India for Indians: Enlarged EditionDas, Chitta Ranjan
History
India for Indians: Enlarged Edition
Das, Chitta Ranjan
India -- Politics and government -- 1919-1947
I agree with my friend Mr. Jinnah who said: let the Government come out
with a definite pronouncement--the government declaration is vague--let
the government come out with its declaration--a definite pronouncement
as to what they are willing to give. It will be time then to sit over
this resolution again, to consider what words are to be used and what
words to reject or what new words are to be put in. I think we have
been fighting unnecessarily. We are all agreed as to the great ideal.
Let us gather strength to fight for it--let us fight for it with all
our might and let us not rest content till the whole thing is granted
to us (Hear, hear), viz., Responsible Government in the Provinces,
responsible Government in Imperial matters--till the whole of the
Government is put into the hands of the people. I rely on no dictum of
politicians--I rely upon my natural right (Cheers). I do not care what
the constitution of England or the constitution of Switzerland or that
of Australia is (Cheers). I want to build my own constitution. I want
the power to build my own constitution in a way which is suited to this
country and which afterwards will be referred to as the great Indian
constitution (Loud cheers). That is what we want and that is what we
must have. Do not engage in endless discussion in the meantime. Gather
all your strength and say with one voice all over India, in every
village, in every town, in provincial gatherings and in this Congress
that nothing less than the transference of the Governmental powers into
the hands of the people will satisfy us. It is our natural right, it is
the birthright of every individual to live and to grow (Hear, hear). It
is the natural right of every nation to live and to grow according to
its nature. (Loud cheers). We demand that right--that right has been
unjustly withheld from us--by excuses and pretences--by subterfuges--we
have discovered that. We were sleeping, but by God's grace, we are
awake and we claim our natural right. (Prolonged cheers).
THE GREAT TRANSFORMATION.
_A meeting held at Chittagong under the auspices of the local Home Rule
League on the 12th June 1918, under the presidency of Babu Jatra Mohan
Sen, when Mr. C. R. Das delivered the following speech:--_
Mr. Chairman and gentlemen,--I thank you heartily for the many kind
words with which your distinguished Chairman has introduced me to you
this evening and for the kindness with which you have received me. When
I set out for Chittagong I made up my mind to place before the people
of Chittagong my views and the views of our friends in Calcutta on many
of the important topics of the day. I am afraid I shall not be able
to do so as fully as I had intended after a long day's work in Court.
But I shall try to place before you in short the thoughts which are
agitating the minds of our friends in Calcutta. I mean those who have
worked with us the whole of last year and for many years before that in
support of the cause of this country.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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