India for Indians: Enlarged EditionDas, Chitta Ranjan
History
India for Indians: Enlarged Edition
Das, Chitta Ranjan
India -- Politics and government -- 1919-1947
Do not forget, gentlemen, that the word, "responsibility" has got
a technical meaning in politics. It does not imply merely moral
responsibility. It means that the Government must be responsible to
the people of the country, to the electors, i.e., the Legislative
Councils will be elected by the people of the country--whatever the
extent of the franchise may be, that is a matter of detail which has
got to be discussed and no doubt considered carefully. But whatever be
the electorate, it is that electorate which will elect members of the
Legislative Councils and the Executive Councils will be either elected
or taken from the Legislative Councils and the Executive Councils will
be responsible not to any outside authority but to the Legislative
Councils from which they will be taken and thus ultimately to the
people. These are the indications that I find in the statement of the
Secretary of State as also in the message of the Viceroy.
SELF-GOVERNMENT FROM MANY VIEW-POINTS
I say, therefore, that the people of this country has got the right
now, to expect some kind of responsible self-government in this country
and the time has come when we must shake off our apathy and devote
our entire energies to the consideration of the question as to the
precise form of self-government that we want in this country. The
question is a very difficult one and has got to be discussed from a
great many points. We have got to consider it from the point of view
of our nationality, I mean provincial nationality. We have got to
consider this question from a wider outlook. We cannot forget that we
live and have been living for many years in the midst of an empire.
We cannot forget that the different provinces in India are gradually
coming closer to one another and a new nationality which expresses not
only the different provinces but the whole of India is growing up in
our midst and we cannot forget that our interests, even our selfish
interests, our hopes, our ambitions are indissolubly connected with the
interest of the empire. These are all the considerations before us.
When we sit down to frame a scheme we cannot lose sight of any one of
these points.
PROVINCIAL AUTONOMY
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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