Not what thou and I have promised to each other but what the balance of our forces can make us perform to each other : that, in so sinful a world as ours, is the thing to be counted upon.
Thomas Carlyle.
When Mr. Montague asked Mr. Tilak what he would do in case the reforms fell short of his expect###ations, Mr. Tilak readily replied “I would accept what is given and fight for more."+++(5)+++ Being a strategist and not a mere idealist, Mr. Tilak knew full well how to make use of the smallest concessions. That is why, when the Montague-Chelmsford report was out,he did not run into hysterics over it. He never called for its unquali###fied rejection. From the very beginning his criticism was strong but constructive and he refused to lend the weight of his support to that small party in the Congress which in July and August, 19 18, talked of a summary refusal of the ’little’ Mont-ford gift. It was not, there###fore, likely, that Mr. Tilak would, in November 1919 reject those Reforms which nearly two years back he had decided to accept for a time. When he returned to India in November 1919 after advocating the Congress demands before the British Democracy, he had already matured in his mind a plan of operations, which he thought, would be the shortest cut to Home Rule. When in England, Mr. Tilak had been deeply impres
LOKAMANYA TILAK ’ 29X
-sed with the completeness with which Sinn Feiners had carried the General Election of 19 18. The Sinn Fein###ers* refusal to take their seats in the Parliament, their efforts to organize a Government of their own, strongly appealed to him. Of course, he saw the limitations under which they were working and the difference bet###ween the conditions in Ireland and those in India. An adoption of the peaceful portions of the tactics of the Sinn Feiners, in the more favourable circumstances of India, with her large size, her distance from England and her countless millions, would, he was convinced bring greater pressure on our rulers, and compel them, in spite of their hesitation and caution, to revise the Government of India Act in the shortest time possible. Mr. Tilak had no mind to allow things to drift or leave them for an uncertain futurity to decide. ‘* Now and here ‘* the question must be satisfactorily and finally solved. No tinkering, no tardy instalments, no humili###ating examinations could be tolerated. t’j’The immediate task before him, on his return from London, was, so to organise public opinion as to give a definite verdict on the Government of India Act. There was barely one month. He consulted his friends and associates in other parts of India. Very little dan###ger of opposition was anticipated. The little content###ment or rejoicing that existed was to be found only in the Moderate circles. The redoubtable Mrs. Besant was, of course, expected to put up a strong fight ; but she was working hopelessly against the tremendous force of the national sentiment and was bound to be worsted in the fray. Soon after the passing of the Government of India Act, was issued the Royal Procla-
292 ’ • RESPONSIVE CO-OPERATION "
ndation, so singularly noble in sentiment, so eloquent ii* style. It was calculated to rouse the imagination and evoke the gratitude of India. No doubt, Mr. Montague meant well by India and his appeal had the ring of sin-^ cerity. But the days of miracles are gone and Mr. Tilak knew full well that the magic wand of the Royal^ Proclamation would not, all of a sudden, transform the mentality of the governing class of India. He, there###fore, publicly expressed his gratitude for the Royat message and promised responsive co-operation.
On the saintly and chivalrous mind of Mahatma Gandhi, the Royal Proclamation had a far different effect. He believed the message to be a distinct depar###ture from the narrow lines of policy hitherto laid down and calculated to usher a new era in the national life of India. He. therefore, wanted to welcome the mes###sage without any reservations. He was strongly sup###ported by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya and Pandit Motilal Nehru.
At Amritsar, where the Congress met, a triangular fight was expected. There was enough courage or enthusiasm at the meeting. The question that occured to a thoughtful mind was " Would there be the neces###sary amount of tact, shrewdness and foresight which the occassion demanded ?” Mr. Gandhi’s presence and arguments infused moral sublimity into the proceedings as was seen by the Resolution which condemned the excesses (April 19 19) of the infuriated mobs in the Punjab and other places. The question was whether the Congress would rise to the same height of statesman###ship as it did to that of moral sublimity. What should be the wording of the resolution about the Reforms ?
LOKAMANYA TILAK i 293
Mrs. Besant’s proposal, had it been passed, would have emphasized our expression of gratitude at the expense of our dignity. Mr. Gandhi’s resolution was graceful without being emphatically dignified. Mr. Tilak’s re###solution was a unique combination of grace with dignity, mellowed by a reasonable expression of gratitude. It was not a question merely of grace or gratitude. The Resolution, Mr. Tilak said, ought not to tie our hands. We must emphatically state that we are fit for an im###mediate establishment of Home Rule. We must em###phatically state that we are not satisfied with what has been given. We must fully reserve our right to carry on a vigorous agitation for a very early revision of the Government of India Act. We must carry on our propa###ganda in other parts of the world and convince the different nations of the legitimacy of our demands. If the Resolution is too complimentary, if it talks too much of gratitude and satisfaction, how shall we, say next year, appeal to the British Democracy, to revise the Act ? This, in brief, was Mr. Tilak’s reasoning. In the draft Resolution " Mr. Das reiterated the de###mands of the Delhi Congress and declared that the Reforms Act is inadequate, unsatifactory and disappoint###ing. Mr, Gandhi’s argument was that those who label###led the Reforms Act as disappointing could not be expected to use the same for the early estabhshment of Responsible Government in India. Disappointment and work could not go hand in hand. He appealed to Mr. Tilak, the commentator of the Gita, to solve the riddle and have no mental reservations towards those in England who were well-disposed towards India. Mr. Tilak replied that disappointment should not be
294 *’ RESPONSIVE CO-OPERATION *’
the reason for keeping oneself aloof from or boycotting the Reforms Act ; nay, the Gita enjoins us to accept the hievitable and work under distressing circumstances with a clear sense of duty. After a lively discussion lasting for nearly five hours in the open sessions, Messrs. Gandhi, Das, Tilak, Pal, Malaviya come to a compro###mise " and the Resolution concluded declaring that India should work the Govermnet of India Act so as to secure the early establishment of full responsible govern###ment.
In supporting the Resolution, Mr. Tilak made an ex###cellent speech. He concluded it in the following signi###ficant and statesmanlike words : —
" We want now clearly to declare, not only here but to the whole world that we are not satisfied with the Act. We want to continue our agitation. We want to utilize it to our best advantage and continue to de###mand more and we want the rest of the world to know that this is the exact state of things. Do not mislead the civilized nations of Europe. Take care of that. Do not be too generous, too humane to accept with fulsome glee what little has been thrown to you now."
The fierce controversies at the Amritsar Congress threw Mrs. Besant into an unnatural alliance with the Moderates ; and the next few months are thick with con###troversial dust. It is really painful to see the great lady trying to harp on the innocent statement of Mr. Tilak " Diplomacy must be met with diplomacy." Mrs. Besant complained of being used as a tool by Mr. Tilak, called him a menance to India and reported him as having said to a prominent member of the Moderate Party " I deliberately misrepresent the Moderates; that ia
LOKAMANYA TILAK 295
Politics." All this was probably the result of her dis###appointment and discomfiture at Delhi (1918) and at Amritsar (1919). Her conduct in England was severely criticised by Messrs. Khaparde and Patel and her at###tempts to persuade Labour leaders not to move Con###gress amendments were brought to light. This exaspe###rated her beyond all measure and she appealed to the All###India Congress Committee to disassociate itself from the utterances of Messrs. Patel and Khaparde. This appeal was made when Mr. Patel had already sailed for England. So Mr. Tilak had to take the sword in his behalf and do an unpleasant duty. It is well to cast a veil over all these controversies; for nothing pained Mr. Tilak more than the attitude of Mrs. Besant, who, he always held, was by temperament never a moderate. He had publicly appealed to her (March 1920), iu the best interests of the country to co-operate with the Congress Party. But God had willed it that her path should differ from that of the Congress leaders.
The Moderate Party, with its age-long opposition to Mr. Tilak’s principles and personality was led in Maha###rashtra by the Hon’ble Mr. Paranjpye, who, with true iconoclastic fervour, started his new campaign against the Nationalists by striking at their idol. When, there###fore, an address was proposed to be given at Poona to Mr. Tilak on his return from England (November 1919), Mr. Paranjpye opposed it by publishing " a catalogue of Mr. Tilak’s sins of commission and omission." The attack failed ; the address was duly given and though Mr. Parajpye was challenged to personally lead the op###position at the public meeting, he wavered at the last moment and remained absent.
296 " RESPONSIVE CO-OPERATION
»
The Moderates realized, though a little late that oppo sition to an address to Mr. Tilak would bring both defeat and bad repute ; their chivalry and decency would be questioned. But the sentimental cry of simulta###neous compulsory education to the boys and girls of Poona was catching. It did not matter that the tax###able capacity of the Poona City Municipality did not allow an additional annual burden of Rs. 86,500. It did not matter that even in Western countries, when on economical grounds a choice had to be made, the com###pulsory education of boys usually preceded that of the girls. It did not even matter that Mr. Gokhale, the great apostle of moderation wanted to give free and compulsory education to boys first and to girls after###wards. The Moderates simply wanted to enjoy a little fun at the expense of the Nationalists who were in a majority in the City Municipality. The law demand###ed that the opposition must not exceed one- third of the total number of members. Taking advantage of this provision, the Moderates, " in defiance of precedence, prudence, practical wisdom and financial knowledge " of their own city were willing to see the education of a large number of boys neglected, because their oppo###nents, the Nationalists could not guarantee the immediate education of all the girls in the city on account of financial difficulties.
The Moderates’ concern for the free and compulsory education of girls at Poona was equalled by their keen desire for the free and unrestricted admission of peasant delegates to the Poona District Conference held at Junnar early in March (1920). Knowing that they would be in a minority at the Conference, the Moderates,
LOKAMANYA TILAK 297
who at their Conferences held at Bombay and Calcutta, had never thought of this concession, began to harp on this favourite string. Without even a week’s notice to the Reception Committee, they wanted to have a num###ber of " Peasant Delegates “, secretly pledged to vote for them. But the Committee allowed only five " Pea###sant Delegates " to each Taluka. The result is curious. Not even five peasant delegates repsonded to the call and the Conference was a signal triumph of Mr. Tilak and his party.
Through the thick clouds of all these controversies, Mr. Tilak was hacking his path to the goal. An old acquaintance of the unrepentent Indian bureaucracy, he cleariy knew, what even a less experienced man has observed that we " are dealing with the most astute and diplomatic and clever set of politicians in the worid and that they could undo what the Secretary of State has done.” He had noted how tardily the Bureaucracy had responded to the gracious Royal Proclamtion and how incomplete was the amnesty to political prisoners. He had also noted how the Congress party was rigorously excluded from the Advisory Committee on Rules under the Government of India Act. But the position he had taken from the beginning was one of responsive co-ope###ration and he was not required to change it. In a speech at Bombay he said : —
‘* We are prepared to co-operate ; but if there is nothing to co-operate, we shall not. * * His Majesty has asked the people and the authorities to co-operate with each other. * * * * It is almost a scandal to say that Indians are not pre###pared to co-operate for the sake of India ; obey-
298 “responsive co-operation”
ing His Majesty means in India loyalty to bureau###cracy first and to people afterwards. * * Let the authorities declare in what ways they are prepared to co-operate with us and we can assure them that, if they co-operate with us, we can, with them. Co-operation is mutual
»»
Meanwhile, events of far greater import than party squabbles or recriminations were happening with shock###ing rapidity. The imposition of an unjust, inequitable, humiliating and crushing peace on Turkey, in defiance of repeated pledges, in defiance of the feeUngs of Indian Moslems set aflame the Islamic mind in this country. The recklessness with which the sacredness of pledges was disregarded produced the deepest impression on the mind of Mahatma Gandhi and his moral nature revolted against an order of things which rendered possible such brutal callousness. The Privy Council Judgment in the Am ri tsar case dealt " a severe blow to our constitu###tional rights, investing the Viceroy with almost auto###cratic power of ordinance-making." It showed how ** the judgments even of the highest tribunals are not unaffected by political considerations." The belated publication of the belated report of the belated Hunter Commission aggravated the situation by showing how the majority of the Commissioners considered cold###blooded murders to be mere " grave errors " and ** unfortunate " or " injudicious " acts. The Viceroy condoning the sins of the notorious Satrap of the Punjab, the Secretary of State applauding Lord Chelmsford, the House of Lords in love with General Dyer, — all this was too much even for the most
LOKAMANVA TILAK 299
forgiving of all morteils ! As gentle as a lamb, as for###giving as an angel, Mahatma Gandhi could not yet endure the flagrant injustice of the Simla autocrats ; and he determined to unsheathe the sword of non-co###opera ton with the ultimate object of bringing round the up-holders of this unrighteous poUcy.
Mr. TUak cordially welcomed the rise of this luminary in the firmament of Indian Pohtics ; and as regards non-co-operation, Mr. Tilak was a non-co-operator since the very beginning of his career. He had set his back on Government service and had not cared to prac###tise as a pleader in the Government courts ; he had given eleven years of his life to the attempt of nation###alizing education and had left the Deccan Education Society when he found his task impossible. So far, therefore, as the first stage of Mahatma Gandhi’s pro###gramme went, Mr. Tilak had put into practice most of the items included therein. As regards the remaining three stages, Mr. Tilak would never have shirked advo###cating them had he found it necessary in the circumstan###ces of the country. There was only one item to which he was strongly opposed, and that was the boycott of the Councils. This he considered suicidal. He could not be suspected of being specially enamoured of the Councils as most of the prestige which he commanded was due, not to his short membership of the Bombay Legislative Council but to his work outside the Council. Besides, owing to age and loss of vigour he had almost decided not to stand for election. He was however em###phatically of opinion that in the agitation to be started for a very early revision of the Government of India Act, it was necessary to capture most of the seats in the Coun-
300 " RESPONSIVE CO-OPERATION "
cils. He differed from Mahatma Gandhi’s opinion that the Councils are a snare and that there is an insidious poison which invariably affects its members. Mr. Tilak admitted that this was true when we were in a substan###tial minority in the Councils but he held that no danger need be anticipated when the Nationahsts would enter the Councils not necessarily to co-operate. The most aggressive and effective form of non-co-operation would be non-co-operation within the Councils and on this he had set his heart.
That is why at the Sholapur Provincial Conference (April 2nd, 3rd and 4th), he laboured to carry a resolu###tion which called upon the Congress Committees in par###ticular and the public in general to *’ accept the lead given by the Amritsar Congress, in the matter of the working of the Reforms Act, and support, at the ensuing Council elections, the candidature of persons whose allegiance to the Congress is beyond all question.’’ The bewitching cry of " elect the best men " was raised by the minority. Mr. Tilak agreed ; but explained that the men to be elected must be best for the purpose in view, namely the working of the Reforms Act so as to attain full Responsible Government within the shortest time possible. He was in no sympathy with best men who would merely like to work the act without this particular end in view. If we really went in for best men, why, in the bureaucratic fold, many capable per###sons might be found; but the}’ were not wanted, nor tha Moderates, if they did not respect the Amritsar Resolu###tion. This was too much for the Moderates, who had tried their best to attend the Conference in large num###bers, though in trying to secure numbers, they had to
LOKAMANYA tiLAK 30 r
leave aside principles and get elected through " the Deccan Sabha of Poona, hundreds of men of Sholapur, as Poona Delegates including known minors, and people of doubtful credentials and suspicious characters." Mrs. Besant had come all the way from Madras to get the Amritsar judgment reversed ; she moved an amend###ment which would have enabled the Moderates to stand for election in the name of the Congress and through the help of the Congress ogencies. But the amend###ment was defeated by an over- whelming majority.
Within a fortnight after the close of the Sholapur Conference, Mr. Tilak published the manifesto of the " Congress Democratic Party." Though he published this document over his signature, still he had consulted most of the Nationalist leaders in Western India, and it was merely to save valuable time that he thought it desirable to publish it on his individual responsibility. Those who know that Mr. Tilak wanted to place the manifesto for approval before the Special Congress at Calcutta, will not blame him for having acted autocra###tically in the name of the Congress Democratic Party. The Manifesto is a comprehensive document, by no means exhaustive ; it lays down the general policy of the advanced poUtical party. The Manifesto declares : — " This Party proposes to work the Montague Re###forms Act for all it is worth, and for accelerating the grant of full Responsible Government ; and for this purpose it will, without hesitation, offer co-operation or resort to constitutional op###position, whichever may be expedient and best calculated to give effect to the popular will.’’ What was the object of issuing this Manifesto ? Some
302 RESPONSIVE CO-OPERATION *’
unfriendly critics think that Mr. Tilak was pressed — nobody knows, by whom — to declare his programme and was required to show some constructive work as his name was associated with mere destruction. Others hold that it was a set off against Mahatma Gandhi’s programme of Non-co-operation published about this time. There are persons who seek to justify Mr. Tilak’s Manifesto by pointing out that the publication of the Congress Democratic Party’s Manifesto was followed by the publication of at least half a dozen similar docu###ments from different groups of politicians in India. The truth is that the manifesto of Mr. Tilak forms only a link in the work of organisation required for carrying the Councils elections, on which Mr. Tilak had set his heart. The first step was, of course, the Amritsar Re###solution. The Sholapur Conference which followed, developed the Amritsar Resolution, and specified the persons eligible for election under the Congress banner. The Manifesto followed, pointing out at length, the scope of the work of the Congress Party. The fourth step was taken when at the Annual Conference of the Indian Home Rule League, the services of the League were placed at the disposal of persons belonging to the Congress Democratic Party and desirous of standing as candidates for Councils. Mr. Tilak’s next idea was to get the Congress Democratic Party’s Manifesto approved of by the Special Session of the Congress at Calcutta. He intended to make this Congress concentrate upon the elections in November 1920 ; and then, after having established an over- whelming majority in the Councils, he intended at Nagpur to give an ultimatum to the Bureaucracy. Had the Bureaucracy failed to respond^
LOKAMANYA HLAK 3O3
the Nationalists’ majority would have absented itself from the councils or taken to other forms of opposition which would have brought the Bureaucracy to their
knees.
It should be noted that this programme was not at all inconsistent with the acceptance of Mahatma Gandhi’s. Indeed, it seems certain that both the Mahatma and the Lokamanya would have fused their programmes into one. Had Mr. Tilak lived, the whole of Mr. Gandhi’s programme and not merely its first step, would, very probably, have been accepted by the Calcutta Congress, with the proviso, that the Councils were not to be boy###cotted. The Nation would thus have been able to wage a battle royal with the Bureaucracy — ^within and out###side the councils, the one helping the progress of the other ; and the sad spectacle of the Bureaucracy trying to crush the Non-co-operators with the aid of the Mode###rates in the Councils, would never have been seen. Had repression come, it would have appeared hideous in all its nakedness.