The Pilgrims' March/Mr. Jinnah
Mr. JINNAH.
“Every responsible citizen in India must look upon the present position taken up by the Government as thoroughly unjustifiable. The Government have justified the present measures on the ground that law and order must be maintained, to which no exception can be taken. But it is not possible to maintain law and order either by force or by Statutes, when it is a matter of common knowledge, that intellectual and thoughtful public opinion is not respected and satisfied. It pains all to think that H. E. Lord Reading, after nine months' personal study of the Indian grievances, is not able to find a solution that can satisfy the intelligentia.
“The non-co-operation movement is only a symptom and expression of general dissatisfaction, owing to the utter disregard of public opinion and of outstanding grievances. In my opinion, the only course open to the Government is to come to a settlement of the three questions, the Khilafat, the Punjab and Swaraj,—on reasonable lines. No Government has ever succeeded in fighting against the people, and repression will only make matters worse. There will be no need on the part of the Government to make special efforts to maintain law and order, if Lord Reading will only meet the reasonable demand of the people, which has been placed before him by more than one responsible leader. Every country has got an extreme section of opinion, but it will be impossible for that section to make any headway if the bulk of the people are satisfied. And my reading of the Indian situation is that, leave alone the bulk of the people, even the intellectual and reasonable section is far from satisfied with the present policy of the Government. It is often said that sober people should rally round the authority. How is it possible for them to support or stand by the Government, when the Government has paid no heed to what even they have urged upon Lord Reading and his Government for the last nine months?”