Mahatma Gandhi, his life, writings and speeches/Reply to Madras Public Reception

by Mohandas K. Gandhi

REPLY TO MADRAS PUBLIC RECEPTION

[The following is the speech delivered by Mr. M. K. Gandhi on the occasion of his visit to Madras in 1915. Sir S. Suhratnania Aiyar presided on the occasion]:—

Mr. Chairman and Friends,—On behalf of my wife and myself I am deeply grateful for the honour that you here, and Madras, and, may I say, this presidency, have done to us and the affection that has been lavished upon us in this great and enlightened, not benighted. Presidency. If there is anything that we have deserved, as has been stated in this beautiful address, I can only say I lay it at the feet of my Master under whose inspiration I have been working all this time under exile in South Africa. In so far as the sentiments expressed in this address are merely prophetic, sir, I accept them as a blessing and as a prayer from you and from this great meeting, that both my wife and I myself may possess the power, the inclination, and the life to dedicate whatever may be developed in us by this sacred land of ours to the service of the Motherland. It is no wonder that we have come to Madras. As my friend, Mr. Natesan, will perhaps tell you, we have been long overdue, and we seem to have neglected Madras. But we have done nothing of the kind. We knew that we had a corner in your hearts and we knew that you will not misjudge us if we did not hasten to Madras before going to other Presidencies and other towns. It was in 1896 that I found in Mr. Gokhale my Rajya Guru, and it was here that I found that deep abiding sense of religion which has carried me through all trials. I appeared in 1896 before you as a stranger pleading a forlorn cause, and then discovered that Madras, this Presidency, had that instinctive power to distinguish between a right cause and a wrong cause which marks the religious, and it was here that you appreciated in its fullest measure the gravity of the situation that I was then endeavouring to place before my countrymen throughout India. (Hear, hear). And the impressions that I took with me to South Africa in 1896 have been more than amply verified throughout my experience in South Africa. The drafters of this beautiful address have, I venture to say, exaggerated out of all proportion the importance of the little work that I was able to do in South Africa. (Cries of No, No). As I have said on so many platforms, India is still suffering under the hypnotic influence produced upon it by that great saintly politician, Mr. Gokhale. He assured in my favour a certificate which you have taken at its surface value and it is that certificate which has placed me in a most embarassing position, embarassing because I do not know that I shall be able to answer the expectations that have been raised about myself and about my wife in the work that lies before us in the future on behalf of this country.

But, Sir, if one-tenth of the language that has been used in this address is deserved by us, what language do you propose to use for those who have lost their lives, and therefore finished their work, on behalf of your suffering countrymen in South Africa? What language do you propose to use for Nagappan and Narayanaswami, lads of seventeen or eighteen years, who braved in simple faith all the trials, all the sufferings, and all the indignities for the sake of the honour of the Motherland? (Applause) What language do you propose to use with reference to Valliamma, that sweet girl of seventeen years, who was discharged from Maritzburg prison, skin and bone, suffering from fever to which she succumbed after about a month's time? (Cries of Shame) It was the Madrasis, who, of all Indians, were singled out by the great Divinity that rules over us for this great work. Do you know that in the great city of Johannesburg, the Madrasis look on a Madrasi dishonoured if he has not passed through the gaols once or twice during this terrible crisis that your countrymen in South Africa went through during these eight long years? You have said that I inspired those great men and women, but I cannot accept that proposition. It was they, the simple-minded folk, who worked away in faith, never expecting slightest reward, who inspired me, who kept me on the proper level, and who combined me by their great sacrifice by their great faith, by their great trust in the great God to do the work that I was able to do. It is my misfortune that I and my wife have been obliged to work in the lime light and you have magnified out of proportion this little

HARBATSINGH, A Hindustani Stalwart who died in Durban gaol.	MR. BUDREE AHIR, A Staunch Hindustani Passive Resister.

work we have been able to do. Believe me, my dear friends, that if you consider whether in India or in South Africa it is possible for us, poor mortals, the same individuals, the same stuff of which you are made, if you consider that it is possible for us to do anything whatsoever with your assistance and without your doing the same thing that we would be prepared to do, you are lost, and we are also lost and our services will be in vain. I do not for one moment believe that the inspiration was given by us.

Inspiration was given by them to us, and we were able to be interpreters between the powers who called themselves the Governors and those men for whom redress was so necessary. We were simply links between the two parties and nothing more. It was my duty having received the education that was given, to me by my parents, to interpret what was going on in our midst to those simple folk, and they rose to the occasion. They realised the importance of birth in India, they realised the might of religious force, and it was they who inspired us. Then let these who have finished their work, and who have died for you and me, let them inspire you and us. We are still living, and who knows that the devil will not possess us tomorrow and we shall not forsake the duty? But these three have gone for ever. An old man of 75 from the United Provinces, Harbat Singh, he has also joined the majority and died in gaol in South Africa, and he deserved the crown that you would seek to impose upon us. These young men deserve all these adjectives that you have so affectionately, but blindly, lavished upon us. It was not only the Hindus who struggled, but there were Muhammadans, Parsis and Christians, and almost every part of India was represented in the struggle. They realised the common danger, and they realised also what their destiny was as Indians, as it was they, and they alone, who matched the soul-force against the physical forces.