Page:Speeches And Writings MKGandhi.djvu/621

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serve a Government which does not wish to respect the wishes of the whole people ?' I ask, is it unconstitutional for a policeman or for a soldier to tender his resignation when he knows that he is called to serve a Government which traduces its own countrymen ? Is it unconstitutional For me to go to the ' krishan,' to the agriculturist, and say to him ' it is not wise for you to pay any taxes, if these taxes are used by the Government not to raise you but to weaken you t 9 I hold and I venture to submit, thU there is nothing unconstitutional in it. What is more, I hive done every one of these things in my life and nobody has ques- tioned the constitutional character of it. 1 was in Kaira working in the midst of 7 lakhs of agriculturists. They had all suspended the payment of taxes and the whole of India was at one with me. Nobody considered that it was unconstitutional. I submit that in the whole plan of non- co-operation, there is nothing unconstitutional. But I do venture to suggest that it will be highly unconstitutional in the midst of this unconstitutional Government, in the midst of a nation which has built up its nugnificent con- stitution, for the people of India to become weak and to crawl on their belly it will be highly unconstitutional for

he people of India to pocket every insult that is offered to

them ; it is highly unconstitutional for the 70 millions of Mohamadans of India to submit to a violent wrong done to their religion ; it is highly unconstitutional for the whole >f India to sit still and co-operate with an unjust Sovernment which has trodden under its feet the honour rf the Punjab, I say to my countrymen so long as you have i sense of honour and so long as you wish to remain the descendants and defenders of the noble traditions that lave been handed to you for generations after generatfons f t is unconstitutional for you not to n on -co-operate and un-

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