Question of Indian unity

IN an article titled “Are we ready?” which appears in the current issue of Young India, Mahatma Gandhi once again discusses the baffling question of Indian unity. He has been asked by several prominent political workers and public organs to call an all-parties conference. The reply that he gives is that if he gets a requisition, say, from Mr Jinnah, Sir Mahomed Shafi, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Lala Lajpat Rai, Srinivas Sastri, Sir Surendranath, the orthodox non-Brahmin leaders, CY Chintamani, Dr Sapru and others, he will gladly call the conference. There is nothing intrinsically wrong in the position thus taken by the Mahatma. To call a conference for a definite purpose without at least some reasonable chance of that purpose being furthered by it is to throw away both time and labour. But there is one thing which the Mahatma appears to us to forget. It would be reasonable to expect a requisition from the individuals and parties he names, only if there already is a prior agreement among them. As a matter of fact, it is as much with the object of bringing them together as of bringing them on the same platform with the Swarajists and the No-changers that the all-parties conference is needed. The more reasonable course for the Mahatma, therefore, if he is himself in favour of an all-parties conference, is not to make the calling of such a conference conditional upon his getting a requisition from the persons named by him, but to ascertain from them either himself or through a suitable intermediary whether they are prepared to participate in such a conference.

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