Well, Sir, I must congratulate Pandit Nehru for the fine expression he gave to the spirit of the Indian people when he said that no imposition from the British will be accepted by the Indian people. Imposition would be resented and objected to, he said and he added that if need be we will walk the valley of struggle. That is very good, Sir–bold word, noble words. But the point is to see when and how are you going to apply that challenge. Well, Sir, the point is that the imposition is here right now. Not only has the British Plan made any future Constitution-provided you are able to evolve out something which I–very much doubt–even if you were able to evolve out something, not only is it dependent on a treaty satisfactory to the Britisher but it suggests that for every little difference you will have to run to the Federal Court or dance attendance there in England or to call on Attlee or someone else. Not only is it a fact that this Constituent Assembly, whatever plans we may be hatching, we, are under the shadow of British guns, British Army, their economic and financial stranglehold which means that the final power is still in the British hands and the question of power has not yet been finally decided, which means the future is not yet completely in our hands. Not only that, but the statements made by Attlee and others recently, have made it clear that if need be, they will even threaten you with division entirely. This means, Sir, there is no freedom in this country. As Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel put it some days ago, we have freedom only to flight among ourselves. That is the only freedom we have got and the only other freedom that I noticed is on the order paper of the day where Pandit Nehru is the Hon’ble Pandit Nehru and I suppose Pandit Nehru has not even the freedom to drop that honour. Therefore I say it is no use your thinking that from within the limitations of this British Plan, one part of which is the Interim Government and the other part of which is the Constitution-making procedure, I don’t think you will be able to get any independence out of it. The insolence of the Britishers, as you have recently seen, and to which expression has been given by various Members of the House, why is this insolence so growing, it is for the patriots to see. The insolence is growing because they find that the great parties of our country, the Congress and the Muslim League, go on thinking that in getting our parties, may party’s claim as against the other party, I will be able to get the help of the British. They want you to go on quarrelling with the only result, that fatricidal fights follow, as it has happened to-day throughout the country, as it is happening everyday before your very eyes. Our strength against the British gets decimated and nothing of freedom comes our way. Only we kill each other as if we are enemies instead of being brothers and Mr. Alexander gets the cheek to say in this month of 1946 in the House of Commons that the use of the Special powers of the Viceroy has not been changed and whatever power is available there, it is there to back it. Therefore, our humble suggestion is that it is not a question of getting something by working out this Plan but to declare independence here and now and call upon the Interim Government, call upon the people of India to stop fratricidal warfare and look out against its enemy, which still has the whip hand, the British Imperialism–and go together to fight it and then resolve our claims afterwards when we will be free. As a matter of fact, Sir, we have found in the long history of our struggle for the freedom, of the country that, when we are faced to the British, even though we might disagree very much among ourselves, quarrels are generally resolved, no obstacles are put to the man who is fighting the British. It is a way out of the present fratricidal impasse. Mr. Chairman, Sir, and the Mover of this Resolution, I would address him also, that Doctor Jayakar, the fine logician and a cruel logical that he is, has placed before you the only alternatives when he has told you that either we have to work through the limitations of the British Plan or you have to go forward to the seizure of power, revolutionary seizure of power. These are the alternatives and good old constitutional liberal that he is, he has rightly grasped it and playing upon the fear of revolution that some of you might have got, he has asked you to follow his constitutional path and told you ‘I know Congress also is not going to revolutionary seize power’. Yes, Sir, these are the only alternatives before Indian people today and before this Constituent Assembly today, that either you try to follow the British Plan, put one party’s claim against the other and get sunk into the morass of fratricidal warfare everyday with the result that finally the British may be as strong over you as before, or you go forward to the revolutionary seizure of power. I say, you go forward first of all to drive out the British, to drive the British Viceroy, to drive out their troops, etc., which are holding their guns even now over our heads.
