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58 M. K. GANDHI with the Government of India or the British Government with- out the previous sanction of the All-India Congress Committee, to be finally ratified by the Congress specially convened for the purpose, and provided also that the present creed of the Cong- ress shall in no case be altered by Mahatma Gandhi or his successor except with the leave of the Congress first obtained." There were vet some in the Congress who went a step further than Mr. Gandhi himself. Moulana Hazrat Mohani stood out for complete independence and it is interesting to note how valiantly Mr. Gandhi fought against the motion of absolute severance from Britain. Mr. Gandhi opposed all his amendments and pinned the Congress down to his own dubious resolution. Soon after the session, some of the Provincial organisations were busy preparing for a no·tax campaign. In U. P, Guzerat, the Andhra and in the Punjab the movement threatened to assume a serious turn. Mr. Gandhi, him- self, while insisting that his conditions should be fulnlled before any taluka should embark on an offensive com- paign, threw the onus of responsibility on the Province itself———Provincia1 autonomy with a vengeance! But then there were hopes of peace in the air. Tun Bomnar Couruanucu A conference of representatives of various shades of political opinion convened by Pundit Malaviya, Mr. Jinnah and others, assembled at Bombay on the 14th January, 1922, with Sir C. Sankaran Nair, in the Chair. On the second day Sir Sankaran withdrew and Sir Nl. Visveswaraya took up his place, Over two—hundred leading men from different provinces attended. Mr, Gandhi was present throughout and though he refused to be officially connected-an attitude resented by many—— with the reso- lutions, he took part in the debates and helped the con- ference in framing the resolutions which were also ratified by the Congress Working Committee. Tan ULTIMATUM While negotiations were going on between the representatives of the Malaviya Conference and H. E. the Viceroy, Mr. Gandhi addressed an open letter to Lord