Harijan Ahmedabad — Sunday February 1 1942

When the boys of the Boarding House came to invite Gandhiji to address them he had not the slightest notion that although the boys had unanimously invited him one of the members of the Committee was opposed to the proposal. [...] ' Now the way of demonstrating one’s strength is of two kinds : one is the eternal God-given way of self-purification where man takes the blame upon himself of all the wrongs he is suffeing from; the other is the way of retaliation the Mosaic law of tooth for a tooth and nail for a nail.18 HARIJAN [ February 1 1942 The latter is quite natural in that we have descended from the state of brute [...] The Congress was therefore compelled in order to defend the honour and the elemen ary rights of the Indiau people and the integrity of the nationalist movement to request Gandhiji to guide the Congress in the action that should be taken. [...] The Committee desire to express their respectful appreciation of Gandhiji's leadership and of the response of the nation to it and are of opinion that this has strengthened the people. [...] But only a free and independent India can be in a position to undertake the defence of the country on a national basis and be of help in the furtherance of the larger causes that are emerging from the storm of war.