"Since the days of the swadeshi movement our young men have been
possessed with the ardent desire to serve their country. At the time
of the Ardhodoy yoga (the most auspicious moment for taking a bath in
the Ganges), and again at the time of the Damodar floods of 1913, this
desire for service found noble vent in action; and the help rendered
by our young men on these two occasions has been repeatedly
acknowledged even by high officials of the Government. But
unfortunately much of this noble energy and zeal goes utterly to
waste; there is no permanent channel through which it can be made to
flow; there is no work of durable utility to which we have been able
to apply it. Hence a feeling of impatience and despair has arisen in
the minds of our young men; and sedition is the outer manifestation
of this feeling of impatience and despair."
It will be the part of wise statesmanship not simply to check the
symptom but to cure the disease--not simply punish sedition but to
root out the deep seated cause which gives rise to it. Our young men
labour under the impression that the bureaucracy will give them no
opportunity of doing real service to their country. This impression
must be removed and they must be given opportunities for larger
co-operation in the affairs of administration of the country. These
young men have hearts to feel and a burning zeal for service; they
think that instead of being utterly suppressed the activities of these
young enthusiasts ought to be given proper field and scope. The
English have no doubt done us immense deal of good and we are grateful
to them for that. By holding before our eyes the ideal of an alien
culture and civilization, the English have roused us from the stupor,
torpidity and lethargy of spirit into which we had gradually come to
sink. They have helped to awaken our national consciousness and to
re-establish our national vitality. We are no doubt grateful for these
manifold services. But are there no reasons for the English to be
grateful to India? Are they not in honour bound in return of the many
benefits they have derived from us to give us every scope of shaping
our national life? Chitta Ranjan has also harped upon this point in
his address at the Provincial Conference:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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