A timely appeal
WE associate ourselves wholeheartedly with the appeal which has just been issued by a number of eminent Mussalman leaders, calling upon the people of India generally and the Muslims in particular to “make the observance of the forthcoming Id an occasion for demonstrating their tolerance and brotherly goodwill towards each other”. The signatories begin by referring to Mahatma Gandhi’s health, which is far from good, and say that he feels even more strongly on the question of Hindu-Muslim tension than on the subject of Charkha, and that “if he goes out on tour, as he shortly intends to do, he is sure to break down under the strain of work, if to his arduous labour is added the poignant grief that is bound to befall if, God forbid, anything untoward happened on the occasion of the forthcoming Id.” That the signatories place this consideration in the forefront of their appeal is proof at once of their devotion to the Mahatma and solicitude for his health and peace of mind and of their confidence that this devotion and solicitude is shared by their countrymen generally. That there are mischief-makers they know as well as anyone else, but they trust that “unless good sense has deserted the two communities, they will refuse to listen to the evil promptings of such men”. On the general issue they hold a decided opinion, and they express it without pretended hesitation. “Our Mussalman brothers,” they say, “we must ask to remember that this Id is the feast of sacrifice and commemorates an occasion when a devoted father was prepared to sacrifice his son for the sake of pleasing his Maker. We must not mix up our sacrifice on such an occasion with the satisfaction of any desire for revenge.”
