Page:The Pilgrims' March.djvu/56

34 then, be thy gift, O God, to this wondrous land of Love and Light.

“If it is a sin to have demanded liberty for my countrymen with full and passionate intensity of soul, then I have sinned grievously, sinned beyond pardon or penitence and I rejoice that I have so sinned. If it is an offence to have asked my people to shake off the fetters of foreign servitude that degrades and dwarfs our humanity, then I am one of the most offending souls alive, and I rejoice and am thankful that God gave me the courage and hardihood to commit such an offence. And as the All-merciful gave me courage and strength in the past to speak out the truth that is within me, so I hope that He will give me endurance in the future to go through the agony of man's unrighteous persecution.”

So said Jitendralal Banerjee as I find from a certified copy of his statement made to the Magistrate. We all know Jitendralal Banerjee. I have been intimately connected with him certainly for the last five or six years of our national activity. Two years of rigorous