It grieves me to miss the faces of dear and revered leaders in this
assembly. We miss here the trumpet voice of Surendranath Banorji, who
has rendered inestimable service to the country. And though we stand as
poles asunder to-day, though we may have sharp differences with him, we
must express them with becoming restraint. I do not ask you to give up a
single iota of principle. I urge non-violence in language and in deed.
If non-violence is essential in our dealings with Government, it is more
essential in our dealings with our leaders. And it grieves me deeply to
hear of recent instances of violence reported to have been used in East
Bongal against our own people. I was pained to hear that the ears of a
man who had voted at the recent elections had been cut, and night soil
had been thrown into the bed of a man who had stood as a candidate.
Non-co-operation is never going to succeed in this way. It will not
succeed unless we create an atmosphere of perfect freedom, unless we
prize our opponents liberty as much as our own. The liberty of faith,
conscience, thought and action which we claim for ourselves must be
conceded equally to others. Non co-operation is a process of
purification and we must continually try to touch the hearts of those
who differ from us, their minds, and their emotions, but never their
bodies. Discipline and restraint are the cardinal principles of our
conduct and I warn you against any sort of tyrannical social ostracism.
I was deeply grieved therefore to hear of the insult offered to a dead
body in Delhi and feel that if it was the action of non-co-operators
they have disgraced themselves and their creed. I repeat we cannot
deliver our land through violence.

It was not a joke when I said on the congress platform that Swaraj could
be established in one year if there was sufficient response from the
nation. Three months of this year are gone. If we are true to our salt,
true to our nation, true to the songs we sing, if we are true to the
Bhagwad Gita and the Koran, we would finish the programme in the
remaining nine months and deliver Islam the Punjab and India.

I have proposed a limited programme workable within one year, having a
special regard to the educated classes. We seem to be labouring under
the illusion that we cannot possibly live without Councils, law courts
and schools provided by the Government. The moment we are disillusioned
we have Swaraj. It is demoralising both for Government