if the threatening rain pours down. The
law seems to me to be on the holders’s side. I am therefore advising
him to remove the onion crop. I observe too that another notice of the
sale of his fields has been issued in common with the fields belonging
to other cultivators of Nawagam.
In the circumstances and in view of the fact mentioned by you
that the land is not be forfeited, I hope you will consider my advice to
be right and proper.
Yours sincerely,
From a copy : C.W. 10692. Courtesy : Chhaganlal Gandhi
1
The letter regarding Khandli is not traceable.

40. LETTER T0 MAGANLAL GANDHI
AHMEDABAD ,
May, 19181
CHI. MAGANLAL,
The Government is fighting a war. It is in difficulties. We, that is

to say, the people, want swaraj through its co-operation. We cannot
have swaraj until we have made ourselves fit for it. One aspect of this
fitness is surely that we should share its burdens. Our object in
running the Ashram is to strengthen the character of the inmates. Is it
not, then, the duty of the Ashram to offer its help? The end of the war
will see us better qualified [for swaraj]. I think we young people
should go. One of us will stay behind with the children. Let us know,
soon, what you think of this.
Blessings from
BAPU
PS. If we go, we take others as well.
From the Gujarati original in Gandhiji’s hand: C.W. 5731. Courtesy:
Radhabehn Choudhri
41. LETTER TO RAMDAS GANDHI

S ABARMATI ,
Vaishakh Vad 7 [June 1, 1918] 2
CHI. RAMDAS,
I very much wish to write to you but cannot do so because of

much pressure of work. Two letters from you have remained
unanswered. I feel sad when writing to you is delayed. Of course we
both think of you everyday.
Today, Ba and Devdas are with me. Devdas’s health is excellent.
He has grown very strong. As the climate there has suited you, the
climate here has suited him. Devo teaches and learns, both. He has got
the knack now. He has learnt 9 chapters from the Gita by heart and
1
The day on which this letter was written is not known.
2
As suggested in the source; Vaishakh Vad 7 in the year 1918 corresponded to
June 1.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 43

read many books. He is now going to Madras where he will teach
Hindi and learn Tamil. He remains quite cheerful. He has become as
neat as you are and washes his clothes, too, almost as clean as you do
yours.
Ba also keeps quite well. She has changed her nature and
become straightforward and pleasing in her ways.
You did well in expressing your views about Mr. West1 and also
in levelling charges against me the way you have done. I am not
displeased but I think your charges are not justified. Mr. West is not
proud and he has not left the Press. What Manilal did. . .2
I see that you are still not at peace. When you get tired of the
place, come over here. But you can do so only if Manilal does not
need your help. Remain there as long as it suits you . . . .3 I wish that
you return having earned enough and having made your body
sufficiently strong.
Miss Schlesin must be very fine. Tell her that I am eagerly
waiting for a letter from her. Have you met Mr. Philips? Let me know
the names of all the persons whom you have met. Tell me all about
what you have learnt and what you feel you have learnt only half as
well as you should have liked to do.
Blessings from
BAPU
From the Gujarati original : Mrs. Sumitra Kulkarni Papers. Courtesy: Nehru
Memorial Museum and Library
1
Albert West, Gandhiji’s co-worker who looked after Indian Opinion on the
Phoenix Farm
2
The rest of the paragraph is illegible.
3
One sentence here is illegible.

S ABARMATI ,
June 1, 1918
DEAR MR. MAFFEY1 ,
I thank you for your letter of the 21st ultimo which was
redirected here from Motihari. I have already placed myself in
correspondence with His Excellency Lord Willingdon2 .
You told me in Delhi that probably in a month’s time the
brothers Ali might be discharged.3 It is now a trifle more than a
month. Would you please let me know whether I might look forward
to their release at an early date?
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
From a microfilm: Lord Chelmsford Papers. Courtesy: Nehru Memorial
Museum and Library
43. LETTER TO”THE BOMBAY CHRONICLE”4

S ABARMATI ,
June 2, 1918
THE EDITOR
THE BOMBAY CHRONICLE
SIR,
I offer no apology for seeking the hospitality of your columns
for the enclosed extracts from Indian Opinion. They deal with the
well-being of over two lakhs of emigrants from India. Mr. Ahmed
Mohammed Cachalia, the esteemed President of the British Indian
Association of Johannesburg, has sent from that place the following
cablegram regarding one of the matters referred to in the extracts:
Mass meeting, fifth, strongly protested section nineteen Railway
Regulations. Resolved cable supporters India. Regulations impose statutory
1
Private Secretary to the Viceroy, Lord Chelmsford
2
Then Governor of Bombay; vide “Letter to J. Crerar”, 30-5-1918.
3
lbid
4
This was published under the caption, “Anti-Indian Legislation in South
Africa”. The letter appears to have been released generally to the Press.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 45

colour bar in regard to issue of tickets, placing in, and removing from
compartments, occupation of place on station platforms, empower minor
officials remove without assigning reason. Please make suitable
representation appropriate quarters. Community unanimous assert rights
unless relief sought granted.
Mr. Cachalia was one of the staunchest workers during the
passive resistance campaign that raged for eight years in South Africa.
During that campaign, he reduced himself to poverty, and accepted
imprisonment for the sake of India’s honour. One can, therefore,
easily understand what is meant by the words”Community unanimous
assert rights unless relief sought granted.” It is not a threat, it is the
burning cry of distress felt by a community whose self-respect has
been injured.
It is evident that the white people of South Africa have not been
visibly impressed by the war which is claimed to be waged for the
protection of the ryots or weaker or minor nationalities. Their
prejudice against colour is not restrained even by the fact that local
Indians have raised a volunteer bearer corps which is gallantly serving
in East Africa with the column that was taken to East Africa by
General Smuts.
The problem is difficult—it is complex. Prejudices cannot be
removed by legislation. They will yield only to patient toil and
education. But what of the Union Government? It is feeding the
prejudice by legalizing it. Indians would have been content if the
popular prejudice had been left to work itself out, care being taken to
guard against violence on either side. Indians of South Africa could
not complain even against a boycott on the part of the whites. It is
there already. In social life, they are completely ostracized. They feel
the ostracism, but they silently bear it. But the situation alters when the
Government steps in and gives legal recognition to the anti-colour
campaign. It is impossible for the Indian settlers to submit to an
insulting restraint upon their movements. They will not allow booking
clerks to decide as to whether they are becomingly dressed. They
cannot allow a platform inspector to restrict them to a reserved part of
the platform. They will not, as if they were ticket-of-leave men,
produce their certificates in order to secure railway tickets.
The pendency of the war cannot be used as an effective
shield to cover fresh wrongs and insults. The plucky custodians of
India’s honour are doing their share in South Africa. We are here
bound to help them. Meetings throughout India should inform the

white inhabitants of South Africa that India resents their treatment of
her sons. They should call upon the Government of India and the
Imperial Government to secure effective protection for our
countrymen in South Africa. I hope that Englishmen in India will not
be behindhand in lending their valuable support to the movement to
redress the wrong.
Mr. Cachalia’s cable is silent on the grievance disclosed in the
second batch of extracts. It is not less serious. In its effect it is far
more deadly. But the community is hoping to right the wrong by an
appeal to the highest legal tribunal in the Union. But really the
question is above that tribunal. Let me state it in a sentence. A
reactionary Attorney-General has obtained a ruling from the Natal
Supreme Court to the effect that subjects of ‘Native States’ are aliens
and not British subjects and are, therefore not entitled to its protection
so far as appeals under a particular section of the Immigrants’
Restriction Act are concerned. Thus, if the local Court’s ruling is
correct, thousands of Indians settled in South Africa will be deprived
of the security of residence in South Africa, for which they fought for
eight years and which they thought they had won. At least a quarter of
the Indian settlers of South Africa are subjects of the Baroda and
Kathiawad States. If any law considers them as aliens, surely it has to
be altered. It is an insult to the States and their subjects to treat the
latter as aliens.
Yours, etc.,
M. K. GANDHI
The Bombay Chronicle, 7-6-1918; also, Speeches and Writings of Mahatma
Gandhi
44. LETTER TO SIR GEORGE BARNES

S ABARMATI ,
June 2, 1918
DEAR SIR GEORGE BARNES,
I believe matters affecting the status of emigrants to the Colonies
fall under your department. If so, I beg to invite your attention to the
attached papers.1
You will note from the papers that the Union Government is
again succumbing to the white prejudice against colour and that what
1
These are not available.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 47

is claimed to be a war for principles and for the defence of weaker
nationalities has produced but little impression upon the whites of
South Africa.
The problem, I know, is difficult. Prejudices cannot be removed
by legislation. They will yield only to patient toil and education. But
what I fear is that the Union Government, instead of holding the scales
evenly between conflicting interests, is itself feeding this race
prejudice. If my view be correct, it is a question as to how far it can
use the protection of the Union Jack in its anti-Imperial course. Might
not the Government of India effectively move the Imperial
Government to make an energetic protest against this indecent
exhibition of pride and race prejudice?
I suppose you are aware that the small Indian colony in South
Africa has rendered and is still rendering, as is admitted by all, much
useful service during the war. A bearer corps has been serving in East
Africa from the time that General Smuts proceeded there.
The papers are divided into two parts. One part deals with the
newly framed railway regulations which speak for themselves. It is
unthinkable that an Indian should have to confine himself to a
reserved portion of a station platform, reserved carriage, a reserved
ticket-office, etc., etc., and even then depend for a first or second-class
ticket on the caprice of the booking clerk who is authorized to refuse
to issue a ticket to an Indian if, in his opinion, the latter is not
becomingly dressed.
The second part shows how, by the ill-judged action of the
Union Government, Indians, born in Native States and domiciled in
South Africa, have been deprived of valuable legal rights. If the
Supreme Court’s decision is sound, the law is clearly bad and should
be altered. If it is unsound, the Union Government should have it set
aside by supporting an appeal to the local Privy Council. Thousands
of Indians from the Baroda State have settled in South Africa for
years. The Government must have known when they resisted the
application of the aggrieved party that they ran the risk of
endangering the just rights of Indians who are, to all intents and
purposes, British subjects.
I do hope you will set the cable in motion and take the
necessary steps to undo the wrong referred to in the papers herewith
presented.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
N. A. I.: Commerce and Industry: June 1918: No. 5

NADIAD,
June 3, 1918
DEAR MR. KER,
I thank you for your assurance regarding the Navli and Khandli
cases.1
As to the Nawagam case, my reading of the law is that forfeiture
should be by name. No such order has been passed regarding 311/1.
It is a vital point of law. In my opinion the phrase”and others”
cannot be availed of to adversely affect large interests.
I had understood the position regarding forfeiture as you have
put it in your letter under reply.2
I was at Uttarsanda this afternoon. The Mamlatdar has passed
orders to the effect that only the well-to-do holders need pay the
revenue and the needy ones will have their assessment suspended on
their inability being satisfactorily established. This is what I submitted
to you at our interview. I have strongly advised the Uttarsanda people
who are able to pay at once. 3 It will now be my duty to assist the
Government to collect from these cultivators. Could you not pass
general orders after the style of the Mamlatdar? It will save your time
and ours, to say the least. And the Government will have revenue and
the people their honour. 1 should like to be able to tell H.E. on the
10th 4 that we had settled our domestic differences. Should you see
your way to pass such orders, I assume that there would be no chothai
to be collected.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
1
The addressee had written that in the Navli and Khandli cases if the persons
were convicted on their own plea of guilty the prosecution would not press for heavy
sentences.
2
The addressee had clarified the position regarding forfeiture by saying: “There
is no question of permanently forfeiting, if it can be avoided, valuable holdings for
trifling arrears. The lands which have already been forfeited will be given back (i) on
payment of the arrears, (ii) on the recovery by distraint or by sale of so much of the
holding only as is necesary to recover the whole amount due.”
3
Vide “Letter to People of Kheda”, 6-6-1918.
4
At the meeting of the Provincial War Conference at Bombay
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 49

46. SPEECH AT UTTARSANDA1
June 3, 1918
You have heard the order issued by the Mamlatdar. The order is
made as a result of our consultation. A few days back, when I had an
interview with the Collectors I had made suggestions to that effect. I
told him that if he would act up to my suggestions, the struggle would
soon terminate. Such an order has now been issued by the Mamlatdar.
It was the first condition of our struggle that the day the assessment
dues of the poor were suspended, those who can afford to pay shall at
once pay up the revenue. In the beginning, Government was obstinate
enough to say that it could not be done. Government said that the
assessment that was fixed by them must be paid up at the proper time.
The Mamlatdar has issued an order to the effect that those of you who
can afford to pay up the assessment should pay it up and those who
are really unable to pay will get suspension. Thus the Government will
get the revenue; the people will preserve their self-respect and they
will also be true to their vow. We must thank the Mamlatdar for this
kind order, but how? By understanding the true significance of the
order, i.e., by paying up your dues without any hesitation. Those of
you who are able to pay the assessment must pay it up today or
tomorrow, and you must make a list of those who are not able to pay.
You must convince your Talati that they are really poor. Then the
Mamlatdar will issue an order for the suspension of their revenue. I
have to make2 . . . amongst you. It is this . Do not put down those who
are able to pay the assessment as poor. Make a list of those only who,
if they paid, would have to borrow money from the sahukar3 at an
abnormal rate of interest, or of those who would have to sell their
cattle or ornaments. The smaller the list of such persons, the greater
will be our credit. The world will laugh at those who are able and who
ought to pay according to their vow and yet would not pay. And we
must see that we are not thus ridiculed. We must not wish to misuse the
1
On his return from Bihar, Gandhiji, accompanied by V. J. Patel, visited
Uttarsanda, a village three miles distant from Nadiad. The Mamlatdar’s order, to the
effect that the rich agriculturists of the village should pay up their dues and the poor
khatedars would be given a suspension of the assessment till the next year, was read
out by the talati. Gandhiji then addressed the gathering.
2
Some words are missing here.
3
Money-lender

order of the Mamlatdar saheb. If you will act according to my advice,
I am sure, your vow will be a great gain for you, and you will be
respected by others. We must act with a clean conscience. How bitterly
did we feel when we were told that the Government was right and that
we were wrong? Now the Government say that they leave it to us
whether to pay the revenue or not. So our duty is two-fold. Those who
are able to pay the revenue must pay it up at once. If they do not pay
up, we must bring our influence to bear upon them. And, secondly,
you must make a list of the poor khatedars and after making it, pay
up your assessment. On the 10th June, there is a War Conference in
Bombay. And I hope such orders as are given in this village will also
be issued in other villages and I shall be able to tell the Governor that
our struggle is over.1
47. SPEECH AT NAVAGAM

June 3, 1918
I am not well and shall not, therefore, speak long. I must say,
though, that the people of Navagam and Nayaka have shown great
courage and done good work. Some persons at Navali and Khandhali
broke all bounds. They set free the buffaloes which had been attached
and led them back. They also rubbed the officer’s beds with kavach.
This is not satyagraha but duragraha. Our pledge was only to the
effect that we would not pay. Officers believe that they have come
among us from the heavens. The idea behind our struggle is to make
everyone see that being an officer does not mean anything in special.
You have had to pay chothai, but we shall have to get the amount
back; no harm will follow, however, if we do not succeed. The people
of Kheda have earned much and learnt much. If you have had to pay
chothai as a price for all this, it is not much that you have suffered.
We were fighting for our pledge.Every effort will be made to see that
the chothai is refunded. If we remain courteous and truthful, it will be
possible to appeal to the Government for its refund. Because people
refuse to pay land revenue despite their having to pay chothai, they
1
It appears that Gandhiji wrote to the Collector that, if an order on the lines of
that issued by the Mamlatdar could be published and made applicable to the whole
district and the chothai and other fines withdrawn, the struggle would cease. On the
Collector acting on Gandhiji’s suggestion, the satyagraha came to an end.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 51

come to be better respected and truth is held in greater honour. The
Government seems to have changed its mind about confiscating lands.
If it had carried out its idea, it would have utterly disgraced itself and
lost people’s regard. In view of the people’s strength, any attempt at
confiscation of lands would have weakened the Government. Naked
injustice cannot command much strength.
[From Gujarati]
Prajabandhu, 9-6-1918

NADIAD,
June 5, 1918
DEAR MR. KER,
I thank you for your letter of the 4th inst. As to the Nawagam
case, if a mistake has been made, it is mine and I shall tender
apology. 1 As I am writing this letter I have a visit from some Nawagam
men. They bring me the information that whilst the holder was
digging the onion, it was attached and removed by the amlatdar. My
first concern is to save this onion and I can only do so if I receive
your assistance. I suggest to you apart from the other equities under
the settlement that is taking place there is no meaning in attaching the
onion and that it be immediately returned to the holder. If there is a
criminal or other case to be instituted against Bhulabhai, it will not be
affected by the return of the onion. In my humble opinion this onion
order is an unwarranted abuse of authority. Any one of the fields was
enough to cover the assessment. The land was obviously not for
forfeiture. The onion was not sold on the day advertised for sale. The
holder did not know where he stood. I still claim that this particular
number 711/1 has not been forfeited. On the modalities, I have the
clearest conscience. If you did not represent a mighty Government
and Bhulabhai was not a simple frightened peasant, apology would
become due to him for the vexatious harassment to which he has been
subjected. In view of the Mamlatdar’s orders I am advising Bhulabhai
to stop cutting any more onion. But I do hope that you will be good
1
The addressee had written that Bhula Desai’s field at Nawagam had been
forfeited and if the onion crop had been removed it would be for Gandhiji “to decide
whether to come and apologize and pay his arrears”.

enough to order the return of the onion removed by the Mamlatdar.
Everything else can be easily settled afterwards.1
49. LETTER TO PEOPLE OF KHEDA2

S ATYAGRAHA C AMP,
NADIAD,
June 6 [1918]
TO
THE BROTHERS AND S ISTERS OF
KAIRA DISTRICT
The struggle that the people of the district of Kaira entered
upon on the 22nd of March last, has come to an end. The people took
the following vow on that day.3
The meaning of this vow is that the Government suspending
collection of the revenue from the poor, the well-to-do should pay the
assessment due from them. The Mamlatdar of Nadiad at Uttersanda,
on the 3rd of June issued such orders, whereupon the people of
Uttersanda, who could afford, were advised to pay up. Payments have
already commenced there.
On the foregoing order having been passed at Uttarsanda a letter
was addressed to the Collector4 stating that if orders like the one in
Uttarsanda were passed everywhere the struggle would come to an
end, and it would be possible to inform His Excellency the Governor
on the 10th instant—the day of the sitting of the Provincial War
Conference—that the domestic difference in Kaira was settled. The
Collector has replied to the effect that the order like the one in
Uttarsanda is applicable to the whole district. Thus the people’s prayer
has at last been granted. The Collector has also stated in reply to a
query about chothai orders that the orders will not be enforced
1
For the further development of the case and settlement, vide the following
item and “Speech at Nadiad”, 8-6-1918.
2
This was used in Gujarati as manifesto jointly by Gandhiji and Vallabhbhai
Patel, and the English version was published in Young India under the caption, “An
End without Grace”. It was also published in other English newspapers.
3
For the text of the pledge, which is not reproduced here, vide “The Pledge”,
22-3-1918.
4
This letter is not available.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 53

against those who may voluntarily pay up. Our thanks are due to the
Collector for this concession.
We are obliged to say with sorrow that although the struggle has
come to an end it is an end without grace. It lacks dignity. The above
orders have not been passed either with generosity or with the heart in
them. It very much looks as if the orders have been passed with the
greatest reluctance. The Collector says:
Orders were issued to all mamlatdars on the 25th April that no pressure
should be put on those unable to pay. Their attention was again drawn to these
orders in a proper circular issued by me on the 22nd of May and to ensure that
proper effect was given to them, the mamlatdars were advised to divide the
defaulters in each village into two classes, those who could pay and those who
were unable to pay on account of poverty.
If this was so, why were these orders not published to the
people? Had they known them on the 25th April what sufferings
would they not have been saved from! The expenses that were
unnecessarily incurred by the Government in engaging the officials of
the district in effecting executions would have been saved. Wherever
the assessment was uncollected the people lived with their lives in their
hands. They have lived away from their homes to avoid attachments.
They have not had even enough food. The women have suffered what
they ought not to have. At times, they have been obliged to put up
with insults from insolent Circle Inspectors, and to helplessly watch
their milch buffaloes being taken away from them. They have paid
chothai fines and, had they known the foregoing orders, they would
have been saved all the miseries. The officials knew that this relief for
the poor was the crux of the struggle. The Commissioner would not
even look at this difficulty. Many letters were addressed to him but he
remained unbending. He said,”Individual relief cannot be granted, it
is not the law.” Now the Collector says:
The orders of April 25, so far as it [sic] related to putting pressure on
those who were really unable to pay on account of poverty, were merely a
restatement of what are publicly known to be the standing orders of
Government on that subject.
If this is really true, the people have suffered deliberately and
through sheer obstinacy! At the time of going to Delhi, Mr. Gandhi
wrote to the Commissioner requesting him to grant or to issue orders
to the above effect so that the good news could be given to His
Excellency the Viceroy. The Commissioner gave no heed to the

request.
“We are moved by the sufferings of the people, we perceive our
mistake and in order to placate the people we are now prepared to
grant individual relief,” the officials could have generously said all
this and endeared themselves to the people, but they have obstinately
avoided this method (of winning them over). And even now relief has
been granted in a niggardly manner involuntarily and without
admission of any mistake. It is even claimed that what has now been
granted is nothing new. And hence we say that there is little grace in
the settlement.1
The officials have failed to be popular because of their
obstinacy, because of their mistaken belief that they should never
admit being in the wrong and because of their having made it a fetish
that it should never be said of them that they had yielded to anything
like popular agitation. It grieves us to offer this criticism. But we have
permitted ourselves to do so as their friends,
But though the official attitude is thus unsatisfactory, our prayer
has been granted and it is our duty to accept the concession with
thankfulness. Now, there is only 8 per cent of the assessment
remaining unpaid. It was a point of honour with us till now to refuse
payment. Conditions having materially altered it is a point of honour
for a satyagrahi to pay up the assessment. Those who can afford
should pay without causing the Government the slightest trouble and
thus show that where there is no conflict between the dictates of
conscience and those of man-made law, they are second to none in
obeying the law of the land. A satyagrahi sometimes appears
momentarily to disobey laws and the constituted authority, only to
prove in the end his regard for both.
In making a list of those who are unable to pay we should apply
a test so rigid that no one can challenge our findings. Those whose
incapacity for payment is at all in doubt should consider it their duty
to pay. The final decision as to the incapacity for payment will rest
with the authorities, but we believe that the judgement of the people
will have its full weight.
By their courage the people of Kaira have drawn the attention of
the whole of India. During the last six months they have had full taste
of the fruits of observing truth, fearlessness, unity, determination and
1
This paragraph is available only in the English version.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 55

self-sacrifice. We hope that they will still further cultivate these great
qualities, will move forward on the path of progress, and shed lustre
on the name of the Motherland. It is our firm belief that the people of
Kaira have truly served their own cause, as well as the cause of swaraj
and the Empire.
May God bless you!
We remain,
Always in your service,
M. K. GANDHI
VALLABHBHAI J. P ATEL
50. LETTER TO MILLIE GRAHAM POLAK

NADIAD,
June 7 [1918] 1
MY DEAR MILLIE,
I was glad to have your letter. I was looking forward to it.
Pearson2 has written a book which is undoubtedly seditious in the
sense that he desires separation, not home rule within the Empire. I
have not read the book but this is what I am told. The book is
prohibited.3 There is nothing wrong in Pearson’s activity if he believes
in it. And it must be conceded that there is nothing wrong in the
Government trying to crush the rebellious spirit. P. was in China. This
gave the Government an easy way of getting hold of P. They have got
him and now he is probably on his way to England where I suppose
he will be comparatively free to preach separation. From what I hear,
he is quite happy and almost expected the result.
Yes, the letter to the Viceroy cost many an anxious hour ≈ I
could not help writing the letter. The story of its creation is worth
telling but I have not the time to reproduce it here. When we meet and
have leisure you shall have it if it has not become too stale then.
You will see my letter about S.A. You should write to Cachalia.
I wonder why Anasuyabehn has not replied. I shall speak to her.
She is by no means so lazy or discourteous.
1
From the contents; ibid
2
W.W. Pearson
3
Vide “Letter to C.F. Andrews”, 23-5-1918.

I am going to Bombay on the 10th instant. I must then see about
your trunk. Narandas is there now. He was away in Kathiawad. I will
see to the proper labelling and have the carriage prepaid.
I hope you are all keeping well. So the Kaira struggle has ended.
You will see my final letter on it.
I have not had practically a single acknowledgement of my
many letters. They have evidently been sunk or miscarried. Please
pass this on to him. I have not heard from him otherwise either.
With love to you all,
Yours,
BHAI
[PS.]
Do you know that Manilal is now all alone in Phoenix? Mr. West
and Sam are in Durban doing commercial printing. Of course West is
helping Manilal. I.O. is now truly independent. I understand Manilal
is working day and night. West could not do otherwise than what he
has done.
From the original: Gandhi-Polak Correspondence. Courtesy: National
Archives of India

NADIAD,
June 8, 1918
DEAR MR. KER,
I addressed a big meeting in Nadiad and explained the

settlement. The speakers got up one after another and then said that
executions and forfeiture orders still continued. I could understand
this as your orders might not yet have been passed on to the
Mamlatdars. But I trust that you will be good enough to order the
stopping of executions, whilst the people are paying, to instruct
Mamlatdars not to charge chothai when the people make voluntary
payments whether there be execution pending or not and to cancel
forfeiture orders when voluntary payment is forthcoming. I have
asked the cultivators to be very strict in asking for suspension on the
ground of poverty. May I ask you to ask the Mamlatdars to be
generous in dealing with such cases? In Wadthal three writs have been
recently issued for the collection of chothai to all intents and
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 57

purposes. It is claimed that the first proceeds of a sale were credited in
the chothai column. Surely this was wrong. If you restore this to the
revenue column there is nothing due. Should these executions not be
withdrawn?
In three cases in Wadthal forfeiture notices have been issued.
Two men are ready to pay the assessment. Should not these orders be
cancelled against payment? In the third case the holder is dead. The
holder was in strained circumstances. The heir is still less able to pay. l
trust that in this case forfeiture will be cancelled and suspension gran-
ted on the ground of poverty. I have approached the Mamlatdar reg-
arding these cases. He says he cannot grant relief without your orders.
In Nadiad a holder owed only two annas on account of
principal. He tendered the amount and asked for return of his pots
which were distrained. The Mamlatdar refused to restore the pots
unless chothai was paid. The holder has paid the chothai under
protest and prevented the threatened sale of his pots. Should not
chothai be refunded in this case?
Orders of forfeiture have been issued in Sinnaj also and
payments offered after the date of settlement have not been accepted.
I am going to Bombay for the Conference. I hope to return by
the 16th instant. Mr. Vallabhbhai Patel will be at your service
meanwhile.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
52. SPEECH AT NADIAD1

June 8, 1918
In the Court of the Collector of Nadiad, acting as District Magistrate, Mr.
Mohanlal Pandya and five others from Navagam were charged on June 8, 1918, with
the theft of onions from a field.2 The accused asserted that they honestly believed that
there was nothing illegal in their action.
1
This has been collated with a Gujarati report in Kheda Satyagraha.
2
The field had been declared forfeited by Government order, but Gandhiji had
pointed out to the Collector that, as the survey number of the field was not stated in
the notice of forfeiture, it could not be regarded as forfeited. He had advised the
collection of the onion crop on the field in view of the imminent monsoon. Vide An
Autobiography, Part V, Ch. XXIV.

Gandhiji too said in his evidence that the sole responsibility for the action lay
with him, and it was he who had advised the accused to remove the onions. If it was an
offence to have removed them, justice required that the sentence should be passed
against him. After the case was over, 1 Mahatmaji addressed a large gathering of
people outside the compound of the court. [He said :]
Two feelings are uppermost in my heart just now: one of them

fills me with gladness, the other with pain. I am glad because the
people of Kaira, true satyagrahis that they are, got this opportunity of
going to jail. My doubt whether the agriculturists of Kaira would be
ready to go to jail has been removed. I am pained because though
British officers are good men generally, some of them show want of
generosity and vision. The Collector, having awarded a sentence of
imprisonment, is welcome to think of jail as degrading and in the
nature of a terrible hardship; it is nothing of the kind to us. In spite of
this, the experience that the people have got is, indeed, splendid. So
long as we do not learn how to endure jail-sufferings and do not
perceive the true meaning and lesson of jail-pilgrimage, we do not
understand the real meaning of satyagraha. This is the fittest
opportunity for all to understand it and we should feel sorry that we
are not so fortunate as our brethren who went to jail. I tried my utmost
to go to jail. I said that the responsibility from the beginning to the
end was solely mine. Bhulabhai2 had acted after full consideration. If
there is any mistake it is mine, and yet I do not feel I am at all in the
wrong. I got the case transferred to the Collector with great effort.
This was a test case. I had previously informed the Collector that I was
not going to appeal from his judgement; and I am still of the same
mind. The Court’s finding is unjust and the sentence harsh. One
cannot expect a man occupying the chair of a judge to be a
satyagrahi, for law does not recognize satyagraha. This is a case in
which we are bound to succeed if we go in appeal. We have lost the
case not because Vallabhbhai or myself did not cross-examine any
witness. Any impartial judge with legal knowledge could say that the
facts do not constitute any offence. In spite of that, we are not going
to appeal. A satyagrahi cannot do that. For him, the best way is to go
to jail. I would have been more glad if the sentence had been even
more severe. The Collector has ordered the onions to be confiscated.
1
Two of the accused were sentenced to ten days’ imprisonment and the rest to
twenty days’ imprisonment each.
2
The owner of the onion field
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 59

If the Government can dare pocket the onions, let them do. But what I
want to tell the many Navagam friends present here is that the revenue
arrears of Bhulabhai, Rs. 94/-, must be paid up to the Mamlatdar by
tomorrow. We have to respect the settlement. I am going to say the
same in the district meeting at Nadiad.
This incident may possibly create bitterness but, if we are large-
hearted enough to forget it, the Government will ever remain sorry for
its breach of promise. The Collector has acted in anger. Punishment
was called for, he thought, for their digging up the onions despite his
orders to the contrary. If he had quietly thought over the case and
studied the law a little more carefully, he would have seen that there
was no offence in the act. If we mean to educate the officers, we must
act in this manner again and again; and then they will understand that
there cannot be any punishment for such a heroic people, that they
deserve a loving handshake. If we want to win over officers, we should
be honest and courteous in our dealings with them. We may never
bow down to blind authority but, if necessary, remove onions and go
to jail a thousand times.
My brothers of Navagam, consider this opportunity to be a
blessed one. Five friends from your town have gone to jail with a pure
and bold heart, and for that we shall all congratulate them. As
Mohanlal Pandya is with them, I have no anxiety for the rest. He it was
who took the lead in this struggle and this is, therefore, a golden
opportunity for him. This is not the first time when I have advised
against an appeal. In South Africa, when thousands went to jail, I
never appealed. There can be no appeal when we wish to go to jail by
way of tapascharya. Perhaps the Kaira people have not risen so high.
But if they have, I would advise them not to offer any defence and to
allow the Court to do what it pleases. There are two or three other
cases pending in the district. I advise you not to defend yourselves but
to suffer imprisonment. There is so much to be learnt in that; and it is
my firm belief that we can advance the country by acting in this
manner.

53. LETTER T0 L. ROBERTSON
BOMBAY,
June 9, 1918
L. R OBERTSON, ESQ.
C HIEF S ECRETARY
P OLITICAL DEPARTMENT
GOVERNMENT OF BOMBAY
DEAR MR. ROBERTSON,
Your telegram No. 4630 1 was received by me at Nadiad only

yesterday evening on my return from Kaira. Before I undertake to
support the resolution given in your telegram I should like to know
more fully about it. I should like also to see the scheme. My addr-ess
is care of Mr. Rewashankar Jagjiwan, Laburnum Road, Chowpati.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
India Office Judicial and Public Records: 3412/18, also Bombay Government
Home Department Special File No. 1788 of 1918
1
Dated June 7, 1918, it read: “His Excellency would be glad if you would
consent to support at Conference 10th instant the following resolution. Begins. This
Conference is of opinion that the manpower and resources of this Presidency should
be utilized and developed to the fullest possible extent. With this object in view it
recommends that a War Purposes Board be appointed consisting of official and non-
official members and that the scheme outlined in the memorandum attached to the
agenda be approved and adopted. Ends. The Memorandum referred to will be ready
tomorrow and will be sent to your Bombay address, which kindly communicate by
telegram.”
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 61

54. LETTER TO L. ROBERTSON
BOMBAY,
June 9, 1918
DEAR MR. ROBERTSON,
I am sorry I was away when your note1 was received. I feel that I
should not speak to the resolution. I hope therefore that His
Excellency will excuse me. I observe that my name is included in the
man-power committee. I note that men like Mr. Tilak are not
included. I fear that my usefulness will be materially curtailed if I
could not have the benefit of his co-operation and that of other Home
Rulers of his calibre. It is hopeless to expect a truly national response
and a national army, unless the Government are prepared to trust them
to do their duty. I should gladly serve on the man-power committee if
these leaders are invited to join it. If additions to the committee can be
moved, I would be prepared to move that some of these gentlemen
may be included in one or more of these committees.
Yours sincerely,
India Office Judicial and Public Records: 3412/18; also Bombay Government
Home Department Special File No. 1788 of 1918
1
This was a letter dated June 9, which read: “In reply to your letter of today, I
enclose a copy of the Agenda with Memorandum (except the note on recruiting which
is in the Press) which explains the scheme. You will see that His Excellency has
assumed that you will consent to speak. If you don’t wish to do so, would you be so
good as to inform me by bearer, so that your name may be deleted from the Agenda.”
Gandhiji’s decision not to address the Conference on June 10 appears to have been
taken after an interview with Lokamanya Tilak.

55. LETTER TO LORD WILLINGDON
BOMBAY,
June 11, 1918
DEAR LORD WILLINGDON,
I trust you will not misunderstand this note.

I venture to think that your stopping of Messrs Tilak and
Kelkar1 yesterday was a serious blunder.2 They had been informed on
your behalf that they could offer criticism but they could not move an
amendment. Your having stopped them will be resented as an insult to
a great and growing party in the country. Your action has made the
position of workers delicate and difficult and if Mr. Tilak is an enemy
of the Government or of the Empire you have undoubtedly
strengthened his hands in the pursuit of his course. But if you had
allowed him and Mr. Kelkar to have their say, they would have gone
away satisfied and it could have been said that you had given fair play
to all. Will you not publicly express your regret for the blunder or
send for both of them, expressing your regret to them, and invite their
co-operation and discuss their viewpoint? You will lose nothing and
you will gain greatly in the estimation of the people, enhance your
prestige, increase your capacity for securing help from the people and
possibly win over the Home Rule party, and also nip in the bud an
agitation that is bound to spring up3 in the country.
I repeat my request that you will not misunderstand this note,
1
Narasimh Chintaman Kelkar; nationalist leader, associate and biographer of
Tilak, and editor of The Mahratta, Poona
2
The incident occurred on June 10 at the Bombay Provincial War Conference,
over which Lord Willingdon presided.
3
Eventually this happened; vide “Speech at Public Meeting, Bombay”, 16-6-
1918.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 63

which is prompted by nothing but goodwill.1
I remain,
Your faithful friend,
M. K. GANDHI

BOMBAY,
June 11, 1918
DEAR MR. CRERAR,
Pray convey my thanks to His Excellency for the frank and full
reply to my letter of this morning. I am just leaving for Poona to
attend the celebration of the Servants of India Society. I return on
Thursday and I would like to avail myself of His Excellency’s kind
offer to see me. Could you please wire to me at Poona City, care of
the Society, the time (afternoon) when I could wait on His Excellency
if it is at all convenient for him for that day. Meanwhile, I wish to
assure His Excellency that my letter was not intended to suggest even
1
Gandhiji received the following reply from Crerar the same day: “His
Excellency desires me to acknowledge your letter of today’s date, at the Contents of
which he cannot refrain from expressing some surprise and disappointment. While he
is always ready to recognize legitimate difference of opinion on public matters, he
cannot conceive of two opinions on the propriety of admitting a contentious
political discussion on a resolution expressing loyalty to His Majesty the King-
Emperor. Still less can he understand that any loyal citizen of the Empire should at
this juncture desire to attach conditions to his offers of service. Mr. Tilak and some of
his friends attach conditions which they know, and everybody knows, to be
impossible of fulfilment by His Excellency’s Government. The offer of co-
operation 1 on such terms only differs from an open refusal to co-operate by its lack
of candour. His Excellency is convinced that on reflection you wil recognixe that
these are the only views he can entertain and on which he is bound ot act. His
Excellency is the more convinced of this in view of the fact that your own offer of
your own offer of your services to the Viceroy, to which he attaches the highest
value, was made uncvonditionally and welcomed by him on that express understan-
ding. He is confident that the different and, as he regards it, the lower view of the
responsibilities of a citizen of the Empire which others may entertain will not induce
you to modify your own observance of the pledge, which he was so glad to receive
from you. I am to add that if you desire to see His Excellency again on this matter, he
will be pleased to receive a visit from you.”

a possibility of any change of views or alteration in my offer which I
am preparing every moment to reduce to practice.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI

[Before June 13, 1918] 1
MY DEAR NATESAN,
I have sent Devdas to learn Tamil. You have only to keep him in
your place under your care. You should not show any special favour
to him because he is my son. He must earn his food and learn Tamil.
The Mail, 2-11-1968

BOMBAY,
June 13 [1918]
DEAR MR. NATESAN,
Devdas, my son, will be with you ere this reaches you. I am
anxious for him to be with you as a member of your family while he
is there. If it is inconvenient for you, you will not hesitate to say so. I
do not want him to be with a Gujarati family. He should be with a
Tamil family. He has to learn Tamil and teach Hindi. I have sent him
in response to the Indian Service League. His ultimate goal is
Kumbakonam to which I have promised Devdas. But as the
Kumbakonam friends are not ready to receive him before July, I
thought he should start with the Indian Service League. I have given
Devdas Rs. 30/-. He will have about Rs. 15 with him when he reaches
there. When he needs any cash will you please let him have it and
debit me with same? I know you do not do it. I would like you to
make the commencement with Devdas. Your refusal will compel me to
send him cash from here. I cannot allow you each time such occasions
arise to bear the burden yourself.
Yours sincerely
M. K. GANDHI
From a photostat of the original in Gandhiji’s hand: G.N. 2227
1
It appears from the contents that this letter was written before the one to the
addressee dated June 13, 1918; vide “Letter to G.A. Natesan”, 13-6-1918.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 65

NADIAD,
June 14, 1918
DEAR MR. KER,
I have just returned from Bombay and read your letter of the
10th instant to Mr. Vallabhbhai Patel.
It is clear that your instructions have not yet reached the
Mamlatdars and the Talatis, for they have collected chothai from
those whose goods were distrained but not sold. I assume that in all
such cases chothai collected would be refunded.
Your decision to collect chothai from those against whom
forfeiture orders are passed creates a position different from the one
taken up by you in your letter of the 4th instant and the impression
left by you upon my mind in the course of our conversations. My
letter of the 3rd instant says,”Should you see your way to pass such
orders, i.e., like those of the Uttarsanda Mamlatdar, I assume that there
would be no chothai to be collected”. You said in reply,”No
quarter-fine will of course be levied from those who come forward to
pay even now.” In the circumstances your letter under reply means a
revision of a previous intention. I trust that you will give effect to the
original intention. I may add that at the public meeting at Nadiad held
on the 8th instant I made the announcement in the terms of the
original intention and told the people that the only outstanding
question was as to the refund of chothai collected before the date of
settlement. I said the possibility of success in getting refund lay in
their prompt payment of the assessment wherever they were able to
pay.
In regard to the 3 Wadthal cases I admit the fact that in one case
the villagers succeeded in preventing bidding to the full value of the
property distrained. But in the other two they failed in their plan and
competitive bidding took place up to the full value of the buffaloes so
that the chothai in the two cases remained unpaid for natural causes.
Your argument that if the bidding had resulted in the whole amount
of execution being realized the question of refund would have arisen,
applies equally to the other cases in which chothai is not to be
executed. The distinction can be drawn only where”tricking” can be
proved. I respectfully deny that in the third case there was any

tricking. It was part of the game by all legitimate means to prevent the
Government from collecting.
As to the forfeiture cases, I thank you for the consideration you
propose to show regarding the forfeiture where the original holder has
recently died. As to the other two cases they fall under my request for
a revision of your orders regarding chothai.
As to the case in which chothai execution has been levied for
the sake of two anna arrears, I am making further inquiries.
Regarding the last paragraph of your letter, I can only say that
throughout our conversations and my conversation with the
Mamlatadar I spoke of suspension. It is referred to in my letter of the
3rd instant. I have described the order of the Mamlatdar as a
suspension order. In your letter of the 4th instant you have not
repudiated my interpretation. In fact the Mamlatdar’s order is clearly
a suspension order made as a result of the conversation between him
and me and in my humble opinion it is impossible to revise a decision
on which people have already acted. You may be aware that people
have commenced voluntary payments all over except in Uttarsanda
where we are having some difficulty. There too payment has
commenced but not as fully as is possible. I hope therefore that you
will be good enough to revise your view regarding the settlement.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
60. SPEECH AT PUBLIC MEETING, BOMBAY1

June 16, 1918
It was not without very considerable hesitation that I accepted
the invitation to preside over the deliberations of this great and
important meeting. We have met in order respectfully to protest
against His Excellency Lord Willingdon’s conduct in the chair at the
War Conference that met in the Town Hall on the 10th instant. I
1
Gandhiji presided over the meeting which was held in the evening at
Shantaram Chawl in Girgaon, in the heart of Bombay city, and was attended by some
12,000 people. The meeting was organized as an anti-Willingdon demonstration to
protest against the Governor’s provocative statements, at the Bombay Provincial
War Conference, regarding Home Rule League leaders. The meeting adopted two
resolutions. The day was observed as ‘Home Rule Day’.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 67

entertain high regard for Lord Willingdon. Of all the Governors in
India, probably Lord Willingdon is the most popular. He is known to
hold liberal views regarding our aspirations. It is, therefore, difficult
for me to contemplate the proceedings of this meeting without sorrow,
but I feel that I may not allow personal regard to interfere with the
performance of an obvious duty, no matter how painful it may be.
The duty is plain. Lord Willingdon convened the Conference,
deliberately invited the prominent and leading members of the Home
Rule Leagues. They, not wishing to court insult on the one hand, and
on the other, desiring to give ample previous notice to His Excellency
of their intention to plead their views before the Conference, asked for
information about the programme of the Conference. Lord
Willingdon had before him the experience of the Delhi Conference 1 .
He knew that the Home Rule League members had the first scope
given them for discussion during the sittings of the Committees that
were then formed. He knew that many members of that Conference
had delivered political speeches at its first sitting. With all this
knowledge in his possession, now mark what happened at the
Conference. In his opening remarks, he delivered a deliberate attack
upon the Home Rule Leagues. He accused them of constant
obstruction. He was not sure of the sincerity of their support. The
Conference platform was hardly the platform for such remarks. If he
did not want their co-operation, he ought not to have invited the
members of the Home Rule Leagues. If he desired their co-operation,
it was hardly the way to tell them beforehand that he did not trust
them. He ought to have remembered that Home Rule Leaguers gave
material assistance in one way. Their organ, the Chronicle, has always
urged upon the people to give all the help they can. I venture to
suggest to His Excellency that his aspersion upon the Leagues was, at
the very least, a tactical blunder. But this was not enough. He wrote in
reply to Mr. Kelkar’s inquiry as follows:
A certain number of speakers will be invited beforehand to move,
second and support the resolutions to be laid before the Conference. After
these speakers have concluded their remarks, an open discussion will follow.
The resolutions laid before the Conference will be framed to give
effect to the resolutions of the Delhi Conference and will betwo in number, the
first in general terms and the second making specific proposals. Formal
amendments will not be admitted, but any criticism or suggestions which
1
The Viceroy’s War Conference held in Delhi on April 27-29

speakers may make in the course of discussion will receive careful
consideration of Government.
There is no reservation here about political discussion. Mr. Tilak
and Mr. Kelkar together with others sent in their names as speakers. In
due course, Mr. Tilak rose to speak and hardly had he uttered three
sentences, two of which consisted of an absolute declaration of loyalty,
when he was stopped on the ground that he was speaking politics on
the loyalty resolution. In vain did Mr Tilak protest that the loyalty
resolution had an addendum to it which entitled him to offer relevant
criticism. Mr. Kelkar followed and he shared the same fate with the
result that there was immediately a dramatic withdrawal from the
Town Hall led by Mr. Tilak.1 In my humble opinion, His Excellency,
in giving the ruling that he did, committed a grave blunder and did a
disservice to the cause which he had come to espouse. He offered a
gratuitous insult to Messrs Tilak and Kelkar, and thereby, to a great,
powerful organization in the country. It is impossible to ignore or
insult Mr. Tilak and his followers. Mr. Tilak is an idol of the people.
He wields over thousands of men an unrivalled influence, his word is
law to them. I have great differences of opinion with him, but I would
be untrue to myself if I failed to acknowledge that his burning love of
his country, his immense sacrifices and a resolute advocacy of the
popular cause have earned for him a place in the politics of India
which no other leader has. The insult offered to him, and through him
to the Home Rule Leagues, is, therefore, an insult to the nation at
large. Whether, therefore, we differ from him in politics or not, it is the
duty of us all, who feel that Lord Willingdon’s treatment of Messrs
Tilak and Kelkar was wrong, to protest against it. I am prepared to
admit that it would have been better if Mr. Tilak had risen to speak to
the said resolution. It is my special and personal opinion, not shared
perhaps by any one else, that it would have been better still if he had
preserved dignified silence; but, in my opinion, he had a right to
speak to the loyalty resolution and offer criticism. I must dissent from
the view that a loyalty revolution debars a free expression of one’s
sentiments. That loyalty must indeed, be skindeep which requires a
wall of protection against criticism. I hold it to be perfectly consistent
with my loyalty to the King to tell him that things are done in his
name which ought not to be done. My declaration of loyalty will
1
Along with Tilak, Gandhiji, Jinnah, B. G. Horniman, then editor of The
Bombay Chronicle, N. C. Kelkar and R. P. Karandikar left the Conference Hall.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 69

sound all the truer for the warning and I think that among the many
services rendered by the Home Rule Leagues, special mention
deserves to be made of their having emboldened the people to speak
out their minds: and I doubt not that if they but do their duty to the
fullest extent, they would place India’s loyalty above suspicion. For,
with a true Home Ruler it must be an article of faith that the Empire
must be saved; for, in its safety lies the fruition of his fondest hopes.
Not to help the Empire is to commit national suicide. How can we
wish harm to our would-be partner without hurting ourselves?
So, whilst I fully share the opinion of the members of the Home
Rule Leagues that we must protect national honour by asking for an
expression of regret for His Excellency’s faux pas, we must, at the
same time, redouble our efforts to help the authority in the
prosecution of the war. We must not be angered by Lord Willingdon’s
mistake into taking a false step ourselves. We have too much at stake;
we want Home Rule and we want [it] in the quickest time possible, and
I wish I could still persuade the country to accept my view that
absolutely unconditional and whole-hearted co-operation with the
Government on the part of educated India will bring us within sight of
our goal as nothing else will. I do not for a single minute share the
distrust of my countrymen that, like so many other hopes of ours, this
one of swaraj is also doomed to disappointment. Not that the
Government here, as also the Imperial Government, have done
nothing to shake our trust; only, my trust rests not in their change of
policy, but it rests upon the solid foundation of our own struggle.
Surely it must be easy for anyone to see that, if we succeed in
controlling the development of manpower and resources, we will have
attained to an irresistible position and power; for, in my humble plan
for the attainment of Home Rule, I aspire to nothing less than a
complete control over these two departments. The Government seek
our co-operation herein, let us take them at their word. They cannot
reject help willingly and honestly offered. Our supplying recruits
means in spirit, though not in law, yet a national army instead of a
hired army. I have never been able to claim for ourselves any credit
for the thousands who have been recruited by the official department.
These recruits have gone not as patriots, not for the sake of the
country, not for the Empire but for the money and other inducements
held out to them. Recruits whom we would raise would be Home
Rulers. They would go to fight for the Empire; but they would so
fight because they aspire to become partners in it. They would not

consider it with Sir Narayan1 a humiliation to fight for their hearths
and their homes, but they would consider it a perfectly honourable
ambition to gain freedom for their country by fighting for the
Empire.
I hope that H.E. will see his way to concede to the wishes of this
great meeting; but if he fails today, if the Viceroy also fails, I for one
shall not despair of H.E. voluntarily apologizing to the Home Rule
Leaguers in the near future. For I know they mean to co-operate in
the prosecution of war. And when he sees this, he will realize his
mistake and, like a gentleman that he is, will offer apology.
Difficulties there are, many of the Government’s creation. Thus,
indifference to popular opinion, their rejection of our advice tendered
for the attainment of the common aim, namely gaining of recruits,
have made our task well-nigh impossible of fulfilment; but our duty is
clear. Undaunted by these and many other difficulties, we should
press forward and bear down their indifference to our opinion by
demonstrating in practice the harm that they do to the Empire by their
persistent defiance of popular will. I, therefore, regard the second
resolution, that will be placed before you, not in any sense as so many
conditions of our co-operation, but as a statement of the difficulties
lying in our path. There are only two ways whereby we can attain our
goal, co-operation or obstruction. Under the British Constitution,
obstruction is a perfectly legitimate and well-known method for
securing rights; but obstruction at a crisis like the one facing the
Empire can only end in enraging the Government who are responsible
for the conduct of the war; whereas, co-operation will not only disarm
their opposition but it will give us a strength and a confidence which
cannot but take us to our goal. The occasion for which we have met is
a unique one; we are asking a popular Governor to put himself right
with us by repenting of his mistakes; we are also providing that, if we
fail to get redress, we pledge ourselves not to attend any public
meeting over whose deliberations Lord Willingdon may preside in
future. This is a serious step, but, I think, warranted by events that have
taken place. The justice of our step will be proved by our future
conduct, i.e., by disproving H.E.’s charges by a determined effort at
co-operation.
I observe that today is the Home Rule Day anniversary. It is, or
ought to be, a solemn day for Home Rule Leaguers. Lord Willingdon
1
Sir Narayan Ganesh Chandavarkar
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 71

has presented them with the expression ‘Home Rule Leaguers’
distinguished from ‘Home Rulers’. I cannot conceive the existence of
an Indian who is not a Home Ruler; but there are millions like myself
who are not Home Rule Leaguers. Although I am not a member of
any Home Rule League, I wish to pay on this auspicious day my
humble tribute to numerous Home Rule Leaguers whose association I
have ever sought in my work and which has been extended to me
ungrudgingly. I have found many of them to be capable of any
sacrifice for the sake of the Motherland. Some of them, I have
noticed, are extremely capable young men, for I am not thinking, in
offering my tribute, of the front-rank leaders of the movement. I am
simply thinking of the rank and file with whom it has been my
privilege to work. I wish to testify to their loyalty to the British
Constitution and the British connection, and also testify to their
impatience of bureaucratic control. They show an eminent degree of
all the virtues and vices of youth. Their language is sometimes strong,
sometimes even wild, not parliamentary. They betray excessive zeal.
Men of age and experience, we often may find occasions to stand
aghast at some of their actions; but their hearts are strong and pure.
They have succeeded to a certain extent in clearing the atmosphere of
cant and humbug. Their truth has sometimes hurt, but I must say that
although, when the Leagues were first established, I looked upon them
with scepticism and even doubted their usefulness, a careful
examination of their work has convinced me that the Leagues have
supplied a felt want. They have put light into the people. They have
filled them with hope and courage; and, had the authorities not
misunderstood them, I am certain they could have availed themselves
of this inexhaustible reservoir of man-power. They need not be told
that the members of the Leagues realize their own responsibility, and
come forward with it. It was hardly to be expected of high-souled
youths who had all along chaffed under bureaucratic domination.
It was the duty of the authorities who, being more experienced,
should have known better, to have made the Home Rule Leaguers
their own. Whatsoever the error may be, let the Home Rule Leaguers,
having now realized it, correct it. Let them not lose faith in even the
bureaucrats. Want of faith is a betrayal of weakness. Bureaucracy is
bad, it is doomed, but all bureaucrats are not bad. Our triumph will be
in reforming the bureaucrats. If we need not say”Jo-hukum” and fall
down at their feet, we may not shame them or insult them. Let us meet
the tricks of the bureaucracy with the greatest frankness and honesty.

That we should return good for evil was not said of angels but of men.
The manliest course is never to deviate by a hair’s breadth from the
straight and narrow path; and Home Rule Leaguers are nothing if they
cannot be manly. During the coming year of probation, let the Home
Rule Leaguers discharge themselves as efficiently in the work of
construction as they have in the work of destruction and they will
make this a day for universal celebration throughout the length and
breadth of India.
61. LETTER TO SHANKARLAL BANKER

June 16, 1918
I have your letter. Of course I would not ask you to leave the
League1 and work with me; on the contrary, I wish that you remain in
the League and guide its policy too in the right direction. You are
satisfied with the present position. To me, it seems dangerous. If the
League refuses to help in recruitment, it will be going against the
Bombay resolution.2 If all the members of the League believed that it
was not permissible to anyone to help in recruitment while being in
the League, the Bombay resolutions should not have been passed and
I should not have been given the chairmanship of the meeting. When
the League accepted me, it indicated that any of its members who
desired to help in recruitment could do so.
My faith is not merely in the British people, but in human
nature as such. Every human being has some truth in him. It is our
duty to nurse this. If, in the process, the person concerned plays foul,
it is he and not we who will suffer the consequences.
You may be sure people are not so bad as you think.
I will explain this further when we meet. In my view, it is the
duty of members of the League all over India to plunge into this
work. Simultaneously, you may carry on any agitation that you want
to against the misdeeds of the Government. By following this course,
you will have served both ends. The Home Rule League will suffer a
1
The Home Rule League
2
Vide the following item.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 73

serious set-back if it does nothing to help recruitment. . .1
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
[From Gujarati]
62. CABLE TO BRITISH PRIME MINISTER2

BOMBAY
[After June 16, 1918]
I HAVE THE HONOUR TO COMMUNICATE THE
FOLLOWING RESOLUTIONS PASSED AT THE PUBLIC MEETING OF
THE CITIZENS OF BOMBAY HELD ON THE 16TH JUNE UNDER
THE AUSPICES OF THE BOMBAY BRANCHES OF THE HOME
RULE LEAGUES.
FIRST RESOLUTION
THAT THIS MEETING OF THE CITIZENS OF BOMBAY PROTESTS
AGAINST THE PUBLIC INSULT LEVELLED BY HIS EXCELLENCY THE
GOVERNOR OF BOMBAY AGAINST THE MEMBERS OF SOME RULE
LEAGUES IN GENERAL BY CHALLENGING THE SINCERITY OF THEIR
SUPPORT TO THE EMPIRE BY THUS THROWING A DOUBT ON
THEIRLOYALTY TO THE CROWN. MORE ESPECIALLY IT
CONDEMNS HIS TREATMENT OF THE HOME RULE LEADERS IN
INVITING THEM TO THE WAR CONFERENCE, ATTACKING THEM
IN HIS OPENING SPEECH AND DENYING THEM AN PPORT-
UNITYOF DEFINING THEIR ATTITUDE AND IT CALLS UPON HIS
EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR TO WITHDRAW THE ASPERSIONS
CAST AGAINST THE HOME RULE LEAGUES AND ITS MEMBERS
AND TO EXPRESS HIS REGRET FOR HIS CONDUCT AND
FAILING SUCH WITHDRAWAL THIS MEETING APPEALS TO HIS
EXCELLENCY THE VICEROY TO REPUDIATE THE STATEMENT OF THE
GOVERNOR OF BOMBAY AND DESIRES TO POINT OUT THAT
SUCH PROVOCATIVE LANGUAGE IS CALCULATED TO RAISE A
BARR-IERIN THE WAY OF THE HEARTY CO-OPERATION TO THE
GOVERNMENT AND THAT, UNTIL SUCH AMENDS HAVE BEEN
1
The omission is in the source.
2
This communication, embodying the resolutions adopted at the public
meting of June 16, was also sent to the Secretary of State for India and the Viceroy.

MADE, MEMBERS OF THE HOME RULE LEAGUES WILL
BE UNABLE TO TAKE PART IN ANY MEETING IN FUTURE
PRESIDED OVER BY LORD WLLLINGDON WITHOUT IN ANY WAY
PREV ENTING THEM FROM DOING THEIR DUTY TO THEIR COUNTRY
AND THE EMPIRE AT THIS CRITICAL JUNCTURE.
S ECOND R ESOLUTION
THAT THIS MEETING IS OF OPINION THAT THE METHODS
AND THE MEASURES OF GOVERNMENT FOR UTILIZATION OF
MANPOWER AND THE RESOURCES OF INDIA IN WAR ARE
NOT SUCH AS TO SECURE THEIR FULLEST POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENT
IN THAT, FIRST, THERE IS A SPIRIT OF DISTRUST FOR THE PEOPLE
RUNNING THROUGHOUT THEIR HANDLING OF THAT GREAT
NATIONAL WORK. SECOND, OFFICIALS IN CHARGE OF THE RESPECTIVE
DEPARTMENTS FAIL TO SEEK IN SPIRIT OF EQUALITY THE
CO-OPERATION OF THE PEOPLE IN PROSECUTION OF THE WAR. THIRD,
INTERMINABLE DELAY IS TAKING PLACE IN THE AMENDMENTS
OF THE ARMS ACT IN ORDER TO ENABLE THE GENERAL BODY OF
PEOPLE TO TAKE AND CARRY ARMS IF THEY SO DESIRE, FOURTH,
THE COMMISSION RANKS IN THE INDIAN ARMY ARE NOT YET
THROWN OPEN TO THE INDIANS NOR RACIAL BARS AND
DISTINCTIONS REMOVED. FIFTH, THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE
IMPERIAL WAR CONFERENCE AT DELHI FOR ADMITTING
INDIANS TO THE EXISTING MILITARY COLLEGES AND FOR
ESTABLISHING NEW COLLEGES FORTHWITH HAVE NOT [BEEN] GIVEN
EFFECT TO. THIS MEETING IS OF OPINION THAT THOUGH EVERY
LOYAL CITIZEN OF INDIA DESIRES WHOLE-HEARTEDLY TO RESPOND TO
THE CALL OF THE PREMIER, IT IS DIFFICULT FOR THE LEADERS
TO SECURE FULL AND FREE RESPONSE FROM PEOPLE
IN REGARD TO THE MILITARY SERVICES UNLESS THE PRESENT
POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA IS CHANGED BY
REMOVING THE ABOVE-MENTIONED DEFECTS.
M. K. GANDHI
P RESIDENT 0F THE MEETING
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 75

June 17, 1918
In the course of his speech, Mr. Gandhi observed that it was the
first and most important duty of the ryots to assist Government. Full
assistance should be given in order to overthrow the Germans. The
English were better than the Germans. They had come into close
contact with the English and they knew each other well, so it was their
first duty to assist the English. Some said that they should help only if
they were given Home Rule. He believed they could not preserve the
country so long as they had no military traditions. In due course they
would get Home Rule. By the mere fact of giving assistance they
would get it. Half a million men were required from India for active
service during a year, and if they did not come forward to supply
these men, Government would themselves enlist them and the army so
raised will be called the Government army. But if the men were
supplied by them they should be called the national army. The same
rules and regulations that were heretofore in force would apply to the
men so raised. Home Rule without military power was useless, and this
was the best opportunity to get it. They should not, therefore, lose this
opportunity. He had had a talk with [Mr.] Tilak, Mrs. Annie Besant,
Mr. Madan Mohan Malaviya and Mr. Motilal Nehru in this
connection, and they were all of opinion that it was a good idea, but
they doubted whether the ryots would accept these views. He had faith
in ryots. Many men died of plague and cholera and so it would not be
a hard thing to die in the war. He was ready to go to the war if the
people would come forward. He was not a member of the Home Rule
League. To receive military training was the stepping-stone to acquire
Home Rule, and so each and every member of the Home Rule League
should join. It was rumoured the Indians were placed in the first row
and were killed, but he did not believe this. The English were a
fighting race and he did not believe that such a people would remain
in the rear and send others to the front. If, however, such a time came
he would himself object, and unless he were shot, he would not allow
1
Forwarding this report to the Government of Bombay, the District
Magistrate of Kheda wrote: “On June 17th, Mr. M. K. Gandhi held a small meeting of
his more immediate followers at Nadiad in connection with recruitment . . . about 50
persons were present.”

all the men to be so killed. Before appealing to the whole country for
the national army, he had a mind to appeal first to the Kaira people
who had become satyagrahis. Nadiad was an important town in the
Kaira District and so he had called them together in private. If they
agreed with him, the matter would be taken in hand: sothey should think
well, and then get themselves enrolled. If he were satisfied, a public meeting would be
called in two or three days.
Bombay Government Records, 1918

NADIAD,
June 18, 1918
DEAR MR. KER,
I have your letter of the 17th instant in reply to mine of the 14th
instant regarding certain points arising from the settlement. As to
paragraph 3 of your letter I can only say that the rules of
interpretation require that that meaning should be attached to one’s
language which one’s hearer is reasonably entitled to put upon it.
Your answer as to chothai was clearly in reply to my query and it left
no room for doubt either in my mind or Mr. Vallabhbhai Patel’s that
chothai was to be excused in every case in which it was not yet
collected. What is more, when one in good faith has already acted
upon such interpretation, if the line you propose to adopt is sound,
every order would be interpreted not as the readers, according to the
natural meaning of words, understand it, but as the issuer has intended
his language to mean. Surely you do not ask for any such canon of
interpretation.
Similarly for suspension, I feel that you are importing a most
dangerous principle of interpretation of orders. Suspension to me
could only bear one meaning; ‘unauthorized arrears’ is not an
unfamiliar expression to me. I did not need to approach you for any
such concession. It would have been no concession. You would not
need time for consideration in issuing order for unauthorized arrears
as you said you needed. I brought the Mamlatdar’s order to your
notice. You confirmed it. It is now open to you to go behind it and
claim that the word bears not its natural meaning but a meaning which
you now desire to give. After your confirmation of the Mamlatdar’s
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 77

order, it is irrelevant whether he had authority to issue the order or
not. But I would add that I asked him whether he had authority for
what he was saying. On his saying he had, I asked him to issue written
orders which he did.
I do hope that in the circumstances you will not allow yourself
to be in the wrong and let the natural and just view prevail.
Yours sincerely,
65. LETTER TO JAMNALAL BAJAJ

S ABARMATI ,
Jeth Sud 10 [June 19, 1918]
BHAI SHRI JAMNALALJI,
I insisted on paying your man the money for the ticket. If I
didn’t pay, I wouldn’t be able to entrust work again without
hesitation.
I looked into the building account after coming here. I have
received Rs. 28,000. The expenditure already incurred amounts to
Rs. 40,000, The balance has been met from the funds earmarked for
the other activities of the Ashram. What I need most at present is
money for the construction work. The expenditure will be Rs. one
lakh. If you feel like contributing anything, kindly do so.
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
[PS.]
This is more important than bearing my travelling expenses.
MOHANDAS
From a photostat of the Gujarati original in Gandhiji’s hand. G. N. 2199

June 21, 1918
SISTERS AND BROTHERS,
I am sorry to see that very few women are present today. What I
have to say is meant for both. I have not come here to preach, but to
give you what seems to me right advice. This meeting in Nadiad is the
first of its kind in Gujarat. It was here that the first meeting for
satyagraha was held. We displayed good strength and much capacity
for suffering during that struggle. It brought me into close contact
with the people. I feel, therefore, that in saying what I have to say to
the whole of the country, I should make a start with this place.
We put up a determined fight against the Government, said
many harsh and bitter things to it. All this was necessary, but whether
or not we had the right to do it, we have now an opportunity to show.
There is no room for vindictiveness in satyagraha; I am sure there was
none in our struggle. Let us consider whether it is desirable at all in
any circumstances that we should associate ourselves with the
Government. I have closely watched its shortcomings during our
struggle as also on other occasions, and have pointed them out too. I
have had, however, no opportunity at all in India to present its better
side. From my personal experience of dealings with it, I have learnt
this at any rate: that we would do well not to be content with a
subordinate position in the Empire. It is a characteristic trait of the
British that they would treat people who did so as beasts of burden.
We can benefit by our connection with them only if we live as their
friends or partners. They will protect the honour of their allies and be
loyal to them unto death. As a nation, they have some virtues. They
love justice; they have shielded men against oppression. The liberty of
the individual is very dear to them. Why, then, should we think of
breaking off our connection with them altogether? Everyone needs a
friend. Japan, America, England—they are all obliged to maintain
friendship with some nation or other. Every country maintains a
connection with another with which it is temperamentally allied. India
can be no exception to this. We aspire to independence, but on this
basis. In this context, the examples of Australia and Canada are
1
The meeting, which inaugurated Gandhiji’s recruitment campaign in Gujarat,
was held at Moghul Kotiwadi and was attended by about a thousand people.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 79

generally cited; we demand a status like theirs. They enjoy protection
and, likewise, help in the defence effort. That is exactly what we want
for ourselves. If we think a status such as this is really worth having,
we should do what is necessary to achieve it. If [on the contrary] we
believe that our connection with the British is harmful to us, the advice
I am giving can be of little use. It may even dishonour us, if followed.
If, however, we want to live as equal partners with the British, I think
my advice will prove invaluable. India cannot stand on her own feet.
If the British left us, we would not be able to defend ourselves. We
could not protect ourselves against the criminal tribes or stand against
an invading foreign army. If anyone blames the British for this
terrible state of affairs, he will be quite right. That nation has many
such things to answer for. But our task is to turn their virtues to
account for our uplift.
It is the misfortune of India that she is in no position to make
progress without outside help. We ought to get rid of this helplessness
of ours. It is essential that the country should come to be entrusted
with her defence, that she should become capable of defending her
people. We shall not be fit for swaraj till we have acquired the capacity
to defend ourselves. That India should always have to depend on the
British for her defence—this is her helplessness. To remove this is a
sacred duty which we should first attend to.
Only equals can be partners. There can be no partnership
between the cat and the mouse, between the ant and the elephant. We
look upon the British as the elephant and ourselves as the ant. So long
as we do not get rid of this idea, swaraj can have no meaning for us.
Any stout fellow can successfully intimidate us. If a Pathan were to
come here and start hitting out with the lathi, we would all run away.
An overbearing Kabuli, entering a compartment already overcrowded,
will get the people to vacate their seats and find a seat though none
was vacant before; he will go further and occupy the room for four.
People feel helpless before him.
With this cowardly fear in us, how can we be the equals of the
British? If I see a Dhed and ask him to sit by my side and offer him
something to eat, he will shake with fear. He will be my equal only
when he feels sufficiently strong in himself to have no fear of me. To
describe him as my equal [when he lacks such strength] is like adding

insult to injury.1 We occupy the position of the Bhangi in the Empire.
Now we have an opportunity to emancipate ourselves from such a
state and we can use it in either of two ways—in a spirit of friendliness
or that of hostility. If we would follow the latter course, we should not
help them with a single man or with a single pie; we should even stop
others from helping. We should hope for a defeat of the Allies and
fight the British and drive them out. All this, even if desirable, is
impossible. Though we, advocates of swaraj, may not help the
Government, other sections of the country have been helping it. We
have no strength to fight the Government, or anyone else for that
matter. It has succeeded in securing help from India to the tune of a
million men and crores of rupees. Evidently, therefore, if we now
propose to push the British out of India in a spirit of hostility and be
Bhangis no more, it does not seem likely that we shall in the
foreseeable future succeed in breaking off the British connection
through physical force.
We can, therefore, free ourselves only through a friendly
approach. This is not possible unless we render all possible help to the
Government at the present juncture. We want to be partners in the
Empire. If there were no Empire, with whom would we be partners?
Our hopes lie in the survival of the Empire. By all means, let us fight
its evils. A brother fights the wrongs done by a brother. If one brother
seeks to deprive another of his right, the latter will resist, but will go all
out to help the former in time of difficulty and so prove the fact of
their being brothers, wiping out, sometimes, even old animosities.
There is no reason to believe that we cannot bring about such a result
by dealing with the British in the right manner. To be sure, we may
fight the iniquities of the Empire. Even today we may do so, if they
were to inflict anything afresh. At the same time, we should spare no
effort in helping it to meet the danger which threatens it.
Besides, we shall learn military discipline as we help the Empire,
gain military experience and acquire the strength to defend ourselves.
With that strength, we may even fight the Empire, should it play foul
with us. It knows this, and, therefore, it will prove the bona fides of the
British Government if they permit us to enlist. By raising an army
now, we shall be insuring against future eventualities.
1
The Gujarati, phrase literally means: branding one who has already sustained
burns.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 81

If the British people have the ability to rule, they do not owe it
merely to their physical strength. They have the art [of government],
they have skill and foresight, shrewdness and wisdom. They know how
to deal with people according to their deserts. They know that, if we
help, it will be in expectation of getting swaraj. The difference
between their point of view and that of some of us is this: we say we
will have swaraj first and then fight; they say they will not be coerced,
that swaraj will be ours if we help. They invite us to examine their
history. The Boers got swaraj because they could fight the British.
When we can do so, they say, we too shall have swaraj.
We can count only on our own military strength. The Indians
who are fighting now do not represent our strength but the
Government’s. If we, who would have swaraj, can train ourselves to be
their equals as soldiers, if we renounce the fear of death, we shall be
soldiers in a national army. When that happens, there will be no
distinction of superior and inferior as between the Government and
us.
Mr. Montagu’s scheme will be announced shortly.1 Whether the
scheme, if we accept it, goes through or the improvements, if any,
desired by us are carried out, will depend on us. If, at this juncture,
they hear in England that the whole of India has lined up for
enlistment, the House of Commons will rejoice at the news and
concede all our reasonable demands. Even if it does not, what then? It
is they who will have reason to be sorry afterwards. An India trained
for fighting will be able to wrest freedom in a moment. But the
Government is not so foolish as all that. The British are a nation of
heroes. They will recognize heroism. If we but rouse the heroic spirit
which has been slumbering in us, we can have everything today. It is,
therefore, my request to everyone of you to give up all hesitation and
join up. I have no doubt in my mind that, just now, this should be the
first and the last plank in the movement carried on by the Home Rule
League.2
[From Gujarati]
Gujarati, 7-7-1918
1
The Montagu-Chelmsford Report on Constitutional Reforms was published
on July 8, 1918.
2
According to a despatch in the Bombay Secret Abstracts, 1918, Gandhiji
asked at the end that “no report of the meeting need be sent to the Press” until they
were able to secure recruits.

67. APPEAL FOR ENLISTMENT
NADIAD,
June 22, 1918
LEAFLET NO. 1 1
SISTERS AND BROTHERS OF KHEDA DISTRICT:
You have just emerged successful from a glorious satyagraha

campaign. You have, in the course of this struggle, given such
evidence of fearlessness, tact and other virtues that I venture to advise
and urge you to undertake a still greater campaign.
You have successfully demonstrated how you can resist
Government with civility, and how you can retain your self-respect
without hurting theirs. I now place before you an opportunity of
proving that you bear no hostility to Government despite your having
given it a strenuous fight.
You are all lovers of swaraj; some of you are members of the
Home Rule League. One meaning of Home Rule is that we should
become partners in the Empire. Today we are a subject people. We do
not enjoy all the rights of Englishmen. We are not today partners in
the Empire as are Canada, South Africa and Australia. We are a
dependency. We want the rights of Englishmen, and we aspire to be as
much partners in the Empire as the Dominions overseas. We look
forward to a time when we may aspire to the Viceregal office. To
bring about such a state of things we should have the ability to defend
ourselves, that is, the ability to bear arms and to use them. As long as
we have to look to Englishmen for our defence, as long as we are not
free from the fear of the military, so long we cannot be regarded as
equal partners with Englishmen. It behoves us, therefore, to learn the
use of arms and to acquire the ability to defend ourselves. If we want
to learn the use of arms with the greatest possible despatch, it is our
duty to enlist ourselves in the army.
There can be no friendship between the brave and the
effeminate. We are regarded as a cowardly people. If we want to
become free from that reproach, we should learn the use of arms.
1
Probably used by Gandhiji for the text of his address at a meeting, this went
into wide circulation in the printed form. An English version was also published, in
the Press, but is not available.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 83

Partnership in the Empire is our definite goal. We should suffer
to the utmost of our ability and even lay down our lives to defend the
Empire. If the Empire perishes, with it perish our cherished
aspirations.
Hence the easiest and the straightest way to win swaraj is to
participate in the defence of the Empire. It is not within our power to
give much money. Moreover, it is not money that will win the war.
Only an army inexhaustible in number can do it. That army India can
supply. If the Empire wins mainly with the help of our army, it is
obvious that we would secure the rights we want.
Some will say that, if we do not secure those rights just now, we
would be cheated of them afterwards. The strength we employ in
defending the Empire now can secure those rights. Rights won by
making an opportunity of the Empire’s weakness are likely to be lost
when the Empire regains its strength. We shall not succeed in
becoming partners in the Empire by trying to embarrass it.
Embarrassing it in its hour of crisis will not help us to secure the rights
which we must win by serving it. To distrust the statesmen of the
Empire is to distrust our own strength; it is a sign of our own
weakness. We should not depend for our rights on the goodness or the
weakness of the statesmen, we should depend on our fitness and our
strength.
The Native States are helping the Empire and they are getting
their reward. The rich are rendering full financial assistance to the
Government and they are likewise getting their reward. The assistance
in neither case is rendered conditionally. The sepoys are rendering
their services for their salt and for their livelihood. They get their
livelihood, and prizes and honours in addition. All these classes are a
part of us, but they cannot be regarded as lovers of swaraj, their goal is
not swaraj. The help they render is not out of love for the country. If
we seek to win swaraj in a spirit of hostility, it may well be that the
Imperial statesmen will use these three forces against us and defeat us.
If we want swaraj, it is our duty to help the Empire and we shall
undoubtedly get the reward of that help. If our motive is honest, the
Government will behave honestly with us. Assuming for a moment
that it will not do so, our honesty should make us confident of our
success. It is no mark of greatness to be good only with the good.
Greatness lies in returning good for evil.
The Government does not give us commissions in the Army, it

does not repeal the Arms Act; it does not open schools for military
training. How can we then co-operate with it? These are valid
objections.
In not granting reforms in these matters, the Government is
committing a serious blunder. The British have many acts of goodness
to their credit. For these, God’s grace be with them. But the heinous
sin perpetrated by the British administrators in the name of their
people will, if they do not take care betimes, undo the effect of all
these acts of goodness. If the worst happens to India, which God
forbid, and she passes into the hands of some other nation, India’s
piteous cry will make England hang her head in shame before the
world, and a curse will descend upon her for having emasculated a
nation of thirty crores. I believe the statesmen of England have
realized this and have taken the warning, but they are unable to alter
all of a sudden the situation created by themselves. Every Englishman
upon entering India is trained to despise us, to regard himself as our
superior and to keep himself aloof from us. They imbibe these ideas
from the very atmosphere in which they move. Those at the higher
levels of administration try to free themselves and their subordinates
from this atmosphere but their effort does not bear immediate fruit. If
there were no crisis for the Empire, we should be fighting against this
domineering spirit. But to sit back at this crisis, waiting for
commissions, etc., is like cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face. It
may well be that, while we are waiting for commissions, the
opportunity to help the Empire may slip away.
It is my firm belief that even if the Government desires to
prevent us from enlisting in the army and rendering other help by
refusing us commissions or by delay in granting them, it is our duty
to insist upon joining the army.
The Government at present wants half a million men for the
army. They will certainly succeed in raising this number somehow. If
we supply this number, the credit will be ours, we will be rendering a
service and the reports that we often hear of improper methods
adopted by recruiting agents will become things of the past. It is no
small thing to have the whole work of recruiting in our hands. If the
Government have no trust in us, if their intentions are not pure, they
would not recruitment through us.
The foregoing argument will show that by enlisting in the army
we help the Empire, we qualify ourselves for swaraj, we learn to
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 85

defend India and to a certain extent regain our lost manhood.
I admit it is because of my faith in the British people that I can
advise as I am doing. I believe that, though this nation has done India
much harm, it is to our advantage to retain connection with it. Their
virtues seem to me to outweigh their vices. It is painful to remain in
subjection to that nation. The British have the great vice of depriving a
subject nation of its self-respect, but they have also the virtue of
treating their equals with due respect and of loyalty towards them. We
have seen that they have many times helped those groaning under the
tyranny of others. As their partners, there is much we can receive and
much that we can give and our connection with them based on that
relationship is likely to benefit the world. If such was not my faith and
if I thought it desirable to become absolutely independent of that
nation, I would not only not advise co-operation but would on the
contrary ask the people to beware, advising them to rebel, and paying
the penalty for doing so. We are not in a position today to stand on
our own feet unaided and alone. I believe that our good lies in
becoming and remaining equal partners in the Empire and I have seen
it throughout India that all those who demand swaraj are of the same
view. I expect from Kheda and Gujarat not 500 or 700 recruits but
thousands. If Gujarat wants to save herself from the reproach of
effeminacy, she should be prepared to contribute thousands of
sepoys. These must include the educated classes, the Patidars, the
Dharalas, the Vagharis and I hope they all will fight side by side as
comrades. Unless the educated classes or the elite of the community
take the lead, it is idle to expect the other classes to come forward. I
hope those among the educated classes who are above the prescribed
age but who are able-bodied will be eligible to enlist themselves. Their
services will be utilized, if not for actual fighting, for related purposes
and for looking after the welfare of the sepoys. I hope also that those
who have grown-up sons will not hesitate to send them as recruits. To
sacrifice sons in the war ought to be a cause not of pain but of
pleasure to brave men. Sacrifice of sons at this hour will be a sacrifice
for swaraj.
To the women, my request is that they should not be alarmed by
this appeal but should welcome it. It contains the key to their
protection and their honour.
There are 600 villages in Kheda district. Every village has on an
average a population of over 1,000. If every village gave at least

twenty men, Kheda district would be able to raise an army of 12,000
men. The population of the whole district is seven lakhs and this
number will then work out at 1.7 per cent, a rate which is lower than
the death rate. If we are not prepared to make even this sacrifice for
the Empire, for the sake of swaraj, no wonder that we should be
regarded unworthy of it. If every village gives at least twenty men, on
their return from the war they will be the living bulwarks of their
village. If they fall on the battle-field, they will immortalize
themselves, their village and their country, and twenty fresh men will
follow their example and offer themselves for national defence.
If we mean to do this, we have no time to lose. I desire that the
fittest and the strongest in every village should be selected and their
names forwarded. I ask this of you, brothers and sisters. To explain
things to you and to answer the many questions that may be raised,
meetings will be held in important villages. Volunteers will also go
round.
Messrs Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel, Barrister-at-law, Krishnalal
Narasilal Desai, M.A.LL.B., Indulal Kanhaiyalal Yagnik, B.A.LL.B.,
Hariprasad Pitambardas Mehta, Manager of the Hitechchhu Press,
Pragji Khandubhai Desai, Mohanlal Kameshwar Pandya, B.Ag.,
Ganesh Vasudeo Mavlankar, M.A.LL.B., Kalidsas Jashkaran Zaveri,
B.A.LL.B., Fulchand Bapuji Shah, Gokuldas B. Talati, B.A.LL.B.,
Shivabhai Bhailal Patel, B.A.LL.B., Raojibhai Manibhai Patel and
others are cooperating.
MOHANDAS KARAMCHAND GANDHI
[From Gujarati]
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 87

[NADIAD,
Before June 23, 1918] 1
As for my offer you know that, in my letter to Maffey, 2 I have
said I should kill; neither friend nor foe. Regarding those who want to
fight but will not, either out of cowardice or spite against the British,
what is my duty? Must I not say,”If you can follow my path, so much
the better, but if you cannot, you ought to give up cowardice or spite
and fight. You cannot teach ahimsa to a man who cannot kill. You
cannot make a dumb man appreciate the beauty and the merit of
silence. 3 Although I know that silence is most excellent, I do not
hesitate to take means that would enable the dumb man to regain his
speech. I do not believe in any Government, —but Parliamentary
Government is perhaps better than capricious rule. I think it will be
clear to you that I shall best spread the gospel of ahimsa, or
satyagraha by asking the himsak (militant) men to work out their
himsa in the least offensive manner, and may succeed, in the very act,
in making them realize the better worth of ahinsa. If I have not made
the position clear, you should try if you can to come down.4
1
C. F. Andrews replied to this letter on June 23.
2
Vide “Letter to J. L. Maffey”, 30 4-1918.
3
Andrews observed in regard to this point: “I do not see the analogy of the
dumb man in your letter. It seems dangerously near the argument that the Indian who
has forgotten altogether the blood-lust might be encouraged to learn it again first and
then repudiate it afterwards of his own account.”
4
Andrews wrote back: “At the same time I do agree with you entirely that it is a
free India choosing her own path which can give the world the highest example of
ahinsa, not the present subjected India. But even then— cannot you conceive on that
very freedom being won by moral force only, not by the creation of a standing army
to meet the army of occupation.”

69. LETTER TO REV. F. Z. HODGE
[NADIAD,]
June 23, 1918
Pray accept my heartfelt thanks for your kind letter. We do
regard ourselves as members of the inner circle in your family. It was
a joy always to be able to pass a few hours with you. I am taking the
liberty of sending your letter to Babu Brajkishore for its reference to
my co-workers as also for the warning that we may not allow the
schools to languish. You know that Dr. Deva, before he left, put up a
pucca building in Bhitiharwa. I find it most difficult to secure a lady
teacher. But I do not despair of finding one. I would so like you to
visit the schools now and then. You should ask Babu Gorakhprasad to
find you a conveyance.
Devdas is now in Madras conducting a Hindi class for the
Tamils.
The Kaira quarrel was settled some time ago. Did you see my
letter announcing the settlement? I am now commencing a recruiting
1
campaign.
Please remember us both to Mrs. Hodge. I hope she has entirely
regained her former strength.
I trust the boys will have left off their shyness with me when I
next meet them. It is my intention to visit Champaran at least once in
three months.
Yours sincerely
M. K. GANDHI
1
Vide “Letter to People of Kheda”, 6-6-1918.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 89

70. LETTER T0 B. G. HORNIMAN
[NADIAD,]
June 23, 1918
I wonder whether I shall succeed in engaging your pen in behalf
of my appeal1 herewith. I shall value it. I need it. I do feel that we shall
truly serve the common cause if we help the Government with sepoys
and yet give battle on their wrongdoings. The two can go side by side.
The stupidity of administrators makes recruiting difficult. That need
not dismay us. We ought to do our best. That is how I read the
resolutions of the Protest Meetings.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
71. LETTER T0 MRS. WEST

[NADIAD,]
June 23, 1918
DEAR MRS. WEST,
I was glad to receive your note. I wish you will not worry about
your financial affairs. Albert2 is a brother to me. Nothing can shake
my trust in him. If I despaired of Albert, I should have to despair of
the world. I have already written to him.3 I know that he has done what
was best in the circumstances. I am glad, too, that both you and Sam
are now able to have suitable education for the children. I wonder if
Hilda remembers me. I do not know what has come over Manilal. He
had such high regard for all of you and had so much affection
showered on him by you all. He has developed a suspicious nature. I
still think that he will be soon himself again. I know that your love will
turn away his suspicion. I hope you will make advances to him, reason
with him, speak to him, and win him over. I cannot bear the idea of
Manilal having an evil thought about you.
We are just now building new premises for the Ashram. I wish
1
Vide “Appeal for Enlistment”, 22-6-1948.
2
Albert H. West
3
This letter is not available.

you were here to watch the progress of the buildings. The ground is
beautifully situated. Maganlal is doing it all. He is doing what Albert
was doing there whilst Phoenix was building. For him there is no
pleasure outside the Ashram.
Yours,
M. K. GANDHI
72. LETTER T0 SONJA SCHLESIN

[NADIAD,]
June 23, 1918
DEAR MISS SCHELSIN1 ,
The long expected letter has come. We have all been looking
forward to a letter from you.
Of course, Phoenix is not going to be sold. You can have 5 acres
of ground in the centre. I like your dream specially as it includes a
visit to India.
It delights me to find you getting tired of the typewriter....2
I have not asked Ramdas to become a tailor; not that there is no
poetry in tailoring. Ramdas may become a living Sartor Resartus. But
he is a conscientious boy. He wants to gain all kinds of experiences. If
he becomes a poet he will be one not of words and in words, but of
actions and in actions. Ramdas is a visionary. And I like visionaries. I
hope you will guide him, and befriend him. I wish you would live with
Manilal for a while. You could carry on your studies there.
How are the Vogls3 , the Phillipses 4 and the Dokes5 ? Do you ever
1
Sonja Schlesin joined Gandhiji as a steno-typist and later played an
important role in the satyagraha struggle in South Africa; vide “Johannesburg
Letter”, Before 10-1-1908.
2
Some words are missing here in the source.
3
Mrs. Vogl conducted classes for Indian women and organized Indian Bazaars
in Johannesburg. She, as also her husband, a draper, took keen interest in the cause of
Indians in South Africa.
4
Charles Phillips, congregational minister in the Transvaal
5
Mrs. J. J. Doke and Olive Doke
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 91

meet them? Where is MacIntyre1 ? What do you think of the
community? Do you meet Thumbi2 ? What has come over him? These
are questions which I should expect discussed in your letters. But
something is better than nothing.
My life has become very complex. You must have read at least
my important public letters. Now I am entering upon a big recruiting
campaign. My work has involved constant railway travelling. I am
longing for solitude and rest. They may never be my lot. Mrs. Gandhi
has developed remarkably. She has beautifully resigned herself to
things she used to fight. But I must [not] describe things. You must
see them for yourself.
With love,
Yours,
M. K. GANDHI
73. LETTER T0 DEVDAS GANDHI

[NADIAD,]
June 23, 1918
I see that you have made a good beginning with the work of
teaching. I sent you some instructions yesterday. Take up grammar
quite early. They will find it interesting. It will also be well to teach
inflections as you start. They should be compared with the Tamil
forms. Let me have some idea about the age of those who join and the
progress they make.
The first pamphlet on enlistment3 has been issued here. I send
you three copies. It has also been translated into English. Let me
know what you think of it after reading it. Lately, I have come to see
the principle of non-violence in a somewhat different light, sublime
none the less. Simultaneously, I also realize my shortcomings in the
matter of self-control. My tapascharya is quite inadequate for this
task. In this age, we do not get by our experiments one millionth part
of the direct experience which they could formerly attain by
1
An articled clerk with Gandhiji when he was in South Africa
2
Thambi Naidoo, a passive resister
3

tapascharya. Even if we find in thousands of instances that water is
made up of two parts of hydrogen and one part of oxygen, it cannot
be said finally that this is its composition. The conclusion is only an
inference. If, however, I take two parts of hydrogen and one part of
oxygen and combine them to produce water, that would be definitive
knowledge. It is knowledge verified in experience. Even if water can
be made in any other manner, I have definitely shown with one
experiment that it can be made by compounding [hydrogen and
oxygen] in this way. We frequently act on inference but come to no
harm. In matters of moment, we realize the inadequacy of inference
and the supreme worth of direct experience. It is for this reason that
observance of yama-niyama, etc., is essential. This is the only way to
knowledge based on experience.
Blessings from
BAPU
[From Gujarati]
74. LETTER TO MOHANDAS NAGJI

[NADIAD,]
June 23, 1918
My view about remarriage is that it would be proper for a man
or a woman not to marry again after the death of the partner. The
basis of Hinduism is self-control. Of course, self-control is enjoined in
every religion, but Hinduism has attached to it especial importance. In
such a religion, remarriage can be only an exception. These views of
mine notwithstanding, so long as the practice of child-marriage
continues and so long as men are free to marry as often as they
choose, we should not stop a girl, who has become a widow while yet a
child, from remarrying if she so desires, but should respect her wishes.
I would not, however, put it into the head of even a child widow to
remarry, though, if she did marry again, I would not regard her action
as sinful.
Blessings from
MOHANDAS GANDHI
[From Gujarati]
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 93

75. LETTER TO VITHALBHAI PATEL
[NADIAD,]
June 23, 1918
BHAISHRI VITHALBHAI,
I have your letter. I think it is better for persons like you to keep
out of the Home Rule [League] and do what service you can. The
Home Rule League is in a difficult plight at present. This is not owing
to external difficulties; there are many internal problems. They have
not been able to decide what line to follow: obstruction or co-
operation. Enough has been done by way of the former. It is
necessary now to stop it and do something constructive. The
League’s capacity for service will not grow to its best unless this is
done. Join the League by all means, if you want to do so merely that
you may be able to guide it towards the path of service. But the
members of the League will not welcome your entry if you fight with
one and all. It is simple treachery to join any institution with the
object of wrecking it. You will also be doing a great service to the
country if you but learn the art of safeguarding your health.
How do you like Vallabhbhai’s new profession? He has become
a recruiting sergeant.
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
[From Gujarati]
76. LETTER TO ANASUYABEHN SARABHAI

NADIAD,
Jeth Sud 15 [June 24, 1918] 1
REVERED ANASUYABEHN,
Herewith Gordhanbhai’s2 letter. Last night a mill worker stopp-
ed me and asked:”What have you done for us?” I thought of you
then. I was saddened and said to myself, ‘Anasuyabehn is forsaking
1
Jeth Sud 15 in 1918 corresponded to this date, when Gandhiji was in Nadiad.
2
Gordhandas Patel, Secretary, Ahmedabad Mill-owners’ Association

her dharma.’ Could you give up working for mill workers? You have
taken on yourself the task of educating them, weaning them fromtheir
addictions, reforming them generally and taking them forward in all
respects. This is your life’s work and can well take up all your time.
How can you give it up? You seem to be unmindful of what the
arbitration is doing or not doing. You shouldn’t be. You must do
other things only after taking care of your main activity.
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
From the Gujarati Original: S.N. 32839
77. SPEECH AT AHMEDABAD

June 24, 1918
You all know the purpose of this meeting. You also know that
Bombay has protested against the insulting behaviour of His
Excellency the Governor towards members of the Home Rule League
at the War Conference. At the Bombay meeting, too, I was in the chair
and, having expressed my views there, I shall not take much of your
time. This meeting is for two things: one, to support the action of
Bombay and, two, to explain the position to those who do not read
newspapers and, since even newspaper reports are often fragmentary
and incorrect, to place the facts before newspaper readers as well. This
is what today’s meeting is for. His Excellency the Governor was faced
with the question whether or not to invite Mr. Tilak and other
swarajists to the War Conference. Since Mr.Tilak and Mrs. Besant had
not been invited to the Delhi Conference, the question was an unusual
one for Lord Willingdon and he gave it careful consideration. In the
end, he invited them and Mr. Tilak accepted the invitation. The latter
enquired whether he would be free to address the Conference and
whether any amendments would be in order. He was told in reply that
no amendments to the resolutions could be moved but that, after
selected speakers had addressed the Conference on the resolutions, he
would be free to speak and comment on their views. His Excellency
sincerely meant what he said and there was no ambiguity in his words.
And so Mr. Tilak and others went to the Conference. But what was
their exper-ience there? Before Mr. Tilak had completed his second
sentence His Excellency the Governor interrupted him—stopped him
from making any criticism. He did not know what Mr. Tilak wished to
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 95

say. He knew nothing, of course, about what the speech would be like.
And yet, believing that the sentence which Mr. Tilak had commenced
with a ‘but’ would be objectionable, the Governor did not allow him
to complete it and stopped him from proceeding further. Not that His
Excellency would not have been within his rights in doing so, on some
other occasion. It was, however, improper of him to have thus stopped
a guest whom he had invited to his place to address a meeting and, in
doing so, he has offered a gross insult to Mr. Tilak and the other
distinguished guests, in fact to all the people of India. Mr. Tilak is no
ordinary man. He is adored by the whole of India. It is really in tole-
rable that he should have been ordered in this manner to resume his
seat. We have assembled here today to demonstrate that the people of
Ahmedabad too cannot tolerate this and to support Bombay’s action.
In this we are but doing our duty and showing ourselves to be
true swarajists. It must be one of the implications of swaraj that any
insult to India should be treated as an insult to Indian independence.
We have come together today to call the Governor to account for
having insulted Indian independence. We should tell him that he has
offered us a serious insult and that he should apologize for that. With
few exceptions, there is no newspaper in India which has approved of
the Governor’s action. They have all condemned it. Even The Pioneer
has done so and said that when the need of the hour is to enlist the co-
operation of the people such an incident should not have taken place.
It has gone further and advised the Governor to swallow the bitter
draught and get on with the work. The object of this meeting in
Ahmedabad and the resolutions it is to pass are quite in order. One of
the resolutions calls upon the Governor to apologize and says that,
should he fail to do so, His Excellency the Viceroy should intervene
and express his disapproval of the Governor’s action, and further that,
unless this is done, Home Rulers will not attend any meeting presided
over by Lord Willingdon. We do not wish to extend our displeasure
with him to the Empire nor to run away from our present duties. In
the second resolution, we point out the difficulties we encounter in
helping the Government. Our intention in it is to assert that we wish to
help it, but cannot do so fully because there are certain things which
need to be done, and which only the Government can do, before we
can help. In saying that it cannot afford to ignore the educated
classes and that the Indian soldier will not rest satisfied with rights
inferior to those enjoyed by the British soldier, we also point to our
difficulties and argue that, if we have not been able to help, the

reason lies with the Government itself. Let this cause be removed and
we shall then withdraw our charge against it. This is not enough,
however. There are certain things we must ourselves do. If we do not,
we shall fail in our duty as swarajists. We pray to God to grant us
swaraj this very day. But God tells us that we shall get it when we
deserve it. If He were to give us all that we pray for, there would be
complete chaos in the world. We have to prove our fitness for swaraj.
We have ample material with which to silence our enemies, but it is our
duty to see our defects as they are. If, being angry with the Govern-
ment for these defects, we keep thinking of its shortcomings and sit
back with folded hands, we shall never come to enjoy swaraj.
Travelling all over India, I have gathered that her people want to live,
as those of Canada and Australia do, as citizens having equal rights
with the Government. We want it to obtain our consent for carrying on
the war and only then ask us to contribute men and money. If our
intention is not to leave the Empire, it is to our advantage to work with
the British as partners. Our first and last duty is to join the Empire in
making sacrifices and to make them courageously. It is only thus that
we shall succeed in getting swaraj early. Our duty is two-fold: to resist
injustice and take the necessary steps to end it and, at the same time, to
stand by the Government in its hour of difficulty. If we mind these
two duties, we shall have proved our bona fides. If we want to disprove
the charge against us, we should give it no reason to doubt our
loyalty—this is the only real way to punish it. There is another aspect
to this resolution, which, too, you should consider. I have had a letter
from Mr. Tilak in which he says that, if the Government of India
would place the Indian soldier on the same footing as the British
soldier, he would be prepared to give 5,000 men in six months and,
should he fail, to pay a penalty of Rs. 100/- for every man [short of
that figure]. For this purpose, he has also sent me a cheque for Rs.
50,000.1 I have had talks with Mr. Jinnah and Mrs. Besant, too, on this
subject. They have admitted that we should supply the required
number of men to the Empire. Mr. Tilak believes that, if we make
definite conditions with the Government for helping it, no room
would be left for any misunderstanding afterwards and that, therefore,
that is the course we should adopt. I hold, on the contrary, that we lose
nothing by trusting, and so I have no hesitation in advising people to
join up. We shall, by doing so, get what we have been demanding. I
1
The cheque was returned to Tilak.
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believe in trusting people and my advice, therefore, is that we should
proceed on the basis of trust. I have attended this meeting to tell you
that, if your chanting of the swaraj mantra is to be efficacious, you
should do your duty. To wipe out the blot on the face of Gujarat,
people should take to careers in the army. This is the best way of
learning to defect Ahmedabad, should it ever be raided. We do not
propose to turn this into a recruitment meeting but, when such a
meeting is called, you should not fail in your duty.
[From Gujarati]

NADIAD,
June 25, 1918
DEAR MR. MAFFEY,
I have purposely refrained from acknowledging your letter of

the 4th instant, as I was desirous of reporting to you on the several
matters referred to in our correspondence or our conversation.
The Kaira affair was settled locally. I have called it a settlement
without grace.1 You might have seen my note upon it. If not, I will not
tax you with it. Did I not want to commence recruiting at the earliest
moment, I would not have been satisfied with several aspects of the
settlement.
I duly attended the Bombay Conference. I did what I could to
heal the breach caused by Lord Willingdon’s blunder.2 You may not
agree that it was a blunder at all. I still feel that Lord Willingdon could
gracefully admit his mistake and I have not hesitated to say as much
to him. It has certainly added to my difficulty. That however need not
daunt me. I shall persevere.
Ever since my return from Delhi I have been engaged in
1
Vide”Letter to People of Kheda”, 6-6-1918
2
The reference is to Lord Willingdon’s stopping of B. G. Tilak and Kelkar
from speaking on the Loyalty Resolution at the Provincial War Conference, Bombay
on June 10. B. G. Tilak, Gandhiji, M. A. Jinnah, B. G. Horniman, N. C. Kelkar and R.
P. Karandikar left the Conference Hall in protest. For Gandhiji’s correspondence and
speech in this respect, vide “Letter to Lord Willingdon:, 11-6-1918 and “Speech at
Public Meeting, Bombay”, 16-6-1918..

organizing public opinion in Gujarat in favour of an active, ceaseless
recruiting campaign. We on this side do not supply soldiers. I am
trying my hardest to remove the blemish. Several private meetings
have been held to induce the people to come forward. The campaign
was publicly started on the 21st instant. No tangible result can yet be
reported. Our workers have now gone over to villages to talk among
the people. I am addressing a meeting tomorrow, having been invited
thereto by the villagers. In a few days I shall know whether I shall get
any response. Anyway no stone will be left unturned by me to obtain
recruits in their thousands, Nothing less will satisfy me. My first
leaflet 1 you will see in translation in the Press. As a specimen, I enclose
a Gujarati copy.
And now for the brothers Ali. I was not thinking of a time limit.
But I did gather from you that if I waited for about a month I would
probably find them released.2 Whether I carried with me a false
impression or a true one does not much matter. Naturally I shall
accept your version of your words in preference to mine. But it is
essential that either the necessity for their internment should be
judicially or otherwise publicly proved, or they should be discharged.
A big agitation has been held in abeyance only on my word that I am
trying through your good offices to secure their release. Will you not
therefore exert yourself in this matter? In our circles the talk is that
the brothers are held up only to satisfy Sir William Vincent3 and Sir
Charles Cleveland. I endeavoured to move the former, but I rubbed
him up the wrong way. A mere mention of their names was a red rag.
And I completely collapsed. You (the Government) have asked for a
calm atmosphere in order to prosecute the War. You are entitled to it
so long as you do not ruffle it yourselves. But may I for my”tinpot”
recruiting ask for an equally calm atmosphere by either releasing the
brothers or furnishing your avowed friends with a proper
justification?
I am,
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
From a microfilm: Lord Chelmsford Papers. Courtesy: Nehru Memorial
Museum and Library
1
“Appeal for Enlistment”, ibid, pp. 439-43.
2
The Ali Brothers were finally released on December 25, 1919, under the
amnesty granted by a Royal Proclamation.
3
Sir William Henry Hoare Vincent, Member (Home), Viceroy’s Executive
Council
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 99

79. SPEECH AT RAS
June 26, 1918
Gandhiji began with the assurance that he had not come with the intention of
forcing anyone to join the army. As a man trying to practise ahimsadharma, he could
compel them not by physical force but only by the force of his love, as also by
awakening the feelings of patriotism and true self-interest. He was there to advise
them to join the army. The same advice he had taken to himself and had tendered his
eldest son, who was married and had five children. He continued:
Voluntary recruiting is a key to swaraj and will give us honour
and manhood. The honour of women is bound up with it. Today we
are unable to protect our women and children even against wild
animals. The best way of acquiring the capacity of self-protection is
joining the army. Some will ask, ‘Why get killed in France?’ But there
is a meaning in being thus killed. When we send our dear ones to the
battle-field, the courage and the strength which they will acquire will
transform all the villages. The training we can get today we may never
get again.
Mr. Gandhi spoke of Dharala, Vaghris and Patidars in the same breath, as
the qualities of Kshatriyas were common to them. He exhorted them to use for the
protection of the motherland their valour, which otherwise led to mutual quarrels.
Taking the population of a village at one thousand we should

have twenty recruits from each village or two per hundred. What
are two in a hundred? How many men do cholera and such
other diseases take away every year? These men die unmourned
except by their relatives. On the other hand, soldiers’ death on the
battle-field makes them immortal, if the scriptures are right, and
becomes a source of joy and pride to those left behind. From the
death of Kshatriyas will be born the guardians of the nation and no
Government can withhold arms from such men.
One of their friends was ready to enlist that day, he said, but could not do so for
two months on account of debts. Many similar cases might be found. Mr. Gandhi
requested the village leaders to inquire into the cases of such men, find out their
pecuniary condition and undertake the management of their business and the
maintenance of their families. He continued:
You could then inspire young men to enlist. A national army
could be thus created instead of a mercenary one. There is not a

family in England, rich or poor, which does not mourn the loss of a
relative. It has now been decided there to call up men up to the age of
51. If we desire to govern our country and defend it, every young
man should join the army.
He expressed the hope that the village people will discuss the matter and
resolve to give two men for every hundred.
For years we have been deprived of our fighting capacity. How
are we to acquire the use of arms for which our ancestors practised
penances and took severe pledges?
Some argue that we would be deprived of arms after the war.
Now, there is no power on earth that could, against our will, deprive us
of arms after we have once been trained. Government is not foolish or
it could not govern. Our mightiest weapon, satyagraha, is always with
us. But he cannot be a satyagrahi who is afraid of death. The ability to
use physical force is necessary for a true appreciation of satyagraha.
He alone can practise ahimsa who knows how to kill, i.e., knows what
himsa is.
In conclusion, Mr. Gandhi said:
Sisters, you should encourage your husbands and brothers and

sons and not to worry them with your objections. If you want them to
be true men, send them to the army with your blessings. Don’t be
anxious about what may happen to them on the battle-field. Your
piety will watch over them there. And if they fall, console yourselves
with the thought that they have fallen in the discharge of their duty
and that they will be yours in your next incarnation.
80. SPEECH AT KHEDA1

June 27, 1918
We generally believe that having to go to jail is a disgrace;
anyone who has to do so is all the time nervous with fear when he is
inside and keeps counting his days, thinking when he would complete
1
The meeting was held to welcome satyagrahis released form jail, after serving
a term of imprisonment for removing onion crops from fields forfeited to
Government for non-payment of land revenue. According to a newspaper report,
Gandhiji went on foot form Mehmedabad to Kheda to receive the satyagrahis.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 101

his term there and be able to get out. This is the mental condition of
the prisoner who has violated a law of the country and society, but it is
different with a satyagrahi. That is why, in this struggle for upholding
our self-respect and rights, we advocate jail-going. There is not the
least trace of suffering or depression on the faces of those friends here
who have been released from jail. The whole of Kheda looks up to
them with pride and is celebrating this occasion as a mark of respect
for them. To one type of person, going to jail is a matter of disgrace;
to another, it is a matter of pride. The former returns from jail a
hardened man. While in jail, he resorts to deceit and becomes unruly;
our friends on the other hand have sanctified the jail by their
presence. Not only did they respect the regulations in jail, but the
opportunity which their imprisonment offered, they utilised for calm
thinking, took solemn vows to give up tea and smoking and resolved
to dedicate their lives to the service of the country. All the time they
were in jail, the one constant thought in their minds was what they
should do for the country. Thus they used their twenty days in jail in
a manner no one had done before them; imprisonment, therefore, is
not a matter of disgrace for us, but rather of honour. May we all have
to serve such terms of imprisonment. My brothers and sisters, pray for
this only so that we may all be able to render the purest service to the
country.
This great change in our friends while in jail is solely due to
Shri Mohanlal Pandya. His life is evidence of how much but
one truthful man among the people can achieve and to what extent he
can influence others. I do not wish to give less credit to the other
friends, but it cannot be gainsaid that, had it not been for Pandya, the
results would not have been so happy.
Jail-going is not the crowning step in satyagraha; it is, in a sense,
only the foundation. There is a fundamental difference between going
to jail through satyagraha and doing so for some crime.
For instance, if one lands in jail for assaulting anyone while
refusing to pay the land revenue, that cannot be called satyagraha.
The assault and the imprisonment are both a matter of disgrace.
However, a man may sincerely repent for the assault and his term in
jail will then be a prayashchit, though, even so, it will not be
satyagraha.
On this occasion of the return of our friends from jail, let us
consider what satyagraha means. He who deliberately takes suffering

on himself is called a satyagrahi. The rule of justice which holds
between two brothers holds also between the Government and the
people. A satyagrahi cannot please society every time; he has
sometimes to incur its displeasure and offer satyagraha against it too.
We want to see the principles of satyagraha spread all over India as
rapidly as possible. Even if a single part of India, ever so small, were
to embrace satyagraha, very great things could be achieved. Many of
those who are present here are advocates of swaraj. They should not
forsake truth even for a moment. If they do, they will have to go
through utter darkness, without so much as a glimpse of the holy sun.
It is the duty of a satyagrahi to place the principles of truth fearlessly
before the country. He will, in the process, serve the whole world.
My brothers and sisters, I would say to you: If we have decided
to dedicate ourselves to satyagraha in all sincerity of heart, we have
only one duty: to cling to truth till the last breath. If you are
convinced that the country will not suffer because of our insistence on
truth, then, with God as witness, resolve that you would not forsake the
truth, even if this earth should sink into the bottomless pit. Then alone
will you be real lovers of swaraj, will you deserve to wear genuine
badges of swaraj.
[From Gujarati]
Kheda Satyagraha
81. SPEECH AT NAVAGAM1

June 27, 1918
The man who should stand before you today, after having been
released from jail, is myself; it was I who advised the onions to be dug
up. I told them they could boldly go ahead with the digging, and so
they did. The Government stopped them and, not satisfied with that,
sent six of these friends to jail. The one who should have been
imprisoned was left free and the credit has gone to those who were
sent to jail. We have assembled here today from all over the
surrounding villages to celebrate the occasion and welcome them
back.
Navagam’s renown has spread all over Gujarat today. By going
1
The passive resisters, released and greeted at Kheda, were taken in procession
to Navagam, their home village.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 103

to jail our friends here have taken the crowning step in satyagraha.
The sisters have also understood that, since we committed no crime,
there was no disgrace in having gone to jail. I should like to see this
spirit spread over the whole of Kheda district.
We fought the battle of land revenue, but had no chance of
going to jail. This, too, we have had now, by God’s grace. It does not
seem from their faces that they had suffered anything at all. Being
happy or otherwise depends on one’s mind. What the mind takes to
be happiness is happiness and what it takes to be misery is misery. Our
friends here felt no pain in having to go to jail, for they were
convinced of the need to do so for the sake of the country and their
pledge, and they welcomed the sentence of imprisonment. To them
the jail was like a palace, and while there, they learned to practise self-
control. You should welcome imprisonment in this way, learn self-
control in jail, taking vows.
The path of satyagraha is a very hard one but, to the extent that
we succeed in following it, we shall be more of men.
This will be a blessed day and our descendants will celebrate it
as such if this occasion teaches us to live for the country, to work for
her, to die for her.
Had it not been for Mohanlal Pandya, you could
not have achieved what you have done. Let us hope that men and
women of Navagam will be imbued with the same courage as
Mohanlal’s, so that they stand in no need of outside help. Navagam
has had the advantage of Mohanlal Pandya’s experience and also
earned the credit which, otherwise, some other place might have had
the good fortune to do. I should like you to turn his experience to
good account.
[From Gujarati]
Kheda Satyagraha
82. SPEECH AT KATHLAL1

June 28, 1918
The longer I am in India, the more I see that some people
believe I have set myself up as a guru. I cautioned them against this in
South Africa and caution you here again. I know uttering such a
1
At this meeting an address was presented to Mohanlal Pandya.

caution can itself be a way of seeking honour. Even at the risk of
seeming to do so, I shall say that it is not for me to be anyone’s guru.
I am not fit to be that. Even in South Africa, when there were hallowed
occasions like the present one, I had refused the position and do so
today once more. I am myself in search of a guru. How can a man,
himself in search of a guru, be a guru to anyone else? I had my
political guru in Gokhale, but I cannot be one to anybody else
because I am still a child in matters of politics. Again, if I agreed to be
a guru and accepted someone as my disciple, and the latter did not
come up to my expectations or ran away, I would be very much hurt.
I hold that a man should think, not once, but many times before
declaring himself anyone’s disciple. A disciple proves his discipleship
by carrying out any order of the guru the moment it is uttered, much
as a paid servant would. Whether or not he has made himself such a
servant will be known only when he shows that he has fully carried out
the order. The work I have been doing has brought me in the public
eye. It has been such as would appeal to the people. If I have shown
any skill in this struggle, it has been only in seeing the direction in
which the current of popular feeling was flowing and trying to direct
it into the right channel with happy results.
I am trying to be a satyagrahi. It is not always that a satyagrahi
acts in accordance with popular opinion. He may even have to oppose
it. In satyagraha, there can be no room for any falsehood. Everyone is
welcome to plunge into it. The lives of us all are full of experiments.
If we go on making experiments, we shall always stand to gain
something or other from them. Weeds are ever mixed with grass as
chaff with grains of wheat. In the same way, every effort has two
results. Just as we throw away the chaff and use the wheat, so in life we
must embrace the truth and reject falsehood. There are many things I
should like to do and I want to do them all, carrying you with me as
brothers and sisters. Take me for your elder brother, if you like. I
shall be satisfied with that. That is the role I would assign to myself.
All that has been said about Mohanlal Pandya and other friends
who went to jail is quite correct. The fear of jail brings tears to our
eyes, but these friends went to jail, stayed there and returned, all with
smiles on their faces. We cannot, therefore, congratulate them well
enough on this occasion. Mohanlal Pandya had his first lesson in
satyagraha in this struggle and at the end of it he is found to have
passed an advanced examination in it. By honouring him, you have, in
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 105

fact, honoured yourselves.
You will have properly understood satyagraha only if, in the
wake of the struggle, the village of Kathlal comes to have a new look
and has numerous good works to show in future. If we guard the jewel
that we have discovered, it will ever, like the Kalpavriksha1 , bear any
fruit we would have.
[From Gujarati]
Kheda Satyagraha
83. FRAGMENT OF LETTER2

[NADIAD,]
June 29, 1918
I also do not think that the boy3 is innocent. If you would please
me, see that he has justice in a court.
[From Gujarati]

June 29, 1918
First, let me draw your attention to the lesson of satyagraha
taught by some of our sisters here. Some others we cannot see because
they are in purdah. I say to them and to those brothers who are
responsible for their remaining in purdah that, in a state such as this
where half our body is constricted, we cannot work for India. The
sisters here who have ignored the arrangement for them to keep
behind the purdah and have preferred to sit out in the open in
freedom, deserve our congratulations.
I thank you for the address you have presented; but one who is
wedded to service cannot accept any kind of honour. Such a person
has dedicated his all to Krishna. Consequently, the honour I get can
1
Mythical tree which fulfilled every wish
2
Addressee’s name is not given in the source.
3
Harilal, Gandhiji’s eldest son, whose speculative dealings seem to have
involved some party in a business loss.
4
This was in reply to an address presented to Gandhiji on the successful
outcome of the satyagraha campaign.

only be offered up to Krishna. He who is dedicated to service cannot
hanker after honour. The moment he desires honour, he has betrayed
his dedication to service. I have often seen that many work for money,
many others for honour, and still others for fame. Yearning for
money is bad enough, but the desire for honour is worse still.
Sometimes a man commits more sins for honour and reputation than
he would for the sake of money. It is one thing to maintain self-
respect, and quite another to desire honour from either the people or
the Government. A man hankering after praise does grave harm not
only to himself but also to the people. Praise is a thing which will
cloud the judgement of even very great men. If you wish to maintain
your self-respect, I request you in all humility not to overload me with
honours. The best way to honour me is to accept my advice and act
upon it intelligently. Only then will you have honoured me truly. . .1
The sagacity of a general lies in his choice of lieutenants.
Certain objectives having been decided upon and rules framed, results
will be achieved only if the army goes ahead with its work
guided by these. If it fails to do so, the general by himself cannot
accomplish anything great....2 Not that I have accomplished
anything great....3 Many people were ready to follow my advice....4 I
wondered who the deputy general should be. My eye fell upon Shri
Vallabhbhai. I must admit that the first time I saw him I wondered
who that stiff man could be. What could he do! But, as I came in
contact with him, I knew that I must have him. Vallabhbhai saw that
this work was far more important than his practice and his work in the
municipality, of much account though they were. He was flourishing
in his profession then, he thought, but things might change any day,
his money might be squandered; rather than that his heirs should do
this, he would leave them a better legacy. With these thoughts in his
mind, he took a plunge. Had I not chanced on Vallabhbhai, what has
been achieved would not have been achieved, so happy has been my
experience of him.
I feel that the other friends are automatically honoured when
honour is rendered to Vallabhbhai and so I do not mention their
names. The Chairman actually published a list of awards the way the
1
Omissions are in the source.
2
ibid
3
ibid
4
ibid
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 107

Emperor does. I am acting merely as his agent. There are names
which do not occur, they cannot occur, in his imperial list. I shall
declare these names here. The peace and joy of those who accept the
mission of service are beyond description. I have tasted the joys of life
to the utmost and I have come to the conclusion that the atman has its
highest bliss only in dedication to service. As the truest examples of
such dedication, I shall mention my friends, the sweepers of
Anathashram. The love they have showered on me has been beyond
words. Similarly, the children in the orphanage always vied with one
another in serving me. I never conversed with them without a little
merriment. What shall I offer to them? I do not possess a single pice.
They are as my children. The selfless service I have had from them I
do not receive even from barristers and advocates.
We have passed through many experiences. Kheda has
not had the suffering which is, often, a satyagrahi’s portion. It had
seemed to me that the struggle might remain incomplete, but these
friends here who went to jail saw that it did not. Their short term of
imprisonment was not enough for the purpose, though. So sweet is the
taste of satyagraha that one who has known it will ask for nothing else.
If Kheda has had this experience, it is thanks to its energy and
strength, its efficiency. It is entirely because of these that Kheda has
achieved good results. It is a mere trifle that we have won on the issue
of land revenue, but, as I have often told you, the important gains are
fearlessness and the feeling that we are the equals of even the highest
officers—in no way inferior to them. I hope this struggle will have
made you permanently conscious of your strength to employ
satyagraha at any time. Once the flame is kindled, it cannot be
extinguished but burns ever more brightly. Let this be the abiding
result of satyagraha. If it remains with you, we shall always see
satyagraha in some village or other of Kheda. It is my earnest wish
that such happy results may ever bless Kheda.
In your address you have said something about giving gurudak-
shina to me. I do not accept the role of a guru. If, however, you wish
1
to render me any service, I certainly want it. It will cost you a lot.
For the love showered on me by Kheda, and for the service the
volunteers have done me, I pray to God to grant me wisdom and
1
The disciple’s offering to a teacher at the end of his studies

vouchsafe me greater strength in following the ideal of service. Only
so can I express my boundless Love. If ever I have spoken bitter
words to you, kindly forgive me. I have said nothing in malice but all
in the service of the country.
[From Gujarati]
Kheda Satagraha
85. LETTER TO ESTHER FAERING1

NADIAD,
June 30, 1918
MY DEAR ESTHER,
I had no time to write to you ere this. I wonder if you have read
all I have been writing and saying just now. What am I to advise a man
to do who wants to kill but is unable owing to his being maimed?
Before I can make him feel the virtue of not killing, I must restore to
him the arm he has lost. I have always advised young Indians to join
the army, but have hitherto refrained from actively asking them to do
so, because I did not feel sufficiently interested in the purely political
life of the country or in the war itself. But a different and difficult
situation faced me in Delhi. I felt at once that I was playing with the
greatest problem of life in not tackling the question of joining the
army seriously. Either we must renounce the benefits of the State or
help it to the best of our ability to prosecute the war. We are not ready
to renounce. Indians have a double duty to perform. If they are to
preach the mission of peace, they must first prove their ability in war.
This is a terrible discovery but it is true. A nation that is unfit to fight
cannot from experience prove the virtue of not fighting. I do not infer
from this that India must fight. But I do say that India must know how
to fight. Ahimsa is the eradication of the desire to injure or to kill.
Ahimsa can be practised only towards those that are inferior to you in
every way. It follows therefore that to become a full ahimsaist you
have to attain absolute perfection. Must we all then first try to become
Sandows before we can love perfectly? This seems to be unnecessary.
It is enough if we can face the world without flinching. It is personal
courage that is an absolute necessity. And some will acquire that
1
This was in reply to Esther Faering’s question: "How can one, who believes
firmly and has given his own life for the sake of exercising passive resistance always
and everywhere, ask others to join the war and fight ?”
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 109

courage only after they have been trained to fight. I know I have put
the argument most clumsily. I am passing through new experiences. I
am struggling to express myself. Some things are still obscure to me.
And I am trying to find words for others which are plain to me. I am
praying for light and guidance and am acting with the greatest
deliberation. Do please write and fight every inch of the ground that
to you may appear untenable. That will enable me to find the way.
With love,
Yours,
BAPU
[PS.]
Devdas is in Madras now and, if you are in Madras, you should
meet him. His address is.... He is taking Hindi classes.
My Dear Child, pp. 28-9

NADIAD,
Jyeshtha Krishna 6 [June 30, 1918]
DEAR JAMNALALJI,
I have your letter. If you can allow me to use the money set
apart for railway expenses for building work,1 my trouble will be over.
I have written to other friends also. Shankarlal Banker has sent Rs.
4,000. Ambalalji is sending Rs. 5,000. This helps towards expenses
already incurred. I hope for some help from two other friends also. If
you will give the Rs. 25,000 for building work, I can be free from
anxiety to a great extent. There is no need to provide for railway
expenses. These expenses are met from the normal receipts.
Please do not think that you must give the money because I
write. Give it only if you can do so for building work without any
reservation.
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
1
The Sabarmati Ashram was under construction

87. LETTER TO G. K. DEVADHAR
[NADIAD,]
July 2, 1918
MY DEAR DEVADHAR,
I thank you for sending me your report of the Sewa Sadan
work. It is a monument to your industry, nationalism of a constructive
type and your love of service. The progress is indeed phenomenal.
There is probably nothing quite like it in all India. If you have a lady
teacher whom you can spare, I want one, even two, to replace
Avantikabai and Anandibai from Champaran.
And now for suggestions. A smattering of English is worse than
useless; it is an unnecessary tax on our women. When we cease to
make use of English where we ought not to use it, believe me, the
Englishmen will talk to us in our own language, as they ought. Lord
Chelmsford was quite pleased when I spoke at the Conference1 in
Urdu. By all means teach a select few ladies all the English you can so
that they might translate the best English thought to their other sisters.
This is what I call economy of languages. I would therefore replace
English by Hindi. The latter will liberalize the Deccan woman who
like the rest of her sisters, is today parochial and it will add to her
usefulness as a national worker.
Harmonium is only a stage removed from the concertina. I
should give them the vina and the sita. These are cheap, national and
infinitely superior to the harmonium. Lastly, I would like everyone to
learn cotton-spinning and hand-weaving to the exclusion of fancy
work. Through the instrumentality of two workers I have got 100
rentias working, providing a livelihood for probably 300 women.
When India regains her natural calm and quiet dignity, mills will be a
thing of the past. We shall then find our Ranis spinning yarn of the
finest count as they used to before. I would like you to hasten that
day. Believe me we shall soon have a surfeit of these things.
The ordinary tendency is to move with the times. We who must
continually elect and select may not always follow the times spirit; we
may, we should, anticipate the future. He who runs may see, if he
would also think, that the future lies with handicraftsmanship.
1
The War Conference at Delhi
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 111

Anyway, you cannot go wrong by encouraging the women to go in
for hand-spinning and weaving. They will be helping to clothe the
naked.
I have given you more than you bargained for. Many thanks for
giving Amratlal and Kesariprasad. Tell Mrs. Devadhar I shall expect
her to come and stay at the Ashram for a few days.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
88. LETTER TO DEVDAS GANDHI

[NADIAD,]
JULY 2, 1918
I am very glad that you write so very regularly. I also wish to be
regular, but you should not wait for my letters. There was no letter
from you today. The conversation about Natesan was interesting. Do
as suits you best. The work in which you are engaged at present is
very important, how very important you may not perhaps realize just
now. Generally, such work would be entrusted only to a very
intelligent and mature person. Even if that were done, it is doubtful
whether enough people will come forward to learn [Hindi] in a place
like Madras. If you succeed in getting the people of the province of
Madras to accept your gift of Hindi, you will have solved a difficult
problem. You will then have joined Madras with other parts of India.
This bridge which you have undertaken to build requires greater skill
and patience than would be required in building a bridge across the
Ganga. The task of making Hindi simple and interesting will exercise
all your skill. To succeed in this, you will do well to read, during your
leisure hours, books on Hindi, Gujarati, English and Tamil grammars.
This might reveal to you some key which will enable you to impart
more knowledge with less effort. Teach a large number of derivative
words [at the same time as the root word]. That will tax the memory
less. I have told you to consider what arrangements can be made for
the Hindi-speaking people whom we want to send there to learn
Tamil. You should discuss this with Mr. Natesan, Hanumantrao and
others. Revashankar Sodha and Chhotam have returned to the
Ashram. I welcome this, although it adds to the responsibility. Harilal
will pass through by the night train today on his way from Rajkot. We

have had news of the death of . . .’s1 mother. Write to her from your
end. I brought up the matter yesterday and we had a purifying
discussion. I call the discussion purifying because everyone gave
truthful answers, with the utmost civility and reverence. The question
was this: Now . . . 2 will like to go for the customary mourning visit on
her mother’s death. This will cost eighty rupees. Can the Ashram
afford the expense? Should it agree to bear it? A person who has
embraced poverty in the cause of the country and has dedicated
himself to service of others can never lose his mother by death,
because all women, old enough to be so, are his mothers. The father
also does not die because every elder is like a father to him. Service is
his wife; can she ever know death? The rest of the world are like
brothers and sisters to him. To go on a mourning visit on the death of
one’s mother is only a formality. Should money be wasted to follow it
out of deference to the world? This was the question discussed.
Everyone replied, in all solemnity, that such an expenditure would be
unjustified. Santok and Ba were also present. It was unanimously
decided, though, that the idea should not be acted upon this time and
the matter should be left entirely to the discretion of. . . 3 and . . . 4
behn. Most probably they will go.
Do you read any newspapers there? May I send you any from
here?
Blessings from
BAPU
[From Gujarati]
1
Names have been omitted in the source.
2
ibid
3
ibid
4
ibid
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 113

[NADIAD,]
July 2, 1918
BHAISHRI PRANJIVAN,
I have not been able to write to you for some time past. I carry
on with the money I get here and do not go out to beg. I am in utmost
need of money at present. Construction work is in progress. I have
already spent forty thousand rupees on it. Sixty thousand more will be
required. I have to provide accommodation for at least a hundred and
fifty persons and install sixteen looms. Work on cloth is expanding
rapidly. After the Ahmedabad strike, I have come into contact with a
number of weavers. About three hundred women have started working
the rentia. I believe we shall get, before long, about two maunds of
handspun yarn every day. These women were unemployed. They are
employed now. About thirty weavers outside have also found
employment. Some of these are Dheds. They used to labour for wages
but now they have found an independent vocation. I think this is a
very important activity. For it, too, I need more money. I reckon I
shall have to invest ten thousand rupees in this. The National School
activity is, I think, equally important. It is my impression that even at
present the boys of this school compare favourably with other boys at
the same stage of education. The qualities of fearlessness, etc., which
they have acquired are there for all to see. I can see that the school
will require one thousand rupees every month, though just now the
expenses are lower. If I were to look after both these activities myself I
am sure I could expand them considerably. But I cannot manage that.
Even as it is, I find that good progress is being made in both. I have to
tax you for a large amount just now and should like you, as a
permanent arrangement, to make good any deficit that may remain
after contributions from elsewhere have been received. Please give, if
you can, what I have asked for, so that my anxieties may end. If you
disapprove of my work, I certainly cannot ask you for anything. But
do not stint if you think that it is along the right lines.
You must be watching my work of recruitment. Of all my
activities, I regard this as the most difficult and the most important. If
I succeed in it, genuine swaraj is assured.
Vendemataram from
MOHANDAS
[From Gujarati]

90. FRAGMENT OF LETTER TO MAGANLAL GANDHI
[NADIAD,]
July 3, 1918
I think you must get the books there. You would do well to
arrange for the other things also to be brought over there. It seems we
have abused . . .’s1 goodness. Because she does not insist, we let things
go on. I want you to act now as if you had been served with a twenty-
four hour’s notice. There is nothing like our serving notice on
ourselves.
[From Gujarati]
91. REMARKS ON ENLISTMENT2

[NADIAD,]
July 4, 1918
Swaraj means—complete independence in association with
Britain. If we can help in this war, instead of her ruling over us we
shall have the upper hand. It is essential for us to get military training.
I have come across none in India who adheres to non-violence so
scrupulously as I do. I am overfull of love. Nobody has noted the
wicked things the British have done as well as I have, nor their deeds
of goodness. To him who wants to learn the art of fighting, who would
know how to kill, I would even teach the use of force. If I fail in the
attempt this time, you may conclude that my tapascharya is imperfect
as yet. He who does not know how to lay down his life without killing
others may learn how to die killing.
[From Gujarati]
1
The name is omitted in the source
2
Made in the course of a discussion with visitors
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 115

92. LETTER TO ANNIE BESANT
[NADIAD,]
July 4, 1918
I search New India in vain for an emphatic declaration from
you in favour of unconditional recruiting. Surely it must be plain that,
if every Home Rule Leaguer became an active recruiting depot, we
would ensure the passing of the Congress-League Scheme with only
such modifications as we may agree to. I think this is the time when
we must give the people [a] lead and not await their opinion. I would
like to see you with your old fire growing the stronger in face of
opposition. If we supplied recruits, we should dictate terms. But if we
wait for the terms, the War may close, India may remain without a real
military training and we should be face to face with a military
dictatorship. This is taking the most selfish view of the situation and
self-interest suggests the course I have ventured to place before the
country as the only effective course.
I know you will not consider my letter as a presumption.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
93. LETTER T0 M. A. JINNAH

[NADIAD,]
July 4, 1918
DEAR MR. JINNAH,
I do wish you would make an emphatic declaration regarding

recruitment. Can you not see that if every Home Rule Leaguer
became a potent recruiting agency whilst, at the same time, fighting
for constitutional rights, we would ensure the passing of the Congress-
League Scheme, with only such modifications (if any) that we may
agree to? We would then speak far more effectively than we do
today.”Seek ye first the Recruiting Office and everything will be
added unto you.” We must give the lead to the people and not think
how the people will take what we say. What I ask for is an emphatic
declaration, not a halting one.

I know you will not mind my letter.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
94. LETTER TO C. S. RANGA IYER

[NADIAD ,]
July 4, 1918
DEAR MR. RANGA IYER 1 ,
I thank you for your congratulations.2 I shall not misunderstand

your inability to hold numerous meetings in the villages.3 I know how
difficult the thing is. And yet without our penetration into the villages
our Home Rule schemes are of little value. With the people really at
our back, we should make our march to our goal irresistibly. That we
do not see such a simple truth is the saddest part of the tragedy being
enacted in front of us. If you would get out of it, you would, even at
the risk of closing your paper, learn Hindi and, then, work among the
villages. I know you have laboured valiantly for your paper. But it was
labour almost mis-spent. We must give the fruits of our Western
learning to our millions, whereas we, circulating ideas among
ourselves, describe, like the blindfolded ox, the same circle and
mistake it for motion forward.
M. K. G.
1
Member, Central Legislative Council; author of Father India, India in the
Crucible, etc.
2
On the success of the Kheda Satyagraha
3
C. S. Ranga Iyer had promised to hold 40 meetings in villages in support of
the Kheda Satyagraha.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 117

95. LETTER TO PRABHUDAS GANDHI
[NADIAD,]
July 4, 1918
CHI. PRABHUDAS,
I read your letter with great care and interest. You did wisely in
writing that letter. I find no immodesty in it. The language is
courteous and graced with the spirit of independence and very sweet
to me on that account. The letter shows your fearles-sness . . .1
I was ignorant of some of the things and had a vague idea about
the others that you mention. You have given me a clearer picture. I
did not know enough to be able to set matters right. I shall be able to
do so in the light of what you have said. . .2
My being deceived does no harm to us. For instance, your char-
acter or your studies have not been affected. If we ourselves stick to
our high ideal, no harm results. If one keeps one’s house clean, neit-
her the plague nor any other infection can ever enter it. Even if it
does, it cannot stay there long. Similarly, as long as we remain pure,
the plague of wickedness, even if it should ever infect our family, can-
not possess it for long. You must have observed that persons who have
come in contact with me had their vices discovered sooner or later.
With your permission, I wish to show your letter to all
concerned. They will not be angry with you—they ought not to be. In
the Ashram, we want that you and others, should express openly
whatever you think at any time. If possible, I shall be in the Ashram
for two nights and will return by the morning train on the following
day, so that we may have an evening at our disposal.
Blessings from
BAPU
[From Gujarati]
1
Some words are omitted in the source.
2
ibid

96. LETTER T0 G. A. NATESAN
NADIAD ,
July 5, 1918
DEAR MR. NATESAN,
So Devdas is now receiving at your hands a nurse’s affection
and care. I am truly sorry for this addition to your burdens. I had
hoped that Devdas would not behave quite so indecently as to fall ill.
Pray thank Dr. Krishnaswami on my behalf for attending to Devdas. I
hope for your sakes that he will soon be himself again. I understand
your mother’s scruples. If you were strong enough, she would waive
them in favour of Devdas and that would be a precedent for the
future. You saw how nobly she behaved, over Naicker? You doubted
your own ability to carry her with you. It is a habit into which we
reformers have fallen— never to think of beginning with our own
homes. We now find it difficult to mend ourselves. What was intended
to be a letter of thanks has ended in a sermon. Please pardon the
offence.
I know you will wire if there is anything serious with Devdas.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
97. LETTER TO V.S SRINIVASA SASTRI

[NADIAD,]
July 5, 1918
I do not know what report you have read in the Chronicle.
There is an official Recruiting Agent who has the effrontery to be my
namesake. It may be a glowing report of his which you may have
read. So far I have not a single recruit to my credit apart from the co-
workers who are all under promise to serve or to find substitutes. The
task is most difficult. It is the toughest job I have yet handled in my
life. However, it is yet too early to forecast any result.
Yours sincerely
M. K. GANDHI
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 119

[NADIAD,]
July 5, 1918
I feel worried. You know our rule. One must not fall sick. Self-
restraint is all that is necessary to ensure that one does not. Sufficient
exercise and only as much food as one needs: if one keeps in mind
these two things, one will never suffer in health.
[From Gujarati]
99. LETTER T0 MANIBHAI PATEL

[NADIAD,]
July 5, 1918
BHAISHRI MANIBHAI1 ,
I have your letter. I can understand your feelings but can offer
no help. Time does its work. It will bring you peace.
[From Gujarati]

[NADIAD,]
July 6, 1918
MY DEAR CHARLIE,
I have your letters. 2 I prize them. They give me only partial
consolation. My difficulties are deeper than you have put them. All
you raise I can answer. I must attempt in this letter to reduce my own
to writing. They just now possess me to the exclusion of everything
else. All the other things I seem to be doing purely mechanically. This
hard thinking has told upon my physical system. I hardly want to talk
to anybody. I do not want even to write anything, not even these
thoughts of mine. I am therefore falling back upon dictation to see
1
Father of Raojibhai Patel
2
Vide “Letter to C. F. Andrews”, before 23-6-1918.

whether I can clearly express them. I have not yet reached the bottom
of my difficulties, much less have I solved them. The solution is not
likely to affect my immediate work. But of the failure I can now say
nothing. If my life is spared I must reach the secret somehow.
You say:”Indians as a race did repudiate it, bloodlust, with full
consciousness in days gone by and deliberately took their choice to
stand on the side of humanity.” Is this historically true? I see no sign
of it either in the Mahabharata or the Ramayana, not even in my
favourite Tulsidas which is much superior in spirituality to Valmiki1 . I
am not now thinking of these works in their spiritual meanings. The
incarnations are described as certainly bloodthirsty, revengeful and
merciless to the enemy. They have been credited with having resorted
to tricks also for the sake of overcoming the enemy. The battles are
described with no less zest than now, and the warriors are equipped
with weapons of destruction such as could be possibly conceived by
the human imagination. The finest hymn composed by Tulsidas in
praise of Rama gives the first place to his ability to strike down the
enemy. Then take the Mohamedan period. The Hindus were not less
eager than the Mahomedans to fight. They were simply disorganized,
physically weakened and torn by internal dissensions. The code of
Manu prescribes no such renunciation that you impute to the race.
Buddhism, conceived as a doctrine of universal forbearance, signally
failed, and, if the legends are true, the great Shankaracharya did not
hesitate to use unspeakable cruelty in banishing Buddhism out of
India. And he succeeded ! Then the English period. There has been
compulsory renunciation of arms but not the desire to kill. Even
‘among the Jains the doctrine has signally failed. They have a
superstitious horror of blood (shed), but they have as little regard for
the life of the enemy as an European. What I mean to say is that they
would rejoice equally with anybody on earth over the destruction of
the enemy. All then that can be said of India is that individuals have
made serious attempts, with greater success than elsewhere, to
popularize the doctrine. But there is no warrant for the belief that it
has taken deep root among the people.
You say further:”My point is that it has become an unconscious
instinct, which can be awakened any time as you yourself have
shown.” I wish it was true. But I see that I have shown nothing of the
kind. When friends told me here that passive resistance was taken up
1
The author of the original Ramayana in Sanskrit
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 121

by the people as a weapon of the weak, I laughed at the libel, as I
called it then. But they were right and I was wrong. With me alone and
a few other co-workers it came out of our strength and was described
as satyagraha, but with the majority it was purely and simply passive
resistance what they resorted to, because they were too weak to
undertake methods of violence. This discovery was forced on me
repeatedly in Kaira. The people here, being comparatively freer,
talked to me without reserve, and told me plainly that they took up my
remedy because they were not strong enough to take up the other,
which they undoubtedly held to be far more manly than mine. I fear
that the people whether in Champaran or in Kaira would not fearlessly
walk to the gallows, or stand a shower of bullets and yet say, in one
case, ‘we will not pay the revenue’, and in the other, ‘we will not work
for you’. They have it not in them. And I contend that they will not
regain the fearless spirit until they have received the training to defend
themselves. Ahimsa was preached to man when he was in full vigour
of life and able to look his adversaries straight in the face. It seems to
me that full development of body-force is a sine qua non of full
appreciation and assimilation of ahimsa.
I do agree with you that India with her moral force could hold
back from her shores any combination of armies from the West or the
East or the North or the South. The question is, how can she cultivate
this moral force? Will she have to be strong in body before she can
understand even the first principles of this moral force? This is how
millions blashpheme the Lord of the Universe every morning before
sunrise.
“ I am changeless Brahma, not a collection of the five
elements—earth, etc.—I am that Brahma whom I recall every morning
as the spirit residing in the innermost sanctuary of my heart, by whose
grace the whole speech is adorned, and whom the Vedas have
described as ‘Neti, neti’. ”
I say we blaspheme the Lord of the Universe in reciting the
above verse because it is a parrot recitation without any consideration
of its grand significance. One Indian realizing in himself all that the
verse means is enough to repel the mightiest army that can approach
the shores of India. But it is not in us today and it will not come until
there is an atmosphere of freedom and fearlessness on the soil. How to
produce that atmosphere? Not without the majority of the inhabitants
feeling that they are well able to protect themselves from the violence

of man or beast. Now I think I can state my difficulty. It is clear that
before I can give a child an idea of moksha, I must let it grow into full
manhood. I must allow it to a certain extent to be even attached to the
body, and then when it has understood the body and so the world
around it, may I easily demonstrate the transitory nature of the body
and the world, and make it feel that the body is given not for the
indulgence of self but for its liberation. Even so must I wait for
instilling into any mind the doctrine of ahimsa, i.e., perfect love, when
it has grown to maturity by having its full play through a vigorous
body. My difficulty now arises in the practical application of the idea.
What is the meaning of having a vigorous body? How far should India
have to go in for a training in arms-bearing? Must every individual go
through the practice or is it enough that a free atmosphere is created
and the people will, without having to bear arms, etc., imbibe the
necessary personal courage from their surroundings? I believe that the
last is the correct view, and, therefore, I am absolutely right as things
are in calling upon every Indian to join the army, always telling him at
the same time that he is doing so not for the lust of blood, but for the
sake of learning not to fear death. Look at this from Sir Henry Vane.
I copy it from Morley’s Recollections (Vol. II):
Death holds a high place in the policy of great communities of the world.... It
is the part of a valiant and generous mind to prefer some thing before life, as
things for which a man should not doubt, nor fear to die.... True natural
wisdom pursueth the learning and practice old dying well, as the very end of
life, and indeed he hath not spent his life ill that hath learnt to die well. It is
the chiefest thing and duty of life. The knowledge of dying is the knowledge of
liberty, the state of true freedom, the way to fear nothing, to live well,
contentedly, and peaceable.... It is a good time to die when to live is rather a
burden than a blessing, and there is more ill in life than good.
“When his hour came, Vane’s actual carriage on Tower Hill was
as noble and resolute as his words” is Morley’s commentary. There is
not a single recruiting speech in which I have not laid the greatest
stress upon this part of a warrior’s duty. There is no speech in which I
have yet said,”Let us go to kill the Germans.” My refrain is,”Let us
go and die for the sake of India and the Empire”, and I feel that,
supposing that the response to my call is overwhelming and we all go
to France and turn the scales against the Germans, India will then have
a claim to be heard and she may then dictate a peace that will last.
Suppose further that I have succeeded in raising an army of fearless
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 123

men, they fill the trenches and with hearts of love lay down their guns
and challenge the Germans to shoot them—their fellow men—I say
that even the German heart will melt. I refuse to credit it with exclusive
fiendishness. So it comes to this, that under exceptional circumstances,
war may have to be resorted to as a necessary evil, even as the body is.
If the motive is right, it may be turned to the profit of mankind and
that an ahimsaist may not stand aside and look on with indifference
but must make his choice and actively co-operate or actively resist.
Your fear about my being engrossed in the political strife and
intrigues may be entirely set aside. I have no stomach for them, least
at the present moment, had none even in South Africa. I was in the
political life because therethrough lay my own liberation. Montagu
said,”I am surprised to find you taking part in the political life of the
country!” Without a moment’s thought I replied,”I am in it because
without it I cannot do my religious and social work,” and I think the
reply will stand good to the end of my life.
You can’t complain of my having given you only a scrap of a
letter. Instead of a letter, I have inflicted upon you what may almost
read like an essay. But it was necessary that you should know what is
passing in my mind at the present moment. You may now pronounce
your judgement and mercilessly tear my ideas to pieces where you
find them to be wrong.
I hope you are getting better and stronger. I need hardly say
that we shall all welcome you when you are quite able to undertake a
journey.
With love,
MOHAN

NADIAD,
July 9, 1918
MY DEAR ESTHER,
Of course you were quite right in putting me the question you
did. I am looking forward to your reply to my explanation.
I appreciate your preference for country life and country
children. They are more innocent and hence more loveable.

Yes, it is your duty to continue your work to the end of your
contract. I know the girls1 will gain by your very contact. And for that
matter I don’t mind their receiving faulty education.
Devdas has just risen from a sick-bed. I know he will be
delighted to meet you. Do please find him out, if he has not found
you out. And if you have the time, I would like you to meet him as
often as possible.
With love,
Yours,
BAPU
My Dear child, pp. 29-30
102. FRAGMENT OF LETTER TO M. A. JINNAH

[NADIAD,]
July 9, 1918
. . . What a proud thing it would be if we recruited and, at the
same time, insisted on amendments in the Reform Scheme! . . .
103. LETTER TO DATTATREYA DABHOLKAR

[NADIAD,
July 9, 1918]
CHI. DATTATREYA,
I congratulate you on your standing first in the examination of
standard five. I want that you should rank high in character just as
you maintain the first place in your studies.
I was happy that you donated the first month’s amount of the
scholarship of the Ashram. When I go there, I shall explain to those in
the Ashram the meaning of your gift. These generous inclinations
which your father inculcates in you from this early age are a noble
inheritance. See that you nourish them.
Blessing from
MOHANDAS GANDHI
[From Gujarati]
1
Pupils in the Danish Mission Boarding School, Tirukoilur
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 125

[NADIAD,]
July 9, 1918
CHI. DEVDAS,
Natesan’s telegram today has relieved me of my anxiety in the

absence of a letter from you. Find out the exact cause of illness and
see that you do not fall ill again. What did the students of Hindi do
during your illness? Did any of them continue to come to you? Were
there any who continued their study?
I have not had a single recruit so far, so deplorable is the plight
of the country.
The telegram you saw there was all a misunderstanding. This
occurred because there was a recruiting officer of the Government
who was my namesake. My failure so far suggests that people are not
ready to follow my advice. They are ready, however, to accept my
services in a cause which suits them. This is as it should be. It is
through such service that one earns the right to give advice. Three
years’ service, and that too in different parts of the country, is not
enough. Even then, on the question of recruitment I could have done
nothing else. I needed the satisfaction of having taken the initiative on
an occasion of this kind. My efforts continue. What I have said is
about the results achieved so far.
Blessings from
BAPU
[From Gujarati]
105. LETTER T0 HARILAL GANDHI

[NADIAD,]
July 9, 1918
I have your letter. If it was cruel to say what I felt was true, then
certainly my letter was cruel. I repeat that the world will most
emphatically not consider you innocent. Whatever you may have said

in your sincerity1 , Narottam Sheth could have had no idea about your
speculation. You have followed one wrong thing with another. It was
not enough for you that you had lost ten thousand rupees. But there is
no use arguing with you. May God give you wisdom. If I have made a
mistake, I will set it right. If you think you can point out any, do so
even now.
I understand what you say about your enlisting. I made the
suggestion at a time when I did not doubt your truthfulness. I do not
think I have any interest in it now. I can give you no idea of what my
condition has been since I began to doubt your truthfulness.
May God bless you, I pray, and show you the right path.
Blessings from
BAPU
[From Gujarati]

[NADIAD,]
July 9, 1918
Please do everything necessary so that Shri Khushalbhai and
Devbhabhi may have peace. I certainly fear that the fact of Prabhudas
and others taking their meals there may have unwelcome results. It
must be all very painful for Keshu and Radha. Use your judgement
and do what you think best.
[From Gujarati]
107. LETTER TO A CO-WORKER

[NADIAD,]
July 10, 1918
I am in a fright about you. I am wrestling with Harilal
as I am doing with you. He writes to say that the remedy I have
suggested is cruel. How can I say that he is telling the truth, when I
1
The original is not clear at this point.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 127

know that he is not? That is the position in which I find myself in
relation to you. In your case, too, I see things turning to anger. You
are charged with deception. That time you talked about my ideals.
And now you write to say that you wasted your time even in going to .
. . 1 Again, you have deceived me. You misled . . .2 too. You put it to
him that I should send him to Chinchvad. He told me this. I did not
attach any weight to his words. As I remember these things now, I
shiver. What shall I say to you? I am not fit to sit in judgement over
you. It gives me pain to have to tell you that you have been lying. If a
man like you is capable of deceiving and shirking work to this extent,
whom else may one trust? If you have not been deceiving,
how is it that suddenly I got such an impression? . . .3 is not at fault.
He only happened to be the immediate cause. My suspicion
began when you did not remain in . . .4 but I suppressed it
the moment it occurred. I thought you would never act in that manner
and dismissed the idea from my mind. But I was not satisfied. That
suspicion and the discussion I have had with you come vividly before
me. I am in a fright. Save me from this suffering. Establish your
innocence fully or repent sincerely and learn to be straightforward. I
cannot bear to go on suspecting you. I had built high hopes on you. I
had visualized the foremost place for you in the future satyagrahi
army of India. All this lies shattered at the moment.
From the Gujarati in the manuscript of Mahadev Desai’s Diary. Courtesy:
Narayan Desai

BOMBAY ,
Ashadh Sud 6 [July 14, 1918]
CHI. MAGANLAL,
I could not return [to the Ashram] after seeing Mr. Pratt, for I
heard that Jagjivandas had been taken ill and I had to go to Nadiad.
At Pratt’s, a number of Englishmen surrounded me and started
talking very pleasantly. They expressed a desire to go and see the
1
Omissions are in the source.
2
ibid
3
ibid
4
ibid

Ashram. I invited them to come over on Saturday. Most probably, I
shall be there. If I can start in time, 1 may arrive by the afternoon
train on that day. Even if I don’t, you should expect them. They may
be there any time in the evening after five. I have told them that they
would see things better if they could stay till prayer time. See that the
boys, or the leading ones among them, are taught the English hymns.
Sing Lead Kindly Light. If they come at five, show them the kitchen,
etc., and the food.
I write this letter from Bombay. I came here directly from
Karamsad. Tilak Maharaj is here. As it has been suggested to me that I
should give out my views on the Reform Scheme only after seeing
Tilak Maharaj in Bombay, I am busy seeing people. I shall be back in
Nadiad on Wednesday evening. I shall leave here on Tuesday evening
but shall be going to Godhra on my way. From there, I shall go to
Nadiad the same day.
Blessings from
BAPU
[PS.]
You must be putting the accounts in order. Get someone to help
you in this, if necessary, and do so.
From the Gujarati original: C. W. 5732. Courtesy: Radhabehn Choudhri
109. SPEECH AT KARAMSAD1

July 14, 1918
[Gandhiji] said at the outset that he was there to give them an
unpalatable dose and he hoped that they would not turn away from it all at
once, bearing in mind that one of the principal characteristics of a self-governing and
liberty-loving people was to give ear to all counsel and to choose
one that appealed to them most. What, he asked them, was the meaning of swarajya?
Our villages are no better than dung-hills; we cannot defend
ourselves and our families against robbers or wild beasts; mukhis and
rawanias coerce and oppress us as they will; we have no arms and we
do not know the use of arms. Is this swarajya? And yet, this is the
natural order throughout India. Imagine the tidiness and the
atmosphere of quiet and healthy independence of an English village
1
This was Gandhiji’s third speech in the recruiting campaign delivered in
Karamsad, a village in the Anand taluka of Kheda district.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 129

and think how miserably an Indian village compares with it. It is
because every Englishman can stand on his legs and can defend his
home and his village against any invader that the English village
appears so incomparably superior to ours.
The first essential of swarajya is, thus, the power of self-
protection. I am fit for swarajya only when I am able to defend myself
and to shed my blood for my country, and India could be said to be
living only if five lakhs of men lay down their lives for her. A seed
must lose itself in earth in order that numerous seeds may spring up
from it. Even so, from the ashes of the thousands dying for India, will
spring up a living India. We Indians visit temples every morning and
evening and pay our obeisance to gods —gods who, we say, descend
on earth to protect the weak and succour the oppressed, when virtue
subsides and vice prevails. It then ill becomes us to go to these
temples, if we have not the spirit and the capacity of self-defence in
us. And what verily did our Ramachandra and Krishna d? They
modelled heroes out of common clay and equipped them for self-
defence. The golden opportunity for acquiring the power of self-
defence has come to us and it behoves us to seize it and profit by it.
An Empire that has been defending India and of which India aspires
to be the equal partner is in great peril and it ill befits India to stand
aloof at the hour of its destiny. The argument that a Government that
had behaved unsympathetically towards us does not deserve any help
is idle, because helping the Government means nothing but helping
ourselves. And India too is under grave stress. India would be
nowhere without Englishmen. If the British do not win, whom shall we
go to for claiming equal partnership? Shall we go to the victorious
German, or the Turk or the Afghan for it? We shall have no right to
do so; the victorious nation will set its mind on imposing taxes, on
repressing, harassing and tyrannising over the vanquished. Only after
making its position secure will it listen to our demands, whereas the
liberty-loving English will surely yield, when they have seen that we
have laid down our lives for them. The thought that our hearths, our
homes, our fields and cattle will go to rack and ruin if we all go to the
war, need not stop us. Our old men and women will take care of these,
as they naturally must, and it will be a great training for them. One
feeling and one only should be uppermost in the mind of each of us:
No one dare invade my country; if he does, he dare take nothing out
of it, excepting my dead body fallen in defence thereof.

Towards the conclusion, he reiterated that enlistment was the surest and the
straight way to self-government and he exhorted the brave people of Karamsad, who
had acquitted themselves so splendidly during the Kaira campaign, to send at least a
hundred men to the war.
110. LETTER TO HANUMANTRAO

July 17, 1918
I have been thinking of writing to you for a long time, but my
recruiting peregrinations have seriously interfered with my
correspondence. Today happens to be an off day, and is being
devoted to letter-writing. I thank you most heartily for all you have
done and are doing for Devdas. In every one of his letters Devdas has
mentioned your affection for him. In his illness, he tells me, you have
been a real friend. I shall now select Hindi candidates for Tamil
tuition.
I knew that my recruiting campaign was bound to pain friends
for a variety of reasons, political as well as religious. But I know that
both are wrong in their condemnation. My views have been before the
country for a long time. But it is always one’s action that matters,
rarely one’s speech. But I may not therefore summarily dismiss their
objections. They are honest in their statement and they criticise out of
affection. It is my practice of ahimsa and failure to get our people
even to understand the first principles of ahimsa that have led to the
discovery that all killing is not himsa, that, sometimes, practice of
ahimsa may even necessitate killing and that we as a nation have lost
the true power of killing. It is clear that he who has lost the power to
kill cannot practice non-killing. Ahimsa is a renunciation of the
highest type. A weak and an effeminate nation cannot perform this
grand act of renunciation, even as a mouse cannot be properly said to
renounce the power of killing a cat. It may look terrible but it is true
that we must, by a well-sustained, conscious effort, regain this power,
and, then, if we can only do so, deliver the world from its travail of
himsa by a continuous abdication of this power. I cannot describe to
you in sufficiently telling language the grief I often used to feel as I
watched my failure to carry conviction about ahimsa even to the
members of the Ashram. Not that they were unwilling listeners, but I
could perceive, as I now think plainly, that they had not the capacity
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 131

for apprehending the truth. It was like singing the finest music to ears
unturned to any music. But today practically everyone at the Ashram
understands it, and is aglow with the expectation that ahimsa is a
renunciation out of strength and not out of weakness. It is not possible
to make any distinction between organized warfare and individual
fighting. There must be an organized opposition and, therefore, even
organized bloodshed, say, in the case of bandits. The noblest warrior
is he who stands fearless in the face of immense odds. He then feels
not the power to kill, but he is supremely triumphant in the knowledge
that he has the willingness to die when by taking to his heels he might
easily have saved his life. I do believe that we shall have to teach our
children the art of self-defence. I see more and more clearly that we
shall be unfit for swaraj for generations to come if we do not regain
the power of self-defence. This means for me a rearrangement of so
many ideas about self-development and India’s development. I must
not carry the point further than I have done today. You are an earnest
seeker. I am most anxious that you should understand this new view
of ahimsa. It is not a fall but it is a rise. The measure of love evoked
by this discovery is infinitely greater than ever it was before.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
111. LETTER T0 V. S. SRINIVASA SASTRI1

[NADIAD,]
July 17, 1918
DEAR MR. SHASTRIAR,
I am glad you were able to go to Bombay. I think it will be most
valiant of you if you can attend the Congress2 . I must confess I
sympathize with the Panditji’s attitude if it is truly reported of him.
1
This was in reply to Sastri’s letter which said: “I marvel at Mrs. Besant and
Tilak taking a position very near yours and mine after having written as they have
done in the Press. I do not like all this talk about abstention from the Congress. I do
not understand it.”
2
The special session of the Indian National Congress at Bombay on August
29—September 1, which, it was feared, might create a schism on the issue of the
Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms, but actually adopted a policy which commanded wide
support.

Indeed, for him it will be one of the boldest acts of his life to refrain
from appearing on a Congress platform. What I feel is this. How can I
appear in an assembly which I know is to be misled and in which the
principal movers do not believe what they say and will denounce in
the Press the very Resolutions for which they would have voted! I
know there is the other side. But, for the moment, I lean towards
abstention. I hope you are keeping well.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
112. LETTER T0 V. S. SRINIVASA SASTRI

[NADIAD,]
July 18, 1918
You have pressed me for my opinion on the Reform Scheme 1
just published. As you know, I did not feel called upon to take an
active part in the framing of the Congress-League scheme. I have
not taken an all-absorbing interest in controversial politics. I do not
pretend that even now I have studied the reform proposals as a keen
politician would. I feel, therefore, very great hesitation in expressing
my opinion on it. But I recognize the weight of your argument in
favour of my expressing such opinion as I can form on the scheme.
In my opinion, then, as an artistic production, the scheme now
published is superior to the Congress-League scheme. I further
consider that both Mr. Montagu and Lord Chelmsford have been
inspired by an honest desire for a due fulfilment of the declaration of
the 20th August and for the welfare of India. They have taken great
pains over their most difficult and delicate task and I cannot but think
that any hasty rejection of their effort will be a misfortune for the
country. In my humble opinion, the scheme deserves a sympathetic
handling rather than a summary rejection. But it would need to be
considerably improved before it is accepted by the reformers. After
all, our standard of measurement must be the Congress-League
scheme, crude though it is. I think that we should with all the
vehemence and skill that we can command press for the incorporation
into it of the essentials of our own.
1
Sastri had invited Gandhiji’s views for publication in The Servant of India.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 133

I would, therefore, for instance, ask for the rejection of the
doctrine of compartments. I very much fear that the dual system in
provinces will be fatal to the success of the experiment, and as it may
be only success of the experiment that can take us to the next—and I
hope the final stage, we cannot be too insistent that the idea of
reservation should be dropped. One cannot help noticing an
unfortunate suspicion of our intentions regarding the purely British,
as distinguished from the purely Indian interest. Hence there is to be
seen in the scheme elaborate reservations on behalf of these interests. I
think that more than anything else it is necessary to have an honest,
frank and straightforward understanding about these interests and for
me, personally, this is of much greater importance than any legislative
feat that British talent alone or a combination of British and Indian
talent may be capable of performing. I would certainly, in as
courteous terms as possible but equally emphatic, say that these
interests will be held subservient to those of India as a whole and that,
therefore, they are certainly in jeopardy in so far as they may be
inconsistent with the general advance of India. Thus, if I had my way,
I would cut down the military expenditure. I would protect local
industries by heavily taxing goods that compete against products of
our industries, and I would reduce to a minimum the British element
in our services, retaining only those that may be needed for our
instruction and guidance. I do not think that they had or have any
claims upon our attention save by right of conquest. That claim must
clearly go by the board as soon as we are awakened to a consciousness
of our national existence and possess the strength to vindicate our
right to the restoration of what we have lost. To their credit let it be
said that they do not themselves advance any claim by right of
conquest. One can readily join in the tribute of praise bestowed upon
the Indian Civil Service for their devotion to duty and great
organising ability. So far as material reward is concerned, that service
has been more than handsomely paid and our gratitude otherwise can
be best expressed by assimilating their virtues ourselves.
No scheme of reform can possibly benefit India that does not
recognize that the present administration is top heavy and ruinously
expensive and for me even law, order and good government would be
too dearly purchased if the price to be paid for it is to be the grinding
poverty of the masses. The watchword of our reform councils will
have to be, not increase of taxation for the growing needs of a
growing country, but a decrease of the financial burdens that are

sapping the foundation itself of the organic growth. If this
fundamental fact is recognized, there need be no suspicion of our
motives and, I think I am perfectly safe in asserting that in every other
respect British interests will be as secure in Indian hands as they are in
their own. It follows from what I have said above that we must
respectfully press for the Congress-League claim for the immediate
granting to Indians of 50 per cent of the higher posts in the Civil
Service. The above is but an indication of my view on the scheme. It is
a considered view so far as it goes, but it does not embody all the
improvements that I should suggest for submission to His Majesty’s
Government. In due course, I take it, we shall endeavour to issue a
representative criticism of the scheme. It is, therefore, hardly necessary
for me to enter into an exhaustive treatment even if I was capable of
doing so.
I cannot, however, conclude my observations without stating
what I consider to be the best means of enforcing our opinion,
whatever shape it may finally take. I entirely endorse the concluding
remarks of the authors of the historic document that thousands of
Indian reformers are today studying with avidity.”If anything could
enter the sense of responsibility under which our recommendations
are made, in a matter fraught with consequences so immense, it would
be the knowledge that, even as we are bringing our report to an end,
far greater issues still hang in the balance upon the battle-field of
France. It is there and not in Delhi or Whitehall that the ultimate
decision of India’s future will be taken.” May God grant us, Home
Rulers, the wisdom to see this simple truth. The gateway to our
freedom is situated on the French soil. No victory worth the name has
yet been won without the shedding of blood. If we could but crowd
the battle-fields of France with an indomitable army of Home Rulers
fighting for victory for the cause of the Allies, it will also be a fight
for our own cause. We would then have made out an unanswerable
case for the granting of Home Rule not in any distant time or near
future but immediately. My advice, therefore, to the country would be,
fight unconditionally unto death with the Briton for the victory and
agitate simultaneously also unto death, if we must, for the reforms that
we deserve. This is the surest method of gaining an honourable
victory for ourselves over the strongest opposition of bureaucratic
forces and, at the end of it, there would be no ill will left. It may not
be impossible to gain our end by sheer obstructive and destructive
agitation. But it is easy enough to see that we shall at the same time
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 135

reap ill will between the British and the Indian elements, not a
particularly cohesive cement for binding would-be partners.
The Leader, 24-7-1918

NADIAD,
Ashadh Shukla 10 [July 18, 1918]
DEAR JAMNALALJI,
I returned from Bombay last night. Being on tour I could not
write to you earlier. Your letter has taken a burden off my mind. Bhai
Ambalalji has sent Rs. 5,000 and Bhai Shankarlal Banker has given
Rs. 4,000. I feel some hesitation in speaking of my wants to friends
who do not turn down my requests and yet I cannot help making
them. I therefore strongly feel that, when there is any difficulty in
conceding my request, it will be a kindness to me not to grant it.
I hope your pain has now completely disappeared.
Yours,
MOHANDAS GANDHI
114. LETTER T0 ANANDSHANKAR DHRUVA

[NADIAD]
July 18, 1918
DEAR FRIEND,
I have your letter. How is it that, in all your wide studies, you
have not discovered any medicine which would ensure that, no matter
if relations died or fell ill, if a window-shutter in a railway
compartment crashed on one’s hand or if one stumbled while
walking,—one would not mind any of these things but be always
happy? Can studies, however, relieve the pain in the hand, or is it only
a doctor who can help? You need reply only when we meet, after you
have recovered. The workers are patient and will wait. If prayers can
avail, please pray that your hand may be soon restored to a serviceable
condition. Meanwhile, many of them have been receiving not 35 but
50 per cent increase. Ambalalbhai said he had something to whisper

to you. He has already done so to me. But you had better hear it
direct from him.
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
[From Gujarati]
115. LETTER T0 JAGJIVANDAS MEHTA

[NADIAD,]
July 18, 1918
Got your letter. I was sorry to hear of the theft of your coat
and money. It is as if a weak cow should be infested with too
many gadflies. 1 There is a thief around here in the Anathashram.
The thing has happened twice or thrice before now. Somebody
should have warned you but it seems this did not occur to anyone.
Your fever must have left you completely. I could write to
Jivraj2 only today. The letter is enclosed. You may despatch it if you
think it proper.
I could, this time, get some idea of the condition of your
business. I am not happy about the source of the money with which
you have started it. If my advice is of any value, wind up your
business this very day, return the money to the person from whom
you have borrowed it and secure a job. I am sure you will have no
difficulty in getting one. If you would live the simple life, the Ashram
is always open to you. I do not press, though. If, however, you want to
work for things which the world regards worth striving for, you may,
but on your own strength. The longer you take to act in this matter,
the more reason you will have for regret afterwards.
Everywhere people bring misery on themselves by their own
actions but, the more I look into the net in which your family affairs
are caught, the more I realize this to be especially true of you all. I
wish you would free yourself from this. Be satisfied with the normal
risks which attend an enterprise and do not go in for anything more.
1
A Gujarati saying, meaning: “Misfortunes never come singly.” Mehta had
gone to Nadiad to see Gandhiji and had fallen ill while in the Anathashram. His coat,
with a purse in it, was stolen.
2
Jivraj Mehta, Gandhiji’s friend and physician
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 137

See that your relations with everyone are above reproach. As for
father, he goes out of his way to heap misery upon misery on himself.
Living a life of religious devotion, why should he have so many
desires? Why should you encourage him in them? .... 1 We should be
happier than the gods if we respected the voice of conscience as much
as we respect public opinion. We don’t recognize the happiness at our
door-step and go searching for it in all directions. Why do you bother
yourself so?
[From Gujarati]
116. LETTER TO MRS. JAGJIVANDAS MEHTA

NADIAD,
July 18, 1918
DEAR SISTER,
I could not bear to see your distress but, at the same time, the
innocent happiness I noticed in you I saw neither in father 2 nor in
Bhai Jagjivandas. This cut me to the quick and I have addressed a
letter 3 to Bhai Jagiivandas. You should, both of you, get it by heart,
deeply ponder over it and then strive jointly in life. The letter is meant
for you both.
[From Gujarati]
117. LETTER TO KOTWAL’S SISTER

NADIAD,
Ashadh Sud 10 [July 18, 1918]
DEAR SISTER,
I have your postcard. Gogate’s did not reach me. It
may have been lost because of my wanderings. When I wrote to you, I
had not plunged into this arduous war effort. Now, I don’t know when
1
Some words are omitted here in the source.
2
Mrs. Mehta’s father-in-law
3
The source does not mention the addressee’s name. But from the references to
Gogate and Kotwal, the letter appears to have been addressed to the latter’s sister;
vide “Letter to Rambhau Gogate”, 17-5-1918.

I shall rest in the Ashram. If you go to stay there in my absence, you
are likely to find things difficult; besides, I think your presence
will also embarrass the Ashram inmates. At present, it does not have
enough room either. We have not been able to go ahead with
construction as fast as I had hoped to. Hence, I hesitate to welcome
you. If, however, you can endure the inconveniences there, accept
human nature in all its variety and do not think my presence essential
even when you are there for the first time, you may go. Discuss the
matter with Kotwal if he is there and write to me afterwards. He will
explain to you what I have written. I do want you in the Ashram. All
that I desire is that you may go there after it has developed such an
atmosphere that you will never feel like leaving it.
Vandematram from
MOHANDAS
From a photostat of the Gujarati original: G. N. 3617

July 18, 1918
He pointed out how two hundred years of disease had weakened the martial
spirit of the people of Gujarat and emphasized the necessity of recognizing this fact
as a preliminary to the work of recruitment. While fully appreciating the difficulties
before him, he was determined to see them through, as he had recognized since he
attended the Delhi War conference that recruiting work was the first duty of an Indian
patriot in these times. He had received invitations from many parts of India to go and
help them in their recruiting campaign, but he could not do so with a clear conscience
when his own people of Gujarat hung back.
119. APPEAL FOR ENLISTMENT

NADIAD,
July 22, 1918
LEAFLET NO. 2
It is a month today since the first leaflet2 was written. During that
time my fellow workers and myself have had a good deal of
1
The meeting was presided over by F. G. Pratt, Commissioner of the Northern
Division, and attended by a large number of District officials and leading citizens.
2
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 139

experience. We held meetings at Nadiad, Karamsad, Ras, Kathlal,
Jambusar and other places and talked with hundreds of men and
women.
I take the liberty to put before you the experiences we have had.
Barely a hundred men have come forward. I find this to be too small a
figure, considering the one month that has gone into it and the
travelling it has entailed. When I think of the condition of the people,
I feel that it is a wonder that even so many men have come forward.
These are men from a class of society which has not seen any fighting,
men who have never so much as lifted a stick. So, if we could but
rouse the fighting classes, an inexhaustible supply of recruits could be
assured.
The shortcomings of the thinking sections are plain on this
occasion. I use the word”thinking” in place of”educated”. If such
men and women were to do their duty, they could influence the
classes fitted by nature to join up. My experience goes to testify to a
great weakness on the part of the thinking section. Their not taking
sufficient interest in national work makes the task of recruitment
difficult. Those among them into whose hands this leaflet may find its
way should, if they have faith in this work, prepare themselves and
inspire the illiterate and ignorant sections for this great task.
But, in the thinking section I have come across persons who
have no faith in this. This leaflet is addressed to them. It is my request
to them to read it carefully. It is up to the wise man to sketch out the
right line of action in the light of existing circumstances. If it is our
intention to break off our connection with the British, to be sure we
must not go to their help. Very few come out with the opinion that we
do want to break this tie. It is plain enough to everyone that even
those who are for breaking it just cannot do so at the present moment.
Be that as it may, today our salvation lies in helping the British. To
help them is to help ourselves. When the interests of the two lie in the
same direction, it would be the very height of recklessness for either
side to keep thinking of the other’s faults and refuse to go to its help.
If a raid were to descend on an enemy of ours in the village in which
we are living, and if it threatened the whole village, we would forget
our enmity and run to the succour of that enemy and beat back the
raiders. The same holds true in this war today. To rise against the
common danger is not only expediency but our duty as well. Another
objection that has been raised is: what kind of a dharma is it to send

the best of our men to the war and get them killed? This way, all those
who are working for swaraj may be killed; how would we win swaraj,
then? I would have branded this objection as ridiculous had it not
been raised by men considered intelligent. It is clear that, if India
could boast of only five lakhs of men demanding swaraj, we do not
deserve it. But those who raise the objection mean to say that, whatever
be the number of such men, the discerning few who carry on an
agitation for swaraj number even less than five lakhs. This is true
enough. Only, one thing is overlooked. In preparing five lakhs of
men who would be willing to fight to death, we shall have made fifty
lakhs familiar with”war”,”swaraj”, etc. We want to train five lakhs of
free men. They will be going with open eyes, of their own free will.
They will have taken counsel with their friends and relations; so the
five lakhs who depart will have left behind them lakhs of other like-
minded people. The plain fact is that we have lost the very capacity to
fight and our valour has ebbed away. We don’t have the strength even
to protect our women-folk. Running after so-called dharma, we forgot
the claim of karma (duty). We cannot stand up and fight even if there
is a raid on our village in broad daylight. That some eight men can
pillage a population of a thousand with impunity can happen—in all
the world—only in India. Those in the villages are not so weak of
body that they cannot beat back a mere eight. But they stand in
terrible fear of death.”Who would risk his life or limb by going out to
fight? Let them loot. Leave it to the Government, whose job it is.” So
they think and stay at home. If the house of a neighbour is set on fire,
if he is dishonoured and his property looted, that is no concern of
these philosophers. So long as this philosophy (darkness) has not
perished, India will never know genuine peace. That we should have to
wait for the arrival of the police or the army before the village
becomes safe is an intolerable situation for anyone with self-respect.
An instant means of getting out of this predicament is ready at hand.
By enlisting in the army, we shall learn the use of weapons, shall have
the spirit of patriotism kindled in us and shall be strong enough to
defend our villages.
What about our wives and children if we go? Everyone will
naturally ask this question. A recruit gets a fixed pay, in addition to
food and clothing. The minimum he gets is eighteen rupees and,
according to merit, he rises in rank and scale. If he is killed, the
Government provides for the maintenance of his wife and children.
Those who return from the war get prizes and rewards. It is my view
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 141

that, in the final analysis, soldiering is more paying than other
professions.
“But such privileges are available only to the British; when do
they ever come to us?”—I have heard people say. To them I would
say:”It is not likely that an army of five lakhs of intelligent men
raised by our efforts would be denied equal rights with the British. If
they should be, that would only go to prove the incapacity of those
five lakhs and of the leaders. If an army of lakhs were raised, it would
be a match for the British army and would win equal rights. The very
fact of our having raised an army of five lakhs will ensure the rights.”
“You bid us to go and join the war unconditionally. Another
advises us to join on promise of equal rights. A third says we are not
bound to go—why bargain away your sleep and go out of your way
to suffer sleeplessness? We get confused by these three different
counsels. In such a predicament, it seems to us that discretion lies in
not venturing beyond our depths.” My modest reply to this
is:”Sentiments such as these bespeak a coward. As time passes,
different parties will come into being and a variety of opinions come
to prevail. You will have to take them all into consideration. I would
call it a betrayal of the swaraj to which we are all pledged if we refuse
to participate in the war at any rate for the sake of that pledge.”
In laying down conditions for joining the army, there is a
danger that the occasion to join may slip past and the scheme for
swaraj may be shelved. The security of our nation, as also the certainty
of swaraj, lies only in our joining up. All the parties would agree that
our enlisting in the army will in no way harm the cause of swaraj. So,
even on a comparative view, of the three the one counsel which
advocates enlistment seems to me the best. It is my hope that the
comrades of Kheda district will be true to the call of duty and give
their names to the volunteers or send them directly to the Ashram.
Women will also, I trust, help in this work. I know that some of
them dissuade their husbands and sons from enlisting. If they reflect
over the matter carefully enough, they will see that it is in their own
interests, and certainly in the interests of the nation, that their
husbands and sons should be brave men.
For ever your servant,
[From Gujarati]
Mahadevbhaini Dairy, Vol. IV

BOMBAY,
JULY 22, 1918
MY DEAR CHILD,
I have been debating with myself whether to write to you or not

to. Your letter made painful reading. I am today at the Ashram and
have just worn the second vest sent by you. I came to know of it only
today. It does not fit well. The sleeves are too short. But that matters
little. I am wearing it and shall wear it out.
I am quite sure that you must quietly go through your contract
even though you may be prohibited from coming to the Ashram or
writing to me. You will gain greater strength of will and purpose by
the enforced discipline and restraint.
It will be a privilege if you are permitted to write to me and
receive letters. Do please tell me what final decision has been arrived
at.
I have suspended Civil Disobedience for the time being. You
will see my letter to the Press.
With love,
Yours,
BAPU
My Dear Child, pp. 30-l

NADIAD,
July 22 [1918]
DEAR MILLIE,
The enclosed is just to cheer you. I have been corresponding

with Dr. Mehta too. Of course, I do not expect Henry will have to do
war work.1 And if he has, you know that you have no cause for
anxiety. I am undergoing a revolution in my outlook upon life. As it
1
Vide also “Fragment of Letter to Ambalal Sarabhai”, 17-3-1918.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 143

seems to me some old cobwebs are falling away. But of these when I
have more time.2
With love,
Yours,
BHAI
[PS.]
Do write to me please. Devdas is in Madras, do you know? Write
to him a line care Natesan. He is teaching Hindi.
From the original : Gandhi-Polak Correspondence. Courtesy : National
Archives of India
122. LETTER TO GOVIND MALAVIYA

[BOMBAY,]
July 22, 1918
I was very glad to get your letter. We can lay bare our heart to
those whom we consider our elders. Such laying bare is necessary.
You have done right in writing to me. I do not know what excesses are
committed in recruitment. If they are many, it is all the more
necessary for me to go in for it.
The Montagu-Chelmsford Scheme is, in my opinion, very good.
We can have its shortcomings removed through agitation. Whatever
the merits of the Scheme, however, I definitely hold that we should
join the war. We do not join it for the good of the British people; we
want to go in for recruitment to do service to the country, and with an
eye to its interests. What shall I say about the miserable plight of
India? I see clearly that India cannot attain real swarajya. I hold that
by joining the army we can accomplish two things: we shall become
brave and we shall learn something about the handling of arms; and
we shall prove our worth by helping those with whom we wish to
become partners. Resisting their excesses and sharing their troubles—
both these things are worth our doing. I want you to think very calmly
on this question. I suggest your sending this letter to Devdas and also
discussing the matter with him
Yours sincerely,
MOHANDAS GANDHI
[From Hindi]
Mahadevbhaini Diary, Vol. lV
2
For an extract from this letter, vide “Letterto Esther Faering”, 22-7-1918.

123. LETTER TO PUNJABHAI SHAH
[BOMBAY,]
July 22, 1918
DEAR PUNJABHAI,
What we have taken as dharma is not dharma. We commit
violence on a large scale in the name of non-violence. Fearing to shed
blood, we torment people every day and dry up their blood. A Bania 1
can never practise non-violence. Dharma does not consist in the
outward renunciation practised by some Shravakas2 or in feeding
ants. There can be no moksha or knowledge of the Self unless one
renounces love of body. If you are convinced of this and would
discover the true road to moksha, I should advise you to identify
yourself with the Ashram. See the proposed construction work
through and relieve Maganlal for the present. You will need a servant.
Engage Parasaram. I think it necessary that Maganlal be relieved.
Think over this carefully. Undertake this only if the truth of this is as
clear to you as daylight. If it is, you will experience great peace in the
Ashram. Otherwise you will tire out soon. You, Fulchand and Magan-
lal may discuss this among yourselves. But, first, think over it yourself.
Pious remembrances from
MOHANDAS
[From Gujarati]
124. LETTER T0 MAHADEV DESAI

NAVAGAM ,
Purnima [July 23, 1918]
DEAR MAHADEV,
The result of your losing your temper was that you could not
come, nor could Shivabhai. We two enjoyed walking down to this
place. We arrived at 10.15. The people were surprised. The poison
which the Circle Inspector has sown here must be dug out. We shall,
therefore, stay on here for three or four days. You or Shivabhai may
bring over the mail.
Blessings from
BAPU
1
Trader
2
Followers of Jainism
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 145

[PS.]
Inform Anasuyabehn that we are here up to Thursday at any
rate.
Bring, or send, postal covers, postcards and plain envelopes.
From the Gujarati original in Gandhiji’s hand: C. W. 5790 Courtesy: C. K.
Bhatt
125. LETTER TO SIR S. SUBRAMANIAM

[NAVAGAM ,]
July 24, 1918
1
DEAR SIR SUBRAMANIAM ,
I hope you will not regard this letter as a presumption on my
part. I have long felt that your language was unrestrained and not
worthy of a yogi. Your charges have appeared to me to be in many
respects reckless. In my humble opinion you would have rendered
much greater service to the country than you have if you had been as
scrupulously truthful as you have been frank and fearless. In you an
unguarded and uncharitable expression would be an untruth. Your
politics are not of the demagogue. They are religious. I beseech you
to give the country a pure example of an Indian gentleman. It is in
your power to do so.
126. LETTER TO VINOBA BHAVE

[NAVAGAM ,]
July 24, 1918
I have your thought-provoking letter.
The ideal is of course what you have stated. It is also true that, to
achieve it, there should be a Gujarati teacher. But in the absence of
such a teacher, it would not be wrong to avail ourselves of a teacher
from Maharashtra. Also, I would prefer a Marathi teacher who has
character, to a Gujarati who has none. At present it is difficult to find
Gujaratis who can teach according to my method. The situation is so
1
Retired Judge, Madras High Court

pathetic that, without you, Sanskrit teaching will have to stop or be
resumed by Kaka 1 . For the present, therefore, you will have to
continue teaching it while keeping the ideal in view.
I am eager to enter Maharashtra, but the time is not ripe yet. I
am not fit. We don’t have the required number of men. May there not
be some divine providence in the fact that you, Kaka and Mama have
come to work with me? My relations with Deshpande2 , my faith in the
Servants of India Society, my especial admiration for Maharashtra, the
great assistance they rendered in Champaran, the arrival of a music
expert from Maharashtra, the expected entry, in the near future, of
Kotwal’s sister, my acquaintance with Narayanrao—all these things
suggest that I am likely to do something special in Maharashtra, be it
ever so little. However,”if man had his way, none would remain in
misery, everyone would kill his enemies and see that only his friends
remained.” And so, this ambition notwithstanding, who knows what
will happen?
I will keep your wishes in mind. I also desire to keep you close
to me but I see that it cannot be at present. You are certainly an
inmate of the Ashram; there can be no doubt about that.
BAPU
[From Gujarati]

[NAVAGAM ,]
July 24, 1918
CHI. DEVDAS,
This letter brings you extremely distressing news. Bhai Sorabji
passed away in Johannesburg after a brief but severe illness. We have,
in some measure at least, risen above the fear of death and yet a death
such as this cannot but grieve. Everyone had hoped that Sorabji would
act as a shield in South Africa and do great things, but this hope now
lies shattered. There is gloom in South Africa, as I can gather from the
telegrams received from there. God’s ways are inscrutable. Karma can
never be undone. All action bears fruit, good or bad, and what we call
1
Kaka Kalelkar
2
Keshavrao Deshpande, Bar-at-law, founder of Ganganath Bharati Vidyalaya
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 147

an accident is not one in fact. It but seems so to us. No one dies
before his time. Death, besides, is only the final transformation of the
same entity, it is not a total annihilation. The atman is immortal. Even
the transformation is only of the body. The state changes, not the
atman. Knowing all this should be enough to console us; whether or
no we have digested this knowledge is tested at a moment like the
present one. Sorabji has become immortal. All he did was for the
glory of his native land. If we but go on doing our duty, his passing
away should make no difference to us. When the deaths of dear ones
make us more keenly alive to our duty, separation from them causes
no pain.
BAPU
[From Gujarati]
128. LETTER TO BALVANTRAI THAKORE

[NAVAGAM ,]
July 24, 1918
Your letter. I see that it will be necessary to agitate for
introducing a new section in the Penal Code when we have a
Parliament of our own. When two parties know the same Indian
language, and one of them writes to the other or talks with him in
English, the party so doing will be liable to a minimum of six months’
rigorous imprisonment. Let me know what you think of such a section
and also, before we gain swaraj, what action should meanwhile be
taken against those who commit the offence.
I have understood your view on how military expenditure can
be reduced. But swaraj is far away yet. Much will depend upon the
situation obtaining at the time we get it.
Cannot we gradually prepare for self-government? To my mind,
this is a status which from its very nature can be attained only
gradually. A marriage must be preceded by engagement. In England,
there is always a long period of courting. Either way, the simile of
marriage seems to be inapt. A revolution is a sudden change and such
a change never occurs in a peaceful manner. Hence a peaceful
revolution is a contradiction in terms. India wants both peace and
revolution. How is this possible?

I understand your desire that no public use should be made of
your letter. We [both] wish that, after some time, there should be no
need to use the word”private”.
I am here today for some inquiry in the villages. Having a little
time on hand, I permitted myself this banter as well. But something
remains yet. As you are still unconvinced that the agitation in Kheda
was justified, I invite you, on behalf of the people, to come over here
to see things for yourself and have your doubts removed. You are the
only person, among those whom I know, whose doubt still persists.
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
[From Gujarati]

NAVAGAM ,
Thursday [July 25, 1918]
CHI. MAGANLAL,
You have been frightened by Raojibhai as he was by me. He
read too much into my words.
No, my ideals have not changed. Despite my bitter experiences
in India, my conviction remains the same as ever, that we have but
little to learn from the West. The evils I have seen here have made no
change in my fundamental idea nor has this war. The old idea has
developed into something purer. I have certainly not come to feel that
we shall have to introduce Western civilization. Nor do I suppose that
we shall have to take to drinking and meat-eating. To be sure, I have
felt, in all seriousness, that Swaminaryana1 and Vallabha-charya 2 have
robbed us of our manliness. They made the people incapable of self-
defence. It was all to the good, of course, that people gave up
drinking, smoking, etc; this, however, is not an end in itself, it is only a
means. If a smoker happens to be a man of character, his company is
worth cultivating. If, on the contrary, a man who has never smoked in
his life is an adulterer, he can be of little service. The love taught by
1
Swami Sahajanand (1781-1833) ; founder of a Vaishnava sect of this name
2
1473-1531 ; teacher, principally responsible for spreading the bhakti cult in
Gujarat
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 149

Swaminarayana and Vallabh is all sentimentalism. It cannot make one
a man of true love. Swaminarayana and Vallabh simply did not reflect
over the true nature of non-violence. Non-violence consists in holding
in check all impulses in the chitta 1 . It comes into play especially in
men’s relations with one another. There is not even a suggestion of
this idea in their writings. Having been born in this degenerate age of
ours, they could not remain unaffected by its atmosphere and had, in
consequence, quite an undesirable effect on Gujarat. Tukaram and
Ramdas had no such effect. The abhangas of the former and the
shlokas of the latter admit ample scope for manly striving. They, too,
were Vaishnavas. Do not mix up the Vaishnava tradition with the
teaching of Vallabh and Swaminarayana. Vaishnavism is an age-old
truth.
I have come to see, what I did not so clearly before, that there is
non-violence in violence. This is the big change which has come
about. I had not fully realized the duty of restraining a drunkard from
doing evil, of killing a dog in agony or one infected with rabies. In all
these instances, violence is in fact non-violence. Violence is a function
of the body. Brahmacharya consists in refraining from sexual
indulgence, but we do not bring up our children to be impotent. They
will have observed brahmacharya only if, though possessed of the
highest virility, they can master the physical urge. In the same way,
our offspring must be strong in physique. If they cannot completely
renounce the urge to violence, we may permit them to commit
violence, to use their strength to fight and thus make them non-
violent. Non-violence was taught by a Kshatriya to a Kshatriya.
The difference between the West and the East is what I have
explained it to be,2 and it is a great one. The civilization of the West is
based on self-indulgence, ours on self-control. If we commit violence,
it will be as a last resort and with a view to’ lokasangraha3 . The West
will indulge in violence in self-will. My taking part in [the movement
for] a Parliament and similar activities is not a new development; it is
quite an old thing and is only intended to ensure a check on these
bodies. You will see this if you read my article on Mr. Montagu’s
scheme. I simply cannot bring myself to take interest in the
1
Mind
2
Vide ‘‘Speech on Indian Civilization”, 30-3-1918.
3
That which promotes the conservation of society; vide Bhagavad Gita, III:
20.

movement, but I can spread my ideals by working in it. When I saw
that I could continue in it only by sacrificing ideals, I decided to retire
from the movement.
I think you have your reply in what I have said. I cannot explain
much when I am there for a day and so I have set down the thing in
writing. This will enable you to think and ask me questions, if fresh
doubts occur to you.
I continue to be in Navagam. I wanted to leave here today, but
perhaps I may not be able to do so.
Blessings from
BAPU
[From Gujarati]
130. LETTER TO RAJIBHAI PATEL

[NAVAGAM ,]
July 25, 1918
DEAR RAOJIBHAI,
I did not mind your letter. You may ask any questions you
have. And I shall give you a written reply so that you may have
something to think over. I know very well that you are doing your
whole duty by Manibhai and the boys. That is what reconciles me to
separation from you. I think that by living with them you would harm
both yourself and them. You will not be serving Vimala’s1 interests by
staying in Sojitra and carrying out Manibhai’s wishes in all matters.
On the contrary, you will be able to serve everybody by staying away
and strengthening your character through tapascharya. Against
Manibhai, you are only offering satyagraha and satyagraha can never
be wrong. It is not any ill-will towards Manibhai but your love for him
which keeps you away. Mirabai forsook her husband out of her love
and so, in his love, did Lord Buddha leave his devoted wife and his
parents. What is true for you is also true for Shivabhai. Supposing you
return from the war unhurt, may it not be that things will have chan-
ged for the better for you, that you will be in a better position then to
look after the children? We are not joining the army for the pleasure
1
Addressee’s daughter
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 151

of doing so but to seek an end to our agony and that of the country.
Even if we commit an error in pursuit of this aim, no harm is done.
You are not likely to get peace by seeing me. While we are
engaged in cleaning things up, there is bound to be commotion. We
must find peace in the midst of it all. When washing clothes, we strike
them but feel happy doing so because we know that this makes them
clean.
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
[From Gujarati]

NADIAD,
July 26, 1918
MY DEAR MILLIE,
Sorabji is no more. A cable has just arrived from Johannesburg
giving the sad news. There is nothing striking about this death. Many
like Sorabji have died before now. But Sorabji has played such an
important part in our lives that his sudden death comes like a rude
shock. It is only one’s faith in the indestructibility of energy and
continuity of effort that reconciles one to activity in life. An event is a
shock when we do not understand its purpose and its seasonableness.
But is God’s plan, I suppose, there is nothing unseasonable and
nothing purposeless.1 Do please write to his wife Kunverbai Sorabji
Adajania, Surat.
I hope you received the few lines I sent you the other day at the
back of Mr. Hasan Imam’s letter.
I am just now at a little village to avenge an insult offered to the
villagers by a petty official. In any other place, there would have been
bloodshed over such an insult. Here I may end with doing nothing. I
return to Nadiad today.
Yours,
BHAI
From the original: Gandhi-Polak Correspondence. Courtesy: National Archives
of India
1
The letter up to here appears in “Letter to C.F. Andrews”, 29-7-1918.

132. THE LATE SORABJI SHAPURJI ADAJANIA
[NADIAD,]
July 27, 1918
THE EDITOR
SIR,
One of the best of Indians has just passed away in Johannesburg
in the person of Sorabji Shapurji of Adajan, near Surat, at the age of
thirty-five. And it is my mournful duty to pay a humble tribute to a
fellow-worker. Mr. Sorabji, though known to a select company of
friends, was unknown to the Indian public. His work lay in South
Africa. He was a prince among passive resisters. He joined their ranks
when the struggle in South Africa was at its highest and when it had
travelled beyond the confines of the Transvaal. When he joined the
struggle, I must confess, I had my doubts about his ability to go
through it. But he soon made his mark as a front-rank satyagrahi.
Neither he nor I ever expected that he would have to undergo a series
of imprisonments amounting in all to over 18 months with hard
labour. But he went through it manfully and cheerfully. Mr. Sorabji
was a small trader when he took to public life in South Africa. He had
a High School education. But such as it was, he made the most
effective use of it in the Transvaal. During the struggle, he showed a
steadfastness of purpose, probity of character, coolness of temper,
courage in the midst of adverse circumstances, such as the best of us
do not often show. There were occasions when the stoutest hearts
might have broken—Sorabji never wavered.
After the struggle was closed, it was my intention to send to
England some one from among a band of young Indians who had
proved themselves capable warriors. A friend had offered the needful
funds. The choice, for a variety of reasons, fell upon Mr. Sorabji. It
was a question, whether having abandoned the life of a student for
over eight years, he could take to it again. He was, however,
determined. His ambition was to become a barrister and fit himself for
fuller service. To England he went. He had come in close touch with
Mr. Gokhale when he was in South Africa. He came in closer touch in
London. And I knew that Mr. Gokhale had the highest opinion of Mr.
Sorabji’s worth. He had invited him to become a member of his
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 153

Society. The deceased took an active part in all the leading
movements among Indians in London. He was for some time
Secretary of the London Indian Society. He was the first to join the
Indian Ambulance Corps that was formed in London at the
inauguration of the war and served at Netley, nursing the sick and the
wounded. After being called to the Bar, he proceeded to South Africa,
where he intended to practise the profession and return to India after
he had given a number of years to South Africa and found a
substitute. But alas! fate has willed it otherwise and a career full of
promise had to come to an abrupt end. The deceased was only 35
when he died.
In all I have said above, I have hardly described the man in
Sorabji. He was faithful to a degree. He was a true Parsee, because he
was a true Indian. He knew no distinctions of creed or caste. Love of
India was a passion with him, her service an article of faith. He was
indeed a rare man. He leaves a young widow to mourn his death. I am
sure there are many friends of Sorabji to share her grief.
Yours, etc.,
M. K. GANDHI
133. LETTER T0 SIR WILLIAM VINCENT

NADIAD,
July 27, 1918
TO
THE HONOURABLE S IR W. H. VINCENT, KT., K.C.S.I.
I thank you for your letter dated the 22nd instant. I venture to
hope that the tribunal will be thoroughly impartial and that it will be
appointed in good time. May I expect another letter from you in due
course?
N. A. 1.: Home, Political (A): January 1919: Nos. 3-16

134. LETTER T0 JAMNALAL BAJAJ
NADIAD,
Ashadh Krishna 4 [July 27, 1918]
DEAR JAMNALALJI,
Your love makes me feel ashamed. I wish—I ask of God—that I
may deserve all that love. I hope that your devotion will ever lead you
forward on the path of virtue.
For success in the task of spreading education in Marwar a good
organizer is needed.
The work of recruitment is going on very slowly. So far the
number may be about 150. No one has yet been sent. I am trying to
raise a battalion of Gujaratis.
Yours,
MOHANDAS GANDHI

NADIAD, G UJARAT ,
Ashad Vad 5, July 28, 1918
CHI. RAMDAS,
I received your letter. It is certainly regrettable that you have to

leave service again and again. It will be good if you don’t make a
change now. Umiyashankar was telling me that your accommodation
can easily be arranged in his shop. There will be no harm if you go
there. You can certainly come to me whenever you want. Go to
England if they send you from there. There is nothing wrong in that
either. Besides Sorabji1 is now gone. I cannot forget him. The moment
I am idle innumerable recollections of Sorabji flood me.
If it is your wish that you should go to England for studies and
then work in South Africa you may do so. The course there is indeed
1
Sorabji Shapurji Adajania. For Gandhiji’s tributes to him, vide “The Late
Sorabji Shapurji Adajania”, 27-7-1918.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 155

tough. If you had been here and if you had agreed, I would have sent
you to the War. I have come to realize that this is our paramount duty.
A young man must learn self-defence. I have not forgotten the insults
inflicted upon you by that Pathan. I had defended you but that gave
me no satisfaction. How can you understand ahimsa fully at this
tender age? It is possible that some extraordinary young man may
acquire the knowledge early and become an ocean of compassion.
But generally a young man must know how to defend himself.
Ahimsa is the extreme limit of human strength. It is not a quality of
weak or cowardly persons. What do they know of ahimsa? Devdas is
impatient to get himself recruited for the War, but he is doing such
good work in Madras that he cannot be spared from there.1 I gave the
same advice to Harilal. But of course how can he undertake such
labours? I shall try for you. But it will be wholly your choice. You
may gladly come if you are tired there and if you want to become a
soldier. You alone must consider the matter. I would have enticed
Manilal too. Only his case is similar to that of Devdas. So he should
not be enticed away.
You can get an idea of the situation here from the enclosed
pamphlet2 . From the Ashram Nanubhai, Shankerlal, Surendra,
Ramanand and Ramjibhai will come.
You should not fret. You should consider yourself free and do
as you want. Only thus will you rise. If you do not know something
do not be scared. If you want to learn it you must put in the requisite
labour.
Blessings from
BAPU
[From Gujarati]
Motana Man, pp. 16-17
1
Devdas Gandhi was teaching Hindi in Madras.
2
Presumably “Appeal for Enlistment”, Leaflet No. 2 issued on July 22, 1918;
vide “Appeal for Enlistment”, 22-7-1918.

136. LETTER T0 C. F. ANDREWS
[NADIAD,]
July 29, 1918
MY DEAR CHARLIE,
I must indulge myself again. I begin to perceive a deep meaning
behind the Japanese reluctance to listen to the message of a Prophet
from a defeated nation.1 War will be always with us. There seems to be
no possibility of the whole human nature becoming transformed.
Moksha and ahimsa [are] for individuals to attain. Full practice of
ahimsa is inconsistent with possession of wealth, land or rearing of
children. There is real ahimsa in defending my wife and children even
at the risk of striking down the wrongdoer. It is perfect ahimsa not to
strike him but intervene to receive his blows. India did neither on the
field of Plassey.2 We were a cowardly mob warring against one
another, hungering for the Company’s3 silver and selling our souls for
a mess of pottage. And so have we remained more or less—more
rather then less—up to today. There was no ahimsa in their miserable
performance, not withstanding examples of personal bravery and later
corrections of the exaggerated accounts of those days. Yes the
Japanese reluctance was right. I do not know sufficiently what the
fathers of old did. They suffered, I expect, not out of their weakness,
but out of their strength. The rishis of old stipulated that their
religious practices were to be protected by the Kshatriyas. Rama
protected Vishwamitra from the rakshasas disturbing his meditations.
He could later on dispense with this protection. I find great difficulties
in recruiting but do you know that not one man has yet objected
because he would not kill. They object because they fear to die. This
unnatural fear of death is ruining the nation. For the moment, I am
simply thinking of the Hindus. Total disregard of death in a
Mahomedan lad is a wonderful possession.
I have not written a coherent letter today but I have given you
1
The reference is to Rabindranath Tagore whose speech in Tokyo against
Japan’s imitating the West was greeted with unbecoming derision.
2
In 1757 at the battle of Plassey, British forces under Clive gained a decisive
victory over the much larger forces of Siraj-ud-Daula because of the treachery of his
own chieftain, Mir Ja’far, who had conspired with the British.
3
East India Company
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 157

indications of my mental struggle.
Do you know that Sorabji is dead. He died in Johannesburg. A
life full of promise has come to an abrupt end. The ways of God are
inscrutable.
With deep love,
Yours,
MOHAN

[NADIAD,]
July 29, 1918
MY DEAR MILLIE,
Sorabji is no more. A cable has just arrived from Johannesburg
giving the sad news. There is nothing striking about this death.
Many like Sorabji have died before now. But Sorabji has
played such an important part in our lives that his sudden death
comes like a rude shock. It is only one’s faith in the indestructibility
of energy and continuity of effort that reconciles one to
activity in life. An event is a shock when we do not understand its
purpose and its seasonableness. But in God’s plan, I suppose, there is
nothing unseasonable and nothing purposeless.
138. LETTER TO S.K. RUDRA

[NADIAD,]
July 29, 1918
DEAR MR. RUDRA,
I thank you for letting me share your happiness. 1 Sudhir is a
brick. Yes he is doing good work, and so are the other boys each on
his own line. It is a result of orderly training.
While you approve of my recruiting campaign, Charlie is
fighting it out with me. He thinks it is just likely that I am deluding
1
His son had been appointed Second Lieutenant and his son-in-law had secured
a first class in Natural Science tripos.

myself. He thinks that this activity of mine may injure my service to
the cause of ahimsa. I have taken it up to serve that very cause. I know
that my responsibility is great. It was equally great when I was supine,
feeling that recruiting was not my line. There was a danger of those
who put faith in my word becoming or remaining utterly unmanly,
falsely believing that it was ahimsa. We must have the ability in the
fullest measure to strike and then perceive the inability of brute force
and renounce the power. Jesus had the power to consume his enemies
to ashes but he refrained and permitted himself to be killed for he so
loved, etc.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. G.
139. LETTER T0 V. S. SRINIVASA SASTRI

[NADIAD,]
July 29, 1918
DEAR MR. SHASTRIAR,
Thakor has just arrived. He tells me you were again down with
illness. You need a cruel doctor who would mercilessly order a
complete fast and water treatment. But you can expect nothing but
licensed murders from that most empirical of professions. Whenever I
hear of your illness, I feel like shooting some doctor or other but my
ahimsa comes in the way. Happily for you and India I have no
parliamentary ambition. Otherwise I should introduce a Bill
disqualifying people getting continuously ill from membership.
Here is a cable 1 from Polak. I cannot understand its full
significance. But I suppose there is no danger of the scheme 2 being
rejected by the country.
1
This is not available.
2
The reference presumably is to the Montagu-Chelmsford Scheme.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 159

140. LETTER T0 DEVDAS GANDHI
[NADIAD,]
July 29, 1918
In the summer, living in a village appears grand indeed,
but it is doubtful whether one would enjoy it in the monsoon.
Personally, I think it would be very difficult for me to go to any place
I like during the rainy season. My dislike of dirt is increasing, not
diminishing. I feel suffocated if the lavatory is the least bit un-clean.
Here, I go to an open space to answer the call of nature, carrying a
hoe with me. I dig up before passing stools and, when I have finished,
I leave the place after covering it with plenty of earth. I have realized
that, because of our failure to observe this rule, innumerable diseases
are spread, millions of flies bred. Those who are not particularly
sensitive to lack of cleanliness are, I find, happy enough in a village.
Last evening, two bhajan 1 parties came to see me. Their musical
instruments must be worth some 5 or 10 rupees. These included
drums, cymbals, kartals 2 and one single-stringed tamboor3 . With these,
they produced music which was all sweetness. All the songs were
about Shri Krishna, how he provided Draupadi with an unending sari,
ate the dish of greens with Vidur, humbled Duryodhana’s pride and
so on. All this is put in a language so sweet that it cannot but spread
round the spirit of love and devotion. Why all this devotion to
Krishna? As far as I can see, it must be because of his heroism and his
unfailing solicitude for others. It is because he, with his infinite
strength, helped the little Pandava kingdom to victory, destroyed the
wicked Kauravas and freed the people from suffering, that he came to
be sung of in songs and gained a place among the immortals. He
cared nothing for the favour of one so mighty as Duryodhana. He was
not tempted by his wealth, but relished Sudama’s rice with gusto, such
was his simplicity. It is a miracle the poet has wrought in the story of
Krishna. There is no doubt that a man of such wisdom did exist. I
wish you could read the whole Mahabharata in Sanskrit. You will
then get a joy that I have missed. My subject was the grandeur of
village life but I strayed into the story of Krishna. It was last night’s
1
Devotional Song
2
Indian musical instruments
3
ibid

music which made me think of it. I found that music even better than
ours. It was natural and sweet. It was not very loud. The drum and the
other instruments played low. The moon was full. We all sat under a
tree. Everyone was in country clothes. The people spread out carpets
and sat on them. They were all farmers. After having laboured all day,
they were having innocent pleasure, drinking draughts of sweetness
from the music of God’s name. I said to one of them:”Friend, you
are enjoying yourselves thoroughly.” He replied:”Well, what else
should we do? We prefer to pass our time in bhajans and kirtans
rather than just gossip.” These people, being Baraiya by caste, would
ordinarily be looked upon as uncivilized, but they were not so in the
least. They may be called uneducated but, in truth, they were nothing
of the sort. I felt that, if the educated classes drew these people closer
to themselves and poured new zest into them, one could put them to
any task one chose. Their wisdom is boundless. One should only
know how to utilize it. We are like the bad carpenter who finds fault
with his tools. Well, I have written quite a long letter to you. Pass it on
to Manilal after reading it. I do not know when I shall write another
like this again. It is morning time, I have some leisure and my brain is
brimful of ideas; I have emptied it a little before you. If you, too, can
taste from this a measure of the happiness which was mine, I would
have, in a real sense, given you a portion of your inheritance. We
claim our share from the Government; on the same principle, if I
share with you what I possess, I shall be free of my debt.
Blessings from
BAPU
[From Gujarati]
141. LETTER T0 KASTURBA GANDHI

[NADIAD,]
July 29, 1918
BELOVED KASTUR,
I know you are pining to stay with me. I feel, though, that we
must go on with our tasks. At present, it is right that you remain where
you are. If you but look upon all the children there as your own, quite
soon you will cease to feel the absence of the latter. This is the least
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 161

one can do as one gets older. As you come to love others and serve
them, you will have a joy welling up from within. You should make it
a point to visit early in the morning all those who may be sick, and
nurse them. Special food should be prepared or kept apart for anyone
who needs such food. You should visit the Maharashtrian ladies,
amuse their children or take them out for a walk. You should make
them feel that they are no strangers. Their health should improve.
You should converse with Nirmala on useful subjects, that is, on
religious matters and the like. You may ask her to read out
the Bhagavat to you. She will even find the thing interesting. If you
thus keep yourself busy in the service of others, believe me the mind
will always be full of joy. And you must not omit to look after
Punjabhai’s meals and other requirements.
MOHANDAS
[From Gujarati]
142. LETTER T0 KISHORELAL MASHRUWALA

[NADIAD,]
July 29, 1918
DEAR KISHORELAL,
This letter is meant for you and Shri Narahari. To the extent that
Shri Narayanarao’s charge that distinctions are made between
Maharashtrians and Gujaratis is justified, it is our duty to try to
remove the causes. Here is a field for the exercise of non-violence.
The first step to take is for you all to come together and examine how
much of truth there is in the charge. The Gujarati ladies should try to
mix freely with the Maharashtrian ladies. The most important thing is
to see that the children make no such distinction. It is not necessary to
give exaggerated importance to what I have said; just reflect over it for
a moment and do all that may need to be done.
As for prayers, I place this before you for consideration. We
should not take the plea of inability so far that, in the end, we find
ourselves incapable of doing anything at all. We should do the
teaching as well as we can and overcome our shortcomings by gradual
effort. Do you think I would use the plea of inability if I was myself
required to teach Sanskrit? I know that my Sanskrit is no Sanskrit. But

I would certainly teach it if no other person was available and I would
get over my deficiency day by day. It was in this way that Parnell
topped them all in his knowledge of the rules of business in the House
of Commons. You always think of your weakness and are afraid of
doing anything. Would you not be happier if, using all your strength,
you disposed of every task that fell to you?
In what manner should the children learn to use their strength?
It is a difficult thing to teach them to defend themselves and yet not
be overbearing. Till now, we used to teach them not to fight back if
anyone beat them. Can we go on doing so now? What will be the
effect of such teaching on a child? Will he, in his youth, be a forgiving
or a timid man? My powers of thinking fail me. Use yours. This new
aspect of non-violence which has revealed itself to me has enmeshed
me in no end of problems. I have not found one master-key for all
the riddles, but it must be found. Shall we teach our boys to return two
blows for one, or tolerate a blow from anyone weaker than themselves
but to fight back, should a stronger one attack them, and take the
beating that might follow? What should one do if assaulted by a
Government official? Should the boy submit to the beating at the
moment and then come to us for advice, or should he do what might
seem best in the circumstances and take the consequences? These are
the problems which face us if we give up the royal road of turning the
other cheek. Is the first course the right one because it is easier to
take? Or is it that we shall come upon the right path only by treading
through a dangerous one? The foot-tracks which go up the Himalayas
lead in all directions, sometimes even away from the destination and
yet an experienced guide will take us in the end to the summit. One
cannot climb the Himalayas in a straight line. Can it be that, in like
fashion, the path of non-violence, too, is difficult? May God protect
us, may He indeed.
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
[From Gujarati]
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 163

143. LETTER T0 PUNJABHAI SHAH
[NADIAD,]
July 29, 1918
DEAR PUNJABHHAI,
Your decision is good. 1 All activity inspired by concern for

paramartha2 is in fact withdrawal from activity and ensures moksha.
Paramartha lies in serving others. It requires a supreme effort to
withdraw interest from oneself and direct it to others. One should have
nothing but pleasure in doing one’s best for others in the Ashram.
Someone or other is ill there all the time. One should go visiting them
during the day or keep the children amused by playing with them.
Activity such as this brings no pain and leads to no bickerings. This is
the only way to knowledge of the Self. You will realize this soon
enough. Make it a daily practice to be for a while with the ailing ones
like Bhuvarji and others.
[From Gujarati]
1
During Maganlal Gandhi’s absence, who was at Allahabad, Punjabhai took
his place in the Ashram.
2
Summum bonum

144. LETTER TO ABDUL KADIR BAWAZIR
NADIAD,
Monday, July 29, [1918] 1
BHAISHRI IMAM SAHEB,
Bhai Sorabji is Sorabji Shapurji, who qualified as a barrister. It is
very good that you have decided to find some work. I am aware that
you have been doing some reading, but for you and me it is not
sufficient. Give my regards to Khatib Saheb. Vandemataram to Haji
Sahab and Fatimabehn.
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
BHAISHRI IMAM SAHEB ABDUL KADIR BAWAZIR
KHATIB SAHEB’S HOUSE
KAREDIWADI
BOMBAY—2
From a photostat of the Gujarati: C.W. 10783. Courtesy: Gulam Rasul Qureshi
145. LETTER KASTURBA GANDHI

[NADIAD,]
July 31, 1918
BELOVED KASTUR,
Your being unhappy makes me unhappy. If it had been possible
to bring ladies, I would have brought you. Why should you lose your
head because I may have to go out? We have learnt to find our
happiness in separation. If God has so willed, we shall meet again and
live together. There are many useful things one can do in the Ashram
and you are bound to keep happy if you occupy yourself with them.
[From Gujarati]
1
Only “July 30” is decipherable in the postmark. From Gandhiji’s itinerary
covering his stay at Nadiad, it appears that the letter belongs to the year 1918.
Monday prior to July 30, 1918 correspxonds to July 29.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 165

146. LETTER T0 MANILAL GANDHI
[NADIAD,]
July 31,1918
CHI. MANILAL,
I have had no letter from you recently. Herewith a letter
from Sam for you to read and ponder over. Whatever their fauIt, I am
afraid you have been guilty of far too much anger and shown
extreme malice. You were free to stand on your rights but should
not have forgotten your manners. While insisting on order, you could
have spared yourself the anger. None of them has put by any great
sum of money, or appropriated any. What is Devibehn’s fault? It is
too much that Mr. West and Mr. Sam have had to sacrifice their
children’s education. It seems to me that you have vented on them
your anger with me. You do not even visit them. Surely, you should
not behave thus. I think you should apologize to them. Do this,
however, only if you think that that is the right course, and not
because it will please me. Anything you do without giving up your
freedom will seem best to me.
I think I have given you many reasons to be angry with me.
Please forgive me for this. I have pushed you about a good deal
and that has interrupted your regular education. You can, however,
forgive me only if you realize that this was inevitable. I have passed
my whole life in pursuit of self-knowledge, in discovering where my
duty lay. My work has been appreciated because I have acted as I
believe. This has saved me from many a pitfall. But, looking at the
matter superficially, your interests have suffered from a worldly point
of view. Just as I have had to pay for my experiments, so have you
and Ba. Ba has understood this and has therefore gained what no
other woman has done. You have not understood this fully yet and
therefore, harbour anger. I would still say that the service I have
rendered to you brothers, no other man in my place would have done.
I got you to share in my experiences on the path of dharma. What
more can anyone do? Like other parents, I could have allowed you to
go the way of the world and shaped my life in my own way. If I had
done so, there would have been no bond left between you and me by
now and we would have been to each other what Gokibehn is to me, a
sister only in name. I could not have acted otherwise than I have

because, in my pursuit of truth, I would have been where I am and
you would have wandered off the path. This would not have been for
your good. If you think over this patiently, you will be able to get
over your anger with me. Consider, there has been a rift between
Harilal and me. His life follows a course all its own. A father and son
are truly so when both follow a common mode of life, each
supporting the other. I can take no interest in Harilal’s life and he in
mine. The fault is not his. The way he thinks is governed by his past
actions. I am not angry with Harilal. But the chain which bound him
and me together is broken and the sweetness which should inform the
relations of father and son is no more. Such things happen often
enough in the world. What is uncommon about me is that I could not
draw Harilal after me in my search for dharma and so he kept away.
He has, in sheer folly, lost his employer Rs. 30,000, has passed a
disgraceful letter to him and is now without employment. As they
know that he is my son he is not in jail. You have stayed on in my life,
but are discontented. You can’t bring yourself to go out of it, and yet
do not altogether like being in it. This is why you are not at peace
with yourself. If you can somehow manage to be contented, you will
also have peace. I have not harmed you intentionally. All I have done
I did in the belief that it was for your good. Is not this enough to
bring down your anger against me? What I have said will surely not
make you more angry. I was only too happy that you told me what
you think. All the management must be in your hands now.
You will see my second appeal in connection with recruitment
for the war. I have offered the services of five persons from the
Ashram. There are others also eager to go, but it is not possible to
send them. The five who are to be sent are Ramanandan, Surendra,
Thakorlal, Nanubhai and Raojibhai. I shall of course be there. I
believe a depot will soon be started here. Had Devdas not been doing
the work of Hindi, he too would have joined. He is eager to do so. I
have written to Harilal, but he is not likely to go. You are doing
important work there; I cannot therefore ask you. Ramdas remains.
He can certainly join if he wishes. Ramdas does not feel happy if he
has to leave one job and take another. You may ask him.
Nirmala is in the Ashram at present. She has come of her own
choice. How long she will stay, one cannot say. She will most
probably bring in Gokibehn also.
Khushalbhai has come to stay in the Ashram. Chhaganlal and
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 167

he live separately. Chhaganlal has joined the national school.
The buildings are still under construction. The weaving shed is
ready. It is used for living also. The library and other buildings are
yet to be constructed.
I feel the loss of Sorabji very keenly. We have now to begin
from the scratch, as it were.
Blessings from
BAPU
From the Gujarati original in Gandhiji’s hand: C. W. 115. Courtesy:
Sushilabehn Gandhi
147. LETTER TO MOHANLAL KHANDERIA

NADIAD
Ashadh Vad 8 [July 31, 1918] 1
DEAR SHRI MOHANLAL,
I have your letter concerning Kheda district. I have not received

the money yet. I will use it for some work I have to do in connection
with the war.
I should like you to do something to perpetuate Bhai Sorabji’s
memory. It will be difficult to get a worker like him. I think it will be
best to institute a scholarship and send people to England.
Umiyashankar tells me that you are doing well. I am glad.
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
From a photostat of the Gujarati original: G. N. 6210
1
The mention of war effort makes it clear that the letter was written in 1918.

148. LETTER TO ADA WEST
[NADIAD,]
July 31, 1918
MY DEAR DEVI,
. . . 1 What a tragedy this death of Sorabji ! I was feeling most
comfortable about South Africa and hoping that now that Sorabji was
there all would go well. My hopes have come to nothing . . .2
I do not know what you all think of my recruiting activity. I am
working all the time at it. My argument is briefly this : India has lost
the power to strike. She must learn to strike before she can voluntarily
renounce the power of striking. She may never renounce. Then she
will be as bad as the West, or, better still, the modernists. Today she is
neither. The ancients in India knew the art of warfare—the art of
killing—and yet reduced the activity to a minimum and taught the
world that it is better to refrain than to strike. Today I find that
everybody is desirous of killing but most are afraid of doing so or
powerless to do so. Whatever is to be the result I feel certain that the
power must be restored to India. The result may be carnage. Then
India must go through it. Today’s condition is intolerable.
Yours,
BHAI
149. SPEECH AT SURAT

August 1, 1918
I have not come to Surat today to make a speech, but went to
Adajan to pay my respects and offer condolences to the wife of a
personal friend of mine, Mr. Sorabji Shapurji, who was my co-worker
in South Africa during the satyagraha campaign and who has, as you
must have read in the newspapers, passed away. 3 Being, meanwhile,
pressed to make a speech, I have this opportunity today. As you know,
swaraj has become a household word all over India. Mr. Montagu’s4
1
Some words are omitted in the source.
2
ibid
3
Vide “The Late sorabji Shapurji Adajania”, 27-7-1918.
4
E. S. Montagu (1879-1924); Secretary of State for India, 1917-22 and co-
sponsor of Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms, published on July 8, 1918.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 169

scheme of political reforms has been published and people differ in
their views on it. Newspapers, too, have been expressing themselves on
it. The scheme is good in parts but also strange in some ways. I have
already expressed my views on it. It is necessary that we press for
improvements which we desire in it. If we rest content with whatever is
offered to us out of the many things we may have demanded, it would
not seem that we were earnest in our demands. My opinion is that in
anything that we demand by way of swaraj, we should agitate to get it
as a matter of right, staking our very lives on it, and, simultaneously,
stand by the Government and help it. In other words, in the war that is
going on, we should send our men to France and Mesopotamia. We
are not entitled to demand swaraj till we come forward to enlist in the
army. It is futile to expect any results when we have not done our
duty. It is extremely difficult to mention this in a public speech in
Gujarat, especially in Surat, for the citizens of Surat see nothing about
which they have to think and come to conclusions. It would seem
from the attendance today that they had made up their mind on the
subject. The first duty of a people all too eager for swaraj is to listen
attentively and courteously to what is said on occasions like the
present and accept whatever appeals to them and reject the rest. Till
the people have learnt this, they will be unfit not only to enjoy swaraj
but even to ask for it. All the 30 crores cannot go and listen to
speeches but they may read newspapers and accept from them
whatever they think best.
I do not advocate a go-slow policy in asking for swaraj; on the
other hand, I am a staunch fighter in its cause. We would have equal
rights in the Empire; if so, we should rescue it from the threat to which
it is now exposed and then alone shall we be considered fit for them.
There is a party which argues that the British Government should first
concede our right to swaraj, grant equal rights in the army and in
other matters, and then alone should we help it. The party making this
demand is not to be dismissed out of hand. But the snag in this
argument is that the Empire is not dependent on your help. At present
our relationship with it is that of an owner and his slave, or a king and
his subjects. It depends upon its own will whether it would change this
relationship and make us its partners. Assuming, therefore, that it is
inclined to do nothing of the kind, how do you think we are to lay
down our terms before it? Some believe that, when its difficulties
increase still further, it will accept all our conditions and we shall then
come forward to help. But in this we run a great risk. We should rather
wish that it never gets into such difficulty. We have got the

opportunity we were looking for to help the Empire and we shall do
well to avail ourselves of it fully. I have been travelling all over India
these days and I tell you, from what I have seen for myself, that India
has altogether lost the capacity to fight. It has not a particle of the
courage it should have. If even a tiger should make its appearance in a
village, the people would not have the strength to go and kill it and so
they petition the Collector to have it killed. Nor do they have the
strength to fight back dacoits, should any descend on the village. Can
a nation, whose citizens are incapable of self-defence, enjoy swaraj?
Swaraj is not for lawyers and doctors but only for those who possess
strength of arms. How in a people who are incapable of defending
their lives, their women and children, their cattle and their lands, ever
enjoy swaraj? This is no time to go into the question of how our
people fell on such evil times and who is to blame for this state of
affairs; what is necessary is to find a remedy. When the people
become physically fit and strong enough to wield the sword, swaraj
will be theirs for the asking. How can people who have lost their
strength defend their religion? From my experience during the last
three months, I know that we are utterly timid. People afraid of even a
squirrel had much better think of improving their own condition than
of getting swaraj. Here we have an invaluable opportunity for getting
back the capacity to fight which we have lost and we should not miss
it. If a people who do not know in what direction to look for a fort, do
not know how to fire a gun, have no knowledge of the state of
fortification on the border,—if they wish to know all this, they should
certainly not miss this supreme opportunity which India has of
supplying half a million men. We should not believe, either, that in
availing ourselves of this opportunity we are helping the Government;
we should believe, rather, that we are using it to acquire the strength to
fight and get training in doing so. You will regret it afterwards if you
miss this priceless opportunity. Mr. Tilak1 advises us not to take part
in the war unconditionally. I have greater reverence for Mr. Tilak than
you have; in fact, one cannot show him enough reverence. If, once
half a million men had joined, they refused higher posts [to Indians],
there would be revolts everywhere and rivers of blood would flow.
This is no time to pay attention to what Mr. Tilak says. The very
services we render will answer his doubts. The half a million men
whom we shall raise will go with love of swaraj in their hearts. When
they come back, they are bound to get swaraj. If they have learnt
military discipline, half a million others will be roused. And so parents
1
“Lokamanya” Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1856-1920); patriot, politician and
scholar.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 171

should be told that, in offering recruits, they show their love for the
country. This is what I do. America helps with three hundred
thousand [men] every month; if we refuse, that will cost us our rights.
I, therefore, entreat you again and again to ponder over what I have
said today, for, if this thing [opportunity for military experience]
which has offered itself to us slips away from our hands, there will be
no possibility of our getting the other [swaraj]. Think over what I have
told you and, if the idea appeals to you, come forward for sacrifices.
If, however, you lay down terms, following Mr. Tilak, I would take no
offence. With these words, I should like to resume my seat.
[From Gujarati]
Gujarat Mitra and Gujarat Darpan, 4-8-1918
150. LETTER TO MATHURADAS TRIKUMJI

NADIAD,
Ashad Vad 11 [August 2, 1918] 1
CHI. MATHURADAS,
Try to get Bhagirathkosh (Urdu-Hindi Dictionary) by Dina
Nath Kaul, Munshi Naval Kishore Press, Lucknow, price as. 12/- and
Complete Urdu Course by R. C. Bhushan, Longmans Green & Co.,
price Re. 1/12/. If you are able to get these two books, send them to
Devdas by registered post. His address is: C/o Ramji Kalyanji,
Sowcarpeth, Madras. Take the money from Chi. Narandas.
Blessings from
MOHANDAS
[PS.]
You will have read the other journal.
From the Gujarati original: Pyarelal Papers. Nehru Memorial Museum and
Library. Courtesy: Beladevi Nayyar and Dr. Sushila Nayyar
1
The postmark bears the date August 3, 1918. However, Ashad Vad 11 corres-
ponds to August 2.

151. LETTER TO H.S.L. POLAK
NADIAD,
August 2 [1918] 1
MY DEAR HENRY,
You must have duly received my letters passed on to you
through Millie. Among these is a letter from Hassan Imam wherein he
says he is going to fulfil his promise to you and that your complaint
must have been received before he forwarded some funds and a brief.
I have a letter now from Dr. Mehta who has promised to do his
share if it becomes necessary to support Millie through your
incarceration. But I do not believe you will ever have to go through
the fiery ordeal. If you have, sufficient for me to say that you need
have no anxiety about Millie.
But I wish to utter a note of warning about your duty towards
Pater. Are you bound to support him in his speculations or in his
artificial style of life? Do you not spoil him? And may you do this
especially when the funds you receive are largely received by you in
your public character? You may not divide the legal profession from
your other activities. Have you not renounced the right to earn more
than your needs including humble family needs! You are a reformer
at home as well as abroad. Your life must influence the family life or
it must stand separately as a protest against its orthodoxy and present-
day shortcomings. I do not pretend to solve these riddles for you. I
merely point out that they exist for you and me and that you may not
overlook them.
So, Sorabji is no more. These shocks sometimes so shake me
that I do not want to live on this earth. But my faith in the justice of
Providence enables me to regain my sanity. I have cabled you about
Sorabji. You will have read my tribute in the Times and the Chronicle.2
You will have sent me the Will and the policy and all the other papers
Sorabji may have left with you. I went over to Surat to meet the
widow. Sorabji has left a most lovely daughter.
1
From the contents; ibid
2
Vide “The Late Sorabjji Shapurji Adajania”, 27-7-1918
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 173

1
I have your cable about the scheme. No one will reject it in
toto. But no one here seems disposed to accept it as it is. There is too
much compromise in it. India is not getting what is right but what is
expedient. Has the Civil Service any rights? Have the European
merchants any rights as against the indigenous population? But they
evidently think they have. There must be ceaseless warfare raged
against this preposterous claim. I like the scheme as an honest effort. I
should not care for it without substantial amendment. I should not
weep if it is not passed. I would not be overcautious lest nothing may
seemingly be achieved.
What do you say to my recruiting campaign?2 It is for me
religious activity undertaken for the sacred doctrine of ahimsa. I have
made the discovery that India has lost the power of fight - not the
inclination. She must regain the power and then if she will deliver to a
groaning world the doctrine of ahimsa. She must give abundantly out
of her strength, not out of her weakness. She may never do it. That to
me would mean her effacement. She would lose her individuality and
would be like the other nations ≈ a worshipper of brute force. This
recruiting work is perhaps the hardest task undertaken by me. I may
fail to gain recruits. I shall still have given the best political education
to the people.
As you know, I am building the Ashram on a new site. The
building work is slow.3 It is so difficult to get men and material.
With love from us all,
Yours,
BHAI
Archives of India
1
The Montagu-Chelmsford Reform Scheme.
2
ibid
3
Vide also “Letter to Mrs. West”, 23-6-1918.

[August 2, 1918] 1
MY DEAR MILLIE,
Will you please read this and then send to Henry if you
approve? I want you carefully to read the paragraph about Pater.
With love,
Yours,
BHAI
Archives of India
153. LETTER TO CHHAGANLAL GANDHI

NADIAD,
Ashadha Vad 13 [August 4, 1918] 2
CHI. CHHAGANLAL,
On inquiring from Prabhudas, I came to know that Kashi3 works
in the kitchen. I feel that she should be completely free of that work.
She can do only light household chores. Truly speaking, stitching,
cleaning grains and reading are the right activities for her, that is to
say, for keeping her occupied. She should devote as much time as she
can to taking slow walks. My advice is that she should completely give
up taking medicines and observe control over her diet. It will do her
good if she takes only rice kanji4 for the present. I have observed that
milk is no good when one is ill. There is nothing better than milk for
building up the body on recovery from illness. The diet for illness is
fruit juice, green vegetables and things made of wheat but without
ghee. Wheat kanji can be made the same way as the rice kanji. Barley
water is also good. It is possible to remain fit by taking light food
which helps to move bowels. If all this does not help, one should
1
The foregoing item is an enclosure to this letter.
2
From Nadiad in the date-line; Gandhiji was at Nadiad on Ashadha Vad 13
only in the year ‘1918’ and it corresponded to August 4.
3
Wife of the addressee
4
A kind of sour gruel made by steeping a substance in water and letting the
liquor ferment
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 175

reconcile to one’s state of health instead of trying in vain for cures.
My suggestion would certainly do you no harm. On the contrary, it
has the maximum potential for doing you good. Medicines hardly
help and there is no limit to the harm they cause. A person like Dr.
Jivraj Mehta, in spite of having worked under first-rate doctors abroad,
has to struggle hard. Thanks to the conditions here and our
attachment for the medicines, he earns money and name for himself.
Rubbing tobacco on teeth may do good. Drakshasav1 , if given
to Kashi, will certainly help her. It is not a medicine. It is food. It is a
diet which acts but slowly. We can experiment with it. It seems
Jatashankar Vaidya prepares it hyginically.
Kashi cannot digest solid food. She should for sometime be on
liquid diet only.
Blessings from
BAPU
From the Gujarati original: S.N. 32895

August 6, 1918
2
MY DEAR CHARLIE ,
I shall be good this time and not accuse you of crimes against
the laws of God and man regarding health. But there is no doubt that
you need a curator euphemistically called a nurse. And how I should
like to occupy that post! If you cannot have a nurselike me, who
would make love to you but at the same time enforce strict obedi-ence
to doctor’s orders, you need a wife who would see that you had your
food properly served, you never went out without an abdo-minal
bandage and who would not allow you to overworry yourself about
bad news of the sickness of relatives. But marriage is probably too
late. And not being able to nurse you myself I can only fret. I can do
better if I pray and that is precisely what I am going to do. He must
keep you well and free from harm so that you may glorify Him in
your strength, if such be His will.
I am quietly settling down to my task as if it was the most
1
An Ayurvedic medicine for building up strength
2
1871-1940; British missionary; co-worker of Tagore and Gandhiji; honoured
as “Deenabandhu” (brother of the poor)

natural for me. The side issues do puzzle me but I shall soon cease to
think about them. They are not before me for immediate solution. My
life has never been fashioned thus. I have always declined to work out
to my satisfaction all the possible deductions. I have taken up things
as they have come to me and always in trembling and fear. I did not
work out the possibilities in Champaran, Kheda or Ahmedabad nor
yet when I made an unconditional offer of service in 1914. I fancy
that I followed His will and no other and He will lead me”amid the
encircling gloom”. It delights my heart to know that the Poet 1 is
himself teaching the boys. For me it is worth far more than his visit to
America and I equally enjoy the idea of your sharing that burden of
his. May God bless you both and keep you well.
Do please convey my respects to Baradada2 .
With love,
Yours,
MOHAN
155. LETTER TO O. S. GHATE

August 6, 1918
DEAR MR. GHATE 3 ,
Please assure Mataji4 as also our friends that I am leaving no

stone unturned to secure a quick but perfectly honourable release.
Iknow everything about Mr. Mahomed Ali’s 5 illness. And I wish I
could hasten the discharge even on that ground. But I hate making
appeals ad misericordiam. I take it that in due course they will get
copies of my correspondence with Sir Wm. Vincent6 through Mr.
1
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941); awarded Nobel Prize for Literature in
1913; founder of Shantiniketan, now a University
2
Dwijendranath Tagore; eldest brother of Rabindranath Tagore; he was affect-
ionately called “Borodada”.
3
Counsel for the Ali Brothers
4
Mother of Mahomed Ali and Shaukat Ali
5
Younger brother of Shaukat Ali and editor of the weekly, The Comrade. Both
the brothers were interned by the Government soon after the outbreak of the First
World War.
6
Home Member, Government of India
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 177

Shuaib1 . Sir Wm. talks of a tribunal of inquiry. I do not want to
boycott it. Before throwing the country in a very big agitation I want
to give the Government every opportunity of a proper and decent
retreat. I hope the Brothers will, if called upon, appear before the
committee. Should, however, an agitation become necessary I shall
certainly interview the Mataji before embarking upon it. I suppose
that is what she desires....2
156. LETTER TO DEV

August 6, 1918
DEAR MR. DEV 3 ,
I have your resolution4 about the threatened split. I do think we

are overvaluing a mechanical and unnatural unity. If there are two
definite parties representing definitely different policies why should
they not have their separate and distinct platforms? Each may press its
own policy for the country’s acceptance. The people can only gain
thereby. If one party goes stronger than another, the advent of swaraj
will not be retarded. If either is feeble or half-hearted we should suffer
and we shall deserve to. The remedy lies in both becoming strong and
firm. At the present moment there is too much hypocrisy among us.
This corrupts the people. No one will be deceived by a patched-up
peace between the different sections.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
1
Shuaib Qureshi, editor of New Era
2
Words omitted in the source
3
Brother of Dr. H. S. Dev, secretary, Servants of India Society
4
Passed at a Dhulia meeting deploring the rift in the Congress

157. LETTER TO SANTOK GANDHI
[SURAT,]
August 6, 1918
CHI. SANTOK 1 ,
Why should Rukhi2 fall ill so frequently? I know she is weak

from her birth but that only means that we should take all the greater
care of her. To bring up children is a great art. It calls for much self-
discipline on the part of parents. I should like you to submit yourself
to it all if only you can thereby help the children to grow well. I have
already told you that you may use turmeric if you think its absence is
to blame; you may use it to prepare things specially for Rukhi. If, this
way, you succeed in improving her health, we may allow the use of
turmeric for others as well. If you can but improve the children’s
physique, even by introducing anything else besides turmeric, I
should like you to do so. My own impression is that Rukhi keeps
eating what she cannot digest or more than she can digest. This
overloads her stomach and brings on illness. When she has recovered,
put her on milk, rice and vegetables and very likely she will be all
right. For some time yet she will not be able to digest roti3 . This is my
belief; I don’t know what your experience has been. Do anything you
like. All that I want is that you make her as strong as steel.
Blessings from
BAPU
[From Gujarati]
1
Wife of Maganlal Gandhi
2
Addressee’s daughter
3
Indian bread
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 179

August 6, 1918
BHAISHRI PRANJIVAN 1 ,
Today I started reading your article on smallpox. I have still to

read some of it. It is quite a long one. You repeat things over and over
again. In fact, the article may even be considered beyond the terms of
reference. However, you have taken great pains over it, and the article
is a valuable document. You have given a very good idea, but could
have given a far better one, of the number of children sacrificed
through the superstitious insistence on smallpox vaccin-ation. While
the Goddess of smallpox has been laid to rest, another, equally
terrible, has taken her place. Your article should be published in the
form of a book and distributed to municipalities. If you would
shorten it for popular consumption or write another in the form of a
price of it and permit me to print that, I should like to circulate it. If
you write another independent article in Gujarati, a short one, we may
print and distribute that one too. I shall finish reading this today or
tomorrow but I am putting down this suggestion because I thought it
necessary to send it at once.
Send me a few copies right now. I want to give them to some
doctors and obtain their opinion on it.
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
[From Gujarati]
1
M.D., Bar-at-Law, and jeweller; his association with Gandhiji began when he
received Gandhiji on his arrival in England for the first time as a student. He rendered
financial help to Gandhiji in his activities from the days of the Phoenix Settlement
till his death in 1933,

159. LETTER TO RAMNANDAN
August 6, 1918 1
CHI. RAMNANDAN2 ,
I have your letter. I can give you money for your journey and
debit it to your account. When you join up, I shall send you the
money for your journey here if I am able to get it from the
authorities. I shall not be able to call you back until the time of your
joining up. You heard about what happened in the case of Shyamji. It
is improper to impose on the Ashram the burden of your travel
expenses. I can understand your aspirations. I feel that those who
would keep up family bonds ought not to be admitted to the Ashram.
It does not look nice to refuse you, nor does it seem proper to pay
you the expenses. That is my dilemma. You alone can help me out of
it. If you are agreeable to going on the terms indicated above, please
show this letter to Fulchand 3 . He will give you the money for the
journey.
[From Hindi]
Mahadevbhai ki Diary, Part I
160. LETTER TO HANMANTRAO

August 7, 1918
MY DEAR MR. HANMANTRAO 4 ,
I am sorry about your health. I know that the greatest
desideratum is exercise. And when there is little exercise, the food
ought to be low, free from much nitrogen and fat. Wheat, fruit, rice
and vegetables—these ensure good health. They may fail to give
vigour. The latter when wanted can be acquired by adding pulses
including groundnuts. Can you not go to Bangalore or the Nilgiris? If
you can but get invigorating climate, you will soon pick up. Baths and
mental rest will do something for you but will not give you the
1
From the entry in the Diary
2
An inmate of Sabarmati Ashram
3
Fulchand Kasturchand Shah; an inmate of the Ashram in its early days;
political ant constructive worker of Saurashtra
4
Member, Servants of India Society
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 181

original frame. You ought yet to grow. Devdas 1 tells me you have
been very good to him. I know he will miss you when you go away.
Take a Hindi book with you, in preference to any other literature. Do
write to me after you get the change, wherever it is.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
161. LETTER TO SHANKARLAL BANKER2

August 7, 1918
I have read your telegram to the revered sister . I should not like
3
you to be so concerned about me. It is your love which prompts your

words. Whether or not I join will be determined solely by the interests
of the country. I am certainly not likely to keep away out of
resentment. Will you maintain that I must join even if it is clear to me
that I would serve better by not doing so?
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
[From Gujarati]

August 9, 1918
4
DEAR MR. NATESAN ,
May I thank you for looking after Devdas during his illness and
will you please convey my thanks to Dr. Krishnasamy for his great
attention to Devdas.
You will not hesitate to criticize my writings and doing[s] when
you feel the necessity.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
From a photostat: G. N. 2231
1
Devdas Gandhi (1900-56); youngest son of Gandhiji
2
Came in close contact with Gandhiji during the Ahmedabad textile mill
workers’ strike; publisher of Young India; secretary, All-India Spinners’
Association; was convicted with Gandhiji in 1922
3
Anasuyabehn Sarabhai
4
Editor, The Indian Review, Madras

163. LETTER TO G.K DEVADHAR1
August 9, 1918
Miss Winterbottom is an old lady of high culture. She takes a
2
prominent part in many ethical movements. But of course Polak3 will

be your guide, friend and philosopher. He will take you to all
Englishmen I know politically. Lest he forget, remind him to take you
to the polytechnic, Barnardo’s Home4 and allied institutions. Some of
these at close quarters, you may not quite like. You will, of course,
approach them all with a critical eye. All is not gold that glitters. A
safe voyage, pleasant sojourn, and safe return.
I hope Mrs. Devadhar is better.
Yours sincerely,
M.K.G ANDHI
164. LETTER TO FULCHAND SHAH

[NADIAD,]
August 9, 1918
I wanted your criticism. And you need not have taken so
long [to offer it]. Your comments are on the whole just. If I had not
started the Ashram such as it is, I would have been able to achieve
nothing at all. My hope has been that good men will join it. The
lapses in the Ashram prove that even such men are not without their
faults and are evidence of its imperfect state. Without Maganlal5 , the
Ashram would never have come to be founded. His shortcomings
bespeak mine. When I said that I, too, was a novice, I meant it. The
1
Member of the Servants of India Society, Poona; succeeded V. S. Srinivasa
Sastri as its president
2
Secretary of the Union of Ethical Societies, London; vide “Letter to Miss F.
Winterbottom”, 13-11-1908.
3
H.S.L. Polak; friend and co-worker of Gandhiji; editor of Indian Opinion;
vide “Interview to Reuter”, 31-1-1908.
4
Institution for destitute children founded by Thomas John Barnardo (1845-
1905) with headquarters in London
5
Maganlal Gandhi; second son of Khushalchand Gandhi, Gandhiji’s cousin;
sometime manager of the Phoenix Settlement and later of the Satyagraha Ashram at
Sabarmati
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 183

activities of the Ashram are a recreation for me and my experiments.
There is bound to be some breaking of things in the course of an
experiment. Out of all this the real thing will emerge. But only he who
goes searching for it will secure it. If persons like you continually
function as oxygen, the carbonic acid gas 1 can be eliminated. Such
gas will always appear and oxygen will always purify it. What is true
of the body is true of the universe. Tell Maganlal and the teachers
what you have told me and the thing will be on the rails. I should not
like you to give way to despair. Your criticism will be fruitful if it
results in your taking a determined stand and urges you on to fight
for purification. You ought not to allow it to lead you to frustration.
We are not now going to build the library. The school building
will take time yet. My intention is to stop after building the hostels.
We shall make additions to the loom-house sufficient to accomm-
odate us. It seems to me that we cannot escape having to spend on the
teachers. We shall, of course, not invite any more, though I think one
or two may be needed. Weaving and agriculture were introduced
because we wanted to do constructive work. I am not sorry that we
bought all this land. I am worried about the weaving programme. Its
accounts must be as clear as light. There should be proper super-
vision over the work and that is why Maganlal has been asked to go
round.
We shall certainly have to start weaving dhotis and saris as well.
They are needed. Those who wear them include the poor too. We shall
not succeed in making others forget beauty altogether. Not that we are
to forget khadi. Our desire, rather, is to seek out every weaver of
khadi. The effort may indeed cost us some money.
I have written to you a rambling letter. You stated one side. I
have given the other, the ideal. Both are true. One man of character
can tilt the balance on the side of virtue. I should like you to acquire
that strength of character and use it.
We must, to be sure, correct mistakes where we find them, and
wind up what we cannot manage. I did this in South Africa and
Charnparan, and will do so here if necessary. Though I have written
all this, there is still need for a personal discussion.
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
[From Gujarati]
1
Gandhiji uses the English expression.

165. LETTER TO A FRIEND1
August 9, 1918 2
If you read my book 3 again you will find the answers to many
of your questions,—what fruits to take, for instance.
The question of the use of oils, etc., is a difficult one. My
experience is that not more than half an ounce [of these] should he
taken. We do not have olive oil in this country. Sesame oil is good as a
substitute but it is not quite as harmless. Dates and peanuts are no
doubt hard, but if they are made part of one’s diet they can be
tolerated. Of almonds very few should be taken. It is not good to eat
too many milk products. One can subsist quite well on peanuts taken
with guavas, etc. Peanuts are no substitute for almonds. Wheat is fruit
in a way. But the word”fruit” is used in a technical sense in my book
and is precisely defined. More will be found about vegetables than
about fruits in my book. But I see that vegetables are necessary in
India. Pulses are difficult to digest. On further experience I have come
to the conclusion that the best diet for India is wheat and vegetables.
Those who have to do much physical labour may well use pulses too.
From a religious point of view what I said about milk still stands. But,
from the point of view of health and under Indian conditions, giving
up of milk seems an impossibility. It is many years since I gave up
milk and I am under a vow never to take it in this life. But I cannot
advise others to give up milk so long as I have not a substitute having
the qualities of milk. I had hoped that it would be possible to manage
on sesame and peanuts, and it is in a way possible, but as compared
with milk these are somewhat deficient.
My advice to you is that, if you are in good health, you may
take in the normal way wheat, milk, rice, etc., and on ekadashi4 days
take such fruits as may be easily available. You should fast when you
feel indisposed and have a ten-mile constitutional early in the
morning every day. One question is left unanswered. It is quite the
right thing to chew sesame seeds, etc., instead of taking the oil. Eating
more than two or three tolas of anything containing fat can be
harmful. It seems better to eschew salt for two or three months in the
1
This letter was written in reply to an enquiry about diet.
2
From the entry in the Diary
3
“General Knowledge about Health”, a series of articles which appeared in the
Gujarati section of Indian Opinion and were later published in the form of a book.
4
The eleventh day of each. dark and bright fortnight observed with a fast
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 185

year than to give it up altogether. I have been watching for the last
three days what effects the eating of salt has on my body. If you write
after a month or two I shall give you my experience.
Yours sincerely,
MOHANDAS
[From Hindi]
Mahadevbhai ki Diary Part I
166. LETTER TO”THE TIMES OF INDIA”

NADIAD,
August 10, 1918
TO
THE EDITOR
THE TIMES OF INDIA
SIR,
Your report of my recruiting address to a Surat meeting shows
how dangerous it is for a public man to deliver anything but a written
speech. My experiences of the reporting of my own speeches make
my sympathy go out to Mr. Tilak and I certainly think that so long as
reporting remains what it is in India, the safest thing is to challenge
against them, and to accept their repudiation if they repudiate what is
imputed to them. And it is quite likely that Mr. Tilak has been
unjustly gagged. I hardly think that his gagging will improve
recruiting in Maharashtra. But I know that here in Gujarat my own
position becomes difficult. Many people will keep aloof simply as a
protest against Mr. Tilak’s gag. I hold no brief for him and I differ
from his views and have told him that the conditions he requires are
assured in the act of recruiting by men like him, and it hastens the
grant of responsible government because it inspires confidence in us
and gives us a power and strength which we do not possess today. I
can only hope that Government will reconsider their decision and
remove the gag and thus also remove a serious obstacle in the path of
recruiters.
I have, however, digressed from my main theme. I wish to point
out that I never said that those who ask for conditions should
be”cast out from their party” nor did I lay stress on the help to the
Empire. On the contrary, after showing the differences between Mr.
Tilak’s views and mine on the question of recruiting, I sympathized

with the audience in their dilemma in having to choose between the
advice of a great distinguished and self-sacrificing patriot like Mr.
Tilak and mine. I told them, however, that in their march towards
responsible government, they could no longer be satisfied with the
ipse dixit of leaders, no matter how great they might be, but that they
would continuously have to weigh conflicting opinions and make
their choice without in any way diminishing their regard for those
leaders whose opinion they felt constrained to reject. And I then told
them how it was to their whole interest that they should join the army.
Then finally I put my facorite idea before the audience that if they
wanted partnership with the British, the most becoming manner of
effecting their purpose was to help them during the war. Your
correspondent, however, makes the helping of the Empire the central
point of my speech. I do not mind it. But I do wish to emphasize the
fact that if public men were to be judged in accordance with the
newspaper reports of their speeches, in the majority of cases they
would make a poor show. Could you, a great journal, not insure the
appearance of only accurate reports of public speeches in your
columns?
M. K. GANDHI
The Times of India, 13-8-1918
167. LETTER TO SIR SURENDRANATH BANERJEA

August 10, 1918
DEAR MR. BANERJEA1 ,
I have your telegram redirected from Ahmedabad where I am at

present engaged in recruiting. A visit to Calcutta means at least a week
simply in going and coming back. If I am to do my work at all
satisfactorily, it is impossible for me to absent myself for such a long
time, and at the present moment I dare not do so, for I have just heard
from the government that they have acceded to my proposal to open a
training depot in Gujarat and to form a Gujarat Company. You will
agree that I cannot leave this work.
But even if I could have come, I do not know that I could have
rendered much assistance. I hold strong, and probably peculiar, views
1
1848-1925; one of the founders of the Indian National Congress and
president of its Poona session of 1895; member of the Central Legislature
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 187

not shared by many of the leaders. I implicitly believed that if we were
to devote our attention exclusively to recruiting, we should gain full
responsible government in a year’s time, if not sooner. And instead of
allowing our utterly ignorant countrymen to enlist nolens volens, we
should get an army of Home Rulers who could be willing soldiers with
the knowledge that they will be soldiering for the sake of the country.
I do, at the same time, believe that we should declare our opinion
about the Montagu Chelmsford Scheme in unequivocal terms, we
should fix the minimum of our demands and seek to en-force them at
all costs. I consider the scheme to be good in its con-ception. It
requires much modification. We should have no difficulty in arriving
at a unanimous conclusion. I should like a party in the country that
would be simply pledged to these two propositions, helping the
Government on the one hand in the prosecution of the war, and
enforcing the national demands on the other.
I do not believe that at a critical moment like this we should be
satisfied with a patched-up truce between the so-called extremists and
the so-called moderates, each giving up a little in favour of the other. I
should like a clear enunciation of the policy of each group or party
and naturally those who, by the intrinsic merit of their case and
ceaseless agitation, make themselves a power in the land will carry the
day before the House of Commons.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. G ANDHI
168. LETTER TO PROF. JEVONS1

August 11, 1918
2
DEAR PROF. JEVONS ,
I have gone through your note. I like it in the main. We should
supply as many men as may be needed and this not through the
official agency, but by Home Rule organizations. If we do this, we
have Home Rule. I do not agree with your financial side. The
comparison between England and India is hopelessly misleading.
1
This is in reply to Prof. Jevons’ note on “India’s Share in the War”, in which
he had suggested enhancement of taxes.
2
Herbert Stanley Jevons (1875-1955); Professor of Political Economy,
Allahabad University; founder of The Indian Journal of Economics

England can afford. India is poverty-stricken. A few have enriched
themselves during the war. But the masses? I have come in the clo-sest
touch with them in Kaira and Champaran. They have nothing. In
Kaira, the exorbitant demands of the Government have impoverished
a people who were once rich and powerful. In Champaran, the
Planters have sucked the life-blood out of the people. You talk of a
rise in the salt tax and send a shudder through my body. If you knew
what is happening to the people owing to the tax, you would
say,”Whatever else is done, the tax must go today”. It is not the
heaviness of it which oppresses, but the monopoly has artificially
raised the price of salt and today the poor find it most difflcult to
procure salt at a reasonable price. To them salt is as necessary as water
and air.
As for the publication of the note, I think it need not be. The
Reformers have no faith in the Government and they feel that even
now there is no honesty in their dealings with the people. It is a
curious phenomenon. We do not trust you and yet we want you. It
shows a consciousness of the wrongs done to the people but their utter
incapacity to remedy them. Enslavement of the nation is thorough.
The Englishmen have not deliberately meant it but they could not
have done more if they had. I only cling to England because I belive
her to be sound at heart and because I believe that India can deliver
her mission to the world better through England. If I had not this
faith, I so thoroughly detest her act of disarming India, her haughty
and exclusive military policy and her sacrifice of India’s riches and
art on the altar of commercial greed, that I should declare myself a
rebel.
I did not want to give you a long letter but my pen would not be
checked.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 189

169. LETTER TO B. G. HORNIMAN 1
[NADIAD,]
August 12, 1918
I have your peremptory letter. Though it was written on the 8th,
it was received yesterday. I suppose we have to put up with these
vagaries of the Postal Department during this time of stress. Really I
am recruiting mad. I do nothing else, think of nothing else, talk of
nothing else and therefore feel ill-fitted to discharge any presidential
function, save one on recruiting. Will you not therefore excuse me?
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
170. LETTER TO RASIKMANI2

[NADIAD,]
August 12, 1918
I could read your letter to my wife only yesterday and hence the
delay in replying. Kindly forgive me. Though we two are independent
and have equal rights, we have dicided our spheres of work for the
sake of convenience. Moreover, at the time of our marriage, my wife
was altogether illiterate. I gave her some education with great effort,
but, for several reasons, I have not been able to do so to my
satisfaction. It is not possible, therefore, for her to accept your
proposal. I don’t think my wife can read out her speech from the
chair. She will certainly not be able to prepare her own speech. She is
not at all conversant with your activities and hence cannot say
anything extempore either. Very regretfully, therefore, we have both
to request you all to excuse us.
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
[From Gujarati]
Mahadevbhaini Diary, VoL IV
1
This was in reply to Horniman’s invitation to Gandhiji to become the presi-
dent of the Humanitarian Conference. Horniman was editor of The Bombay Chronicle.
2
Secretary, Hindu Stri Mandal. The letter was in reply to her invitation to
Kasturba Gandhi to preside over the annual function of the Mandal and the Dadabhai
Naoroji birthday celebrations.

171. LETTER TO FULCHAND SHAH
August 12, 1918
BHAISHRI PULCHAND,
We had a very important discussion yesterday. If even one
person works patiently to see that my suggestions are acted upon, we
should soon have the Ashram in the condition in which you desire to
see it, and rightly. At present you are that person. Please hold
meetings at once and settle the matter.
I kept my sense up to a quarter to six yesterday and added to
my store of health. Then, all a-tremble, I broke the fast and brought
great trouble on myself. Nor did I exercise self-restraint in deciding
what to eat; I ate ghens1 . If I had taken vegetable soup only, the
painful result would certainly not have followed. Today I am too weak
to get up or walk. I have almost to crawl to reach the lavatory and I
have such griping pain there that I feel like screaming. Though in
such pain, I am very happy indeed. I am getting a vivid idea of what
well-deserved, immediate punishment can be. I am sure my pain will
subside at a quarter to six. If I committed an error in eating, it is no
excessive punishment to suffer for 24 hours. And the punishment will
be so short because I have fasted today. Don’t worry on my account.
I believe by tomorrow I shall be completely free from the pain at any
rate. If I am not careless in diet, I shall be my normal self in three or
four days.
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
[From Gujarati]
Mahadevbhaini Diary, VoL IV
1
A semi-liquid preparation of rice
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 191

[NADIAD,
On or about August 14, 1918] 1
CHI. MAGANLAL,
I am realizing in my own experience the principle that satya-

graha has a universal application. Ba’s2 letter gives the news about my
health. Devdas has made a mistake and that must have set all of you
worrying. I have been taking stringent measures and, with God’s
grace, will get over the thing. Today is the third day of a near-fast and
because of that the pain is getting less severe.
I know you are not likely to have a moment free. Mind your
health in all you do. Have no scruples about taking milk or ghee. Ask
anyone to write and describe things to me, and give other news as well.
If all the others keep busy in manual work, ask Santok. Even Radha,
Keshu or Krishna may write. Or Giridhari, if he gets any time.
Blessings from
BAPU
From the Gujarati original: C.W. 5767. Courtesy: Radhabehn Choudhri
1
The letter was written on the third day of the “near-fast” which, in all
probability, began when he was taken ill with dysentery on August 12, 1918.
2
Kasturba Gandhi (1869-1942); Gandhiji’s wife

173. IMPERIAL CONFERENCE RESOLUTIONS
August 15, 1918
The following contribution of Mahatma Gandhi sent to Mr. G. A. Natesan for
the current issue of The Indian Review has been sent to us for publication in advance:
The Imperial Conference Resolution1 on the status of our
countrymen emigrating to the Colonies reads well on the surface but
it is highly deceptive. We need not consider it a great achievement that
we can pass the same laws against the colonials that they may pass
against us. It is like a giant telling a dwarf that the latter is free to give
blow for blow. Who is to refuse permission and passports to the
colonials desiring to enter India? But Indians, no matter what their
attainments are, are constantly being refused permission to enter the
Colonies even for temporary periods. South Africa legislation of
emigration was purged of the racial taint by the passive resistance
1
The following is a summary of the proceedings of the Conference cabled by
the Secretary of State to the Viceroy “The fifteenth meeting of the Conference was
held on July 25th. The first subject discussed was reciprocity of treatment between
India and the Dominions. This discussion followed on the resolution passed by the
Conference last year, accepting the principle of reciprocity and a further resolution
passed to that effect . . . in pursuance of which the Conference agreed as follows: (I) It
is the inherent function of the Governments of several communities of the British
Commonwealth including India that each should enjoy complete control in the
composition of its own population by means of restriction on immigration from any
other communitics. (2) British citizens domiciled in any British country including
India should be admitted into any other British country for visits for the purposes of
pleasure or commerce including temporary residence for the purpose of education. The
conditions of such visits should be regulated on the principle of reciprocity as
follows: (a) The right of the Government of India is recognized to enact laws which
shall have the effect of subjecting British citizens domiciled in any other British
country to the same conditions in visiting India as those imposed on Indians desiring
to visit such country. (b) Such right of visit or temporary residence shall, in each
individual case, be embodied in the passport or written permit issued by the country
of domicile and subject to vise there by an officer appointed by and acting on behalf
of the country to be visited. If such a country so desires, such right shall not extend to
the visit or temporary residence for labour purpose or to permanent settlement. (3)
Indians already permanently domiciled in other British countries should be allowed to
bring in their wives and minor children on condition (a) that no more than one wife
and her children shall be admitted for each such Indian, and (b) that each individual so
admitted shall be certified by the Government of India as being the lawful wife or
child of such Indian. The Conference recommends other questions covered by the
Memoranda presented to the Conference by the representatives of India.”
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 193

movement. But the administrative principles still continue and will do
so, so long as India remains both in name and substance a
dependency.
The agreement arrived at regarding those who are already
domiciled practically restates the terms of the Settlement of 1914. If it
extends to Canada and Australia, it is a decided gain, for in Canada till
recently there was a big agitation owing to the refusal of its
Government to admit the wives and children of its Sikh settlers. I may
perhaps add that the South African Settlement provides for the
protection of those who had plural wives before the Settlement,
especially if the latter had at any time entered South Africa. It may be
the proper thing in a predominantly Christian country to confine the
legality to only one wife. But it is necessary even for that country, in
the interest of humanity and for the sake of friendship for members
of the same Imperial Federation to which they belong adminis-
tratively, to allow the admission of plural wives and their progeny.
The above agreement still evades the qutstion of inequality of
status in other matters. Thus, the difficulty of obtaining licences
throughout South Africa, the prohibition to hold landed property in
the Transvaal and the Free State, and virtual prohibition within the
Union itself of the entry of Indians into the Free State, the prohi-
bition of Indian children to enter the ordinary Government schools,
deprivation of municipal franchise in the Transvaal and the Free State,
and practical deprivation of the Union franchise throughout South
Africa, barring perhaps the Cape. The resolutions of the Imperial
Conference therefore are decidedly an eyewash. There is no change
of heart in the Colonies and decidedly no recognition of Imperial
obligations regarding India. The Fijian atrocities, to which Mr.
Andrews has drawn pointed attention, show what is possible even in
the Crown Colonies which are under direct Imperial control.
New India, 15-8-1918

174. LETTER TO ROBERT HENDERSON1
[NADIAD,]
August 17, 1918
DEAR MR. HENDERSON,
I am on my back. I am passing through the severest illness of
my life and I was incapable of sending you a letter earlier. I was char-
med with your simple, frank, straightforward letter. I thank you for it.
I rarely take notice of incorrections [sic] in my reported speeches. I
have so little opportunity even of reading them, but as this one in the
Times was, I knew, calculated to do so much mischief, I felt I must
correct the inaccuracies. I am glad I did so2 for it has silenced the evil
tongue and provided [me] an opportunity of becoming acquainted
with you.

[NADIAD,]
August 17, 1918
CHI. DEVDAS,
My health today is as good as it can be Still, I shall have to stay

in bed. I suffered very much. It was all my fault. It is no exaggeration
to say this. The punishment has been commensurate with the fault.
Please don’t worry about me at all. The nursing leaves nothing to be
desired. For every service required, there are ten persons waiting to
offer it and everyone showers the utmost love. This naturally puts me
in mind of you. However, I have not felt your absence. You serve me
best by going on with your work there3 ; and, besides, that is our strict
1
Regarding this letter Mahadev Desai writes in his Diary:” [Gandhiji] delieed a
speech on recruiting at Surat in the begining od th month. Some one sent a report of
it to the Times. In it there were sentences that gave an impression of being critial of
Talik Maharaj. The report was very defective. [Gandhiji] wrote a stiff letter to the
Times about this. Reading that letter. Mr. Henderson, a civilian from Surat, wrote a
letter to Gandhiji Expressing his regret fpr cpmmitting ‘a serious mistake’”.
2
Vide “Letter to The Times of India”, 10-8-1918.
3
In Madras
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 195

rule. We must conscientiously observe the rigid rule that no one can
forsake his post even on account of illness. I don’t feel that I had lost
my peace of mind even for a moment during all this terrible pain. Ba
has come down here. Let us hope that in a few days I shall be
enjoying better health than I used to and observing the rule of
tasteless food more scrupulously.
Blessings from
BAPU
[From Gujarati]
176. LETTER TO JAMNADAS DWARKADAS

August 17, 1918
1
BHAISHRI JAMNADAS ,
Though very anxious to write to you, being in severe pain I
could not do so earlier and even today I can only dictate. I am still
confined to bed but am sufficiently restored to be able to dictate
letters. I am well on the way to recovery and so there is no cause for
anxiety.
I was very much distressed to hear of your affair. Untruth does
not become truth because of purity of motive. Just as a moneyed man
is said to have but one eye for watching things, there is only one path
of truth. Likewise, there are many paths of untruth, in the same way
that a thief has as many as four eyes, as the saying goes. A person lost
in this mazy network of paths is ruined and, if he happens to be a
guardian or trustee, he also ruins the person whose interests he is
appointed to protect. You will see this borne out by your experience,
and that of others, on hundreds of occasions. No one has ever come,
or will come, to harm through truth. How can you give up this
highway? Why did you?
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
[From Gujarati]
1
A leading member of the Home Rule League

177. LETTER TO ANANDSHANKAR DHRUVA
August 17, 1918
BHAISHRI ANANDSHANKARBHAI1 ,
Your worrying on my account bespeaks your love for me. Here

is an exact description of what I have been through: On Monday and
Tuesday, I suffered unbearable pain, even worse, if I could apply a
stronger adjective still. I remained almost unconscious on those two
days. I wanted to scream all the time, but controlled the urge with
great effort. On Wednesday I felt better comparatively, and since then
I have been improving day by day. Movement is still out of the
question, thanks to extreme weakness. I shall have to be in bed for
some days, but I am hopeful that everything will be all right in the
end. The position being this, the question of taking medicine, as
suggested by you, does not arise. If you indeed want to know my
views on medicine, I shall certainly let you have them some day. Any
doctor will admit that it would have been almost impossible to
overcome an ailment such as mine in so short a time. What I have said
should suffice to reassure you.
I have read your award. The workers were waiting for it as
people do for the rains and now they will have peace. I, too, was
awaiting it. Although they have been getting 35 per cent, I believed
your award would greatly strengthen their position.
I must tell you the cause of my ailment. I have often revolved in
my mind, while lying in bed, a line from a bhajan 2 we often sing in
the Ashram. Shri Krishna says to Uddhav:
Mysterious is the way karma works itself out.
To be sure, we cannot do otherwise than sing to this effect, for
our ignorance of many things is boundless, but, in fact, the working of
karma is not so mysterious as all that. It is quite straight and simple.
We reap as we sow. We get what we deserve. In this illness, I can see
my own fault at every step. I must admit that nature had given me
many warnings. I paid no heed to them and persisted in my ways,
committing one mistake after another. I got punished for the first
1
1869-1942; Sanskrit scholar and Gujarati writer; Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the
Benares Hindu University
2
Devotional song
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 197

mistake; the punishment for the second was severer still. This went on,
the severity of the punishment increasing with every lapse, as was but
just. I see most clearly that there is no kindness like nature’s. Nature is
God and God is love; and every mistake is punished in love. I am
learning much through this illness.
Yours,
MOHANDAS
[From Gujarati]
Mahavevbhaini Diary, Vol. IV
178. LETTER TO GOKULDAS PAREKH 1

August 17, 1918
DEAR FRIEND,
As your letter written in the month of June was addressed to me
c/o the War Conference2 , I got it only two days ago. You will therefore
understand why you did not receive even so much as an
acknowledgement from me. Though I got the letter so late, its value is
no less to me on that account. I am, naturally, always eager to see you
pleased. I see that you are, and think myself fortunate. I have realized
from experience that the people of Kheda are strong enough for a
good many tasks. I have learnt, and have been learning, much by my
public contacts with these men and women. I trust you are well.
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
[From Gujarati]
1
Member of the Bombay Legislative Council from the Kaira District
2
The War Conference held at Bombay on June 10, 1918, under the chairman-
ship of the Governor, Lord Willingdon

179. LETTER TO MANASUKHLAL RAOJIBHAI MEHTA
August 17, 1918
BHAISHRI MANASUKHLAL,
I got your letter today. I am down with serious illness these

days. I am confined to bed. Perhaps this will be my deliverance.
Treatments continue, my own. The mind is perfectly at peace. The
knowledge that I have invited this illness by my own stupidity makes
the pain I am going through seem less severe than it is.
I think the present condition of the educated young men is
pitiable. If there is anything by which I can rouse this class of people
to useful work, I can now do it, but it seems to me that the time is not
ripe. That class is now lost in a delusion of its own creation. I am
convinced that this delusion1 would never have come to possess them
simply through the policies of Tilak and Besant2 . Both these not only
keep aside moral principles in politics but believe that sometimes that
is the right thing to do.”Tit for tat” is a principle which they have
deliberately and openly accepted. I don’t think I can at present
persuade this class which has embraced their policy to accept anything
from me, do what I will. Let them adopt—and they will—whatever
they can indirectly from my work, my writings and my speeches. If I
come forward to give anything, they will reject it, as they well might.
The policy of Mrs. Besant and Tilak Maharaj is mistaken, very much
so indeed, but their achievement has been simply heroic. Their
services it is impossible to measure. It is from them that the young got
the message of patriotism. How can they, all so suddenly, disown these
gurus? I would never ask them to do so, either. All the same, a time
will surely come when the educated will turn away from the policy I
have mentioned, though not ceasing to regard the two with reverence,
such is my faith in the ancient greatness of India. It is not the
Kauravas 3 , but the Pandavas who triumphed in those times and the five
1
The original is not clear at this point, as indicated by a mark of interrogation
in the source.
2
Annie Besant (1847-1933); president of the Theosophical Society; founder
of the Central Hindu College at Benares; president Indian National Congress, 1917
3
Cousins of the Pandavas—the five sons of Pandu and heroes of the Maha-
bharata. The great war between the Kauravas and the Pandavas forms the central
theme of the epic.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 199

men were imagined to be capable of holding their own against those
hundreds of thousands. It is inconceivable to me that the youth of
such a country will accept the perverted rule of”tit for tat”. I shall be
patient. For my part, I have been pleading with these two persons, too,
but in doing all this I can only follow my own way. Sometimes this
seems to bring about great delay but that is inevitable. There are
things which are done, ought to be done, only behind the scene. I
have decided, this time, not to attend the Congress, and for the reasons
shown above. Nor do I intend to attend the Conference of the
Moderate party. My absence itself will strike the people. Everyone will
begin to ask questions; if necessary, I will state my views then.
I have written a long enough letter. It is not to be published. It is
only for you to ponder over.
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
[From Gujarati]

August 17, 1918
BHAISHRI SHANKARLAL,
I have your letter. My health is not yet restored completely. I
am afraid it will take time. The thing has gone deeper than I had
thought. You need not worry. I do not have to think about Jamnadas
any more. Vithalbhai,1 according to his lights, thought it good and
advised withdrawal of resignation. I suggest that he should keep to the
decision to resign, facing the storm that may follow. You will
remember what I told you, that I had not advised Jamnadas to stop
working altogether, but that he must certainly give up a post of big
responsibility. That would be in his own interest and in public interest
as well. The Congress will! suffer in no way. Why should we consider
the harm we have repeatedly done it before now through our own
lapses? What further harm will it suffer now through a straightforward
action? If Jamnadas sticks to his decision, his capacity for service will
1
Vithalbhai J. Patel (1873-1933); elder brother of Vallabhbhai Patel; called to
the Bar in 1908; member of the Bombay Legislative Council and the Imperial Legis-
lative Council; the first elected president of Indian Legislative Assembly, 1925-30

increase immensely. Remain firm yourself, and keep him firm. My
respectful greetings to your mother.
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
[From Gujarati]

August 17, 1918
CHI. DEVDAS,
I read your two months’ report about the Hindi class and was
satisfied. You have come to like the work as if you were born for it
and proved yourself so fit for it that it has become difficult to replace
you. Besides, I cannot imagine that anyone else can do better. May
God keep you firm in your determination. Preserve your health, and
may you live long so that the Madras Presidency reverberates to the
unifying tunes of Hindi, the great gulf which exists at present between
the South and the North disappears and the people in the two parts
become one. Anyone who brings this about will, through that single
achievement, rise to be among the immortals. May you attain that
position. You have the capacity for this and should not give it up on
any account. Increase your knowledge of Hindi day by day and
strengthen your moral character. One who is truthful, chaste, who
observes the rule of nonhoarding and is full of compassion and valour
will make his power felt in the whole world. Through it, you will be
able to draw people towards you. You will then find it easy enough to
teach them Hindi. Holding these views, how can I think of sending
you to the war? you are as good as in the war, though working there.
Do not lose patience. It does not matter in the least that you cannot go
to the war. How can I ask the other brothers, either, to do so? Harilal1
is no more a brother and Manialal 2 cannot come; I have written to
Ramdas 3 to come, if he can. If you have not continued the morning
prayers and the sandhya 4 , start them at once. Be sure they will be a
great support to you. Any person or nation that discards without
1
Gandhiji’s eldest son, who had separated
2
Gandhiji’s second son, who was in South Africa
3
Gandhiji’s third son
4
Prayer with a set formula
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 201

sufficient reason a practice coming down from a distant past loses
something of great value. In this modern age, great oceanic waves are
rising above us all; morning and evening sandhya is the means
whereby we may save ourselves from being submerged by them, if,
that is, we understand their significance and follow the practice
intelligently.
Blessings from
BAPU
[From Gujarati]
Mahadevbhani Diary, Vol. IV
182. LETTER TO N. M. SAMARTH

August 20, 1918
1
DEAR MR. SAMARTH ,
Many many thanks for your letter. I do believe in the religious

treatment and that is what I have applied in the main, but I believe also
in nature cure and fasting. Nature cure is hydropathy and enema. The
only food I am taking is fruit juices, principally orange juice. I am
free to confess that nature cure means to that extent want of faith in
the purely religious cure. I have not the courage to keep myself
exclusively to the latter when I know that the disease is due to a breach
of nature’s laws.
I am sorry I cannot be with you tomorrow nor can I give my
name to the movement. I wish to hold myself aloof from both the
movements, for I hold views which are acceptable to neither party. I
feel that at the present moment all the leaders should concentrate their
efforts upon recruiting to the exclusion practically of every other
activity. I know that the Extremists do not agree with me and I hardly
think the Moderates go as far as I go. Whilst I accept the M. C.
Scheme2 in the main, to make it acceptable I should insist upon certain
modifications and my insistence would go the length of wrecking the
Scheme if the modifications were not accepted after exhausting every
means at my disposal. To get the modifications accepted, I should not
therefore hesitate to use what has been commonly called passive
resistance. The Moderates will not accept this condition. I must
1
A member of the 1914 Congress Deputation to England
2
The Montagu-Chelmsford Scheme of Reforms

therefore bide my time patiently and plough my own solitary furrow.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
183. LETTER TO B. CHAKRAVARTY1

August 25, 1918
2
DEAR MR. CHAKRAVARTY ,
I have your letter for which I thank you. I am abstaining from
the Congress because I know that I hold views which are not
acceptable to the principal leaders. Indeed when I discussed my
position with Mrs. Besant, she agreed with me that I should abstain.
Nor am I going to attend the Moderates’ Conference. I believe that we
should render the greatest service to the country by devoting ourselves
exclusively to recruiting work. Neither party would be prepared to go
the length that I go. Then I would accept principles of the M. C.
Scheme and definitely state the minimum of improvements I should
require and fight for their attainment unto death. For this, Moderates
are certainly not prepared and the Extremists, in so far as they may be
prepared, are not in the sense I mean. I therefore feel that I should do
nothing at the present moment. So far as the bringing together of the
two parties is concerned, I should do nothing by violence and
therefore I do not approve of any give and take. These are two
definite parties in the country. They should put their programme
boldly before the Government and the country and agitate for its
acceptance. Then only in my opinion shall we make real headway.
Just now we seem to be moving in a vicious circle.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
1
In reply to Chakravarty’s letter in which he had said that Gandhiji’s letter to
Surendranath Banerjea was being misunderstood and that he should make a statement
to say that he was not against the Congress
2
A Congress leader; chairman of the Reception Committee for the special
session of the Congress in Calcutta in 1920
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 203

184. LETTER TO B. G. TILAK
[August 25, 1918] 1
I have your letter. I am grateful to you for your sympathy. How
can you not be concerned about my health? God be thanked I am
now well. Of course I shall not be able to leave my bed for a few days.
There was great pain. It has only now subsided.
I do not propose to attend the Congress or the Moderates’
Conference either. I see that my views are different from those of
either. I have already told you about them. My view is that if all of us
take up the work of recruitment for the war and enlist hundreds of
thousands of recruits we can render a very great service to India. I
know that Mrs. Besant and you do not share this view. The Moderates
also will not take up the work earnestly. This is one thing. My other
point is that we accept the substance of the Montagu-Chelmsford
Scheme, explain clearly the improvements that we wish to be made in
it and fight till death to have these improvements accepted. That the
Moderates will not accept this is clear enough. Even if Mrs. Besant
and you accept it, you will certainly not fight in the way I wish to
fight. Mrs. Besant has declared that she is not a satyagrahi. You
recognize satyagraha as [only] a weapon of the weak. I do not wish to
get caught in this false position. And I do not wish to carry on an
agitation in the Congress in opposition to you both. I have unshakable
faith in my own formula. And it is my conviction that if my tapasya2
is complete, both Mrs. Besant and you will accept my formula. I can
be patient.
That the Moderates and the Extremists should each abandon
some minor positions and come together is a thing repugnant to me.
There are two wings in the country. I do not believe that it will do any
harm to make the positions of both clear to the Government and the
people. I do not at all like the attempt to bring together the Extremists
and the Moderates. It will do much good if both the parties boldly
proclaim their respective positions before the Govern-ment and the
people. May God help you in your undertaking.
Yours,
MOHANDAS
[From Hindi]
Mahadevbhai ki Diary, Part I
1
The letter is given under this date in the Diary.
2
Spiritual discipline

185. LETTER TO P. C. RAY1
August 27, 1918
DEAR DR. RAY,
You may have heard of my illness. It was a very serious attack

of dysentery. Though I seem to be convalescent, I am utterly prostrate
with weakness. I can scarcely move out of my bed or even sit in it for
any length of time. The great question is how to build up this broken-
up body. I have abstained from milk and its products for a number of
years and vowed to do so for life. I therefore need a substitute for
milk and butter. Hitherto in my strength, I have found an excellent
substitute in groundnuts, walnuts and such other nuts, but fats
obtained from all these nuts are too strong for my delicate stomach. I
need an exact vegetable substitute for ghee and milk. I have tried
kopra milk and almond milk before now. The physiological action of
these milks is totally different from that of cow’s milk. Do you know
any vegetable substitutes for ghee or butter and for milk? If you do,
kindly name them, or better still, if you can procure them, send them.
I am told that up in the north they manufacture ghee out of delicate
mhoura seed which is not the same as the ordinary ghee but is the
same as olive oil. Please enlighten me if you can. It hurts me to think
that my only letter of a recent date addressed to you should be of so
utterly doleful and selfish character. Forgive me if you can.
Yours sincerely,
1
This letter is presumably addressed to Dr. P. C. Ray (1861-1944) the eminent
chemist.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 205

AHMEDABAD ,
Shravan Krishna 7 [August 28, 1918]
DEAR JAMNALALJI1 ,
I have your letter and draft for Rs. 5,000. No harm has been
caused by the delay. Have no anxiety about my health. It is improving
day by day. I shall have to be in bed a few days more. I have become
very weak.
Yours,
MOHANDAS GANDHI
[From Hindi]
Panchaven Putrako Bapuke Ashirvad
187. INDIANS AND THE TRANSVAAL

August 29, 1918
Mr. M. K. Gandhi writes to the Press under date 29th August:
Mr. Ahmed Mahomed Kachalia, President of the British Indian
Association, Transvaal, cables me to invite the attention of those
educated Indians who may desire go to the Transvaal, to the fact that
six such men can, for the needs of the local community in the
Transvaal, enter that Colony. If there be any such in the Presidency,
they should apply to the President, British Indian Association,
Transvaal, P.O. Box No. 6522, Johannesburg, stating their educa-
tional and other qualifications, age and place of residence, the appli-
cations to reach the President on or before the 30th October, 1918.
The Indian Review, September, 1918
1
1889-1942; whom Gandhiji regarded as his fifth son; Treasurer of the Indian
National Congress for a number of years

August 29, 1918
MY DEAR CHARLIE,
I have suffered indeed, but no more than I have deserved to. I

can trace definitely and directly the causes of this illness. They do me
no credit and show how weak I am in spite of all my attempts to
overcome those weaknesses. This illness shows me all the more clearly
how continuously we break the known laws of nature. There is no
temptation so difficult to overcome as that of the palate and it is
because it is so difficult that we think so little about it. In my opinion,
mastery of the palate means mastery of everything. But of this more
later. I am steadily progressing. My peace has never been disturbed.
Pray do not have any anxiety about me. I would not have you leave
Shantiniketan on any account whatsoever. I think that both you and
Gurudev are doing the finest work of your lives. You are now writing
real poems. They are living poems. I wish I was in Shantiniketan
sitting side by side with the privileged boys listening to Gurudev’s
discourses and also yours.
Yours,
MOHAN
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 207

189. FRAGMENT OF LETTER TO DR. PRANJIVAN MEHTA
[AHMEDABAD ,]
August 29, 1918
The news you give about Malaviyaji’s1 efforts for unity has also
appeared in the papers. That Panditji would make some such move
was expected. But I am afraid all the resolutions will now be half-
hearted. A little reflection should convince us that we may demand
less but must demand it firmly. The people will rise as, and in the
measure that, they are enabled to realize that they are strong enough
to secure what they demand. This is not asking for the moon but a
very practical proposition.
[From Gujarati]

August 29, 1918
CHI. DEVDAS,
After long waiting, I got your two letters simultaneously today.
My health is improving. There is no cause at all for anxiety. Today it
is very good indeed. Never, from first to last, did I lose control over it
and never did I worry about the end. While the illness lasted, I was
afraid of the pain but the fear of death did not touch me even in my
dreams. When, moreover, the pain was extreme, I longed to die and be
free from it all. My wanting to remain active while I live is one thing,
but I have no desire to live just that I may work. May be I desire
moksha2 , but it is not to be had by desiring it. One must be fit for it.
I consider your work so important that you should not leave it
even for coming over to see how I am. Rest assured that I am being
looked after quite well. I see no possibility now of my going to
France; it seems, rather, that I shall not have to go to the front at all.
We find the Allies winning every day in the battlefields of France. In
this situation, it does not seem likely that they will take us there. We
shall know in about a month. Even if I have to go, I cannot hope that
it will be to France. Possibly, I may have to go to Mesopotamia.
1
Madan Mohan Malaviya (1861 1946); founder of the Benares Hindu Univer-
sity; member, Imperial Legislative Council; twice president of the Indian National
Congress
2
Deliverance from phenomenal existence

Anandshankarbhai has written a primer1 of Hindu religion but it
is a book which even the old can read with interest and find
instructive. To me it appears to be a unique book. Mahadev 2 reads
from it to me every morning. I find it of absorbing interest. You will
hardly come across an elementary book like this in any other
language. It is the distilled essence of Anandshankarbhai’s wide
reading and thinking. You should read it over and over again. If you
cannot follow any of the episodes, ask [someone] and find out what
they mean. I am arranging to have the book sent to you. I see no
improvement in your handwriting.
Blessings from
BAPU
[From Gujarati]

August 29, 1918
CHI. HARILAL,
I have your letter. My health is improving. There is no cause for
anxiety. I shall have to be in bed for some days more. The nursing
leaves nothing to be desired. I cannot imagine even an emperor being
better looked after. I was very pleased to learn that you cook your
own food and that you enjoy doing so. Maybe you will find this an
instructive experience; understand through it the secret of life and,
repairing past mistakes, bring light into your life. I wish you do so. I
shall be happy if you keep writing regularly.
Blessings from
BAPU
[From Gujarati]
1
In Gujarati entitled Hindu Dharmani Balpothi
2
Mahadev Desai (1892-1942); Gandhiji’s secretary for 25 years
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 209

192. LETTER TO PUNDALIK
AHMEDABAD ,
Shravan, Janmashtami [August 29, 1918]
MY DEAR PUNDALIK1 ,
Your letters to Kakaji and to me have given me much satisfac-
tion. It is a very good decision not to leave Bhitiharwa without my
advice or permission. I see the Superintendent wants to give trouble. It
is right that you have answered him patiently. Do not talk much to
anyone. Do go round the village and instruct people in keeping the
lanes, houses, etc., clean. Write to me regularly. I shall answer your
letters.
At present, of course, I am ill. There is too much weakness.
After I have recovered, I intend to go to Champaran if only for a short
time. God protect you.
Yours,
MOHANDAS GANDHI
From a photostat of the Hindi: G.N. 5216

August 30, 1918
Your love messages are all before me. They are like a soothing
balm. The more I contemplate this illness, the more deeply I realize
what love of man to man must be and therefore love of God to man. I
see nothing but the beneficent hand of nature and it seems to me that
what appears to us on the surface to be violent visitations of nature are
in reality nothing but so many acts of love
I do wish you will not worry about me. It would be a calamity if
on any account your glorious work of Shantiniketan were to be
interrupted. I cannot describe to you what a great delight it is to me to
hear about your and Gurudev’s work in Shantiniketan and I must tell
you that I approach every one of your letters with a shudder, lest
anything might have interrupted this noble work of Gurudev’s. It
would be a great relief to me to find that both of you had finished a
1
Narayan Tamaji Katagade, a volunteer from Maharashtra, who managed the
Bhitiharwa Pathashala in Champaran for some time

full term teaching the boys without interruption and in full possession
of your health.
Pray thank Barodada for his blessings which I value and I thank
Gurudev for his good wishes. Remember me to Mr. Rudra1 .
With love of us all,
Yours,
MOHAN

AHMEDABAD ,
August 30 [1918]
DEAR MR. PUNDALIK,
As you have been questioned regarding your status, you may
use this letter in proof of the fact that you have been sent to Cham-
paran by me to conduct the school at Bhitiharwa and to the work of
sanitation and education amongst the people in the surrounding
villages or to conduct any other school in Champaran to which I may
send you.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
From a photostat: G.N. 5215
195. LETTER TO MILLIE POLAK 2

August 31, 1918
As I am writing this, I am watching the glorious rain des-
cending in torrents before me. It will gladden the hearts of millions of
men and women. There was a great dread of a most severe famine
overtaking Western India. In the twinkling of an eye, all that fear has
gone. It has given place to boundless joy; this rain is a veritable
deliverance for millions upon millions of cattle. There is probably no
place on earth that is so dependent on rain as India. You will now
understand what part this rain must have played in giving me health. I
1
S. K. Rudra, Principal, St. Stephen’s College, Delhi
2
Millie Graham Polak, wife of H. S. L,. Polak; author of Mr. Gandhi: The Man
(1930)
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 211

have suffered agonies—all due to my own follies. The punishment
was adequate to the wrong done by me to the body. Through a faulty
experiment, I was suffering from dysentery. Whilst I was getting over
it, I ate when I should have refrained and that brought on the
inevitable crisis. I am so reduced in body that I have now to build
anew but there is no cause for anxiety. I am convalescent and
regularly taking some nourishment and am daily increasing the
quantity and I hope to be able to walk about in ten days’ time. You
ask me about nursing. Everything that human lovecan do has been
done for me. It was my privilege and my pain to be on the sickbed—
privilege to find so much love rained on me, pained that I should need
it all through my weakness and folly. This rich experiencing of love
makes an added call on such service as I may be capable of rendering
to humanity. But service to humanity is service of self and service of
self is self-purification. How shall I purify myself? It is the question
that has been agitating me thro-ughout my sickness; Pray for me.
196. LETTER TO C. F. ANDREWS 1

August 31, 1918
You have given me an agreeable surprise. I never knew that the
Gujarati Marwaris’ Colony was so strong at Shantiniketan. If all these
boys remain there their full time, what a link they must form between
Gujarat and Bengal and I have no doubt that if the Poet continues as
he has begun, he will hold all the Gujaratis that are there to the end of
their time and many more must follow. I do feel tempted to ask: Is
there anyone looking after the sanitation of the place? Had water
supply been put in order?
For me I think I am getting on. Progress is vexingly slow. The
body has almost to be built anew. Naturally it takes time; especially
when it has got to be done out [of] ingredients from day to day, and
that without milk and its products. But I feel that I should be able to
do so. I assure you neither recruiting nor the Congress proceedings in
the slightest degree worry me. I cannot say with you that I will not
look at the papers about them. On the contrary, I am eagerly
1
In reply to Andrews’ letter saying that there were 70 Gujarati and Marwari
students in Shantiniketan and that Tagore looked after them lovingly and welcomed
their parents

following the Congress proceedings. But I do not allow them to worry
me.
I know Mr. Rudra’s anxiety for me. You will tell him all about
my health and assure him that the joint prayers of you all cannot fail
to give me health and comfort.
With love,
Yours,
MOHAN
From the manuscript of Mahadev Desai’s Diary. Courtesy: Narayan Desai 45.

[AHMEDABAD ,]
August 31, 1918
The reason why I did not attend the Congress was that I sensed
an atmosphere of extreme unreality after my talks with Mrs. Besant
and Tilak Maharaj. I thought it imperative that, at a great moment like
this, instead of indulging in fruitless controversies about the Scheme,
we thought out ways and means of getting our demands accepted and
employed them. I placed my views on the subject before them and
suggested that we had two great weapons. One was that we should go
all out to make sacrifices in the war and win the testimony of the Self
in us as to our fitness. When the atman1 stands testimony, it gives such
inner strength that nothing can withstand it. The second way was that
we should make up our minds once for all about what we want and
cling to it like fanatics and fight till death to get it accepted. The two
leaders rejected both suggestions. I felt, therefore, that it was useless
for me to attend the Congress and that, by not going, I could make
my view known silently but effectively. It was with this thought that I
gave up the idea of attending.
Blessings from
BAPU
[From Gujarati]
1
The Self
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 213

198. LETTER TO KARSANDAS CHITALIA1
August 31, 1918

I was sorry to hear of Kesariprasad’s 2 resignation. He was very
keen on attending the Congress and had a talk with me too. I told him,
though, that he would do well to suppress the desire, if he was not
permitted, and obey the instructions that might be issued. But he
could not suppress his desire. I am afraid Kesariprasad felt dis-
contented all the time. The Society3 afforded no scope for his
activities. The prohibition against attending the Congress brought his
discontent to a head. The absence of Gujaratis or of any others will
certainly not mean an end of this Society. It will remain for ever. A
leader of character like Shastriar4 cannot but attract others like him. If
God grants him long life, India will realize his worth by and by. All
manner of activities are going on and attracting people, each one
according to his inclinations. This has given rise to a kind of
purposeless discontent. There is bound to be frustration in the end. A
man like Shastriar will come to be remembered then and people in
anguish will turn to him and be comforted.
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
[From Gujarati]
1
Associated with Bhagini Samaj, Bombay, and Servants of India Society
2
Kesariprasad Manilal Thakore of Ahmedabad; a signatory to the Satyagraha
Pledge (1919)
3
The Servants of India Society
4
V. S. Srinivasa Sastri (1869-1946); scholar, statesman; president, Servants
of India Society, 1915-27

199. LETTER TO KHUSHALCHAND GANDHI
Shravan Vad 10 [August 31, 1918] 1
WITH HUMBLE RESPECTS TO MU. BHAISHRI,
Your letter arrived just a little while ago and I am replying im-
mediately. You have a right to write to me even in bitter words. Who
else would write to me in this manner if not you? I also understand
your being shocked. But there seems to be some misunderstanding as
to the fact of the case. I do not at all desire that kind of change in the
society at large. In the Ashram, however, from the beginning, it has
been our rule not to observe the Varnavyavastha2 because the position
of the Ashram is different from that of the society outside. When you
were here on a visit, the same practice was followed. Dudhabhai, his
wife and L[akshmi] all three lived with me at Kocharab and had their
meals with me. Dudhabhai’s wife used to enter the kitchen, too. There
was also another antyaj3 boy. What we are doing at present is not new.
I really believed that nobody had any objection to L(akshmi). It was
only by chance that I discovered that such objections to her existed,
and that too in a manner which was rather amusing. I have said all this
to show to you that the present position is not new. That Chi. Kashi
looks after that girl is a new position, but in itself, it is not a new
practice. Now about the propriety or otherwise of the practice. If I had
insisted that the inmates of the Ashram should observe the
Varnadharma, I would have been guilty of the impropriety you have
imputed to me. However, for those who have renounced
Grihasthashram4 , who have accepted a particular ideal and observe the
rules of self-control, to behave towards the antyajas differently from
1
The letter was evidently written after an untouchable family, Dudhabhai, his
wife and infant daughter Lakshmi, were admitted to the Kocharab Ashram on
September 11, 1915 and the Ashram was shifted from Kocharab to the western bank
of the Sabarmati in July 1917. Shravan Vad 10 in 1917 fell on August 12, when
Gandhiji was in Bettiah in Bihar; in 1918 on August 31 when Gandhiji was in
Ahmedabad; in 1919 and 1920, on August 20 and 9 respectively; on both of which
days Gandhiji was in Bombay. The letter was, therefore, presumably written on
August 31,1918.
2
The traditional Indian social system based on birth and hereditary occupation
3
Untouchable
4
The householder’s stage of life
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 215

the way they behave towards others would be adharma1 , not dharma,
violence and not ahimsa, expression not of love but of hatred. In the
Ashram kitchen, Luharas, Bhatiyas, Brahmins, Khatris, Rajputs,
Mussalmans, Banias all have been taking their meals together. You
know of course that all these classes of people inter-dine with one
another; the whole of India knows it. Nobody has expressed
disapproval of the practice. Why, then, should anybody be shocked by
it now? If you have not considered the practice such as I have
described above a radical one, what objection can there be against an
innocent girl L[akshmi] having her meals in our kitchen? It is but
proper to respect custo-mary practices as long as they are not contrary
to universal princi-ples of morality. If, however, they are contrary to
such principle, their violation is the real dharma. I, at any rate, have
learnt this from our shastras themselves. Since, therefore, this practice
is not new, I beg of you not to consider it as such and feel hurt, and if
you consider it to be an old one, regard it as unavoidable and so not
feel hurt. Please believe that I have not taken a single step out of
self-will or thoughtlessly, but have done what I have done only after
the most careful consideration of its moral propriety or otherwise and
only because I believed it to be dharma. And, therefore, I wish you to
have patience with me. If our caste-men are offended by my step, I
will ask their forgiveness, and all of us will patiently suffer their
boycott. From you, I ask for a blessing, and it is this:”My own
brother is fearlessly doing what he believes to be dharma. O God, help
him in that”. I do beg this much of you that you should not in the
least feel hurt by this step and bear with what you cannot understand.
Very often, we simply cannot understand what is dharma and what is
adharma. Vyasji has with great skill presented numerous instances of
such confusion in the Shantiparva2 . When such is the position, what
should one do? Only that one should fearlessly go on doing what
one’s conscience bids one to do and bear the sufferings which follow
as a result of doing so.
Respectful prostration by
MOHANDAS
From a copy of the Gujarati: S.N. 33104
1
The opposite of dharma
2
Of the Mahabharata

200. RESOLUTION BY GUJARAT SABHA, AHMEDABAD1
[September, 1918]
The Gujarat Sabha, of which Mr. Gandhi is the President, issued some time ago
the following translation of a resolution unanimously passed at its general meeting
held at Ahmedabad:
In the opinion of the Sabha, the easiest and straightest method
of attaining swarajya is to help the Empire in the hour of danger by
supplying all available men for fighting and other purposes in
connection with the war, and therefore this Sabha resolves that it
should with all possible despatch undertake recruiting and for that
purpose obtain the necessary sanction, and advises other kindred
associations to do likewise. The Sabha authorizes the President and the
Secretaries to take all necessary steps with a view to enforcing the
foregoing resolution.
The Indian Review, September, 1918

September 3, 1918
MY DEAR CHARLIE,
I am daily getting better. Please have no anxiety for me.
Though we do not meet in the body, communion of the spirit is ever
there. Just at present I am doing a bit of reading. The book I am
reading is a collection of remarkable essays on religion by Prof.
Anandshankar Dhruva of the Gujarat College. You have seen him.
The essays are pure gold. He is one of the greatest Sanskrit scholars of
this Presidency. These essays have given me great comfort and they
help me more fully to realize the meaning of communion of the spirit
and it is in that deeper and fuller [meaning] that I use the expression
regarding ourselves.
As I have said before, I would not have you leave Bolpur on any
account whatsoever. Your work is there and nowhere else at the
present moment.
Why did you write that wretched introduction of yours to the
Hindi book on emigration to the colonies? I have only just glanced at
1
Presumably drafted by Gandhiji
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 217

it and I feel that you have given an undeserved certificate. You do not
want to give currency to inaccuracies, fulsome flattery and
advertisements. I propose to go through the book carefully and note
down for your edification some of the glaring inaccuracies contained
in the work. There is really no merit in an author remaining unknown.
He does not remain unknown to those who he wishes should know
him. The introduction does credit to your heart. You are an Indian
and, as Lord Willingdon1 will say, you are always afraid to say”no”. I
would far rather that you retained the English characteristics and
said”no” when it is”no” which should really be said. I suppose it is
sometimes the privilege of love sternly to say”no”. I do not want to
sermonize, but you must really reform yourself in this matter.
Otherwise I must pass on to you all the rascals I meet. You will then
settle your accounts with Gurudev and them.
Yours,
MOHAN
From the manuscript of Mahadev Desai’s Diary. Courtay: Narayan Desai

[AHMEDABAD ,]
September 7, 1918
I see from your letter to Anasuyabehn2 that when writing to me
you had concealed a great deal about your health. It was not neces-
sary. I wish you would not take undue liberty with the body, putting
your trust in medicines. My experience in life has increasingly
strengthened me in the idea that one ought not to do so. I took such
liberty to please my palate and have been paying the penalty. I believe
it is the same story in ninety-nine out of a hundred cases of illness. I
admit that this discipline of the body is extremely difficult, but all the
same, it is the true end of human effort. It is easier to conquer the
entire world than to subdue the enemies in our body. And, therefore,
for the man who succeeds in this conquest, the former will be easy
1
Governor of Bombay, 1913-8; of Madras, 1919-24, and Viceroy, 1931-6
2
Anasuyabehn Sarabhai, sister of Ambalal Sarabhai; a leading millowner of
Ahmedabad; she was on the side of the workers in the dispute between the workers and
the millowners.

enough. The self-government which you, I and all others have to
attain is in fact this. Need I say more? The point of it all is that you
can serve the country only with this body. Your ideals are noble, but
the noblest of them would be in vain without the requisite strength of
spirit.
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
[From Gujarati]
203. LETTER TO P. C. RAY1

September 9, 1918
The milk problem with me is not quite so simple as you have
stated it. It is not regard for the calf that in my illness prevents me
from taking milk, but I have taken a definite vow not to take milk or
its products even in illness and I feel that it is better to die than to
break a vow knowingly and deliberately taken. Every consequence
that I am taking today was before me when I took the vow. I know too
that it was most difficult to find a substitute for milk. Can you not
refine some of our oils so as to make them easily digestible? You
know that the American chemists have done so with cottonseed oil.
Cottonseed oil without being refined is not eatable but now people eat
it with impunity. I do not say that they have refined it to the extent I
want; that is a question of degree.
M. K. GANDHI
From the manuscript of Mahadev Desai’s Diary. Courtesy : Narayan Desai
1
In reply to Dr. Ray’s letter in which he had said that, though some of the
ingredients of milk were available in other items, there was no good substitute for
milk. Dr. Ray, as an old friend, urged Gandhiji to take milk.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 219

204. LETTER TO RANCHHODLAL PATWARI
S ATYAGRAHA ASHRAM,
Monday, Ganesh Chaturthi [September 9, 1918]
RESPECTED SHRI RANCHHODBHAI1 ,
I have your letter. I am improving. There is much weakness,

though, and hence I am confined to bed. There is no reason for
worry. Just when my health was returning to normal, I got fever for a
few days and that increased the weakness. There is no fever now. I am
ashamed of this illness of mine. I thought I would never get a disease
like dysentery. I was myself to blame for it. Though I kept well
enough, my skin had grown too soft and, though I did not feel
handicapped, the calf-muscles were not as hard as they should be.
Doctor friends have always told me that I should not go without salt. I
thought it was better that the skin should be a little rough, in case I
had to go to France or Mesopotamia, and with this idea I started
taking salt. This brought on diarrhoea. I should have taken this as a
warning that I should stop eating, but I fasted only partially. The
result was acute dysentery. In this disease, food is like poison; despite
that, I continued to eat. Thus I have had to pay for my lack of self-
control.
No doubt, people will have a hard time of it for lack of rains. On
this side, there has been some rain at any rate. About Kathiawad I
keep inquiring from visitors and also read the news in the papers. I
gather from all this that conditions there are much worse than here.
I quite see that you cannot leave the work there and come over
here. I shall get hold of a copy of Pataka and read the article about
untouchables. I want to understand the other side fully and, if I find
dharma in it, I shall not hesitate for a moment to give up my view. The
arguments I have so far come across are all based on tradition. I have
yet to hear an argument based on true dharma. I have taken up the
problem of the untouchables purely out of considerations of dharma.
It has nothing to do with politics. It certainly has political implications,
but I have never looked at it from that point of view. I should also like
to add that it is not my intention that tradition should never be
1
Life-long friend of Gandhiji; served as Dewan in princely States of Western
India

respected. The true dharma is unchanging, while tradition may change
with time. If we were to follow some of the tenets of Manusmriti 1 , there
would be moral anarchy. We have quietly discarded them altogether.
With regards from
MOHANDAS
From the Gujarati original: C.W. 2793. Courtesy: Patwari
205. FRAGMENT OF LETTER TO DEVDAS GANDHI

[AHMEDABAD ,]
September 9, 1918
Surely you know that I am against the use of pulses by weak
persons. You know my fears about oil as well. All the doctors
suggested the use of mung 2 and mung soup, and oil too. It is difficult,
without the use of fats and what they call proteins, to rebuild a body
grown weak because of the vow not to take milk. Milk protein and the
fat it contains are easily absorbed in the blood stream, but not so the
fat in oils. All pulses contain protein, but this protein is impossible
[for a weak person] to digest. And yet both [pulses and oil] were
consumed, as I said above3 . I think that was a mistake. Such mistakes
are bound to occur while I am searching for a substitute for milk. It is
just not possible to carry on without some oil or other. The quantity to
be taken will have to be determined. In the process, mistakes are
bound to occur, and there will be set-backs, too, occasionally.
[From Gujarati]
1
Laws of Manu, the Hindu lawgiver
2
An Indian pulse
3
Presumably in the part of the letter not reproduced in the source. According to
Mahadev Desai, it described an upset caused by wrong food.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 221

September 9, 1918
It is true that cooking takes some time but I believe that this time
is not wasted. It is also generally not true that some more important
work could be done during that time. Ninety-five per cent of the
people waste more time every day than is taken up in cooking. I am
being rather liberal in my estimate in saying ninety-five per cent. You
will be surprised in how short a time a person doing his own cooking
finishes it when he is very busy. If I give my own example, when I was
very busy with studies in England I did not take more than half an
hour in the morning and in the evening for cooking. In the morning,
I used to prepare porridge, and this took exactly twenty minutes; if I
cooked in the evening, I prepared soup. As it did not require stirring,
the only time spent was in getting the materials ready. After putting
the thing on the fire, I would sit by and read. Occasionally, students
come to me from Benares. I ask all of them what they do. Most
Brahrnins cook their own food. One of them told me that he only
prepared khichdi1 and ate it with milk and pickles. While he was eating
the meal, the bhakhri2 would be getting baked. This bhakhri he would
eat with milk in the evening. In this, he spent three-quarters of an hour
in all. This is an extreme case I have cited. I do not want you to be all
that particular. This is only to illustrate that it is possible to do one’s
cooking in a very short time. That student was quite healthy and
strong, because khichdi, milk or curds and pickles gave him all the
nourishment he needed. Anyone who can get good milk or curds will
care little for other things. Do not imagine that I write this to suggest
that you should always cook yourself. I have said all this only in order
that, on occasion, you should not hesitate in the least to do your own
cooking and [when you have to do it] be so unhappy, all without
reason, that you were wasting your time. Otherwise, when you have
mended your ways, I can have no objection to your calling Chanchi3 ,
having good things to eat and enjoying life, within limits. Only see
that you do not repeat your mistakes. I want you not to be too eager
to get rich quickly.
1
Preparation of rice, pulses, etc., cooked together
2
A kind of thick bread
3
Chanchalbehn Gandhi, wife of Gandhiji’s eldest son, Harilal

Think of Sorabji’s death, of Dr. Jivraj’s being on his death-bed,
of the passing away of Sir Ratan Tata1 . When life is so transitory, why
all this restlessness? Why this running after money? Get what-ever
money you can earn by ordinary but steady efforts. Resolve in mind,
though, that you will not forsake the path of truth in pursuit of wealth.
Make your mind as firm as you can and then go ahead making
money.
Blessings from
BAPU
[From Gujarati]
207. LETTER TO RANCHHODDAS PATWARI

S ATYAGRAHA ASHRAM,
Ganesh Chaturthi, Monday [September 9, 1918] 2
RESPECTED RANCHHODBHAI,
I have your letter. My health is gradually improving but I am
still to weak and so am confined to bed. There is no cause for worry
though. I had quite recovered, but in the meantime I had fever, which
increased the weakness. Now there is no fever at all. I feel ashamed of
my disease. I had thought I could never have a disease such as
dysentery. I am myself responsible for the disease, of course. I had
been keeping fairly good health, but my skin had become rather
tender. I had been able to manage without salt for a long time; but my
legs were still not as sturdy as they should have been. Doctor friends
had been constantly telling me to take salt. I may well have to go to
France or Mesopotamia in which case it would not do to have a tender
skin. So I started the salt experiment. That gave me dysentery. I
should have taken the warning and fasted. Yet I fasted only partially.
The result was that I developed acute dysentery. Taking food when
you are having dysentery is like taking poison. Still I ate. Thus I am
suffering the punishment for not observing restraint. People will have
to undergo a lot of suffering because of the failure of rains. There has
been a little rain this side at least. I ask for news about Kathiawar from
1
1871-1918; Parsi philanthropist
2
The year has been inferred from the reference to Gandhiji’s having had a
severe attack of dysentery; vide “An Autobiography—Part V, Chapeter XXVIII” In
1918 Ganesh Chaturthi fell on September 9.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 223

the people passing by here. I also get information from the
newspapers. From all that I gather that the situation there is even more
difficult than it is here.
I can very well understand that you cannot leave the work there
and come here. I shall see the Pataka for the article on the
untouchables and read it. I want to understand fully the opposite point
of view. And if I find dharma in it I will not hesitate even for a
moment to give up my view. All the arguments I have so far come
across proceed from the orthodox doctrine. I have not heard so far a
single argument resting on true religion. I have raised the question of
untouchability purely from the religious point of view. It has nothing
to do with the political problem. It can certainly have political
consequences, but I have never had that in view. I also wish to add that
I do not intend suggesting that orthodox religion should not be given
the slightest recognition. True religion is firm like a rock. Orthodox
religion should change with the change in times. If we were to live
according to some of the things mentioned in the Manusmriti, we
should be committing immorality. We have silently abandoned those
things.
With regards,
MOHANDAS
From a photostat of the Gujarati: G.N. 4119
208. LETTER TO SAROJINI NAIDU1

September 20, 1918
DEAR SISTER,
From the inquiries you have made about me, I know that you
know about my humiliation, I mean my illness. I am getting better,
but am too weak yet to move about beyond a few minutes’ stroll on
the verandah. Much as I should like to be with you at Poornea as the
men there desire my presence, it is impossible for me to do so. I hope,
however, that you are going to behave yourself and deliver your
address2 in Hindi or Urdu, whatever the national language may be
called. Let the young men learn through your example the value of
cultivating their mother tongue, for to them Hindi or Urdu is not only
1
1879-1949; poet, patriot, Congress leader and a close associate of Gandhiji
2
As president of the Bihar Students’ Conference

the national language, but their mother tongue. Do let me have a line.
Yours,
From the manuscript of Mahadev Desai’s Diary. Courtesy: Narayan Desai55.

S ATYAGRAHA ASHRAM,
S ABARMATI ,
Bhadrapad Sud 15 [September 20, 1918]
BHAISHRI PUNDALIK,
I read all your letters very carefully. All your answers are very
good. Such always is the effect of truth. The courage that is called for
in putting up with an insult from the Superintendent does not lie in
meeting insult with insult.
The Superintendent would not have had to endure in your
insults even a hundredth part of what he will have to endure in your
forbearance. He in fact wants that you should become excited and
give vent to unbecoming speech. Now I answer your questions:
1. If you receive a written notice from the Government to leave
the school or Bhitiharwa you should leave the school or
Bhitiharwa and telegraph to me.
2. You should answer any questions that the Superintendent
may ask in the way you have been doing. Speak the whole
truth. There is no harm in telling him all that I write. I have
full faith in your truthfulness.
Yours,
MOHANDAS GANDHI
From a photostat of the Hindi: G.N. 5217; also Mahadevbhaini Diary,
Vol. lV
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 225

210. TELEGRAM TO DR. PRANJIVAN MEHTA
September 21, 1918
CONSIDER ARTICLE SHOULD NOT BE PUBLISHED.1 IF
PUBLISHED ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY OMIT REFERENCES
ABOUT SPECIAL FITNESS OF GUJARAT. WRITING FULLY.

[AHMEDABAD ,]
September 21, 1918
I have read your letter carefully. I sent you a telegram yesterday
and another today. Your idea2 is excellent but there is no possibility of
its being carried out in the present atmosphere. No other province is
likely to support it. You must he aware that Bengal has been working
hard to such an end. It has even been trying secretly to secure full
independence for itself before others. Will there be any in Gujarat
who will not try to secure it first for Gujarat? Sarma made the same
suggestion as yours, in a slightly different form, in the Central
Legislature.3 It was laughed out by all the members, very improperly, I
must admit. Mr. Montagu has attached weight to it but suggested that
it was not for the present British administration to make so important a
change, that the new Councils which would come into existence could
consider it. So much about your proposal.
The arguments you have advanced to establish the superiority of
Gujarat can only lead to bitterness. As things stand, it is a controversial
idea. Maharashtra will be able to put forward stronger evidence than
we can to claim swaraj for itself. Madras will maintain that it had taken
to Western modes so completely that no other province could be fitter
than it. Gujarat is generally considered a very backward area; and the
1
2
Dr. Mehta, taking a hint from a speech of Montagu’s, had written an article
elaborating the idea of swaraj for Gujarat.
3
On February 6, 1918, B. N. Sarma moved a resolution in the Imperial
Legislative Council recommending the redistribution of provincial areas on a
language basis. The resolution was defeated by a large majority; vide India in 1917-
18.

arguments you use on our side will be used against us. Not that you
need be deterred by these arguments on the other side. It is essential,
though, to consider whether it would be proper to start this campaign
for swaraj in the prevailing atmosphere. Take this into account and
write what you think best. I shall be ready to carry out what you say.
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
[From Gujarati]
212. SPEECH ON”THE PILGRIM’S PROGRESS”

September 21, 1918
Commencing readings from The Pilgrim’s Progress after Ashram prayers :
Now then, friends, look, who was the author of this? One John
Bunyan. Do you know who he was? A man with a will, like our
Prahlad1 , he suffered imprisonment for the sake of truth, much as
Prahlad submitted to ordeals for its sake; and as our Tilak Maharaj
wrote his Gita Rahasya in jail, so this Bunyan wrote in jail this story of
a pilgrim’s journey. Call it a journey or progress or rise, what you
will— he wrote that.
Like the commentaries on the Gita that we have, The Pilgrim’s
Progress is a commentary on the Bible. No, one cannot describe it
even as a commentary. It is, rather an exposition of the most beautiful
portions of the Bible. In English, the book is esteemed as a great
classic and placed almost on a level with the Bible. And Bunyan has
written it in such simple and beautiful language for children to follow
that, wherever English is spoken, it is considered a most wonderful
book for them. Even more, he says in his preface to the book, as
Tulsidas in his Ramayana, that in time to come it will be read by one
and all. And indeed it is as good as the Ramayana. Tulsi’s Ramayana
is a fountain of delight for children while grown-ups go messing
around, and so likewise this book is of absorbing interest to children.
But, now, let us read a little from the book. Hear what he says :
“As I walked through the wilderness of this world . . . .” In our
books, too, life in this world is described as a forest of impenetrable
1
Prahlad was a devotee of God persecuted by his unbelieving father, the demon
king Hiranyakashipu. Gandhiji often spoke of him as an ideal satyagrhahi.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 227

darkness, and likewise he has described it as a wilderness. He goes on
to say that, in that labyrinthine wilderness of life, all tired, he lighted
on a fearful den—tired out, that is, not only with physical fatigue, but
also in his atman. He had turned over a great many thoughts in his
mind, had heard countless things from countless sources, but had
failed to come by the truth. So this poor man, all tired in spirit and
bewildered, fell asleep in his exhaustion. He slept and dreamt a dream.
In this dream, whom did he see, do you think? Do you know, Rukhi,
who it was that he saw? A man in rags. Well, then, kiddies, tell me, how
was Sudama 1 dressed when he went to Lord Krishna? Had he put on a
dhoti with a silken border, or a coat of lace or a jolly flat
Maharashtrian puggree and a scarf of brocade? Oh, no ! He was only
in rags, and so was this one, too. Here, Rukhi, do you know what
Sudama had on? You may not, but I do, for I was born in Porbandar,
the home of Sudama. Well, then, which way was Sudama facing?
Homewards? Brother dear, he had left his home and was making his
way to where the Lord dwelt. Even so, our Pilgrim had turned his face
away from home and taken a road that led elsewhere. And, again, what
did he carry on his shoulder? See, Rukhi, he had a burden on his
back, like the gunny-bag, weighing five maunds, which that labourer
used to bring on his back when we were at Kochrab. He used to be all
drenched with perspiration and bent so low, how could I ask him to
stand erect? This man, here, had a book in his hand. It was none other
than the Bible. Tears flowed from his eyes as he read it. Do you know
the story of Gopichand? As he sat bathing, his mother stood looking
at him from above, tears from her eyes dropping on his body. There
was not a cloud to be seen; whence this rain, then? Gopichand looked
up and saw that it fell from his mother’s eyes. Why had she tears in
her eyes? Well, I shall explain that some other time. This good man,
too, had tears falling from his eyes. He had set out for the House of
God, he was a prince among the lovers of God and hence the tears in
his eyes.
[From Gujarati]
1
Sudama and Krishna, disciples of the same guru, Sandipani, were friends.
Sudama had a large family and was very poor. His wife chided him for his other-
worldliness and persuaded him to go to Krishna for help. Yet once in the presence of
the Lord, he forgot to ask for help. But when he returned home, he found it
transformed by riches.

213. LETTER TO SHUAIB QURESHI
September 24, 1918
I wish I had sufficient strength in my fingers and my wrists to
give you my own hieroglyphics. As it is, I must rest content with the
help of a friendly wrist and equally friendly fingers. You know all
about the Committee to investigate the Brothers’ case. We are
creeping, whether the motion is upward or downward I do not know.
For a satyagrahi, all motion is upward. If the Government have meant
well, it is well for us all. If they have meant ill, by the infallible law of
causation it must react upon them and therefore it must go ill with
them and not with us, the only condition being that we do not act even
as they. It is only because in the vast majority of cases we meet evil by
evil that it continues to grow like weeds. Resist not evil is the law of
our being. We come into the world with a double nature, that of the
brute and man. The latter has continually to gain ascendancy over the
former, but this is a digression, and for me a diversion which, however,
I do not wish to indulge in this letter. To return to our immediate
purpose, I am keeping in close touch with the Brothers through Mr.
Ghate.
214. LETTER TO NANUBHAI

[AHMEDABAD ,]
September 24, 1918
There is no reason to go as far as to conclude that the need for
joining up is over. But the signs I see indicate that this will be so. One
need not assume that heroism is to be acquired only by fighting in a
war. One can do so even while keeping out of it. War is one powerful
means, among many others. But, if it is a powerful means, it is also an
evil one. We can cultivate manliness in a blameless way. If, through
the fight we are carrying on with the body, we can develop the
strength for the war which the atman must wage against the anatman 1 ,
we shall have acquired manliness.
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
[From Gujarati]
Mahadevbhaini Diary, Vol. IV .
1
Non-self
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 229

215. LETTER TO KALYANJI MEHTA
ASHRAM,
Bhadrapad, Krishna Paksh 4 [September] 24[, 1918]
DEAR SHRI KALYANJI1 ,
It was like me to have told you that you could certainly send
your wife, that she could manage to live on the verandah outside. But
I find this does not find favour with anyone else in the Ashram. The
womenfolk will have none of it. Everyone believes that she must have
some privacy at least; as long as this cannot be assured to your wife,
her arrival is likely to displease the other ladies very much. I am now
considering if I can find a spot where she could have some privacy.
You had better wait till I find one.
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS GANDHI
From a photostat of the Gujarati: G.N. 2667

S ATYAGRAHA ASHRAM,
S ABARMATI ,
September 24, 1918
CHI. MATHURADAS,
There has been no letter from you for a long time. There hav-
ing been no occasion I too have not written to you. I am gradually
regaining strength. A season of the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, similar
to the one held in Indore2 is to be held in Bombay. I cannot think of
anyone there who can work for it. Very few may be interested. Bhai
Jamnadas had said that he would shoulder this responsibility. I wrote
to him in the matter but he has not answered. So I take it that he may
not volunteer his services. Still, you should go to him and find out.
Also find out who else are likely to take up the work. A reception
committee must be set up at once. The session may be held after
December.3 It is necessary that the preparations for it should start
1
Kalyanji Vithalbhai Mehta, a Congress leader of Surat District
2
On March 29, 1918; vide “Statement of Transvaal Indian Case”, 16-7-1909.
3
The session was held in Bombay from April 19 to 21, 1919

from now. I wish you would undertake this work. I shall give the
necessary instructions from here. I shall be able to write more after
you inform me whether or not you will be willing. Bhai Ram Naresh
Tripathi has gone there on behalf of the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan
(Allahabad). Meet him and write to me what he says and what his
views are. His address is: Seth Har Dayal Nevatia, Bombay—2.
Blessing from
MOHANDAS
[PS.]
After Bapu wrote this letter, he heard from Jamnadas that you had just recov-
ered from a serious illness. How is your health now? Bapu wants me to say that if you
have not fully recovered, that is, if you have not recovered enough to undergo the
strain, you may decline without any hesitation. Why did you not write about your
health?
MAHADEV DESAI
217. LETTER TO BHAGWANJI ANOOPCHAND MEHTA

S ABARMATI ,
Bhadarva Vad 7 [September 26, 1918] 1
DEAR BHAGWANJI,
I am still bed-ridden. I have gained only enough strength to
move about a little in the Ashram. Even otherwise there would still be
the question of what I would do after coming there. Kathiawar is not
out of my thoughts, The only question is about what can be done. I
am constantly thinking about it.
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
From a photostat of the Gujarati: G.N. 5802. Also C.W. 3025. Courtesy:
Narandas Gandhi
1
It appears from the contents that this letter was written in 1918.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 231

218. REPLY TO BIRTHDAY GREETINGS IN THE ASHRAM
October 1, 19181
Am I worthy of the love which you have shown me by all of
you coming over here this morning? I don’t think I am. As a rule,
even outside the Ashram, I do not say anything merely in deference to
convention and here surely I would not do so. My words, there-fore,
are not just a form of good manners. I simply feel in the depth of my
soul that I am not worthy of the boundless love you proffer to me.
From one who has dedicated himself to the service of others, a great
deal may he expected. In comparison, the little that I have done is of
no account. You, too, all of you, have dedicated your-selves to service.
I enjoin you all to hold back your veneration. It is not in the fitness of
things to express it before a person is dead. For, how can we measure
the worth of his work before his death, before we have seen it in its
entirety? Even after his death, it takes some time to assess it. There is
no point, therefore, in our celebrating the birth anniversary of a man
before his death.
What more shall I say to you? This morning, before four, I was
immersed in thought. Surendra 2 had put a question to me: what was
the utmost I expected of him? And of Devdas? Of Chhotalal3 as well?
Instead of telling you what I expect of each one of you individually,
let me tell you what I expect from you all. It is that you should
observe to perfection our first and last vow, the vow of truth. We must
sincerely practise what we believe to be the means of moksha.
Working accordingly, you should carry out as well as you can the
aims with which the Ashram has been established and bring all glory
to it. The Ashram will be judged by your actions and your character.
It has been established for the service of India and, through it, of
one’s atman. We have many critics. Critics there will always be, but
their criticism need not make us nervous, provided we are faithful to
our vow of truth, the first and the last of our vows. If we were
indulging in hypocrisy and fraud, it would have been a different
1
The birthday fell on this date according to the Indian calendar.
2
Surendralal, a member of Satyagraha Ashram, Sabarmati, Ahmedabad. He ser-
ved as a teacher in Gandhiji’s school at Barharwa, Champaran.
3
Chhotalal, a member of Satyagraha Ashram, Sabarmati. He was a weaving
master and teacher of Hindi in Gandhiji’s school at Barharwa, Champaran

matter. But I am sure no one has a doubt that our aim is anything but
truth. The Ashram is the sum-total of the character of us all. I wish,
therefore, that every one of us has so high a character that the sum-
total will be large enough. I keep a constant vigil to observe how far I
live up to, or can live up to, the vow and I find many failings in me. I
cannot tell whether I shall succeed in getting rid of them in this
present life. Whatever shortcomings have developed in you or in the
Ashram have come to be there solely because of me. I want you,
therefore, to pray to God to free you and me of our failings and grant
me success in my mission. I will strive to be worthy of the love you
bear me and the veneration you show towards me. I pray to God that
He may grant me the necessary strength. May you, too, succeed in
doing your duty ! I pray that we, you and I, may be of help to one
another. What else shall I say? Your devotion will not fail to have its
reward. Go, therefore, and let each of you occupy himself or herself
with his or her duty.
[From Gujarati]

October 2, 1918
CHI. HARILAL,
I have a feeling that I am now going. I have very little time left.
The body is becoming weaker and weaker. I am not able to eat
anything. But my heart is at peace and so I do not find the going at all
difficult. I think whatever inheritance I am leaving to you brothers is
appropriate. What would you have gained if I had left money? But the
inheritance of character which I am leaving to you is invaluable in my
view. I wish you to cherish it. Follow the path of religion. I have
written a letter to Devdas.1 Ask for a copy of it. If you think you can
apply that letter to yourself, do so.
From a copy of the Gujarati: C.W. 11272. Courtesy: Chhaganlal Gandhi
1
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 233

ASHRAM,
Bhadrapad, October 2, 1918
DEVDAS,
I have sent you a telegram today. It must have scared you. I
want you not to be scared. I cannot expect you to have that degree of
equanimity. My health, instead of improving, is steadily declining. I
am not able to take any cereals. Taking only fruit cannot sustain the
body and hence it must necessarily succumb. In that event, you must
have forbearance and show the strength of a Kshatriya. If you keep
me alive in your actions, you will be judged not as having loved the
body but as having loved the soul. And then, you will have maintained
a pure relationship with me. I have placed great hopes in you.
Strengthen your character and follow the path of non-violence.
Observe brahmacharya as far as possible. Proceed with your studies to
the extent necessary and carry on my activities. Help Chi. Maganlal to
the utmost. Consider Bhai Mahadev your elder. He will have much to
give you. I have sent you the wire to come if you cannot hold
yourself. But my advice is: stay where you are. That is the true test of
your devotion. What more are you going to gain by coming here?
What more service can I have from you? You are already rendering
great service to me. But do as you think proper. Send copies of this
letter to Manilal and Ramdas. I hope that they too will engage
themselves in my work. My body has become like an old garment and
that is why it is not at all difficult for me to discard it. I do not wish to
acquire the burden of a new garment. But I do not think I have
qualified myself to be freed of that burden. But the time is not past
yet. That qualification can be acquired even in a moment.
May God bless you.
From a copy of the Gujarati: C.W. 11271. Courtesy: Chhaganlal Gandhi

221. LETTER TO GANGABEHN MAJMUNDAR1
[AHMEDABAD ,]
October 11, 1918
I read only today the postcard giving the news that you, Kiki
and others have fallen ill. I was, however, glad to read that, by the
grace of God, you were all improving. The bodies of those who have
accepted the way of service should be as strong as steel. There was a
time when our forefathers could thus harden their bodies. Today we
have become pathetically weak and succumb to the innumerable
poisonous germs in the atmosphere. The only way to escape from this,
despite our fallen state, is self-control, moderation, call it what you
will. It is the opinion of doctors, and they are right, that the body will
run least risk if two things are attended to. Even after one feels that
one has recovered from an illness, one should take only liquid and
bland food easy to digest, and should continue to rest in bed. Many
patients, deceived when the fever comes down on the second or third
day, resume their work and start eating as usual. This brings on the
attack again, and generally it proves fatal. I would, therefore, request
you all to remain confined to bed. Write to me every day to give me
news of your health. I am still in bed and will have to remain there for
many days; but it can be said that my health is improving. The
doctors have forbidden even writing letters; but how can I help writing
to you? If you are inconvenienced there and want to come over here,
by all means do. There are ten sick-beds in the Ashram just now, but
the only serious case appears to be that of Shankarlal. Even he seems
to have taken a turn for the better today.
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
[From Gujarati]
1
An enterprising widow who discovered for Gandhiji the old spinning wheel
in Vijapur in the former Baroda State and started a khadi production centre there; vide
An Autobiography.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 235

222. LETTER TO THE PRESS : THE LATE A. M.
KACHALIA1
October 20, 19182
TO
THE EDITOR
SIR,
It is my mournful duty to bring to public notice another South

African Indian whose death has been just cabled to me. He bore the
honoured name of Ahmed Mahomed Kachalia. He was for a number
of years President of the British Indian Association of the Transvaal. It
was during the passive resistance campaign that Mr. Kachalia
suddenly leapt to fame and acquired among the Indians of South
Africa a prestige unequalled by any other Indian. It was on the 31st
day of July 1907, under the shadow of a tree in the holy mosque of
Pretoria, that Mr. Kachalia hurled defiance at the might of General
Botha and his Government. Mr. Hosken3 had brought a message from
the General to be delivered to the great mass meeting that was held in
the mosque compound, to the effect that in resisting the Transvaal
Government, the Indians were breaking their heads against a stone.
Mr. Kachalia was one of the speakers. As I am dictating these few
words of humble tribute, his voice rings in my ears. He said:”In the
name of Allah, I wish to state that though my head may be severed
from the trunk, I shall never obey the Asiatic Registration Act. I
consider it unmanly and dishonourable to subscribe to a law which
virtually reduces me to slavery.” And he was among the very few who
never flinched through those long and weary eight years of untold
sufferings. Mr. Kachalia was by no means amongst the least of the
sufferers. He felt that as a leader his sacrifice should be striking, and
that he should stop at nothing if thereby the honour of this country
1
Also published in Prajabandhu, 27-10-1918, and The Indian Review,
October, 1918
2
A. M. Cachalia passed away on this date.
3
William Hosken, M.L.A. (Transvaal) and ex-president of the Association of
Chamber of Commerce of South Africa. He was sympathetic to the cause of British
Indians; vide “The Transvaal Immigratopm Bill Debate”, 20-7-1907; Johannesburg
Letter”, 31-12-1907 and ; Before 10-1-1908

might be saved. He reduced himself to poverty. He said goodbye to
all the comforts of life towhich he was used, and night and day
worked for a cause he held sacred. Naturally he acquired a wonderful
hold over the Indian community throughout South Africa and his was
a name to conjure with amongst them. As may be imagined, there
were often disputes among Mahomedans and Hindus and other
sections of the community. Mr. Kachalia held the scales even between
the conflicting interests and everyone knew that his decisions would
be absolutely just and sound. Mr. Kachalia was practically illiterate.
He was a self-made man. But his common sense was of the rarest
order. It always stood him in good stead and he was able to command
the confidence and respect of many Europeans who came in contact
with him.
The loss is irreparable and it would be doubly felt by the
community, coming as it does, closely after Mr. Sorabji’s death.1 May
God Almighty give this noble soul the rest and peace which, I am sure,
he fully deserves.
Yours, etc.,
M. K. GANDHI
223. LETTER TO V. S. SRINIVASA SASTRI

S ABARMATI ,
AHMEDABAD ,
October 20, 1918
DEAR MR. SASTRIAR,
Though being on sick-bed, I cannot restrain myself from
adding my own humble tribute to your own and other friends’ to Dr.
Deva’s 2 memory. Both the society and the country have lost a true
servant. Of all the members of the Society, it was with Dr. Deva that I
came in closest touch and the more I knew him the more I loved him.
If I may say so, Dr. Deva found fuller scope in Champaran for self-
expression. There he was placed amid surroundings which tested all
his great qualities including his medical knowledge. He never flinched
1
Vide “Speech at Surat”, 1-8-1918.
2
Dr. Hari Shrikrishna Deva (died October 8, 1918); a Durbar surgeon of
Sangli, he joined the Servants of India Society in 1914 and worked with Gandhiji in
the Champaran campaign.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 237

and never failed. Though he started his relations with the authorities
and the planters with suspicion, he disarmed them at the end of his
stay. The Sub-Divisional Officer at Bettiah with whom he came in
close contact often told me that he likedDr. Deva for his selflessness
and his devotion to his work. How could he do otherwise? For he was
not only medical adviser to the helpless villagers but was his own
dispenser. He took medicines to their homes. He attended to their
sanitation. He bent his own body to clean the village wells, to fix up
the village road. With Messrs Soman and Randive, in place of the
burnt down grass-hut, which was used as school at Bhitiharwa, he
raised in a few days’ time, to the marvel of everybody, a pucca school
building and, comparatively delicate though he was in body, he
worked side by side with able-bodied villagers who, touched by his
enthusiasm, responded to his call for help in building the school
which was designed for their sake. What, however, is the pleasantest of
all my experiences of Dr. Deva is the tribute Mr. Soman, a B.A., LL.B.
of Belgaum, pays to his memory in a letter just received from him. He
belongs to the Nationalists’ school. He was one of the volunteers in
Champaran. He is himself a staunch and true worker. He says in the
letter that he approached Dr. Deva with a great deal of suspicion and
distrust to his attitude towards the Nationalists, but he adds that”it did
not take many days before the suspicion and mistrust gave place to
perfect confidence and respect.” Indeed they, retaining their own
views to the end, became fast friends. Dr. Deva was never a fanatic. He
had boundless charity in him, and therefore both had the rare gift of
seeing the bright side of his opponent’s case. The Society has
certainly lost in him a fine collector and advertiser. He was a true man.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
The Servant of India, 31-10-1918

224. TELEGRAM TO VICEROY1
October 29, 1918
WHILST THE SABHA YIELDS TO NO ONE IN
ITS DESIRE TO HELP THE PROSECUTION OF THE
WAR IN EVERY POSSIBLE MANNER AND CONSIDERS
THIS TO BE THE DUTY OF INDIA, WHICH AS-
PIRES TO EQUAL PARTNERSHIP WITH BRITAIN IN
THE IMPERIAL FEDERATION, IT IS ITS DELIBERATE
AND CONSIDERED OPINION THAT INDIA IS NOT ABLE TO
ASSUME ANY FURTHER PECUNIARY BUR-
DENS. IT IS THE CONFIRMED OPINION OF THE
SABHA THAT THE DEEP AND EVER-DEEPENING
POVERTY OF INDIA IS NOT FULLY REALIZED BY
THE OFFICIALS. THE SABHA HAS THEREFORE UN-
ANIMOUSLY RESOLVED THAT THE FINANCIAL RESO-
LUTION PASSED AT THE IMPERIAL COUNCIL MEET-
ING ON 10TH SEPTEMBER, IF CARRIED INTO
EFFECT, IS SURE TO TELL HEAVILY UPON INDIA
IN THE OPINION OF THE SABHA, THE BEST
METHOD OF RECEIVING FURTHER FINANCIAL AID
FROM INDIA IS TO DEPEND PURELY UPON NON-
STATUTORY VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS. THE SABHA
THEREFORE HOPES THAT ITS APPEAL NOT TO
ENFORCE THE SAID RESOLUTION WILL RECEIVE
FAVOURABLE RESPONSE OF THE GOVERNMENT.
1
Sent by Gandhiji as president of the Gujarat Sabha
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 239

ASHRAM,
S ABARMATI ,
October 29 [1918]
DEAR PUNDALIK,
Your letter was shown to Bapuji. It has not pleased him. He sends you the
following message:
One comes across a variety of things in the world, but one is not
required to get involved in every one of them. One ought only to
concern oneself with things that are part of one’s duty. A man who
meddles with what is not his job is not prompted by any concern for
the right—he is merely conceited. Your duty is only to impart
instruction to children and to look after matters of hygiene and
sanitation and you may not transgress its limits. Therefore your action
in stopping the police and getting the cattle released was not right. It
may be that they will not prosecute you for stopping the police, but
not prosecuting you will only involve you in further trouble. It is well
that you write to me about everything. Continue to write in this
manner. But do not ever leave the field of school work to meddle with
something else. Your duty is only that and nothing else, It is not right
of you to be angry with the Saheb either. I hope you will be very
cautious in your behaviour in future.
This is Mahatmaji’s message. You will accept it with reverence. He would
himself have written, but his hand and fingers have not the strength.
Kaka Saheb 1 is unwell today. It must be influenza.
Yours,
MAHADEV DESAI
1
Dattatraya Balkrishna Kalelkar was so called in the Ganganath Vidyalaya —a
school in Baroda State where he served as a teacher before joining Gandhiji as a co-
worker; vide An Autobiography.

[AHMEDABAD ,]
October 31, 1918
I got your postcard. There is nothing particular to write about
today. I am always thinking how you may come to be at peace with
yourself, and remain so. If I could help you by any word of mine and
if I knew that word, I would write it at once. I do not know whether
you have understood what this world means, but I have the clearest
vision of it every moment and I see it exactly as it has been described
by the sages, and that so vividly that I feel no interest in it. Activity is
inescapable so long as there is this body and, therefore, the only thing
that pleases me is to be ever occupied with activity of the utmost
purity. It is no exaggeration to say that I experience wave after wave
of joy from the practice of self-restraint which such work requires.
One will find true happiness in the measure that one understands this
and lives accordingly. If this calamity1 puts you in a frame of mind in
which such happiness will be yours, we may even regard it as
welcome. If your mind can ever disengage itself from its concerns,
ponder over all this. We are all well. Those who were ill are all on the
way to recovery—I too am doing well. I take it that you show all the
letters to Ba and hence I do not write separately to her.
[From Gujarati]
227. LETTER TO RABINDRANATH TAGORE

THE ASHRAM,
S ABARMATI ,
November 5 [1918] 2
DEAR GURUDEV,
Charlie left the Ashram yesterday and we are the poorer for his
absence. I very much miss his sunny face. You will therefore
understand what I mean when I tell you how deeply grateful I feel for
1
A reference to the recent death of the addressee’s wife
2
During the years 1918 to 1921 it was only in 1918 that Gandhiji was at the
Ashram on November 5.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 241

your having allowed him to pass a few days at the Ashram.
I hope you are keeping good health under the heavy strain
which the school work in Shantiniketan places upon yon.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
From a microfilm of the original. Courtesy: National Archives of India

November 5, 1918
DEAR MR. SHASTRIAR,
I thank you for your note and I fully appreciate and understand
the spirit that has prompted it. I assure you that I take the greatest
possible care I can of my health. It is no joke for a man who has
rarely been laid up in bed to have more than three months’
experience of it. And if my sickness is still further prolonged, it will
be due to my ignorance or folly, or both. I cannot ascribe any relapse
to want of skill or attention of medical friends. They are helpless by
reason of what to them are my crankisms. But they have become part
of myself and give me the greatest comfort and joy even when I am
suffering excruciating pain. Here is an extract about the late Dr. Deva
from a letter from the Rev. F. Z. Hodge of Motihari. He is a
missionary of exceptional independence and liberal thought. I hope
you are keeping well or rather as well as you can under the strain that
exacting public work imposes upon you.
Yours,

ASHRAM,
Kartik Sud 2 [November 5, 1918] 1
CHI. MATHURADAS,
I hope you are well. I feel I am regaining strength. Do you

know Jamnalalji? Once or twice he came to see me at
1
It appears from the contents that this letter was written after the one to the
addressee dated September 24, 1918.

Revashankarbhai’s1 place, and it is my impression that you were
present. He will co-operate fully in the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan work.
Please see him. We must now start the work immediately. Swami
Satyadevji 2 is also there at present and will be there for another two
days. He will proceed to Madras on Thursday night. Keep me
informed of whatever you may be doing.
Blessings from
MOHANDAS
230. DRAFT TELEGRAM TO H. S. L. POLAK

November 9, 1918
P OLAK
C ARE IMMORTAL
BOMBAY
GO AFRICA IF WISH. BUT POSSIBILITY SHIPPING DIFFICULTY
THERE. UNDESIRABLE HERE BEFORE SPRING. CONSULT FULLY.
GANDHI
From the original: C.W. 10955. Courtesy: Not known
231. MESSAGE ON OPENING SWADESHI STORE 3

November 14, 1918
Being bed-ridden, I am unable to be present, but my spirit is
there, of course. If you have faith in swadeshi goods, it is bound to
bear fruit. If our love for the country is sincere, we just cannot use
foreign goods. I should like the store to be on a larger scale still. The
country will prosper only when the people cultivate the spirit of
swadeshi with religious devotion.
[From Gujarati]
1
Revashankar Jagjivan Jhaveri
2
Swami Satyadev Parivrajak
3
Gujarat Swadeshi Store at Ahmedabad
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 243

232. MESSAGE TO FIRST RAILWAY CONFERENCE1
[Before November 16, 1918]
I am sorry that, not being well, I am unable to be present.
Improvement on railways falls under two heads: one, securing relief
from the Government and, two, removing the ignorance of passengers.
The key to swaraj lies in self-help.
[From Gujarati]
Gujarati, 24-11-1918

S ATYAGRAHA ASHRAM,
S ABARMATI ,
November 17 [1918]
DEAR PUNDALIK,
Gandhiji has received your letter. He has also read all your letters to Kaka
Saheb. He thinks that you should calmly wait and watch and go on working with your
mind unperturbed. Whatever has to be done about you will be done by Babu
Brajkishore2 and Babu Rajendra Prasad3 . Letters have been written to them from here.
You also should see Gorakh Babu 4 and keep both of them informed. It has been
decided to put up a strong defence on your behalf. It will not be proper to write to the
Government about you just yet.
Yours,
MAHADEV DESAI
(Under Gandhiji’s direction)
1
Held in Nadiad, along with the Gujarat Political Conference
2
Prasad, advocate of Darbhanga; member, Bihar and Orissa Legislative
Council; active co-worker of Gandhiji in Champaran
3
1884-1963; statesman and scholar; chairman Constituent Assembly of India,
1946-9; President of India, 1950-62
4
Gorakh Prasad (1869-1962); a pleader of Motihari; for some time host of
Gandhiji in Champaran

234. LETTER TO MAHOMED ALI
THE ASHRAM,
November 18, 1918
MY DEAR FRIEND,
It was a perfect delight to receive a letter from you after ages as
it were. The letters from you all are evidence of your great affection
for me for which I am deeply grateful and if, as some return for it, I
could strain the letter of my vow and do what you suggest I should
gladly do so. But there is no getting out of the self-imposed restraint.
I should be false to God and man and to myself if I disregarded the
vow taken after the fullest deliberation and in anticipation of all the
consequences that have followed it. All my usefulness will be entirely
gone if yielding to so many friends’ advice I reconsider my position.
I regard this sickness as a time of trial and temptation for me, and
what I need is the prayerful support and encouragement of friends. I
assure you that within the four corners of the restriction I take every
precaution possible in order to preserve the body. Just now a medical
friend has appeared on the scene who has undertaken to give me
physical strength by massage, ice application and deep breathing. He
thinks that in two months’ time I shall have put on sufficient flesh and
weight to be able to move out and undertake ordinary mental strain.
His treatment is rational and natural. What is more, I have confidence
in it and with proper dietetic changes I do hope that the friend’s
prophecy will be fulfilled. I have had the charges against you read to
me. I have never read a weaker or flimsier indictment and think that
your reply will be decisive, straight and dignified. It is evident to me
that the Committee has been appointed to furnish the Government
with anescape. Anyway we can now contemplate the findings of the
Com-mittee with complete indifference. Your defence is so
overwhelmingly strong that if the Committee’s finding is hostile an
agitation can be raised which will make India resound with
indignation over the monstrous injustice under which you have
laboured so long and so patiently. I wish I was with you in
Chhindwara to assist in drawing up your reply, but that was not to be.
Please give my respects to Amma Saheb. I am pining to meet
you all and to meet the children and to come in closer touch with you.
As I said at the Lucknow meeting, my interest in your release is quite
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 245

selfish. We have a common goal and I want to utilize your services to
the uttermost, in order to reach that goal. In the proper solution of the
Mahomedan question lies the realization of swaraj. However, of this
when we meet, as I hope we shall soon do.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
From the manuscript of Mahadev Desai’s Diary. Courtesy: Narayan Desai; also
N.A.I.: Home: Political (Deposit): December, 1918: No. 3
235. LETTER TO SAROJINI NAIDU

November 18, 1918
DEAR SISTER,
I appreciated your little note. I observe that you have survived
the operation. I hope that it will be entirely successful, so that India
may for many a year to come continue to hear your songs. For me I
do not know when I shall be able to leave this sick-bed of mine.
Somehow or other, I cannot put on flesh and gain more strength than
I have. I am making a mighty attack. The doctors of course despair in
face of the self-imposed restrictions under which I am labouring. I
assure you that they have been my greatest consolation during this
protracted illness. I have no desire whatsoever to live upon condition
of breaking those disciplinary and invigorating restrictions. For me,
although they restrict the body somewhat, they free the soul and they
give me a consciousness of it which I should not otherwise
possess.”You can’t serve God and Mammon” has a clearer and
deeper meaning for me after those vows. I do not infer that they are
necessary for all, but they are for me. If I broke them I feel that I
should be perfectly worthless. Do let me have an occasional line from
you.
Yours,
M. K. GANDHI

S ATYAGRAHA ASHRAM,
S ABARMATI ,
Kartak Vad 5 [November 23, 1918] 1
BHAISHRI HARILAL,
I have your letter and the translation. I am still confined to bed.

But I have gone through your corrections. Once again I have to hurt
you. If I had been satisfied with your corrections, I would not have
been so impudent as to reject the translation after it was printed. But I
withheld the publication of your translation only when I was
convinced that your translation needed drastic changes. It still retains
what appear to me to be mistakes. My complaint is that the translation
cannot pass as good Gujarati. This defect remains even after your
corrections. Lest I be unfair to you even unwittingly, I placed the
translation before the teachers. They went through it carefully and
expressed the view that the Gujarati of the translation did not do
justice to the original, that it did not convey the strict sense of the
original, and the language appeared clumsy. While they were going
through the translation, an inmate of the Ashram having only passable
familiarity with Gujarati was sitting by. He was not aware of what the
teachers were doing. But when he heard the translation, he commented
that he was not able to follow the Gujarati language. Under these
circumstances it seems only proper not to take the risk of publishing
the translation as it is. I had hoped that you would discard your
translation and do it afresh. Instead of going over the same translation
thrice, if you had laboured as much over a fresh translation, both of us
would have been satisfied. But how could you do a fresh translation so
long as you do not see the faults that we see in your translation?
I am returning you translation. After I recover, if you can spend
a few days at the Ashram, we shall go over the translation together and
I shall give my comments. I naturally wish that you should be able to
see the faults in it.
I felt sad for a moment when I learnt that your family were
afflicted with influenza and there was even a death. But such news is
pouring in from everywhere so that now the mind is hardly affected.
1
The year has been inferred from the reference to Gandhiji’s illness.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 247

[AHMEDABAD ,]
November 26, 1918
CHI. HARILAL,
I gave you some news about myself yesterday. I give you more
today. My health is both good and bad. I feel that the improvement
which should have taken place in some respects has not come about. I
cannot complain about food now. Everyone says that it would be
better for me to go out for some time, and I also think I should. I have
been, therefore, thinking of doing so, and am making arrangements. It
will be good if you come over before I leave. Whatever you wish to
say, you may pour out before me without any hesitation. If you
cannot give vent to your feelings before me, before whom else can
you do so? I shall be a true friend to you. What would it matter if
there should be any difference of opinion between us about any
scheme of yours? We shall have a quiet talk. The final decision will
rest with you. I fully realize that your state at present is like that of a
man dreaming. Your responsibilities have increased, your trials have
increased and your temptations will increase likewise. To a man with a
family, the fact of being such, that is, having a wife, is a great check.
This check over you has disappeared. 1 Two paths branch out from
where you stand now. You have to decide which you will take. There
is a bhajan we often sing in the Ashram; its first line runs: Nirbalke
bala Rama.2
One cannot pray to God for help in a spirit of pride but only if
one confesses oneself as helpless. As I lie in bed, every day I realize
how insignificant we are, how very full of attachments and aversions,
and what evil desires sway us. Often I am filled with shame by the
unworthiness of my mind. Many a time I fall intodespair because of
the attention my body craves and wish that it should perish. From my
condition, I can very well judge that of others. I shall give you the full
benefit of my experience; you may accept what you can. All this after
you come.
Blessings from
BAPU
[From Gujarati]
1
Harilal had lost his wife some time ago.
2
Refrain of Surdas’s famous hymn, “He is the help of the helpless, the
strength of the weak.”

238. REPLIES TO QUESTIONS ON
MONTAGU-CHELMSFORD SCHEME
[December, 1918]
In the Hindustan, a Gujarati daily published at Bombay, a writer has addressed
the following open questions to Mahatma Gandhi:
(I) On behalf of Gujarat you sent a monster petition1 to Mr. Montagu in which
you asked for certain rights for India. Does the Montagu-Chelmsford Scheme fall
short of those rights or not?
(2) If it does fall short, why is it that you did not attend the special Congress2
to support the demand for granting these rights?
(3) If you believe that the Montagu-Chelmsford Scheme satisfies the Indian
public, why did you not attend the Moderate Conference3 ?
To those questions, Mr. Gandhi has sent the following replies:
(I) All the rights asked for in the Congress-League Scheme4 are
not conceded in the Montagu-Chelmsford Scheme.
(2) I did not attend the Special Congress, because I had
differences of opinion on certain principles with the leaders and under
such circumstances I thought it improper to place my views from the
Congress platform. As I did not want to convey even my dumb
acceptance of the matters in dispute, I chose to remain absent.
(3) Just as I had differences of opinion on principles with the
Extremist leaders, so I had differences with the Moderate leaders also.
And so I thought it proper not to attend their Conference, too.
Here I cannot enter into discussion as to what is my difference of
opinion on the principles, because that is acomplicated subject. That I
am on sick-bed is sufficient reason for my refusing discussion about
my personal opinion.
The Indian Review, December, 1918 quoting The New Times
1
Vide “Petition to E. S. Montagu”, before 13-9-1917.
2
The special session of the Indian National Congress held at Bombay in
August-September, 1918, under the presidentship of Syed Hasan Imam
3
Of November, 1918
4
Of 1916
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 249

239. TELEGRAM TO MILL-HANDS AT MADRAS 1
[December 2,] 1918
NOT YET OUT OF BED, THOUGH RECOVERING. THEREFORE

UNABLE TO COME TO MADRAS OR OTHERWISE HELP MILL-
HANDS.
M. K. GANDHI
The Bengalee, 4-12-1918
240. LETTER TO INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS 2
December 26, 1918

I regret being unable to attend the Congress this time. My health
is too poor. I hope delegates from both sides will be there at the
Congress. I pray to God that the Congress may succeed in its labours.
[From Hindi]
Pratap, 30-12-1918
1
This was read out on the evening of December 2 at the meeting of Mill-Hands
held under the auspices of the Madras Labour Union Employment Bureau.
2
Substance of a letter read out at the Delhi session of the Indian National
Congress by Madan Mohan Malaviya.

C/ O R EVASHANKAR JAGJIVAN, L ABURNUM R OAD ,
GOREGAUM ,
BOMBAY,
December 29 [1918] 1
MY DEAR MILLIE,
I can still write with great difficulty. I have to move my pen like
a schoolboy. This is there to send X’mas greetings and all good
wishes for the next year. I expect you in Bombay before long. I am
possibly making a little progress. I have had so many setbacks that I
do not now predict anything. I simply wait upon God, making every
attempt to get better and then trusting Him to the uttermost.
With love,
Yours,
BHAI
From the original: Gandhi-Polak Correspondence. Courtesy: National Archives
of India
242. LETTER TO COLLECTOR OF CHAMPARAN2

S ABARMATI ,
[1918]
As Mr. Pundalik who is in charge of the school at Bhitiharwa
tells me that he is being often questioned about hisrepresentative
character and his activity, I write this to say that Mr. Pundalik
represents me and has been selected by me for the work he is doing
on the recommendation of Dr. Deva of the Servants of India Society.
He is a voluntary unpaid worker.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
From a photostat: G N. 5220
1
From “Bombay, December 29” in the date-line as also from the reference to
Gandhiji’s ill-health; vide “Telegram to Mill-Hands at Madras”, 2-12-1918 to “Letter
to Maganlal Mehta”, 10-1-1919.
2
Quoted by Mahadev Desai in letter to Pundalik in Hindi which stated: “Your
letters continue to come. You should go on working steadfastly. Mahatmaji has sent
to the Collector the following letter about you.”
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 251

MARWAR JUNCTION,
Tuesday [1918]
CHI. MAGANLAL,
I heard that some thieves had attempted to steal things from the
room. Someone should be asked to sleep in the verandah. I sent
Lallubhai last night. It would be a good arrangement to send him and
some others with him. Put away all anxiety and work on with faith and
courage.
Blessings from
BAPU

BOMBAY,
1918
1
MY DEAR ESTHER ,
This is my first attempt to write after the relapse.
Though I am not quite clear about your course of duty, I
suppose it is as well that you responded to Mr. Andrews’ appeal 2 . I
myself doubt the utility of your going there. Your letters to follow will
make this point clear. I am very, very sorry that you are not at the
Ashram, during this long vacation. The enforced separation however
brings you closer to the Ashram.
You will be glad to hear that I daily wear the vests made by you.
They are a perpetual reminder of your long service. I am feeling
better for the last two days but no progress like this can be considered
reliable until it lasts a fortnight or so.
More from Mahadev.
With love,
Yours,
BAPU
My Dear Child, p. 31
1
A member of the staff of the Danish Missionary Society in South India. She
had visited Sabarmati Ashram as a preparation for her educational work.
2
That Esther Faering should work at Shantiniketan

January 6, 1919
I suppose I must get used to having ups and downs and not feel
any the worse for them, because it appears that before I have done
with this protracted illness I am likely still to have many ups and
downs. Just at the present moment I seem to be all right. The
hypodermic injections to which I thought I must reconcile myself are
producing the expected results. They are intended to whet my appetite
and I must confess that my food today is the envy of a gourmand,
both as to quantity and quality. But no one knows when I may have a
set-back. I dare say a careful observer could even cast a table and
prognosticate the next relapse and the others to follow. I am under the
hands of a very eminent doctor. He wants to give 15 injections out of
which he has given four. The prospect before me is therefore by no
means very pleasant and the needle-pricks are decidedly unpleasant.
What are we not prepared to bear in order that we may live?
I observe that the Bishop of Calcutta is dead. It must be a great
wrench for you, but I suppose it is well that he is free from pain. So
far as my convenience is concerned your having sent Miss Faering to
Bolpur was all right. But I did consider your action impulsive. As you
assure me that she entirely filled your place I can have nothing more
to say. But I felt upon Miss Faering’s letter that she could not very
well take the higher English classes, or for that matter, even the lower
classes at Shantiniketan. I suppose there is nothing insurm ountable
for one possessing the faith that Miss Faering does abundantly and
she has succeeded where thousands would have failed. Has she taken
her discharge from the Danish Mission, because you talk of her
coming to me after her finishing Bolpur. If she has got her discharge
without causing any bad feeling, it is a great thing. I am in Bombay at
least up to the 15th. I shall then have to consider the propriety of my
going to Colombo. You need not worry about my election as a
Congress delegate. I have not come to any final conclusion. When the
actuality faces me, I know that the way will be as clear to me as the
blue skies. I am, therefore,”careful for nothing”. I am not anxious to
go as a deputee, but I shall not avoid the task if I must perform it. I
hope you are doing well.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 253

[BOMBAY,]
January 9, 1919
My health, like the moon, has its phases; it waxes and it wanes;
only it jumps the new moon day. The pain caused by piles has
disappeared completely, but I have no appetite and feel weak in the
body and to that extent the illness persists.
[From Gujarati]

Wednesday, [ After January 9, 1919] 1
CHI. MATHURADAS,
I have your letter. It cannot be concluded that because the goat
is a restless animal,the person who drinks goat’s milk will also become
restless.
I am already taking milk twice a day. If I do so three times a
day, it will only give me loose motions. Putting soda into curd
certainly changes its properties.
I do not have rheumatism at all. But many people have pain in
the joints from exhaustion. Such is the case with me. But now the pain
is very much reduced. Had it been due to rheumatism it would have
become aggravated rather than subsided. The reason why I am writing
all this is that you should learn to come to correct conclusions. Many
people draw incomplete conclusions. It is like one-sided judgement.
Do you understand?
Blessings from
BAPU
[PS.]
Ask Reench if he remembers me.
From a photostat of the Gujarati : G. N. 3728
1
From the reference to consumption of goat’s milk which Gandhiji began
from January 9, 1919; vide also “Letter to Maganlal Gandhi”, 10-1-1919, “Letter to
Narhari Parikh”, 21-1-1919 and”Letter to Maganlal Gandhi”, 5-2-1919.

[BOMBAY,]
January 10, 1919
These days, I have been thinking so much about all sorts of
things that I often feel a strong urge to share some of my thoughts
with you all. But, thanks to physical weakness and mental torpor, I can
neither write nor dictate. Today I cannot help dictating. In the
changes I am making at present, my atman bears witness that I am
showing no weakness. I am making them with a detached mind and
out of my strength, the main purpose being to satisfy all of you and
the other friends. I simply cannot bear to look at Ba’s face. The
expression is often like that on the face of a meek cow and gives one
the feeling, as a cow occasionally does, that in her own dumb man-ner
she was saying something. I see, too, that there is selfishness in this
suffering of hers; even so, her gentleness overpowers me and I feel
inclined to relax in all matters in which I possibly may. Only four
days ago, she was making herself miserable about milk, and, on the -
impulse of the moment, asked me why, if I might not take cow’s
milk, I would not take goat’s milk. This went home. When I took the
vow, I was not thinking of the goat at all. I knew nothing, then, about
the use of goat’s milk and it was not a goat’s suffering which was so
vividly before my mind. My vow related only to cow’s milk. I was not
thinking about the buffalo either. But taking buffalo’s milk would kill
my chief aim [in taking the vow]. It was different with goat’s milk,
and I felt I could relieve friends of much of their concern. I, therefore,
decided to take goat’s milk. Though, from one point of view, my vow
does not retain its full value, now that I know all about goat’s milk, it
does not lose its value altogether. Be that as it may, I am glad the thing
is over and done with, for friends’ agony was increasing day by day
and Dr. Mehta kept bombarding me with telegrams. There is no
difference between cow’s milk and goat’s milk, if the goat is well
looked after. It is even on record that in England the goat’s milk is
richer than the cow’s. The milk from our goats is considered lighter,
but this is an advantage rather than otherwise. Be the fact of the matter
what it is, I have done all I could. I even let the doctor to inject arsenic,
strychnine and iron. If my health does not come round after all this,
we certainly cannot say that it will if I give up the vow [restricting me
to the use] of no more than five articles [a day]. No one, therefore, has
anything now to complain of. We shall have to be patient and watch
what effect all these changes have. Though I have allowed myself this
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 255

freedom, my conscience does not, for a single moment, cease asking
me,”Why all this labour?”,”What would you do with life?”,”What is
it you would so much exert yourself to reform?” When I think of the
plight of Germany’s Kaiser, I feel as if a great Being were playing
with us as we play with cowries. We are infinitely smaller, in relation to
the globe on which we move, than the ants moving on a ball are in
relation to that ball and like them, ever ignorant, we press forward and
get crushed. Despite such thoughts, I have not even a moment’s doubt
about our duty. We cannot cease wholly from activity and, therefore,
everything we do must tend to paramartha1 . A man so active can
attain the most perfect peace. In the Ashram, too, we must undertake
such activity. Do what you think best in regard to the suggestion you
have received about sowing jowar, and about weaving. Let me know
what you do. And remember that you can engage a servant for the
kitchen, if you feel the need.
Blessings from
BAPU
[From Gujarati]

January 10, 1919
MY DEAR CHARLIE,
So you have been suffering from influenza. To me the marvel is
that you can keep so well in spite of incessant wanderings. But I
suppose God protects those whom He wants to use as His instruments,
especially when they let Him do the guiding without any opposition. I
therefore entertain no anxiety on your behalf. I feel certain that you
may have all the strength you need for your mission. For me, I am
still going through ups and downs. I am not clear, as you seem to be,
about the desirability of my going to England, either for the public
work I may be able to do, or for the sake of my health. I am, however,
gradually feeling my way and taking it step by step.
1
The highest good

250. LETTER TO SWAMI SATYADEV
BOMBAY,
January 10, [1919] 1
2
SWAMI SATYADEVJI,
I have dictated the above shloka with great sorrow. Your letters
have startled me. A learned and experienced person like you cannot
give up any work after having started it. Devdas is a child. He does not
want to leave me till he is absolutely sure about my health. I cannot
make him give up this sacred feeling by coercion. Nor do I want to. I
firmly believe that whatever my state of health, Devdas should be in
Madras. But Devdas does not think so. He believes that so long as
there is the slightest doubt about my health, his duty is to be with me.
What I can I tell him? Even so, there was much argument with him
today and Devdas has agreed that if your reply, which he is awaiting,
is not satisfactory, he will leave this place and go to Madras. I shall
hope that you will not give up your work in Madras any time. I would
like to believe that the letters you have written me are only an
expression of your anger. You must give up the anger and be calm.
That is my prayer.
My health continues to have ups and downs.3 There is no cause
for worry. I do have the confidence that even if I do not keep perfect
health, there cannot be any sudden decline either. I have now agreed
to take goat’s milk. Hence there is every chance of my regaining
health quickly.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
From a photostat of the Gujarati: S.N. 11909
1
From the reference in the text to Devdas’s work in Madras and to Gandhiji’s
agreeing to take goat’s milk, which he started in 1919
2
‘Coming from one with a disturbed mind even a boon is frightening.’
3
Gandhiji had been suffering from piles.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - 20 MAY, 1919 257

BOMBAY,
Paush Sud 15 [January 16, 1919] 1
CHI. RAMDAS2 ,
After some days I am again trying to write you. I am still unable
to write, 3 but l feel like writing to you and so am writing this. You
complain about absence of letters from me, but I have been regular in
dictating letters to you. There is so much confusion on the steamship
that sometimes letters even get lost in transit. Just as some others did
not get the letters I wrote to them, you also may not have got them. It
is not right, whenever you fail to get a letter from me, to assume that I
must have been displeased by something you did or wrote. It is not in
my nature to get hurt over such things. Moreover, you have done or
said nothing which might have displeased me.
I have no doubt in my mind that Manilal has been working
hard, and for the present you should continue to help him. He will be
able to raise the level of I.O. gradually. If you have confidence in
your ability to write on your own, you may do so. Only one thing is
required for it, and that is knowledge of facts. If you know anything
about agriculture, do write a good article on that subject. Many
aspiring writers who have no grasp of the subject they write on, are
foolhardy enough to try to write on it and fail in their attempt. If you
master an easy subject and begin writing on it, you are sure to
succeed. You could have written a vivid account of the passing away
of Sheth Cachalia4 . If you start writing that way, you will get trained
and will be able, by and by, to write very well. When Mr. Polak5 joined
me, his writings were dull and too long. After about four months’
experience, he was able to write better and by the end of the year, had
made excellent progress. Your great misfortune is that you lack
1
As suggested in the source. Also vide “Fragment of Letter to Ramdas Gandhi”,
16-1-1919 where the 2nd para of this letter is already reproduced under the same date.
2
Ramdas was at this time in Natal on the Phoenix Farm with Manilal.
3
Gandhiji had been ailing for a long time and had to finally undergo an
operation for piles on January 20, 1919.
4
Sheth Ahmed Mohomed Cachalia who had died in South Africa on October
20, 1918
5
H.S.L. Polak

confidence in your ability. There is no reason at all for you to believe
that you have no brains. If only you cultivate interest in reading and
writing, you have ability enough to do both.1
My health seems to be improving. I have started taking goat’s
milk 2 . That seems to be doing me much good. I must be daily
drinking about four and a half seers of it. Besides drinking milk, I eat
some dry fruits and rice twice every day. If I can digest the quantity
of milk I am taking, my weight is likely to increase very fast.
Blessings from
BAPU
From the Gujarati original: Mrs. Sumitra Kulkarni Papers. Courtesy: Nehru
Memorial Museum and Library
252. LETTER TO HARILAL

S ATYAGRAHA ASHRAM,
S ABARMATI ,
Pause Krishna Chaturdashi [January 20, 1919] 3
BHAISHRI,
The tragedy that has befallen you distresses me. We are so eager
to live that the moment of death, particularly that of a dear one, always
frightens us. I have often felt that it is at such a moment that we are
truly tested. Anyone even the least little bit aware of the atman is able
to understand the nature of death. It is futile to mourn. These
thoughts are not new but if someone voices them in times of trouble,
they console us. It is with that purpose in mind that I write this.
I wish you not to be distressed at all over the translation. Your
translation does not give the impression that you have rushed through
it anyhow; but only a few display the love that one should feel for
one’s mother tongue. I notice in your translation the mistakes that
everybody commits. I am sure you will notice them now that I have
pointed them out . . .4 Unfortunately, I noticed the translation after the
1
This para is already reproduced in “Fragment of Letter to Ramdas Gandhi”,
16-1-1919.
2
Gandhiji started this on January 9, 1919
3
It appears from the contents that this letter was written after the one prece-
ding it. Paush Krishna Chaturdashi corresponded to January 20 in 1919.
4
Omission as in the source
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 259

whole of it had already been printed. I urge you to do the translation
afresh instead of revising what you have done. It will not take much
time and the translation will be readable.
253. LETTER TO NARAHARI PARIKH

[BOMBAY,]
January 21, 1919
BHAISHRI NARAHARI 1 ,
It is 12.30 a.m. just now. I got the piles removed yesterday.
When I had suffered enough, I was given morphia by injection. I felt
drowsy in consequence and fell asleep. I slept from 2 p.m. onwards
and have just awakened, at midnight. Hence the mind is calm, and I
am not likely to get sleep again for some time. Besides, it is
Mahadev’s turn to watch, and therefore, feeling inclined to write to
you, I am dictating this letter.
Everyone hopes that after the operation I shall be free of piles
for good. If that happens, my health is likely to improve very fast. I
shall have to remain here for at least a month, and then, before going
elsewhere, I shall first visit the Ashram. No one, I beg, should worry
about my health.
I was very glad to read your criticism 2 of the freedom I have
allowed myself in regard to milk. If any person feels that a friend of
his has shown weakness, through illness maybe, or for any other
reason, it is his duty to draw the friend’s attention to the weakness he
has observed. A man is under so strong a temptation to fall, and
Nature herself has made it so very easy for him to indulge in self-
deception, that even a vigilant person, if he is weak, or if his
abstinences lack the genuine spirit of renunciation, is sure to fall.
Therefore, as I have said above, friends must keep an eye on one
another and I wish that all of you maintain such watch ever so
thoroughly. It is in this that our elevation lies, yours and mine. Before
making any great change, I invariably consult Mahadev at any rate,
1
Co-worker of Gandhiji
2
Which, in the letter to Mahadev Desai, as quoted in Mahadevbhaini Diary,
was: “We are all happy that you have started taking goat’s milk. But strength lies in
giving up the vow straightaway instead of putting new constructions upon it in this
manner and violating it gradually.”

but I have always felt that, because of his boundless love for me, he is
incapable of noting any shortcomings in me and that, when he does,
he condones them. I do not, therefore, get full benefit out of my
consultations with him. Had you made your remarks in your letter to
me, I would have felt happier. I am sure of this, at any rate, that when
friends place the argument on the other side, I understand it very well
because I take an entirely detached view. That is why I feel that,
whenever we do not think alike, you should all come out with your
disagreement immediately. That will not disturb me very much; rather,
I shall be free from the unhappy position of having to be my own
judge. Personally, I feel convinced that I have fully succeeded in
observing my vows with the utmost strictness. I deliberated for twenty-
four hours before I commenced taking goat’s milk; I would even say
that, whenever I have allowed myself any freedom, there have always
been strong reasons for doing so. I am not at all anxious to live on
and, though more than five months have elapsed since I fell ill, this
indifference of mine remains. When I took the vow of not taking milk,
I had, or could have, no thought in my mind of any milk other than
that of the cow or the buffalo. I had considered the matter very
carefully when I took the vow to refrain from milk. I was painfully
aware of the ill-treatment of cows and buffaloes 1 and that was the
reason for my taking the vow concerning milk. What is my duty in the
present circumstances? Should I accept the natural meaning that
suggests itself or the one that is drawn out with much hair-splitting? It
appears to me that I should allow myself as much freedom as is
consistent with a very liberal construction of my vows. I will not admit
that, through the freedom I have allowed myself, I am in any way
violating my vow, even on the strictest view of it. The medical
experiment [of a milkless diet] I was making may indeed receive a
great setback, but an experiment in medical science is no affair of the
spirit. The ideal of self-control and the spiritual intention behind the
renunciation of milk have remained quite unaffected. With the passing
of days, friends become more insistent. Dr. Mehta goes on sending
telegrams. Thousands of other Indians areextremelyagitated over my
illness. Though Ba is not always weeping and grieving over my illness,
yet I know that her soul is in torment. What should I do under such
circumstances? The question can have only one answer. Without
detracting ever so little from my vow, I should adopt a liberal attitude
1
Vide An Autobiography, Part V, Ch. XXIX.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 261

wherever possible and allow myself some freedom. I shall stop here
today. There are many other arguments, but I have placed only the
main one before you. If my argument does not satisfy you, and if you
still see weakness in my action, do let me have your criticism. If you
do so, moreover, after consulting others, I shall be happy indeed. Even
if your criticism appears just to me, for the present I shall continue
taking milk. Do not, therefore, hesitate out of fear that I might give it
up.
I am very glad that you teach Manibehn1 with care. If we could
place all our women in the forefront, we would produce big results.
[From Gujarati]
Mahadevbhaini Diary, Vol. V
254. LETTER TO BALI

January 21, 1919
2
CHI. BALI ,
I have your letter. My health continues to be so-so. For four
days I suffered torments because of piles. Yesterday the doctor
operated upon them, so now I shall know whether I get relief. The
children are enjoying themselves. The day before yesterday, we
allowed them to go with Kumi3 . We don’t allow them to go at night
and sleep at her place. There was a letter from Harilal in which he says
that the place where the children sleep should not be changed. You
both feel very unhappy because I cannot make arrangements for the
children as desired by you; all the same, I feel constrained to refuse to
send the children over to you, even if I have to be cruel in the process.
It is absolutely necessary for them not to have to change the place too
often. A tutor has also been engaged to teach them from tomorrow.
As a result of the treatment being given to Manu4 , she is growing fast.
And the same about Rami5 . Under these circumstances, if you
consider merely the interests of the children, you will not insist on
having them sent over to you. I should like you, instead, once in a
month or two, or three at the longest, to go to Sabarmati, stay in the
1
Addressee’s wife
2
Sister-in-law of Harilal Gandhi
3
ibid
4
Harilal’s daughters
5
Harilal’s mother-in-law

Ashram and be happy with the children. That I shall have your
company will be an additional advantage. The passing away of both
Chhabalbhabhi1 and Chanchal has been a great blow to you. If it were
in any way possible, I would take your suffering on myself and see
that you were free from the suffering which you have gone through in
your life. You are like a daughter to me and may, therefore, write with
the utmost freedom. Do write now and then. Ba sends you her
blessings.
[From Gujarati]
255. LETTER TO ESTHER FAERING2

BOMBAY
January 25, 1919
MY DEAR ESTHER,
I shall try to answer your very very pertinent question as

fully as possible. A vow is nothing but a fixed resolution to do or
abstain from doing a particular thing. During the self-denial week, the
members of the Salvation Army take a vow to abstain from taking jam
or other eatable for a fixed period. During Lent, the Roman Catholics
undergo certain privations. That is also a vow. In each case, the result
expected is the same, viz., purification and expression of the soul. By
these resolutions, you bring the body under subjection. Body is
matter, soul is spirit, and there is internal conflict between matter and
spirit. Triumph of matter over the spirit means destruction of the
latter. It is common knowledge that [this is] in the same proportion
that we indulge the body or mortify the soul. Body or matter has
undoubtedly its uses. The spirit can express itself only through matter
1
In reply to the following letter from Esther Faering: “Do we take a vow in
order to help and strengthen our character? Does God require us to take any kind of
vows? Can a vow not become fatal? I do ask you Bapu in all reverence because I desire
to get more light over this question. I believe that God suffers because you now are
suffering, Bapu, although you suffer with joy. But if God is a father, and if God is
perfect love, does it not then cause suffering to Him when His children take burden
upon them, which they are not asked to carry? If you could explain [to] me the deeper
meaning of the vow it might help me in my own life.”
2
Organization for religious philanthropic work founded by William Booth in
1880
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 263

or body. But that result can be obtained only when the body is used as
an instrument for the uplifting of the soul. The vast majority of the
human family do not use the body in that manner. The result is
triumph of the body or matter over the spirit or the soul. We who
know the soul to be imperishable living in a body which ever changes
its substance and is perishable must by making fixed resolutions bring
our bodies under such control that finally we may be able to use them
for the fullest service of the soul. This idea is fairly clearly brought
out in the New Testament. But I have seen it nowhere explained as
fully and clearly as in the Hindu scriptures. You will find this law of
self-denial written in every page of the Ramayana and the
Mahabharata. Have you read these two books? If not, you should one
of these days read them carefully and with the eye of faith. There is a
great deal of fabulous matter about these two books. They are
designed for the masses and the authors have deliberately chosen to
write them in a manner that would make them acceptable to the
people. They have hit upon the easiest method of carrying the truth to
the millions, and experience of ages shows that they have been
marvellously successful. If I have not made myself sufficiently
understood or written convincingly, please tell me so and I shall
endeavour again. I have undergone an operation. Today is the sixth
day. I do not know whether it is a successful operation. It was
performed by an eminent surgeon1 . He is undoubtedly a very careful
man, It would be no fault of his if I have to continue to suffer pain in
spite of the operation.
With love,
Ever yours,
B APU
1
Dr. Dalal

256. GOKHALE’S MISSION OF SERVICE1
[January 27, 1919]
The Hon’ble Mr. Gokhale’s work in connection with the issue
of indenture reveals his single-minded devotion better than his other
activities do. His tour of South Africa 2 and the agitation he
subsequently carried on in India give us a very good idea of his
ability to identify himself with the work on hand. It is because of this
ability of his that I have often said that one could see an underlying
religious impulse in all his work.
Let us go over his work in South Africa in some detail. When he
announced his intention of paying a visit to South Africa, there was a
commotion in the official circles in India. What would happen if a
man like Gokhale should be insulted in South Africa? Should he
not drop the idea? But there was no one who could muster
courage to suggest this to him. While yet in England, Gokhale had a
foretaste of what he might expect in South Africa. He asked for
a ticket but the officials of the Union Castle company would
not oblige. The report reached India Office. The latter issued
premptory instructions to Sir Owen Tudor, manager of the
company, that Gokhale should be treated with the respect due to
hisstatus. In the event, Gokhale was able to go on the ship like an
honoured guest. He told me, when describing the incident:”I was not
very particular about respect to me as an individual, but the honour of
my nation is dear to me as my very life and, since I was going on this
occasion in my public capacity, I felt that any insult to me would be
an insult to India, and hence I tried to secure for me facilities in
keeping with my status.” The wiser for this incident, India Office had
seen to it through the Colonial Office that Gokhale should also be
properly received in South Africa and the Union Government had
made advance arrangements for the purpose. They kept a saloon
ready for him and also provided a cook to accompany him on his
tour. An officer was detailed to look after him. The Indian
community, on its part, had made arrangements to accord him more
than royal honours. Gokhale accepted the Union Government’s
hospitality only in Pretoria, capital of the Union. Everywhere else, he
1
The original has, literally, mantra of service.
2
Gokhale visited South Africa in October-November, 1912.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 265

was the guest of the Indian community. The moment he arrived in
Cape Town, he took up a careful study of the South African issue.
Even the general information on the subject with which he arrived in
Cape Town was of no mean order, but that was not enough to satisfy
him. During his four weeks’ stay in South Africa, he went so deep
into the question of Indians there, that everyone who met him was
surprised by the vastness of his knowledge. When he was to meet
Generals Botha and Smuts, so numerous were the notes he wanted to
be prepared that I wondered why he would take all that trouble. He
was in indifferent health all the time and needed the utmost care.
Despite this, he would keep awake working till midnight, and get up
again at four o’clock in the morning and ask for papers. In the result,
the meeting he had with Generals Botha and Smuts led ultimately to
the satyagraha campaign for the repeal of the £3 tax on the
indentured labourers. This tax had been imposed, since 1893, on the
labourers whose indenture had expired and on their wives and
children. If any labourer did not wish to pay the tax, he was obliged
under the law to return to India. This reduced the Indians who had
been trapped into indenture, rather, into slavery, to a miserable plight.
A man who had given up everything and gone over to South Africa
with his entire family, what could he do on returning? Here he would
have nothing but starvation to face. How, on the other hand, could he
remain in indenture for a life-time? When free men around him
earned as much as £4 or 5 or 10 a month, how could he be content
with 14 or 15s? If he wanted to remain free, he would have, assuming
that he had one son and one daughter, to pay £12 every year by way
of tax, including the tax on his wife. How could he pay this exorbitant
tax? The Indian community had been fighting against this tax from
the very beginning. There had been repercussions in India too. But
the tax had yet to be repealed then. Along with many other things,
Gokhale was to demand repeal of this tax. He had been boiling over
as if this tax on his poor brethren were a tax on himself. He brought
into play the entire strength of his spirit when he met General Botha.
So strong was the impression that his words created on Generals Botha
and Smuts that they yielded and gave him a promise to repeal the tax
during the ensuing session of the Parliament. Gokhale announced the
news to me with great joy. These two Ministers had given other
promises as well. As, however, we are considering only the question of
indenture, I restrict myself here to this part of his meeting with the
Union Government. The Parliament commenced its sittings. Gokhale

had left South Africa by then and the Indians there discovered that the
£3 tax was not to be repealed. To be sure, General Smuts had made a
lukewarm effort to bring round the Natal members; in my judgement,
however, he had not done all that he should have. The Indian
community informed the Union Govern-ment that the latter had
bound itself before Gokhale to repeal the tax and that therefore if the
tax was not repealed, it would be included among the issues on which
they had been offering satyagraha since 1906. At the same time,
Gokhale was informed telegraphically. He approved of this step. The
Union Government ignored the warning given by the Indian
community. Everyone knows what followed. 40,000 indentured
Indians started satyagraha, went on strike and endured hardships past
all bearing. Quite a few of them were killed. Ultimately, however, the
promise given to Gokhale was fulfilled and the tax was repealed.1
[From Gujarati]
Dharmatma Gokhale

[BOMBAY,]
January 27, 1919
I have followed your letter read out to me. I very much like
2
your writing frankly. I am replying, expecting that you will write

further. My vow, in its broadest sense, can only mean what you say it
does. And so, the day I resolved to take goat’s milk, I remarked that
the zest with which I kept up the vow would be no more. I cannot
experiment with milkless diet any more, nor can I pride myself upon
not taking any food of animal origin. All the same, even after
following your letter, I don’t feel that my vow has been violated. It
appears to me that the restricted meaning of my vow is as I have given
it. When I took the vow, goat’s milk was not in my mind at all. And I
would even go so far as to maintain that the fact of big loopholes
having been left in both my vows is evidence of their utter sincerity. As
1
By the Indians’ Relief Act of 1914.
2
As quoted in Mahadevbhaini Diary, it read: “To be sure, the freedom you
have taken interprets the vow in the most liberal spirit, but in the process the vow is
preserved only in its letter. If we put milk on level with meat, goat’s milk is as much
so as cow’s milk.”
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 267

for the vow [restricting me to only] five articles [during a single day],
going to any foreign country, as it turns out, will rele-ase me from it;
in regard to the vow concerning milk, the goat has proved a mother to
me. There are many instances in our scriptures of vows having been
kept, though interpreted in a restricted sense. I understand the
significance of these instances better now. It is to be preferred that a
person placed as I am should be known to have kept a vow of his in its
literal meaning, at any rate, rather than to have violated it all-together.
I believe I shall be able to keep myself going on goat’s milk.
However, there are those who say, and there will be many more to say
it, that I shall not regain complete strength without taking cow’s milk.
I shall certainly not, for that reason, take cow’s milk. Nor, again, am I
likely to get goat’s milk at every place. Thus, even in the literal
observance of the vow, some inconvenience will be there. At the
moment, however, the question I am putting before you and me is not
that of convenience or inconvenience. We have only to consider
whether my vow can bear the restricted meaning I am giving it. If it
can, it is my duty in this difficult situation to accept such meaning,
relieve my friends and save my body. Personally, I feel that so long as
a person sees no error or sin in his vow, he is not free to violate it on
anyone’s account. If once it is allowed that a vow may be broken, no
vows will ever be kept and they will lose all their significance. Even so,
I don’t see any harm in placing upon a vow every sense it will bear
and using the fact to one’s advantage. It is not self-deception when
people persuade themselves that they have kept the ekadashi, using
rock salt in place of common salt on that day. Common salt is of
course forbidden; but anyone who, finding it impossible to do without
the savour which salt imparts to food, substitutes any one of the other
available salts and keeps the ekadashi that way, has yet exercised a sort
of self-control. One day he may give up even rock salt.
I shall not make this reply any longer. Think over what I have
said and, if there is anything to write, do when you have the time.
We shall all learn something by this exchange of letters and, if I
have been making a mistake, I shall know what it is.
[From Gujarati]

258. LETTER TO REVASHANKAR SODHA1
January 27, 1919
I have your letter. I like your desire to acquire knowledge. I
wish to respect it, too, but at the moment I shall have to restrain it. The
desire for knowledge has sometimes to be renounced. Person-ally, I
feel my inadequacy in Sanskrit, and my eagerness to study Marathi,
Bengali and Tamil is more than I can describe. And yet I have had to
check my greedy desire, thanks to the tasks which fell to my lot one
after another. I often wish to give Chi. Devdas ever so much
knowledge. He has a gift for learning and I am confident that he
would turn his learning to good account. Even so, I have stopped his
studies because the work he is doing, teaching Hindi to our brethren
in Madras, is more important. Take the case of Chi. Magan-lal
himself. His deficiency in the matter of education has no limit. I think
we would all admit that, if he could study further he would make
excellent use of his knowledge. I often realize his lack of adequate
education. Despite this, ever since he joined me, I have had to employ
him on other tasks and therefore I could not let him study further. I
could recount many more instances, but I have given eno-ugh to
satisfy you. Just at present we have so many things to be done through
the Ashram that we must set every available person to work. And so I
think that, for the present, you must attend, with single-minded
devotion, to whatever work is entrusted to you and give full
satisfaction in it. I shall always keep in mind the question of your
studies and, when I feel that the time has come for it, I shall not let the
opportunity go. If this reply does not satisfy you, write to me whatever
you would. I want to take work from you after satisfying you.
Take good care of your health. My health, it seems, is imp-
roving. When the doctor’s treatment here is over, I intend to visit the
Ashram before going elsewhere. But that may well take a month.
Hence you may write to me whatever you want to. Do not put it off,
thinking that we shall talk things over when we meet. You must write
with the utmost freedom.
[From Gujarati]
1
Son of Ratanshi Mulji Sodha, an ardent satyagrahi who suffered imprison-
ment during the campaign in South Africa
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 269

259. FRAGMENT OF LETTER TO VITHALBHAI PATEL
[BOMBAY,]
January 28, 1919
. . Considering all this commotion among the Hindus, do you
still think that your Bill1 will be useful to the community? I should
like you to come over and discuss this.
[From Gujarati]
260. LETTER TO SYED HUSSAIN2

January 30, 1919
In wishing you success in your new enterprise, I would like to
say how I hope your writings would be worthy of the title you have
chosen for your journal; and may I further hope that to a robust
independence you will add an equal measure of self-restraint and the
strictest adherence to truth? Too often in our journals as in others do
we get fiction instead of fact and declamation in place of sober
reasoning. You would make The Independent3 a power in the land and
a means of education for the people by avoiding the errors I have
drawn attention to.
Yours sincerely,

January 30, 1919
I was glad to receive your letter although it is a doleful one. I
was wondering why I did not hear from you. My eye is fixed on Ali
Brothers. I am simply waiting for the result of the Government
inquiry. Nothing should be done until the Report of that Committee
1
Inter-caste Marriage Bill; vide “Letter to The Indian Social Reformer”,
26-2-1919.
2
In reply to the following telegram from Syed Hussain on 29-1-1919: “Indep-
endent appearing fifth Feb[ruar]y. Kindly send autographed message for publication
first issue.”
3
English daily from Allahabad

has been presented to the Government. Is the inquiry over? If as a
result of the inquiry the Brothers are not released, the time for action
will have arrived. The responsibility [of] taking such action as will be
necessary I know rests on my shoulders and if I am at all well I shall
not allow a single moment to pass in taking action and from the
present state of my health I have every reason to hope that within a
month’s time I should be able to take up this work if it becomes
necessary. My medical adviser expects me to take fully three months’
rest outside India after he discharges me. But for the sake of this work,
I should certainly forgo the three months’ rest. I agree with you that
the new Bill1 for the preservation of internal tranquillity is damnable
and no stone may be left unturned by us to kill the measure. But I
strongly feel that because of its very severity it will never become law.
I think that all the Indian members of the Imperial Council will
strenuously oppose it. But all this is no reason for the country not
taking up vigorous agitation. I am myself preparing to do my humble
share in it. I am watching its course. There is no fear of its
immediately becoming law. There will therefore be ample time to
direct and develop the strongest possible agitation. In any event, I
would like the Brothers to keep absolutely clear of the agitation until
they have gained their full freedom. I shall hope that they will take no
action without consultation with me.
Yours sincerely,

BOMBAY,
[Last week of January, 1919]
CHI. MAGANLAL,
I always have your letters read out. There are ups and downs in
my health. If I don’t leave this place, it is because I get better facilities
here. Don’t be worried on my account.
All the deficiencies in the Ashram will end when farm-work
prospers, whether with hired labour or that of the Ashram inmates and
the atmosphere is loud with weaving. If Gulbadan and Kamla do not
work well, it is necessary to have a talk with them and tell them so
1
The Rowlatt Bill
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 271

plainly. If you experience any difficulty about flour, you may get the
wheat cleaned and take it to a mill for grinding. At present, we are in a
position to keep the vow of swadeshi in respect of cloth. If necessary,
you may pay to get the wheat cleaned.
It is surprising that Rukhi is ill so often. You ought to do a bit of
research and set her health right.
Parvati should be asked to have plenty of water and take deep
breaths. How does Prabhudas keep? What is the physical instructor
doing? Have you resumed any construction work? How is the school
running? Who are the visitors to the Ashram? What work does Mama
do? And Chhotalal?
Blessings from
BAPU
263. SUMMARY OF LETTER TO SHANKARLAL BANKER

[Before February 2, 1919]
Under the joint auspices of the Bombay branches of the Home Rule League, a
public meeting was held on February 2, 1919, at Shantaram’s Chawl, Bombay, to
protest against the introduction of the Criminal Law Amendment Bill and the
Criminal Law Emergency Powers Bill, Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviya presiding. A letter
from Gandhiji addressed to Mr. Shankarlal Banker, Secretary of the Home Rule
League, was read out to the meeting by Mr. Jamnadas Dwarkadas.
In the course of his letter, he felt that the Rowlatt Committee1 Report afforded
not the slightest warrant for the proposed Bills, and that it was their duty to educate
public opinion to oppose the Bills with patience and firm determination. If the
Rowlatt Bills were passed into law, the Reforms, whatever their value, would be
absolutely worthless. It was absurd to find on one side the enlargement of the powers
of the public and, on the other, to put unbearable restraints on their powers. If he were
not ill, he would surely have done his share in the agitation against the Bills.
1
Appointed by the Government of India in 1917 with Justice Rowlatt of the
Supreme Court of Judicature in England as president, to investigate and report on the
sedition movement in India. Its recommendations were published in 1918 soon after
the publication of the Montford Reforms, and favoured the enactment of special
measures after the Defence of India Act had ceased to operate.

[BOMBAY,]
February 2, 1919
CHI. DEVDAS,
I expected a letter from you today, but did not get any. I have
felt no little sorrow in parting from you, but I saw that your interest
and your duty required that you should go. And therefore I hardened
myself against the pain [of separation], born of my attachment, and
urged you to leave at any cost. When your task in Madras is over, I
shall satisfy your desire for studies. But believe me, the experience
you have gained, very few must have. Our whole life must be, as it
were, a student’s life. If you take this as the guiding principle of your
life, you will never be too old for studies....1 Write regularly and be
regular in your prayers.
[From Gujarati]
265. TALK WITH CHANDRASHANKAR PANDYA2

BOMBAY,
February 2, 1919
Why should a handful of people hurt the feelings of the largest
section of society? If the vast majority of Hindus prefer certain
restraints in regard to marriage, it is the duty of individuals, if they
wish to continue to be part of Hindu society, to respect the wishes of
the majority.
[From Gujarati]
Samalochak, February 1919
1
Some words are omitted here in the source.
2
Extracted from a write-up by Chandrashankar Pandya. Gandhiji was speaking
in the context of Namdev Patel’s bill concerning Hindu marriage.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 273

266. LETTER TO NARAHARI D. PARIKH
BOMBAY,
Basant Panchami, [February 5] 1 1919
DEAR NARAHARI,
I have your letter. Even though we are meeting on Monday, I
am writing to you so that you can do some more thinking. Accor-
ding to you, giving a literal meaning to a vow amounts to special
pleading. I do not agree, because I am not aware of any special
pleading at all. I gave it the meaning that with the utmost humility and
purity of mind I thought it bore. Moreover, I also feel that our too
strict adherence to the words of the scriptures was not entirely special
pleading, but an admission of the fact that men are strong as well as
weak. For a man of strength, the literal meaning as well as the implied
meaning was kept. For a man given to weakness, the literal meaning
was considered sufficient, and the significance of vows was retained.
One cannot find fault with this by saying that hypocrites would stand
to gain by this. The scriptures were written with such people in view.
Any loophole in a vow indicates the uniqueness and completeness of
the vow. Mere abstention from milk 2 does notserve the purpose for
which the vow had been taken. One must either prove that one can live
without milk or find a substitute for milk. And I shall continue my
efforts to find a substitute for milk.3 Even if I die in my search without
succeeding it will not matter; because, if I am fated to be born again, I
shall re-enter the world with the same desires with which I die. In
writing all this, I am trying to show that under some circumstances,
even if we give up the implied meaning of a vow and stick only to the
literal meaning, we will have followed the vow perfectly. The basis is
the same. Those who follow both the literal and the implied meaning
of a vow would no doubt occupy a higher place. Those who follow
the literal meaning will have to be content with being at the ground
1
The source has “January”. However, in 1919, Basant Panchami fell on
February 5.
2
Gandhiji had taken a vow at the Tolstoy Farm in 1912 to abstain from milk
and milk products; vide “An Autobiography—Part IV, chapter XXX”.
3
After the very serious attack of dysentery in August, Gandhiji was not able to
recover his strength. He had been writing to friends to find a substitute for milk. Vide
“Letter to P.C. Ray”, 27-8-1918 and “Letter to Narahari Parikh”, 27-1-1919.

level. But a person living at Matheran can take full advantage of the
place even if he lives in a hut. Similarly a person following the literal
meaning can find the strength which comes from the observance of a
vow. Consider all this, and when there is leisure, cross-examine me
fully without any hesitation. It is possible that wittingly or unwittingly
I am being partial to the step I have taken. It is up to my colleagues to
save me from this fault. Maybe I have been wrong about something
still I shall be making fewer mistakes than others. But I know that that
very knowledge can give me a terrible blow. It is up to all of you to
save me from that, I have dictated this letter while eating and while
giving a sitting for a bust. There will be no time even to revise it. If
there is anything that is not clear, ask me when I come.
Blessings from
MOHANDAS GANDHI

BOMBAY,
Vasant Panchami [February 5, 1919]
CHI. MAGANLAL,
Mahadev left last evening. In his absence, I dictate to Chi.

Mathuradas1 I hope to arrive there on Monday morning. The
experiment of 7 lbs. of milk turned out to be a bit more than I could
stand. I swallowed the lot as a dose of medicine. No harm was done,
though. Today, therefore, I shall take about six pounds. For the first
time after coming here, I walked today for about an hour and a
quarter at a stretch. I went to Malabar Hill. Nothing untoward hap-
pened. I have come to know a few things about the Ashram through
Bhai Mavji. But very soon I shall see things for myself; so I won’t ask
any more questions, nor, for the same reason, say anything on the
subject here. Mahadev will also be there on Wednesday. He will bring
along Durgabehn2 . He has seen to it that I depend entirely on him. He
has come to be my hands and feet, and my brain as well, so that
without him I feel like one who has lost the use of legs and speech.
The more I know him, the more I see his virtues. And he is as learned
1
Trikumji, Gandhiji’s nephew
2
Wife of Mahadev Desai
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 275

as virtuous. I am pleased, therefore, more than I can say.
Blessings from
MOHANDAS KARAMCHAND GANDHI1
From a copy of the Gujarati: C. W. 5723. Courtesy: Radhabehn Choudhri
268. LETTER TO ANASUYABHEN SARABHAI

BOMBAY,
Basant Panchami [February 5, 1919] 2
PUJYA ANASUYABEHN,
Bhai Mahadev went away to Dehan yesterday. So I am dictating

this letter to my nephew Chi. Mathuradas. I have decided to go to the
Ashram by the Gujarat Mail on Sunday after having a talk with Dr.
Dalal. God willing, I shall reach there on Monday morning. I shall
need two cars or carriages because Harilal’s children too will be
accompanying me. Bhai Mahadev will reach the Ashram with Durga-
behn on Wednesday. A goat or goats costing Rs. 40/- and yiel-ding
seven seers of milk will be needed or that much milk will be needed. I
have written about it to Maganlal as well. Here there is talk of the
mill-workers’ strike in the air again. But in my view, our field is only
Ahmedabad for the present. If we can handle it well, it will easily lead
to concrete results elsewhere. I have not been able to forget even for a
moment that we have not been able to take possession even of the land
with the sacred tree. If God wills it, some day we shall take possession
of it. We shall talk more when we meet.
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
From the Gujarati original: G.N. 11577
1
The signature is in Mathuradas Trikumji’s hand.
2
From the contents; vide “Letter to Maganlal Gandhi”, 5-2-1919.

269. LETTER TO SWAMI SATYADEV
BOMBAY,
Thursday, Magh Sud 6 [February 6, 1919]
DEAR SWAMIJI 1 ,
I have your letter. You are right in saying that you could not be
satisfied with a message sent through Devdas. The only reason for not
writing a letter was my laziness. Please forgive me. I had told Devdas
that if you did not feel satisfied I would certainly send a written reply.
You may make all the appropriate arrangements for teaching Hindi in
the Madras Presidency. You may tour the whole Presidency. You may
establish schools in different places. You may select teachers of your
choice for these schools. You may not do the teaching yourself, but
you must inspect the schools from time to time. When schools have
been opened throughout the Presidency to your satisfaction and when
you can say with certainty that these schools can run independently of
you, you may leave the Madras Presidency. You may spend up to Rs.
10,000 on this undertaking. The responsibility for sending you the
money is mine. You will not have anything to do with the Sahitya
Committee2 at Prayag. But I want to ask for all the expenses from
Prayag. If there are difficulties in the way I will make some other
arrangement. Now I think I have answered all your questions. You will
tell me if there is anything left out. I have written to Devdas a long
letter about Surendra. At the moment he is suffering from a mental
affliction. He has become enamoured of the English-style schools. It
seems necessary to get him out of the spell. You may be able to calm
him. If you like his idea, please explain it to me.
From a photostat of the Hindi: S.N. 6438
1
Swami Satyadev Parivrajak
2
Hindi Sahitya Sammelan or its executive committee
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 277

270. FRAGMENT OF A LETTER
February 6, 1919
From the experience of these two days I find that when I recite
the verses in solitude, it has greater effect for my peace of mind. I
want you to have the same joy which I find in reciting Sanskrit verses.
Just as we cannot do without food and sleep, so also we cannot do
without what is food for the soul—the morning and evening prayers.
Let us understand and follow this. . . . 1 We cannot respect the wishes
of a person uttered while he is half asleep or when he is under the
influence of drink or drug. We serve him by refusing his wishes. In
the same way, we must not bow to the wishes of a man who is a prey
to attachment. I think Surendra is in such a state of mind at present. It
is my duty to shake him out of it, even if I have to administer him a
shock for the purpose. I know that the exper-ience will be painful to
him for a while but, when he is ultimately free from his attachment, he
will understand why I restrained him and see that it was for his good.
My plan, in the last analysis, respects everyone’s freedom, for always
what 1 say is entirely by way of advice. When my associates take up
any activity which does not appeal to me, they may expect no
encouragement from me but they can do as they wish. If you have
followed what I have said and appreciate it, have a talk with Surendra
and console him.
271. LETTER TO BHIMJIBHAI NARANJI NAYAK

February 7, 1919
I have your letter. If you send a reply to this letter address it to
Sabarmati. I write this from Bombay. The teachers’ salaries are
undoubtedly low. But I do not know if you have taken the steps that
ought to be taken before launching satyagraha. It is necessary
moreover to know whether those who wish to experiment with
Satyagraha have the requisite strength. It is better not to start a
satyagraha thoughtlessly and without the strength for it than to
abandon it in the middle out of cowardice and give it a bad name. I
cannot find anything special or meritorious in teaching without a
1
Omission as in the source

salary. Teachers do not teach for the sake of teaching but for earning
a livelihood. If they do not get a salary at all or are inadequately paid,
they can give up their jobs without bothering about what would
become of the pupils. Normally a month’s notice should be given
before quitting service for starting a satyagraha or for any other
reason. If I take up only your two questions then I feel certain that
you should tender your resignation after giving due notice. In a
satyagraha of this kind, the result hoped for cannot be achieved
without unity. Perhaps it would be better for you not to resign if a
majority of the teachers are not of one mind. But before giving any
positive opinion on the subject, I should know many more things.
Before taking any step it would be better if as many of the teachers as
possible could see me at the Ashram.
272. LETTER TO MADAN MOHAN MALAVIYA

BOMBAY,
Saturday, Magh Sud 8 [February 8, 1919]
DEAR BROTHER,
I read all the speeches on the Rowlatt Bills today. I was much
distressed. The Viceroy’s speech is disappointing. Under the
circumstances, I hope, at any rate, that all the Indian members will
leave the Select Committee or, if necessary, even the Council, and
launch a countrywide agitation. You and other members have said that
if the Rowlatt Bills are passed a massive agitation would be launched
the like of which has not beep seen in India. Mr. Lowndes 1 said that
the Government were not afraid of the agitation that is going on. He is
right. Even if you held a hundred thousand meetings all over India
what difference would it make? I am not yet fully decided but I feel
that when the Government bring in an obnoxious law the people will
be entitled to defy their other laws as well. If we do not now show the
strength of the people, even the reforms we are to get will be useless.
In my opinion you should all make it clear to the Government that so
long as the Rowlatt Bills are there you will pay no taxes and will advise
the people also not to pay them. I know that to give such advice is to
assume a great responsibility. But unless we do something really big
1
Sir George Lowndes, Law Member, Government of India
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 279

they will not feel any respect for us. And we cannot hope to get
anything from people who do not respect us. What the Viceroy has
said about the Civil Service and about British trade does not seem
right to me. The power of the Civil Service must be drastically
curtailed. And it is certain that the protection the British are giving to
their trade will not be available to it after India becomes independent.
Today they enjoy far more rights than we do.
Tomorrow I go to the Ashram. Kindly send your reply
there.
273. LETTER FO V. S. SRINIVASA SASTRI

BOMBAY,
February 9, 1919
DEAR MR. SASTRIAR,
I have just read your forcible speech on the Rowlatt Bills. This is
none too strong. The Bills coupled with the Viceroy’s, Sir William
Vincent’s and Sir George Lowndes’ speeches have stirred me to the
very depths; and though I have not left my bed still, I feel I can no
longer watch the progress of the Bills lying in the bed. To me, the
Bills are the aggravated symptoms of the deep-seated disease. They
are a striking demonstration of the determination of the Civil Service
to retain its grip of our necks. There is not the slightest desire to give
up an iota of its unlimited powers and if the Civil Service is to retain
its iron rule over us and if the British commerce is to enjoy its present
unholy and privileged position, I feel that the Reforms will not be
worth having. I consider the Bills to be an open challenge to us. If we
succumb we are done for. If we may prove our word that the
Government will see an agitation such that they have never witnessed
before, we shall have proved our capacity for resistance to autocracy
or tyrannical rule. When petitions [and] resolutions of gigantic mass
meetings fail, there are but two courses open—the ordinary rough and
ready course is an armed rebellion, and the second is civil
disobedience to all the laws of the land or to a selection of them. If the
Bills were but a stray example of lapse of righteousness and justice, I
should not mind them but when they are clearly an evidence of a
determined policy of repression, civil disobedience seems to be a duty
imposed upon every lover of personal and public liberty. I wrote

yesterday to Panditji1 suggesting on the part of all the Indian members
or so many of them as would do so resignation of their positions on
the Select Committee and a resignation of their positions even on the
Council, if they would take the latter step also. I think their
resignations will shake the Government’s confidence in its ability to
disregard public sentiment, and will be an education of great value to
the people. For myself if the Bills were to be proceeded with, I feel I
can no longer render peaceful obedience to the laws of a power that is
capable of such a piece of devilish legislation as these two Bills, and I
would not hesitate to invite those who think with me to join me in the
struggle. It is possible that you will not see eye to eye with me in the
position I wish to take up. But I know that you would not like me to
stifle what may be to me the voice of conscience. Naturally I would
like to secure the approbation of the very few friends whose advice I
value. If, therefore, you have the time, I would like you to drop me a
line telling me what you think about my contemplated step. I want to
give this assurance that I shall do nothing in haste and I shall do
nothing without giving a previous confidential warning couched in as
gentle language as I can command.
I hope you will keep sound health during the very critical times
that are ahead of us.
From a photostat: S.N. 6433
274. FRAGMENT OF LETTER TO PRAGJI DESAI2

[BOMBAY ,
February 9, 1919]
. . . In putting a thing firmly one seems harsh sometimes, on a
superficial view. In truth, however, the purest kindness consists in such
firmness. A doctor operating upon a patient with trembling hands will
have, ultimately, inflicted more pain on him; the one who makes a
clean job of the work may seem at first to cause pain but in the end
his action will have brought relief.
The Rowlatt Bills have agitated me very much. It seems I shall
have to fight the greatest battle of my life. I have been discussing
1
Madan Mohan Malaviya
2
Pragji Khandubhai Desai, a satyagrahi in the South African campaign; often
contributed to Indian Opinion in Gujarati
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 281

things. I shall be able to come to a decision in two or three days. The
work in which you are engaged is also, as you say, a kind of fight. I
have not the least doubt that upright business is an effort well worth
making. It requires a full measure of truthfulness, fortitude, firmness,
patient endurance, capacity to forgive, compassion and contentment.
Any business man who displays these virtues is bound to rise to the
top.
275. LETTER TO SHANKERLAL BANKER

ASHRAM,
S ABARMATI ,
Tuesday, Maha Sud 11 [February 11, 1919] 1
DEAR SHANKERLAL,
I did not write to you yesterday because there was nothing
definite to write. We were to meet today at 7 p.m. and we met.
Ambalalbhai, Vallabhbhai, Bachubhai, etc., were present. The
discussion was quite good. Ultimately, signatures were given for the
following Pledge.2 Ambalalbhai, Bachubhai, etc., asked for 48 hours
to consider. Bhai Subedar was also present. But he left a little early
because it was time for his train. It appears that there will be at least as
many more signatures coming. 1 think I shall be sending the letter to
the Viceroy today. I have kept the draft of the letter ready. But my
mind is still undecided about sending it.
Vandemataram from
MOHANDAS
[PS.]
I have just read that the law3 will be valid for three years. Now
the struggle seems to me necessary.
From the Gujarati original: S.N. 32736
1
From the contents of the letter it is evident that this was written in 1919.
2
The Satyagraha Pledge; vide”The Satyagraha Pledge”, 24-2-1919.
3
Criminal Law (Emergency Powers) Bill No. 2 of 1919

AHMEDABAD ,
Maha Sud 12 [February 11, 1919] 1
CHI. MATHURADAS,
I have your two letters. My swelling had begun even while I was
there. It is still there, but it is very much reduced. Otherwise my health
is all right. You will have taken the money from Revash-ankarbhai.
You will have paid one rupee to Bhai Karsandas Chitalia. The
signatures were obtained for the following pledge about the struggle.
Bill No. 2 would be in force only for three years after the
compromise. Let us see how India reacts to this news.
Blessings from
MOHANDAS
277. LETTER TO SIR WILLIAM VINCENT

ASHRAM,
S ABARMATI ,
February 12, 1919
I observe that the Committee appointed to investigate the cases
of Messrs Mahomed Ali and Shaukat Ali has completed its
deliberations. I wonder whether the Government have now arrived at
any decision over this case.
N. A. I.: Home: Political—A: July 1919: No. I & K. W.
1
From the contents this letter appears to have been written in 1919.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 283

ASHRAM,
S ABARMATI ,
Maha Sud 13 [February 12, 1919] 1
CHI. MATHURADAS,
My health had suffered some upset even while I was there.

I had started having some swelling, which persists. I must say it
is somewhat reduced.
I hope you are getting on with the work for the Hindi Sahitya
Sammelan. There is no reply from Prof. Karve2 yet. I have even sent
him a telegram. It is surprising that he does not answer. I am now
doubtful about the struggle continuing.
Blessings from
MOHANDAS
From the Gujarati original: Pyarelal Papers Nehru Memorial Museum and

[BOMBAY,]
Thursday [February 13, 1919] 3
BHAISHRI NARAHARI,
I have sent you today an article by the poet4 . It is worth serious
study. I think our endeavour is to attain the ideal he has set forth. The
future pattern of education in India will depend upon the efforts we
make during the next ten years. All of you should ponder over that
article. My impression is that the poet does little to put his own ideal
into practice.
I will be there on Sunday and leave the same day.
1
It appears from the contents that this letter was written in 1919.
2
Dhondu Keshav Karve (1858-1962); social reformer and pioneer educationist
3
Mahadev Desai’s visit to Bijolia took place about the second week of
February.
4
Rabindranath Tagore. The reference is presumably to his essay, “The Centre
of Indian Culture”.

Pay attention to the handwriting of every pupil. I hope you are
making every effort to get up early.
I very much liked the second part of D. S.1 for its content. The
art described therein will vanish, all of it.
I am getting acquainted here with an expert musician.
Vandemataram from
BAPU
[PS.]
Mahadev has not yet returned from Bijolia2 .
From a photostat of the Gujarati: S. N. 6416

February 16, 1919
I have your valuable letter. I had telegraphed3 to you saying that
I had already written to the Home Member inquiring about
Government’s decision. I passed that information on to Mrs. Shuaib
some time ago and thought that in due course it would filter down to
you and to our friends. At that time, Mr. Desai was not by me and I
restricted my correspondence as much as possible. At the time I wrote
to Mr. Shuaib, I said also that in the event of an unfavourable reply,
the fight must commence. I [was] then under the belief that my health
would in a way permit of my undertaking that activity. Unfortunately
it has become like a pendulum swinging to and fro and just at the
present moment there is again a set-back and the doctors tell me that I
dare not undertake any exertion for three months. I am, however,
trying to speed recovery and I still hope that by the time I receive the
reply from Delhi I shall be ready for work.
Your letter gives me a greater insight into the Rowlatt Bills. I
detest them entirely and for me the Reforms will be useless if the
measures are passed. I am carefully watching the progress of events in
1
Probably a reference to Dalpat Sar, a selection of poems by Dalpatram,
edited by Narahari Parikh
2
A small principality in the State of Mewar, now part of Rajasthan. Mahadev
Desai was specially deputed by Gandhiji to inquire into the people’s grievances in
Bijolia. Gandhiji had at one stage agreed to lead a satyagraha movement there for
redressing the grievances of the people.
3
The telegram is not available.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 285

the country and I feel sure that the Brothers need not yet take any
steps about them. It is heart-rending three domestic losses they have
suffered. There is hardly a family left in India that has not lost some
dear ones. One’s feelings almost become blunt when the same news
comes from anywhere with merciless regularity.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
281. ADDRESS TO ASHRAM INMATES

February 17, 1919
The inmates are satisfied with nothing in the Ashram. The
reason? Dissatisfaction over Maganlal’s ideas and conduct, over his
manner of speaking and over a certain partiality in his actions. Lack
of faith in the Ashram on the part of others, those in the school. What
is my position in these circumstances?
I must place before you some strict principles. I have not invited
the ladies, but they, too, feel disgusted, and are thinking of leaving. I
have told them that they will not get anywhere else what they have
gained here. You may remain in the Ashram only if you think you
can put up with all that life here means. So think well before you
decide to remain or leave. Why do you stick on here des-pite your
dissatisfaction? Surely, none of you is too weak to leave. It is, then, out
of your love for me and blind attachment to me.
The first principle, then, which emerges is that to be attached to
a person apart from his work is blind attachment. I knew persons in
South Africa who were blindly attached to me. I made it clear to them
that, if they found Phoenix1 , which was my creation, of no worth, then
I, too, had none. If they lacked faith in my creation, then, naturally,
they were bound to lose faith in me as well. I am a good judge of men
but I cannot prove this to you just now. Nevertheless, if you have no
faith in the Ashram, if you are dissatisfied with it, you had better leave
it. Only those of you may remain who have joined it to give
1
The Phoenix Settlement near Durban founded by Gandhiji in association with
his co-workers and European friends in 1904. It sought to put into practice the
essential teachings of Ruskin and Tolstoy and to assist in the removal of the
grievances of Indians in South Africa. Indian Opinion was also published from
Phoenix.

something or to point out to Gandhi his follies and errors. But I find
none such. All of you have come here to give and to receive. It is
from the whole lot of us that the worth of the Ashram will be judged.
We cannot measure a man’s worth independently of his work.
In South Africa, my best creation was Phoenix. Without it, there
would have been no satyagraha in that country. Without the Ashram
here, satyagraha will be impossible in India. I may be making a
mistake in this; if so, I ought to be deserted. I am going to ask the
country not to judge me by either Champaran or Kheda but only by
the Ashram. If you find lack of order in this place, and blindness of
ignorance, then you will find the same in all my work. I am the
founder inmate of the Ashram and it runs so long as I am faithful to
its ideals. If I find that I cannot hold anyone here, I will undertake a
searching examination of myself and will try to make a sacrifice
which will be of the purest. Do not attribute greatness to me for other
works of mine; judge me only by the Ashram. One of my creations
here in the Ashram is Maganlal. If I have found from experience five
million shortcomings in Maganlal, I have found ten million virtues in
him. Beside him, Polak is a mere child; the blows that Maganlal has
endured, Polak has not. Maganlal has offered all his work as sacrifice,
not for my sake but for the sake of an ideal. It is not for me he is
slaving; he is wedded to an ideal. Once he was ready to bid good-bye,
and leave me.
It boils down to this, that I cannot run the Ashram after sending
away Maganlal. If I send him away, I would be the only one left in the
Ashram. For the tasks we have undertaken, Maganlal, too, is fully
needed. I have yet to see a better man than he. To be sure, he is short-
tempered, has his imperfections, but on the whole he is a fine man. As
for his honesty, I have no doubt. You must take it as proved that I am
bad to the extent that Maganlal is bad.
Just as, if I quarrelled with my brother or parents, I would not go
out to complain about it to others, so also, we should not take to
outsiders our complaints against anyone in the institution where we
are members. The moment one begins to suspect or dislike another,
one should leave him. When, following this course, he has left the
entire world, he will find himself all alone; and will then commit
suicide, or, realizing his own imperfections, get rid of his dislikes. One
should not only not speak ill, before others, of the institution in which
one stays, but one should not think ill of it even in one’s mind. The
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 287

moment such a thought occurs, one should banish it. There should be
joy in the Ashram, especially when I am out. If you think of me as an
elder, you should conduct yourselves worthily, mindful of my
instructions. Now that I am here, you may take some freedom and do
as you please, but once I am out, you should allow yourselves no
freedom. If there is no harmony here in my absence, something is
lacking in me and, therefore, you should leave me.
If I removed the causes of discontent in the Ashram, it would be to
bring peace to Maganlal; or rather, not for his peace but for the sake
of the country, because I have offered Maganlal as a sacrifice to the
country.
You may persuade me to give up either the Ashram or Magan-
lal. I shall not send him away so long as I have not come to feel that
he goes about setting one against another. To measure a man’s worth,
the world has no other yardstick than his work. As the work, so the
man. This very charge was levelled by an intimate friend of mine, Mr.
Kitchin1 . However, the fine, systematic work which Magan-lal has
done, none else has.
[From Gujarati]
282. MESSAGE ON GOKHALE ANNIVERSARY

February 19, 1919
I had looked forward to attending today’s meeting, but for
reasons of health I am not able to do so. Even so, my spirit is there.
The meeting will have been to some purpose only if it helps us to take
a step forward in public service. Make an earnest appeal to the people
to buy copies of the book 2 which is being published today or, if
anyone cannot afford to do so, to borrow a copy from someone else
and read it.
[From Gujarati]
1
Herbert Kitchin, a theosophist who edited Indian Opinion after the death of
Manasukhlal Nazar. He lived with Gandhiji for a time and worked with him during the
Boer War.
2
A Gujarati translation of Gokhale’s speeches

283. LETTER TO J. L. MAFFEY1
S ABARMATI ,
February 20, 1919
As I am not still quite out of the wood regarding my health and
as, if am to obey doctors’ orders, I must not undertake any activity
requiring considerable exertion, I thought I would refrain from such
activity till I was better. But the events that have recently happened
impel me to submit the following for His Excellency’s consideration:
I feel tempted to write about the Rowlatt Bills, but I am check-
ing myself for the moment and awaiting the course of the Bills and
the agitation about them in the country. I wish to confine myself
today to a matter that specially interests me—the case of the Brothers
Ali.
You will recall that I made a submission about them on the New
Year’s day of 1917 2 . Though the Viceroy may not feel inclined to
interfere in the matter, he should know the present position from the
popular standpoint.
After the exchange of the final letters between us, I entered into
correspondence with Sir William Vincent. The result was that a
Committee to advise the Government about the Brothers was appoin-
ted. This Committee has duly reported to the Government but so far
as I am aware, although nearly two months have elapsed after the
submission of the Committee’s Report, the Government’s decision has
not yet been pronounced. I wrote to Sir William Vincent about it on
the 12th instant. I have been informed on behalf of the Brothers that
from the manner in which they are being treated in the matter of their
requests for visits to certain places for urgent business and other
circumstances, they infer that the decision is likely to be adverse to
them. I have read most of the correspondence between the Brothers
and the Committee. I have read the communication em-bodying the
charges against them. I have read their reply. I must assume that the
memorandum of charges supplied to the Brothers was exhaustive. The
impression left upon my mind is that the Brothers have been inter-
ned and subjected to numerous hardships without the slightest
justification. The charges in my humble opinion did not warrant
1
Private secretary to the Viceroy
2
This is obviously slip for “1918”.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 289

action under the Defence of India Act. I submit that under a free
Government they would hold in it a prominent position instead of
being treated as a danger to it. They are brave, perfectly
straightforward, they are out-spoken, God-fearing, and able men,
commanding the respect alike of the Mahomedans and the Hindus. It
would be difficult to find throughout India better specimens of joint
Hindu and Mahomedan culture. In a position which to them is
exasperating, they have evinced wonderful self-restraint and patience.
Their very virtues seem to have been regarded as an offence. They
deserved a better treatment.
I must disclose one fact to Lord Chelmsford although it hurts
my sense of modesty. They have ever since the meeting of the Muslim
League at Calcutta in the December of 1917 implicitly accepted the
advice I tendered to them, and so have the leading Mahomedans, who
would, but for my advice, gladly have carried on a powerful and
embarrassing agitation long ere this. I advised them that if relief was
not granted, satyagraha—I abhor the expression”passive resistance”,
as it very incompletely expresses the grand truth conveyed by the
easily understood Sanskrit word”satya-graha”—should be resorted
to. I assured them that I was in commu-nication with the Government
about the Brothers’ release. As a satyagrahi, I told them that before
engaging in a public agitation about it, we should know the
Government side of the question, and we should exhaust all milder
remedies and be able to demonstrate to the satisfaction of impartial
observers the untenability of the Government position before
embarking on satyagraha in which, once it is undertaken, there is no
turning back. I feel thankful to the Brothers and to the gentlemen,
with whom it has been a privilege to be associated, that they have
abided by my advice, though the delay has almost reached a
dangerous point. I do must earnestly trust that the Government will by
releasing the Brothers prevent a powerful agitation in the country.
I shall anxiously await your reply.
I hope that you are enjoying the best of health and it would so
please me to learn from you that Lord Chelmsford is keeping good
health in spite of the great strain under which, I know, he is working.
With kind regards,
N. A. I.: Home Political—A: July 1919: No. 1 & K.W.

284. LETTER TO C. VIJAYARAGHAVACHARIAR1
February 23, 1919
I appreciate your letter and it makes me feel like running down
2
to Madras immediately. I have been thinking of going there for a

long time. The delicate state of my health has come in the way, as it
still does. But unless the campaign starts immediately or unless I am
obliged to go to Lucknow regarding the Brothers Ali, I would
certainly take earliest opportunity of visiting Madras. I do feel that
unless the Bills are radically altered in the Select Committee, resis-
tance of a most stubborn character ought to be offered. I detest the
Bills not so much for their deadliness as for their being the surest
symptom of deep-seated disease from which the Government of India
must be free if we are to enjoy a real measure of freedom under the
Reforms. I hope to write to you again very soon. We are having a
conference of the Gujaratis tomorrow to consider the ques-tion of
satyagraha. Passive resistance poorly expresses the meaning conveyed
by satyagraha.
285. LETTER TO SONJA SCHLESIN 3

February 23, 1919
It was so good of you to give me credit if only for once for
being business-like. My own opinion of myself is that I am the most
business-like man upon the earth and, so long as no one can
disillusion me, I shall continue to derive pleasure from the belief and
to have a stray certificate from you only adds to the pleasure. I
present you another illustration of my business-likeness. I know I
would wound your vanity, self-esteem, glorious womanliness, whatever
you like to call it, by making friend my carrier instead of a bank, for
1
1852-1943; a leading lawyer and active Congressman; presided over the Nag-
pur Congress session, 1920
2
This was dated February 19, and marked Private and urged Gandhiji to visit a
few important centres in southern India.
3
A Jewish girl, steno-typist and Gandhiji’s private secretary for many years in
South Africa; made herself useful to Indian Opinion; was ardently interested in the
Indian cause
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 291

this very simple purpose of lending you money. Had I taken your
impractical advice, it would have taken me much longer to send you
the money because you must know that I am living in India where we
do things in a fairly leisurely manner befitting the climate and the
surroundings. Here bankers are not the servants of their clients but
their masters except when the clients happen to belong to the ruling
race and probably it would have cost you £15 to send £50. You with
your poetic instinct set no value on money, whereas I, a simple prosaic
business-like man, realize that it requires £150 to finish the education
of someone. Therefore, if I spend away £15, I waste one-tenth of that
sum if I can avoid having to spend it. Q.E.D.
You shall certainly treat what you have received as a loan. I
believe I have already told Mr. Rustomji1 as much but I cannot swear
as I cannot keep copies of my correspondence as a rule and I shall
accept repayment whenever you choose to send it, with compound
interest if you will, provided that you do not borrow to pay me. You
will infer from what has preceded that my health is better. I am still
bed-ridden. My head is supposed to be weak and I may not under-
take any great exertion. But the feel is all right and I am cheerful.
Devibehn2 writes to me regularly and tells me that you rarely
[do so]. That is not how people treat their goddesses, or had women
the privilege of acting different?
Yes, Harilal has been sorely stricken. Chanchi was far superior to
me. I did not specially write to you as I felt my cable to Ramdas in
reply to his was enough for all. At the time, moreover, I was too ill to
think of writing to anybody. All Harilal’s children are here and are
playing about me while I am dictating this letter.
Passive resistance is on the topics regarding certain legislation
that the Government of India are passing through the Council. The
war council meets tomorrow at the Ashram. You may depend upon it
that it won’t be a bad copy of similar councils in which you were both
an actor (or actress?) and a fairly intelligent spectatress. You won’t
therefore need from me a description of the council meeting.
I am surprised at your remark about Ashrams here prohibiting
the entry of women. It betrays your lack of interest in the Ashram. We
1
Parsi Rustomjee, Indian merchant of Natal; took prominent part in Gan-
dhiji’s satyagraha campaign in South Africa.
2
Ada West, sister of Gandhiji’s friend and co-worker, A. H. West

have so many women here at the Ashram. We are educating them all,
including three girls. The latter are no doubt our own girls. But that is
not our limitation. It is due to the disinclination of the people to send
their girls under the conditions that we impose. It will delight your
heart to see the transformation that the women undergo here after a
few days’ stay. The purdah and all other unnatural restraints fall away
as if by magic. I know you will hug most them when you come here.
Only you will have to revive your knowledge of Gujarati.
Imam Saheb is today here, and naturally also his daughter and
his wife.
M. K. GANDHI

[AHMEDABAD ,]
February 23, 1919
I got your letters. Give no assurance to anyone without taking
thought, lest you should become guilty of breach of promise. Harilal
used to write a very bad hand; he saw to it that it improved. Three of
the brothers, at last, have acquired a beautiful handwriting. But your
hand goes from bad to worse. It was with the utmost difficulty that
Mahadev could decipher the Hindi letter you wrote on behalf of
Swamiji. I could not read it at all. Bad handwriting is a serious defect.
A good hand is an accomplishment. By writing a bad hand, we place a
heavy burden on our friends and elders and harm our work. You
know well enough that I cannot easily read a letter written in a
muddled hand. I would urge you, therefore, to improve your
handwriting.
I keep well. I take four pounds of unboiled milk during the day,
spread over four meals. Two goats are being maintained. I have had
practically nothing except milk for seven days. Today Dr. Ice 1
recommended seven raisins with every meal. I cannot move about as
yet. Dr. Ice believes, though, that I shall be up and moving in a few
days. We are thinking of giving him a third name, Dudhabhai
[Brother Milk], as these days he has gone milk-crazy. He believes that
milk is the best of all foods. So I told him that he should take only
1
Dr. Kelkar; so named because of his faith in ice-treatment
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 293

milk all his life. He is taking it, for the present at any rate. Let us see
what happens hereafter.
I hope to be there by the end of March.
A meeting of satyagraha warriors is to take place in the Ashram
on Monday. The final decision will be reached after considering what
weapons each has and how much of ammunition. If you have read
Shamalbhatt’s1 description of Ravana’s war council, Mahadevbhai will
not have to recount Monday’s history.
Manu 2 has been stealing fat from all and sundry in the Ashram,
except from me, so that she looks like the largest water melon in the
Ashram. When there is an occasion for installing Ganapati, an
elephant’s trunk should be secured and stuck on her face, and she
would indeed look quite a beauty. Her radiance is ever growing
brighter, with the result that she has become everyone’s doll. Rasik 3
[one full of zest] often demonstrates his zestfulness by employing the
stick. Kanti4 is growing calmer. Rami’s health continues so-so. Ba’s
time is taken up in ministering to them all. I notice that she even finds
the thing irksome and, in consequence, her temper is often snappy,
and just as the potter, when angry, twists the ears of his donkey, his
wife, I infer, must be doing the same to the donkey’s master. After
this jesting, I shall give something serious to balance it.
“It is my firm belief that every Indian ought to know well his
mother tongue and Hindi-Urdu, which is without doubt the only
common medium of expression between lacs of Indians belonging to
different Provinces. There can be no self-expression without this
necessary equipment.” 5
This is a translation of what you have sent. Give this in Tamil as
the motto: Karka Kasadara Karpavai.6 Beneath this, give the Hindi
equivalent, which Swamiji will provide, of”Drop by drop fills the
lake”, and beneath it still, give in English:”Constant dropping wears
1
Popular 18th century Gujarati poet; author of several narrative, religious and
didactic works
2
Daughter of Harilal
3
Harilal’s son
4
ibid
5
This passage is in English, followed by a translation in Gujarati.
6
What you learn, learn faultlessly [and then act up to it].

away stones”. The Tamil saying occurs on the first page of Pope’s 1
book. Find its equivalent in Telugu and give that too.
If you send your Primer here for our comments before printing
it, Kaka and the others will go through it. And also, if you send the
proofs, while it is being printed, they will be able to examine the
design of the motto, etc., from the artistic point of view. You need not
send them if you are in a great hurry over the thing.
Surendra used to make the same comments about the school
here as he has done about the one there. Often, at first sight, a thing
makes a certain impression on a straightforward man, and this is
natural. Miss Molteno2 described Phoenix as heaven upon earth. Had
she stayed longer there, I am sure she would have changed her
opinion. At first sight, Bean thought Phoenix was the best thing he
had ever seen. After a few months’ stay there, he could not imagine
an institution anywhere as bad as Phoenix.
Enough for today. 3
Probably this too will go all right as a saying:
“Rasiklal Harilal Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi,
Had a goat in his keeping;
The goat would not be milked
And Gandhi would not stop his weeping.”4
—Rasik, Poet of Poets
Blessings from
BAPU
[From Gujarati]
1
G. U. Pope (1820-1908); missionary in South India, lecturer in Tamil and
Telugu at Oxford, 1884-96; author of several works on Tamil
2
A European co-worker of Gandhiji in South Africa
3
Up to this point, the letter was dictated. What follows was added by Gandhiji
in his own hand.
4
In Gujarati, the stanza rhymes aabb.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 295

February 23, 1919
TO
1
THE MOST WORTHY F IRM OF S ATYAGRAHIS
Just as I was about to start this letter, I had to hold a court. The
accused was Rasik, and the complainant an innocent dog. The latter
declared by his wailing that he had been assaulted by som-eone. I
discovered that the guilty party was Rasik. The accused admitted his
guilt and confessed previous offences as well. I thought of Lord
Krishna and Shishupal. Shri Krishnachandra had forgiven a hundred2
offences, of the latter. And so the court had compassion and forgave
the accused, Rasik, five offences, warning him at the same time that, if
he repeated the offence again, it would not be forgiven and that he
would be made to realize, in his own person, the dog’s suffering when
stoned.
As I write this, Kantilal is holding the inkstand. He and
Ramibehn read the letter as I proceed and correct me. The accused,
too, is here, meekly standing by the bed. Manubai interrupts now and
then to give us the benefit of her laughter. And now she has started
crying, wanting to climb up the bed. The scene reminds me of your
childhood, of that of Jadibehn and others.
Though I am confined to bed, you will see from the foregoing
that my health can pass as good.
Satyagraha is in the air here. Mahadev will write to you about it
all—or I, if I can.
Blessings from
BAPU
[From Gujarati]
1
Gandhiji used this expression jocularly for Harilal and some of his friends
who went to jail with him in South Africa.
2
Ninety-nine, according to the Mahabharata

288. THE SATYAGRAHA PLEDGE1
AHMEDABAD ,
February 24, 1919
Being conscientiously of opinion that the Bills known as the
Indian Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill No. I of 1919 and the
Criminal Law (Emergency Powers) Bill No. II of 1919 are unjust,
subversive of the principle of liberty and justice, and destructive of the
elementary rights of individuals on which the safety of the community
as a whole and the State itself is based, we solemnly affirm that, in the
event of these Bills becoming law and until they are withdrawn, we
shall refuse civilly to obey these laws and such other laws as a
Committee2 to be hereafter appointed may think fit and we further
affirm that in this struggle we will faithfully follow truth and refrain
from violence to life, person or property.
MOHANDAS KARAMCHAND GANDHI,
SATYAGRAHA ASHRAM SABARMATI
VALLABHBHAI J. P ATEL , B AR-AT -LAW ,
AHMEDABAD
C HANDULAL MANILAL DESAI, L.D.S.,
AHMEDABAD
KESARIPRASAD MANILAL THAKOOR ,
AHMEDABAD
(BEHN ) ANASUYABAI S ARABHAI ,
SECRETARY , WOMEN ’S BRANCH OF THE
HOME RULE LEAGUE , AHMEDABAD AND
OTHERS
New India, 3-3-1919
1
The pledge was drafted on 24-2-1919 and signed by those present at a
meeting held at Sabarmati Ashram.
2
For laws selected by this Committee for disobeying vide “Statement on Laws
for Civil Disobedience”, 7-4-1919.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 297

289. TELEGRAM TO PRIVATE SECRETARY TO VICEROY
AHMEDABAD ,
February 24, I919
EVER SINCE PUBLICATION ROWLATT BILLS HAVE BEEN
CONSIDERING MY POSITION REGARDING THEM. HAVE BEEN CON-
FERRING WITH FRIENDS. IN MY OPINION BAD IN THEMSEL VES BILLS
ARE BUT SYMPTOM OF DEEP-SEATED DISEASE AMONG THE RULING
CLASS, COMING AS THEY DO ON EVE REFORMS BILLS AUGUR ILL
FOR THEIR SUCCESS. THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH ME
IN PUBLIC WORK AND OTHER FRIENDS MET TODAY AND AFTER THE
GREATEST DELIBERATION HAVE DECIDED TO OFFER SATYAGRAHA
AND COMMIT CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE OF SUCH LAWS AS COMMITTEE
TO BE FORMED FROM OURSELVES MAY DECIDE. AFTER SIR GEORGE LOWN-
DES’ SPEECH IT IS NECESSARY TO DEMONSTRATE
TO GOVERNMENT THAT EVEN A GOVERNMENT THE
MOST AUTOCRATIC FINALLY OWES ITS POWER TO
THE WILL OF THE GOVERNED. WITHOUT RECOGNI-
TION OF THIS PRINCIPLE AND CONSEQUENTLY WITH-
DRAWAL BILLS MANY OF US CONSIDER REFORMS
VALUELESS. I WISH TO MAKE AN HUMBLE BUT
STRONG APPEAL TO HIS EXCELLENCY TO RECONSIDER
GOVERNMENT’S DECISION TO PROCEED WITH BILLS,
AND RELUCTANTLY ADD THAT IN EVENT OF UN-
FAVOURABLE REPLY THE PLEDGE MUST BE PUBLISHED
AND THE SIGNATORIES MUST INVITE ADDITIONS.
I AM AWARE OF SERIOUSNESS OF THE PROPOSED
STEP. IT IS, HOWEVER, MUCH BETTER THAT PEOPLE
SAY OPENLY WHAT THEY THINK IN THEIR HEARTS
AND WITHOUT FEAR OF CONSEQUENCES ENFORCE THE
DICTATES OF EXPECT EARLY THEIR OWN CONSCIENCE. MAY I
EXPECT EARLY REPLY?
N. A. I.: Home: Political—A: March 1919: No 250; also from a photostat:

S.N. 6434

290. TELEGRAM TO VICEROY1
[After February 24, 1919] 2
THE GUJARAT SABHA EMPHATICALLY PROTESTS AGAINST
THE INTRODUCTION OF BILLS NOS. 1 AND 2 OF
1919. THE BILLS ARE REPRESSIVE AND RETROGRADE
AND ARE SUBVERSIVE OF THE ELEMENTARY RIGHTS
OF CITIZENSHIP, LEAVING INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY AT THE
MERCY OF THE EXECUTIVE. THE SABHA EARNESTLY
URGES UPON GOVERNMENT TO ABANDON THE BILLS IN
THE INTERESTS OF THE EMPIRE AND THE PEACEFUL
CONSTITUTIONAL PROGRESS OF INDIA.
Gujarat Sabhano San Unneesso Unneesno Varshik Report
291. ON SATYAGRAHA
[February 25, 1919] 3
For dealing with a crisis, everyone has a choice between two
forces—physical force and soul-force or satyagraha. India’s
civilization can be saved only through satyagraha.
MOHANDAS GANDHI
292. TELEGRAM TO MADAN MOHAN MALAVIYA4

[February 25, 1919]
NO HEART NO CONFIDENCE IN DEPUTATION. ROWLATT
BILLS BLOCK ALL PROGRESS.
GANDHI
1
Presumably this was drafted by Gandhiji as President on the Gujarat Sabha.
2
The Satyagraha Pledge regarding the Rowlatt Bills was drafted and signed at
the Ashram on February 24, 1919.
3
Found on the same sheet as the “Telegram to C. F. Andrews”, 25-2-1919
4
This was in reply to an inquiry as to when Gandhiji would start for England as
a member of the Congress deputation. New India 26-2-1919, published this telegram
beginning: “Have no confidence....” Both New India and The Leader received the
news from Delhi under date 25-2-1919.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 299

293. TELEGRAM TO C. F. ANDREWS
February 25, 1919
HAVE BEEN IRRESISTIBLY DRIVEN ADOPT SATYA-
GRAHA ROWLATT BILLS. FIFTY MEN WOMEN SIGN
PLEDGE BEFORE PUBLISHING WIRED VICEROY
GIVEN PRAYERFUL CONSIDERATION. WISH YOU WERE
HERE YESTERDAY. SENDING PAPERS AFTER PERUSAL.
WIRE OPINION GURUDEO’S BLESSING IF POSSIBLE.

February 25, 1919
MY DEAR CHARLIE,
I have telegraphed to you today. I could not write the letter that
I contemplated doing when I sent my first wire. I have been passing
through perfect agony, doctors telling me that I should not undertake
any exertion, the voice within me telling me that I must speak out on
the Rowlatt Bills and the Viceregal pronouncement. Conflicting views
pressed themselves on me and I did not know what to do. Many
friends have looked to me for guidance. How could I desert them? We
met yesterday at the Ashram. It was a good meeting. The desire was to
take the plunge even if we were only a few. The last word rested with
me. I felt that the cause was true. Was I to forsake them? I could not
do so and remain true to myself. You know the result. The papers
herewith will give you fuller information. God only knows how I felt
the need of your presence whilst the soul was in travail. I am now
quite at peace with myself. The telegram to the Viceroy eased me
considerably. He has the warning. He can stop what bids fare to
become a mighty conflagration. If it comes, and if the satyagrahis
remain true to their Pledge, it can but purify the atmosphere and bring
in real swaraj. Have you noticed an unconscious betrayal of the true
nature of modern civilization in Mr. Wilson’s1 speech explaining the
League of Nations’ covenant? 2 You will remember his saying that if
1
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924); 28th President of the United States
of America
2
At the Paris Peace Conference; vide “Speech on Satyagraha, Madras”,
20-3-1919.

the moral pressure to be exerted against a recalcitrant party failed, the
members of the League would not hesitate to use the last remedy, viz.,
brute force.
The Pledge is a sufficient answer to the doctrine of force.
But this does not close the chapter. I have received a long
cablegram1 from Mr. Aswat. The situation for the Indians in the
Union is very serious indeed. The lesson of the late struggle is
practically lost upon them. If we here can render no help, Indians in
the Union will be reduced to an absolutely servile state. If they
through their weakness cannot offer satyagraha, we must all call upon
the Government to redress the grievance and to offer satyagraha if
they proclaim their helplessness. You cannot have hostile interests in
the same partnership. I have written to the Government and I am
sending a Press letter today.
There is still a third chapter. The committee that was appointed
to advise the Government upon the case of the Brothers Ali reported
two months ago. I have read the papers. There is nothing in the
charge to warrant their detention. If they are still not released, there
would be a third case for satyagraha for me.
I am bearing the burden rightly enough because the last two
have caused no struggle with my conscience. If the main struggle
starts, I may tuck on to it the last two and thus complete the trinity.
I shall eagerly await your telegraphic opinion and then a
detailed written opinion to follow. You will not wonder when I tell
you that the women at the Ashram have all voluntarily signed the
Pledge. . .
295. LETTER TO K. NATARAJAN2

February 25, 1919
I send you copies of the Satyagraha Pledge and the wire sent by
me to the Viceroy. I know you regard the Bills with the horror that I
do. But you may not agree with me as to the remedy to be applied. I
hope, however, that you will not summarily dismiss the Pledge from
your mind. If you do not provide the rising generation with an
1
Vide “Letter to the Press on South African Situation”, 25-2-1919.
2
Editor of The Indian Social Reformer, Bombay
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 301

effective remedy against the excesses of authority, you will let loose
the powers of vengeance and the doctrines of the Little Bengal Cult of
violence will spread with a rapidity which all will deplore. Repression
answers only so long as you can overawe people. But even cowards
have been known to exhibit extraordinary courage under equally
extraordinary stress. In offering the remedy of self-suffering which is
one meaning of satyagraha, I follow the spirit of our civilization and
present the young portion with a remedy of which he need never
despair.
The papers are to be treated as confidential. After the receipt of
a reply from the Viceroy, I may be able to authorize publication. The
wire to the Viceroy is not to be published at all. I have supplied you
with a copy because I entertain much regard for your opinion. Will
you please share this letter with Sir Narayan1 ?
You will presently see my letter to the Press on the South
African situation. There perhaps there will be agreement between you
and me that if the Government proclaim their helplessness, we must
offer satyagraha and prevent the impending ruin of the countrymen
in South Africa.
Yours, etc.,
296. LETTER TO SIR STANLEY REED2

February 25, 1919
It is not without some hesitation that I am sending the enclosed
papers to you. But I feel that the right course for me to adopt is not to
withhold them from you. Probably you will totally disagree with me
as to my opinion of the Bills as also the method proposed to be
adopted for securing redress. I will not argue about the matter because
I can carry the argument no further than I have done in my telegram
to the Viceroy.
All the papers are confidential.
I shall value your frank opinion in the matter.
1
Sir N G. Chandavarkar, social reformer and judge of the Bombay High Court;
presided over the Congress session at Lahore in 1900
2
Editor, The Times of India

297. LETTER TO SIR DINSHAW WACHHA1
[AHMEDABAD ,]
February 25, 1919
I told Shankarlal Banker yesterday to show you the Satyagraha
Pledge and also the letter to His Excellency the Viceroy. You must
have seen both. How can I ask you to join this struggle ? But I
certainly ask for your blessings. I shall do nothing in haste. The
Pledge will be published only after the Viceroy’s reply is received. I
think the growing generation will not be satisfied with petitions, etc.
We must give them something effective. Satyagraha is the only way, it
seems to me, to stop terrorism. From this point of view, I am justified
in seeking your help.
How shall I thank you for your unfailing solicitude for my
health? I am better now. The heart is still weak, though. Perhaps this
struggle will act as a tonic and my health will come round by itself.
[From Gujarati]

S ABARMATI ASHRAM,
Maha Vad 10 [February 25, 1919] 2
CHI. MATHURADAS,
I have your letter. I have a letter from Anandanand3 also. This

is in answer to both. There is no time to write separately to each.
There is no reason to assume that Panditji will not come.
Anandanand has suggested two good names for the standing
Committee. Please have them nominated.
I have written again to Prof. Karve. I shall write to you again
after I hear from him.
We shall be in a position to take a decision about the resolutions
1
1844-1936; prominent Parsi politician; president of the Indian National
Congress, 1901; member, Viceroy’s Council
2
Inferred from the reference to “the foundation of the struggle” having been
laid the previous day.
3
Swami Anand
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 303

only after you get the drafts from Purushottam Dasji.
The foundation of the struggle was laid yesterday. In my view, it
is a good beginning. I am sending you the documents. Treat them as
confidential. I shall let you know what the Viceroy’s reply is. Now
that I am preoccupied with this matter the burden of the Hindi Sahitya
Sammelan rests on the two of you. All you can have from me is
advice.
It would be a good idea to invite essays in English, Hindi or any
other language, from persons considered qualified on the need for
Hindi to be made the national language. The essays should be invited
on behalf of the Secretary. Prepare a list of the persons whom you
approach and sand it to me.
Blessings from
MOHANDAS
[PS.]
I am well but still weak in spirit. I hope I shall be going there in
two or three days.
From the Gujarati original: Pyarelal Papers: Nehru Memorial Museum and
299. LETTER TO THE PRESS OF SOUTH

AFRICAN SITUATION 1
[AHMEDABAD ,
February 25, 1919]
TO
THE EDITOR
BOMBAY
SIR,
The cable received by me from Mr. Aswat, Chairman of the
Transvaal British Indian Association, and given below, shows that a
revival of satyagraha with all the attendant sufferings is imminent in
1
This was published under the caption “Ill-treatment of Indians in South
Africa” in The Bombay Chronicle. The Amrita Bazar Patrika, 28-2-1919 and New
India, 27-2-1919 also published it.

South Africa, unless the danger that threatens to overwhelm the
Indians of the Transvaal is averted by prompt and effective action by
the Government of India, and if necessary, by the public also. 1 The
situation warrants a repetition of Lord Hardinge’s action2 , and the
immediate despatch to South Africa of a mission consisting of, say, a
distinguished civilian, and an equally distinguished Indian publicist.
What is the situation? The Precious and Base Metals Act referred
to in the cable affects the gold area of the Transvaal in the largest part
of its Indian population. Krugersdorp is an important town near
Johannesburg, and contains many Indian merchants, some of them
owning stock probably worth 3 lakhs of rupees. If no relief is
provided, it means ruin for the merchants and for those residing in the
whole of the gold area. The goal of the Union Government seems to
be, as has been openly declared by several Union statesmen, to reduce
its Indian settlers to the position of hewers of wood and drawers of
water. It is possible that the Court’s interpretation is correct. If so, the
Act itself must be changed and the Indian community must be saved,
not merely because of their status as British subjects, but also because
of the Passive Resistance Settlement of 1914, which protects vested or
existing rights.
1
The cable requested: “Legal proceedings under Precious Base Metals Act,
1908 resulted against Indian Merchants: Long-standing Krugersdorp area affect
judgment. Virtual ruination mercantile community throughout Witwatersrand.
Transvaal Ordinance 9, 1912, Relief Act and other laws affecting Indian community
rigorously enforced object being elimination Indian trade benefit European competi-
tors British community emphatically protest against cruel and reactionary policy.
Significant that action taken almost simultaneously with Armistice. Community
subject such policy poor mark appreciation under Indian sacrifices for Empire during
war. Community earnestly appeals for protection meanwhile endeavouring get matter
verificated before Bar assembly Capetown. Please help every possible way. Colonel
Shaw maintains being present when Hon. Gokhale and self made voluntary statement
to Smuts that persons outside Union even on urgent matters need not be admitted on
temporary or visiting permits provided those within Union are treated fairly. One
Mohammed Essak, Durban died leaving estate forty thousand relatives. Mauritius
Interior refuses temporary permits for administration purpose notwithstanding any
deposit. Government started policy based on late Hon. Gokhale’s statement. Kindly
clear up point. Government object harass Indian every possible way. Community in
great distress unless matters improve reluctantly resist, maintenance self-respect,
honour motherland, advise.”
2
Sir Benjamin Robertson was deputed by the Viceroy to represent the
Government of India in the negotiations with the South African Government on the
Indian question preceding the Gandhi-Smuts settlement of 1914.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 305

The judgment is a direct attack upon Indian liberty in pursuance
of the policy referred to by me. The Government want further to
harass the community throughout the Union by refusing facilities for
conservation of its present Indian population. They cannot remain in
it, if they may not receive occasional visitors, if, on the death of a
propertied man, his trusted relatives may not enter the Union in order
to administer his affairs. I can understand the dominant community in
South Africa not wishing to have an unlimited influx of people alien
to them in civilization. But it is impossible to understand a policy of
ruthless extermination, side by side, with a profession of loyalty to a
common Empire. Moreover, this refusal to issue temporary permits is
a breach of the Settlement. It has been all along understood that
temporary permits would be granted, whenever the necessity arose.
Surely nobody could question it in the late Mr. Mahommed Essak’s
case quoted by Mr. Aswat in his cablegram. The reference to the late
Mr. Gokhale in this connection is a libel on a sacred name. After the
termination of the interview, Mr. Gokhale came directly to the hotel
where we were staying. I had the privilege of being his secretary and
he related to me the whole of the conversation between ministers and
himself and there was not a word about his having consented to the
stoppage of temporary permits under any circumstances whatsoever.
He had no authority to enter into any agreement. He went only to
learn and to plead. Your readers will recall that at the historic meeting
field in Bombay upon his return from South Africa, he declared
publicly that he had no authority to negotiate a settlement and that he
had agreed to nothing. As representing the Indian community, I was
party to the Settlement of 1914. If any such agreement had been
made, surely it would at least have formed part of the many
discussions between General Smuts and myself. It is worthy of note
that General Smuts is not now in South Africa. If he was asked, I
doubt not that he would repudiate Colonel Shaw’s allegation.
The cablegram adds that there are many other harassments
going on throughout the Union. We are supposed to be on the eve of
embarkation upon Reforms that are to eventuate in the near future in
full Responsible Government. What answer has India to give to
Mr. Aswat’s pathetic appeal? The hundred thousand Indians of the
Union have a right to look up to the Government of India and the
people for the protection of their elementary rights.
Yours, etc.,
M. K . GANDHI

300. SUMMARY OF ROWLATT BILLS
[Before February 26, 1919] 1
These Bills have come to be known as the Black Bills. A strong
agitation has been going on against them all over India and the Bills
have been felt to be so oppressive that satyagraha has been started
against them. Several men and women have taken the Satyagraha
Pledge. A body known as the Satyagraha Sabha has been formed and
the people in general have also been advised to take this Pledge. The
pledge commits the satyagrahi to sacrifice his all for his honour.
People who take such an extreme Pledge and those advising them to
do so must have strong reasons for acting as they do. The satyagrahis
have declared in their Pledge that these Bills are unjust, that they are
subversive of the principle of the liberty of the subject and destructive
of the elementary rights of an individual. It is necessary to prove to
the people the propriety of these adjectives and the evidence must be
in the Bills themselves—so that [they may see how] submission to laws
which deserve such epithets is forfeiting one’s humanity and
accepting slavery, and those who form such an impression after going
through the summary below owe it as a duty to sign the Satyagraha
Pledge. It is a summary of the Bills, with those Sections omitted which
are irrelevant for the purpose of our criticism and whose omission
does no injustice to the Government, and with those Sections printed
in black type which we have felt to be especially oppressive. Both the
Bills are before the Legislature and have been named in the Gazette
Bill No. 1 and Bill No. 2 of 1919. Bill No. 2, as its preamble suggests,
goes further than the ordinary criminal law. This second Bill seems to
us to be the more dangerous of the two and a summary of it is
therefore given first.
S UMMARY OF BILL NO. 2 OF 1919
The object of the Bill is to make provision that the ordinary

criminal law should be supplemented and emergency powers should
be exercisable by the Government for the purpose of dealing with
dangerous situations.
The Government has obtained the previous approval of the
Secretary of State-in-Council in England for enacting this law.
1
Vide reference in the following item.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 307

Section 1. This Bill may be called The Criminal Law Emergency
Powers Bill.
It extends to the whole of India.
S OME NOTEWORTHY S ECTIONS
[Section 3.] If the Governor-General-in-Council is satisfied that

offences of a certain character1 are prevalent in the whole or any part
of India and that, in the interest of public safety, it is necessary to
provide for speedy trial of such offences, he may, by notification in
the Gazette [of India], bring this Act into force in the area specified in
the notification.
Section 4. Where the Local Government is of opinion that any
person should be tried in accordance with the provisions of this Act, it
may order any officer of the Government to prefer a written
information to the Chief Justice against that person.
Such order may be made in respect of any [scheduled] offence
even if such offence was committed before the issue of the notification
in the Gazette bringing the Act into force in a particular area.
The information shall state the offence charged and, so far as
known, the name, place of residence, and the time and place when and
where the offence is alleged to have been committed and all
particulars within the knowledge of the prosecuting officer so that the
accused might know the offence he is charged with.
The Chief Justice may by order require any information to be
amended so as to supply further particulars and such information or
amended information shall be served upon the accused.
Section 5 provides that, upon such information being served, the
Chief Justice shall nominate three of the High Court Judges for the
trial of the information.
Section 6. The court may sit at such place or places in the
Province as it may consider desirable, though the Governor-General
in-Council has the power, by a notification, to order the transfer of the
trial to any other place if considered necessary in the interest of
justice.
Section 9. After the charge is framed, the accused shall
be entitled to ask for an adjournment for a period not exceeding ten
days. Section 10 provides that the court is bound to arrange for the
1
In the Bill “Scheduled Offences”

evidence of each witness to be recorded only in summary.
Comment : Even a layman will readily see that recording only
the summary of evidence can lead to serious miscarriage of justice.
No judge can know in advance, before all the witnesses have been
examined, what weight to attach to which part of evidence.
Section 11. The court, if it is of opinion that such a course is
necessary in the public interest or for the protection of a witness, may
prohibit or restrict the publication or disclosure of its proceedings or
any part thereof.
Section 12. No questions shall be put by the court to the
accused until the close of the case for the prosecution. Thereafter, and
before the accused enters on his defence, the court shall inform the
accused that he is entitled, if he so desires, to give evidence on oath on
his own behalf, and shall at the same time inform him that if he does
so he will be liable to cross-examination.
If the accused states that he desired to give evidence on oath, the
court may put any question to him the reply to which may prove his
guilt.
Section 14 provides that in the event of any difference of
opinion among the members of the court, the opinion of the majority
shall prevail.
Section 15. If in the course of the trial, the accused is discovered
to have committed any offences other than the one he is charged with,
he may be charged with and convicted of these as well.
Section 17. The judgment of the court shall be final and
conclusive and no High Court shall have authority to revise any order
or sentence of the court.
P ART II
Section 20. If the Governor-General-in-Council is satisfied that
movements which, in his opinion, are likely to lead to the commission
of offences against the State are being promoted in the whole or any
part of India, he may, by a notification, bring the provisions of this
Part into effect in the area specified in it.
Section 21. Where, in the opinion of the Local Government,
there are reasonable grounds for believing that any person is or has
been actively concerned in any movement of the nature referred to
above, it may give all or any of the following directions: That such
person
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 309

(a) shall execute a bond for good conduct for a period not
exceeding one year;
(b) shall remain or reside in any area specified in the order;
(c) shall notify his residence and any change of residence as
ordered;
(d) shall abstain from any act which, in the opinion of the Local
Government, is calculated to disturb the public peace or is prejudicial
to the public safety;
(e) shall report himself to such police officer and at such
periods as may be specified in the order.
Comment: Under this Section, an order of this kind may be
passed against any person merely on suspicion and without a trial.
Section 23. Any officer [authorized by the Government] may
use all means reasonably necessary to enforce compliance with an
order as above.
Section 24. An order issued under Section 21 above shall
continue in force for a period of one month only.
Section 25. When the Local Government makes an order as
above, such Government shall, as soon as may be, forward to the
investigating authority to be constituted under this Act a concise
statement in writing setting forth all particulars relevant to the order
and the grounds for making it.
The investigating authority shall then hold an inquiry in camera,
summon the person in question at some stage in its proceedings and
hear any explanation he may have to offer, provided that the
investigating authority shall not disclose to the person any fact the
communication of which might endanger the public safety or the
safety of any individual, and provided further that neither the Local
Government nor the person in question shall be entitled to be
represented at such inquiry by a pleader.
The inquiry shall be conducted in such manner as the
investigating authority considers best suited to elicit the facts of the
case and, in making the inquiry, such authority shall not be bound to
observe the rules of the law of evidence.
On completion of the inquiry, the investigating authority shall
report its conclusions to the Local Government.
If the investigating authority has not completed the inquiry
within the period for which the duration of the order is limited the

Local Government may extend the period on a recommendation to
that effect by the investigating authority.
Section 26. On receipt of the report of the investigating
authority, the Local Government may discharge the order made by it
or may make any other order which it is authorized to make; any
order so made shall recite the conclusions of the investigating
authority and a copy of the order shall be furnished to the person in
question.
No order made by the Local Government shall continue in force
for more than one year, provided that, on the expiry of the order, it
may make another order if it is satisfied that such a course is
necessary in the interests of public safety.
No order made as herein provided shall continue in force for
more than a year from the date on which it was made, though on the
expiry of such an order the Local Government may renew it for a
further period of one year. An order may also be discharged at any
time by the Local Government, or altered or substituted by any other
order without reference to the investigating authority mentioned
above.
Comment: This means that the Local Government may issue any
order at its discretion and that even the nominal investigating
authority will serve no useful purpose.
Section 27. Any person who fails to comply with an order as
above shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may
extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to a thousand
rupees, or with both.
Section 29. The investigating authority shall consist of three
persons of whom one shall be a person having held a judicial office
not inferior to that of a District and Sessions Judge and one shall be a
person not in the service of the Government.
Section 30. The Local Government shall appoint Visiting
Committees to interview the persons under restraint at specified
periods and shall by rules prescribe the functions of such committees.
P ART III
Section 32. If the Governor-General-in-Council is satisfied that
in the whole or any part of India offences of a certain character are
prevalent to such an extent as to endanger the public safety, he may,
by notification in the Gazette, bring this Part into force in the area
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 311

specified therein.
Section 33. Where, in the opinion of the Local Government, any
person has been or is concerned in such area in any offence of that
kind, it may make in respect of such person any order authorized in
Part II and may further order (a) the arrest of any such person without
warrant; (b) the confinement of any such person in such place and
under such conditions and restrictions as it may specify; (c) the search
of any place specified in the order which, in the opinion of the Local
Government has been, is being or is about to be used by any such
person in such a manner as to endanger the public safety. The arrest
of such a person may be effected at any place where he may be found
by any police officer or any other officer to whom the order may be
directed.
An order for confinement of a person or the search of a place
may be carried out by any officer to whom it may be directed and
such officer may use all reasonable means for enforcing the same.
The person so arrested may, pending further orders, be committed in
custody by the arresting officer for a period not exceeding fifteen
days.
An officer executing an order for the search of any place may
seize and dispose of anything found in such place, which he has
reason to believe is being used or is likely to be used for any purpose
prejudicial to the public safety.
Section 36. Where an order has been made under Section 33,
the provisions of Sections 22 to 26 shall apply in the same way as if
the order were an order made under Section 21.
Comment: See comment on Sections 22 to 26.
Section 37. Any person who fails to comply with any order
made under the provisions of Part III shall be punishable with
imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine,
or with both.
P ARTS IV AND V
On the expiration of the Defence of India Act, every person who
was held prisoner under Section 37 [at the time of the expiration of
the Act] and who has in the opinion of the Local Government been
concerned in any scheduled offence, and every person who is [on
such expiration] in confinement in accordance with the provisions of
the Bengal State Prisoners Regulation, 1818, shall be deemed to be in

prison under [the provisions of] Part III above.
No order under this Act shall be called in question in any court,
and no suit or prosecution or other legal proceedings shall lie against
any person for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be
done under this Act. All powers given by this Act shall be in addition
to any other powers conferred by or under any enactment.
BILL NO. 1 OF 1919
The object of this Bill is to amend the Indian Penal Code

and the Criminal Procedure Code so as to put effective curbs on
activities dangerous to the State. It creates a new offence, as under:
Any person found in possession of a seditious document or
intending to publish or circulate such document will, unless he proves
that it was in his possession for a lawful purpose, be punishable with
imprisonment extending to a period of two years or with fine, or with
both.
In this Section, a seditious document is defined as a document
containing any writing or sign inciting violence against the Crown or
its Government or against officers or any class of officers or any
individual officer in the service of the Government, or inciting anyone
to wage war against the Crown or to assemble weapons with the
intention of waging such war.
Comment: This means that, if any book or paper believed to be
seditious is found in the pocket of an innocent youth ignorant of its
contents, he would be taken to be guilty unless he proves that he was
carrying it for a lawful purpose. This new offence alters one of the
fundamental principles of British justice inasmuch as, instead of the
prosecution having to prove the guilt of the accused, it is the latter
who will have to establish his innocence. If I am charged with
anything, how can I prove that I am not guilty? This can only mean
that I shall be in jail.
When trying offences against the State mentioned in the Indian
Penal Code, the court is free to order, if it thinks fit, that the accused,
even after he has served the sentence of imprisonment passed on him,
should execute a bond of good conduct for two years thereafter. Any
person who, having been served with a restraint order, under the
provisions of this Bill, to report, subsequent to his release, his place of
residence and any change therein, may be directed by the Local
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 313

Government by an order in writing to abide by any of the following
conditions:
(a) the person in question must not enter or reside or stop in
any specified area;
(b) he should confine himself to a particular part of British
India;
(c) he must not address any public meeting called to discuss
issues which might lead to breach of the peace or public
excitement or to circulate any written or printed
information relating to such issues or to extend support to
any political matter.
Comment: This means that, even after a person has suffered
eno-ugh for an alleged offence, he may not expect to be free from
harassment by the Government.
ALTERATIONS MADE BY S ELECT C OMMITTEE 1
Its report was published on March 1. We list below the important
changes which follow from the part of the report which has received
the approval of a majority. It has not been signed by the Hon’ble
Pandit Malaviya, the Hon’ble Vithalbhai Patel and the Hon’ble Mr.
Khaparde. The Hon’ble Mr. Surendranath Banerjea, the Hon’ble Mr.
Shastriar and the Hon’ble Mr. M. Shafi have appended a minute of
dissent in which they have suggested several important changes.
The Committee points out that, though it has made a few
changes in Bill No. 2, it has hesitated to alter its basic principles. If at
all, they can be altered only by the Imperial Legislative Council.
The Bill, in its original form, was intended to be a permanent
measure; the Committee has recommended that it be limited to three
years.
The Bill, in its original form, applied to any type of scheduled
offence. The Select Committee has recommended that it should apply
only to the offences of waging war and inciting rebellion against the
State.
Section 9 of the draft Bill enabled the accused to ask for an
adjournment of ten days; this has now been changed to 14 days.
Under Section 10, the Judge was required to record a summary
of the evidence. Now the evidence will have to be recorded in full
1
What follows was evidently added after March 1.

either by the Judge or by a clerk appointed by him.
Section 12 will be so amended that, if the accused declines to
tender evidence himself, the advocate for the prosecution will not be
permitted to comment on the fact.
Under Section 21, the Government is authorized to demand a
bond of good conduct without showing any reason. Now it will be
required to state the reason and make out a case.
Under Section 23, the officer was authorized to use any means.
Now, he will not be able to employ unreasonable force.
Section 25 lays down what may be adduced against the accused.
In the draft Bill it appeared to give freedom to the Government to
adduce any facts it chose. This will now be amended so that the
Government will be able to adduce only such facts as are relevant to
the case.
Under Section 26, the accused could be detained for a period
extending to three years. Now the Government will have power to do
so for a period extending to two years and the case will have to be
referred to the investigating authority on every occasion.
Section 33 seemed to imply that the accused could even be
confined with the ordinary criminals. It is now made clear that he will
have to be kept apart.
In Section 34, the period for which the accused could be held in
custody without orders from the Government has been fixed at seven
days.
In Section 40, the period of one month has been reduced to 21
days.
Comment: It must be admitted that the alterations suggested by
the Select Committee do effect some improvements in the original Bill
but they leave the basic principle of the Bill untouched, and the Bill
can be used to harass people so much that, as the Hon’ble Mr.
Shastriar has pointed out, even the members of the new Councils with
enlarged powers which are to come into being will tremble while
making any comments and be able to avail themselves of their
nominal freedom only by turning themselves flatterers. If this is true
as regards members of the Legislature, what will be the condition of
the defenceless, ignorant people? It is the duty of every thinking
Indian to save the people from this danger, a duty one can discharge
only by offering satyagraha.
[From Gujarati]
Gujarati, 9-3-1919
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 315

301. INSTRUCTIONS TO VOLUNTEERS
February 26, 19191
The following instructions to satyagraha volunteers have been
issued by the Committee of the Sabha to be strictly followed in taking
signatures.
S PECIAL INSTRUCTIONS
Volunteers shall read and explain the Satyagraha Pledge to
every intending signatory before taking his signature to the vow. The
Pledge is in three parts: The first lays down the objects of the Pledge.
It declares that the signatories are of opinion that the Rowlatt Bills are
“unjust, subversive of the principle of liberty and justice, and
destructive of the elementary rights of individuals”. In order to be
able to make this statement one must fully understand the Rowlatt
Bills, hence it is the duty of the volunteers to explain the Bills clearly
to the intending signatory.
The vow forms the second part of the Pledge. Here the signatory
solemnly affirms that he will refuse civilly to disobey certain laws.
Volunteers must explain to the signatory the full significance of the
word “civilly”. For instance, to break moral laws is not civil
disobedience. Nor is it civil disobedience to be discourteous to
officials with whom one may have to deal, while disobeying laws. On
the other hand the possession and distribution to the public of
literature proscribed by Government and which one sincerely believes
to be harmless, would be civil disobedience. Volunteers must explain
to the would-be signatory with the help of such illustrations the full
significance of the Pledge.
Volunteers must explain to every intending signatory that he
must be prepared to bear every kind of suffering and to sacrifice, if
necessary, both his person and property. He should also be made to
understand that he must be prepared to carry on the struggle single-
handed even if left alone. The volunteer must accept the signature
only after satisfying himself that the signatory is prepared to take all
these risks.
The third part of the Pledge declares that the satyagrahi will
during the struggle, fearlessly adhere to truth and ahimsa for instance
1
Vide Mahadevbhaini Diary.

he must not misrepresent anything or hurt anybody’s feelings.
Volunteers must urge upon people necessity of fully realizing the
grave responsibility of adhering to truth and ahimsa before signing
the Pledge. Volunteers must not speak of things they do not
understand and must not hold out false hopes to anybody. If they
find themselves unable to explain anything, they must consult the
Committee or refer the would-be signatory to it. Ahimsa includes
advesha. Volunteers therefore must never resort to unfair criticism of
the movement. If in performing their duties they are obstructed by the
police or others, they must not lose their temper but must courteously
explain to those opposing them, their (volunteers’) duty and their
determination under any circumstances to perform the same.
GENERAL I NSTRUCTIONS
1. Every volunteer taking signatures has to remember that a single
intelligent recruit to satyagraha is worth a hundred signatories who
have not realized their responsibility. Volunteers must therefore never
aim at merely increasing the number of signatories.
2. The volunteer shall have to carefully read and understand the
summary1 of the Rowlatt Bills published by the Sabha2 and must
explain the same to such would-be signatories as have not read the
Bills or the summary.
3. In explaining the Pledge the volunteer must lay due emphasis
upon the fact that the real strength, the true test of the satyagraha, lies
in his capacity to bear pain and must warn the signatory that resort to
satyagraha may lead to loss of personal liberty and property and ask
him to sign the Pledge only if he is prepared for these sacrifices. If the
volunteer is then convinced that the would-be signatory has made up
his mind he will take his signature.
4. Volunteers must not accept the signatures of persons under 18
and students. And even in the case of those over 18 he must make
sure that the signatory has decided after careful consideration.
Volunteers must not induce persons to sign, upon whose earnings
their families are solely dependent for their maintenance.
5. After taking the signature, the volunteer must himself take down
the designation and full address of the signatory in neat and legible
1
2
The words “published by the Sabha” do not occur in the Gujarati version of
the instructions in Mahadevbhaini Diary.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 317

handwriting. If the signature is not legible the volunteer should copy
it down neatly. He must note the date on which the signature is taken.
6. The volunteer must attest every signature.
The Bombay Chronicle 12-3-1919; also Young India, 12-3-1919
302. LETTER TO THE PRESS ON SATYAGRAHA PLEDGE

[February 26, 1919] 1
I enclose herewith the Satyagraha Pledge regarding the Rowlatt
Bills. The step taken is probably the most momentous in the history of
India. I give my assurance that it has not been hastily taken. Person-
ally I have passed many a sleepless night over it. I have weighed the
consequences of the act. I have endeavoured duly to appreciate
Government’s position. But I have been unable to find any justifi-
cation for the extraordinary Bills. I have read the Rowlatt Committee’s
Report. I have gone through its narrative with admiration. Its reading
has driven me to conclusions just the opposite of the Committee’s. I
should conclude from the Report that secret violence is confined to
isolated and very small parts of India, and to a microscopic body of
people. The existence of such men is truly a danger to society. But the
passing of the Bills designed to affect the whole of India and its
people arms the Government with powers, out of all proportion to the
situation sought to be dealt with, is a greater danger and the Commit-
tee utterly ignore the historical fact that the millions in India are by
nature the gentlest on earth.
Now look at the setting of the Bills. Their introduction is accom-
panied by certain assurances given by the Viceroy regarding the Civil
Service and the British commercial interests. Many of us are filled
with the greatest misgivings about the Viceregal utterance. I frankly
confess I do not understand its full scope and intention. If it means
that the Civil Service and the British commercial interests are to be
held superior to those of India and its political and commercial
requirements, no Indian can accept the doctrine. It can but end in a
fratricidal struggle within the Empire. Reforms may or may not come.
The need of the moment is a proper and just understanding upon this
vital issue. No tinkering with it will produce real satisfaction. Let the
great Civil Service Corporation understand that it can remain in India
1
Vide Mahadevbhai ki Diary, Part I.

only as its trustee and servant not in name but in deed and let the
British commercial houses understand that they can remain in India
only to supplement her requirements and not to destroy indigenous
art, trade and manufacture, and you have two measures to replace the
Rowlatt Bills. They, I promise, will successfully deal with any cons-
piracy against the State. Sir George Lowndes simply added fuel to the
fire when he flouted public opinion. He has forgotten his Indian
history or he would have known that the Government he represents
has before now surrendered its own considered opinion to the force of
public opinion.
It will be now easy to see why I consider the Bills to be an un-
mistakable symptom of a deep-seated disease in the governing body.
It needs, therefore, to be drastically treated. Subterranean violence will
be the remedy applied by impetuous hot-headed youths who will have
grown impatient of the spirit underlying the Bills and the circums-
tances attending their introduction. The Bills must intensify the hatred
and ill-will against the State of which the deeds of violence are
undoubtedly an evidence. The Indian covenanters by their determin-
ation to undergo every form of suffering make an irresistible appeal
for justice to the Government towards which they bear no ill will and
provide to the believers in the efficacy of violence as a means of
securing redress of grievances with an infallible remedy, and withal a
remedy that blesses those that use it and also those against whom it is
used. If the covenanters know the use of this remedy, I fear no ill
from it. I have no business to doubt their ability. They must ascertain
whether the disease is sufficiently great to justify the strong remedy,
and whether all milder ones have been tried. They have convinced
themselves that the disease is serious enough, and that milder measures
have utterly failed. The rest lies in the lap of the gods.
I am,
Yours,
From a photostat: S.N. 6440; also The Bombay Chronicle, 1-3-1919
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 319

303. LETTER TO ‘‘THE INDIAN SOCIAL REFORMER”
THE ASHRAM,
S ABARMATI ,
February 26, 1919
TO
THE EDITOR
THE INDIAN SOCIAL REFORMER
SIR,
I have read the paragraph in your issue of the 23rd instant 1
about the Patel Marriage Bill. I have never yet given an interview to
anybody on the Bill, and the views attributed to me represent but a
partial truth. Being laid up in bed, I had not taxed myself about the
Bill, but having been asked by several people to express my opinion, I
began to study the Bill, and as is my wont, I tried first to understand
the author’s position. The Hon. Mr. Patel told me there was no
occasion for me to be in a hurry to form my views, as the Bill was not
likely to come up for discussion before September, and in order to
help me to study the Bill, he sent Mr. Daftari to me. Mr. Daftari has
supplied me with a long and exhaustive memorandum on the subject.
I have not yet been able to study it, and with the present programme
of work before me, I do not know when I shall be able to study the
memorandum which requires looking up old law cases. My position,
1
In this issue, The Indian Social Reformer had quoted from a despatch of the
Ahmedabad correspondent of The Bombay Chronicle in which the correspondent had
written: “He (Mr. Gandhi) sees no objection in inter-marriages among the sub-castes
of the Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra communities. There would, he held, be
an infusion of fresh vigour among the present degenerate Rajputs if inter-marriages
were frequent among the Rajputs, Bhatias, Lohanas and Patidars. There can
conceivably be nothing wrong if inter-marriages among the Modh and Srimali Bania
communities were the rule rather than the exception, but-on no account should the
existing (sic) fourfold division be broken through. It is desirable to weld together the
four main castes comprising twenty crores of Hindus, by neutralizing the centrifugal
tendencies at present separating the various sub-castes in any main caste. Mr. Gandhi
said, subject to the above modification, the Hon. Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya had
promised his whole-hearted support when the Inter-Caste Marriage Bill would be
referred to the Select Committee in the Imperial Legislative Council. In conclusion,
Mahatma Gandhi pointed out how a wide chasm yawned between the Brahmin and the
Dhed and warned the ardent advocates of marriage reform against short cuts to
progress.”

so far as I can state it, without the aforementioned study, is this: In my
opinion, the question specially as between Brahmins and Dheds 1 does
not arise in this connection at all. Dheds stand in the same relation to
Brahmins as Kshatriyas, Vaishyas or Shoodras. Their peculiar
disability is not affected either one way or the other by the Bill. If the
Bill constitutes an attack upon Varnashram, as a believer in Varna-
shram-dharma, I should oppose it. I am told by orthodox friends that
it does constitute such an attack. I am told by the supporters of the
Bill that not only does it not interfere with Varnashram, but it merely
seeks to restore the pre-British state of Hindu Law, which was wrongly
interpreted by judges, who being ignorant of it, were guided by
biassed or corrupt Pandits. Both sides have very able lawyers. Without
deciding one way or the other, I have suggested that the effect of the
Bill should be restricted to inter-marriages among sub-castes. This
might satisfy the most ardent reformer at least as a first step, and
would enable men like the Hon. Pandit Malaviya to support it.
I am,
Yours, etc.,
M. K. GANDHI
The Indian Social Reformer, 2-3-1919
304. LETTER TO THE PRESS ON NATIONAL SCHOOL

S ATYAGRAHA ASHRAM,
Magh Krishna Ekadashi, Samvat 1975 [February 26, 1919]
TO
THE EDITOR
SIR,
I am sure your readers know that a National School is being
conducted in the Satyagraha Ashram for the past two years. Further
admissions have been stopped, mainly because the teachers on the
staff of the school wish to prepare and equip themselves fully for the
requirements of the National School curriculum and because their
number is not large enough. Just now the School needs at least five
additional teachers. All teaching is done through Gujarati. Hence,
even persons who possess a high proficiency only in Gujarati will
serve the purpose. Since, however, higher education is given entirely
1
An untouchable caste
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 321

through English, the need for men with proficiency in English will
remain till such time as we have teachers who can impart higher
education through Gujarati. Even so, the teachers at present on the
staff being well-equipped in English, the School can take on men with
high proficiency in Gujarati; in fact, it wants to encourage such men.
A few words about the School: It has three graduates [on its
staff], with one music expert and an equally competent Sanskrit
scholar. The Ashram and the School are situated on a beautiful spot
on the banks of the Sabarmati. Quarters have been built for teachers
here. They are paid enough to keep them above want. Two of the
teachers draw no salary, since they do not need any, and, of the
remaining three, the highest salary drawn by any one is Rs. 75. The
School is in a position to pay up to this maximum to a competent
teacher. In my view, anyone who works in this School will be taking
part in an experiment which seems small enough at present but which,
as time passes, will produce ever bigger results. If the experiment fails,
it will not be for lack of effort. I trust that those who love the
profession of teaching and who, though making their living through
teaching, are interested primarily in teaching for itself and only
incidentally as a means of livelihood will come forward to help this
School.
Candidates must necessarily be in a fit state of health, for they
are to learn as well as teach. They must know the fundamentals of
agriculture, on which 80 per cent of India’s population depends for
its livelihood, and also of weaving, which used to be a means of living
for hundreds of thousands of people. A knowledge of Hindi, too, is
essential for those who undertake to work for national education. In
my humble opinion, even from the point of view of their long-range
economic interests, young men fresh from college will also do well to
plunge into this experiment of national education. They will stand to
lose nothing, and may possibly gain in some ways.
MOHANDAS K. G ANDHI

305. TELEGRAM TO SYED HUSSAIN 1
March 2, 1919
PLEDGE SHOULD BE SIGNED PRESENT FORM. IT GIVES
WIDEST LATITUDE ANY DEFINITION LAWS COULD
RESTRICT SCOPE PREVIOUS DEFINITION THEREFORE
IMPOSSIBLE. COMMITTEE APPOINTED IN ORDER GUARD
AGAINST HASTY INDIVIDUAL ACTION. LAWS FOR
DISOBEDIENCE WILL BE MENTIONED TIME TO TIME
AS PROGRESS CAMPAIGN MAY DEMAND. YOUR COM-
MITTEE MAY EITHER BE PART OF COMMITTEE
HERE WHICH MAY BE CALLED CENTRAL COMMIT-
TEE OR YOU MAY FORM YOUR INDEPENDENT
COMMITTEE. GANDHI LEAVING FOR DELHI TO-
MORROW. SOME ONE MAY MEET HIM THERE IF
NECESSARY.
306. LETTER TO DEVDAS GANDHI 2

[ DELHI ,
On or after March 5, 1919] 3
I have not been able to write to you after the struggle
commenced. I have simply had no time since then. You are probably
thinking hard about the struggle, and may be wanting to join it too.
But it is necessary that you go on with your task of teaching Hindi.
I have seen the Viceroy. The talk was extremely cordial and
friendly. I got the impression that both of us understand each other
but neither succeeded in convincing the other. An Englishman will
not be argued into yielding; he yields only under compulsion of
events. He is not worried about the result, and bears what he must.
Knowing that events will take their course, he remains unconcerned
and goes his way resolutely. He is very much in love with the strength
1
Sent on behalf of Gandhiji
2
The name of the addressee is inferred from the reference to Hindi teaching.
Devdas had been in charge of this work in Madras.
3
Satyagraha started in February 1919. Gandhiji met the Viceroy on March 5,
1919.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 323

of his body and with armed might, is even proud of them a great deal.
He readily yields to such strength and respects it. However, he
recognizes moral force and, voluntarily or involuntarily, perhaps even
against his will, yields to it. It is this moral force we are employing
and, if it is genuinely moral, we shall win.
307. SPEECH OF ROWLATT BILLS, DELHI

March 7, 1919
Mr. Gandhi was prevented from delivering his address owing to weakness, but
he asked Mr. Mahadev Desai to read it out for him. He did not think there was any
necessity for him to comment on the Bills, which were the subject of severe criticism
in the Press, but he would say something about the remedy of the disease appearing in
the form of the Rowlatt Bills. The remedy was the satyagraha movement already
launched in Bombay. Many well-known men and women had signed the Pledge.
Satyagraha was a harmless, but unfailing remedy. It presupposed a superior sort of
courage in those who adopted it— not the courage of the fighter. The soldier was
undoubtedly ever ready to die, but he also wanted to kill the enemy. A satyagrahi was
ever ready to endure suffering and ever lays down his life to demonstrate to the world
the integrity of his purpose and the justice of his demands. His weapon was faith in
God and he lived and worked in faith. In his faith, there was no room for killing or
violence and none for untruth. It was the only weapon with which India could be rid of
the Bills. He did not admit the Government’s position that these Bills were necessary
to cope with anarchy. He was convinced that they would bring more anarchy in their
train. Certain acts of the Government were bound to be disliked by the people and
redress was sought in the usual way by holding protest meetings and petitioning the
Government, failing which, like the raw youths of Bengal, they resorted to violence
and violence was disastrous to the country. The Bills themselves had arisen out of
violence. The only alternative was satyagraha or civil disobedience of the laws of the
Government and enduring all the sufferings such disobedience might entail. By
satyagraha alone could India be rid of violence and her patient suffering was bound to
bend the mightiest power. He hoped and prayed that by the aid of this spiritual
weapon, India might demonstrate to the world the supreme difference between the
Eastern and the Western civilizations and concluded with warning the people against
hasty steps. No one should sign the Pledge without fully realizing the significance of
the Rowlatt Bills or the Satyagraha Vow with all the suffering it might entail.
The Amrita Bazar Patrika, 13-3-1919

[DELHI ,]
March 8, 1919
I am leaving this evening for Allahabad and I proceed thence to
Bombay. Had I been in a fit state, I should certainly have waited on
most of the signatories to the manifesto1 against the satyagarha
movement inaugurated against the Rowlatt Bills. I had hoped
yesterday, as I was calling on Sir James Dubouley2 , to come down to
you after leaving Sir James, but the interview lasted beyond 6 o’clock,
and as I did not wish to miss my last meal, I hurried to Mr. Rudra’s. I
wanted to tell you yesterday, which I now do, that you would please
tell the signatories that it was my desire to explain my position fully to
them, more fully than I could through the Press, and that for the
reasons above stated I could not do so. I wish to add—though it is
perhaps superfluous —that my regard for those of the signatories
whom I have the privilege of knowing is not affected in the slightest
degree by the manifesto. It is my misfortune that I have failed to
secure the concurrence of those whose opinion I value. Nevertheless, I
am not without hope that as the struggle develops, they will see the
brighter side of it and think with me that nothing but an energizing
activity which satyagraha certainly is could have prevented the
ambitious and high-spirited youths of the country from seeking
questionable activities for want of a better.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
1
Issued on March 2, by Sir D. E. Wachha, Sir Surendranath Banerjea, V. S.
Srinivasa Sastri and other Moderate leaders
2
Home Secretary, Government of India
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 325

309. SPEECH ON SATYAGRAHA, LUCKNOW
March 11, 1919
A public meeting of the supporters of the satyagraha movement inaugurated
by Mr. Gandhi was held this morning at 8.30 in the Rifahaam Hall to hear
Mr. Gandhi....
Then Mr. Gandhi, who was in too weak a condition of health to deliver a
speech, in a few words explained the basic principles of satyagraha, and asked the
audience to abstain from crying shame, as such behaviour went against satyagraha.
Besides, all people could not reasonably be expected to join or approve of the
movement. . . .
. . . Altogether eleven people including the Chairman took the Pledge.
...
The Leader, I3-3-1919
310. TELEGRAM TO V. S. SRINIVASA SASTRI

IN THE TRAIN FROM LUCKNOW,
March 11, 1919
SO FAR AS ABLE GAUGE PUBLIC OPINION DURING
WANDERINGS, I STATE IT IS INTENSELY STRONG.
BEING UNUSED TO SACRIFICE THEMSELVES FOR
PUBLIC GOOD, THEY MAY SEEM TO REMAIN IN-
ACTIVE, BUT THE CUP OF BITTERNESS WILL BE
FILLED TO THE BRIM IF THE BILLS ARE PER-
SISTED IN. I HOPE THAT THOUGH WE DIFFER
AS TO THE METHODS OF OPPOSING, I HOPE YOU
WILL DULY VOICE PUBLIC OPINION BY OPPOSING
PASSAGE OF THE BILLS.

311. TELEGRAM TO PRIVATE SECRETARY TO VICEROY1
C ARE P ANDIT MOTILAL NEHRU,
ALLAHABAD,
March 11, 1919
EVEN AT THIS ELEVENTH HOUR I RESPECTFULLY
ASK HIS EXCELLENCY AND HIS GOVERNMENT TO
PAUSE AND CONSIDER BEFORE PASSING ROWLATT
BILLS. WHETHER JUSTIFIED OR NOT THERE IS NO
MISTAKING THE STRENGTH OF PUBLIC OPINION
ON THE MEASURES. I AM SURE GOVERNMENT DO
NOT INTEND INTENSIFYING EXISTING BITTERNESS.
GOVERNMENT WILL RISK NOTHING BY DELAY,
BUT BY EXPRESSLY BOWING TO PUBLIC OPINION
WILL SMOOTH DOWN FEELING AND ENHANCE REAL
PRESTIGE. I AM PROCEEDING TO BOMBAY TO-MORROW
BY JUBBULPORE MAIL.
N. A. I.: Home: Political—A: March 1919: No. 250

IN THE TRAIN F ROM LUCKNOW,
March 11, 1919
DEAR MR. MAFFEY,
Here is copy of a telegram I have just sent to you. I do not wish

to add anything to it, except a very personal word. All the time that
satyagraha was going on in South Africa, I had the privilege of
addressing General Smuts through his P.S., Mr. Lane. As the struggle
developed, Mr. Lane veritably became the angel of peace between the
Government as represented by Gen. Smuts and aliens as represented
by me. Without his unfailing good nature and courtesy, probably the
satisfactory result which was arrived at might not have been possible.
May I hope for similar services from you? For as in South Africa, so
in India, I shall ever have to worry you if the struggle is unfortunately
prolonged, and I shall seize every occasion to bring Government and
1
The letter as received and preserved in the National Archives of India bears
the date line—Allahabad, March 12, 1919.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 327

those I may represent, closer together.
I shall [be] in Bombay on the 13th instant, whilst Sabarmati
(Ahmedabad) remains my permanent address. Letters addressed
Laburnum [Road], Chowpati, Bombay, will reach me a day earlier for
the time being.
I need hardly say that I had a prolonged interview with Mr.
Shastriar. But in this business, there is a difference of ideals between
him and me, and I could discover no meeting-ground between us.
I hope, Lord Chelmsford is free from fever now and that all its
effects have disappeared.
Such a personal note should have been written in my own hand.
But my recent sickness has left me disabled in more ways than one.
My hand shakes as I write and it soon gets fatigued. I am therefore
obliged to fall back upon dictation even for most intimate
correspondence.1
Yours sincerely,
313. SPEECH ON SATYAGRAHA, ALLAHABAD2

March 11, 1919
I am sorry that I am unable to speak to you myself. It is utterly
impossible for my voice to reach the farthest end of this meeting. I
have therefore to content myself with writing a few lines to be read for
me.
It behoves everyone who wishes to take the Satyagraha Pledge to
seriously consider all its factors before taking it. It is necessary to
understand the principles of satyagraha, to understand the main
features of the Bills known as the Rowlatt Bills and to be satisfied that
they are so objectionable as to warrant the very powerful remedy of
satyagraha being applied and finally to be convinced of one’s ability
to undergo every form of bodily suffering so that the soul may be set
free and be under no fear from any human being or institution. Once
in it there is no looking back. Therefore, there is no conception of
defeat in satyagraha. A satyagrahi fights even unto death. It is thus
1
The last paragraph is in Gandhiji’s hand.
2
This was read in English by the chairman, Syed Hussain, and in Hindi by
Gandhiji’s secretary, Mahadev Desai.

not an easy thing for everybody to enter upon it.
It therefore behoves a satyagrahi to be tolerant of those who do
not join him. In reading reports of satyagraha meetings I often notice
that ridicule is poured upon those who do not join our movement.
This is entirely against the spirit of the Pledge. In satyagraha we
expect to win over our opponents by self-suffering i.e., by love. The
process whereby we hope to reach our goal is by so conducting
ourselves as gradually and in an unperceived manner to disarm all
opposition. Opponents as a rule expect irritation even violence from
one another when both parties are equally matched. But when
satyagraha comes into play the expectation is transformed into
agreeable surprise in the mind of the party towards whom satyagraha
is addressed till at last he relents and recalls the act which necessitated
satyagraha. I venture to promise that if we act up to our Pledge day
after day, the atmosphere around us will be purified and those who
differ from us from honest motives, as I verily believe they do, will
perceive that their alarm was unjustified. The violationists wherever
they may be, will realize that they have in satyagraha a far more
potent instrument for achieving reform than violence whether secret
or open, and that it gives them enough work for their inexhaustible
energy. And the Government will have no case left in defence of their
measures, if as a result of our activity the cult of violence is notably on
the wane if it has not entirely died out. I hope therefore that at
satyagraha meetings we shall have no cries of shame, and no language
betraying irritation or impatience either against the Government or
our countrymen who differ from us and some of whom have for years
been devoting themselves to the country’s cause according to the best
of their ability.
314. SATYAGRAHA SABHA RULES1

The following are the draft rules of the Satyagraha Sabha.
C HAPTER I : I NTRODUCTORY
1. This association shall be called the Satyagraha Sabha.
2. Its head office shall be situated in Bombay.
3. Its objects are to oppose until they are withdrawn the Bills
1
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 329

popularly known as Rowlatt Bills (Acts I & II of 1919), by,
(i) resort to satyagraha in terms of the Pledge1 which is attached as
Schedule A hereto and all other lawful means not inconsistent
with satyagrahis.
4. The work of the Sabha shall be carried on by means of
voluntary contributions from Members and non-Members.
5. Any person qualified under Rule 6 can become a Member of
the Sabha.
C HAPTER II : C ONSTITUTION
6. Any person who has signed the Satyagraha Pledge (Schedule A
hereto), who has attained the age of 18 years and who is not a student
in some school or college and who has been attested by a Member of
the Sabha, duly authorized thereto by the Executive Committee, is
entitled to become a Member of the Sabha.
7. The Sabha shall have an elected President, Vice-Presidents not
exceeding three, three Hon. Secretaries two Hon. Treasurers.
8. The President of the Sabha shall be the ex-officio Chairman of
the Executive Committee which shall appoint its own Vice-Chairman.
9. The Executive Committee shall consist of not more than 50
Members including a Chairman and Vice-Chairman not exceeding
three. The office-bearers of the Sabha shall be ex-officio Members of
the Executive Committee.
10. The Hon. Secretaries of the Sabha shall be the ex-officio
Secretaries of the Executive Committee.
C HAPTER III : P OWERS AND DUTIES OF THE EXECUTIVE C OMMITTEE
11. The Executive Committee shall be in charge of all the Books
and records of the Sabha; it shall stand possessed of all its funds.
12. The Executive Committee shall have the power to consider and
decide from time to time what steps should be taken to give effect to
the Pledge (Schedule A)2 .
13. The Executive Committee shall have the powers to do each and
everything necessary to effect the objects of the Sabha.
14. The Executive Committee may recognize and start Branches of
1
Vide “The Satyagraha Pledge”, 24-2-1919.
2
The Bombay Chronicle, 28-3-1919 here adds: “and shall be the Committee
referred to in the Pledge”.

the Sabha in the whole of the Bombay Presidency and may co-operate
with the Satyagraha Societies and Associations in other parts of India
having similar objects.
15. The Executive Committee shall meet at least once a week1 and
shall do so more often if the Hon. Secretaries call an urgent meeting.
Special meeting of the Committee shall also be called on a requisition
signed by 3 or more Members of the Committee specifying the object
of the special meeting.
16. The Executive Committee may without assigning any reason by
a 2/3rd majority of the total number of its Members expel any
Member of the Sabha.
17. The quorum of meeting of the Executive Committee shall be 8
and at meetings of the General Body of Members 25.
18. The foregoing rules shall be subject to such alterations and
additions as may be made from time to time by the Executive
Committee and ratified by the Sabha.
19. A general meeting of the Members of the Sabha shall be held at
least once a month or at any time at the instance of the Executive
Committee or on requisition to the Honorary Secretaries which is
signed by not less than ten Members provided that not less than 3
days’ [notice is given].
Young India, 12-3-1919; also The Bombay Chronicle, 28-3-1919
315. TELEGRAM TO C. VIJAYARAGHAVACHARIAR

ALLAHABAD,
March 12, 1919
C. VIJAYARAGHAVACHARIAR
SALEM
AM DELIGHTED OVER YOUR DOINGS. HOPE REACH

MADRAS END MONTH. ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY PASS FEW
DAYS BOMBAY. JUST LEAVING FOR BOMBAY.
GANDHI
From the original: C. Vijayaraghavachariar Papers. Courtesy: Nehru Memo-
rial Museum and Library
1
The Bombay Chronicle here has: “at not less than three days’ notice.”,
omitting the rest of Rule 15.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 331

316. LETTER TO SIR JAMES DUBOULAY
March 12, 1919
With reference to the Ali Brothers, I should like to say just one
word. After the interview with you,1 I have seen Maulana Abdul Bari
Saheb of Lucknow whose disciples the Brothers are. And I must state
that by still longer detaining the Brothers, the Government would be
adding injustice to injustice. I do not know the art of Government and
what I have seen of it throughout the world makes me look upon it
not with any favour. But it does seem curious that the Government
should ignore what is patent to everybody outside it, viz., the
increasing intensity of the smouldering fire which they are simply
hiding under the ashes called repression. And is it good Government
to imprison ability, honesty, and religious conviction ? I do wish I
could convince you of the necessity of setting the Brothers free, and
you in your turn could convince the Government.
I am leaving for Bombay today. My permanent address is
Sabarmati, Ahmedabad, but for some days my address will be
Laburnum Road, Gamdevi, Bombay.
N. A. I.: Home: Political—A: July 1919: No. 1 & K.W.
317. CABLE TO H. S. L. POLAK

BOMBAY, 2
March 12, I9193
TO
HENRY POLAK
[L ONDON ]
—LCO KALOPH 4 STRAND LN—
ROWLATT BILLS PASSING. NINETY WELL-KNOWN MEN WOMEN

DECLARE CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE LAWS THEIR COMMITTEE
SELECTS. STEP TAKEN DELIBERATION. NOTICE VICEROY.
VICEREGAL ASSURANCES CIVIL SERVICE BRITISH COMMERCE
1
On March 7 at Delhi; vide “Letter to V. S. Srinivasa Sastri”, 8-3-1919.
2
As in the source
3
ibid
4
Telegraphic address of H. S. L. Polak, anagram (H. Polak = KALOPH)

ALARMING. REQUIRE CLEAR ENUNCIATION. HOPE YOU
MOVING TRANSVAAL INDIAN SITUATION.
GANDHI
From the original cablegram: C.W. 1117. Courtesy: H. S. L. Polak
318. SPEECH ON ROWLATT BILLS, BOMBAY

March 14, 1919
At the Bombay meeting against the Rowlatt Bills on 14th March, 1919,
Mr. Gandhi’s speech which was in Gujarati was read out by his secretary.
I am sorry that owing to my illness, I am unable to speak to you
myself and have to have my remarks read to you. You will be glad to
know that Sannayasi Shraddhanandji is gracing the audience today by
his presence. He is better known to us as Mahatma Munshiramji, the
Governor of Gurukul. His joining our army is a source of strength to
us. Many of you have perhaps been keenly following the proceedings
of the Viceregal Council. Bill No. 2 is being steamrollered by means
of the official majority of the Government and in the teeth of the
unanimous opposition from the non-official members. I deem it to be
an insult to the latter, and through them to the whole of India.
Satyagraha has become necessary as much to ensure respect for duly
expressed public opinion, as to have the mischievous Bills withdrawn.
Grave responsibility rests upon the shoulders of the satyagrahis
though, as I have so often said, there is no such thing as defeat in
satyagraha, it does not mean that victory can be achieved without
satyagrahis to fight for it, i.e., to suffer for it. The use of this matchless
force is comparatively a novelty. It is not the same thing as passive
resistance which has been conceived to be a weapon that can be
wielded most effectively only by the strongest-minded, and you may
depend upon it that six hundred men and women who in this
Presidency have signed the Pledge are more than enough for our
purpose, if they have strong wills and invincible faith in their mission,
and that [it] is in the power of truth to conquer untruth which
satyagrahis believe the Bills represent. I use the word “untruth” in its
widest sense. We may expect often to be told—as we have been told
already by Sir William Vincent—that the Government will not yield to
any threat of passive resistance. Satyagraha is not a threat, it is a fact;
and even such a mighty Government as the Government of India will
have to yield if we are true to our Pledge. For, the Pledge is not a
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 333

small thing. It means a change of heart. It is an attempt to introduce
the religious spirit into politics. We may no longer believe in the
doctrine of tit for tat; we may not meet hatred by hatred, violence by
violence, evil by evil; but we have to make a continuous and persistent
effort to return good for evil. It is of no consequence that I give
utterance to these sentiments. Every satyagrahi has to live up to them.
It is a difficult task, but with the help of God, nothing is impossible.
(Loud cheers.)
Mahatma Gandhi: His Life, Writings & Speeches, pp. 341-2
319. TELEGRAM TO C. VIJAYARAGHAVACHARIAR

GRANT R OAD ,
March 15, 1919
VIJAYARAGHAVACHARIAR
SALEM
REACHING MADRAS TUESDAY MORNING. PLEASE AVOID

1
ALL PUBLIC DEMONSTRATIONS. HEALTH TOO WEAK
FOR THEM.
GANDHI
From the original: C. Vijayaraghavachariar Papers. Courtesy: Nehru Memorial
Museum and Library

LABURNUM R OAD ,
GAMDEVI,
BOMBAY,
Fagan Sud 15 [March 16, 1919]
CHI. MAGANLAL,
I have your letter. Don’t at all expect a long letter from me

these days. Santok will soon be there and you will have some relief.
Moreover, she will be returning successful from Rajkot and will
therefore be more cheerful. Mahatma Munshiram will leave Surat by
the evening train on the l9th and arrive in Ahmedabad the next
1
In protest against the Rowlatt Bills; vide “Speech on Satyagraha, Madras”,
20-3-1919.

morning. The train reaches there at six. He will of course stay in the
Ashram. He will be there on the 20th and the 21st. For these two days,
you, or someone else whom he knows, should attend on him.
Accompany him wherever he goes. Take him to the place in
Ahmedabad where good work on the handloom is being done. In any
case, acquaint him with all the activities of the Ashram. It is necessary
that he should have a separate session with the teachers and
understand everything. Drench him with love. He will attend the
annual function of the workers on the 20th evening, will address a
public meeting on the 21st and leave for Ajmer or Surat the same
evening. Arrangements for a car will be made by Anasuyabehn. In
case she forgets, do so yourself. Take him by car from Ahmedabad to
the Ashram. Give him a sample of Ashram cloth as a gift. When he
leaves . . . on you ....1
321. SPEECH ON SATYAGRAHA, MADRAS2

March 18, 1919
You will forgive me for saying the few words that I want to say
just now sitting in the chair. I am under strict medical orders not to
exert myself, having got a weak heart. I am, therefore, compelled to
have some assistance and to get my remarks read to you. I wish to say
one word to you. Beware before you sign the Pledge. But if you do,
you will see to it that you shall never undo the Pledge you have
signed. May God help you and me in carrying out the Pledge.
[Mahadev Desai, after a few words of introduction, read out the following
message:]
I regret that owing to heart-weakness, I am unable to speak to
you personally. You have no doubt attended many meetings, but
those that you have been attending of late are different from the
others in that at the meetings to which I have referred some immediate
tangible action, some immediate definite sacrifice has been demanded
of you for the purpose of averting a serious calamity that has
overtaken us in the shape of what are known as the Rowlatt Bills. One
of them, Bill No. 1, has undergone material alterations and its further
1
The rest of the letter is not available.
2
The meeting was held at Triplicane Beach S. Kasturi Ranga Iyengar presided.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 335

consideration has been postponed. In spite, however, of the alteration,
it is mis-chievous enough to demand opposition. The second Bill has
probably at this very moment been finally passed by that Council, for
in reality you can hardly call the Bill as having been passed by that
august body when all its non-official members unanimously and in
strong language opposed it. The Bills require to be resisted not only
because they are in themselves bad, but also because Government, who
are responsible for their introduction, have seen fit practically to
ignore public opinion and some of its members have made it a boast
that they can so ignore that opinion. So far, it is common cause
between the different schools of thought in the country. I have,
however, after much prayerful consideration, and after very careful
examination of the Government’s standpoint, pledged myself to offer
satyagraha against the Bills, and invited all men and women who think
and feel with me to do likewise. Some of our countrymen, including
those who are among the best of the leaders, have uttered a note of
warning, and even gone so far as to say that this satyagraha movement
is against the best interests of the country. I have naturally the highest
regard for them and their opinion. I have worked under some of
them. I was a babe when Sir Dinshaw Wachha and Babu Surendranath
Banerjea were among the accepted leaders of public opinion in India.
Mr. Sastriar is a politician who has dedicated his all to the country’s
cause. His sincerity, his probity are all his own. He will yield to no one
in the love of the country. There is a sacred and indissoluble tie
binding me to him. My upbringing draws me to the signatories of the
two Manifestoes1 . It is not, therefore, without the greatest grief and
much searching of heart that I have to place myself in opposition to
their wishes. But there are times when you have to obey a call which is
the highest of all, i.e., the voice of conscience, even though such
obedience may cost many a bitter tear, nay, even more, separation
from friends, from family, from the State to which you may belong,
from all that you have held as dear as life itself. For, this obedience is
the law of our being. I have no further and other defence to offer for
my conduct. My regard for the signatories to the Manifesto remains
undiminished, and my faith in the efficiency of satyagraha is so great
that I feel that if those who have taken the Pledge will be true to it, we
1
Issued by Sir D. E. Wachha, Sir Surendranath Banerjea, V. S. Srinivasa
Sastriar and other Moderate leaders on March 2, and by the Madras Moderates on
March 18.

shall be able to show to them that they will find when we have come to
the end of this struggle that there was no cause for alarm or
misgivings. There is, I know, resentment felt, even by some satyagrahis
over the Manifestoes. I would warn satyagrahis that such resentment is
against the spirit of satyagraha. I would personally welcome an honest
expression of difference of opinion from any quarter and more so
from friends because it puts us on our guard. There is too much
recrimination, innuendo and insinuation in our public life, and if the
satyagraha movement purges it of this grave defect, as it ought to, it
will be a very desirable by-product. I wish further to suggest to
satyagrahis that any resentment of the two Manifestoes would be but a
sign of weakness on our part. Every movement, and satyagraha most
of all, must depend upon its own inherent strength, but not upon the
weakness or silence of its critics.
Let us, therefore, see wherein lies the strength of satyagraha. As
the name implies, it is in an insistence on truth which dynamically
expressed means love; and by the law of love we are required not to
return hatred for hatred, violence for violence but to return good for
evil. As Shrimati Sarojini Devi told you yesterday, the strength lies in
a definite recognition of the true religious spirit and action corres-
ponding to it, and when once you introduce the religious element in
politics, you revolutionize the whole of your political outlook. You
achieve reform then not by imposing suffering on those who resist it,
but by taking the suffering upon yourselves and so in this movement
we hope by the intensity of our sufferings to affect and alter the
Government’s resolution not to withdraw these objectionable Bills. It
has, however, been suggested that the Government will leave the
handful of satyagrahis severely alone and not make martyrs of them.
But there is here, in my humble opinion, bad logic and an unwar-
ranted assumption of fact. If satyagrahis are left alone, they have won
a complete victory, because they will have succeeded in disregarding
the Rowlatt Bills and even other laws of the country and in having thus
shown that civil disobedience of a Government is held perfectly
harmless. I regard the statement as an unwarranted assumption of fact,
because it contemplates the restriction of the movement only to a
handful of men and women. My experience of satyagraha leads me to
believe that it is such a potent force that, once set in motion, it ever
spreads till at last it becomes a dominant factor in the community in
which it is brought into play, and if it so spreads, no Government can
neglect it. Either it must yield to it or imprison the workers in the
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 337

movement. But I have no desire to argue. As the English proverb says,
the proof of the pudding lies in the eating. The movement for better
or for worse has been launched. We shall be judged not by our words,
but solely by our deeds. It is, therefore, not enough that we sign the
Pledge. Our signing it is but an earnest of our determination to act up
to it, and if all who sign the Pledge act according to it, I make bold to
promise that we shall bring about the withdrawal of the two Bills and
neither the Government nor our critics will have a word to say against
us. The cause is great, the remedy is equally great; let us prove worthy
of them both.
Mahatma Gandhi: His Life, Writings & Speeches, pp. 343-7
322. SPEECH AT MADRAS LABOUR UNION1

March 19, 1919
I am very pleased to meet you this evening. I should have loved
to speak to you in Tamil, but unfortunately, all my attempts to learn
Tamil have so far failed. You will please therefore forgive me for my
inability to address you in your mother tongue. As I look at the faces
before me, I see that many of them resemble those that I was used to
see in South Africa. I have worked with them, I have lived with them, I
have eaten with them, and company with you puts me in mind of the
days I have spent with them.
You know that money cannot do without labour nor labour do
without money. Part of what your masters earn with your labour is
distributed to you. You thus enjoy a position of privilege. But there
are also responsibilities attaching to it and I shall tell you some of
them.
First and foremost, you should be truthful, for a man without
truth is, like a base coin, worthless, and in order that truth may shine in
you, you should be educated. I see that Mr. Wadia has very kindly
provided you with a library and a reading room and I have no doubt
that if you expressed your desire to him, be could find you teachers
also. No man is too old to learn and if you will learn and study what
ought to be studied, you will become better men. You will then better
know your rights as well as your duties. You can either waste your
time and money by devoting both to drinking and gambling or you
1
This speech was translated into Tamil by Dandapani Pillay. B. P. Wadia was
in the chair.

can use both usefully in educating yourselves and your children. I
hope you will remember the few words I have spoken this evening and
try to act according to what I have said. I thank you for giving me the
opportunity of meeting you. May God bless you and yours and may
you become citizens of India.
323. SPEECH ON SATYAGRAHA, MADRAS1

March 20, 1919
This afternoon I propose to deal with that of the objections that
have been raised against satyagraha. After saying that it was a matter
of regret that men like myself “should have embarked on this
movement”, Sir William Vincent, in winding up the debate on Bill No.
2, said:
. . . they could only hope that it (i.e., satyagraha) would not
materialize. Mr. Gandhi might exercise great self-restraint in action, but there
would be other young hot-headed men who might be led into violence which
could not but end in disaster. Yielding to this threat, however, would be
tantamount to complete abolition of the authority of the Governor-General -
in-Council.
If Sir William’s fear as to violence is realized, it would
undoubtedly be a disaster. It is for every satyagrahi to guard against
that danger. I entertain no such fear because our creed requires us to
eschew all violence and to resort to truth and self-suffering as the only
weapons in our armoury. Indeed, the satyagraha movement is, among
other things, an invitation to those who believe in the efficacy of
violence for redress of grievances to join our ranks and honestly to
follow our methods. I have suggested elsewhere what the Rowlatt Bills
are intended to do and what, I verily believe, they are bound to fail in
achieving, exactly what the satyagraha movement is pre-eminently
1
At a meeting on Triplicane Beach, with C. Vijayaraghavachari in the chair.
This was read by Mahadev Desai due to Gandhiji’s ill-health.
The following resolution was put from the chair and passed unanimously:
“In view of the unanimous opposition of India to Rowlatt Bills and the fact
that not a single non-official member voted with the Government for the passing of
the Bill, this public meeting appeals to H.E. the Viceroy to withhold his assent to the
Act for the signification of His Majaty’s pleasure under Section 68 of the Government
of India Act.”
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 339

capable of achieving. By demonstrating to the party of violence the
infallible power of Satyagraha and by giving them ample scope for
inexhaustible energy, we hope to wean that party from the suicidal
method of violence. What can be more potent than an absolute
statement accompanied by corresponding action presented in the
clearest terms possible that violence is never necessary for the purpose
of securing reforms. Sir William says that the movement has great
potentialities of evil. The Hon. Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya is said
to have retorted, “and also of good”. I would venture to improve
upon the retort by saying “only of good”. It constitutes an attempt to
revolutionize politics and to restore moral force to its original station.
After all, the Government do not believe in an entire avoidance of
violence, i.e., physical force. The message of the West which the
Government of India, I presume, represent, is succinctly put by
President Wilson in his speech delivered to the Peace Conference at
the time of introducing the League of Nations Covenant:
Armed force is in the background in this programme, but it is in the
background, and if the moral force of the world will not suffice physical force
of the world, shall.
We hope to reverse the process, and by our action show that

physical force is nothing compared to the moral force, and that moral
force never fails. It is my firm belief that this is the fundamental
difference between the modern civilization and the ancient, of which
India, fallen though it is, I venture to claim is a living representative.
We, her educated children, seem to have lost faith in the supremacy of
moral force; we shall have made a priceless contribution to the British
Empire and we shall, without fail, obtain the reforms we desire and to
which we may be entitled. Entertaining such views, it is not difficult
for me to answer Sir William’s second fear as to the complete
abolition of the authority of the Governor-General-in-Council. This
movement is undoubtedly designed effectively to prove to the
Government that its authority is finally dependent upon the will of the
people and not upon force of arms, especially when that will is
expressed in terms of satyagraha. To yield to a clear moral force
cannot but enhance the prestige and dignity of the yielder.
It is to such a movement that every man and woman in this great
country is invited, but a movement that is intended to produce far-
reaching results, and which depended for success on the purity and
the capacity for the self-suffering of those who are engaged in it, can

only be joined after a searching and prayerful self-examination. I
may not too often give the warning I have given at satyagraha
meetings, that everyone should think a thousand times before coming
to it, but having come to it he must remain in it, cost what it may. A
friend came to me yesterday and told me that he did not know that it
meant all that was explained at a gathering of a few satyagrahi friends
and wanted to withdraw. I told him that he could certainly do so if he
had signed without understanding the full consequences of the
Pledge, and I would ask everyone who did not understand the Pledge
as it has been explained at various meetings, to copy this example. It is
not numbers so much as quality that we want. Let me, therefore, note
down the qualities required of a satyagrahi. He must follow truth at
any cost and in all circumstances. He must take a continuous effort to
love his opponents. He must be prepared to go through every form of
suffering, whether imposed upon him by the Government which he is
civilly resisting for the time being, or by those who may differ from
him. This movement is thus a process of purification and penance.
Believe me that if we go through it in the right spirit, all the fears
expressed by the Government and some of our friends will be proved
to be groundless and we will not only see the Rowlatt Bills withdrawn,
but the country will recognize in satyagraha a powerful and religious
weapon for securing reforms and redress of legitimate grievances.
New India, 21-3-1919
324. SPEECH AT TRAMWAYMEN’S MEETING, MADRAS

March 21, 1919
This morning at 8 a.m. about 150 strikers had assembled at No. 2, St.
George’s Cathedral Road, to see Mahatma Gandhi and to take his advice. Mr. Gandhi
spoke in English and his speech was translated to the strikers in Tamil by Mr. C.
Rajagopalachariar.
Mr. Gandhi first of all asked one of them whether he was not tired of the
strike and how long he could prolong it. He replied that he was not and that he could
stand for 10 or 15 days more. Questioned again as to what he would do if the strike be
prolonged beyond that period, he replied that he would like to remain like that even
for 10 days afterwards.
Mr. Gandhi then spoke as follows:
I have heard something about your strike. I know on the surface
what your demands are. But I have not deeply gone into the whole
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 341

matter. Nor do I know the Company’s side of the question. I
therefore cannot say whether your demands are absolutely just or not.
But, assuming that your demands are just, I am sure that you are quite
justified in declaring a strike. Whenever a body of workmen take their
legitimate grievances before their employers and the employers do
not listen to them, the only clean weapon in their hands is a strike. So,
for a good and successful strike, the first thing essential is that the
cause should be good and just. The second thing is that the strikers
should never resort to violence. That is to say, you may not hurt your
employers nor may you hurt those who do not join you in the strike.
And you should always, no matter what difficulties you have to suffer,
stick to truth. And in going through the strike, you must be prepared
always to suffer whatever difficulties you may have to go through,
even deprivations. That strike is a religious strike and is always bound
to be successful. I hope that your strike is of that character. I am
simply filled with delight that you are all acting in such perfect co-
operation that not a single employee here is at present working. I am
also delighted that you are conducting yourselves in a most orderly
manner. And having gone so far, I hope you will continue your strike
till your demands are granted. I would like you to bear this in mind
that your demands should be reduced to writing, that every one of
you should know what those demands are and when the time for a
settlement comes, not to increase your demands. If you increase your
demands from time to time or change them, you will place yourselves
in the wrong. If an arbitration is suggested, through men in whom you
can place perfect reliance, I would advise you to agree to the
arbitration, because the arbitrators will be able to say to you, to the
Company and to the world, whether your demands are just or not.
Lastly, granting that your demands are just, that you are fulfilling the
conditions that I have laid down, what are you to do when the strike is
prolonged is a fair question. I know that all of you do not possess
money enough to go out with an indefinitely prolonged strike. You
are workers and able-bodied men and I would advise you not to rely
for your bread and butter on public support. It is beneath the dignity
of a man who has got strength of arms and legs to depend for his
bread and butter upon public support. I would therefore advise you to
seek some work which all of you can do of a temporary nature. No
honest work is dishonourable for any man on this earth. If I were you,
I would do spade work indefinitely. I have not got the time to
tell you the history of a recent strike in Ahmedabad where the people

continued their strike for 23 days. You will ask some friend what that
strike was. But this I want to tell you about that strike, that the men
earning Rs. 40 per month did not mind doing spade work, taking
earth and carrying it on their heads in baskets from one place to
another. So they were able to support themselves with four annas a
day. The result was that 10,000 men who were engaged in it were
entirely successful. I hope that your demands are just. I hope that
you will behave in the manner that I have ventured to advise you. In
that case, you may depend upon it you shall have success. I thank you
very much for having come here all the way to see me. May God bless
you.
The Hindu, 21-3-1919
325. LETTER TO THE PRESS ON SATYAGRAHA

MOVEMENT1
MADRAS,
March 23, 1919
Satyagraha, as I have endeavoured to explain at several meet-
ings, is essentially a religious movement. It is a process of purification
and penance. It seeks to secure reforms or redress of grievances by
self-suffering. I therefore venture to suggest that the second Sunday
after the publication of the Viceregal assent to Bill No. 2 of 1919 (i.e.,
6th April) may be observed as a day of humiliation and prayer. As
there must be an effective public demonstration in keeping with the
character of the observance, I beg to advise as follows:
(i) A twenty-four hours’ fast counting from the last meal on
the preceding night should be observed by all adults, unless prevented
from so doing by consideration of religion or health. The fast is not
to be regarded, in any shape or form, in the nature of a hunger-strike,
or as designed to put any pressure upon the Government. It is to be
regarded, for the satyagrahis, as the necessary discipline to fit them for
civil disobedience, contemplated in their Pledge, and for all others, as
some slight token of the intensity of their wounded feelings.
(ii) All work, except such as may be necessary in the public
interest, should be suspended for the day. Markets and other business
1
This was also published in The Amrita Bazar Patrika, 25-3-1919, as released
by the Associated Press of India.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 343

places should be closed. Employees who are required to work even on
Sundays may only suspend work after obtaining previous leave.
I do not hesitate to recommend these two suggestions for
adoption by public servants. For though it is unquestionably the right
thing for them not to take part in political discussions and gatherings,
in my opinion they have an undoubted right to express upon vital
matters their feelings in the very limited manner herein suggested.
(iii) Public meetings should be held on that day in all parts of
India, not excluding villages, at which resolutions praying for the
withdrawal of the two measures should be passed.
If my advice is deemed worthy of acceptance, the responsibility
will lie, in the first instance, on the various Satyagraha Associations for
undertaking the necessary work of organization, but all other
associations will, I hope, join hands in making this demonstration a
success.
M. K. GANDHI
The Hindu, 24-3-1919; also a photostat: S. N. 6469
326. LETTER TO ANNIE BESANT

2, C ATHEDRAL S TREET,
[MADRAS,]
March 23, 1919
DEAR MRS. BESANT,
There appeared in yesterday’s New India a letter sighed by 1 .
The correspondent has given some information about the proceedings
of a private meeting of satyagrahis. May I say, for future guidance,
that the proceedings of the Sabha or its Com-mittee are to be regarded
as private unless when publication is offici-ally authorised? I am sure
that you will respect the Committee’s wish.2
1
This space is blank in the source.
2
Mrs. Besant replied : “Certainly, I took the letter as ordinary news from one
of your people.”

327. LETTER TO SIR S. SUBRAMANIA IYER1
March 23, 1919
I am extremely grateful for your candid note . I shall certainly
2
respect your wishes. I can’t misunderstand and I am sure that the

friends who are associated with me in this work will not do so either.
Will you please tell Mrs. Besant, this movement is not a party
movement, and those who belong to particular parties after joining the
movement cease to be party men? She will find, as the movement
progresses, that satyagrahis will endeavour to purge themselves of
acrimony and other such delinquencies. I entirely agree with you that
however much we may differ from her, no Indian can help feeling
grateful to her for her wonderful services to India.
M. K. GANDHI
328. NOTES TAKEN DOWN BY MAHADEV DESAI

[ MADRAS,
March 23, 1919] 3
Met together to discuss future work.
What has Bombay done: Committee. Publication of important
literature. Closing of the markets.
Political statutes may be taken first.
i. Printing & publishing of clean prohibited literature.
ii. Issue of a written newspaper without licence.
I have deliberately asked the Bombay Committee [not] to put
anything more than this before the public. I don’t think it is wise to
put a complete programme, just yet, without knowing what turn events
take. I have other laws as L. R. Law, Salt Act and Revenue
Law in my programme.
1
Retired Judge of the Madras High Court; honorary president of the All-India
Home Rule League and an old Congressman; he renounced his knighthood in protest
against the arrest of Annie Besant and her co-workers in 1917 and addressed a letter to
President Wilson. He drafted and signed a pledge the same year advocating passive
resistance against the repressive laws; vide The History of the Indian National
Congress by B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya, “Deputation to Natal Premier”, 29-6-1894.
2
Declining the offer of vice-presidentship of the Satyagraha Sabha
3
These Notes are on the reverse of the letter appearing as the preceding item.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 345

The best course is each Province to have its separate
independent organization and for all those different organizations to
co-operate. Difficulties of an All-India Central Committee.
Difficulties of meeting together.
Question of representation.
I would certainly suggest that every one of us who guide the
people would be the first to go and for that purpose you can stop
your paper.
Satyagrahis must reside within the area of operations.
The occupation of the satyagrahi shall occupy a secondary
place. Conceive ourselves an army not of destruction but of
construction or if necessary, of self-destruction and all the rules that
apply to that army apply to our Sabha.
MAHADEV H. D ESAI
Certain this Presidency till Wednesday , probably Sunday2 .
1
329. SPEECH ON SATYAGRAHA MOVEMENT, TANJORE3

March 24, 1919
The acceptance, by the country, of the new criminal laws was a degradation, a
humiliation. When a nation felt that any particular legislation was a national
degradation, they had a clear duty to discharge. In the countries of the West, when the
governors did a wrong, there ensued bloodshed. In India, on the other hand, the
people instinctively abhorred the doctrine of violence. Therefore, they had to find out
by what other means they could enforce their will upon the Government. They had
found that speeches at public meetings and the resolutions of the Legislative
Councils had been of no avail. The official majority had rejected the national will
expressed through the elected members. In such circumstances, by what other means
could they impose their will on the Government ? He suggested that what Prahlad did
towards his father, Hiranyakashyapu, should be done by them towards the Govern-
ment. Hiranyakashyapu issued a command to his son which conflicted with his
conscience. The voice of a disciplined conscience was the voice of the divine; and
any man who refused to listen to that voice degraded human dignity. The conscience
1
26th March
2
30th March
3
At an open air meeting held at Besant Lodge. V. P. Madhava Rao
presided

of the speaker told him that they should act even as Prahlad acted against his father’s
order; and if their conscience also told the same thing, they should do the same.
Prahlad disobeyed his father’s command without any irreverence or ill will or
disaffection for him. He continued to love his father as he was still disobeying his
order, and the very love he bore his father made him point out to him his wrong which
he dutifully resisted under the dictates of his conscience. This was what was called
civil disobedience or satyagraha, which mean the force of truth, the force of soul. If
they accepted satyagraha, they rejected the doctrine of physical violence. He hoped
that they who were the descendants of Prahlad would not send him away empty-
handed. He had just then received a telegram that the Viceroy had given his consent to
Bill No. 2. They could not better begin the use of soul-force than by adopting some
rigorous measures of discipline. He had suggested in a letter to the Press that the
second Sunday, after the Viceroy had given his consent to the Bills, which would be
the 6th April, should be observed as a day of fast by all adults, men and women, who
could fast. That was not to be mixed up with the hunger-strikes in England known in
connection with the movement for suffrage for women. It was merely an expression
of grief, an act of self-denial, a process of purification. It trained the satyagrahi to
begin and carry on his civil disobedience. On that day, they should suspend all
transaction of business. He had even ventured to suggest that public servants also
could participate in the general fast. He entirely conceded the doctrine that
Government servants should not take part in politics, but, it did not mean the
suppression of their conscience and their freedom to share in national grief or
national joy. In organizing public meetings or in making speeches thereat, they
should employ the most respectful and dignified language in speaking of the
Government and of their laws. In becoming language, they should appeal to the
Viceroy and to the Secretary of State to withdraw the new laws in question. In taking
the Pledge, they should understand that they were to do no harm to life or to property,
but work in peace and goodwill to all. Satyagraha would do what this legislation could
not do, namely, rid the country of violence. He hoped they would decide to accept it;
and accepting it, never to retrace their steps from the vow after it had once been
taken. They need not sign the Pledge at the meeting but might take time to consider
the matter calmly, not once or twice but fifty times, whether, in view of what was
expected of them, they possessed the capacity for it, for the discipline and the
sacrifice that it required of them. They should remember that it was a sacred vow and
that no Indian could break it with impunity. If they disapproved of it now, they would
ere long find cause to regret that they did not join the movement. If, from weakness or
from any other cause, they could not advance to the centre of the fight, they might, at
least, remain at the circumference and along many of its lines help it in various ways.
He hoped that God had given them sufficient strength and wisdom to take the vow and
conscientiously discharge their duties at this critical moment in the fortunes of their
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 347

country.
The Chairman said that satyagraha, practised rigorously as taught by
Gandhiji, was a straight road to swaraj.
Mr. Gandhi’s speech was rendered into Tamil by Dr. T. S. S. Rajan of
Trichinopoly who is accompanying him through his tour in South India.
About fifty signed the Pledge at the meeting, the larger half of the
signatories being some of the Mahomedans, merchants of Rajagiri, and it is
confidently expected that the ranks of the satyagraha army in the Tanjore district
would swell to huge numbers.
330. TELEGRAM TO SATYAGRAHA SABHA, BOMBAY

TEPPAKULAM,
TRICHY,
[March 25, 1919]
HAVE SUGGESTED SUNDAY WEEK FOR FASTING SUSPENSION
WORK AND PUBLIC MEETINGS. PRAYING WITHDRAWAL
ROWLATT LEGISLATION. HOPE COMMITTEE APPROVES WILL
ADOPT ADVICE WE COMMENCE BREACH OF LAWS
MONDAY AFTER OBSERVANCE MUCH WORK HERE TODAY
TRICHY. TOMORROW MADURA. THURSDAY TUTICORIN
SATURDAY NAGAPATAN REACHING THERE WEDNESDAY.
GANDHI
331. TELEGRAM1
[March 25, 1919]
FORGIVE INABILITY REPLY. OVERWHELMED WITH WORK
WRITING TODAY.
1
The telegram was presumably addressed to O. S. Ghate vide the following
item.

TRICHINOPOLY ,
[March 25, 1919]
DEAR MR. GHATE,
I am very sorry I have not been able to reply to your letter
earlier than now. Upon reaching Madras, I was so much immersed in
satyagraha work that I could not attend to any correspondence at all. I
am ashamed of myself that I have taken so long to reply to your
important letter. You will forgive me for this delay. What happened
between Sir James Duboulay and myself was briefly this: He said the
Government were not able to come to any decision, they were
considering it. He would not let me see the Committee’s Report, but
he himself was not satisfied with it. At the end of the interview, I could
see that our friends were being kept under internment for the very
qualities I have described in my letter. As you are aware, I was in
Lucknow and after the conversation there, as also with the friends in
Delhi, I have come to the conclusion that you should not fog people
and confuse the issue by resorting to separate satyagraha for the
release of the Brothers. The present movement impliedly includes this
question also and I propose to refer to it at a later stage of the
struggle. I am still not without hope that they may be released. Do not
think that their proposals to withdraw from India for the time being or
actual withdrawal would be helpful. When the time comes, if it ever
does, my strong advice would be that they should disregard the
internment orders and invite imprisonment. But that they will do with
me. If their step is decided, I would go over to Chhindwara myself, so
that they would break the law together with me. But now that the
movement about the Rowlatt legislation is going on, we should be
doubly patient about our friends. Do not think that the
correspondence between Government and myself can be published. It
is in the nature of a personal correspondence. When I have publicly to
refer to the question, I shall bring out all the facts, but without some
equally important consideration, that correspondence should, I think,
not be published. The Brothers may write whatever they choose about
the religious question. But I would like their representation to be free
from argument or hatred. A colourless representation purely setting
forth facts will be infinitely stronger thanan argumentative represen-
tation. I take it that our friends know all about the discussion I had
with Bari Saheb.
Yours sincerely,
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 349

333. SPEECH ON SATYAGRAHA MOVEMENT,
TRICHINOPOLY1
March 25, 1919
FRIENDS,
You will forgive me for not standing to speak to you. I am
physically too weak to do so. You will also forgive me for speaking to
you not in Tamil, but in English. It will give me some pleasure if I
were to talk to you in Hindi, but it is a misfortune that you have not
yet taken to the study of the national language. As you are aware, the
opportunity is now offered to you of studying that language free of
charge, and I hope that as many of you as you can will take advantage
of the opportunity thus offered. However, I am on a different mission
today.
I was yesterday in Tanjore. I ventured to extend to the
community of Tanjore an invitation which I wish to extend to you
also; but before I do so, I wish to thank you from the bottom of my
heart for the beautiful address, the beautiful casket and the Tamil
address that have been presented to me. As I do not accept any costly
presents, the beautiful casket will go to the trust that has been formed
which contains all the costly presents that I have ever received in my
life, and there, converted into money, it will be used for some national
purpose or other.
You say in the English address that there was a demonstration in
the Transvaal or South Africa of the triumph of the spirit over matter.
Your own belief in the triumph of the spirit over matter will be shortly
put to the test. My invitation to you will ensure that test. You know the
Rowlatt Bills perhaps as much as I do. I need not explain them. You
all want them to be withdrawn. The Indian councillors in the Imperial
Council tried their best to have this legislation withdrawn. They failed.
The Bills are bad, but this flouting of the unanimous voice of the
Indian members is worse and it is for you and for me, whose
representatives those councillors are, to right this double wrong. How
can it b righted? When the governors of a country do a great wrong to
the people whom they govern, history teaches us that they have
resorted to violence, sometimes with apparent success, often they have
1
At a public meeting. Dr. T. S. S. Rajan rendered this speech into Tamil,
sentence by sentence.

been defeated; but violence can only result in violence, as darkness
added to darkness really deepens it. The doctrine of violence is of the
earth, earthy, merely material, and can be no guide for a human being
who at all believes in the existence of the soul. If, as I am sure you will
reject the doctrine of violence, you have to consider other means for
seeking redress, and that, as I would translate, would mean shatham
prati satyam1 . You have an instance given of it in the name mentioned
this evening, i.e., of Prahlad. But some of you may be inclined to
think that after all Prahlad is not a historical personage. That story
may be a mere fable. I therefore propose to give you this evening a
living instance, living in the sense that it has happened within recent
memory. The authoress is dead. The name of the heroine is
Valliamma2 . She was born in South Africa of Indian parents. She in
common with many of our countrywomen in South Africa, joined the
satyagraha struggle that was raging there and that raged there for over
eight years. She had a faith so absolute in the triumph of the spirit
over matter that you and I are not privileged to possess. She knew
nothing of the intricacies of the laws that we resisted in that country. It
was enough for her that thousands of her countrymen and
countrywomen were suffering for something she did not know, but
she knew, she realized instinctively that out of the travail of the soul is
a nation born and so she voluntarily suffered the hardships of a South
African prisoner. She was 18 years old. In a weakly body she held a
spirit that was indomitable. She got daily typhoid fever, whilst she was
in jail. Her friends in the prison suggested that she should pay the fine
to pay which she had the option, but she resolutely declined to pay the
fine. She preferred to die in the prison, but she did not die. She was
discharged in an ailing condition. She was discharged after she had
completed the full term of her imprisonment. Then a few days after
her discharge she died, mourned by the whole of the Indian
community of South Africa as a heroine and martyr. Before she
entered the prison gates, she was a poor girl unknown to fame. Today
she has risen to [be] one of the very best of her nation. I have come
here to invite you to follow the example of that beautiful girl,
Valliamma, in order that you may successfully resist this Rowlatt
1
Truth against a rogue. The original Sanskrit phrase is shatham prati
shaathyam, roguery against a rogue.
2
Valliamma R. Munuswami Mudaliar. She succumbed to fever on February 22,
1914, within a few days of her release from prison.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 351

legislation, and I promise that, if you will approach the question with
even a little of the faith of Valliamma, you will see that in a very short
time these Bills are destroyed.
The Bills have violated the national conscience, and resistance to
those commands which are in violation of one’s conscience is a sacred
privilege and a beauty, and it is not this law or this command of the
governor that we resist, but it is our duty, it is open to us to resist all
his commands which are not moral commands, and when we
respectfully disobey wrongful things of these governors, we serve not
only them but the whole nation. I have been asked wherever I have
gone what law, what other laws, shall we disobey. The only answer I
am able to give you today is that it is open to us to disobey all the laws
which do not involve any moral sanction. That being so, it is totally
unnecessary for you to know what laws we shall disobey. The aim of a
satyagrahi is to invite upon his own devoted head all the suffering that
he is capable of undertaking. Those of you, therefore, who disapprove
of the Rowlatt legislation and who have faith in the efficacy of
satyagraha, I have come to invite in order that you might sign this
Pledge, but I will ask you to consider a thousand times before signing
the Pledge. It is no discredit to you that you do not sign the Pledge,
either because you do not disapprove of the legislation or you have
not got the strength and the will, and it is not open to any satyagrahi
to resent your refraining from signing the Pledge. But if you once
sign the Pledge, remember that even as that poor girl Valliamma in
spite of her illness underwent the full term of her imprisonment, even
so shall you never detract from the Pledge.
You might have seen from today’s papers received here that I
have addressed to the Press a letter embodying some suggestions. I
will, however, repeat them this evening. My first suggestion is, that on
Sunday week, i.e., 6th day of April, we shall all observe a 24 hours’
fast. It is a fitting preliminary for satyagrahis before they commence
civil disobedience of the laws. For all others, it will be an expression of
their deep grief over the wrong committed by the Government. I have
regarded this movement as a purely religious movement and fast is an
ancient institution amongst us. You will not mistake it for a hunger-
strike (Laughter.) nor will you consider it as designed for exerting
any pressure upon the Government. It is a measure of self-discipline,
it will be an expression of the anguish of the soul, and when the soul is
anguished, nobody could resist. I hope that all adults will take up the

task unless they are prevented from doing so by ill-health or religious
conviction. I have also suggested that on that Sunday all work should
be suspended, all markets and all business places should be closed.
Apart from the spiritual value of these two acts, they will form an
education of first-class value for the masses. I have ventured to
include in my suggestions even public servants, because I think that
we have to credit them with conscience as also their independence and
ability and privilege to associate themselves with wrongs which the
nation may want to resent. It is right that they should not take part in
political meetings and political discussions, but their individual
conscience must have full and free play. My third suggestion in which
public servants may not take part is that on that day, we should visit
every hamlet, if we can, and hold meetings and pass resolutions asking
the Secretary of State for India to veto this legislation. I would not ask
you to resort to these public meetings and resolutions, but for one
reason, and the reason is that behind these meetings and resolutions
lies the force of satyagraha to enforce the national will. In these three
suggestions, whether you are satyagrahis or not, so long as you
disapprove of the Rowlatt legislation, all can join and I hope that there
will be such a response throughout the length and breadth of India as
would convince the Government that we are alive to what is going on
in our midst.
I thank you for the very great patience with which you have
given me this hearing. A thousand thanks are due to you for the
various ways in which you are showering your affection upon me, but
I ask you with all the emphasis at my command to translate this
personal affection into real action, and I venture to promise to you
that all who join this movement, I have not the slightest doubt, will
come out of it all the purer for it. Finally, please remember that if
those in this great audience who are satyagrahis wish to convert others
to their creed, the best way of doing so is not to bear the slightest ill
will against them, but to conquer them by their sweetness, gentleness
and a spirit of love. I thank you once more.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 353

334. SPEECH ON SATYAGRAHA MOVEMENT, MADURA
March 26, 1919
MR. CHAIRMAN AND GENTLEMEN,
You will pardon me for not standing up whilst I speak to you,
because I am too weak to do so. I owe you a thousand apologies also
for my inability to speak to you in Tamil. But I cannot entirely acquit
you of blame in that I have to speak to you in the English language.
If those of you who have received a liberal education had recognized
that Hindi and Hindi alone could become the national language of
India, you would have learnt it at any cost before this. But it is never
too late to mend our mistake. You have in your midst today—only in
Madras and a few other places—an opportunity offered to you of
learning Hindi. It is probably the easiest language to learn in the
world. I know something of the Tamil language; it is most beautiful
and musical; but its grammar is most difficult to master, whereas the
grammar of Hindi is merely a child’s work. I hope, therefore, that you
will all avail yourselves of the opportunity that is before you. But I
cannot detain you on the topic of Hindi and I must hasten on to my
subject.
I have come here after visiting Tanjore and Trichinopoly, as you
know, to extend to you an invitation which I have already extended in
those two places. I have come to ask you to sign the Satyagraha
Pledge. You know its contents; it is designed to offer resistance to the
Rowlatt legislation. It is not necessary for me to describe the effect of
the legislation. The public Press and our orators have been before you
and you have gathered from them the contents of that legislation and
also its far-reaching effects. It is enough for me to say that the
legislation is of such a character that no self-respecting nation can
accept it. It is calculated to degrade the nation against whom it is
brought into operation. It was carried in the teeth of unanimous
opposition on our behalf. The Government have committed a double
wrong and it is your duty, it is my duty and that of every man and
woman in this country, to undo the wrong by every legitimate means
in his or her power. We have exhausted all the orthodox measures in
order to gain the end. We have passed resolutions; we have petitioned
and our representatives in the Imperial Legislative Council have
endeavoured their best to secure a withdrawal of this legislation and all
our attempts have failed. And yet we must somehow or other undo

this wrong because it is like poison corroding the whole of the body
politic. When the national conscience is hurt, people whose conscience
is hurt either seek redress through methods of violence or through
methods which I have described as satyagraha. I consider that
methods of violence prove in the end to be of absolute failure. They
are moreover wholly unsuited to the genius of our people. Methods of
violence are not consistent with human dignity. It is no answer to say
that this day Europe is saturated with the belief in brute force. True
paurusha, true bravery, consists in driving out the brute in us and then
only can you give freest play to your conscience. The other force
which I have in various places described as satyagraha, soul-force or
love-force, is best illustrated in the story of Prahlad. Prahlad, as you
know, offered respectful disobedience to the laws and orders of his
own father. He did not resort to violence; but he had unquenchable
belief in what he was doing. He obeyed a higher call in disobeying the
orders of his father. And in applying satyagraha to this movement, we
shall be only copying the brilliant and eternal insistence of Prahlad.
But we are living today in a world of unbelief. We are sceptical about
our past records and many of you may be inclined to consider the
story of Prahlad to be a mere fable. I therefore propose to give to you
this evening two instances that have happened practically before your
eyes. The one instance I related last evening and that was of a
beautiful Tamil girl called Valliamma, eighteen years old, who died as
a satyagrahi. She had joined the satyagraha movement in South Africa
which lasted for eight years. She was arrested and imprisoned during
the struggle. In her prison, she got typhoid fever and died of it. It was
she and her fellow-satyagrahis who secured the relief that you all are
aware of in South Africa. There was a lad of about the same age as
Valliamma’s whose name was Nagappan 1 and who suffered
imprisonment in the same struggle. He did not reason why he should
join the struggle. He had an instinctive faith in its righteousness. He
instinctively believed that the remedy adopted was the only true and
effective remedy.
The climate of South Africa is not so beneficent as the climate
of the Indian plains. The South African winter is inclement and it was
1
Sammy Nagappen, a satyagrahi, who was sentenced on June 21, 1909 to be
imprisoned for 10 days with hard labour, was discharged from a Transvaal prison on
June 30 in a dying condition. He died on July. 6, 1909; vide “Statement of Transvaal
Indian Case”, 16-7-1909
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 355

winter time when Nagappan was imprisoned. He was exposed to the
inclemencies of the weather because he was put under a tent life. As a
prisoner, he was made to work with the spade. He had the option of
paying fine at any time he might have chosen. He would not pay the
fine. He believed that the gateway to liberty lay through the prison
door and he died of cold and fever contracted during his prison life.
Nagappan was an uneducated lad born of indentured parents. But he
had a brave heart. And I have come this afternoon to ask everyone of
you, man and woman, if you disapprove of the Rowlatt legislation to
copy the examples not of Prahlad but of Valliamma and Nagappan.
There is, however, one other condition; it is not enough that you
disapprove of the Rowlatt legislation. You must have also faith in the
efficacy of this remedy and ability to undergo the suffering that it
may involve. But I am sure you will agree with me that no nation has
as yet become great without having undergone suffering, whether it is
through inflicting violence on others or whether it is by way of
satyagraha. Satyagraha is essentially a religious force. Unless we have
faith in the inviolable and immutable force of the spirit, we shall not
be able to carry the struggle to a successful end. The fault then would
be not of the movement or the force I have ventured to describe; but it
would lie in our own imperfection. I ask you all, therefore, to
approach the question with a careful consideration. But after having
once signed the Pledge, you will appreciate the great obligation that
you will have taken on your shoulders and you will not flinch. It
follows from the Satyagraha Pledge that those who take the Pledge
will not treat with any disrespect those who will not be able to take the
Pledge. They may refrain from signing the Pledge either because they
do not disapprove of the Bills or they do not believe in the struggle or
they are too weak. As time passes, we hope even to win them over to
the movement. You may have seen the letter I have addressed to the
Press. In it I have suggested that we should observe Sunday week as a
day of humiliation and prayer and I have made three suggestions. I
have suggested fasting, total abstention of work including markets and
business places and holding meetings all over India to pass
resolutions. The proposed fast is not a hunger strike but it is an act of
self-denial. In these suggestions all, whether satyagrahis or not, can
participate. And I do hope that in this holy city of Madura the whole
of the population will participate in this sacred observance. I have up
to now simply described the nature of the movement of satyagraha. I
would draw your attention to one other effect that is likely to follow

from this movement. The Government contend that this Rowlatt
legislation will rid the country finally of the anarchical movement. As
I have said elsewhere, it will do nothing of the kind. But I venture to
suggest to you that this movement of satyagraha, offering as it does
something to provide for the inexhaustible energy of the members of
the school of anarchism, will alter their very nature and bring them to
this cleaner method of obtaining redress of grievances. In these
circumstances, I trust the movement should command the respect and
support of all. I thank you all for the very great patience with which
you have listened to my remarks. I hope you will ponder well over
what is going on today in this country and do what you may conceive
to be your duty. I pray to God that He may give you the wisdom to
see your way. Once again I thank you.
335. SPEECH ON SATYAGRAHA MOVEMENT, TUTICORIN

March 28, 1919
MR. CHAIRMAN AND FRIENDS,
You will forgive me for not speaking to you standing, as I am
too weak to do so. Forgive me also for not being able to speak to you
in Tamil. When you have learnt the lingua franca, the national
language of India, that is Hindi, I shall have much pleasure in
addressing you in Hindi. And it is open to all of you to avail
yourselves of the opportunity now offered in Madras and other places
of learning Hindi. Until you do so, you really shut yourself out from
the rest of India. I thank you very much for presenting this address to
me. I have come to you this evening to extend to you an invitation.
This is almost the southernmost part of India. And I have been
forcibly struck throughout my progress from Madras down here by
the religious sentiment and the religious element predominant in these
parts. This southern part of India is filled with temples in a manner in
which no other part of India is. Untold wealth has been spent upon
these marvels of architecture. And they demonstrate to me as nothing
else does that we are a people deeply religious and that the people of
India will be best appealed to by religion. I have come to say to you a
religious sentiment. Many of us think that in the political life, we need
not bring the religious element at all. Some even go so far as to say
that politics should have nothing to do with religion. Our past shows
that we have rejected that doctrine, and we have always touched every
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 357

form of activity with the religious spirit. You all know or ought to
know what the Rowlatt legislation is. I therefore do not propose to
occupy your time by going into the history of that legislation. It is
common cause throughout the length and breadth of India that that
legislation, if it remains on the Statute-book will disgrace the whole
nation. We have asked our rulers not to continue that legislation. But
they have absolutely disregarded the petition. They have therefore
inflicted a double wrong on the whole nation. We have seen that all
our meetings, all our resolutions and all the speeches of our
councillors in the Imperial Legislative Council have proved to be of
practically no avail. In these circumstances, what should we do? As I
have already said, we must somehow or other get this legislation
removed. There are two ways and only two ways open to us. One is
the modern or the Western method of violence upon the wrongdoers.
I hold that India will reject that proposition. The vast masses of India
have never been taught by our religious preceptors to resort to
violence. The other method is the method known to us of old. And
that is of not giving obedience to the wrongful things of the rulers but
to suffer the consequences. The way of so suffering is satyagraha. It is
the wave of Prahlad. And it is, I respectfully venture to suggest to you,
the only way open to us. In it there is no defeat; for, we continue the
battle till we die or till we obtain victory. But today we are moved by
the spirit of scepticism. And many of us may reject the story of
Prahlad as a fable.
I, therefore, propose to give you as briefly as I can the story of
modern historical satyagrahis. I have only singled out the names of
those who have died. Three of them were Tamilians and one a
Mahomedan from the Bombay Presidency. One of the Tamilians was
a beautiful girl called Valliamma, eighteen years old. She was born in
South Africa, as were the other two lads whose names I shall presently
mention to you. She was sent to jail, she caught typhoid fever and she
declined to be released. It was through the typhoid fever that she died
while she was in jail.1 The other two were aged 18 and 17 and they
died after their discharge from their prisons. They were all born of
indentured parents. They did not receive the liberal education that
many of us have. They had only a hazy notion of the story of the
Ramayana and the Mahabharata.. There were in South Africa no
1
She died after release; vide “Speech on Satyagraha Movement, Trichino-
poly,” 25-3-1919.

religious teachers to instil into their minds the indomitable deeds of
Prahlad. But today they find their names engraved among the heroes
and heroines of South Africa. The name of the fourth was Ahmed
Mahomed Kachalia. He was the bravest among the brave. He was one
of the truest men I have known. He was a merchant of very substantial
means. When this satyagraha battle was raging in South Africa, he was
in the midst of the fight. He was the President of the British Indian
Association in the Transvaal. He not only went to jail but he was
reduced to the utmost poverty. He sacrificed every earthly possession
for the sake of his own honour ever and that of his motherland. He
knew the force of satyagraha. He died only a few months ago
mourned by the whole of South Africa. He, too, in the commonly
accepted sense of the word, was an illiterate man but he had a fund of
common sense which you would not see in ordinary people. And he
saw with an unerring instinct that the way to liberty lay not through
violence but through self-suffering. I have no doubt that what was
possible for Valliamma, Nagappan, Narayansami1 and Ahmed
Mahomed is possible for every one of you today. I ask you in the
name of these modern satyagrahis to follow in their foot-steps, sign
the Satyagraha Pledge and repeal the legislation. The taking of the
Pledge is a sacred act undertaken in the name of the Almighty. Whilst
therefore I invite every man and woman to sign the Pledge, I beseech
them also to consider it deeply and a number of times before signing
it. But if you do decide to sign the Pledge, you will see to it like
Valliamma and Ahmed Mahomed to observe it at the sacrifice of your
lives. The satyagrahi when he signs the Pledge changes his very
nature. He relies solely upon the truth which is another word for love.
Before he signs the Pledge, he might get irritated against those who
differ from him but not so afterwards. After all, we expect everyone to
come over to us as the struggle progresses. We shall succeed in doing
so if we are not bitter against them but are perfectly loving and
respectful. You will have seen in the papers that I have made three
definite suggestions in order to start my campaign. The adoption of
my suggestions will also mark the religious character of the
movement. The first suggestion is that on the 6th of April, which is a
1
A Tamil satyagrahi, who was deported to India from Transvaal, was not
allowed to disembark at several ports on return and died on October 16, 1910 after
remaining on board for nearly two months; vide”Letter to the Press”, 17-10-1910 &
“Narayansamy”, 22-10-1910.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 359

Sunday, we should observe a fast. The second suggestion is that we
should all suspend our ordinary business that day. Those who are
employed, if they are called upon even to work on Sundays, should
cease work after receiving due permission. The two suggestions are of
universal application and take in also public servants. The third
suggestion is to hold in every hamlet of India public meetings,
protesting against the Rowlatt legislation and asking the Secretary of
State for India to repeal that legislation. All the suggestions are
designed by way of self-denial, self-discipline and education. In the
fast we expect our women, our servants and everyone to join us. If
you accept my humble suggestions, I hope you will carry them out in
the spirit in which I have made them. You have kindly refrained from
applauding, whistling or making a noisy demonstration while I have
been speaking, out of regard for my health. I ask you to transfer that
regard to all satyagrahis. If you will not divert your attention by
applauding or crying ‘‘Shame, shame!” or “Hear, hear!”, you will
concentrate better on the topic before you. You will not also disturb
the thought of the person speaking. I would even go so far as to
suggest that in all our meetings, whether of satyagrahis or otherwise,
there should not be this new-fangled demonstration. But whether you
accept my advice as of universal application or no, I hope that you
will accept it so far as satyagraha meetings are concerned. The only
weapon before us is to rely upon truth and self-sacrifice. I hope you
will always rely upon that and that alone. I thank you from the bottom
of my heart for giving me such a patient hearing. And I pray to God
that He will give you strength to carry on the mission that we have
undertaken.
The Hindu, 2-4-1919
336. SPEECH ON CAPITAL AND LABOUR AND ROWLATT

BILLS, NAGAPATAM
March 29, 1919
MR. CHAIRMAN AND FRIENDS,
I must once more ask forgiveness that I cannot speak standing
being too weak to do so. I am sorry also that I cannot address you in
beautiful Tamil. I am sorry that the majority of you do not know
Hindi, to enable me to speak in the national language. I thank you for
the beautiful address presented to me this afternoon and my thanks
would have been still more warm if your address had been written in

Tamil. You may have given me an English or Hindi translation or I
would certainly have had the address translated for me. I do hope that
when the next occasion arises, no matter who the visitor may be, you
will recognize the dignity of your own mother tongue.
C APITAL AND LABOUR
I have come here principally on the invitation of the labourers’
Union. I understand, too, that the majority of this meeting are
labourers. The others therefore will forgive me whilst I say a few
words specially addressed to the labourers. Practically the whole of
my life has been passed among labourers. I know something about
labour problems. I hope I fully realize the dignity of labour. I hope,
too, that those who are guiding the great labour movement in this
important War will enable the labourers to appreciate the dignity of
labour. Labourers are not the least important among the citizens of
India. Indeed, if we include the peasantry, they form by far the vast
majority. It is but a truism when I say that the future of India and for
that matter of any country depends more upon the masses than upon
the classes. It is therefore necessary that the labourers should
recognize their own status in society. And it is necessary also that the
classes who are instructors of the masses should recognize their
obligations towards the masses. Also, in our own system we see many
defects and it is my firm conviction that our system will not allow of
the struggle for existence that is going on in the West between labour
and capital. In the West, practically capital and labour are at opposite
interest [sic]. Each distrusts the other. It was not so in ancient India,
and I am glad the leaders of the labour movement here had not
introduced the Western form of agitation between capital and labour.
They would teach the labourers that they are in no way slaves of
capital and they should hold themselves [erect]. There is only one
occasion to be given in asking the labourers [sic] to understand and
recognize that they, after all, are the predominant power and the
predominant partners and they should recognize their strength. They
should know that labour without capital is entirely useless. [They
should also know that] large organizations in India would be utterly
impossible without adequate capital. They should therefore recognize
their obligations to capital. The labourers are going to play an
important part in the future. Taking India, it is not enough that they
regulate their own [Unions] in a satisfactory manner. They must
therefore look beyond the concerns of their Unions. They should
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 361

understand that they are after all part of the larger wholes1 . It adds to
their dignity when they understand that they are members and citizens
of the Empire and if they only do so they will also tend to understand
the national activities.
R OWLATT BILLS
Of one such activity, I propose to give a brief description the

afternoon. You may know that the Government have just now
embarked upon a piece of legislation which I hold and the country
holds to be most hurtful to the nation. It is the duty of everyone of us
whether we belong to the classes, whether we are men or women, to
understand this legislation that may be passed by the rulers. I hope
therefore that the leaders will go amongst the masses and inform them
of what this legislation is. It is but natural and necessary that the
hurtful legislation should be removed. We have therefore to so act as
to enable us to secure the removal of this legislation. We have held
meetings all over India, we have passed resolutions and have appealed
to the Viceroy to remove this legislation; but all these appeals have
fallen upon deaf ears. Our governors have therefore done a double
wrong, in that they are making a piece of harmful legislation and they
have flouted public opinion. When people are hurt and become angry
and do not believe in God, they take up arms and fight with the
wrongdoers. That is the doctrine of violence. As a whole, India has not
adopted that doctrine. India has therefore believed in the absolute
triumph of hope [sic]. India has believed in God and His
righteousness and therefore in our hour of trial we have depended
upon God. It is part of our duty to disobey the wrongdoer when he
inflicts unjust things upon us, But we must resist them in the manner
Prahlad resisted [by suffering] the penalty for disobedience. So
should we do in the present instance, with measures contrary to the
method of violence. This is called satyagraha.
It is the doctrine of self-suffering in which there is therefore no
defeat. Our countrymen in South Africa, where they were labouring,
copied these examples with the results you probably know. In that
movement all joined hands but the majority were the common people.
There were two beautiful boys and one beautiful girl in South Africa
who lost their lives for the cause of national honour. You should know
their sacred names, which will be remembered from day to day so
1
The source has “homes”.

long as this struggle lasts and even after. The girl’s name is
Valliamma, the boys’ names are Nagappan and Narayansami. They
were all about 15 years old and they were drawn from the labouring
classes. They did not receive liberal education nor had they read of
the deeds of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata—Indian blood
flowed through their veins. The law of suffering was engraved upon
their hearts and I ask everyone present here to copy the example of
these two heroes and heroine. If you and I are in suffering, if our
properties are taken away from us, no matter, for we preserve our
dignity and national honour. You will learn more of this struggle
from the leaders here. As this is purely a religious struggle we propose
to make a beginning next Sunday week, the 6th day of April. I have
suggested that all men, women, labourers and moneyed men and
everyone who has Indian blood in him should fast for 24 hours from
the last night’s meal. We begin our civil disobedience and it is a
purely religious movement. This fast is not a show but a sincere
prayer to the Almighty that we may receive proper strength and
proper wisdom in going through these struggles. I have also suggested
that we should stop all business and work for that day. I hope that our
merchant friends will fall in with this plan. If there are any labourers
who are called upon to work on Sundays, they will cease work only if
they receive permission from their masters. It is not part of civil
disobedience that we should disobey our employers’ just orders. We
should hold meetings on that day and [reports of the] proceedings
should be sent to the Viceroy and the Secretary of State to remove this
objectionable legislation. It will not be an idle prayer but it is by the
force of satyagraha and I assure you that if many of us approach this
struggle in a proper and becoming spirit, we can have the legislation
destroyed in a short space of time.
C ONCLUSION
I thank you sincerely for inviting me to Nagapatam. I thank you

also for giving me a patient hearing. I cannot find sufficient words to
describe the great affection that has been showered upon me
throughout the Madras Presidency. I learnt in South Africa to have
boundless faith in the Indians. More than any other part of India, you
have preserved the national traditions in a superior manner. You have
preserved most decidedly the outward form. You have also great faith
in divinity. When I look at you, my mind reminds me of our great
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 363

rishis1 . I am sure they could not have lived simpler lives, but one thing
is simple [sic]. You have to infuse into the form, that you have so
beautifully preserved, the spirit of the rishis. Then you will be a power
in the land and you will preserve the dignity of the nation and realize
her future destiny. I hope that God will give you sufficient strength
for this,
The Hindu, 3-4-1919
337. MESSAGE TO MADRAS MEETING

March 30, 1919
DEAR MR. RANGASWAMI 2 ,
I am sorry that I shall not be with you for this evening’s
meeting, as I must take the train for Bezwada in order to keep my
engagement with our Andhra friends. But before my departure, I
would like to reduce to writing my impressions of the tour through
the southern part of the Presidency, which I have just completed, and
to answer some criticism and some doubts that have been offered by
friends.
I have visited Tanojre, Trichinopoly, Madura, Tuticorin and
Nagapatam; and taking the lowest estimate, the people addressed must
have been not less than thirty thousand. Those who have a right to
give us warnings, to express misgivings and who have just as great a
love of the motherland as we claim to have feared the danger that,
however well-meaning we may be, and however anxious we may be to
avoid violence, the people who may join the movement under an
enthusiastic impulse may not be able to exercise sufficient self-control
and break out into violence, resulting in needless loss of life and, what
is more, injury to the national cause. After embarking upon the
movement, I began addressing meetings with Delhi. I passed then
through Lucknow, Allahabad and Bombay to Madras. My experience
of all these meetings shows that the advent of satyagraha has already
altered the spirit of those who attend the satyagraha meetings. In
Lucknow, upon an innocent remark by the Chairman as to the
manifes to signed by some of the members of the Imperial Legislative
Council disapproving of our movement, the audience cried out
1
Sages
2
K. V. Rangaswami Iyengar, chairman of the public meeting held on the
Triplicane Beach under the auspices of the Madras Satyagraha Sabha

“Shame, shame!” I drew their attention to the fact that satyagrahis
and those who attend satyagraha meetings should not use such
expressions and that the speeches at our meetings ought not to be
punctuated with either marks of disapproval or of approval. The
audience immediately understood the spirit of my remarks and never
afterwards made any demonstration of their opinion. In the towns of
this Presidency as elsewhere, whilst it is true that the large crowds have
refrained from any noisy demonstration out of regard for my health,
they have fully understood the necessity of refraining from it on the
higher ground. The leaders in the movement have also fully
understood the necessity for self-restraint. These experiences of mine
fill me with the greatest hope for the future. I never had any
apprehension of the danger our friends fear; and the various meetings
I have described confirm my optimism. But I would venture further to
state that every precaution that is humanly possible is being and will
be taken to avert any such danger. It is for that reason that our Pledge
commits the signatories to the breach of those laws that may be
selected for the purpose by a committee of satyagrahis1 ; and I am glad
that our Sind friends have understood their Pledge, and obeyed the
prohibition of the Hyderabad Commissioner of Police to hold their
inoffensive procession, for it is no part of the present movement to
break all the laws of the land the breach of which is not inconsistent
with the Pledge. A satyagrahi is nothing if not instinctively law-
abiding, and it is his law-abiding nature which exacts from him
implicit obedience of the highest law, i.e., the voice of conscience,
which overrides all other laws. His civil disobedience even of certain
laws only is only seeming disobedience. Every law gives the subject an
option, either to obey the primary sanction or the secondary; and I
venture to suggest that the satyagrahi by inviting the secondary
sanction obeys the law. He does not act like the ordinary offender
who not only commits a breach of the laws of the land, whether good
or bad, but wishes to avoid the consequences of that breach. It will
seem therefore that everything that prudence may dictate has been
done to avoid any untoward results.
Some friends have said, “We understand your breach of the
Rowlatt legislation, but as a satyagrahi there is nothing for you in it to
break. How can you however break the other laws which you have
hitherto obeyed, and which may also be good?” So far as the good
1
Vide ‘‘Statement on Laws for Civil Disobedience”, 7-4-1919,
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 365

laws are concerned, i.e., laws which lay down moral principles, the
satyagrahi may not break them, and their breach is not contemplated
under the Pledge. But the other laws are neither good nor bad, moral
nor immoral. They may be useful, or may even be harmful. These
laws one obeys for the supposed good government of the country.
Such laws are laws framed for purposes of revenue, or political laws
creating statutory offences. These laws enable the Government to
continue its power. When therefore a Government goes wrong to the
extent of hurting the national fibre itself, as does the Rowlatt
legislation, it becomes the right of the subject, indeed it is his duty, to
withdraw his obedience to such laws, to the extent it may be required
to bend the Government to the national will.
A doubt has been expressed during my tour, and by friends who
have written to me, as to the validity in terms of satyagraha of the
entrustment of the selection of the laws for breach to a committee.
For, it is argued that it amounts to a surrender of one’s conscience to
leave such selection to others. This doubt betrays a misunderstanding
of the Pledge. A signatory to the Pledge undertakes, so far as he is
concerned, to break if necessary all the laws which it would be lawful
for a satyagrahi to break. It is not, however, obligatory on him to
break all such laws. He can therefore perfectly conscientiously leave
the selection of the laws to be broken to the judgment of those who
are experts in the matter and who in their turn are necessarily subject
to the limitations imposed by the Pledge. The worst that can happen to
any signatory is that the selection may not be exhaustive enough for
him.
I have been told that I am diverting the attention of the country
from the one and only thing that matters, viz., the forthcoming
Reforms. In my opinion, the Rowlatt legislation, in spite of the
amendments which, as the Select Committee very properly says, do
not affect its principles, blocks the way to progress, and therefore the
attainment of substantial reforms. To my mind, the first thing needful
is to secure a frank and full recognition of the principle that public
opinion properly expressed shall be respected by the Government. I
am no believer in the doctrine that the same power can at the same
time trust and distrust, grant liberty and repress it. I have a right to
interpret the coming Reforms by the light that the Rowlatt legislation
throws upon them; and I make bold to promise that if we do not
gather sufficient force to remove from our path this great obstacle in

the shape of the Rowlatt legislation, we shall find the Reforms to be a
whitened sepulchre.
Yet another objection to answer. Some friends have argued,
“Your satyagraha movement only accentuates the fear we have of the
onrush of Bolshevism.” The fact, however, is that if anything can
possibly prevent this calamity descending upon our country, it is
satyagraha. Bolshevism is the necessary result of modern materialistic
civilization. Its insensate worship of matter has given rise to a school
which has been brought up to look upon material advancement as the
goal and which has lost all touch with the finer things of life. Self-
indulgence is the Bolshevic creed, self-restraint is the satyagraha
creed. If I can but induce the nation to accept satyagraha if only as a
predominant factor in life, whether social or political, we need have no
fear of the Bolshevic propaganda. In asking the nation to accept
satyagraha, I am asking for the introduction in reality of nothing new.
I have coined a new word for an ancient law that has hitherto mainly
governed our lives, and I do prophesy that if we disobey the law of the
final supremacy of the spirit over matter, of truth and love over brute
force, in a few years’ time we shall have Bolshevism rampant in this
land, which was once so holy.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI

S ECUNDERABAD ,
April 1, 1919
MY DEAR CHARLIE,
I am dictating a letter to you, it seems, after ages, and I might
not have been able even now, but for an accident that has befallen us.
We left Bezwada early this morning, hoping to catch the Bombay Mail
at Wadi Junction. Our train reached Secunderabad too late for the
special train which it joins in order to take the train at [sic] Wadi
Junction. And so we have to bake here for 24 hours. Secunderabad is
like an oven, but the vexatious delay has its amenities. (I do not know
that I have used the word amenities to correctly express what I mean.
Can it mean “relieving features” ?) It is no small thing to me to be
able to give you what I hope will turn out to be a love letter.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 367

You fill me with grief by the news about Gurudev’s health. What is the
matter with him? I do hope, he is much better now. I reach Bombay
on Thursday morning, i.e., the 3rd instant. I hope to pass the month
practically up to the 22nd instant between Bombay and Ahmedabad
and I wish we could meet during that time. Meanwhile, I must try to
explain to you what I mean by the Pledge. It somewhat surprises me
that you have missed its obvious meaning. The signatory undertakes
to break, if necessary, all the laws that may not enunciate eternal
verities. But as a check upon individual extravagance, he surrenders
his judgment to that of experts as to the selection of such breakable
laws and the order in which they are to be broken. That surely is not
a matter of conscience. If the committee which is bound by the same
Pledge that binds the individual satyagrahi commits an error and
selects laws whose breach will be inconsistent with satyagraha,
naturally, the individual signatory who conscientiously thinks so
refrains from breaking such a law. In all satyagraha organi-zations,
this final liberty is understood. Is not my meaning clear? The
entrustment of selection to the committee is the happiest part of the
Pledge. But for that there would have been confusion worse
confounded. Take the Sindh incident. There the Police Commissioner
prohibits an innocent procession. The satyagrahis obey because they
are bound by the Pledge not to commit disobedience except where
authorized by the committee. Their first impulse would be to disre-
gard the prohibition and the consequences of such hasty disregard
might be most serious. In South Africa, they surrendered to my
judgment as to the selection of the laws and the time of breaking
them. Here the committee was thought of at my instance. But of every
such committee, I am the President. I hope, you find time to read the
cuttings I have been sending you. I must now end this letter as visitors
are waiting to see me.
I am most anxious to publish something from Gurudev and
something from you if both of you can give it.
With love,
Yours,

S ECUNDERABAD ,
April 1, 1919
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 station1 . 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 so madly to catch the
train that he might drop down from 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 girls2 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
hand-spun cotton and spin it themselves. The music of the spinning-
wheel is superior to any I know; for it is the music that finally clothes
the naked. Even when the machines will be rusting from disuse (for
man will some day be sick unto death of the maddening speed of the
machines), posterity will still require clothing and hand-spun yarn will
be the fashion. I am asking Maganlal to send you some hand-spun
yarn.
Our train was late and we missed the connection here. So we
have 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
1
In Madras
2
Of the Danish Mission Boarding School, where the addressee was working
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 369

340. TELEGRAM TO S. KASTURI RANGA IYENGAR
[BOMBAY,
April 3, 1919]
KASTURI R ANGA IYANGAR 1
[THE] HINDU
MADRAS
JUST ARRIVED 2 HAVING MISSED CONNECTION AT
SECUNDERABAD. CONSIDERING PROPOSAL REG. MEETING3
DELHI. HOPE DELHI TRAGEDY 4 WILL MAKE SATYAGRAHIS
STEEL THEIR HEARTS AND WAVERERS RECONSIDER THEIR
POSITION. I HAVE NOT A SHADOW OF DOUBT THAT
BY REMAINING TRUE TO OUR PLEDGE WE SHALL NOT
ONLY SECURE WITHDRAWAL ROWLATT LEGISLATION BUT
WE SHALL KILL SPIRIT OF TERRORISM LYING BEHIND.
HOPE SPEECHES SUNDAY 5 WILL BE FREE FROM ANGER
OR UNWORTHY PASSION. CAUSE TOO GREAT AND SACRED
TO BE DAMAGED BY EXHIBITION PASSION. WE HAVE
NO RIGHT CRY OUT AGAINST SUFFERINGS SELF-INVITED.
UNDOUBTEDLY THERE SHOULD BE NO COERGION FOR
SUSPENSION BUSINESS OR FAST. YOU MAY PUBLISH THIS.
341. TELEGRAM TO SWAMI SHRADDHANAND

April 3, 1919
S ANNYASI S WAMI S HRADDHANANDJI
ARYA S AMAJ
DELHI
JUST ARRIVED FROM MADRAS TOUR. READ SCRAPPY
ACCOUNTS TRAGEDY YESTERDAY TRAIN. READ ALSO YOUR
SPIRITED STATEMENT PRESS. FEEL PROUD OF IT.
TENDER MY CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU AND PEOPLE
1
Editor of The Hindu and vice-president of Satyagraha Sabha, Madras
2
New India here has “here from Bezwada”.
3
New India here has “All-India Satyagraha Conference in Delhi”.
4
Firing by the police on March 30
5
April 6

OF DELHI FOR EXEMPLARY PATIENCE IN OPPOSING
ROWLATT LEGISLATION. WE ARE RESISTING SPIRIT OF
TERRORISM LYING BEHIND. NO EASY TASK. WE MAY
HAVE TO GIVE MUCH MORE SUCH INNOCENT BLOOD
AS DELHI GAVE SUNDAY LAST. FOR SATYAGRAHIS IT
IS A FURTHER CALL TO SACRIFICE THEMSELVES TO THE
UTTERMOST. PLEASE WIRE IF POSSIBLE EXACT NUMBER
HINDU MOHAMMEDAN DEATHS TO DATE AND WOUNDED.
IT WILL BE UNNECESSARY FOR DELHI TO FAST AGAIN
NEXT SUNDAY.
GANDHI
From a photostat: S.N. 6494; also The Hindu, 5-4-1919
342. TELEGRAM TO V. S. SRINIVASA SASTRI

April 3, 1919
HON . S RINIVASA S HASTRIAR
R OYAPPETTA
MADRAS
DOES NOT DELHI TRAGEDY MAKE IT INCUMBENT ON
YOU OTHER FRIENDS SPEAK OUT NO UNCERTAIN TERMS?
HOPE DIFFERENCE OF OPINION ABOUT SATYAGRAHA DOES
NOT MEAN DIFFERENCE OF OPINION ON METHODS USED
BY DELHI POLICE. IN OPPOSING ROWLATT LEGISLATION
WE ARE FIGHTING SPIRIT TERRORISM LYING BEHIND.
GANDHI
343. TELEGRAM TO DR. M. A. ANSARI

April 3, 1919
TO
DR. A NSARI1
DELHI
JUST RETURNED FROM TOUR READ LETTER. YOU SHALL
CERTAINLY GO ENGLAND. PLEASE WIRE DATE DEPARTURE.
GANDHI
1
1880-1936; physician, president, Indian National Congress, 1927
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 371

344. TELEGRAM TO RAJENDRA PRASAD
April 3, 1919
AM HERE1 AT LEAST WEEK.
GANDHI
345. TELEGRAM TO MADAN MOHAN MALAVIYA

LABURNUM R OAD ,
BOMBAY,
[On or after April 3, 1919]
HON . P ANDIT MALAVIYAJI
BHARATI BHAWAN
ALLAHABAD
IN VIEW OF WHAT APPEARS TO BE SLAUGHTER OF
INNOCENTS AT DELHI, IN MY OPINION YOU CANNOT
REMAIN SILENT ON IT WHETHER YOU JOIN THE
MOVEMENT OR NOT, I HOPE YOU AND ALL LEADERS
WILL SPEAK OUT WHAT YOU FEEL IN NO UNCERTAIN
TERMS. IN OPPOSING ROWLATT LEGISLATION, SATYAGRAHIS
ARE RESISTING THE SPIRIT OF TERRORISM THAT LIES
BEHIND IT. THE BLOOD OF THE INNOCENTS HAS LAID
A HEAVY RESPONSIBILITY UPON SATYAGRAHIS AND I
DOUBT NOT THAT THEY WILL GIVE A GOOD ACCOUNT
OF THEMSELVES. PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH PANDIT NEHRU 2
AND OTHER FRIENDS.
GANDHI
1
In Bombay
2
Motilal Nehru

346. LETTER TO THE PRESS ON DELHI TRAGEDY1
BOMBAY,
April 3, 1919
TO
THE EDITOR
BOMBAY
SIR,
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.
that some of them were trying to coerce the sweetmeat- sellers into
closing their stalls;
2. that some of them were forcibly preventing people from
boarding tram-cars and other vehicles;
3. that some of them 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 were
for that reason arrested at the instance of the 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 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 committee contemplated in the Pledge has
1
This was released through the Associated Press of India and published also in
New India, 4-4-1919 and The Amrita Bazar Patrika, 5-4-1919.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 373

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
legislation is withdrawn.
Yours, etc.,
M. K. GANDHI
347. LETTER TO DR. M. B. VELKAR
April 3, 1919
DEAR DR. VELKAR 1 ,
I thank you and Mr. Mandlik 2 for your candid note. I thought
that at the preliminary meeting we had in Bombay, I explained the
meaning of satyagraha as fully as I could. I remember having stated
that satyagraha was an attempt to introduce the religious element in
1
Dr. M. B. Velkar, secretary of the Indian Home Rule League, Bombay, and a
member of the executive committee of the Satyagraha Sabha
2
R. N. Mandlik, a member of the executive committee, Satyagraha Sabha,
Bombay

politics. But I appreciate your position and if you do not believe in
the prison door being the gateway to liberty, I am sure you cannot
remain in the movement. It is not my opinion of today but I
expressed it years ago in the booklet, Indian Home Rule1 , that boycott
was totally inconsistent with satyagraha. Satyagraha in the political
field is an extension of the law that governs the members of a family.
But it is impossible for me to argue out the pros and cons in the
course of a letter. If you will care to call, I shall be pleased to discuss
the question with you. In any case, you will let me know your final
decision.
Yours sincerely,
348. BLACK SUNDAY2

GREAT POPULAR DEMONSTRATION AGAINST THE BLACK ACT
The following is the programme of the demonstrations which
have been arranged for Sunday next:
SUNDAY, 6 TH APRIL, 1919
SEA BATH 7 A.M.—8 A.M. CHOWPATTY
PROCESSION 8.15—10 A.M.:
Chowpatty Sea Face Girgaum Back Road
Sandhurst Bridge C. P. Tank Road
Sandhurst Road Madhav Baug
3.30—L ADIES’ MEETING,
C HINA BAUG ,
Mrs. Jayakar Presiding.
Mrs. Sarojini Naidu, Mahatma Gandhi: Speakers,
6.30—M ASS MEETING—F RENCH BRIDGE
* **
IF YOU VALUE YOUR FREEDOM, YOU WILL JOIN
1
Hind Swaraj published in January 1910; vide “Hind Swaraj”, 22-11-1909.
2
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 375

349. DIRECTIONS TO DEMONSTRATORS
April 5, 1919
We have received the following communication from the secretaries of the
Satyagraha Sabha:
It should be remembered that tomorrow is a day of humiliation
and prayer and also of mourning by reason of the Delhi tragedy. It is
therefore absolutely necessary that when the demonstrators go out to
bathe and form the procession there will be no noise, no talking,
amongst themselves, but that they will march in absolute silence and
disperse likewise.
At all the meetings that may be held there should be no
demonstration made by cheers, applause, or cries of approval or
disapproval or of any other character. The behaviour of the mourners
should be worthy of the occasion.
The demonstrators should carry out the instructions that might
be given to them by volunteers.
No pressure of any kind whatever should be put upon those who
do not fast or suspend work and all those who may not desire to
participate in the national mourning and demonstrations should be
left absolutely undisturbed.
It is the duty of the demonstrators to obey and carry out all
police instructions as it is as yet no part of the movement to offer civil
disobedience against police orders that may be given in connection
with demonstrations, processions organized by Satyagraha
Associations.

[BOMBAY,]
April 5, 1919
TO
R AJENDRA P RASAD
P ATNA
THANKS YOUR DECISION RELIEVES ME, WHAT ABOUT
1 2
HAQ BRIJKISHORE AND COMPANY?

[BOMBAY,]
April 5, 1919
TO
S HRADDHANANDJI
DELHI
YOUR WIRE 3 RECEIVED. PRAY WIRE WHETHER
DEPENDANTS OF DECEASED AND SERIOUSLY WOUNDE
REQUIRE SUPPORT. IF THEY DO, WHETHER YOU HAVE
COLLECTED ENOUGH FOR THEM.
GANDHI
From a photostat: S.N.6502
1
Mazharul Haque (1866-1930); nationalist leader of Bihar; one of the founders
and, later, president of the Muslim League; supported Gandhiji during Champaran and
non-co-operation movements
2
Brajkishore Prasad
3
In reply to Gandhiji’s telegram of April 3. It gave an account of the
happenings in Delhi.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 377

[BOMBAY,]
April 5, 1919
MY DEAR CHARLIE,
For 24 hours I was sad beyond measure over the Delhi tragedy.
I am now happy beyond measure over it. The blood spilt at
Delhi was innocent. It is possible that the satyagrahis in Delhi made
mistakes. But on the whole, they have covered themselves with glory.
There can be no redemption without sacrifice. And it fills me with a
glow to find that full measure was given even on the first day and that
too at the very seat of the power of Satan. I want to share this
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 1 thereof. You can do
what you like [with] it. But I must have Gurudev’s opinion.
With deep love,
353. LETTER TO RABINDRANATH TAGORE

[BOMBAY,]
April 5, 1919
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 it is only
directed against a single piece of legislation, is in reality a struggle for
liberty worthy of a self-respecting nation. I have waited long and
patiently. 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 his presence, to disturb your quiet and rest. I have respected
this lofty desire of his to protect you from all harm. But I find that
1

you are lecturing in Benares. I have, therefore, in the light of this fact
corrected Charlie’s description of your health which 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 it because you were 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
unquenchable belief that they are supporting untruth and that if we
have sufficient faith in truth1 , it will enable us to overpower the
former. But all forces work through human agency. I am therefore
anxious to gather round this mighty struggle the ennobling assistance
of those who approve it. I will not be happy until I have received your
considered opinion2 on this endeavour to purify the political life of
the country. If you have seen anything to alter your first opinion of it,
I hope you will not hesitate to make it known. I value even adverse
opinions from friends, for though they may not make me change my
course, they serve the purpose of so many lighthouses to give out
warnings of dangers 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 his unconsidered
notes of dissent. This I count a great privilege. May I ask you to
extend at this critical moment the same privilege that Charlie has?
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. G.
1
The source has “it”.
2
Vide Appendix “Rabindranath Tagore’s Letter to Gandhiji”, 12-4-1919
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 379

354. MESSAGE TO MADRAS1
[BOMBAY,]
April 6, 1919
I DO HOPE THAT PRESIDENCY THAT PRODUCED
BEAUTIFUL VALLIAMMA, NAGAPPAN, NARAYANSAMI AND SO
MANY OTHERS OF YOUR PRESIDENCY WITH WHOM I
WAS PRIVILEGED TO WORK IN SOUTH AFRICA WILL
NOT QUAIL IN PRESENCE OF SACRIFICE DEMANDED OF
US ALL. I FEEL CONVINCED THAT REFORMS WILL BE
OF NO AVAIL UNLESS OUR WOULD-BE PARTNERS
RESPECT US AND WE KNOW THAT THEY ONLY RESPECT
THOSE WHO ARE CAPABLE OF SACRIFICE FOR IDEALS
AS THEMSELVES. SEE HOW UNSTINTINGLY THEY POURED
OUT TREASURE AND BLOOD DURING THE WAR. OURS
IS A NOBLER CAUSE AND OUR MEANS INFINITELY
SUPERIOR IN THAT WE EVER REFRAIN FROM SHEDDING
BLOOD OTHER THAN OUR OWN.

[BOMBAY,]
April 6, 1919
TO
S HRADDHANANDJI
DELHI
HOPE LEAVE TUESDAY 2 FOR DELHI. WILL THAT DO ?
1
This was in reply to the following telegram from Madras: “Pray telegraph
message for satyagraha day. Arranging translation vernaculars here —Rangasamy.”
S.N. 6500.
2
April 8

356. LETTER TO B. G. HORNIMAN
[BOMBAY,]
April 6, 1919
DEAR HORNIMAN,
The accompanying is a great letter1 . You know Dwijendrababu.
He is the eldest brother of Sir R. 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 this 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 know 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,
1
It ran :
March 31, 1919
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 fastings, etc., which you enjoin [on] me 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 standpoint. You are
deriving your inspiration from such a high source, that instead of calling in question
the appropriateness of your sayings and doings, we ought to thankfully recognise 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
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 381

357. SPEECH AT CHOWPATTY, BOMBAY
April 6, 1919
Bombay presented the sight of a city in mourning on the occasion of the
day of national humiliation, prayers and sorrow at the passing of the Rowlatt Bills. .
.and kept the twenty-four hours’ fast.
SEA BATH AND PRAYERS AT CHOWPATTY
Long before the sun had- rises, the Back Bay foreshore was humming and
throbbing with life, for it was full of people. From an early hour in the morning,
people had come to Chowpatty to bathe in the sea....It was a Black Sunday, and the
day’s programme had to begin with a sea bath....
Mr. M. K. Gandhi was one of the first arrivals at Chowpatty with several
volunteers, and by 6.30 a.m., or earlier he had taken his seat on one of the stone
benches with about a hundred satyagrahis around him....As the day advanced people
kept pouring in on the seashore. Every new arrival took his bath in the sea first and
then came and sat round Mr. Gandhi. In this manner the crowd swelled and swelled
until it became one huge mass of people. Mr. Gandhi, as the time for the meeting on
Chowpatty sands neared, moved in that direction, where he was shortly joined by
Mrs. Sarojini Naidu, Mr. Jamnadas Dwarkadas, Mr. Horniman and others. There were
also about twenty-five ladies. It was a splendid sight at this time, for the whole Sand-
hurst Bridge swarmed with people and there must have been approximately one-and-a-
half lakhs of people.... All communities were represented there— Mahomedans,
Hindus, Parsis, etc., and one Englishman. Mahomedans joined the main body of the
people at Chowpatty in strong numbers....At exactly eight o’clock, Mr. Gandhi made
his speech. As he was too ill, the speech was read for him by Mr. Jamnadas.
MR . GANDHI ’S EXHORTATION TO TAKE SWADESHI VOW
Mr. Gandhi in the beginning said those who wanted to take the swadeshi vow
could do so on the Ramnavmi day1 after taking their bath early in the morning. But
this particular meeting was not the proper occasion for that; if there were any people
there who wanted to take the vow, they were welcome to do that. There was a world of
difference between boycott and swadeshi, for boycott was a sort of punishment, while
the swadeshi vrat 2 was a religious duty. If they wanted to take the swadeshi vow they
should do so with due and deliberate consideration. He himself was one of the
staunchest swadeshists and perhaps the strictest, but if the people wanted to move in
1
April 9
2
Vow

the matter they should do so only after careful consideration of all points. On
Ramnavmi, they could all of them, if they so desired, take the swadeshi vow. This was
repeated by Mr. Jamnadas, sentence by sentence, as Mr. Gandhi instructed him. Mr.
Jamnadas then read the speech of Mr. Gandhi.
Mr. Gandhi in his speech said:
I am anxious to say as little as possible on this occasion, which is
perhaps the most solemn of our lives for most of us. And I know that
this great demonstration could be made more eloquent if we could do
away with speeches. But it is impossible to ignore the tragedy that was
enacted at the capital of India last Sunday.
We have before us two authoritative versions of the episode.
Swami Shraddhanandji’s on behalf of the people and that of the
Government on behalf of the local authorities. The two do not tally.
They differ as to some of the main particulars. An impartial observer
will regard both as party statements. I, being of the popular party,
shall, therefore, for the purposes of my criticism, assume the truth of
the official narrative; but there are remarkable gaps in it, amounting to
an evasion of some of the charges brought against the local authorities
by Sannyasi Shraddhanandji. It should be remembered that the
Sannyasi’s statement was first on the field. The Sannyasi appeared on
the scene immediately after the first firing. He says, “I went to some
Europeans, of whom one was Mr. Currie, City Magistrate, and asked
them to tell me the true facts. They treated me with indifference, Mr.
Currie actually turning his back upon me. I told him that I was taking
the people away to the meeting ground, although early, and he ought
not to threaten people by making a display of military and machine-
guns.”
In my humble opinion, it was the duty of the Government to
deal with this charge. Mr. Currie must have, or ought to have, known
the Sannyasi. He is not a young man unknown to fame. He occupies a
recognized status in the Indian world and it was common knowledge
at the time the occurrence took place that he was one of the principal
leaders in the satyagraha movement in Delhi. Did Mr. Currie
ignore the Sannyasi? The Sannyasi has described in graphic language
the threat used by the Gurkhas. Were rifles pointed at him and
was he insolently told Tum ko chhed denge 1 ? Did a Gurkha brandish
1
“We shall pierce you”
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 383

before him his naked kukri 1 right and left? It would appear that had
the authorities endeavoured to regulate the crowd through its natural
leaders, there need have been no display or use of military force. But
the authorities last Sunday simply followed out the traditional policy
of ignoring leaders and of overawing the people. Assuming every one
of the statements in the official communique to be correct, as I have
remarked in my letter to the Press, there was no warrant for firing on
innocent people. At the worst, what was it that the men could have
done ? It is clear that the men were absolutely unarmed. An Indian
crowd is the easiest in the world to disperse. In any other place but
India, the police would have been deemed sufficient to meet an
emergency of the Delhi type and then, too, they would have been
armed with nothing more than batons.
AN INCIDENT AT DURBAN
I remember an occasion when a mob of 6,000 Europeans, who

had been previously inflamed by their leaders, tried to lynch one who,
I believe, had given no cause for it. After a hot pursuit by the
lynchers, he found shelter in a friend’s house, which was also the
latter’s shop. Towards evening, the crowd in a determined manner
marched to the house, and demanded delivery of the victim of their
wrath on pain of burning down the shop. Lives of nearly twenty men,
women and children were at stake. Goods worth £20,000 might have
been destroyed. Here, if at any time, the use of the military would
have been justified. But the Superintendent of Police would not
summon any such aid. He alone with his dozen constables scattered
amongst the crowd, defended the lives and property that were in
danger, and after three hours’ contending with the crowd, he
succeeded in stealing the victim through the crowd to the police
station, and finally in dispersing the lynchers. This happened on the
13th day of January, 1897, in Durban.2 Unlike the Durban crowd, the
Delhi crowd was without a mind of its own. It threatened to do
nothing beyond, as alleged in the communique, refusing to disperse.
The authorities could have without the aid of the military surely
succeeded in guarding the station, and could then have left the crowd
to its own resources. But unfortunately, almost throughout India, it has
1
Curved knife
2
Vide “Memorial to Secretary of State for the Colonies” and An
Autobiography, Part III, Ch. III.

become customary to summon the military on the slightest pretext. I
have, however, no desire to labour this question any further. It is
enough for us to know that no harm was done to anybody by any
action of the crowd and, that on this occasion the crowd was neither
overawed nor infuriated. It covered itself with glory by remaining
firm and self-possessed and by holding a meeting said to have been
attended by 40,000 men almost immediately after the deadly fire. It
was truly an event of which, when time has done its work, India will be
proud. All honour to Sannyasi Shraddhanandji and Hakimji Ajmal
Khan1 for their effective and brave leadership. During the last few
days, I have often stated that I have no fear of any excesses or vio-
lence breaking out among people who may take part in the struggle.
The doings in Delhi only confirm my optimism. However, I never
contemplated that those who are our associates would not have our
own blood spilt, though I do confess that I was totally unprepared for
the “stern measures” of the Delhi authorities. But to satyagrahis, they
must be welcome. The sterner they are, the better. They have under-
taken to suffer even unto death. We have therefore no right to com-
plain of those measures directed against us.
NO NATION HAS R ISEN WITHOUT S ACRIFICE
I have a telegram from Shraddhanandji saying that four

Mahomedan and five Hindu corpses have up to now been traced and
dealt with according to the rites prescribed by the respective religions
and that about 20 are believed to be missing and 13 badly wounded
cases are receiving attention in the hospital. This is not a bad
beginning. No country has ever risen, no nation has ever been made
without sacrifice, and we are trying an experiment of building up
ourselves by self-sacrifice without resorting to violence in any shape
or form. This is satyagraha. From the pure satyagraha standard, our
case in Delhi is weak in one respect. The crowd undoubtedly
demanded the release of the men who were arrested at the instance of
the station authorities and declined to disperse until they were given
up. Both these acts were wrong. It was wrong to demand the release of
the arrested men. It is arrest and imprisonment that we seek by civil
disobedience. It therefore ill becomes us to resent either. And it was
wrong not to disperse. In this movement, it is open to satyagrahis to
1
1865-1927; physician and politician; president, Indian National Congress,
1921
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 385

disobey only those laws1 which are selected for the purpose by the
committee contemplated in the Pledge. When we have acquired habits
of discipline, self-control, qualities of leadership and obedience,
we shall be better able to offer collective civil disobedience, but untill
we have developed these qualities, I have advised that we should select
for disobedience only such laws as can be disobeyed by individuals. It
is, therefore, necessary for us till we are sufficiently disciplined and till
the spirit of satyagraha has permeated large bodies of men and
women to obey all regulations regarding processions and gatherings.
Whilst we disobey certain selected laws, it is incumbent on us to show
our law-abiding character by respecting all other laws. And then when
we have reached the necessary standard of knowledge and discipline,
we shall find that machine-guns and all other weapons, even the
plague of aeroplanes, will cease to afflict us.
A S ACRED DUTY
It now requires for me to place before you for your acceptance
two resolutions. The first is a sacred duty. In it we express our deep
sympathy with those who have lost their dear ones and congratulate
the Delhi people and the organizers of the demonstration upon their
exemplary self-restraint. A wire has been sent to Shraddhanandji
inquiring about the financial circumstances of the bereaved families
and inquiring whether, in the event of pecuniary help being necessary,
Delhi is able to cope with it. The least that we owe to the memory of
our deceased brethren is that we should support their dependants to
the required extent and I have no doubt that the rich people of
Bombay will not fail if called upon for the purpose to put their hands
into their pockets.
A S IMPLE P RAYER
The second resolution is a simple prayer to the Secretary of
State for India that he will be pleased to advise His Majesty the King-
Emperor to disallow the Revolutionary and Anarchical Crimes Act
and an equally simple prayer to H.E. the Viceroy that he will be
pleased to withdraw Rowlatt Bill No. 1. This prayer will go forward
weighted with the blood of the innocents of Delhi and the promise
that we shall continue to suffer by civil disobedience till the hearts of
the rulers are softened and till they accept the principle that they may
not violate enlightened and unanimously expressed public opinion
1
Vide “Statement on Laws for Civil Disobedience”, 7-4-1919.

even as they have done in the case of the Rowlatt legislation.
RESOLUTIONS
The following two resolutions were then passed amidst silence:
I. This meeting of the inhabitants of Bombay tenders its congratulations to
the inhabitants of Delhi for showing exemplary self-restraint under circumstances the
most trying and to Sannyasi Swami Shree Shraddhanandji and to Hakimji Ajmal Khan
for their admirable leadership and offers its respectful condolences to the families of
those innocent men who were killed by the firing ordered by the local authorities.
II. This meeting of the inhabitants of Bombay respectfully requests the Right
Hon. the Secretary of State for India to advise H.M. the King-Emperor to veto the
Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act of 1919, inasmuch as apart from its being
intrinsically bad and totally uncalled for, it was passed in defiance of unanimously
expresed public opinion; and this meeting respectfully requests the Viceroy to
withdraw the Criminal Law Amendments Bill No. 1 of 1919.
After the speech was over, Mr. Gandhi announced that they would form a
procession and go over to the Madhav Baug Temple and offer their prayers there. Mrs.
Naidu, who was ill, would return home in a car.
A procession was then formed and without the least exaggeration it could be
stated that from the seashore to Madhav Baug it was a solid mass of humanity,
gathering strength on its way. The houses on both sides were crowded with women
and men and children.
The volunteers formed themselves into a cordon round the leaders, for the
crush was too much, and slowly marched towards Madhav Baug. Mr. Horniman, who
was ill, could only walk with some difficulty and was in a weak condition of health. It
took considerable time to reach Madhav Baug on account of the huge crowd. At
Madhav Baug itself, the people distributed themselves all over the place and the
compound was completely filled. Mr. Gandhi came there and, after offering prayers,
requested the crowd to disperse quietly which they did.
358. SPEECH ON HINDU-MUSLIM FRIENDSHIP, BOMBAY

April 6, 1919
After the prayers were over at Madhav Baug, Jamnadas Dwarkadas announced
that their Mahomedan brethren were holding a meeting at Grant Road and he asked
those present to proceed there to show their friendship towards their great sister-
community.... No less than five thousand Mahomedans were present at the meeting,
which was held on the open space in front of the Mosque, and the vast concourse of
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 387

Mahomedans got up and cordially received their Hindu brethren... Mahatma Gandhi,
Mrs. Sarojini Naidu, Mr. Jamnadas Dwarkadas and other leaders were taken to the
balcony of the Mosque and accommodated there amid scenes of utmost enthusiasm...
Mahatma Gandhi also dwelt on the unique spectacle of the meeting. He
appealed to his Mahomedan bretheren to join the satyagraha movement in large
numbers. He said satyagraha was like a banyan tree, the roots and branches of which
went deep into the ground and in course of time it became such a mighty tree that
nobody on earth could uproot it. Satyagraha was the essence of human life and
conduct, and he was sure that the movement would unite the two great communities of
India as nothing else could do. Hindus and Mahomedans should treat each other as
their own brothers. The Hindus must sympathize with the Mahomedans in their
troubles and the Mahomedans should feel the same pain as their Hindu brethren did in
their troubles. They should by every means in their power strengthen their friendship
and reduce to a nullity any cause of difference of opinion among them. He, however,
did not think that the fraternization which they witnessed there that morning and that
which had taken place at Delhi the other day meant that the Mahomedans and Hindus
all over the country had fraternized. In order to cement the bond of friendship which
now existed, he suggested that they would in the near future meet at a mosque or some
other place of worship or any other place and take a vow of eternal friendship. He
concluded by thanking the Mahomedans for the opportunity they had given the
Hindus that morning of meeting them and showing them their friendship.
359. SPEECH AT LADIES’ PROTEST MEETING, BOMBAY1

April 6, 1919
Mahatma Gandhi, addressing the meeting, said he had intended to speak before
them at some length, but he was sorry he was not able to do so as he had just received
an urgent message calling him on some very important business. He hat just heard
that some untoward incident had occurred near the Market.2 The police seemed to have
made some mistake or possibly the people had committed the mistake; but before
leaving the meeting, he would appeal to the women of India to co-operate with the
men in the constitutional fight which they were waging against the Rowlatt
legislation. Just as a man, with one half of his body inactive, could not do anything
properly, so the Indian body would not be able to do its work properly if one half of
it, namely, the women, remained inactive, and so he would appeal to his sisters of
India to join the satyagraha movement in large numbers.
1
Ladies of all classes and communities held a meeting at the China Baug to
record their emphatic protest against the Rowlatt legislation. Mrs. Jayakar presided.
2
Vide “Letter to Sir Ibrahim Rahimtoolla”, 8-4-1919.

360. “SATYAGRAHI” : I
BOMBAY,
April 7, 1919
The following are the contents of the Satyagrahi, the unregistered newspaper,
which Mahatma Gandhi issued on Monday in defiance of the Indian Press Act:
(Please read, copy and circulate among friends; and also request
them to copy and circulate this paper)
No. 1Price: one pice
S ATYAGRAHI
(Editor: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Laburnum Road,
Gamdevi, Bombay)
Published every Monday at 10 a.m.
Bombay, 7th April, 1919
NOTICE TO S UBSCRIBERS
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 withdrawn.
OUR C REDENTIALS
Our credentials are best supplied by answering the question,
What will the Satyagrahi do ? Satyagrahi has come into being for the
sake of ensuring withdrawal of the Rowlatt legislation. Its business,
therefore, is to show the people ways of bringing about such with-
drawal in accordance with the principles of satyagraha. The Satya-
graha Pledge requires the signatories to court imprisonment by offer-
ing 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
this journal. In other forms of pubic activity, the speaker is not
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 389

obliged to act as he preaches. The object is to draw attention to this
contradiction as a fault. It is a method of doing pubic work. The
method of satyagraha is unique. In it example alone is precept.
Therefore, whatever are suggested herein will be those that have been
tested by personal experience, and remedies thus tested will be like
well-tried medicine more valuable than new. 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 that owing to the ceaseless efforts of satyagrahis the mill-hands
celebrated the National Day by working in their respective mills as
they were unable to get permission of their employers.
361. INSTRUCTIONS TO SATYAGRAHIS1

[BOMBAY,
April 7, 1919]
We are now in a position to expect to be arrested any moment, It
is, therefore, necessary to bear in mind that, if anyone is arrested, he
should without causing any difficulty allow himself 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 matter. 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
imprisonment 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.
The Bombay Chronicle, 9-4 1919
1
Issued as a leaflet along with Satyagrahi, 7-4-1919

362. STATEMENT ON LAWS FOR CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
[April 7, 19I9]
The following statement has been issued by the Satyagraha Sabha:
The committee contemplated by the Satyagraha Pledge has
advised that for the time being laws regarding prohibited literature
and registration of newspapers may be civilly disobeyed.
With reference to prohibited literature, the committee has
selected the following prohibited works1 for dissemination:
Hind Swarajya by M. K. Gandhi.
Sarvodaya or Universal Dawn by M. K. Gandhi (being a
paraphrase of Unto This Last).
The Story of a Satyagrahi by M. K. Gandhi (being a paraphrase
of the Defence and Death of Socrates by Plato).
The Life and Address of Mustafa Kamal Pasha (printed at the
International Printing Press).
In making this selection, the community has been guided by the
following considerations:
(1) To cause as little disturbance as possible among the
governors and the governed;
(2) Until satyagrahis have become seasoned, disciplined and
capable of handling delicately organized movements, to select such
laws only as can be disobeyed individually;
(3) To select, as a first step, laws that have evoked popular
disapproval and that from the satyagraha standpoint, are the most
open to attack;
(4) To select laws whose civil breach would constitute an edu-
cation for the people, showing them a clear way out of the difficulties
that lie in the path of honest men desiring to do public work;
(5) Regarding prohibited literature, to select such books and
pamphlets as are not inconsistent with satyagraha, and which are,
therefore, of a clean type and which do not, either directly or
indirectly, approve of or encourage violence.
1
These publications were proscribed by the Bombay Government in March
1910 for containing “seditious” matter; vide “Our Publifcations”, 7-5-1910.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 391

HOW TO C OMMIT C IVIL DISOBEDIENCE
Satyagrahis should receive copies of prohibited literature for
distribution. A limited number of copies can be had from the
secretaries of the Satyagraha Sabha. Satyagrahis should, so far as
possible, write their names and addresses as sellers, so that they may be
traced easily when wanted by Government for prosecution. Naturally
there can be no question of secret sale of this literature. At the same
time there should be no forwardness, either, in distributing it.
It is open to satyagrahis to form small groups of men and
women to whom they may read this class of literature. The object in
selected prohibited literature is not merely to commit a civil breach of
the law regarding it, but it is also to supply people with clean literature
of a high moral value. It is expected that the Government will
confiscate such literature. Satyagraha is and has to be as independent
of finance as possible. When, therefore, copies are confiscated, satya-
grahis are required to make copies of prohibited literature themselves
or by securing the assistance of willing friends and to make use of it
until it is confiscated by giving readings to the people from it. It is
stated that such readings would amount to dissemination of prohibited
literature. When whole copies are exhausted by dissemination or
confiscation, satyagrahis may continue civil disobedience by writing
out and distributing extracts from accessible books.
Regarding civil breach of the law governing the publication of
newspapers, the idea is to publish in every satyagraha centre a written
newspaper, without registering it. It need not occupy more than one
side of half a foolscap. When such a newspaper is edited, it will be
found how difficult it is to fill up half a sheet. It is a well-known fact
that a vast majority of newspapers contain much padding. Further, it
cannot be denied that newspaper articles written under the terror of
the very strict newspaper law have a double meaning1 . A satyagrahi,
for whom punishments provided by law have lost all terror, can give
only in an unregistered newspaper his thoughts and opinions unham-
pered by any other consideration than that of his own conscience. His
newspaper, therefore, if otherwise well edited, can become a most
powerful vehicle for transmitting pure ideas in a concise manner, and
there need be no fear of inability to circulate a handwritten news-
paper; for it will be the duty of those who may receive the first copies
to recopy till at last the process of multiplication is made to cover, if
necessary, the whole of the masses of India. And it must not be
1
For Gandhiji’s views on the mission of a newspaper, vide “Newspapers”,
before 14-11-1917.

forgotten that we have in India the tradition of imparting instruction
by oral teaching.
M. K. GANDHI
PRESIDENT,
SATYAGRAHA SABHA
D. D. SATHYE
UMAR SOBANI
SHANKARLAL GHELABHAI 1
SECRETARIES
363. TELEGRAM TO DR. SATYAPAL

[BOMBAY,]
April 7, 1919
TO
DR. S ATYAPAL 2
DELHI
REACHING DELHI WEDNESDAY3 PUNJAB MAIL. PLEASE
MEET.
364. TELEGRAM TO S. K. RUDRA

[BOMBAY,]
April 7, 1919
TO
R UDRA
S T. S TEPHEN ’S C OLLEGE
DELHI
REACHING THERE WEDNESDAY PUNJAB MAIL.
GANDHI
1
Banker
2
Medical practitioner and a Congress leader of Punjab
3
April 9
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 393

365. LETTER TO F. C. GRIFFITH
LABURNUM R OAD ,
GAMDEVI,
BOMBAY,
April 7, 1919
1
DEAR MR. GRIFFITH ,
May I send you a copy of the unregistered newspaper issued
today by me as its Editor?
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
From the original letter in Mahadev Desai’s hand: Bombay Government
Records—C. P. File No. 2001/H/19
366. THE SWADESHI VOW-I

[April 8, 1919] 2
Although the desire for swadeshi animating a large number of
people at the present moment is worthy of all praise, it seems to me
that they have not fully realized the difficulty in the way of its obse-
rvance. Vows are always taken only in respect of matters otherwise
difficult of accomplishment. When after a series of efforts we fail in
doing certain things, by taking a vow to do them we draw a cordon
round ourselves, from which we may never be free and thus we avoid
failures. Anything less than such inflexible determination cannot be
called a vow. It is not a pledge or vow when we say we shall so far as
possible do certain acts. If by saying that we shall so far as we can
only use swadeshi articles, we can be deemed to have taken the
swadeshi vow, then from the Viceroy down to the labouring man very
few people would be found who could not be considered to have
taken the pledge, but we want to go outside this circle and aim at a
much higher goal. And there is as much difference between the act
1
Commissioner of Police, Bombay
2
Vide the Associated Press of India report dated Bombay, April 8, which read:
“Mr. M. K. Gandhi has left for Delhi. In his absence the ceremony of taking swadeshi
vow which was fixed for today has been postponed. Mr. Gandhi before his departure
left a message for those desiring to take the vow explaining the difference between
swadeshi and boycott.”

contemplated by us and the acts above described as there is between a
right angle and all other angles. And if we decide to take the swadeshi
vow in this spirit, it is clear that it is well nigh impossible to take an all-
comprehensive vow.
After having given deep consideration to the matter for a
number of years, it is sufficiently demonstrated to me that we can take
the full swadeshi vow only in respect of our clothing, whether made of
cotton, silk or wool. Even in observing this vow, we shall have to face
many difficulties in the initial stages and that is only proper. By
patronizing foreign cloth we have committed a deep sin. We have
condoned an occupation which in point of importance is second only
to agriculture, and we are face to face with a total disruption of a
calling to which Kabir was born and which he adorned. One meaning
of the swadeshi vow suggested by me is that in taking it we desire to
do penance for our sins, that we desire to resuscitate the almost lost art
of hand-weaving, and that we are determined to save our Hindustan
crores of rupees which go out of it annually in exchange for the cloth
we receive. Such high results cannot be attained without difficulties;
there must be obstacles in the way. Things easily obtained are
practically of no value, but however difficult of observance that
pledge may be, some day or other there is no escape from it if we
want our country to rise to its full height. And we shall then
accomplish the vow when we shall deem it a religious duty to use only
that cloth which is entirely produced in the country and refrain from
using any other.
A HASTY GENERALIZATION
Friends tell me that at the present moment we have not enough

swadeshi cloth to supply our wants and that the existing mills are too
few for the purpose. This appears to me to be a hasty generalization.
We can hardly expect such good fortune as to have thirty crores of
covenanters for swadeshi. A hardened optimist dare not expect more
than a few lakhs and I anticipate no difficulty in providing them with
swadeshi cloth, but where there is a question of religion there is no
room for thoughts of difficulties. The general climate of India is such
that we require very little clothing. It is an exaggeration to say that
three-fourths of the middle class population use much unnecessary
clothing. Moreover, when many men take the vow, there would be set
up many spinning wheels and handlooms. India can produce innum-
erable weavers. They are merely awaiting encouragement. Mainly two
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 395

things are needful, viz., self-denial and honsety. It is self-evident that
the covenanter must possess these two qualities, but in order to enable
people to observe such a great vow comparatively easily, our
merchants also will need to be blessed with these qualities. An honest
and self-denying merchant will spin his yarn only from Indian cotton
and confine weaving only to such cotton. He will only use those dyes
which are made in India. When a man desires to do a thing he
cultivates the necessary ability to remove difficulties in his path.
DESTROY ALL F OREIGN C LOTHING
It is not enough that we manage if necessary with as little
clothing as possible, but for a full observance it is further necessary to
destroy all foreign clothing in our possession. If we are satisfied that
we erred in making use of foreign cloth, that we have done an
immense injury to India, that we have all but destroyed the race of
weavers, cloth stained with such sin is only fit to be destroyed. In this
connection, it is necessary to understand the distinction between
swadeshi and boycott. Swadeshi is a religious conception. It is the
natural duty imposed upon every men. The well-being of people
depends upon it and the swadeshi vow cannot be taken in a punitive or
revengeful spirit. The swadeshi vow is not derived from any
extraneous happening, whereas boycott is a purely worldly and
political weapon. It is rooted in ill will and a desire for punishment,
and I can see nothing but harm in the end for a nation that resorts to
boycott. One who wishes to be a satyagrahi forever cannot participate
in any boycott movement and a perpetual satyagraha is impossible
without swadeshi. This is the meaning I have understood to be given
to boycott. It has been suggested that we should boycott British goods
till the Rowlatt legislation is withdrawn and that the boycott should
terminate with the removal of that legislation. In such a scheme of
boycott, it is open to us to take Japanese or other foreign goods even
though they may be rotten. If I must use foreign goods, having
political relations with England, I would only take English goods and
consider such conduct to be proper.
In proclaiming a boycott of British goods, we expose ourselves
to the charge of desiring to punish the English but we have no quarrel
with them; our quarrel is with the governors. And, according to the
law of satyagraha, we may not harbour any ill will even against the
rulers, and as we may harbour no ill will, I cannot see the propriety of
resorting to boycott.

THE S WADESHI P LEDGE
For a complete observance of the restricted swadeshi vow
suggested above, I would advise the following text: “With God as my
witness, I solemnly declare that from today I shall confine myself, for
my personal requirements, to the use of cloth, manufactured in India
from Indian cotton, silk and wool; and I shall altogether abstain from
using foreign cloth, and I shall destroy all foreign cloth in my
possession.”
I hope that many men and women will be ready to take this vow,
and the public taking of the pledge will be desirable only if many
men and women are ready for it. Even a few men and women may
publicly take the pledge, but in order to make swadeshi a national
movement, it is necessary that many should join it. Those who
approve of the proposed movement should, in my opinion, lose no
time in taking effective steps to begin it. It is necessary to interview
merchants. At the same time, there need be no undue haste. The
foundation of swadeshi should be well and truly laid. This is the right
time for it as I have found that when a purifying movement like
satyagraha is going on allied activities have an easy chance of success.
The Bombay Chronicle, 17-4-1919; also New India, 19-4-1919
367. THE SWADESHI VOW-II

[April 8, 1919]
The following is the text of the swadeshi vow:
“With God as my witness, I solemnly declare that from today I
shall confine myself, for my personal requirements, to the use of cloth
manufactured in India from Indian cotton, silk or wool and I shall
altogether abstain from using foreign cloth, and I shall destroy all
foreign cloth in my possession.”
For a proper observance of the pledge, it is really necessary to
use only hand-woven cloth made out of hand-spun yarn. Imported
yarn, even though spun out of Indian cotton and woven in India, is
not swadeshi cloth. We shall reach perfection only when our cotton is
spun in India on indigenous spinning-wheels and yarn so spun is
woven on similarly made handlooms. But requirements of the
foregoing pledge are met, if we all only use cloth woven by means of
imported machinery from yarn spun from Indian cotton by means of
similar machinery.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 397

I may add that covenanters to the restricted swadeshi referred to
here will not rest satisfied with swadeshi clothing only. They will
extend the vow to all other things as far as possible.
ENGLISH -OWNED MILLS
I am told that there are in India English-owned mills which do
not admit Indian share-holders. If this information be true, I would
consider cloth manufactured in such mills to be foreign cloth.
Moreover, such cloth bears the taint of ill will. However well made
such cloth may be, it should be avoided. The majority do not give
thought to such matters. All cannot be expected to consider whether
their actions promote or retard the welfare of their country, but it
behoves those, who are learned, those who are thoughtful, whose
intellects are trained or who are desirous of serving their country, to
test every action of theirs, whether public or private, in the manner
aforesaid, and when ideals which appear to be of national importance
and which have been tested by practical experience should be placed
before the people as has been said in the Divine Song, “the multitude
will copy the actions of the enlightened”. Even thoughtful men and
women have not hitherto generally carried on the above-mentioned
self-examination. The nation has therefore suffered by reason of this
neglect. In my opinion, such self-examination is only possible where
there is religious perception.
Thousands of men believe that by using cloth woven in Indian
mills, they comply with the requirements of the swadeshi vow. The
fact is that most fine cloth is made of foreign cotton spun outside.
Therefore the only satisfaction to be derived from the use of such
cloth is that it is woven in India. Even on handlooms for very fine
cloth only foreign yarn is used. The use of such cloth does not
amount to an observance of swadeshi. To say so is simple self-
deception. Satyagraha, i.e., insistence on truth is necessary even in
swadeshi. When men will say, “we shall confine ourselves to pure
swadeshi cloth, even though we may have to remain satisfied with a
mere loin cloth”, and when women will resolutely say, “we shall
observe pure swadeshi even though we may have to restrict ourselves
to clothing just enough to satisfy the sense of modesty”, then shall we
be successful in the observance of the great swadeshi vow. If a few
thousand men and women were to take the swadeshi vow in this spirit,
others will try to imitate them so far as possible. They will then begin
to examine their wardrobes in the light of swadeshi. Those who are

not attached to pleasures and personal adornment, I venture to say,
can give a great impetus to swadeshi.
KEY TO ECONOMIC S ALVATION
Generally speaking, there are very few villages in India without
weavers. From time immemorial, we have had village farmers and
village weavers, as we have village carpenters, shoemakers, blacksmiths,
etc., but our farmers have become poverty-stricken and our weavers
have patronage only from the poor classes. By supplying them with
Indian cloth spun in India, we can obtain the cloth we may need. For
the time being it may be coarse, but by constant endeavours, we can
get our weavers to weave out of fine yarn and so doing we shall raise
our weavers to a better status, and if we would go a step still further, we
can easily cross the sea of difficulties lying in our path. We can easily
teach our women and our children to spin and weave cotton, and what
can be purer than cloth woven in our own home? I tell it from my
experience that acting in this way we shall be saved from many a
hardship, we shall be ridding ourselves of many an unnecessary need,
and our life will be one song of joy and beauty. I always hear divine
voices telling me in my ears that such life was a matter of fact once in
India, but even if such an India be the idle dream of the poet, it does
not matter. Is it not necessary to create such an India now, does not
our purushartha lie therein ? I have been travelling throughout India.
I cannot bear the heart-rending cry of the poor. The young and old
all tell me, “We cannot get cheap cloth, we have not the means
wherewith to purchase dear cloth. Everything is dear—provisions,
cloth and all. What are we to do?” And they heave a sigh of despair.
It is my duty to give these men a satisfactory reply. It is the duty of
every servant of the country but I am unable to give a satisfactory
reply. It should be intolerable for all thinking Indians that our raw
materials should be exported to Europe and that we have to pay heavy
prices therefor. The first and the last remedy for this is swadeshi. We
are not bound to sell our cotton to anybody and when Hindustan
rings with the echoes of swadeshi, no producer of cotton will sell it for
its being manufactured in foreign countries. When swadeshi pervades
the country, everyone will be set a-thinking why cotton should not be
refined and spun and woven in the place where it is produced, and
when the swadeshi mantra resounds in every ear, millions of men will
have in their hands the key to the economic salvation of India.
Training for this does not require hundreds of years. When the
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 399

religious sense is awakened, people’s thoughts undergo a revolution
in a single moment. Only selfless sacrifice is the sine qua non. The
spirit of sacrifice pervades the Indian atmosphere at the present
moment. If we fail to preach swadeshi at this supreme moment, we
shall have to wring our hands in despair. I beseech every Hindu,
Mussulman, Sikh, Parsi, Christian and Jew, who believes that he
belongs to this country, to take the swadeshi vow and to ask others
also to do likewise. It is my humble belief that if we cannot do even
this little for our country, we are born in it in vain. Those who think
deep will see that such swadeshi contains pure economics. I hope that
every man and woman will give serious thought to my humble
suggestion. Imitation of English economics will spell our ruin.
The Bombay Chronicle, 18-4-1919; also New India, 22-4-1919
368. THE VOW OF HINDU-MUSLIM UNITY

April 8, 19191
The following is a free translation, approved by Mr. Gandhi, of his leaflet2 on
Hindu-Muslim unity:
In the huge mass meeting of Hindus and Mahomedans held in
the Sonapur Masjid compound on Sunday, the 6th April, the day of
humiliation and prayer, a vow of Hindu-Muslim unity was proposed
to be taken as in the case of swadeshi proposed at the Chowpatty
meeting and I had to utter a note of warning on both the occasions. At
times in a fit of joyous passion we are spurred on to certain courses of
action for which we have afterwards to repent. A vow is a purely
religious act which cannot be taken in a fit of passion. It can be taken
only with a mind purified and composed and with God as witness.
Most of what I have said whilst writing about the swadeshi vow applies
here. Acts which are not possible by ordinary self-denial become
possible with the aid of vows which require extraordinary self-denial.
It is hence believed that vows can only uplift us. If the Hindu and
Muslim communities could be united in one bond of mutual
friendship, and if each could act towards the other even as children of
the same mother, it would be a consummation devoutely to be wished.
1
2
This appears to be Satyagraha Leaflet No. 2.

But before this unity becomes a reality, both the communities will
have to give up a good deal, and will have to make radical changes in
ideas held heretofore. Members of one community when talking
about those of the other at times indulge in terms so vulgar that they
but acerbate the relations between the two. In Hindu society we do
not hesitate to indulge in unbecoming language when talking of the
Mahomedans and vice versa. Many believe that an ingrained and
ineradicable animosity exists between the Hindus and Mahomedans.
In many places we see that each community harbours distrust against
the other. Each fears the other. It is an undoubted fact that this
anomalous and wretched state of things is improving day by day. The
Time-Spirit is ceaselessly working on unchecked, and willy-nilly we
have to live together. But the object of taking a vow is speedily to
bring about, by the power of self-denial, a state of things which can
only be expected to come in the fulness of time. How is this possible?
Meetings should be called of Hindus—I mean the orthodox Hindus—
where this question should be seriously considered. The standing
complaint of the Hindus against the Mussulmans is that the latter are
beef-eaters and that they purposely sacrifice cows on the Bakr-i-ld
day. Now it is impossible to unite the Hindus and Mahomedans so
long as the Hinuds do not hesitate to kill their Mahomedan brethren
in order to protect a cow. For I think it is futile to expect that our
violence will ever compel the Mahomedans to refrain from cow-
slaughter. I do not believe the efforts of our cow-protection societies
have availed in the least to lessen the number of cows killed every day.
I have had no reason to believe so. I believe myself to be an orthodox
Hindu and it is my conviction that no one who scrupulously practises
the Hindu religion may kill a cow-killer to protect a cow. There is one
and only one means open to a Hindu to protect a cow and that is that
he should offer himself a sacrifice if he cannot stand its slaughter.
Even if a very few enlightened Hindus thus sacrificed themselves, I
have no doubt that our Mussulman brethren would abandon cow-
slaughter. But this is satyagraha; this is equity; even as, if I want my
brother to redress a grievance, I must do so by taking upon my head a
certain amount of sacrifice and not by inflicting injury on him. I may
not demand it as of right. My only right against my brother is that I
can offer myself a sacrifice.
It is only when the Hindus are inspired with a feeling of pure
love of this type that Hindu-Muslim unity can be expected. As with
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 401

the Hindus, so with the Musssulmans. The leaders among the latter
should meet together and consider their duty towards the Hindus.
When both are inspired by a spirit of sacrifice, when both try to do
their duty towards one another instead of pressing their rights, then
and then only would the long-standing differences between the two
communities cease. Each must respect the other’s religion, must
refrain from even secretly thinking ill of the other. We must politely
dissuade members of both the communities from indulging in bad
language against one another. Only a serious endeavour in this
direction can remove the estrangement between us. Our vow would
have value only when masses of Hindus and Mussulmans join in the
endeavour. I think I have now made sufficiently clear the seriousness
and magnitude of this vow. I hope that on this auspicious occasion
and surely the occasion must be auspicious when a wave of satyagraha
is sweeping over the whole country—we could all take this vow of
unity. For this it is further necessary that leading Hindus and
Mahomedans should meet together and seriously consider the
question and then pass a unanimous resolution at a public meeting.
This consummation will certainly be reached if our present efforts are
vigorously continued. I think the vow may be taken individually even
now and I expect that numerous people will do so every day. My
warnings have reference to the taking of the vow publicly by masses
of men. If it is taken by the masses, it should, in my humble opinion,
be as follows:
“With God as witness we Hindus and Mahomedans declare that
we shall behave towards one another as children of the same parents,
that we shall have no differences, that the sorrows of each shall be the
sorrows of the other and that each shall help the other in removing
them. We shall respect each other’s religion and religious feelings and
shall not-stand in the way of our respective religious practices. We
shall always refrain from violence to each other in the name of
religion.”
Young India 7-5-1919

369. TELEGRAM TO C. R. DAS
[BOMBAY,]
April 8, 1919
TO
C. R. DAS1
CALCUTTA
MOVEMENTS DEPENDENT ON EXTERNAL CIRCUMSTANCES.

SHALL TRY ATTEND FIFTEENTH INSTANT. NEWSPAPERS
REPORT SUNDAY DEMONSTRATORS AFTER SOME PRO-
VOCATION RUSHED TOWARDS BRISTOL HOTEL THREW
STONES SMASHED WINDOWPANES, TOWARDS EVENING
KOMTOLLA MOB RESCUED ORIYA ACCUSED FROM
CUSTODY CONSTABLES, SEVERELY ASSAULTED POLICE.
PLEASE WIRE EXACT SITUATION. NEED HARDLY POINT
OUT IN SATYAGRAHA THERE NEVER IS DANGER FROM OUTSIDE,
DANGER ALWAYS FROM DEPARTURE FROM TRUTH AND NON-
VIOLENCE UNDER CIRCUMSTANCES MOST TEMPTING AND PROVOKING
WILL DAMN MOVEMENT IF WE CANNOT RESTRAIN CROWDS
AND TILL WE CAN, WE ARE BOUND REFRAIN
PROCESSION LARGE GATHERINGS ENTERTAIN ABSO-
LUTE CONVICTION SMALLEST BODY OF TRUE SATYA-
GRAHIS WILL ACHIEVE VICTORY. SATYAGRAHA ADMITS
OF NO COMPROMISE WITH ITSELF. PRAY REPLY
EXPRESS.2
M. K. G.
1
Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das (1870-1925); president of the Gaya Congress,
1922; founded the Swarajya Party in 1923
2
C. R. Das replied: “Newspapers report misleading. Satyagraha Sunday passed
off here quietly and peacefully. All shops and markets closed; business suspended.
After prayer and fasting public meeting of over two lacs at the maidan. Processions
orderly, crowd dispersed peacefully. All local newspapers friendly and hostile declare
demonstration peaceful and orderly. Bristol Hotel incident grossly exaggerated. After
meeting dispersed from maidan, refuse matters and brick pieces were thrown by some
European from Bristol Hotel upon a sankirtan party returning home whereat some got
excited whom others restrained falling at their feet. Even Anglo-Indian papers have
treated the incident as negligible and trivial. Alleged incident of rescuing prisoners is
unauthenticated and unconnected with our demonstration.”
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 403

April 8, 1919
REACHING TOMORROW EVENING. PLEASE KEEP MY ARRIVAL
STRICTLY PRIVATE; CAN BEAR NO PUBLIC DEMONSTRATION.
Evidence Taken before the Disorders inquiry Committee, Vol. l, p. 191

[BOMBAY,]
April 8, 1919
TO
RAJENDRABABU
PATNA
REACHING DELHI TOMORROW. SHALL WIRE FURTHER PRO-
GRAMME THENCE.
372. LETTER TO F. C. GRIFFITH

BOMBAY,
April 8, 1919
DEAR MR. GRIFFITH,
I have now before me statements from the principal men who
took part in the impromptu procession. I enclose herewith a copy of
their statement1 . You will observe from it:
(1) That they emphatically deny the truth of the allegation
regarding the holding up of tram-cars.
(2) That they deny that the crowd either declined to disperse or
threatened to march past Mr. Harker. On the contrary, they
implicitly and promptly obeyed his directions.
(3) That they assert that the recruits with their bamboo-sticks and
armed police fell upon the crowd without any cause being given
therefor and that they desisted only upon being restrained by
1
Not included here

Mr. Harker.
Of the men who were injured during the charge alleged above, I
have seen two who have fair-sized bruises on their heads. One of them
I saw on Sunday in his own house and the other was produced before
me yesterday morning at my residence. If the crowd, as you seem to
think, was composed mainly of badmashes1 , it does seem remarkable
that they should have dispersed without any retaliation whatsoever
and, if it was composed of respectable middle-class men, as I am
inclined to think it was, it is hard to believe that they would ever have
held up the tram-cars in the manner you described the alleged
holding up to me.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
373. LETTER TO SIR IBRAHIM RAHIMTOOLLA

[BOMBAY
April 8, 1919]
2
DEAR SIR IBRAHIM RAHIMTOOLLA ,
I think we can say things passed off wonderfully well on
Sunday. There was a mixed Hindu-Muslim procession near Crawford
Market. Some members of the procession were assaulted and they
sustained injuries. The incident was nothing serious, I believe; all the
same, that no one in the procession was at fault, though the Police
Commissioner says that the men had disregarded the Deputy
Commissioner’s order. The respectable gentlemen who told me of the
incident absolve the processionists of all blame. I send you a copy of
my letter to Mr. Griffith, and also copies of the statements I have
taken from the leading men and which have accompanied my letter to
Mr. Griffith; you will be able to see from them that, if these gentlemen
are right in their facts, the police certainly are to blame somewhat.
I am leaving for Delhi today. It will be some time before I
return from there, so that, if you want any further information, I can
supply it only on my return. My only object in writing this letter and
taking statements from the leading men is to see that people are not
1
Bad characters
2
Member, Governor’s Executive Council, Bombay
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 405

blamed when there is not the slightest reason for complaint against
them and that we do not have the thief turning round on thewatchman,
as they say.
If you want, you may show this letter to His Excellency the
Governor. I beg you to excuse me for this trouble.
374. TELEGRAM TO O. S. GHATE

April 9, 1919
TO
O. S. GRATE
CHHINDWARA
TOO OVERWHELMED WITH WORK TO WRITE. PROCEEDING

DELHI SENDING THEREFROM IMPORTANT LETTER WITH
DETAILED OPINION.
375. LETTER TO IMAM ABDUL KADIR BAWAZEER

Wednesday morning, [ April 9, 1919] 1
DEAR IMAM SAHEB,
I shall be going to jail today. I have kept awake all night. Now it
is three o’clock in the morning. But how can I help writing to you? If
the reason for my imprisonment is not given in the press, ask me to
write. You do not have to come now.
I have neglected Fatima. Andrews continues to take the strain. I
have found a very good young man here. His age is twenty-two
years. His physique is good. He was a teacher. He is participating
in the struggle here. Hence he is jobless. He is poor. Right now I am
very much impressed by him. He has no father. His mother is not the
kind who would interfere. So, if he agrees, it would be as if I had
come here just to see him. Still I shall investigate more. He will be in
1
From the reference to Gandhiji’s arrest; he was arrested on April 9, 1919
while on his way to Delhi from Bombay, for defying the order of the Punjab
Government banning his entry into Punjab; vide also “Message to Countrymen”,
9-4-1919.

frequent touch with me1 .
Vandemataram from
M OHANDAS
[PS.]
I find I have mislaid your address. So I am sending [the letter]
at the Jumma Masjid.
From a photostat of the Gujarati : C. W. 10785. Courtesy : Ghulam Rasool
Qureshi
376. MESSAGE TO COUNTRYMEN

April 9, 1919
Mr. Desai, Secretary to Mahatma Gandhi, writes:
Mahatma Gandhi on his way to Delhi was served with an order at Kosi
not to enter the Punjab, not to enter Delhi and restrict himself to Bombay.
The officer serving the order treated him most politely assuring him that it
would be his most painful duty to arrest him if he elected to disobey, but that
there would be no ill will between them. Mr. Gandhi smilingly said, he must
elect to disobey as it was his duty and that the officer ought also to do what
was his duty. In the few minutes that were left to us, he dictated the
following message, laying special emphasis on his oral message to me, as
in the written message that none should resent his arrest or do anything
tainted with untruth or violence which were sure to damn the sacred cause.
The message reads:1
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 Government not to
enter that province and another from the Delhi Government not to
enter Delhi, while an order2 of the Government of India, served on me
1
Fatima Bibi was married to Saiyad Hussain Miya Uraizee on April 26, 1920;
vide “Invitation to Wedding”, 20-4-1920
1
Up to this the report is from The Leader, 12-4-1919
2
The order dated Lahore, April 9, 1919, read: “WHEREAS in the opinion of the
Local Government, there are reasonable grounds for believing that Mohandas
Karamchand Gandhi, son of, , resident of village Rajkot,
Kathiawar, in the Bombay Presidency, has acted in a manner prejudicial to the public
safety, the Lieutenant-Governor, with the previous sanction of the Governor-General-
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 407

immediately after, restricts me to Bombay. I had no hesitation in
saying to the officer 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
Kamadhenu1 .
I hope there will be no resentment about my arrest. I have rec-
eived 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 Mahomedans, they
being in the 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
commend them to your serious attention and you will find that, as
your ideas of satyagraha become matured, Hindu-Muslim unity
becomes part of satyagraha.
Finally, it is my firm belief that we shall obtain salvation only
through suffering and not by reforms dropping on us from England,
no matter how unstintingly they might be granted. The English are a
great nation, but the weaker also go to the wall if they come in contact
with them. When they are themselves courageous, they have borne
untold sufferings, and they only respond to courage and suffering,
and partnership with them is only possible after we have developed
in-Council, is pleased hereby to direct that the said Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
shall forthwith return to Bombay and, until further orders, reside within the limits of
the Bombay Presidency.
By order of His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab,
Ashghar Ali,
Additional Secretary”
1
Mythical cow yielding whatever is wished for

indomitable 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 would avoid if we could,
because we have swerved from the path laid down for us by our
ancient civilization.
I hope that Hindus, Mahomedans, 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.
377. REPLY TO RESTRAINT ORDER1

April 10, 1919
I regret to have to say that I shall be unable to comply with the
foregoing order.

ON THE WAY TO BOMBAY UNDER ARREST,
April 10, 1919
MY DEAR CHILD,
I have your bank note. I only hope you will not deny yourself
the necessaries of life. I am handing the note to the Ashram. Is that
right?
I received last night on my way to Delhi an order not to enter
the Punjab. I disobeyed it there and then and I was arrested. I received
two further orders—one not to enter the Province of Delhi and the
other to confine myself to Bombay. They are now taking me to
Bombay. If they set me free I shall immediately disobey the order of
1
Gandhiji wrote this reply in his own hand on the order itself. For text of the
order, vide footnote 2, p. 207.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 409

confinement. I am perhaps the happiest man on earth today. I have
during these two months experienced boundless love. And now I find
myself arrested although I bear no ill will to anybody and although I
am the one man who can today preserve the peace in India as no other
man can. My imprisonment therefore will show the wrongdoer in his
nakedness. And he can do me no harm for my spirit remains calm
and unruffled.
You will rejoice that you have a friend to whom God has given
the power to love even those who call themselves his enemies and to
rejoice in sufferings. I say this because I do not want you to grieve
over the impending imprisonment. The officer in charge of me is very
kind and attentive.
More form Mahadev if he remains free for any length of time.
With love,
Yours eve,
BAPU
[PS.]
Did you receive my letter written in Bezwada or some place1 on
my way to Bombay from Madras?
BAPU
My Dear Child, p. 34
April 11, 1919

JUST ARRIVED AND DISCHARGED FROM CUSTODY2 . . . . WILL
INFORM LATER. REGRET LOSS LIFE SOME PLACES. ABSOLUTELY
NECESSARY PEOPLE RESTRAIN THEMSELVES AND AVOID VIO-
LENCE. PLEASE REPORT THIS LAHORE, AMRITSAR, ETC.
GANDHI
Punjab Unrest-Before and After, p. 104
1
Secunderabad, vide “Letter to Esther Faering’ 1-4-1919.
2
At Bombay

380. SATYAGRAHA LEAFLET1 : NO. 3
April 11, 1919
MAHATMA GANDHI’S WARNING TO S ATYAGRAHIS AND S YMPATHIZERS
On Friday evening the 12th day2 of April, 1919, on the Chawpati sea beach,
Mahatma Gandhi sounded the following note of warning to satyagrahis and
sympathizers assembled in a mass meeting:
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 than
duragraha 3 .
Those who join satyagraha demonstration are bound at all
hazards to refrain from violence, not to throw stones or in any way
whatsoever to injure anybody. 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 been
arrested for committing 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 for
demanding the release of those who have been arrested.
I have been asked whether a satyagrahi is liable for the results
that follow from that movement. I have replied that they are. I
therefore wish to suggest that if we cannot conduct this movement
without the slightest violence from our side, the movement might have
1
The original has “Satyagraha Series”. For Satyagraha Leaflet No. 1, vide
“Satyagraha Leaflet No. 1”, March 1919 and for No. 2 vide “The Vow of Hindu-
Muslim Unity”, 8-4-1919.
2
Obviously a slip for 11th, which was a Friday.
3
Opposite of satyagraha
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 411

to be abandoned or it may be necessary to give it a different and still
more restricted shape. The time may come for me to offer satyagraha
against ourselves.
I would not deem it a disgrace that we die. 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. But if 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
the rulers. What kind of satyagraha can I offer gainst ourselves on
such occasions? What penance can I do for such sins? The
satyagraha and the penance I can conceive 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 appealed 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 gunfire.
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.
S ATYAGRAHA S ABHA ,
APOLLO S TREET
The Hindustan Press, Fort, Bombay
From the printed original preserved in Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya, Delhi.
Courtesy: H. S. L. Polak

381. TALK TO MAHOMEDANS, BOMBAY
April 11, 1919
On Friday a number of Mahomedans called at Mr. Gandhi’s place in connection
with the arrests that had been made that day. Mahatma Gandhi, explaining to them the
true meaning of satyagraha, said if they were arrested whilst practising duragraha,
they deserved no sympathy, and if they were arrested whilst offering satyagraha, they
should consider it their duty to go to jail; so that neither way would anybody be
justified in demanding the release of those who had been arrested. The Mahatma then
dwelt upon the supreme necessity of Hindu-Muslim unity.
The Bombay Chronicle, 14-4-l919
382. INSTRUCTIONS REGARDING SATYAGRAHA

[April 12, 1919]
In order that satyagraha may have full play and a chance of
permeating the masses, in my humble opinion, the following
instructions should be STRICTLY obeyed. Some of the items may require
change later. The rest are inviolable principles of satyagraha.
No processions.
No organized demonstrations.
No hartals on any account whatsoever without previous
instructions of the committee.
All police orders to be implicitly obeyed.
No violence.
No stone-throwing.
No obstruction of tram-cars or traffic.
No pressure to be exercised against anyone.
AT P UBLIC MEETINGS
No clapping of hands.
No demonstrations of approval or disapproval.
No cries of “Shame!”.
No cheers.
Perfect stillness.
Perfect obedience to instructions of volunteers or management.
MOHANDAS K. G ANDHI
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 413

383. INTERVIEW TO THE PRESS
April 12, 1919
In an interview given to Press representatives, Mahatma Gandhi is reported to
have said that he had as yet come to no definite decision as to whether or not he would
go to Delhi. He once again appealed to the public to conduct the struggle against the
Rowlatt Bills in a spirit of true satyagraha and to refrain from any acts of violence.
They should all sympathize with those who might be arrested whilst carrying on the
satyagraha struggle but they should not demand their release, for it was the duty of
true satyagrahis to go to jail. He had absolutely no sympathy whatever with those
who were duragrahis. They must be punished for their misdeeds and they could claim
no sympathy from the public. He added he firmly believed that if they conducted their
struggle in the true spirit of satyagraha, without any acts of violence, the Rowlatt
Bills would quickly disappear from the Statute-book. Considering all circumstances,
the satyagraha movement might have to be given a different and still more restricted
shape. The satyagraha struggle must be conducted in a quiet and peaceful manner and
in the true spirit of satyagraha. He concluded with another earnest appeal to the public
to behave in a peaceful manner and refrain from any acts of violence.
384. SPEECH AT MEETING OF CLOTH MERCHANTS,

BOMBAY
April 12, 1919
Mahatma Gandhi was deeply affected by the news of the disturbances that
broke out in some parts of the country last week. Before starting for Ahmedabad, he
attended a meeting of cloth merchants which was called at his instance, when he made
an earnest appeal to the public to refrain from acts of violence. He added he had been
greatly distressed by the news of the disturbances. His arrest would in no way have
stopped the satyagraha work and people should not have created disturbances. Even if
he proceeded to Delhi and was arrested a second time, there should be no disturbance.
People should be prepared to suffer in the true spirit of satyagraha. Even if a strike
occurred anywhere, no coercion should be used towards those who did not wish to join
in it. Their attitude should be one of goodwill towards all men.
At Mr. Gandhi’s suggestion a committee of leading men was appointed to raise
a body of volunteers to assist in the preservation of order at the cloth market and the
surrounding locality.

Mahatma Gandhi next visited several other associations where also he
emphasized the supreme necessity of conducting the struggle against the Row1att
Bills in the true spirit of satyagraha. He also attended a meeting held at the Marwari
Chamber where he was deeply moved and actually broke down on hearing the news of
the disturbance at Ahmedabad, and he went without food the next day. The same night
he was to have addressed a meeting at the Morarji Gokuldas Hall, which however he
was not able to do as he left Bombay for Ahmedabad. In his absence Mr. Jamnadas
Dwarkadas laid before the meeting the suggestions which Mr. Gandhi was to have
made about conducting the struggle in a peaceful and orderly manner.
385. MESSAGE TO PEOPLE OF AHMEDABAD

April 13, 1919
Bai Anasuya Behn and I have arrived in Ahmedabad this
morning. Bai Anasuya Behn was never arrested. I also was absolutely
free on Friday, and went to Bombay. During the time I was in custody,
I suffered no kind of trouble, my condition was such as if I was
enjoying heavenly happiness. After getting free, I became extremely
sorry on hearing of the occurrences at Ahmedabad. Behn’s heart
bled. We both felt exceedingly ashamed. Now, we both have come to
meet you. It is necessary to say a couple of words; therefore, I don’t
wish to say anything now. I also wish, as all of you must be wishing,
that martial law should be instantly removed. It is in our own hands to
get it removed. I want to show the key with which this can be done.
Those who can do so should come to the Ashram at 4 p.m. on
Monday. While coming take the routes where there are no military
pickets. Do not come in groups of more than two or three persons.
Obey whatever orders the police give you. It is my request that you do
not shout or make any kind of noise on the road, and if you will all
preserve silence at the Ashram, I shall be able to explain all that I wish
to explain. It is extremely desirable that all shopkeepers should open
their shops and all mill-hands resume their work. In conclusion, I wish
to say that I am so sure about satyagraha that, if the mistakes which
have been committed here and at other places had not been
committed, the Rowlatt Bill would have been cancelled today. May
God give you all good understanding and peace.
Source Material for a History of the Freedom Movement in India, Vol. II (1885-
1920), pp. 763, 766-7
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 415

386. “SATYAGRAHI”: II 1
April 14, 1919
No. 2Price: 1 pice
(EDITOR : M OHANDAS KARAMCHAND GANDHI,
LABURNUM R OAD , G AMDEVI, B OMBAY.)
S ELF-EXAMINATION
Satyagraha has made unexpectedly rapid progress in course of
one short week. But it is necessary to consider whether the movement
is progressing in the right direction or not. Several very regrettable
and untoward incidents have occurred.
It has been brought home to satyagrahis that satyagraha is not
an easy weapon to handle. Satyagrahis have been often asked if they
are not responsible for the varied consequences of this struggle. We
have always answered this inquiry in the affirmative. Satyagrahis will
always follow truth, and will not by thought, word or deed hurt
anybody. They will carry on the struggle with such self-restraint and
discipline as will enable them to acquire firm control over the people
whose sympathy and co-operation they desire and have already been
successful in winning in such an appreciable degree. The experience
of the last week has clearly shown that satyagrahis are not yet in a
position to control the masses. The true spirit of satyagraha has not
yet permeated the people with the result that they are not yet able to
express their feelings in a manner worthy of satyagraha. This
undoubtedly casts a slur upon satyagraha.
All the same the satyagrahi will not be discouraged. It is only
when the Rowlatt legislation is withdrawn or when he has sacrificed
himself at the altar of truth that he will rest. He will learn from his
daily experience during the struggle, educate the people, explain to
them in public and in private the secret of satyagraha. He will make it
clear to them what priceless happiness can be found in suffering in
refraining from returning evil for evil, in adhering to truth, in
1
Further issues did not come out due to the suspension of satyagraha, vide The
Bombay Chronicle, 22-4-1919, which read: “We have been informed by the
Satyagraha Sabha that as civil disobedience has been temporarily suspended the
publication of the weekly Satyagrahi will be discontinued and the unlicensed
printing press will also be closed during the suspension period.”

sacrificing himself. He will capture their hearts with love and will show
them how to conquer our enemies by love. The path of a satyagrahi is
beset with insurmountable difficulties. But in true satyagraha there is
neither disappointment nor defeat. As truth is all-powerful, satyagraha
can never be defeated. India is a vast country and the ancient law of
satyagraha appears new to our countrymen, but this cannot deter us.
Satyagrahis will work day and night to educate the people and will
show to them that true satyagraha can be our Kamdhenu. If he is not
heeded, he will plead with the people, will offer satyagraha even to
them, by fasting to death and so will induce his countrymen to join in
the crusade, which must end in victory.
NEWS
MAHATMA GANDHI
Mahatma Gandhi was arrested on his way to Delhi for refusing
to obey the orders prohibiting him from entering the Punjab and
Delhi, and was escorted back to Bombay, where he was set free. He has
now gone to Ahmedabad.
P UNJAB DEPORTATIONS
Serious disturbances have occurred at Lahore and Amritsar
owing to the deportation of Drs. Kitchlew and Satyapal.
THE MOVEMENT IN BOMBAY
The sale of proscribed literature is proceeding in Bombay. The
Mahomedans are beginning to be interested in the movement.
A new press called the Satyagraha Press has been established
where this paper will henceforth be printed.
S ATYAGRAHA IN BIHAR
The Hon. Mazharul Haque and Mr. Hassan Imam, the president
of the special session of the Congress in Bombay, have signed the
Satyagraha Pledge.
R ESIGNATION F ROM THE IMPERIAL C OUNCIL
The Hon. Mr. B. N. Shukul the representative of the landholders
of C. P., has resigned from the Imperial Council as a protest against
the Rowlatt Bill.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 417

387. LETTER TO G. E. CHATFIELD
ASHRAM,
S ABARMATI ,
April 14 [1919]
1
DEAR MR. CHATFIELD ,
I heard from many lips yesterday that one or two women were
killed in the course of the day by the military and some men also were
killed, all without just cause. Will you please give me the true facts? I
am most anxious, and I know you share the anxiety, that there should
be no untoward incidents today.
Yours sincerely,

THE ASHRAM,
S ABARMATI ,
April 14, 1919
DEAR MR. MAFFEY,
You will not consider that I was discourteous in not sending
even an acknowledgment of your last letter. The fact is that I have
treasured that letter as worthy of you and the friendship that I hope
will ever exist between us, no matter what differences of opinion and
standpoint there may be between us. I did not wish to send you a mere
acknow-ledgment, I wanted to reach a decided stage before writing to
you again, and I have also reached more than a decided stage, and in
the place I have made my abode I find utter lawlessness bordering
almost on Bolshevism. Englishmen and women have found it
necessary to leave their bungalows and to confine themselves to a few
well-guarded houses. It is a matter of the deepest humiliation and
regret for me. I see that I over-calculated the measure of permeation
of satyagraha amongst the people. I underrated the power of hatred
and ill will. My faith in satyagraha remains undiminished, but I am
only a poor creature just as liable to err as any other. I am correcting
the error. I have somewhat retraced my steps for the time being. Until
1
Collector of Ahmedabad

I feel convinced that my co-workers can regulate and restrain crowds,
and keep them peaceful, I promise to refrain from seeking to enter
Delhi or the other parts of the Punjab. My satyagraha, therefore, will,
at the present moment, be directed against my own countrymen. I do
want, however, to say that it was a grievous blunder of the Government
of India to have served those orders on me. Surely they knew me too
well to make such a mistake. I could not disregard my Pledge and I
was not going to Delhi or to the Punjab to create any disturbance.
Wherever I have gone, my presence has had a demonstrably restrain-
ing and soothing influence. I was going to Delhi, Lahore and Amrit-
sar—to the latter places, if certain conditions of mine had been fulfil-
led—for the purpose of insuring peace, and though the events at
Amritsar are, so far as I can see, unconnected with satyagraha and my
arrest, I feel sure that had I been able to proceed to these places, the
awful occurrences could have been avoided, and I think there would
be perfect agreement with me when I say that the mad incendiarism
that has taken place in Ahmedabad would have never occurred, if the
orders had not been served upon me. I venture to suggest therefore
that the orders may be withdrawn. Rightly or wrongly, I seem to com-
mand, at the present moment, in an excessive degree the respect and
affection of the people all over India. The non-withdrawal of the
orders would be resented by them. In order that the resentment may
not grow by reason of any avoidable action of mine, I have even
refrained from describing them and the manner in which they were
served. I have even not corrected the inaccuracies that have appeared
in the Press—inaccuracies which are designed to make light of my
arrest.
So much for the orders. I know you will accept my assurance
when I tell you that ever since my being brought to Bombay, and
liberated there, I have done nothing but assist in securing order, first
in Bombay and secondly in Ahmedabad. Even as I am dictating this
letter, visitors are pouring in at the Ashram at my invitation. I hope to
send you, if not with this letter, under separate cover, by the next post
the text1 of my address to the Bombay meeting and to the meeting to
be held here today.
I would like, too, to place before you my reading of the situa-
tion. The ferment among the Mahomedans is too great to be checked
for ever. It may burst like a torrent at any moment and behind the
1
Vide “Satyagraha Leaflet No. 3”, 11-4-1919.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 419

present disturbances are to be traced the results of extreme dissatis-
faction. It is not confined to classes, but it most decidedly permeates
the masses. I venture to submit that it will be a most disastrous thing if
the questions affecting Islam are not settled by the League of Nations
in accordance with enlightened Mahomedan opinion, and I suggest
that the Brothers Ali may be invited to give their opinion. You cannot
do better than having the Brothers in London to give the Home
Government the benefit of their advice. They are amongst the hone-
stest of Mahomedans. They are independent and able. It is their opin-
ion and that of such Mahomedans which will count in the end with the
vast masses of the Mahomedan population. I have not hesitated to tell
the Mahomedans, whom I meet, that rather than harbour discontent, ill
will and finally hatred, and depend upon methods of violence, it
behoves them to depend on the peaceful and royal way of satyagraha.
My reliance upon satyagraha is so great that I do not despair of
securing its acceptance by all the classes and communities of India on
the one hand, and Government on the other. For to me it is the rule of
life to which to subscribe, more or less, consciously or unconsciously,
often even against our will.
Lastly, the Rowlatt legislation has passed the stage of contro-
versy on merits. In my opinion, everything happening in India today
points to the desirability of the withdrawal of that legislation, and the
Government will only enhance its prestige by definitely announcing
its withdrawal out of regard for Indian opinion so definitely
expressed. I felt that I should pass these thoughts on to you. You will
do what you like with them.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
389. SPEECH AT MASS MEETING, AHMEDABAD1

April 14, 1919
BROTHERS,
I mean to address myself mainly to you. Brothers, the events

that have happened in the course of the last few days have been most
1
At Gandhiji’s Ashram, Sabarmati. Copies of the speech in Gujarati were
distributed in thousands.

disgraceful to Ahmedabad, and as all these things have happened in
my name, I am ashamed of them, and those who have been respon-
sible for them have thereby not honored me but disgraced me. A
rapier run through my body could hardly have pained me more. I
have said times without number that satyagraha admits of no violence,
no pillage, no incendiarism; and still in the name of satyagraha, we
burnt down buildings, forcibly captured weapons, extorted money,
stopped trains, cut off telegraph wires, killed innocent people and
plundered shops and private houses. If deeds such as these could save
me from the prison-house or the scaffold, I should not like to be so
saved. I do wish to say in all earnestness that violence has not secured
my discharge. A most brutal rumour was set afloat that Anasuya Bai
was arrested. The crowds were infuriated all the more, and disturbance
increased. You have thereby disgraced Anasuya Bai and, under the
cloak of her arrest, heinous deeds have been done.
These deeds have not benefited the people in any way. They
have done nothing but harm. The buildings burnt down were public
property and they will naturally be rebuilt at our expense. The loss
due to the shops remaining closed is also our loss. The terrorism
prevailing in the city due to martial law is also the result of this
violence. It has been said that many innocent lives have been lost as a
result of the operation of martial law. If this is a fact, then for that, too,
the deeds described above are responsible. It will be seen that the
events that have happened have done nothing but harm to us.
Moreover, they have most seriously damaged the satyagraha
movement. Had an entirely peaceful agitation followed my arrest, the
Rowlatt Act would have been out or on the point of being out of the
Statute-book today. It should not be a matter for surprise if the
withdrawal of the Act is now delayed. When I was released on Friday,
my plan was to start for Delhi again on Saturday to seek re-arrest, and
that would have been an accession of strength to the movement. Now,
instead of going to Delhi, it remains to me to offer satyagraha against
our people, and as it is my determination to offer satyagraha even
unto death for securing the withdrawal of the Rowlatt legislation, I
think the occasion has arrived when I should offer satyagraha against
ourselves for the violence that has occurred. And I shall do so at the
sacrifice of my body, so long as we do not keep perfect peace and
cease from violence to person and property How can I seek
imprisonment unless I have absolute confidence that we shall no
longer be guilty of such errors? Those desirous of joining the
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 421

satyagraha movement or of helping it must entirely abstain from
violence. They may not resort to violence even on my being re-
arrested or on some such events happening. Englishmen and women
have been compelled to leave their homes and confine themselves to
places of protection in Shahi Baug, because their trust in our
harmlessness has received a rude shock. A little thinking should
convince us that this is a matter of humiliation for us all. The sooner
this state of things stops, the better for us. They are our brethren and it
is our duty to inspire them with the belief that their persons are as
sacred to us as our own and this is what we call abhayadan 1 , the first
requisite of true religion. Satyagraha without this is duragraha.
There are two distinct duties now before us. One is that we
should firmly resolve upon refraining from all violence, and the other
is that we should repent and do penance for our sins. So long as we do
not repent and do not realize our errors and make an open confession
of them, we shall not truly change our course. The first step is that
those of us who have captured weapons should surrender them. To
show that we are really patient, we will contribute each of us not less
than eight annas towards helping the families of those who have been
killed by our acts. Though no amount of money contribution can
altogether undo the results of the furious deeds of the past few days,
our contribution will be a slight token of our repentance. I hope and
pray that no one will evade this contribution on the plea that he has
had no part in those wicked acts. For if such as those who were no
party to these deeds had all courageously and bravely gone forward to
put down the lawlessness, the mob would have been checked in their
career and would have immediately realized the wickedness of their
doings. I venture to say that if, instead of giving money to the mob
out of fear, we had rushed out to protect buildings and to save the
innocent without fear of death, we could have succeeded in so doing.
Unless we have this sort of courage, mischief-makers will always try to
intimidate us into participating in their misdeeds. Fear of death makes
us devoid both of valour and religion. For, want of valour is want of
religious faith. And having done little to stop the violence, we have
been all participators in the sins that have been committed. And we
ought, therefore, to contribute our mite as a mark of our repentance.
Each group can collect its own contributions and send them on to me
through its collectors. I would also advise, if it is possible for you, to
1
Assurance of safety

observe a twenty-four hours’ fast in slight expiation of these sins. This
fast should be observed in private and there is no need for crowds to
go to the bathing ghats.
I have thus far drawn attention to what appears to be your duty.
I must now consider my own. My responsibility is a million times
greater than yours. I have placed satyagraha before people for their
acceptance, and I have lived in your midst for four years. I have also
given some contribution to the special service of Ahmedabad. Its
citizens are not quite unfamiliar with my views.
It is alleged that I have, without proper consideration, persuaded
thousands to join the movement. That allegation is, I admit, true to a
certain extent, but to a certain extent only. It is open to anybody to
say that but for the satyagraha campaign, there would not have been
this violence. For this, I have already done a penance, to my mind an
unendurable one, namely, that I have had to postpone my visit to
Delhi to seek re-arrest and I have also been obliged to suggest a
temporary restriction of satyagraha to a limited field. This has been
more painful to me than a wound, but this penance is not enough, and
I have, therefore, decided to fast for three days, i.e., 72 hours. I hope
my fast will pain no one. I believe a seventy-two hours’ fast is easier
for me than a twenty-four hours’ fast for you. And I have imposed on
me a discipline which I can bear. If you really feel pity for the
suffering that will be caused to me, I request that that pity should
always restrain you from ever again being party to the criminal acts of
which I have complained. Take it from me that we are not going to
win swarajya or benefit our country in the least by violence and
terrorism. I am of opinion that if we have to wade through violence to
obtain swarajya and if a redress of grievances were to be only possible
by means of ill will for and slaughter of Englishmen, I, for one, would
do without that swarajya and without a redress of those grievances. For
me life would not be worth living if Ahmedabad continues to
countenance violence in the name of truth. The poet has called
Gujarat garvi (great and glorious) Gujarat. Ahmedabad, its capital, is
the residence of many religious Hindus and Mahomedans. Deeds of
public violence in a city like this are like an ocean being on fire. Who
can quench that fire ? I can only offer myself as a sacrifice to be
burnt in that fire, and I therefore ask you all to help in the attainment
of the result that I desire out of my fast. May the love that lured you
into unworthy acts awaken you to a sense of the reality, and if that
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 423

love does continue to animate you, beware that I may not have to fast
myself to death.
It seems that the deeds I have complained of have been done in
an organized manner. There seems to be a definite design about them,
and I am sure that there must be some educated and clever man or
men behind them. They may be educated, but their education has not
enlightened them. You have been misled into doing these deeds by
such people. I advise you never to be so misguided, and I would ask
them seriously to reconsider their views. To them and you I commend
my book Hind Swaraj which, as I understand, may be printed and
published without infringing the law thereby.
Among the mill-hands, the spinners have been on strike for
some days. I advise them to resume work immediately and to ask for
increase if they want any, only after resuming work, and in a
reasonable manner. To resort to the use of force to get any increase is
suicidal. I would specially advise all mill-hands to altogether eschew
violence. It is [in] their interest to do so and I remind them of the
promises made to do so and I remind them of the promises made to
Anasuya Bai and me that they would ever refrain from violence. I
hope that all will now resume work.
The Bombay Chronicle, 17-4-1919; also Speeches and Writings of
Mahatma Gandhi, pp. 473-8

THE ASHRAM,
S ABARMATI ,
April 15, 1919
DEAR MR. CHATFIELD,
Would you please give me the name and address of the sergeant
who was murdered during the tragic occurrences. I understand that
there was only one English death. If there are any other English
casualties, I should like to know them and the names and addresses of
their families. As you are aware, I asked yesterday for contributions
towards maintenance of the bereaved families and I know that the
contributors desire to tender pecuniary assistance to the families of
Englishmen who might have died or become seriously disabled
during mob-rule.
M. K. GANDHI

S ABARMATI ,
April 15, 1919
I beg to send herewith, as promised yesterday, copies of my
speech in Bombay and Ahmedabad. They are both translations from
the vernacular, either done by me or by others under my supervision.
I also send a copy of my letter of yesterday—all these by registered
post as many letters have been found to have gone astray of late.
N. A. I.: Home: Political—A: May 1919: Nos. 455-72
392. LETTER TO SIR IBRAHIM RAHIMTOOLLA

THE ASHRAM,
S ABARMATI ,
April 15, 1919
DEAR SIR IBRAHIM RAHIMTOOLLA,
Contrary to my wont, I write this letter to you in English, as I

would like you to submit it to His Excellency for perusal and consi-
deration. As you may know, I arrived in Ahmedabad, accompanied by
Anasuya Behn on Sunday. There was a very largely attended meeting
yesterday at the Satyagraha Ashram, although it is far away from the
city. It is estimated that 10 to 15 thousand people must have attended.
There is once more perfect quiet in Ahmedabad, and although I have
to say it of myself, I do wish to state that the sudden quiet is due
largely, if not entirely, to the soothing effect produced by the
presence of Anasuya Behn and myself. I enclose herewith copy of my
speech in Gujarati and its English translation prepared under my
supervision. In response to my invitation, money has begun to pour
in, and thousands have observed the fast. I have already written1 to the
Collec-tor, enquiring about the names and addresses of the families of
Englishmen who have lost their lives or have been disabled during
mob-rule. Happily, I understand that these cases are not more than 2
or 3. My main purpose, however, in writing this letter is to suggest that
no further punitive measures may be taken, and that no prosecutions
be undertaken in respect of the tragedy. Any arrest and trials would
1
Vide “Letter to G.E. Chatfield”, 15-4-1919.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 425

simply cause another ferment. In my humble opinion, it would be
most impolitic and unwise to select a few individuals as scapegoats,
when a whole mob has taken the law in its own hands. I performed
today the painful duty of visiting the army of wounded men,
including little children, in the Civil Hospital. I understand that at least
22 have died of the wounds, but probably the real number of those
who died during martial law will never be known, for I am told that
some dead bodies were actually cremated in the poles 1 of Ahmedabad.
I simply wish to urge that sufficiently stern punishment has been
already dealt out to Ahmedabad.
I ask the Government to believe me when I say that the
ebullition was in no way due to satyagraha. It was due to causes which
came into being before the satyagraha movement was inaugurated and
to the grave blunder in arresting me whilst I was on my way to Delhi,
and on a most pacific mission. I do not know within the whole of my
public experience a single occasion where my presence has had
anything but a soothing effect on the elements of disturbance. My
arrest gave a handle to all discontented forces to gather together and
those who were sincerely mourning over my arrest out of personal
affection for me involuntarily found themselves drawn into the lawless
proceedings. I wish also to state that almost every known satyagrahi
was simply assisting at the peril of his life in taming the mad fury of
the mob. It was due to their work that probably the mob did not
indulge in further excesses, though what has happened is bad enough.
I may be mistaken in my last deduction, but there is no mistake about
the fact, that satyagrahis did their utmost best to prevent the tragedy.
But we are yet a handful. Time may show that neither India nor the
world can have anything better than satyagraha as a restraining force
and a force ranged on the side of law and order. Civil disobedience
alone can inspire sincere and manly obedience. My duty as a
satyagrahi at the present moment is to refrain from doing anything
that may add fuel to the fire. I have therefore restrained myself from
giving what I hold is a true analysis of the tragedy enacted in
Ahmedabad. I wish to say nothing of the events in the other parts of
India. The other causes referred to by me are three in number. First
and foremost is the profound dissatisfaction of the Mahomedans over
what they fear would be the settlement of Islamic questions at the time
of the Peace. I venture to speak of this with some authority because I
1
Residential streets

have taken great pains to ascertain Mahomedan feelings. I have
moved among Mahomedans high and low practically throughout
India, and I have deemed it my duty as a Hindu to understand their
position and to share their sorrows. The second cause is the fear—
vague, I know—that the Reforms that are to come will be only in
name. And the third cause is bitter resentment over the passing of the
Rowlatt legislation in violent defiance of unanimously expressed-
public opinion.
I admit that there has been often great exaggeration indulged in
by indifferent, ignorant and irresponsible speakers, but as an
experienced public man of over 25 years’ standing, I know that
exaggerations will not cause ebullitions such as we have witnessed in
Ahmedabad, unless there is a substantial grievance behind them.
I felt that it was due to the Government that I should submit for
their consideration the state of things that has come to my knowledge.
I cannot conclude this letter without expressing my gratitude for the
absolute absence of firing in Bombay on Friday last.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
393. LETTER TO SIR STANLEY REED

THE ASHRAM,
April 15, 1919
DEAR SIR STANLEY READ
According to my usual custom, the time has come for me to
place before you things, which, in the interests of public peace, I do
not wish to ventilate in the Press. The atmosphere is so surcharged
with distrust, disaffection and ill will, that I do not want to add to the
forces of evil by saying anything which may even remotely produce
that result, and which it is not obligatory on me to say in public.
Though it is a small matter, may I correct the statement of your
informant that I was not arrested in reality? This is what exactly
happened: An officer boarded the train 1 at Palwal, and, laying his
hands on me, said, “Mr. Gandhi, I arrest you”. I was then immedi-
1
On the night of April 9-10
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 427

ately handed to an Indian sepoy—I suppose he was that—and I was
taken by the arm and marched out of the train. I was guarded by four
sepoys on four sides of the cot, on which I lay in Palwal on the station
platform. I was brought to the platform out of the waiting-room at my
request, and I was sharply pulled up as I passed one of the guards
probably two feet from him to clear my throat. I was taken to Muttra
during the night, and a guard was put in my compartment, which was
a second-class compartment. We had to wait at Muttra for another
train. Early in the morning, I was again put in the second-class
compartment, in which accompanied by the guard, I travelled to Sawai
Madhopur. There we waited for the mail train, and on its arrival Mr.
Bowring of Lahore took charge of me, put me in a first-class
compartment with him, but in that carriage too a guard was kept
during whole of the night whilst both he and I were sleeping. I do not
wish to complain of what happened to me. I am simply stating the
naked facts to demonstrate that I was under arrest. I would have
declined to begin the return journey had I not been arrested, as I did
actually mention to the officer, who served the first order upon me.
There are some other incidents which I wish to omit. But nothing that
I have said is intended to qualify or detract from the public
acknowledgement of the extreme personal courtesy that was extended
to me by the three officers, who were concerned with the service of the
orders, the arrest and the deportation.
I hastened to Ahmedabad in company with Anasuya Behn in
order that the people may be calmed and in all humility I may say
that the effect of our arrival on the populace was electrical. I placed
myself unreservedly at the service of the authorities. You will have
observed that I spoke at the Monday meeting with the utmost caution.
I would like you to go through my speech sent to you for publication.
I deliberately refrained from narrating the acts done by the military
under martial law. I doubt not that there was much avoidable loss of
life. I have seen the wounded at the Civil Hospital. I spoke to every
one of them. All of them gave me frank statements. Many admitted
that they were part of large crowds, not crowds that had any evil
designs, but crowds of men, who had hardly realized what the law was.
They could not immediately upon its being proclaimed have
informed themselves of the conditions. I know that although eager
crowds gathered round me to listen to my speech, and although I had
printed 25 thousand copies, it has not reached all. How then could the
martial law notices indifferently distributed amongst a sullen

population inform vast bodies of men ? These crowds, therefore, did
gather. I understand that they were fired at after due notice being
given to them, but you will agree with me when I say that they could
not all understand the notice to disperse. In the hospital, I saw a few
little children 10 or 11 years old. I asked them what they were doing,
and they said they had gone out to play. A husband and wife were
shot in their own house. The wife died of the wounds. The husband
who described the affair does not say that they were deliberately
aimed at, but that the bullets whizzed through the house and struck
them. Some of them told me that they were alone. The rule was that if
ten people collected together, they could be fired at. In one case, I was
told, a man, who wanted to be extra-cautious, first asked the
permission to pass the pickets, he got it and he passed the pickets with
his friends, and as soon as they had proceeded a few paces, they
received bullet wounds. The one who asked for permission dropped
down dead, and the other is in danger of losing his life. The wound is
so serious. The view I have taken of this is that the people of
Ahmedabad have no right to complain of these sad occurrences, after
the ruthlessness with which the mob destroyed the property, hacked to
pieces Sergeant Fraser, and committed many other excesses. It is
highly likely that the English lads—I call them lads, because they
looked like lads—who were posted as pickets during martial law, had
arrived on the scene with the knowledge that a wicked plot was
hatched in order to kill the force that was sent from Bombay, of which
these lads were members. I refer to the derailing near Nadiad, and in
their fury to wreak vengeance upon the Ahmedabad people without
any nice or exact discrimination, they may have been too free with
their rifles. I describe this shooting in order to show that the people
have been sufficiently punished, and there should be no further
punitive measures taken and no prosecutions undertaken.
I shall now turn to the causes of this upheaval. I have talked to
over a hundred people myself, my associates of the Satyagraha
Ashram and my co-workers living in the city have each talked to as
many, if not more, and I find that satyagraha had nothing to do with
the excesses, that is to say, that it was not the alleged inculcation of the
spirit of disobedience which let loose the fury of the mob. During the
seven weeks that the satyagraha campaign has been going on, there
was not a word uttered to encourage ill will against a single
Englishman, and I can state positively that whenever I addressed the
people, the audience addressed by me became sobered, and there was
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 429

an appreciable change in their attitude towards the English, as also
towards those Indian leaders whose policy they disliked. My chief
work, however, is done through private conversation with people who
visit me wherever I go. I have noticed the vehemence of feelings
against British administration, and have noticed too that it was
transferred to the administrators themselves. After a searching cross-
examination, I found that they admitted their mistake and I can recall
many conversions of people, who came in to express their curses, and
went away, if not [with] blessings on their lips, with no unfriendliness
towards the British. I found mental lawlessness existing everywhere,
and it was with the greatest difficulty that I was able to drive home the
necessity for restraining this habit of continuous disparagement of law
and order, and to replace it by a disciplined and conscientious
disobedience, whose effect was to be confined to self-suffering and
not to involve any destruction of the life or property of their lawgivers
or anyone else. The lawless spirit then was already there. There was
not much time given to the spirit of satyagraha, i.e., the spirit of self-
restraint, to have its effect upon the people, when the Government of
India criminally blundered in serving these orders upon me and in
arresting me. Nor were the forces of discontent weak. Here they are:
(1) Every Mahomedan is filled with bitterness over questions affecting
Islam, and every Mahomedan thoroughly distrusts England in this
matter. The association of all classes of Mahomedans with the Hindus
is significant, and the upheavals, wherever they have taken place, have,
as is perfectly apparent, strong Mahomedan backing. (2) The people
have been taught to distrust Reforms in anticipation. The masses are
no longer inert. They have a general understanding of the situation.
(3) The alarm produced by the Rowlatt legislation and deep
resentment over utter defiance of public opinion. I freely admit that
there has been much ignorant and even in some cases wilful
exaggeration of the effects of the Rowlatt legislation. But after you
account for all, there is a residue left, which in my opinion makes
Rowlatt legislation impossible of acceptance. I wonder if it has ever
struck you that the amendment of the Preamble is of little
consequence. As Sir William Vincent very perfectly pointed out, the
spirit of the legislation was that it should have operation only in cases
where anarchical crime was found to exist. The whole question turns
upon, who is to be the judge? The judge is to be the Executive
Government, and is not this the procedure which the Executive has
always followed in forming its judgments on these matters? A petty

official of the C.I.D. submits a report stating the existence of
anarchical crime to his superior officer, who endorses the report. The
chief of the C.I.D. then handles it and he will be an exceptionally bold
Home Member who will challenge a report from the chief of the
C.I.D. He will naturally therefore advise notification of the application
of the Act to the area of anarchical disturbance so called. Nobody has
questioned the drastic character of the legislation. But I must not
labour this point and make the letter long. These causes were bound
sooner or later to bring about furious deeds of violence, and I can
only say that satyagraha has served as a check, no matter how slight,
upon them. It is clear that the tragedy at Ahmedabad and Viramgam
could have been absolutely avoided had I not been served with those
orders and subsequently arrested. The vast demonstrations took place
not because it was the satyagraha movement that was in jeopardy but
because it was I who was arrested. Such is the blind affection of the
people towards me.
My suggestions therefore would be that the Government should
recognize satyagraha as an estimable weapon in the armoury of
reformer; they should seek the assistance of Messrs Mahomed Ali and
Shaukat Ali, who, so far as I am aware, are able, equally upright and
well informed, and solve the Islamic question to the entire satisfaction
of the intelligent Mahomedan population. There should be some
assuring declaration about the Reforms, and the Rowlatt legislation
should be withdrawn. Until these things are done, I apprehend there
will be no peace in India. The feeling in India today is like a
barometer, sensitive to the slightest atmospheric pressure or change in
the political field. If you at all accept my suggestions, I know you will
do all you can to secure their adoption in your own special way. I
may add. that I have passed on most of these suggestions to the
Viceroy, and those that can be locally handled to the Governor of
Bombay.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 431

394. SATYAGRAHA LEAFLET1 NO. 4
[April 16, 1919] 2
MY SISTERS AND BROTHERS,
I could not speak to you at length in my address at the
Satyagrahashram on Monday last; but I wish to place my thoughts
before the public through a few leaflets. Let me first render accounts.
I had received till yesterday Rs. 770 towards the fund suggested by
me. I request that there should be no delay with regard to this fund,
and that none in Ahmedabad should be found wanting in his duty.
This fund has had its origin in the idea of penance, but its public
utility is no less than its penitential value. I visited the Civil Hospital
yesterday in company with Behn Anasuya and Mr. Krishnalal Desai3 ,
and spoke to all the patients there. I see that we shall have to get
pecuniary help to the families of the many of the wounded. I learnt
on the spot that 22 of the men brought there had died of the wounds.
There is no doubt, there have been many more deaths. A clear duty,
therefore, lies upon us, as citizens, to find out the families of the
deceased and to give them what help we can. I have been asked as to
who will be the beneficiaries of these moneys. I am afraid that we
could not compensate those who have sustained loss of property; we
can render some little help only to the families of the dead and
wounded. These include two or three Englishmen (now ascertained to
be one); our first duty is to render help to their families, since we are
responsible for their deaths. We had no excuse whatsoever for killing
them. They have been killed simply out of animosity. If we do really
repent for what we have done, it is our duty to aid their families. That
is the least penance we can do. I have been able to see that most at our
brethren, too, who have died were altogether innocent. I saw amongst
the wounded several boys of 10 or 11. Our next duty is to help all
these. A man from Viramgam came to me complaining that he had
lost two of his brothers. Very likely many more such cases will be
forthcoming. If Viramgam also pays its quota to the fund, we might
be able to extend our help to them. If it fails, I am afraid, we shall not
be able to render that assistance.
1
The original has “Satyagraha Series”.
2
3
High Court vakil, Ahmedabad

Some of us believe that we can obtain our rights by such acts of
terrorization, violence and arson. Satyagraha, on the contrary, holds
that the rights so obtained should be rejected. I admit that of the two
parties using brute force, the one possessing more of it than the other
apparently gains its ends. My 40 years’ experience tells me that
objects so attained do not permanently benefit the winner. There may
well be two opinions on this point. But there can be no difference of
opinion on the fact that so far as brute force is concerned, we are no
match for the Government. Our physical force is as nought before
theirs. I would dare say, therefore, that those who advise us to use
physical force are sadly mistaken, and we should never listen to their
advice. Expediency tells us that there is one and only one recourse for
us and that is satyagraha or dharmabal (i.e., spirit-force). Now
dharmabal can spring only from suffering. Oppressing, harassing, or
assaulting others cannot add to our spiritual strength. The events in
Ahmedabad would have been impossible, had we but a true sense of
dharma. It is one of our duties to prevent mischief. If the men and
women of Ahmedabad could be brave, all mischief would cease. It is
obviously a far greater thing to overcome mischief by spirit-force,
than to do so by brute force. We have seen that violent outbreaks have
not benefited us at all. I have already said that they had nothing to do
with my release. The outbreaks commenced on the 10th. The decision
to release me in Bombay was arrived at on the 9th. It cannot therefore
have been in any way the result of those outbreaks. Moreover, those
who have faith in satyagraha should be the last men to resort to
violence to secure my release.
Let us now consider what further loss we have sustained. I
reminded you on Monday that the offices which were burnt down
belonged to ourselves. But we have an indirect ownership therein, and
the fact that the expenses of re-building them may perhaps not fall
directly on us may make us indifferent to the mischief done. The loss
to our commerce by the closing of the Telegraph Office may also fail
to affect us. But consider the consequences of burning down the
University Examination Pandal. I understand that it was erected by a
contractor, it was his property and was worth about Rs. 18,000. Who
will compensate the contractor ? Can we imagine the soreness of his
feelings ? Surely the incendiaries must never have thought of making
up for the loss. I am informed that there were many ornaments
deposited in the District Court Treasury as being matter of dispute in
Civil cases and otherwise. Some estimate their value at Rs. 50,000,
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 433

while others value them at a higher figure still. We know nothing
about the owners of these ornaments. They have lost them for good.
Government may not compensate them; and even if they do, it will be
from our money. The poor innocent people, who have thus lost their
ornaments, will not perhaps so much as approach the Government to
demand them. Where was the justice of our ferreting out from Rao
Bahadur Bulakhidas’ house all the things therein and making a
bonfire of them? I have been told the Rao Bahadur’s career has been
far from good; that he harasses the people. Granting that this is so,
may we, therefore, burn the property of such officers? If people were
thus to take the law into their own hands, there would be an end of
peace and public safety and a perpetual reign of terror would prevail.
If any and every person, aggrieved by an officer’s conduct were to be
regarded as within his rights to violate the person and property of that
officer, no officer would be safe. A country, where such a state of
affairs prevails, is not considered to be civilized, and the people there
live in constant fear. Consider the hideous barbarity of burning alive
the Aval Karkun of Viramgam. What offense had he committed ? Or,
if he had committed any, why had we not the courage to obtain his
dismissal? Sergeant Fraser, an innocent Englishman who had sought
refuge in an Indian house, was marched out of the house and hacked
to pieces. What can India gain out of such a piece of brutality? One
direct result we have already had, and that is, the bitterness of feeling
between the English and ourselves has been augmented, and several
innocent lives have been lost. The only result to obtain rights through
association and co-operation with such hooligans can be that if such
attempts succeed, the rights so obtained could be enjoyed only on
conditions imposed by the hooligans. Rights so obtained are not
rights at all, they are rather the signs of our enslavement. The events
of Ahmedabad and Viramgam are no indication of our heroism; they
do not in any way prove our manliness; they have simply disgraced
us; our movement has received a set-back; satyagraha has had to be
restricted. In giving you this bare picture, my purpose is to show how
thousands of people, who disliked such violence, put up with it as
helpless and powerless creatures. It indicates that at this moment, we
do not possess the true force of dharma and truth. It is therefore that I
have said that there is no salvation for India except through
satyagraha. I shall endeavour as best as I can to explain what this
satyagraha is in later leaflets, which I entreat my sisters and brothers to
carefully read and understand and ponder upon and carry out the

suggestions made therein.
M. K. GANDHI
Printed by M. N. Kulkarni at the Karnatak Printing Press, 434, Thakurdwar,
Bombay and published by S. G. Banker, 72, Apollo Street, Fort, Bombay.


ASHRAM,
April 16, 1919
DEAR MR. CHATFIELD,
I thank you for your note. I recognize the force of what you say
in the last paragraph1 of it, and shall give effect to your wish.
M. K. G.

THE ASHRAM,
S ABARMATI ,
April 16, 1919
DEAR MR. CHATFIELD,
I understand that in Shahpur there are some badmashes who

have looted during the tragic events and who were even now worrying
the life out of the peaceful residents in that neighborhood. The latter
have to keep awake during the night for fear of the badmashes
making their depradation. Will it be possible to post a few police
there?
Though the Government, if I understood Mr. Pratt2 rightly,
neither invite my services nor desire it even if rendered uninvited, as I
said to Mr. Pratt, I must continue to render to the State what service I
1
The last paragraph of the note dated 16-4-1919 read: “If anybody has any
complaint to make, as I gather from another note of yours, will you please direct them
to me direct? I am too busy to listen to any but direct complaints, at least in cases
where people are able to make them.”
2
F. G. Pratt, Commissioner, Northern Division, Bombay Presidency
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 435

can according to my lights. In order more fully to popularize the
ideas set forth in my speech to the meeting, I am having it read to
small parties of men and women in poles and inviting remarks from
the people if they wish to make them.
Yours sincerely,
397. LETTER TO F. G. PRATT

THE ASHRAM,
S ABARMATI ,
April 16, 1919
DEAR MR. PRATT,
I thank you for your note. My movements at the present
moment are that I leave Ahmedabad for Bombay tomorrow in
connection with the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan meetings that are to be
held on the 19th, 20th and 21st. instant. I hope to return on the 22nd,
at the outside on the 23rd. If I return on the 23rd, it is my intention to
halt at Nadiad for about 2 hours. After my return, I want to continue
organizing work in Ahmedabad along the lines I have informed Mr.
Chatfield of. I am anxious that the people should become saturated
with the absolutely peaceful nature of satyagraha before I commence
what might be termed the “offensive”. If you have any wish to
express in connection with my programme, I do hope you will not
hesitate to let me know, even confidentially if necessary, and I need
hardly say that I shall endeavour to carry it out so far as possible.
Even though the Government may not desire my co-operation, as a
satyagrahi it will be my duty to do acts of co-operation and assist in
restoring order and removing lust for violence.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. G.

[April 17, 1919] 2
C HARACTERISTICS OF MAHATMA GANDHI’S WRITINGS
There are two poems published and being distributed entitled

“Mahatma Gandhino Satyagraha” and “Mahatma Gandhina
Udgar.” They bear the signature of Labhshanker Harjiwandas
Dihorkar. The ideas expressed in these verses are not mine. Some of
them are poisonous, calculated to promote ill will and excite passions.
They are, therefore, opposed to satyagraha. I therefore advise all
brothers and sisters not to accept anything as written by me unless it is
signed by me. The present times are so critical that one cannot be too
cautious about anything lest one might be led astray.
My writings cannot be poisonous, they must be free from anger,
for it is my special religious conviction that we cannot truly attain our
goal by promoting ill will against the .rulers or anyone else. There can
be no room for untruth in my writings, because it is my unshakable
belief that there is no religion other than truth and because I am
capable of rejecting aught obtained at the cost of truth. My writings
cannot but be free from hatred towards any individual because it is
my firm belief that it is love that sustains the earth. There only is life
where there is love. Life without love is death. Love is the reverse of
the coin of which the obverse is truth. It is my firm faith and it is my
experience of forty years that we can conquer the world by truth and
love. I believe that we can remedy the mistakes of our rulers by means
of truth and love and my writings can therefore have no incitement to
violence to person or property. It is obviously not possible for me to
read everything that is written or printed in, my name and I would
therefore ask everyone to apply the above mentioned test to all that
purports to be published in my name and I further wish and pray that
everyone should reject anything that has the slightest trace of untruth,
disaffection, hatred, violence and the like. I do not know the author of
the poems mentioned above, but should he see this leaflet I advise him
that it is necessary for him before attributing any words or statements
to anyone to show them to him and obtain his permission to publish
1
The original has “Satyagraha Series”.
2
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 437

them as his. This is the least that prudence and self-restraint demand.
M. K. GANDHI

399. LETTER TO SWAMI SHRADDHANAND

THE ASHRAM,
S ABARMATI ,
April 17, 1919
DEAR SHRADDHANANDJI,
I write this in English as Mr. Shuaib desires that I should do so
for the sake of the company before which it is to be read. The
questions1 to which I am required to reply may be before you. I shall,
therefore, only refer to the numbers.
To question No. 1, my answer is—non-satyagrahis who join
satyagraha demonstrations must for the occasion subscribe to the rules
of satyagraha. They are, therefore, bound to refrain from retaliation
under the gravest provocation. For the occasion in which non-
satyagrahis participate, there can be no distinction between satyagrahis
and non-satyagrahis. Non-satyagrahis can only join if they give an
undertaking that, for the particular occasion on which we seek their
association, they will subscribe to our doctrine. I, therefore, hold that
we are just as responsible for the action of non-satyagrahis when they
act with us as we are for our own. I think it will be evident to you that
without this understanding, satyagraha can easily be smothered by
non-satyagraha. You cannot have a combination of non-compatibles
without an explosion.
My answer to question No. 2 is really to be inferred from the
foregoing. I think we must apply to ourselves the ordinary rule of law
more strictly because we are satyagrahis. That a man is to be
presumed to have intended the consequences that can reasonably be
proved to have followed from his conduct. I think that I at least
1
Based on Satyagraha Leaflet No. 3; vide “Questions on Satyagraha”, Before
17-4-1919.

should have foreseen some of the consequences, specially in
view of the gravest warnings that were given to me by friends whose
advice I have always sought and valued. But I confess that
I am dense. I am not joking. So many friends have told me that
I am incapable of profiting by other people’s experiences and
that in every case I want to go through the fire myself and
learn only after bitter experience. There is exaggeration in
this charge, but there is also a substance of truth in it. This denseness
in me is at once a weakness and a strength. I could not have remained
a satyagrahi had I not cultivated the quality of stubborn resistance and
such resistance can only come from experience and, not from
inference. Pursuit of truth is any day a dangerous occupation. It is
much more so when you are working as we have to work in an
atmosphere surcharged with untruth and all the weakness that follow
from it. You will now understand why I consider that we are
responsible for the happenings in Delhi and Bombay not very serious
from our standpoint, and the very serious and discreditable events in
Ahmedabad and Viramgam. I acquit ourselves of all blame so far as
the happenings in the Punjab outside Delhi are concerned. They
would have taken place without satyagraha, if Drs. Satyapal and
Kitchlew had been arrested on any other occasion. I would, however,
add that the events in the Punjab give us an indication as to our future
course.
My answer to question No. 3 is also involved in the answer to
No. 1. My answers are really inherent in the movement. Satyagraha
means all I have said and nothing less. Without the conditions I have
spoken of, it is impossible to ensure success.
Answer to No. 4: Did you get the full text of my speech? You
will see there the meaning of what I have said as to the possible
abandonment. The movement can never be abandoned in the sense
you have understood it. But our satyagraha may have to take, as it has
already taken in Ahmedabad, such a turn that in popular language it
will mean an abandonment. But we shall never be guilty of suicide—
moral or political—because here we have already begun what you
have advised. We have as yet not even postponed the breaking of all
the laws selected by the committee, but my seeking re-arrest by trying
to enter Delhi has been postponed. We are now giving instruction in
satyagraha in a most active form, of course, openly, both in Bombay
and Ahmedabad, and the workers are hoping that they will be able to
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 439

bring the masses in a disciplined control in a short time. It may be
necessary from what I have heard today to go a step further and
suspend breach of all laws until we are sure of an atmosphere in which
we can work. I hope to issue a statement for publication as soon as I
reach Bombay. That would be tomorrow (Friday). There is one item
of serious news from Bombay. Mr. Jamnadas writes to say that at a
meeting of Mahomedan friends which I was to address, but which I
could not as I was suddenly called away to Ahmedabad, he gathered
that the Mahomedan friends conceived satyagraha merely as a weapon
of the weak. They said that immediately they got the opportunity,
they would certainly not refrain from violence. This to my mind is a
dangerous attitude. Talking in terms of politics and not of satyagraha,
it seems to me that no movement of violence can possibly succeed
here so as to restore to Islam what it is entitled to, whereas real
satyagraha, if it permeates the masses, can do so in a day. Such is my
unshakable conviction.
No. 5: I think the question is variously answered in the fore-
going paragraphs.
A letter was posted to you yesterday, giving full replies to the
one received from you yesterday. I may sum up the advice tendered
in that letter. Suspend civil disobedience until, in the opinion of your
committee, the time has arrived for offering it, and work incessantly
amongst the population and by all acts of service inspire them with
faith in satyagraha.
From a photostat: S. N. 6546
400. SPEECH AT PREPARATORY MEETING FOR HINDI

CONFERENCE, BOMBAY1
[Before April 18, 1919]
Consistently with the object of our meeting today, I must speak
in Hindi. On this occasion, however, I deliberately avoid using it
because I want to explain its importance to you and that I shall do in
Gujarati. I think I can explain the reasons better thus. The satyagraha
now going on in India covers the issue of the Hindi language.
1
Ninth Hindi Literary Conference; Gandhiji was in the chair but owing to his
indifferent health the speech was read out on his behalf from a prepared text. The
report purports to reproduce only its more important portions.

Satyagraha is essentially a fight for truth and, if we have regard for
truth, we shall have to admit that Hindi is the only language we can
use as a national language. There is no other regional language with
equal claims.
We should pause and think what Hindi means. I don’t think the
Sanskritized language they use is Hindi; it is an artificial product. Nor
is Persianized Urdu Hindi. The language we want to adopt as our
national language is a mixture of Hindi and Urdu. It is the language
spoken, by and large, in Bihar, Delhi and the Punjab. The two
languages came to be treated as rivals of each other when the idea
spread that Hindus and Muslims were not one people and there
developed ill will between the two. Some would regard that alone as
Hindi which was full of Sanskrit words, and the Muslims would accept
that alone as Urdu which used Persian and Arabic words. But the
language spoken by the average Hindu or Muslim is not of this kind.
Wherever we go and hear Hindus and Muslims speak, we find them,
whether Hindus or Muslims, using Sanskrit, Persian and Arabic words,
not going out of their way to avoid any. When we have accepted this
mixed language, we, Hindus and Muslims, shall have been cleansed in
our hearts. This language I speak of is understood by Muslims
everywhere in North and South India, though they also know the
regional language. Look at the map again and [you will find that],
except for a small part, Madras, the Hindus in the rest of India also
understand it. If we go further and think of the various regions
separately, Hindi is spoken in all the provinces except Maharashtra,
Gujarat, Bengal and Sind. Even in these other provinces, including
Gujarat, maulvis1 and Hindu preachers have spread both the
languages. You will hardly find anyone not familiar with the Tulsi
Ramayana. You may call the languages Hindi and Urdu, if you like;
both have the same grammar. If there is any language in India which
can become its national language, it is Hindi-Urdu. No one should
conclude from this that he may neglect his own, the regional
language. For national purposes, we should select a language which
can be used in all provinces. And so our educated classes at any rate
should pick up the Hindi-Urdu mixture which I have recommended. I
am aware, in all humility, that some eminent men of learning in this
country believe that in English we have the language we need. No
language in the position of English is known to have become a
1
Muslim preachers
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 441

national language, for it has no affinity with any of the Indian
languages. A national language must be easy for everyone to learn.
Were it not that we are a subject people, we would readily admit the
need for such a common language. Even as it is, despite the millions
of rupees spent in teaching English, only a handful of people succeed
in learning it and, from among these, those who acquire a command
over it are fewer still.
The effort we have to make in learning this language is, I
believe, a drain on our intellectual powers.
The issue has an intimate bearing on the progress of India. A
nation which has despised its own language pays for doing so with the
loss of its nationhood. Most of us are in this plight. India is the one
country in the world in which parents would rather not speak to their
children in their own language....1 I bear English no grudge. I even
feel that, for certain purposes, some of us will have to learn English.
One should learn it and be an interpreter to the rest. I admit that such
people should know English well enough. However, we should have
Hindi as the national language to serve other purposes, for use in
courts and the central legislature. The nation will stand to suffer by
the use of any other language for such purposes. All our labour [in
other spheres] will be in vain till we recognize this truth. Hence I said
last year2 that it would have been better if the Hindi Conference had
been held in Bombay. We see that this has been done. The Conference
is to be held on the 18th, l9th and 20th. 3 The presidentship of the
Conference has been accepted by Pandit Malaviya and you should,
therefore, help the Conference.4 The secretaries have said that it will
cost Rs. 10,000. By contributing something towards this cost, you will
have helped the Conference. This is help of inferior kind. The best
help will be for those who are present here to pick up this language
soon. This can be done if you spend one hour every night, with a
teacher to help you. I shall not take more time. I hope you will think
1
The Gujarati report is defective at this point. The Hindi report of the speech
here has: “. . . would write to their children in English, rather than in their own
language”.
2
Probably at the 8th session of the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan at Indore on 29-
3-1918, over which Gandhiji presided.
3
The Hindi report says: “. . . on the l9th, the 20th and the 21st.”
4
The Hindi report adds: “Shri Swami Shankaracharya of Karavir Peeth has been
kind enough to accept the chairmanship of the Reception Committee.”

over my views, and, if you find them right, act upon them. We often
find among us, and elsewhere, too, that we hear and approve but do
not follow up with action. It is to our benefit to act upon anything
which has appealed to us. We ensure our progress by doing so.
[From Gujarati]
Gujarati, 20-4-1919
401. TELEGRAM TO G. A. NATESAN1

BOMBAY,
April 18, 1919
DECIDED SUSPEND CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE TEMPORARILY
OWING CRITICAL SITUATION THAT HAS DEVELOPED
REALLY OPERATIVE PART MOVEMENT NAMELY PREACH-
ING PRACTICE OF TRUTH NON-VIOLENCE CONTINUES
YOU WILL BE GLAD READ MY PRESS STATEMENT.
GANDHI
402. PRESS STATEMENT ON SUSPENSION OF CIVIL

DISOBEDIENCE2
BOMBAY,
April 18, 1919
It is not without sorrow that I feel compelled to advise the
temporary suspension of civil disobedience. I give this advice not
because I have less faith now in its efficacy, but because I have, if
possible, greater faith than before. It is my perception of the law of
satyagraha which impels me to suggest the suspension. I am sorry,
when I embarked upon a mass movement, I underrated the forces of
evil and I must now pause and consider how best to meet the situation.
But whilst doing so, I wish to say that from a careful examination of
1
In reply to Natesan’s telegram of 14th April, urging suspension of civil
disobedience because of breaking out of riots. A copy of this reply telegram was also
sent to C. Rajagopalachari, who was secretary, Satyagraha Sabha, Madras; vide The
Hindu, 19-4-1919.
2
Gandhiji addressed this as a letter to the secretaries of the Satyagraha Sabha,
Bombay, and released it to the Press, vide the preceding item.
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 443

the tragedy at Ahmedabad and Viramgam, I am convinced that
satyagraha had nothing to do with the violence of the mob and that
many swarmed round the banner of mischief raised by the mob,
largely because of their affection for Anasuyabai and myself. Had the
Government in an unwise manner not prevented me from entering
Delhi and so compelled me to disobey their order, I feel certain that
Ahmedabad and Viramgam would have remained free from the
horrors of the past week. In other words, satyagraha has neither been
the cause nor the occasion of the upheaval. If anything, the presence
of satyagraha has acted as a check even so slight upon the previously
existing lawless elements. As regards events in the Punjab, it is
admitted that they are unconnected with the satyagraha movement.
S OUTH AFRICAN P ARALLEL
In the course of the satyagraha struggle in South Africa, several

thousands of indentured Indians had struck work. This was a
satyagraha strike and therefore entirely peaceful and voluntary. Whilst
the strike was going on, a strike of European miners, railway
employees, etc., was declared. Overtures were made to me to make
common cause with the European strikers. As a satyagrahi, I did not
require a moment’s consideration to decline to do so. I went further
and for fear of our strike being classed with the strike of Europeans in
which methods of violence and use of arms found a prominent place,
ours was suspended and satyagraha from that moment came to be
recognized by the Europeans of South Africa as an honourable and
honest movement—in the words of General Smuts, a constitutional
movement. I can do no less at the present critical moment. I would be
untrue to satyagraha, if I allowed it by any action of mine to be used
as an occasion for feeding violence for embittering relations between
the English and the Indians. Our satyagraha must therefore now
consist in ceaselessly helping the authorities in all the ways available to
us as satyagrahis to restore order and to curb lawlessness. We can turn
the tragedies going on before us to good account if we could but
succeed in gaining the adherence of the masses to the fundamental
principles of satyagraha. Satyagraha is like a banyan tree with
innumerable branches. Civil disobedience is one such branch, satya
(truth) and ahimsa (non-violence) together make the parent trunk
from which all innumerable branches shoot out. We have found by
bitter experience that whilst in an atmosphere of lawlessness, civil
disobedience found ready acceptance. Satya and ahimsa, from which

alone civil disobedience can worthily spring, have commanded little or
no respect. Ours then is a Herculean task, but we may not shirk it. We
must fearlessly spread the doctrine of satya and ahimsa and then, and
not till then, shall we be able to undertake mass satyagraha.
R OWLATT LAWS
My attitude towards the Rowlatt legislation remains unchanged.
Indeed, I do feel that the Rowlatt legislation is one of the many causes
of the present unrest. But in a surcharged atmosphere, I must refrain
from examining these causes. The main and only purpose of this
letter is to advise all satyagrahis to temporarily suspend civil
disobedience, to give Government effective co-operation in restoring
order and by preaching and practice to gain adherence to the
fundamental principles mentioned above.
403. SPEECH AT HINDI SAHITYA SAMMELAN, BOMBAY

April 19, 1919
I propose Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya as president of this
Sammelan. Who in India today does not know Malaviyaji? He is a
great leader of India. He has rendered great service to his country. In
the service of the national language also he is in the forefront. I feel
that there is no one who has that power of service which he
commands. This is the first session of the Sammelan outside North
India. The task of presiding at this session should be entrusted to
Malaviyaji. This will guarantee the success of our work.
[From Hindi]
Ninth Hindi Sahitya Sammelan Report, Part I
404. SPEECH AT HINDI SAHITYA SAMMELAN, BOMBAY

April 20, 1919
The activities of the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan are many and
varied. The chief one consists in disseminating literature, conducting
examinations in Hindi literature, awarding degrees and spreading
Hindi in North India and outside it. All this work requires money. In
the last session at Indore a sum of nearly Rs. 30,000 was collected. I
hope Bombay too will take part in this great effort. There are many
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 445

very rich men in Bombay. I hope our brethren in Bombay will join in
this national effort.
[From Hindi]
Ninth Hindi Sahitya Sammelan Report, Part I
405. TELEGRAM TO PRIVATE SECRETARY

TO VICEROY
BOMBAY,
April 21, 1919
JUST READ ASSOCIATED PRESS WIRE DATED 19TH
SAYING PERSONS ARRESTED FOR DISOBEYING ORDERS
ISSUED UNDER MARTIAL LAW ARE BEING WHIPPED
IN PUBLIC STREETS. UNDERSTAND ORDERS HAVE
REFERENCE TO OPENING SHOPS. IF PRESS WIRE
CORRECT, RESPECTFULLY SUBMIT THAT SUCH WHIP-
PING WOULD ROUSE GRAVEST INDIGNATION. HOPE
THERE IS SOME EXPLANATION THAT WOULD REMOVE
ALL CAUSE FOR ANXIETY AND IN ANY CAUSE I
WOULD LIKE TO BE ASSURED THAT NO AUTHO-
RITY HAS BEEN GIVEN TO GENERAL OFFICER
COMMANDING, MARTIAL LAW OPERATIONS, TO WHIP
PEOPLE PUBLICLY OR PRIVATELY FOR OFFENCE
DESCRIBED ABOVE.
N.A.I.: Home: Political (Deposit): May—1919: No. 4

April 21, 1919
DEAR MR. CHATFIELD,
A friend has just drawn my attention to the fact that the mill-
hands will be doubly hit by the levy. They have already been made to
pay from their wages. Now, as I understand, they will be made to pay
through the water rate. For every little tenement is liable to pay if the
occupant draws more than Rs. 7 per month. Thus, almost all the mill-
hands will have to contribute to the levy twice over. Probably you
have not considered this point. You have the power of exemption.
Could you not exempt the mill-hands from the double levy if the view
submitted by me is correct?
Yours sincerely,

407. LETTER TO GILLESPI
THE ASHRAM,
April 22, 1919
DEAR MR. GILLESPI1 ,
I arrived here yesterday and received your kind letter. You will
see that I anticipated the advice given by you. I take it you have read
the manifesto declaring temporary suspension of civil disobedience. I
shall esteem your advice and criticism, whenever you may find it to be
necessary. I do not know whether you have read the two articles I have
written on swadeshi. Some of us wish to take the final step and I would
certainly like English friends to associate with the movement and
encourage it. In my opinion, no country can live honourably without
swadeshi.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. G.

THE ASHRAM,
April 24, 1919
DEAR MR. CHATFIELD,
I have just discovered my failure to pass on definite instructions

as to sending the leaflets2 published after my speech of the 14th. I
send you copies herewith for your perusal.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. G.
From a photostat: S. N. 6563
1
Of Ahmedabad
2
Nos. 4 & 5
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 447

409. LETTER TO F. G. PRATT
[SABARMATI ,
April 24, 1919] 1
DEAR MR. PRATT,
Through some bungling on my part, I see that copies of the last
three leaflets were not delivered to you. I know you will excuse me for
the unintentional omission. Probably you have already seen them. I
send you a few copies herewith of each of the leaflets. I am going to
Bombay today hoping to return on Monday. I stop at Nadiad for a
few hours on my way to Bombay.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI

[April 25, 1919] 3
S ATYAGRAHA : I TS S IGNIFICANCE
In the first leaflet4 , I hinted that I would consider the meaning of
satyagraha in a later number of this series. I feel that the time has now
arrived to examine the meaning of satyagraha. The word was newly
coined some years ago, but the principle which it denotes is as ancient
as time. This is the literal meaning of satyagraha—insistence on truth,
and force derivable from such insistence. In the present movement, we
are making use of satyagraha as a force: that is to say, in order to cure
the evil in the shape of the Rowlatt legislation, we have been making
use of the force generated by satyagraha, that is, insistence on truth.
One of the axioms of religion is, there is no religion other than truth.
Another is, religion is love. And as there can be only one religion, it
follows that truth is love and love is truth. We shall find too, on further
reflection, that conduct based on truth is impossible without love.
1
The similarity of the contents of this letter and of “Letter to G. E. Chatfield”,
24-4-1919 suggests that both were written on the same day.
2
The original has: “Satyagraha Leaflet Series”.
3
According to The Indian Review, the date of issue of this leaflet is April 25.
4
Vide Leaflet No. 4.

Truth-force then is love-force. We cannot remedy evil by harbouring
ill will against the evil-doer. This is not difficult of comprehension. It
is easy enough to understand. In thousands of our acts, the propelling
power is truth or love. The relations between father and son, husband
and wife, indeed our family relations are largely guided by truth or
love. And we therefore consciously or unconsciously apply
satyagraha in regulating these relations.
If we were to cast a retrospective glance over our past life, we
would find that out of a thousand of our acts affecting our families, in
nine hundred and ninety-nine we were dominated by truth, that in our
deeds, it is not right to say we generally resort to untruth or ill will. It
is only where a conflict of interests arises, then arise the progeny of
untruth, viz., anger, ill will, etc., and then we see nothing but poison in
our midst. A little hard thinking will show us that the standard that we
apply to the regulation of domestic relations is the standard that
should be applied to regulate the relations between rulers and the
ruled, and between man and man. Those men and women who do not
recognize the domestic tie are considered to be very like brutes or
barbarous, even though they in form have the human body. They
have never known the law of satyagraha. Those who recognize the
domestic tie and its obligations have to a certain extent gone beyond
that brute stage. But if challenged, they would say “what do we care
though the whole universe may perish so long as we guard the family
interest?” The measure of their satyagraha, therefore, is less than that
of a drop in the ocean.
When men and women have gone a stage further, they would
extend the law of love, i.e., satyagraha, from the family to the village.
A still further stage away from the brute life is reached when the law
of satyagraha is applied to provincial life, and the people inhabiting a
province regulate their relations by love rather than by hatred. And
when as in Hindustan we recognize the law of satyagraha as a binding
force even between province and province and the millions of
Hindustan treat one another as brothers and sisters, we have advanced
a stage further still from the brute nature.
In modern times, in no part of the earth have the people gone
beyond the nation stage in the application of satyagraha. In reality,
however, there need be no reason for the clashing of interest between
nation and nation, thus arresting the operation of the great law. If we
were not in the habit generally of giving no thought to our
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 449

daily conduct, if we did not accept local custom and habit as matters
of course, as we accept the current coin, we would immediately
perceive that to the extent that we bear ill will towards other nations or
show disregard at all for life, to that extent we disregard the law of
satyagraha or love, and to that extent we are still not free from the
brute nature. But there is no religion apart from that which enables us
entirely to rid ourselves of the brute nature. All religious sects and
divisions, all churches and temples, are useful only so long as they
serve as a means towards enabling us to recognize the universality of
satyagraha. In India we have been trained from ages past in this
teaching and hence it is that we are taught to consider the whole
universe as one family. I do wish to submit as a matter of experience
that it is not only possible to live the full national life, by rendering
obedience to the law of satyagraha, but that the fullness of national
life is impossible without satyagraha, i.e., without a life of true
religion. That nation which wars against another has to an extent
disregarded the great law of life. I shall never abandon the faith I have
that India is capable of delivering this truth to the whole world, and I
wish that all Indians, men and women, whether they are Hindus or
Mahomedans, Parsis, Christians or Jews will share with me this
unquenchable faith.
M. K. GANDHI
Bombay, and published by S. G. Banker, 72, Apollo Street, Fort, Bombay.
411. SPEECH AT BOMBAY

April 25, 1919
People should do nothing contrary to the spirit of satyagraha.
We have all to take a lesson from the incidents in Ahmedabad. What
was the result of the riots there? About 250 persons were wounded
and more than 50 killed. For this, I do not blame the Government. We
ourselves are to blame. I want you all to learn this lesson. The
satyagraha has not stopped. It has been merely suspended and will be
resumed only when I am sure that people have understood its real
meaning.
[From Gujarati]
Gujarati, 4-5-1919

412. LETTER TO CHANDRASHANKAR PANDYA
April 26, 1919
I was very happy indeed to read your letter, as I was anxious to
know how you were keeping. What is this ailment of yours, from
which you have still not recovered? There is an institution in Agra
giving Kuhne baths. I have heard Pandit Hridayanath Kunzru praise it
very much. Since you are there, you may perhaps benefit if you go in
for a few of these baths.
I am returning your poem for being revised. I see from it your
deep affection for me, but I expect something better from you, specia-
lly as you are ill. Substitute another word for “black” to describe the
law; you may call it “harsh”, if you like. “Black” is suggestive of
anger. One’s language, too, must be worthy of satyagraha. The senti-
ment expressed in “Trusting the British wholly” is out of place in a
description of satyagraha. We did nothing wrong in trusting the
British; our fault lay in having no faith in ourselves. God helps those
alone who help themselves, and so too the British. Can they be better
than God? To bear invisible blows is the satyagrahi’s mantra, though
he does so in order that his suffering may end. In composing a poem
on satyagraha, I would bring in no comparison with the Liberals and
others. I am sending you my latest leaflet. Go through it and, if the
Goddess Saraswati inspires you with verses conveying the boundless
power of truth and nonviolence, as also the difference between civil
disobedience and ignorant, arrogant disobedience, if you can
compose such verses, I should like you to do so.
Going again through your letter, I find that you had feared
there might be satyagraha against your poem too. The fear has
virtually come true. Don’t mind, though. How can the poor satyagrahi
help? My hands do not give me full service, else I would have written
this letter myself. You need be in no hurry to send me another poem.
Write only when your health permits. How much time did it take Keats
to write the immortal line “A thing of beauty is a joy for ever” ?
[From Gujarati]
VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 451

413. SATYAGRAHA LEAFLET NO. 7
[April 26, 1919] 1
With great sorrow and equal pleasure I have to inform you that
the Government have today2 removed Mr. Horniman from Bombay
and he has been placed on board a steamer bound for England. Mr.
Horniman is a very brave and generous English-man. He has given us
the mantra of liberty, he has fearlessly exposed wrong wherever he
has seen it and thus been an ornament to the race to which he belongs,
and rendered it a great service. Every Indian knows his services to
India. I am sorry for the event because a brave satyagrahi has been
deported while I retain my physical liberty. I am glad because Mr.
Horniman has been given the occasion of fulfilling his Pledge.
The publication of the Chronicle will for the time being be
discontinued, because the Directors have wisely decided not to accede
to the improper demands of the Government. In reality, however, the
continuance of the Chronicle without Mr. Horniman would be like an
attempt to sustain a body when the soul has departed.
The condition I have described is truly serious. Satyagraha is on
the anvil. At the same time, this is a fine opportunity for demons-
trating its purity and its invincibility. It will rest with satyagrahis and
other inhabitants of India to take advantage of the opportunity. I can
fully appreciate the deep wound that will be caused to every satya-
grahi by the separation of a dear comrade. The nation will certainly
feel hurt to find that the one who presented it with a daily draught of
liberty is no more in itsmidst. At a time like this satyagrahis and
others will, in my opinion, demonstrate their true affection for Mr.
Horniman only by remaining perfectly calm. It will be sheer thought-
lessness to break the peace. Modern civilization challenges the
ancient. Satyagraha now going on is based upon the teachings of the
ancient civilization and if India accepts satyagraha the superiority of
the ancient civilization will be indicated. The world will see modern
civilization in its nakedness and there is no doubt that its votaries will
retrace their steps.
1
2
The deportation of B. G. Horniman took place on April 26, 1919.

The following are the practical suggestions I venture to place
before you. There should be no stoppage of business anywhere in
Hindustan, there should be no large public meeting of protests, no
processions, no violence of any kind whatsoever and every effort
should be made to stop any tendency thereto. I ask satyagrahis and
the sympathizers not to lose faith in the efficacy of satyagraha and
firmly to believe that the Satyagraha Pledge will be carried in its
entirety.
More later.
M. K. GANDHI
Printed by M. N. Kulkarni, at the Karnatak Printing Press, 434, Thakurdwar,
Bombay. Published by S. G. Banker, 72 Apollo Street, Fort, Bombay.

414. SPEECH AT MEETING OF MARWARIS, BOMBAY1

April 27, 1919
I regret that I could not be punctual in attending this meeting. I
was however engaged in our own work. (Note: He was engaged in an
interview with me)2 . When I received the information which led me to
come to Bombay, I did not know that brother Horniman would be
deported. I have realized that we have not fully grasped the principles
of satyagraha. If we had not known this defect, we would have done
something different about brother Horniman. So I must advise you
that in spite of the separation from a great servant of the public like
brother Horniman we should do nothing which would harm anyone.
We cannot close the shops or suspend business, because that
would mean risk of disturbances. Disturbances are not part of
satyagraha. The foundation of satyagraha is based on truth and non-
violence. He who abides by truth and does not wish to harm anybody
can be called a satyagrahi. You know how we are going to resort to
satyagraha against the Rowlatt Act. We have declared that we will not
submit to the Rowlatt Act and that we will civilly disobey other laws.
That civil disobedience of law can only be practised by one who
1
At Nar Narayan temple, Kalbadevi Road, at 5.30 p.m. The speech was read by
Jamnadas Dwarkadas as Gandhiji was unable to stand up and address the meeting.
2
This seems to be an addition by the police officer.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 453

adheres to truth and non-violence. Without that civil disobedience is
foolish and could not help us to achieve anything for the public good.
The aim of satyagraha at present is to place before the public
the principles of truth and non-violence as far as possible, and when
we are sure that these principles have been grasped, we will again
break the law civilly.1 Every man and woman who takes this vow must
understand that truth and non-violence are to be adhered to in this
struggle. We have to disobey the law civilly as Prahlad did. Like
Prahlad also we must not depart from truth. Without these two things
civil disobedience of law is irreligious. As will be seen from the
manifesto issued by me about Horniman, our struggle is concerned
with modern civilization. The history of the world speaks of the time
spent by the nations in the development of physical force. We have
observed this in Europe.2
I would put it to Hindus and others that they should not sink to
the condition of modern Europe. Yet I have observed that India is
inclined towards that condition. Otherwise we would not have seen the
outrages that we have seen.
I have my duty to point out, without going into the merits or
demerits of these outrages, that through outrages and disturbances
[we] will never achieve any good for India. From the study of other
religions I have learnt that the man who depends on physical force
spreads irreligion, and he who depends on soul-force understands the
true religion. So sisters and brothers bear in mind what has been said
about this movement and help the cause. 3 From this it need not be
supposed that what I have said will take years and years to fulfil. It is
only necessary to understand that we should not take part in
disturbances when the movement progresses.
Bombay Secret Abstracts, 1919, pp. 339-40; also Gujarati, 4-5-1919
1
The Gujarati report of the speech adds here: “For this reason, this leaflet has
placed another pledge before the public, called the sympathizers’ pledge.”
2
According to the Gujarati report: “The history of the world speaks of no
nation which has spent all its time in the development of physical force. We see this
being done only in present-day Europe.”
3
The Gujarati report adds here: “If it were to make a practical suggestion, I
would say that, if you approve of the principles I have placed before you, give as
much of your time as you can for propagating them. If you do, they will be with the
people soon enough.”

BOMBAY,
April 28,2 1919
It is a good omen for satyagraha that Bombay has preserved
peace in spite of the unendurable separation of Mr. Horniman from
us. I hope that it will be preserved whenever our other friends are
arrested and even if I am arrested. The Government are entitled to
arrest those whom they suspect. Moreover in our movement we
consider it the proper thing to be arrested and imprisoned, when
before our conscience we are found guiltless. How can we therefore
be angry when any satyagrahi is arrested? We ought to know that the
sooner innocent men are arrested, the sooner will this struggle end. I
have heard some people say that in satyagraha also the end is achieved
by violence. They argue that when satyagrahis are arrested, people
become excited, resort to violence and thus get their demands acceded
to. I held this to be a dreadful superstition. The reverse is the truth. By
the arrest of satyagrahis, violence ensued in Ahmedabad and we have
experienced the results of that violence. The people there are cowed
down. Gujarat which never had the military in its midst has had an
experience of it. It is my firm conviction that the victory of satyagraha
is attainable only by adherence to truth, avoidance of violence and by
suffering. My experience in South Africa, Champaran, Kaira and
other places fully bears out the truth of my statement. So long as we
do not appreciate this truth, we are in no way fitted for satyagraha.
The question arises:”What then ought we to do? Are we to sit with
folded hands in spite of Mr. Horniman’s deportation?” I reply that
the observance of perfect calm is itself a demonstration of our grief
over the separation, and of our intense activity along satyagraha lines
and by maintaining3 the same calmness of spirit we shall be better able
to reach our goal and to welcome back our friend. When Hindustan
[is] accustomed in the course of this struggle to rely only upon truth
and non-violence, we shall be able to begin civil disobedience. Some
say that it will take years before India recognizes the supremacy of
truth and non-violence and therefore it must take years to bring this
1
The original has “Satyagraha Series Leaflet”.
2
April 27 in Mahadevbhaini Diary.
3
The source has “containing”.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 455

struggle to a successful end. I would content myself with saying that
when once the forces of truth and ahimsa are set in motion, the speed
as they move becomes so accelerated that they take no time in
permeating millions. For what is needful is to produce an impression
of truth and non-violence upon their hearts and to infect them with
faith in the efficacy of these two forces. [If] the satyagrahis are true, it
need not take longer than a month or two to bring about this result.
I venture to tender the following advice in order that as
suggested above truth and non-violence may permeate the masses with
an ever-increasing velocity. Great movements all the world over
depend for their success largely upon the mercantile class. Bombay is
a great emporium of trade in Hindustan, indeed in the world. With
what rapidity would the force of truth move if the merchants of
Bombay were to avoid untruth and all the faults flowing from it even
though introduction of truth in their business may mean smaller
profits or even loss. What greater honour can we pay to Mr. Horniman
than by adopting honesty as our watchword in our mercantile
transactions? The foundation of our success rests in truth and if it
pervades mercantile affairs it will be a plaything to pull down the
other citadels of untruth. Feel convinced that it is not difficult for
those merchants of Bombay who have regard for Mr. Horniman to act
according to the advice tendered by me that if we can impress the
Government with the truth in us and by strictly observing the principle
of non-violence assure them of their harmlessness, it may not be
necessary for us to resume civil disobedience.
M. K. GANDHI

BOMBAY,
April 28, 19192
Friends have been incessantly telling me, a strong feeling
prevails that some way ought to be found to give expression to
1
2
This leaflet was printed on the reverse of Leaflet No. 8.

popular feeling in the matter of Mr. Horniman’s deportation. The
desire is quite natural. But as I have already observed, the fact that we
have preserved peace is itself an eloquent demonstration of our
feelings. It is my special opinion that such preservation of peace is
only possible where satyagraha is going on. I believe that the
authorities have also been amazed at the profound peace prevailing
throughout the city. And no wonder. The Government know that
popular feeling regarding Mr. Horniman runs high. In order that a
demonstration of this feeling may not run in undesirable channels, the
Government have made elaborate military dispositions. But it is highly
creditable to Bombay that the military have had to remain idle. It is a
worthy achievement for satyagraha. I have no doubt that if people
could thus restrain themselves on all occasions, the nation would
occupy a much higher status. No one need assume that we have not
been taking or that we shall no longer take measures for getting Mr.
Horniman back in our midst. Of all measures, the present calmness is
the greatest. Yet I suggest that those who are keen on suspension of
business may devote a day’s profits to some public activity. But the
chief thing I am desirous of in this leaflet is the following: The
agitation hitherto adopted in this country is as different from
satyagraha as the North Pole is from the South. An appreciation of
this fact will of itself remove many of our perplexities. We have seen
that there is a difference between satyagraha meetings and others.
Satyagraha is based upon religion. In it only truth, calmness, serenity,
patience, fearlessness, etc., should alone be seen. A satyagraha strike
must differ from the others. I have already quoted an occasion when a
satyagraha strike had to be suspended when a different strike was
declared. What we expect to attain by acclamations in ordinary
movements, we often gain by silence in satyagraha. The human voice
can never reach the distance that is covered by the still small voice of
conscience. lnstances to show the unique character of satyagraha can
easily be multiplied and we ought not to be surprised to see things not
going in the orthodox fashion And I therefore beseech all not to be
agitated because they see no outward demonstration over Mr.
Horniman’s deportation. I ask them to be patient and to have full
faith that by going along the path of satyagraha, we shall meet our
brother all the sooner for it.
M. K. GANDHI
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 457

417. TELEGRAM TO PUNDALIK
BOMBAY,
April 28, 1919
TO
P UNDALIK
C/ O GORAKHPRASAD
MOTIHARI
ACT AND SPEAK ABSOLUTELY PEACEFULLY WITHOUT
FLINCHING FROM TRUTH.
GANDHI
418. LETTER TO”THE TIMES OF INDIA”

BOMBAY,
April 28, 1919
TO
THE EDITOR
THE TIMES OF INDIA
SIR,
With reference to my address to the meeting held at Ahmeda-
bad on Monday, the 14th instant, I observe that my remarks therein
about the organized manner of violence have been misunderstood and
have been applied to the deeds of violence committed elsewhere. My
reference, however, was only to the violence of Ahmedabad. This is
the language of the translation of the original address which was in
Gujarati.
It seems that the deeds I have complained of (i.e., deeds of
violence in Ahmedabad) have been done in an organized
manner. There seems to be a definite design about them and I
am sure that there must be some educated and clever men
behind them.
My statement is too definite to apply to violence in any other
part of India. I simply could not refer to other parts as I had then, and
in fact even now, no knowledge about them save what one can gather
from newspaper scraps. Indeed my remarks did not extend even to
Viramgam as I then knew so little about its violence.
M. K. GANDHI
The Times of India, 30-4-1919

BOMBAY,
April 29, 1919
DEAR MR. CRERAR1 ,
It is perhaps due to Government and to my co-workers in the
city that I should place before H. E. the very difficult situation that
has arisen out of Mr. Horniman’s deportation and the suspension of
the publication of The Bombay Chronicle by reason of the censorship
orders. In my humble opinion, Mr. Horniman’s deportation is totally
unjustifiable and the censorship orders quite unnecessary after his
deportation. Fuel has been added to the fire by the order of forfeiture
of security. And all this when civil disobedience has been totally
suspended ! Herculean efforts are being made by satyagrahis to help
in every way they can to restore peace. I might be permitted to say
that but for the incessant labours of the satyagrahis, excited demons-
trations would certainly have taken place in spite of the military
precaution. Complaints ever increasing in volume have been hourly
coming to me against my advice not to have any demonstrations
regarding the deportation. I do not know that the Satyagraha Sabha
will be able altogether to prevent some demonstration. I would there-
fore respectfully suggest that a statement may be made reassuring the
public that the deportation orders will be withdrawn at an early date
and that censorship and forfeiture orders may be altogether recalled. I
understand that the government are about to effect further arrests in
Bombay of noted satyagrahis. I hope that my information is not true.
From a public standpoint, any further arrests during the suspension of
civil disobedience will be a calamity. I believe that all my efforts to
restrain the pent-up fury of the people will be vain, nor shall I be able
to hold myself or the movement responsible (morally or otherwise)
for any untoward results that may follow any such arrest.
Mrs. Naidu has received a communication from Sind informing
her of the state of things there. The arrests that have been made in
Karachi seem to have produced a profound impression on the public
mind there.
In the interests of peace, I plead for forbearance during
suspension of civil disobedience.
Yours sincerely,
1
Secretary to the Government of Bombay, Judicial Department
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 459

BOMBAY,
April 30, 1919
SISTERS AND BROTHERS,
I have two letters from Mr. Horniman which I expect you must
all be anxious to read. The one addressed to me reads:
MY DEAR MAHATMAJI,
They are taking me away at last. I have been rushed off without notice. This
is only to say au revoir and to ask your blessings. God speed you in your work
for the Indian people.
I shall do what I can wherever I am.
Ever yours affectionately,
B. G. H ORNIMAN
That to Mr. Jamnadas is as follows:
MY DEAR JAMNADAS,
I hope whatever happens, Bombay will remain quiet.
I don’t know whether this letter will reach you, but if it does, give my love to
everybody. In the meanwhile, I shall work for India wherever I may be.
Ever yours,
B. G. H ORNIMAN
Both these letters were written by him from s.s. Takada. Further
news is that his health is all right, that he is being well looked after and
that the officers have treated him with all courtesy. The order of
deportation means that Mr. Horniman will be absolutely free on
reaching England, that there will no restrictions whatsoever on his
liberty, and as he is resolved to work for India, wherever he is, it is
likely that he will render great service to India while in England. This,
however, is but a poor consolation for the people. They would be
satisfied only if the order of deportation is withdrawn, and we cannot
sit still till we find him back in our midst. We know how we can get
him back in our midst. The first and the foremost thing is to observe
self-restraint and to learn to keep peace. If we break the peace, we
1

shall only be delaying Mr Horniman’s return and paining him.
M. K. GANDHI
421. LETTER TO SIR STANLEY REED

LABURNUM R OAD ,
BOMBAY ,
April 30, 1919
DEAR SIR STANLEY REED,
I enclose herewith form of the swadeshi pledge. I am anxious, if
I can, to secure English supporters. I am the more so at the present
moment in order to emphasize in a concrete manner the fact that
swadeshi is being taken up not in any spirit of antagonism or
retaliation, but that it is being taken up as a matter of necessity for the
well-being of India. I would be delighted if you could see your way to
sign the pledge, and if you approve of it, I would like you to secure
further English signatures.1
M. K. G.
422. LETTER TO N. P. COWIE

LABURNUM ROAD ,
GAMDEVI,
BOMBAY,
April 30, 1919
2
DEAR MR. COWIE ,
I beg to enclose herewith for His Excellency’s perusal form of

the swadeshi pledge which is now ready for issuing. I would esteem it
as an event of great significance if His Excellency could see his way to
sign the pledge unless his official position precludes him from doing
1
For Reed’s reply, vide Appendix “Sir Stanley Reed’s Letter to Gandhiji”, 2-5-
1919.
2
Private Secretary to the Governor of Bombay
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 461

so. His Excellency’s endorsement of swadeshi would at once
emphasize the fact that the swadeshi vow is not being taken up in any
spirit of hostility, but that it is a long-deferred recognition of an
economic necessity.
Yours sincerely,
423. LETTER TO SIND SATYAGRAHIS

BOMBAY,
April 30, 1919
DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
I have heard and read about what is going on in Sind. I see that
some arrests have been made. If the arrests have been made by reason
of satyagraha, nothing can be better or more welcome for satyagrahis
than such arrests and satyagrahis so arrested will, if convicted,
cheerfully go to prison and those who remain behind will share in
their sufferings by observing perfect peace and calmness. If they are
arrested for doing anything in violation of satyagraha, i.e., for breach
of laws which have also moral sanction, and are proved guilty of them
by an impartial tribunal, they will deserve the punishment that may be
awarded against them. In either event, therefore, we can have no cause
for complaint. I understand, however, that many people are excited
over these arrests. To these, I would say that they have not understood
the law of satyagraha. We want to employ only truth in all that we say
and do. We undertake to refrain from injury to any person or
property while acting in accordance with the principles of truth and
non-violence. If we find ourselves in trouble those who associate with
us have little reason to complain or grumble. The essence of
satyagraha is that we never resort to any violence even though there
may be great provocation. The struggle is lost the moment we do any
violence whatsoever. I, therefore, hope that no matter what prose-
cutions take place, all will remain quiet and calm.

424. LETTER TO KER
[April, 1919] 1
DEAR MR. KER2 ,
I had hoped to be able to be in Nadiad on Monday, but the

critical situation here has detained me in Bombay. Some of the friends
from Nadiad have been here and they tell me that those who were
involved in the cutting of telegraph wires are ready to make a full
confession but they want me to be in Nadiad at the time they do so. I
do not know when I shall be free to go over there. I hope, however,
that there will be no difficulty about complying with the wishes of the
people concerned.
1
From the circumstances referred to in the letter, it appears to have been
written in April, 1919.
2
Collector of Kaira
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 463

APPENDICES
APPENDIX I
RAB INDRA NATH TAGO RE’S LETTE R TO G ANDHI JI

SHANTI NIKETAN ,
April 12, 1919
DEAR MAHATMAJI,
Power in all its forms is irrational,—it is like the horse that drags the carriage
blindfolded. The moral element in it is only represented in the man who drives the
horse. Passive resistance is a force which is not necessarily moral in itself; it can be
used against truth as well as for it. the danger inherent in all force grows stronger
when it is likely to gain success, for then it becomes temptation.
I know your teaching is to fight against evil by the help of the good. But such
a fight is for heroes and not for men led by impulses of the moment. Evil on one side
naturally begets evil on the other, injustice leading to violence and insult to
vengefulness. Unfortunately such a force has already been started, and either through
panic or through wrath our authorities have shown us the claws whose sure effect is to
drive some of us into the secret path of resentment and others into utter
demoralization. In this crisis you, as a great leader of men, have stood among us to
proclaim your faith in the ideal which you know to be that of India, the ideal which is
both against the cowardliness of hidden revenge and the cowed submissiveness of the
terror-stricken. You have said, as Lord Buddha has done in his time and for all time to
come,—
Akkodhena jine kodham, asadhum sadhuna jine,—” Conquer anger by the
power of non-anger and evil by the power of good”.
This power of good must prove its truth and strength by its fearlessness, by its
refusal to accept any imposition which depends for its success upon its power to
produce frightfulness and is not ashamed to use its machines of destruction to
terrorize a population completely disarmed. We must know that moral conquest does
not consist in success, that failure does not deprive it of its dignity and worth. Those.
who believe in spiritual life know that to stand against wrong which has
overwhelming material power behind it is victory itself,—it is the victory of the
active faith in the ideal in the teeth of evident defeat.
I have always felt, and said accordingly, that the great gift of freedom can
never come to a people through charity. We must win it before we can own it. And
India’s opportunity for winning it will come to her when she can prove that she is

morally superior to the people who rule her by their right of conquest. She must
willingly accept her penance of suffering—the suffering which is the crown of the
great. Armed with her utter faith in goodness she must stand unabashed before the
arrogance that scoffs at the power of spirit.
And you have come to your motherland in the time of her need to remind her of
her mission to lead her in the true path of conquest, to purge her present day politics
of its feebleness which imagines that it has gained its purpose when it struts in the
borrowed feathers of diplomatic dishonesty.
This is why I pray most fervently that nothing that tends to weaken our
spiritual freedom may intrude into your marching line, that martyrdom for the cause of
truth may never degenerate into/fanaticism for mere verbal forms descending into the
self-deception that hides itself behind sacred names.
With these few words for an introduction allow me to offer the following as a
poet’s contribution to your noble work:
I
Let me hold my head high in this faith that thou art our shelter, that all fear is
mean distrust of these.
Fear of man ? But what man is there in this world, what king, King of kings,
who is thy rival, who has hold of me for all time and in all time and in all truth?
What power is there in this world to rob me of my freedom ? For do not thy
arms reach the captive through the dungeon-walls, bringing unfettered release to the
soul?
And must I cling to this body in fear of death, as a miser to his barren treasure?
Has not this spirit of mine the eternal call to thy feast of everlasting life?
Let me know that all pain and death are shadows of the moment; that the dark
force which sweeps between me and thy truth is but the mist before the sunrise; that
thou alone art mine for ever and greater than all pride of strength that dares to mock
my manhood with its menace.
II
Give me the supreme courage of love, this is my prayer,—the courage to spare,
to do, to suffer at thy will, to leave all thing or be by alone.
Give me the supreme faith of love, this is my prayer,—the faith of the life in
death, of the victory in defeat, of the power hidden in the frailness of beauty, of the
dignity of pain that accepts hurt, but disdains to return it.
Very sincerely yours,
R ABINDRANATH TAGORE
From a photos tat: G.N. 4583
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 465

APPENDIX II
SATYAGR AHA LE AFLET N0 . 1

March 1919
EXTR ACTS FROM THE DUTY OF CIVI L DISO BEDIE NCE BY HENR Y THOR EAU
(SCHO OLMAS TER OF MASS ACHUS ETTS) DATE D 184 9
I heartily the motto: “That government is best which governs least”; and I
should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally
amounts to this, which also I believe: “That government is best which governs not at
all”; and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they
will have. Government is at best but an expedient but most governments are Dually,
and all governments are sometimes, in-expedient. The objections which have been
brought against a standing army, and they are many and weighty and deserve to
prevail, may also at last be brought against a standing government. The standing
army is only an arm of the standing government. The government itself, which is
only the mode which the people have chosen to execute their will, is equally liable to
be abused and perverted . . . .
Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree. resign his
conscience to the legislator ? Why has every man a conscience, then ? I think that we
should be men first and subject afterwards. It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for
the law, so much as for the right. The only obligation which I have a right to assume
is to do at any time what I think right. It is truly enough said that a corporation has
no conscience; but a corporation of coinscientious men is a corporation with a
conscience. Law never made men a whit more just; and, by means of their respect for
it, even the well-disposed are daily made the agents of injustice. A common and
natural result of an undue respect for law is that you may see a file of soldiers: colonel,
captain, corporal, privates, powder-monkeys, and all, marching in admirable order
over hill and dale to the wars, against their wills, aye, against their common sense
and consciences, which make it very steep marching indeed, and produces a
palpitation of the heart. They have no doubt that it is a damnable business in which
they are concerned; they are all peaceably inclined. Now, what are they? Men at all ?
or small movable forts ammagazing, at the service of some unscrupulous man in
power? . . .
The mass of men serve the State thus, not as men mainly but as machines,
with their bodies.
They are the standing army, and the militia, gaolers, constables, posse
comitatus, etc. In most cases there is no free exercise whatever of the judgment or of
the moral sense: but they put themselves on a level with wood and earth and stones;
and wooden men can perhaps be manufactured that will serve the purpose as well. Such

command no more respect than men of straw or a lump of dirt. They have the same
sort of worth only as horses and dogs. Yet such as these even are commonly esteemed
good citizens. Others—as most legislators, politicians, lawyers, ministers and
office-holders serve the State chiefly with their heads; and as they rarely make any
moral distinctions they are as likely to serve the devil, without intending it, as God.
A very few—as heroes, patriots, martyrs, reformers in the great sense and men —
serve the State with their consciences also, and so necessarily resist it for the most
part; and they are commonly treated as enemies by it.
* * *
All men recognize the right of revolution; that is, the right to refuse
allegiance to, and to resist, the government, when its tyranny or its inefficiency are
great and unendurable.
* * *
All machines have their friction; and possibly this does enough good to
counterbalance the evil. At any rate, it is a great evil to make a stir about it. But when
the friction comes to have its machine, and oppression and robbery are organized, I
say, let us not have such a machine any longer.
What is the price current of an honest man and patriot today? They hesitate,
and they regret, and sometimes they petition; but they do nothing in earnest and with
effect. They will wait, well disposed for others to remedy the evil, that they may no
longer have it to regret. At most, they give only a cheap vote, and a feeble
countenance and Godspeed, to the right, as it goes by them. There are nine hundred
and ninety-nine patrons of virtue to one virtuous man. But it is easier to deal with the
real possessor of a thing than with the temporary guardian of it....
Even voting for the right is doing nothing for it. It is only expressing to men
feebly your desire that it should prevail. A wise man will not leave the right to the
mercy of chance.
O for a man who is a man, and, as my neighbour says, has a bone in his back
which you cannot pass your hand through! Our statistics are at fault: the population
has been returned too large. How many men are there to a square thousand miles in
this country? Hardly one . . .
* * *
Action from principle, the perception anfl the performance of right, changes
things and relations; it is essentially revolutionary, and does not consist wholly with
anything which was. It not only divides states and churches; it divides families; aye,
it divides the individual, separating the diabolical in him from the divine.
Unjust laws exist; shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavour to
amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall owe trans-gress them at
once?
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 467

* * *
They think that, if they should resist, the remedy would be worse than the evil.
But it is the fault of the government itself that the remedy is worse than the evil. It
makes it worse. Why is it not more apt to anticipate and provide for reform ?
Why does it cry and resist before it is hurt? Why does it not encourage its
citizens to be on the alert to point out its faults and do better than it would have them?
Why does it always crucify Christ, and excommunicate Coper-nicus and Luther, and
pronounce Washington and Franklin rebels?
* * *
If the injustice is part of the necessary friction of the machine of government,
let it go, let it go; perchance it will wear smooth—certainly the machine will wear
out. If the injustice has a spring, or a pulley, or a rope or a crank, exclusively for
itself, then perhaps you may consider whether the remedy will not be worse than the
evil; but if it is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to
another, then, I say, break the law.
As for adopting the ways which the State has provided for remedying the evil,
I know not of such ways. They take too much time, and a man’s life will be gone. I
have other affairs to attend to. I came into this world, not chiefly to make this a good
place to live in, but to live in it, be it good or bad. A man has not everything to do,
but something; and because he cannot do everything it is not necessary that he should
do something wrong. It is not my business to be petitioning the Governor or the
Legislature any more than it is theirs to petition me: and if they should not hear my
petition, what should I do then? But in this case the State has provided no way: its
very Constitution is the evil. This may seem to be harsh and stubborn and
unconciliatory; but it is to treat with the utmost kindness and consideration the only
spirit that can appreciate or deserves it. So is all change for the better, like birth and
death, which convulse the body.
* * *
I meet this American Government, or its representative, the State Govern-
ment, directly, and face to face, once a year—no more—in the person of its tax-
gatherer; this is the only mode in which a man situated as I am necessarily meets it;
and it then says distinctly, “Recognize me”; and the simplest, the most effectual, and,
in the present posture of affairs, the indispensablest mode of treating with it on this
head, of expressing your little satisfaction with and love for it, is to deny it then.
I know this well, that if one thousand, if one hundred, if ten men who whom I
could name,—if ten honest men only—aye, if one honest man is (were to be) locked up
in the country gaol therefor, it would be the abolition of slavery in America. For it
matters not how small the beginning may seem to be; what is once well done is done

for ever....
Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just
man is also a prison. The proper place today, the only place which (Massachusetts)
has provided for her freer and less desponding spirits, is in her prisons, to be put out
and locked out of the State by her own act, as they have already put themselves out by
their principles. It is there that the fugitive slave, and the Mexican prisoner on
parole, and the Indian come to plead the wrongs of his race, should find them, on that
separate but more free and honourable ground, where the State places those who are
not with her but against her—the only house in a slave State in which a free man can
abide with honour. If any think that their influence would be lost there, and their
voices no longer affect the ear of the State that they would not be as an enemy within
its walls, they do not know by how much truth is stronger than error nor how much
more eloquently and effectively he can combat injustice who has experienced a little
in his own person....
If a thousand men were not to pay their tax bills this year that would not be a
violent and bloody measure, as it would be to pay them and enable the State to
commit violence and shed innocent blood. This is, in fact, the definition of a
peaceable Revolution, if any such is possible. If the tax-gatherer or any other public
officer asks me as one has done: “But what shall I do”, my answer: “if you really wish
to do anything resign your office.” When the subject has refused allegiance and the
officer has resigned his office, then the Revolution is accomplished. But even
suppose blood should flow. Is there not, a sort of bloodshed when the conscience is
wounded ? Through this wound a man’s real manhood and immortality flow out and he
bleeds to an everlasting death. I see this blood flowing now.
I have contemplated the imprisonment of the offender rather than the seizure
of his goods, though both will serve the same purpose,—because they who assert the
purest right, and consequently are most dangerous to a corrupt state, commonly have
not spent much time in accumulating property....
I have paid no poll-tax for six years. I was put into a gaol once on this acco-
unt for one night; and as I stood considering the walls of solid stones, two or three
feet thick, the door of wood and iron, a foot thick, and the iron grating which stra-
ined the light, I could not help being struck with the foolishness of that institution
which treated me as if I were men flesh and blood and bones, to be locked up. I
wondered that it should have concluded at length that this was the best use it could put
me to, and had never thought to avail itself of my services in some way. I saw that, if
there was a wall of stone between me and my townsmen, there was a still more
difficult one to climb or break through before they could get to be as free as
I was. I did not for a moment feel confined, and the walls seemed a great waste of.
stone and mortar. I felt as if I alone of all my townsmen had paid my tax. They plainly
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 469

did not know how to treat me, but behaved like persons who are underbred. In every
threat and in every compliment there was blunder; for they thought that my chief
desire was to stand on the other side of that stone wall. I could not but smile to see
how industriously they locked the door on my meditations, which followed them out
again without let or hindrance and they were really all that was dangerous. As they
could not reach me, they had resolved to punish my body; just as boys, if they cannot
come at some person against whom they have a spite, will abuse his dog. I saw that
the state was half-witted, that it was timid as a lone woman with her silver spoons,
and that it did not know its friends from its foes, and I lost all my remaining respect
for it, and pitied it.
* * *
It is for no particular item in the tax bill that I refuse to pay it. I simply wish
to refuse allegiance to the State, to withdraw and stand aloof from it effectually. I do
not care to trace the courses of my dollar, if I could, till it buys a man or a musket to
shoot with—the dollar is innocent—but I am concerned to trace the effects of my
allegiance. In fact, I quietly declare war with the State, after my fashion, though I will
still make what use and get what advantage of her I can, as is usual in such cases.
If others pay the tax which is demanded of me from a sympathy with the State,
they do but what they have already done in their own case, or rather they abet
injustice to a greater extent than the State requires. If they pay the tax from a
mistaken interest in the individual taxed, to save his property, or prevent his going
to gaol, it is because they have not considered wisely how far they let their private
feelings interfere with the public good.
This, then is my position at present. But one cannot be too much on his guard
in such a case, lest his action be biased by obstinacy or an undue regard for the
opinions of men. Let him see that he does only what belongs to himself and to the
hour.
* * *
They who know of no purer sources of truth, who have traced up its stream no
higher, stand, and wisely stand, by the Bible, and Constitution, and drink at it there
with reverence and humility; but they who behold where it comes trickling into this
lake or that pool, gird up their loins once more, and continue their pilgrimage
towards its fountainhead.
* * *
The authority of Government, even such as I am willing to submit to —for I

will cheerfully obey those who know and can do better than I, and in many things
even those who neither know nor can do well,—is still an impure one: to be strictly

just, it must have the sanction and consent of the governed. It can have no pure right
over my person and property, but what I concede to it. The progress from an absolute
to a limited monarchy, from a limited monarchy to a democracy, is a progress
towards a true respect for the individual. Even the Chinese philosopher was wise
enough to regard the individual as the basis of the empire. Is a democracy, such as we
know it, the last improvement possible in Government? Is it not possible to take a
step further towards recognizing and organizing the rights of man ? There will never
be a really free and enlightened State until the State comes to recognize the individual
as a higher and independent power, from which all its own power and authority are
derived, and treats him accordingly. I please myself with imagining a State at last
which can afford to be just to all men, and to treat the individual with respect as a
neighbour; which even would not think it inconsistent with its own repose if a few
were to live aloof from it, not meddling with it, nor embraced by it, who fulfilled all
the duties of neighbours and fellow-men. A state which bore this kind of fruit, and
suffered it to drop off as fast as it ripened would prepare the way for a still more perfect
and glorious state, which also I have imagined, but not yet anywhere seen.
N. A. I.: Home: Politi cal—B: Februa ry 1920: No. 373
APPENDIX III
QUE STION S ON SATYAGR AHA

[Before April 17, 1919]1
SIR ,
We fail to understand fully some points in the statement that has been recently
published in your name and would feel obliged if you would kindly elucidate them to
us.
(l) In your statement you say “Those who join the satyagraha demons-tration
are bound at all hazards to refrain from violence, not to throw stones or in any way
whatsoever, to injure anybody.” We should like to know if in those who “join the
satyagraha demonstration” you include the non-satyagrahi sympathizers of the
satyagrahis ? If so, as is evident, are they bound to act as satyagrahis even when
violence is started by the other side ? We should not be understood to be advocating
or even tolerating the use of violence by our sympathizers. What we should like to be
explained is whether there should or should not be any difference between a
satyagrahi and a non-satyagrahi when provocation comes from the side opposite.
Non-satyagrahis may not begin violence and much though we should wish to see
them exercise perfect restraint at the provocation or violence received at the hands of
1
Vide “Satyagraha Leaflet No- 3”, 11-4-1919.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 471

the authorities. At any rate how can satyagrahis be held responsible for the feelings
of a non-satyagrahi under the circumstances ? There should be a difference between the
responsibilities of the two. Your statement does not contemplate any.
(2) Further on you say “I have been asked whether a satyagrahi is liable for
the results that follow from the movement. I have replied that they are.” What we
should be explained in this connection is what results can be said to follow from the
satyagraha. Will the unlawful or even violent conduct on the part of non-satyagrahis
sympathizing with us or opposing us due to the tactlessness, offensive attitude or
violence of authorities or the aggressive attitude of our opponents unattended by any
retaliation on our part constitute “results” contemplated to “follow from the
movement”? If so the question arises: is it reasonable to hold the satyagrahis
responsible for the results of the actions of the authorities against unprovoking non-
satyagrahis or for the results of the actions of the opponents of satyagraha to
themselves?
(3) Proceeding further you say “If we cannot conduct this movement without
the slightest violence on our side....” Does our include non-satyagrahi sympathizers
of satyagrahis ? If so, questions put in Nos. (I) and (2) arise {again. Further, does
“from our side” include unsatyagrahi conduct on the part of non-satyagrahi in
consequence of circumstances mentioned in Nos. (I) and (2) ?
(4) In continuation of No. (3) you suggest “the movement might have to be
abandoned”. We should like to lay special emphasis and all possible force on this as
to us it will mean complete suicide—moral and political to leave the movement at
this stage. We could and did contemplate all this at the start and real remedy in our
opinion is not to drop the movement but postpone the breaking of laws for sometime
and in the mean time educate and train the public to conduct the satyagraha movement
properly.
(5) “But if those who are not . . . sinful injury” Nos. (1), (2) and (3) apply
with equal force to this also and it appears hart to visit the sins of the opponent of
satyagraha on the heads of the satyagrahis.
From a photos tat: S.N. 6546

APPENDIX IV
SIR STANL EY RE ED’S LETTE R TO G ANDHI JI

Apropos of the Swadeshi movement, the following letter addressed to
Mr. Gandhi, by Sir Stanley Reed on the eve of his departure to England, will be of
interest. (The italics are ours).
BOMBAY ,
2nd May 1919
MY DEA R MR. GAN DHI,
Your letter of April 30th. It would be to me the greatest possible pleasure to
co-operate whole-heartedly with you in any of your work, but on the swadeshi issue I
should like to explain my position.
I have been from the day of my arrival in India, a convinced and strong
supporter of everything connected with the swadeshi movement. Long before the
Congress and the political leaders generally took more than a lukewarm interest in
the industrial movement, I wed such influence as l possessed to press in season and
out of season the importance of our industrial and commercial movement. The Times
of India has fought consistently against the cotton excise duties, and also for fiscal
freedom for India. Such time as I can spare from my newspaper work is devoted to the
furtherance of Indian enterprise; personally, I never buy anything which is made
outside India if it can be purchased in India. I wear a good deal more swadeshi
clothing than many of Indian friends.
But I am convinced that the commercial and industrial future of India can be
secured only if it is mainly on an economic basis. We have to make the demand for
Indian goods became they are the best at the money. To do that, we have to persuade
the educated classes that commerce and industry are just as patriotic and dignified as
the professions and politics. We have to press for the highest standard of commercial
morality in India.
I am confident of the future. Apart from the great stirring in India, we have the
natural protection which accrues from command of most of the raw materials of
manufacture on the spot. If we can keep alive the present educated interest in
industrial development and if we can coax into circulation the rupees which now go
into the ground, I am convinced that our shady progress is assured.
Perhaps I am mistaking your ideal, that ideal is to prevent the increase of the
factory system and to conserve and develop the cottage industries of the country.
With that ideal I am in most complete sympathy. None can survey factory conditions,
either here or in the West, and be anything but dismayed at their ugliness. But here
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 473

again I am convinced that true time solution is the organization of the cottage
industries on a co-operative basis with cheap capital and co-operative distribution. It
has been my privilege to assist in some small measure in this work as one of the
original directors of the Central Co-operative Bank.
If, therefore, I cannot take the Swadeshi [Vow], I know that you will accept my
assurance that it is not because I lack sympathy with the swadeshi movement, for my
sympathy with and interest in it are acute. But I must work for it in my own way and if
the handloom weavers want any assistance in the way of capital, my best efforts will be
used to secure it.
Yours very sincerely,
S TANLEY R EED
Young India. 11-6-1919
APPENDIX V
NOT E BY DIST RICT MA GISTR ATE, AHM EDABA D, ON

INT ERVIE W WIT H GAN DHIJI ,
[After May 11, 1919]
Mr. Gandhi states that he has not forbidden the members of his Ashram to give
evidence as regards identification of rioters. Such as have asked his advice have been
advised by him to follow their own conscience; but that his opinion was that those
who entirely followed the rule of the Ashram could not consistently give evidence
incriminating others. He had also warned them of the risk each one ran of incurring
the penalty of the law for refusing to give evidence. He does not consider this a rule of
life which everyone would be justified in adopting; it is only justified on those who
whilst refusing to give evidence would strain every nerve honestly to induce the
guilty to make full confession before the authorities, and who on principle refrain
from invoking the assistance of the law in their own cases. This view of Mr. Gandhi’s
is of long standing—in fact, goes back to a period before 1897 when he first put it
into practice in a manner which became known to the public (in South Africa).
Mr. Gandhi has therefore not passed any order as regards the giving of
evidence. Nor is the refusal to give evidence a fundamental rule of the Ashram.
Supposing a member were to give evidence, he would not be turned out. He would not
even reason with him. It is a matter which is left entirely to the conscience of the
individual and Mr. Gandhi himself arrived at this point of view after considerable
mental struggle and effort (i e., before 1897). It was one of the reasons why he threw
over his practice as a Barrister in 1908. Apart from the delicacy of the question
(which is one for the individual’s conscience), Mr. Gandhi realizes the danger of
indiscriminate acceptance of this view by those who have not attained the complete

discipline of satyagraha.
Mr. Gandhi expressly states that his opinion in this case is in no way due to
any feeling of delicacy in the sense that he was directly or indirectly responsible for
the fury of the mob. It is due to a general principle, the corollary of the doctrine of
ahimsa. His desire is that the guilty should be punished but that they should undergo
their punishment voluntarily.
Mr. Gandhi admits that this principle leads to the result that there is one rule
for himself and his followers and another for the rest of the world, but accepts this as
inevitable.
N. A. I: Home: Politi cal—A: August 1919: Nos. 261-72 & K. W.
VOL. 17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 475

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1.

LETTER T0 SIR CLAUDE HILL

It was not without considerable pain that I had to decline the

VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 1

2 THE COLLECTED WORKS OF MAHATMA GANDHI

VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 3

In fear and trembling I have decided as a matter of duty to join

4. LETTER T0 J.L. MAFFEY

I would like you please to secure for me His Excellency’s

4 THE COLLECTED WORKS OF MAHATMA GANDHI

5. SPEECH AT WAR CONFERENCE2

VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 5

It was kind of you in spite of your overwhelming work to reread

6 THE COLLECTED WORKS OF MAHATMA GANDHI

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8 THE COLLECTED WORKS OF MAHATMA GANDHI

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In pursuance of my declaration at the Conference yesterday, I

10 THE COLLECTED WORKS OF MAHATMA GANDHI

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9. LETTER TO J.L. SMAFFEY

12 THE COLLECTED WORKS OF MAHATMA GANDHI

10. LETTER TO SIR WILLIAM VINCENT

11. LETTER TO RABINDRANATH TAGORE1

VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 13

12. LETTER TO MAGANLAL GANDHI

The letter from Limbdi is encouraging. What I advise is that you

14 THE COLLECTED WORKS OF MAHATMA GANDHI

13. LETTER TO HARILAL GANDHI

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14. FRAGMENT OF LETTER TO V. S. SRINIVASA

15. SPEECH AT ANTYAJ CONFERENCE, BIJAPUR2

How many Antyajas are present at this meeting?

16 THE COLLECTED WORKS OF MAHATMA GANDHI

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18 THE COLLECTED WORKS OF MAHATMA GANDHI

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20 THE COLLECTED WORKS OF MAHATMA GANDHI

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17. SPEECH AT BOMBAY PROVINCIAL CONFERENCE

Young India, 8-5-1918

22 THE COLLECTED WORKS OF MAHATMA GANDHI

19. LETTER T0 MAHADEV DESAI1

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20. LETTER TO ESTHER FAERING

24 THE COLLECTED WORKS OF MAHATMA GANDHI

21. LETTER TO G. A. NATESAN

22. SPEECH AT DHUNDAKUVA3

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The Bombay Chronicle, 16-5-1918

26 THE COLLECTED WORKS OF MAHATMA GANDHI

24. LETTER TO DABHOLKAR

VOL.17 : 26 APRIL, 1918 - APRIL, 1919 27

25. LETTER TO DR. PRANJIVAN MEHTA

28 THE COLLECTED WORKS OF MAHATMA GANDHI

26. LETTER TO VALJI G. DESAI

I spoke to Panditji at length about you. He said that he would

27. SPEECH AT SANDESAR2

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30 THE COLLECTED WORKS OF MAHATMA GANDHI