I think Sir, the acoustics of this hall are perfect, if only members knew not only what to say but how to say it. Sir, my esteemed friend Pandit Balkrishna Sharma has gone off the rails completely. (Hear, hear). He says that it is against the tradition of our country to abolish all titles and that we are very fond of such titles. What he forgets is that we are not claiming it as a fundamental right that no one could be given a title or an honour unofficially. What we object to is the State having the power to grant titles. (Hear, hear). You cannot prevent a whole people from paying their spontaneous homage to their liberator by calling Gandhiji, Mahatma Gandhi. While the State refuses to recognize that title, while the State puts him to long terms of imprisonment, the people go on calling him Mahatma Gandhi and cursing the State that puts the great man in prison.
