Page:Speeches And Writings MKGandhi.djvu/830

 740 ON THE EVE OF ARREST

Whilst, therefore, I am anxious that more title- holders should give up their titles, lawyers law-courts, scholars the Government schools or colleges, the Coun- cillors the Councils and the soldiers and the civilians, their posts, I would urge the nation to restrict its acti- vity in this direction only to the consolidation of the results already achieved and to trust its strergth to command further abstentions from association with a system we are seeking to mend or end.

Moreover, the workers are too few. I would not waste a single worker to day on destructive work when we have such an enormous amount of constructive work- But perhaps the most conclusive argument against devoting further time to destructive propaganda is the fact that tie spirit of intolerance which is a form of violence has never been so rampant as now. Co-opera- tors are estranged from us; they fear us. They say that we are establishing a worse bureaucracy than the existing one. We must remove every cause for such anxietv. We must go out of our way to win them to our side. We must make Englishmen safe from all harm from our side. I should not have to labour the point, if it was clear to every one as it is to you and to me that our pledge of non-violence implies utter humi- lity and goodwill even towards our bitterest opponent. This necessary spirit will be automatically realised, if only India will devote her sole attention to the work of construction suggested by me.

I flatter myself with the belief that my imprison- ment is quite enough for a long time to come. I believe in all humility that 1 have no ill-will against any one. Some of my friends would not have to be as non-violent as I am. But we contemplated the irr prison nient of the

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