words of thanks. He reminded them that, in its 22nd
Session, the Congress had placed before itself a
458 HOW INDIA WROUGHT FOR FREEDOM
definite goal — Self-Government^ Swaraj. Now it
was for the younger generation to reach it. The
Hon. Mr. Chitnavis invited the Congress to Nagpur,
for its 1907 meeting, and the Twenty-second National
Congress " dispersed amidst scenes of the wildest
enthusiasm and rejoicings ".
Alas ! Coercion was to do its deadly work during
the approaching year. The seeds sown by Lord
Curzon were to ripen into their harvest of dragon-
teetli. The strongest and furthest-sighted men were
to hold to their old ideals of constitutional work and
steady progress. Others, maddened by the repressive
measures adopted, were to cause a partition worse
than that of Lord Curzon, a division of the National
Party, one part holding to the group that refused to
despair of appealing to the House of Commons, and
the other which became frankly antagonistic to all
co-operation with the British Government. And
beyond these, loomed up the Anarchist Party with the
bomb and revolver for its methods, the incarnation of
blind hatred, without constructive policy, the mad
efforts of lads, dreaming of winning Liberty for their
country, and succeeding only in committing a few
useless crimes. In the scales of History shall all
these be weighed. Government, Moderates, Extre-
mists, Anarchists, and to each shall be assigned their
own place.
RESOLUTIONS
Condolence
I. Resolved — That this Congress desires to place on record
its sense of the great loss wliich the Congress and the country at
large have sustained by the death of Mr. W. C. Bonnerji,
THE TWENTY-SECOND CONGRESS 459
Mr. Justice Budruddin Tyabji, and Mr. Ananda Mohan Bose,
ex-Presidents of the Congres-s, and Mr. M. Viraraghava Chariar of
Madras. Their great public services and the extimple of duty and
of self-sacrificing devotion which they presented in their lives
entitle them to the lasting gratitude of the country ;
That a copy of the foregoing Resolution be forwarded to the
families of the late Messrs. Bannerji, Tyabji, Bose, and M.
Viraraghava Chariar, over the signature of the President of the
Congress.
Indians in the Colonies
II. Resolved— That this Congress, while noting with satis-
faction the action of the Impei-ial Grovernment in disallowing for
the present the proposed Ordinnnce against British Indians in
the Transvaal, desires to give exiiression to its grave apprehension
that unless the Imperial Government continues to extend its firm
protection to the British Indian Community, the policy of the
Ordinance is almost certain to be enforced as soon as arrangements
under the Constitution recently granted are completed ;
That this Congress also places on record its sense of deep
regret and indignation that the people of this country should be
subjected to harassing nnd degrading restrictions and denied the
ordinary rights of British citizenship in His Majesty's Colonies,
and the Congress expresses its firm conviction that such a policy is
fraught with serious danger to the best interests of the Empire.
Finance
III. Resolved — That this Congress renews its protest against
the excessive and alarming growth of military charges in recent
years and their undue prei^onderance in the public expenditure
of the country ;
That this Congress is of ojiinion that, as the military
expenditure of the country is determined, not solely by its own
military needs and requirements, but also by the exigencies of
British supremacy and British policy in the East, it is only fair
that a reasonable share of such expenditure should be borne by
the British Exchequer ;
That this Congress strongly urges that by a substantial reduction
of military expenditure and by the steady substitution of the Indian
for the European agency in the Public Service, funds should be set
free to be devoted to the promotion of education in all its branches,
to improve sanitation and to the relief of the ryot's burdens, such
as a furtlier reduction of the Salt-tax, a reduction of the Land
Revenue demand of the State, and measures for dealing with
agricultural indebtedness.
460 HOW INDIA WROUGHT FOE TEEEDOM
Separation of Judicial and Executive Functions
IV. Resolved — That in the opinion of this Congress the
separation of the Judicial from the Executive functions, which is
admittedly necessary in the interests of crood government and sound
judicial administration, should no longer be deferred.
Yalidity of Wakf-i-ala-aulad
V. Resolved — That in view of the general opinion ammigst
Muhammadans that the recent decisions of the Privy Council
against the validity of the " wakf-i-ala-aulad " are against the
Muhammadan Law, this Congress is of opinion that a Commission
should be appointed by the Government to enquire whether the
Privy Council has not erred in its decisions, having regard to the
law, usage and sentiments of the Muhammadan people ; and, if it be
found that the decisions are erroneous, this Congress urges that
steps should be taken to give legal effect to the right view.
Partition of Bengal
VI. Resolved — That this Congress again records its emphatic
protest against the Partition of Bengal, and regrets that the present
Government, while admitting that there wei-e errors in the original
plan, and that it went wholly and decisively against the wishes of
the majority of the people of Bengal, is disposed to look ujDon it as
a settled fact, in spite of the earnest and persistent pi-otest of the
people, and their manifest disinclination to accept it as final ;
That this Congress, composed of representatives from all the
Provinces of this country, desires earnestly to impress upon the
British Parliament and the present Liberal Government that it
will be not only just, but expedient, to reverse or modify the
Partition in such a manner as to keep the entire Bengali-speaking
community under one undivided administration, and thus restore
contentment to so important a Province as Bengal.
Boycott Movement
Vn. Resolved — That having regard to the fact that the
people of this country have little or no voice in its administration,
and that their representations to the Government do not receive
due considei-ation, this Congress is of opinion that the Boycott
Movement inaugurated in Bengal by way of protest against the
Partition of that Province, was, and is, legitimate.
Swadeshi
VIII. Resolved — That this Congress accords its most cordial
support to the Swadeshi movement, and calls upon the people of
the country to labour for its success, by making earnest and
sustained efforts to jironiote the growth of indigenous industries
and to stimulate the production of indigenous articles by giving
them i)reference over imjjorted commodities even at some sacrifice.
THE TWENTY-SECOND CONGRESS 461
Self-Government
IX. Resolv^ed — That this Congress is of opinion that the
system of Government obtaining in the Self-Governing British
Colonies should be extended to India, and that, as steps leading
to it, it urges that the following reforms should be immediately
carried out:
(«) All examinations held in England only should be
simultaneously held in India and in England, and that all higher
appointments which are made in India should be by competitive
examination only ;
(b) The adequate representation of Indians in the Council of
the Secretary of State and the Executive Coiincils of the Viceroy,
and of the Governors of Madras and Bombay ;
(c) The expansion of the Supreme and Provincial Legislative
Councils, allowing a larger and truly effective representation of the
people and a larger control over the financial and executive
administration of the country ;
(d) The powers of Local and Municipal bodies should be
extended and official control over them should not be more than
what is exercised by the Local Govei-nment Board in England over
similar bodies.
Education
X. Resolved — That this Congress repeats its protest against the
policy of the Government in respect of High and Secondary
Education, as being one of officialising the governing bodies of
the Universities, and restricting the spread of education. This
Congress is of opinion that the Government should take immediate
steps for (1) making Primary Education free and gradually
compulsory, all over the country, (2) assigning larger sums
of money to Secondary Education (special encoui-agement
being given where necessary to educationally backward classes),
(3) making the existing Universities more free from official
control, and providing them with sufficient means to take up the
work of teaching, and (4) making adequate provision for Technical
Education in the different Provinces, having regard to local
requirements.
National Education
XI. Resolved — That in the opinion of this Congress the time
has arrived for the people all over the country earnestly to take up
the question of National Education, for both boys and girls, and
organise a system of education — Literary, Scientific and Technical
— suited to the requirements of the country, on National lines and
under National control.
462 HOW INDIA WROUGHT FOR FREEDOM
Thanks of Congress
XII. Resolved — Tliat this Congress desires to convey to Sir
William. Wedderburn, Bart., and the other members of the British
Committee, its most grateful thanks, for their disinterested services
in the cause of India's political advancement.
XV. Resolved — That this Congress records its sense of high
appreciation of the eminent public service rendered by the Hon.
Mr. G. K. Gokhale, C.I.E., during his recent visit to England, as the
Delegate of the Congress.
Condolence
XIII. Resolved — That this Congress desires to place on
record its sense of the deep sorrow and of loss to India of the
sudden death of the Rt. Hon. Mr. Samuel Smith, and that a copy of
the foregoing resolution be communicated to the members of his
family.
Permanent Settlement
XIV. Resolved — That this Congress is of opinion that the
prosperity of an agricultural country like India cannot be secured
without a definite limitation of the State demand on land, such as
was proposed by Lord Canning in 1862, or by Lord Ripon in 1882;
and it regrets that Lord Curzon, in his Land Resolution of 1902,
failed to recognise the necessity of any such limitation and declined
to accept the suggestions of Sir Richard Garth and other
memorialists in the matter. The Congress holds that a reasonable
and definite limitation of the State demand is the true remedy for
the growing impoverishment of the agricultural population.
This Congress respectfully pi'otests against the view that the
Land Revenue in India is not a tax, but is in the nature of rent.
Congress Work
XVI. Resolved — That this Congress adopts tentatively for
one year the follo-fting recommenflations of the Standing
Committee of the Congress ajjjjointed at Benares last year :
1. Vrovinciul Congress Committees
(a) The Committee recommends that each Province should
organise at its capital, a Provincial Congx'esis Committee in such
manner as may be determined at a meeting of the Provincial
Conference, or at a special meeting, held for the purpose, of
representatives of different districts in the Province.
(h) The Provincial Congi-ess Committee should act for the
Province in all Congress matters and it should be its special care to
THE TWENTY-SECOND CONGRESS 463
organise District Associations throughout the Province for
sustained and continuous political work in the Province.
2. Central Standing Congress Committee
The Committee recommends that the Congress should appoint
every year a Central Standing Committee for all India, to carry
out the Resohations of the Congress, and to deal with urgent
questions that may arise and which may require to be disposed
of in the name of the Congress, and that this Committee should
consist of :
12 members from Bengal, Behar, Assam and Burma
8 „ „ Madras
8 ,, ,, Bombay
6 ,, ,, United Provinces
6 ,, ,, Panjab
4 ,, ,, Central Provinces
2 ,, ,, Berar
the President of the year and the General Secretaries being, ex
officio, members in addition.
3. Selection of President
In the matter of the selection of President in future years, the
Committee recommends that the following scheme should be
adopted :
The Provincial Congress Committee of the Province in which
the Congress is to be held should organise a Reception Committee
in such manner as it deems proper for making arrangements for
the Congress Session, and the choice of the President should, in
the first instance, rest with the Reception Committee, if, after
consulting Provincial Congress Committees, the Reception Committee
is able to make the choice by a majority of at least three-fourths of
its members. If, however, no such majority can be obtained to
support the nomination of any person, the question should be
referred to the Central Standing Committee of the Congress, and
the decision of this Committee should be final.
4. Subjects Committee
The Committee recommends that the Subjects Committee,
appointed at each Session of the Congress to settle its programme
of work, should consist of :
2.5 representatives of Bengal, Behar, Assam and Burma
1.5 „ „ Madras
15 „ „ Bombay
10 ,, United Provinces
10 „ „ Panjab
6 ,, ,, Central Provinces
4 ,. ,, Berar
464 HOW INDIA WROUGHT FOR FREEDOM
and 10 additional members for the Province in which the Congress is
held, elected by the delegates attending the Congress from the
respectiv-e Provinces in such manner as they may deem proper;
and that the President of the year, the Chairman of the Eeception
Committee of the year, all ex-Presidents and all ex-Chairmen of
Eeception Committees who may be present at the Congress, the
General Secretaries of the Congress, and the local Secretaries of
the Congress for the year, should, in addition, be ex-officio members
of the Subjects Committee.
Formal
XVII. Eesolved — That the next Congress assemble at Nagpur.
CHAPTER XXIIT
PART I
We come to the saddest episode in the stoiy of the
Congress, the split in the National party. The
invitation to ISTagpar for the Congress of 1907 had
been accepted by the Calcutta Congress, but some
local disagreements having supervened, which made
the holding .of the Congress there difficult, if not
impossible, the All-India Congress Committee, elected
under the tentative Constitution passed at Calcutta,
decided that the Twenty-third National Congress
should be held at Surat, and ^ome historic French
gardens on the banks of the Tapti, forming French
territory, were taken, and a charming city of tents
was made with a large Pavilion. The whole country
Avas in a state of turmoil and excitement, and the
signs of cleavage of the National party into Right and
Left Wings, indicated in the last chapter, had grown
marked. Yet all seemed well as the delegates poured
in from all sides, some 1,600 in all ; but no list of
them seems to have survived.
Dr. Rash Behari Ghose had been duly elected
President of the Congi-ess under the tentative
37
466 HOW INDIA WROUGHT FOR FREEDOM
Constitution of 1906, and tlie first sign of dis-
cord was the suggestion that Lala La j pat E.ai, just
released after his deportation, should be elected as
President, as a protest against his unfair treatment
by the Government. That staunch patriot, however,
refused to be made into a battle-flag, and absolutely
declined to be elected President in so irregular a
fashion. Then a rumour spread that the four mili-
tant Pesolutions of the Calcutta Congress, on
Self-Government, Boycott, Swadeshi and National
Education, were not to be put before the Subjects
Committee. Whence the rumour came, none knew, but
rumours rise and spread easily in an excited crowd.
The Congress met on December 26th, 1907, and the
Pandal, holding 7,000 people, was packed. The Presi-
dent-elect received an enthusiastic ovation, a few
cries of hostility being drowned in the roar of
cheering. The Chairman of the Reception Committee,
Mr. Tribhuvan Das Malvi, welcomed the delegates
in a short speech, of which the most noteworthy
passage referred to tne sad condition of the country :
Since the Congress met last .year, we have passed
through very troublous times indeed. Eminent Indians
have been seriously suspected of and charged with the
highest offences against the State, exciting sedition,
rioting and the like, in most cases without justification.
Somehow the idea became prevalent among tlie I'uling
class that the present year, being the 50th year since the
Indian Mutiny, Indians were preparing for a similar
revolt, and a sort of panic seized them. To check this
imaginary revolt all sorts of repressive and re-actionary
measures were taken. Old obsolete enactments, of the
â– existence whereof even no one ever dreamed, were brought
into requisition for the purpose of pnnislijing people for
THE TWENTY-THIRD CONGRESS 467
undefined offences assumed to have been fommitted,
without giving any notice to the victims of the cliarges
laid at their doors, or giving them an opportunity of
meeting those charges. The people in certain localities
were assumed to harbour treasonable intentions, and
meetings were prohibited in those districts, at first for a
time, and we have now a very dangerous statute in the
shape of the Seditious Meetings Act, capable of general
application throughout the country by a notification in
the Government Gazette, thrust upon as.
It is all this coercive legislation, with the revival of
the old wicked laws which place every man's liberty at
the mercy of a frightened official, which renders
intelligible the attitude of the Left Wing, that
nothing but opposition to a Grovernment which stoops
to such measures is consistent with self-respect, or
oifers any prospect of relief.
Dewan Bahadur Ambalal S. Desai proposed Dr.
Rash Beiiari Ghose as President. Beyond some cries
of " No, Xo," there was little interruption, but a
tumult broke out when the old favourite of the Con-
gress, Mr. Surendranath Bannerji, arose to second.
The party of shouters seems to have been small, about
30 according to The Statesman, but they made so much
noise, aided by the shouts of " Order " of the vast
majority, that it was impossible to hear Mr. Bannerji,
and the Chairman adjourned the meeting till the
next day, hoping hot feelings would die down.
The Congress met again on the 27th, and the warm
greeting of a huge majority showed the feeling of the
delegates. Mr. Surendranath Bannerji finished his
speech. Pandit Motilal Nehru supported his proposal,
and Dr. Rash Beliari Ghose was elected, and took the
468 HOW INDIA WROUGHT FOR FREEDOM
chair ainid vociferous applause. Mr. B. G. Tilak
then came to the platform and said he wished to move
an amendment^ either about an adjournment, or to
the Presidential election. An argument ensued.
Mr. Tilak attempted to address the delegates, who
refused to listen to him, upholding the authority of
the President, who had ruled him out of order.
The platform was charged by men armed with sticks,
a heavy shoe was flung at and struck Sir Pherozeshah
Mehta and Mr. Surendranath Bannerji, the President
declared the meeting adjourned, and the police
cleared the Hall — a sad page in the glorious history
of the Congress ; but the Congress was saved by the
statesmanlike action of Sir Pherozeshah Mehta, Mr.
Gokhale, Mr. D. E. Wacha, Dr. Eash Behari Ghose,
Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Mr. V. Krishnaswami
Iyer, and many others.
They met, and drew up the folloM'ing notice, call-
ing a National Convention on the next day, December
28th :
The 23rd Indian National Congress having been
suspended sine die under painful circumstances, the under-
signed have resolved with a view to the orderly conduct
of fiature political work in the country to call a Conven-
tion of those delegates to the Congress who are agreed :
(1) That the attainment by India of Self-Govern-
ment similar to that enjoyed by the Self-Governing mem-
bers of the British p]nipire, and participation by her in
the rights and responsibilities of the Empire on equal
terms with tliosc members is the goal of our political
aspirations.
â– (2) That the advance towai'ds this goal is to be by
strictly constitutional means, b}' bringing about a steady
THE TWENTY-THIRD CONGEESS 469
reform of the existing system of administration, and by
promoting- N"ational Unity, fostering public spirit, and im-
proving the condition of the mass of the people.
(3) And that all meetings held for the promotion
of the aims and objects above indicated have to be
conducted in an orderly manner, with due submission to
the authority of those that are entrusted with the power
to control their procedure, and the}^ are requested to
attend at 1 p.m. on Saturday the 28th of December,
1907, in the Pandal lent for the purpose by the working
Committee of the Reception Committee of the 23rd
Indian National Congress.
Signed :
Rash Behaki Ghose Norendkanath Sen
Pherozeshah M. Mehta Ambalal Sakeral Desai
Surendranath Bannerji Y. Krishnaswami Iyer
G. K. GoKHALE Tribhovandas N. Malvi
D. E. Wacha Madan Mohan Malaviya
And many others.
Over 900 of the delegates subscribed to the above
and attended the meeting. If the Congress was not
to be slain by violence, some one had to act, and the
delegates who originally signed the notice sprang into
the breach. The approval of a large majority of the
delegates present legitimatised the calling of the
Convention, and, if a majority is to rule, the Con-
vention was the child of the 23rd National Congress.
Sir Pherozeshah Mehta proposed Dr. Rash Behari
Ghose to the chair. The motion was seconded by
Mr. Surendranath Bannerji, and supported by Lala
Lajpat Rai and others. It was carried nnanimously,
and Dr. Rash Behari, taking the chair, called on Mr.
Gokhale to move the Resolution appointing a Com-
mittee to draw up a Constitution for the Congress.
470 HOW INDIA WROUGHT FOR FREEDOM
Mr. Gokliale moved over a liundred names of leading
Congressmen present ; DeAvan Bahadur Govinda-
raghava Aiyar seconded, Mr. A. Clioudlmri supported.
It was carried unanimously, Sir Pherozesliah ]\[elita,
Messrs. Gokliale and Waclia were appointed Secretaries,
and Dr. Ghose dissolved the Convention, the bridge
which carried the Congress from its old system to the
new. It has been said that the Surat riot shows the un-
fitness of Indians for Self-Government ; it seems to us
that the quickness of recovery, the prompt action, the
business-like procedure, were far better proofs of their
fitness than the conducting of peaceable meetings.
To meet an unexpected emergency, to grapple with
it, and to secure the continuity of the Congress
showed statesmanship and judgment, and we should
like to know what better procedure could have been
followed.
The Convention Committee met at Allahabad on the
1 8th and 19th of April, 1908, and dreAv up a Constitu-
tion for the Indian National Congress. They also
drew up a set of Rules for the conduct of meetings.
Articles I and IT arc the vital ones, and run as follows :
Article I. — The objects of tlvo Indian National Congress
are the attainment by the people of India of a system of
Government similar to that enjoyed by the Self-Governing
Members of the liritisli Empire, and a participation by
them in the rights and responsibilities of tlie Empire on
equal terms with those members. These objects are to be
acliieved by constitutional means, by bringing about a
steady reform of the existing system of administration,
and liy promoting national unity, fostering public spirit,
and developing and organising the intellectual, moral,
economic and industrial resources of the countrv.
THE TWENTY-THIRU CONGRESS 471
[This is the famous " Creed ".]
Article II. — Every delegate to the Indian National
Congress shall express in writing his acceptanne of the
Objects of the Congress as laid down in Article I of
this Constitution, and his willingness to abide by this
Constitution, and by the Rules of the Congress hereto
appended.
The Madras Congress of 1908 was held undtn- this
Constitution, which was formally laid on the table.
This Constitution, with the Rules, was submitted to
the Congress at Allahabad in 1910, and a Resolution
was there passed referring various proposed amend-
ments to a Sub-Committee, which was ordered to
report before the end of October, 1911, the report tO'
be laid before the Congress of that year. It was sO'
laid, and was further amended and adopted by the