Page:Speeches And Writings MKGandhi.djvu/608

 518 NON-CO-OPERATION

have taken judicial notice. Instead of accepting every- thing that the officials had to say, the Comirittee's obrfous duty was to tax itself to find out the ical cause of the disorders. It ought to have goie out of its way to seirch out the inwaidness of the events. Instead of patiently gcing behind the hard crust of official documents, the Commifee allowed itself to 1 e guided with criminal laziness by mere official evidence. The report and the despatches, in my humble opinion, constitute an attempt to condone official lawlessness. The cautious and half-hearted condemnation pronounced ujon General Djer's massacre and the notori- ous crawling order only deepens the disappointment of the reader as he goes through page after page of thii.ly dis- guised official whitewash. I need, however, scarcely attempt any elaborate exmamination of the reporter the despatches which have been so justly censured by the whole national press whether of the mcderale or the extremist hue. The point to consider is how to break down this secret be the secrecy ever so unconscious conspiracy to uphold official iniquity. A scandal of this magnitude cannot be tolerated by the nation, if it is to preserve its self-rfespect and become a free partner in the Empire. The All-India Congress Com- mittee has resolved upon convening a special session of the Congress for the purpose of considering, among other things, the situation arising from the report. In my opinion the time has arrived when we must cease to rely upon mere petition to Pailiamert for effective action. Petitions will have value, when the nation has behind it the power to enforce its will. What power then have we/ When we are fiimly of opinion that gme wiong has been done us aid when after an appeal to the highest authority we fait to fecure rediess, there must be some power available to us for undoing the wrong. It is true that in the

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