The Congress, which from the beginning stood for a united independent India, agreed to the partition of India, primarily because it felt that there was no other way to achieve freedom and prevent a further worsening of the situation. India became free on 15th August 1947. A separate state of Pakistan comprising West Punjab, East Punjab, Sind and Northwest Frontier Province was created. The Indian people after their century long struggle, had thrown out the foreign rule even though it happened in the midst of unimaginable tragedies. Jawaharlal Nehru became the 1st Prime Minister of free India. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when 15th August dawned, India, as Nehru said, awoke to life of freedom. On the day India became independent, Gandhiji was in Calcutta which had been ravaged by communal rioting .

He came to Delhi only after communal violence had ceased there on 30 January 1948, and Hindu fanatic Nathuram Godse shot him dead as he was going to a prayer meeting. Gandhiji died instantly with the words ‘He Ram’ (Oh God). It was a strange story that the apostle of non-violence should have met a violent death. The bullets that passed through Gandhiji’s chest reverberated in millions of hearts. Gandhiji had fought communal fanaticism with all his strength while he lived. His death was finally to quench it. The Indian people who were just beginning to recover from the shock of the communal killings and destruction of the previous year were plunged into mourning. Jawaharlal Nehru said, ‘Light has gone out of our lives’. Gandhiji had been a source of inspiration to a world full of strife , a man who upheld truth and humanity above everything else. He had come to be known as the Mahatma to the people of India and the world. The Constituent Assembly began to function as the Parliament of Independent India.

On 14th August, Jawaharlal Nehru in his address to the Assembly outlined the tasks that lay ahead before the Indian people. These were tasks of "ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity". He spoke of the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity. He called upon the people "to build the noble mansion of free India where all her children may dwell". The Indian people became masters of their own destiny. The task of building a new India began. There can be no question that the British Indians in South Africa are hemmed in on all sides by restrictions more or less severe according to the Colonies in which they are imposed, and that they are also very much misunderstood.

By this time, those of our readers who have followed these columns at all attentively, would have noticed that there is ample proof for the two statements we have just made. The purpose of this article is to draw some lessons from these adverse circumstances. We are told "Sweet are the uses of adversity", which should be "the instructor of the wise". Let us see, then, whether we have learnt any lesson from adversity. There are in India sharp divisions between the different races inhabiting it; for instance, the Tamils, the 'Calcutta men', aas the inhabitants of the upper provinces are called here, the Punjabis, the Gujaratis, etc. There are also the Mahomedans, the Hindus, the Parsis, and others according to religions. Then among the Hindus there are the Brahmans, the Kshatriyas, the Baniyas, and others.

Now, to our mind, if we have brought from India these divisions and differences as very valuable cargo to be treasured up all this distance, then there is no doubt that it would clog us at every step, and hinder our progress. South Africa ought to be to the British Indians a great Puri where all divisions are abolished and levelled up. We are not, and ought not to be, Tamils or Calcutta men, Mahomedans or Hindus, Brahmans or Baniyas, but simply and solely British Indians, and as such we must sink or swim together. That the interests of all the divisions are absolutely identical cannot be gained. That being so, it is plain enought that our duty lies in doing away with any such prejudices. That is preliminary step, and an indispensable one. We are quite aware that our people have made a very great advance in that direction, but in drawing general lessons from our difficulties, the statement would be incomplete without a warning. It is also incumbent on every Indian not merely to be satisfied with having made sufficient to feed and clothe himself and his family; he must be prepared to put his hands deep into his pocket for the public weal, and here again we know that the community throughout South Africa has not altogether failed in its duty, but we have no hesitation in saying that it might have done much better.

Courage and patience are qualities which one needs very badly when one is placed in difficult circumstances. We had, during the late war, a precious opportunity of watching these two qualities at their best among Englishmen in South Africa. The history of the siege of Ladysmith and its relief will always be an example of invulnerable courage and inexhaustible patience. Many Indians who took part as stretcher-bearers will be able to recollect the scenes that they were witnesses to at the fights of Colenso and Spion Kop. In spite of fearful odds and bad reverses, there was no yielding. When at one time, even General Buller was inclined to think that relief was impossible, the world knows that there flashed across the wire a message from the hero of Candahar, that as long as General Buller had one man left with him, he was not to give in. The great result we all know. Ours is not a struggle so difficult or so heroic to contend against, but it teaches a lesson in courage and patience which we ought to learn. If no sum of money, no quantity of blood and no amount of time were considered too great for the honour of the British Empire to relieve what were, after all, a handful of the besieged in Ladysmith, shall we not think similarly when we are engaged in a struggle for our liberties, and come to the conclusions that we must have courage and patience enough to tide over passing misfortunes? We should not forget that "calamity is man's true touchstone" and that "none can cure their harms by bewailing them". But we require something more also. We are apt as a nation, and the Missionaries have brought it up against us as a charge, to look at things material with philosophical indifference, and make little of everyday comforts of life.

Now, that is an attitude for which we have unbounded admiration; but it would be very much misplaced in South Africa. Such an attitude would be a credit to those who do not know that there are many Indians in South Africa who have migrated with any other desire than that of bettering their material position. To such, then, it would be more philosophical to fall in with the natural order of things, and to be prepared to spend in proportion to their earnings. The charge, then, against the Indians that they live on nothing would be dispelled. At the same time, nothing can be further from our thoughts than to suggest that we, as a community, should give ourselves up to pleasure. What we do wish to emphasise is the fact that we ought, as far as may be, to "do in Rome as the Romans do", still retaining the attitude of mental indifference. If we can have such comforts, well and good; and if we cannot, well and good, also. But, above all else, what is most needed in a community which considers itself to be ill-treated at the hands of others is the virtue of love and charity. It is well known that, after all, men, being creatures of circumstances, would do things which are unjustifiable quite unconsciously, owing to the control exercised over them by the circumstances in which they are placed. Is it not, then, necessary for us to be charitable in our judgements? We, as a people, are devoted to religious speculations, and to doctrines of non-resistance and of returning good for evil. We believe firmly in the fact of even our thought colouring the actions of those of whom we may think. We see such instances often in daily life.

A great crime committed by a man has been known to change his face in such a way as to stamp the crime on it. Similarly, a great good act done by a man has produced the opposed effect on his features, and he has been known, as the case may be, either to attract or to repulse from, himself people by his very act. We then hold it to be our paramount duty not to think evil of those who we may consider are dealing unjustly by us. There is hardly any virtue in the ability to do a good turn to those that have done similarly by us. That even the criminals do. But it would be some credit if a good turn could be done to an opponent. If this very simple thing be always borne in mind, we do think that success will come to us far more quickly than we are likely to imagine. We hope, as time goes by, to develop more fully each one of the points cursorily touched upon in this article. At present, it is enought for us to ask our country men to ponder over what we have said, and to be always on the alert otherwise, storm-tossed as we are, a surging wave may all of a sudden come upon us and engulf us, when any action we may wish to take will be too late.

Lahore Congress and the Civil Disobedience Movement

In December 1929, the Congress session held at Lahore declared the attainment of complete independence as its aim and decided to launch a Civil Disobedience movement under the leadership of Gandhiji. It was decided to celebrate 26th January as Independence day all over the country. On 26th January 1930 meetings were held all over the country and the Congress tricolour was hoisted . The people took the "Pledge of Independence" at these meetings.

Because of its significance in the nationalist struggle, 26 January was chosen as the day to mark the birth of the Indian Republic in 1950. So Independence Day of the pre-independence days has become the Republic Day of Free India. The Civil Disobedience movement began with the Dandi March. Gandhiji along with 78 of his followers started from his Ashram at Sabarmati on a march to Dandi on the sea coast on foot and broke the law by making salt. In April, he gave instructions to launch the movement. As soon as it was launched all important leaders including

Gandhiji and Jawaharlal Nehru were arrested. By the beginning of 1931, 90,000 persons were in jail and 67 papers had been banned. In April and May 1930, three dramatic incidents had taken place. At Peshawar, Indian soldiers refused to open fire on the demonstrators when ordered to do so. In Sholapur, martial law had to be imposed to suppress the mass upsurge. In Chittagong, the revolutionaries captured the armoury and there was a pitched battle between the government troops and the revolutionaries.