702 NON-CO-OPERATION
Swaraj has no place <in the Congress. I submit that even so has one who does not believe in 'peaceful and legitimate means' no place in the Congress. A Congress- man may not believe in non-co-operation and still remain in it but he cannot believe in violence and untruth and still be a Congressman. I was therefore deeply hurt when I found opposition to the note in the resolution about the creed and still more when I found opposition to my paraphrase of the two adjectives 'peaceful' and 'legitimate' into 'non-violent* and 'truthful' respectively. I had reasons for the paraphrase. I was seriously told that the creed did not insirt upon non-violence and truth as the indispensable means for the attainment of Swaraj. I agreed to remove the paraphrase in order to avoid a painful discussion but I felt that truth was stabbed,
I am sure that those who raised th ; s opposition are as patriotic as I claim to be. they areas eager for Swaraj as every other Congressman. But I do say that the patriotic spirit demands their loyal and strict adherence to non-violence and truth and that if they do not believe in them they should retire from the Congress orga- nisation.
Is it not national economy to let all the ideals be sharply defined and to work independently of one another ? That then which is most popular will win the day. If we are going to evolve the real spirit of demo- cracy, we shall not do so by obstruction but by
.abstention.
The session of the All-India Congress Committee was a forcible demonstration of the fact that we are retarding the country's progress towards Swaraj and not the Government. Every mistake of the Govern- ment helps. Every neglect of duty on our part hinders.
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