Page:Speeches And Writings MKGandhi.djvu/48

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the Hon. Mr. Corbett, the Advocate-General) the toast of the British Empire:—

As a passive resistor I discovered that a passive resister has to make good his claim to passive resistance, no matter under what circumstances he finds himself, and I discovered that the British Empire had certain ideals with which I have fallen in love, and one of those ideals is that every subject of the British Empire has the freest scope possible for his energies and honour and whatever he thinks is due to his conscience. I think that this is true of the British Empire, as it is not true of any other Government. (Applause) I feel, as you here perhaps know, that I am no lover of any Government and I have more than once said that that Government is best which governs least. And I have found that it is possible for me to be governed least under the British Empire. Hence my loyalty to the British Empire. (Loud applause).


ADDRESS T0 THE STUDENTS

Addressing the students of Madras at the Y. M. C. A. when the Hon. Mr. (now the Rt. Hon.) V. S. Srinivasa Sastri presided, he pointed out:—

I am and I have been a determined opponent of modern civilisation. I want you to turn your eyes to-day upon what is going on in Europe and if you have come to the conclusion that Europe is to-day groaning under the heels of the modern civilisation then you and your elders will have to think twice before you can emulate that civilisation in our Motherland. But I have been told, "How can we help it, seeing that our rulers bring that culture to our Motherland." Do not make any mistake about it at all. I do not for one moment believe that it is for any rulers to bring that culture to you, unless you are prepared to accept it, and if it be that the rulers bring that culture before us, I think that we have forces within ourselves to enable us to reject that culture without having to reject the rulers themselves.

He concluded:—

I ally myself to the British Government, because I believe that it is possible for me to claim equal partnership with every subject of the British Empire. I to-day claim that equal partnership. I do not belong to a subject race. I do not call myself a subject race. (Applause). But there is this thing: it is not for the British Governors to give you, it is for you to take the thing. I want and I can take the thing. That I want only by discharging my obligations. Max Muller has told us,—we need not go to Max Muller to interpret our own religion—but he says, our religion consists in four letters "D-u-t-y " and not in the five letters "R-i-g·h-t." And if you believe that all that