MUMBAI DIARIES

If one adopts a tactful approach and a large-hearted attitude, there is no reason why any community should not be able to live with honour in this country. A message from Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was read out, in which he said that communalism posed the greatest threat to our country. The same theme was taken up by various participants in their speeches. One speaker said that it was in this month of August, here in the city of Bombay, that the cry “Quit India,” was first raised. Now, in this very same city, it was for us to utter another cry: “Communalism, quit India.” Everyone condemned communalism and violence. It is interesting to note that the spread of communalism, violence and discrimination has become an object of universal condemnation. It is quite another matter that people may or may not be sincere in their condemnation and may have no positive remedy to offer. Because of the pressure of international institutions, no one will stand up and advocate communalism today, but in days gone by, this was not the case. This goes to show that if one adopts a tactful approach and a large-hearted attitude, there is no reason why any community should not be able to live with honour in this country. Addresses to the Conference I delivered two addresses in the Conference, one half-way through the proceedings, and one at the closure. In addition to the fifteen minutes allotted to every speaker, a further period was allotted to me one evening, from 6 p.m. onwards, so that I could elaborate further upon how communal harmony was to be achieved. In this session, I was the sole speaker, and it lasted one hour. It was well attended by people, most of whom expressed their agreement and approval. In my fifteen-minute talk during the course of the Conference, I mentioned that, the greatest irony of modern Indian history was that a country which had won its independence through nonviolence should adopt the path of violence once independence had been gained. The history of the freedom struggle began in 1857. When Gandhiji entered politics in 1919, he decided that the freedom movement should be conducted on a nonviolent basis. There is an amusing story that highlights the difficulties posed by this policy. A certain District Collector, baffled as to what measures could be taken to counter nonviolence, wired the following message to the Secretariat: “Kindly