In favour of the Congress

THE growing tendency among leading men in the country to participate in academic discussions on subjects exercising the public mind deserves to be sincerely welcomed. Such discussions are a common feature in university life in England, and this is clearly one of those matters in which India may do worse than take a leaf out of England’s book. Of late, two such discussions have been held, one at the Benares University, on the subject of the spinning franchise; and the other at the Nagpur University Union on the subject of the futility of Swarajist tactics. It is worthy of note and is, indeed, of no small significance that in both cases, a substantial majority of those who took part in the discussions were found to be in favour of the view represented by the Congress. Nothing could show either more clearly or more convincingly that of all the organised parties in the country, the Congress is still far and away the most influential and authoritative. That does not mean, of course, that the practical support which a particular view represented by the Congress finds in the country is necessarily proportionate to the vocal support that it finds at a public gathering. The failure of the more aggressive items of the non-cooperation programme is itself a sufficient refutation of any such idea. Not only were all these items adopted by three successive sessions of the Congress, but we venture to think that if a poll were taken at a public gathering at any place within the orbit of the Congress on the day the Mahatma practically sounded their death-knell and if the predominant party in the Congress were still prepared to support them, it would be the easiest thing for it to obtain a majority in its favour.