Before I read the terms of my amendment to the Resolution, I would like to remove a few misunderstandings which have arisen about its purposes. Many distinguished and loving friends have come and said to me, in all earnestness, that I ought not to move this Resolution. I would like to remove all misunderstandings about my reasons in moving this amendment. It was said that it will divide this Assembly, which is bad tactics at the present moment. When you hear my speech, I hope you will agree that my motion is not intended to, nor is it likely to, cause a division in the sense these friends meant. Some others said that I was deliberately appeasing the Muslim League. I see no harm in that, if it is necessary for the purpose of making successful the work of this Assembly. One friend went the length of saying that I am supporting Mr. Churchill of all people in the world, the one person whom I tried to expose in my cross-examination at the Round Table Conference Committee. There is no possibility of my supporting Mr. Churchill by any means. Some friends touched me to the quick by saying that all my life, having been a champion of Hindu interests, I now propose to support and placate the Muslims. In reply I said that I saw no conflict between the two. Because I support Hindu interests it does not mean that I should trample on what I consider the just rights of another community. My real purpose in moving this amendment is to save the work of this Assembly from frustration. I fear that all the work we shall be doing here is in imminent danger of being rendered infructuous. I am anxious that the work of this Constituent Assembly should not be made futile and ineffective by our neglecting one or two difficulties which lie in our way. One friend said: ‘You have been elected on the Congress ticket’. I recognise the generosity of that step and when the invitation came I accepted it at some personal inconvenience; but if the obligation of that step means that my services, which you have a right to demand at every step, must always take the form of popularity, then I am afraid it is not possible. I am here to render you as much co-operation and service as I can, but I cannot guarantee that such service will always be, in a form, popular with you. It may sometimes assume a painful form, e.g., of asking your attention to some pitfalls and difficulties in the way.
