The Gujranwala conference

THE success or failure of a public meeting or conference may be judged by the number of people attending it, by the quality of the speeches made and the position of the speakers, as well as by the nature and value of its deliberations or resolutions. Judged by these tests, the session of the Punjab Provincial Political Conference held at Gujranwala recently was a remarkable success. In spite of the disintegration of the political life of the province and the vast amount of public attention and energy which is being almost exclusively devoted to sectarian and communal activities, the conference was fairly representative of all important sections and communities of the province. As to the qualify of the speeches, some of them were of a high order. Not only did Sarojini Naidu speak twice at the conference with her customary eloquence, but some of the other speeches, especially those of the President and some others whose names are familiar in the province, fulfilled the general expectation. The resolutions passed at the conference also covered a very wide range of subjects. The condition of political prisoners, the position of Indians in South Africa, the Gurdwara movement and the question of the release of Akali prisoners, the Patna resolution, the bar against persons convicted of political offences in the matter of election to local bodies, the removal of untouchability, the question of the fusion of political parties and the Hindu-Muslim problem were among those discussed at the conference. All these are matters which have been before the public for some time and have formed the subject matter of resolutions at numerous public meetings and political conferences.