The Hindu Conference

THE Punjab Provincial Hindu Conference, which met at Amritsar on May 30 and 31, was a representative gathering of the Hindus of this province, and as such its resolutions and proceedings are entitled to the greatest weight. It was a pleasing sight to see Hindus of all schools of thought, Arya Samajists and Santanists, Liberals, Swarajists and non-cooperators, on the same platform with a view to finding a satisfactory solution to the difficulties that face the Hindu community at the present moment. An equally pleasing feature of the conference was that its proceedings were not marred by that bitterness and heat which not unoften characterise communal gatherings. The attitude of the conference towards other communities was purely defensive, and its resolutions were directed not towards encroaching on the rights of other communities but merely towards consolidating and safeguarding the interests of the Hindus as a community. It was, indeed, apparent from the speeches of important Hindu leaders that they did not like the idea of organising the Hindus on a communal basis, but that they were forced to do so by the aggressive attitude of other communities. It is a matter of regret that the Hindus of this province should have been compelled by recent events to do so. The Hindus of Punjab constitute only a minority; and, in the face of the attitude of aggression which the majority community has thought it fit to adopt towards them, they could not be reasonably expected to continue to disregard their communal interests and confine their activities to purely national matters.