I am sure the hour has struck when those dearly-beloved pioneers of the Master’s Cause, scattered throughout the length and breadth of that vast and promising land, should unite, consolidate their forces, and effectively combine for the laying of a firm foundation for the future progress of their noble task. It is my earnest hope and my most cherished desire that at the forthcoming Convention the vigour and enlightened efforts of the Baha’i youth of India, coupled with the generous support and devotion of the old beloved Parsee friends, and reinforced by the vast numbers of the ardent followers of the Faith in Burma, may, by imparting power and brilliancy to its proceedings, herald an era of unprecedented activity for the ultimate recognition of the Cause by the peoples of that country. I shall welcome with genuine satisfaction every effort which that talented and untiring servant of Baha’u’llah, our highly-esteemed sister Mrs. Stannard, may exert in this connection, and would feel truly gratified to learn of her determination to play a conspicuous part in the presentation of the Cause to the eyes of the enlightened public. May the sustaining grace of God, the power of Baha’u’llah, and the loving counsels of our beloved ‘Abdu’l-Bahá guide you and aid you in your mighty endeavours for the accomplishment of your task. I shall eagerly await any particulars you might wish to send me regarding your various activities in the service of the Cause, and I trust that during the interval between now and Ridvan a complete and careful arrangement for the successful conduct of the coming Convention will have been drawn by all the friends and assemblies of India and Burma, and to which, I assure you, I shall be most pleased to contribute my humble share of cooperation and advice. Hoping to hear from you, individually and collectively, and assuring you of my constant prayers on your behalf. December 5, 1923 Nothing Must Dampen Our Zeal Nothing, I dare say, can be more encouraging and gladsome to Shoghi Effendi than the news of the activities of the friends in such a vast and promising field as India. In the last few years the harvest of the friends’ endeavours was not as rich and abundant as we all would wish and undoubtedly the political throes through which India has been passing and the general unrest which such conditions have brought about, account to a large measure for this comparative unfruitfulness in the self-sacrificing efforts of the Indian Baha’is. Yet nothing must damp our zeal and we cannot for a moment doubt the remarkable change that the Master said would take place in that country.