Page:Speeches And Writings MKGandhi.djvu/902

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812 MISCELLANEOUS

��over Intha, thousand* have registered themselves as members, This m itself is an immense gaia,

Baft much oaore yeti remains to be done, It is essentially r.hcj \vork of the Hmdus. Wherever the Mussulmans are stiill found bo he apathetic, they should he iuvited to come ID. One often hears from Hindu quarters the ooonUinb that Mussulmans do nob join the Congress organisation or do not pay to the Swaraj Fund. The natural question ie, have they been invited ? In every district Hmdus must make special efforts to draw ou& their Mussulman neighbours. There will never ha real equality so long as one feels inferior or superior to the other. There is no room for patronage among equals. Mussulmans must not feel the lack of education or numbers where they are in a minority, Deficiency in education must be corrected by taking education. To be in a minority is often a blessing, Superiority in num- bora has frequen&ly proved a hindrance. It is character that counts in the end. But I have not commenced this article to lay down counsels of perfection, or to state the course of conduct in the distant future.

My main purpose is to think of the immediate task lying before a*. Bakr-Id will be soon upon us. What are we to do to frustrate the attempts that will then by made to foment quarrels between us Hindus and Mussulmans? Though the situation has improved con- siderably in Bihar, it is not yet free from anxiety. Over- zealous and impatient Hindus are trying to force matters. They lead themselves an easy pray to the machinations of mischief-makers not always prompted by the Government side, Protection of the oow is the nearest to the Hindu heart,

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