The Archive
Speeches, writings and documents from a century of argument over India’s future, all checked against the printed sources.
Speeches and writings (essays, articles, statements, letters, resolutions) each come with a short introduction.
Sourcebook readings are the excerpts assigned to each faction, most of them from Sources of Indian Traditions , with that volume’s own headnotes.
Use them as models for your own speeches and as evidence of what each side argued. Page numbers in brackets are those of the printed source, for citation. Your role page lists the texts chosen for your faction.
Type All Speeches Writings & documents Sourcebook readings
Side All Congress Muslim League Gandhian Scheduled Castes Hindu Mahasabha Sikh Communist Princely States British Other voices
Before the Congress, to 1884
Reading Chaupa Singh Rahit-nama (Sikh code of conduct) · The Sikh Religious Code: Lives of Discipline and Devotion 1750 · 462 words, about 2 min
Reading Shah Abdul Aziz · Islam in Danger 1803 · 807 words, about 4 min
Reading Rammohan Roy · The Future of India 1828 · 300 words, about 1 min
Reading Thomas Babington Macaulay · The Minute on Education 2 February 1835 · 1,597 words, about 7 min
Reading Queen Victoria · Proclamation of 1858 1 November 1858 · 962 words, about 4 min
Reading Dadabhai Naoroji · The Pros and Cons of British Rule 1871 · 2,303 words, about 10 min
Reading Jotirao Phule · The Tyranny of a Brahman-Dominated History 1873 · 2,613 words, about 11 min
Reading Bankim Chandra Chatterji · Hail to the Mother 1882 · 4,260 words, about 19 min
1885–1904
Reading Sayyid Ahmad Khan · Congress as a Danger and a Folly 28 December 1887 · 4,658 words, about 20 min
Reading Romesh Chunder Dutt · The Causes of India’s Poverty 1901 · 3,149 words, about 14 min
1905–1919
Speech Lord Curzon · Convocation Address, University of Calcutta 11 February 1905 · Calcutta · 4,054 words, about 18 min
Speech G. K. Gokhale · Presidential Address to the Indian National Congress, Benares December 1905 · Benares · 3,447 of 11,949 words, about 15 min · Shortened
Speech Aga Khan (deputation address) and Lord Minto (reply) · Address of the All-India Muslim Deputation to the Viceroy, Simla, with Lord Minto's Reply 1 October 1906 · Simla · 4,606 words, about 20 min
Speech Dadabhai Naoroji · Presidential Address to the Indian National Congress, Calcutta December 1906 · Calcutta · 3,431 of 9,456 words, about 15 min · Shortened
Speech Bal Gangadhar Tilak · Tenets of the New Party 2 January 1907 · Calcutta · 3,247 words, about 14 min
Reading Bal Gangadhar Tilak · The Gita Versus the Penal Code 2 January 1907 · 3,160 words, about 14 min
Reading Aurobindo Ghose · Passive Resistance and India’s Hindu Mission April 1907 · 2,534 of 5,868 words, about 11 min · Shortened
Speech Rabindranath Tagore · Presidential Address to the Bengal Provincial Conference, Pabna February 1908 · Pabna · 3,291 of 8,787 words, about 14 min · Translated · Shortened
Speech Bal Gangadhar Tilak · Statement after the Verdict 22 July 1908 · Bombay · 60 words, about 1 min
Reading M. K. Gandhi · Hind Swaraj 1909 · 2,234 words, about 10 min
Reading Rabindranath Tagore · “The Problem of India” 4 January 1909 · 1,527 words, about 7 min
Reading Indian National Congress and All-India Muslim League · The Lucknow Pact, 1916 December 1916 · 1,321 words, about 6 min
Reading Sarojini Naidu · For the Evolution of National Life December 1916 · 1,822 words, about 8 min
Writing Edwin Montagu · The Montagu Declaration 20 August 1917 · London · 538 words, about 2 min
Writing Sarojini Naidu · "A Pen Portrait" of Mohomed Ali Jinnah November 1917 · Hyderabad, Deccan · 3,347 words, about 15 min
Writing Edwin Montagu and Lord Chelmsford · Report on Indian Constitutional Reforms: Communal Electorates 1918 · 1,956 words, about 9 min · Excerpt
1920–1929
Speech Lala Lajpat Rai · Presidential Address to the Special Session of the Indian National Congress, Calcutta 4 September 1920 · Calcutta · 3,523 of 13,966 words, about 15 min · Abridged · Shortened
Reading Rabindranath Tagore and M. K. Gandhi · Tagore’s Critique of Gandhi, and Gandhi’s Response 29 August 1921 · 4,605 words, about 20 min
Speech Hasrat Mohani · Presidential Address to the All-India Muslim League, Ahmedabad 30 December 1921 · Ahmedabad · 3,562 words, about 15 min · Abridged · Translated
Reading M. K. Gandhi · The Crime of Chauri Chaura 16 February 1922 · 1,027 words, about 4 min
Speech Mohandas K. Gandhi · Statement at the Great Trial 18 March 1922 · Court of the District and Sessions Judge, Ahmedabad · 2,949 words, about 13 min
Writing V. D. Savarkar · Essentials of Hindutva, Section VI 1923 · Ratnagiri · 3,669 words, about 16 min · Excerpt
Reading V. D. Savarkar · The Glories of the Hindu Nation 1923 · 2,703 words, about 12 min
Reading Mohamed Ali and M. K. Gandhi · Hindu-Muslim Unity, Then Adversary of Gandhi December 1923 · 3,453 words, about 15 min
Reading Lala Lajpat Rai · The Hindu-Muslim Problem, 1924 1924 · 4,470 words, about 19 min
Reading M. K. Gandhi · Hindu-Muslim Tension, Its Cause and Cure 29 May 1924 · 877 words, about 4 min
Reading M. K. Gandhi · Untouchability and Swaraj June 1924 · 1,616 words, about 7 min
Speech Sarojini Naidu · Presidential Address to the Indian National Congress, Cawnpore December 1925 · Cawnpore · 3,336 of 9,298 words, about 15 min · Shortened
Reading E. V. Ramasami (Periyar) · Periyar Responds to Gandhi on Caste 8 August 1926 · 1,271 words, about 6 min
Writing Sir Leslie Scott · Letter to the Law Quarterly Review on the Indian States 29 May 1928 · London · 1,012 words, about 4 min
Writing Muhammad Ali Jinnah · The Fourteen Points: Statement on the Nehru Report and Draft Resolution 28 March 1929 · Delhi · 1,604 words, about 7 min
Speech Jawaharlal Nehru · Presidential Address to the Indian National Congress, Lahore 29 December 1929 · Lahore · 3,501 of 7,048 words, about 15 min · Shortened
1930–1939
Writing B. R. Ambedkar and R. Srinivasan · A Scheme of Political Safeguards for the Protection of the Depressed Classes 1930 · London · 4,048 words, about 18 min
Writing Bhagwati Charan Vohra · "The Philosophy of the Bomb" January 1930 · Lahore · 4,192 words, about 18 min
Reading M. K. Gandhi · Letter to Lord Irwin (Salt Satyagraha) 2 March 1930 · 1,958 words, about 9 min
Writing Bhagat Singh · "Why I Am an Atheist" October 1930 · Lahore Central Jail · 3,151 of 5,947 words, about 14 min · Shortened
Speech Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu and Kashmir · Speech at the Opening of the First Round Table Conference, London 12 November 1930 · London · 394 words, about 2 min
Speech Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner · Speech at the First Round Table Conference, London 17 November 1930 · London · 3,482 words, about 15 min
Speech Mohamed Ali · Speech at the First Round Table Conference, London 19 November 1930 · London · 2,516 of 5,948 words, about 11 min · Shortened
Speech B. R. Ambedkar · Speech at the Plenary Session of the First Round Table Conference, London 20 November 1930 · London · 3,357 words, about 15 min
Speech Muhammad Iqbal · Presidential Address to the All-India Muslim League, Allahabad 29 December 1930 · Allahabad · 3,568 of 9,239 words, about 16 min · Shortened
Reading Muhammad Iqbal · A Separate Muslim State, and Letters to Jinnah 29 December 1930 · 3,311 words, about 14 min
Speech Winston S. Churchill · Speech on the Round Table Conference, House of Commons 26 January 1931 · London · 2,406 of 5,371 words, about 10 min · Shortened
Speech Vallabhbhai Patel · Presidential Address to the Indian National Congress, Karachi March 1931 · Karachi · 4,276 words, about 19 min
Writing Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu and Kashmir · Proclamation "To My Beloved People" 9 July 1931 · Jammu and Kashmir · 1,273 words, about 6 min
Writing B. R. Ambedkar · Statement on Gandhi's Fast against the Communal Award 19 September 1932 · Bombay · 2,862 words, about 12 min
Writing Jawaharlal Nehru · "Whither India?" October 1933 · Allahabad · 3,307 of 7,129 words, about 14 min · Shortened
Writing Jawaharlal Nehru · "A Reply to Sir Mohammad Iqbal" 11 December 1933 · Allahabad · 2,594 words, about 11 min
Speech Rajendra Prasad · Presidential Address to the Indian National Congress, Bombay 26 October 1934 · Bombay · 3,412 of 9,579 words, about 15 min · Shortened
Speech Muhammad Ali Jinnah · Speech on the Report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, Legislative Assembly 7 February 1935 · New Delhi · 2,717 of 5,973 words, about 12 min · Shortened
Reading B. R. Ambedkar · The Gandhi-Ambedkar Debate on Caste 1936 · 2,785 words, about 12 min
Speech Jawaharlal Nehru · Presidential Address to the Indian National Congress, Lucknow April 1936 · Lucknow · 3,395 of 12,238 words, about 15 min · Shortened
Reading M. K. Gandhi · Gandhi’s Responses to Ambedkar 11 July 1936 · 1,355 words, about 6 min
Speech Jawaharlal Nehru · Presidential Address to the Indian National Congress, Faizpur December 1936 · Faizpur · 2,655 of 7,102 words, about 12 min · Shortened
Speech V. D. Savarkar · Presidential Address to the Hindu Mahasabha, Ahmedabad 30 December 1937 · Ahmedabad (Karnavati) · 3,192 of 8,747 words, about 14 min · Shortened
Writing Jawaharlal Nehru · "The Unity of India" January 1938 · 2,684 of 5,494 words, about 12 min · Shortened
Speech Subhas Chandra Bose · Presidential Address to the Indian National Congress, Haripura 19 February 1938 · Haripura · 3,306 of 10,361 words, about 14 min · Shortened
Writing Mir Osman Ali Khan, Nizam of Hyderabad · Firman Announcing the Constitutional Reforms 17 July 1939 · Hyderabad · 1,505 words, about 7 min · Abridged
Writing Lord Linlithgow · Statement on War Aims and Dominion Status 17 October 1939 · New Delhi · 3,907 words, about 17 min
1940–1945
Reading B. R. Ambedkar · Must There Be a Pakistan? 1940 · 4,354 words, about 19 min
Reading M. N. Roy and R. Palme Dutt · Communist Responses to Gandhi 1940 · 2,362 of 5,917 words, about 10 min · Shortened
Writing Muhammad Ali Jinnah · The Constitutional Maladies of India: Article for Time and Tide 19 January 1940 · 2,591 words, about 11 min
Reading Abul Kalam Azad · The Muslims of India and the Future of India March 1940 · 1,396 words, about 6 min
Speech Muhammad Ali Jinnah · Presidential Address to the All-India Muslim League, Lahore 22 March 1940 · Lahore · 2,330 of 6,258 words, about 10 min · Shortened
Reading Muhammad Ali Jinnah · “The Thrust Toward a New Muslim Nation” 22 March 1940 · 4,734 words, about 21 min
Writing Mohandas K. Gandhi · "A Baffling Situation" 6 April 1940 · Sevagram · 1,197 words, about 5 min
Writing Jawaharlal Nehru · "The Indian States and the Crisis" 23 April 1940 · Andheri, Bombay · 869 words, about 4 min
Writing Sayyid Abul A'la Mawdudi · "Nationalism in India" 1941 · Lahore · 3,271 words, about 14 min · Excerpt · Translated
Speech Rabindranath Tagore · Crisis in Civilization 14 April 1941 · Santiniketan · 2,026 words, about 9 min · Translated
Writing Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner · Proclamation to His Subjects on Leaving for Active Service 23 October 1941 · Lallgarh, Bikaner · 2,257 words, about 10 min · Abridged
Writing P. C. Joshi · "Imperialist War into People's War" 1942 · Bombay · 4,943 words, about 21 min
Reading Sources of Indian Traditions editors (with Gandhi quotations) · From the Gandhi-Irwin Pact to Quit India 1942 · 843 words, about 4 min
Speech Sir Stafford Cripps · Broadcast on the British Government's Proposals 30 March 1942 · Delhi · 2,451 words, about 11 min
Writing B. R. Ambedkar · Statement on the Cripps Proposals April 1942 · 3,183 words, about 14 min
Writing Congress Working Committee · Resolution on the Cripps Proposals 2 April 1942 · Delhi · 1,218 words, about 5 min
Writing Maulana Abul Kalam Azad · Letter to Sir Stafford Cripps 10 April 1942 · New Delhi · 2,263 words, about 10 min
Writing Mohandas K. Gandhi · "To Muslim Correspondents" 12 July 1942 · Sevagram · 872 words, about 4 min
Speech B. R. Ambedkar · "If Democracy Dies It Will Be Our Doom": Address to the All-India Depressed Classes Conference, Nagpur 18 July 1942 · Nagpur · 2,227 of 5,025 words, about 10 min · Shortened
Writing Mohandas K. Gandhi · "Village Swaraj" 26 July 1942 · Sevagram · 624 words, about 3 min
Reading G. D. Adhikari · National Unity Now! August 1942 · 3,534 words, about 15 min
Writing Mohandas K. Gandhi · "For the Princes" 2 August 1942 · Sevagram · 733 words, about 3 min
Speech Jawaharlal Nehru · Speech Moving the Quit India Resolution (newspaper version) 7 August 1942 · Bombay · 1,540 words, about 7 min · Summary
Speech Mohandas K. Gandhi · Speech at the A.I.C.C. after the Quit India Resolution (English speech) 8 August 1942 · Bombay · 2,213 words, about 10 min
Speech Mohandas K. Gandhi · Speech at the A.I.C.C. after the Quit India Resolution (Hindi speech) 8 August 1942 · Bombay · 2,452 of 5,597 words, about 11 min · Translated · Shortened
Speech V. D. Savarkar · Presidential Address to the Hindu Mahasabha, Cawnpore 29 December 1942 · Cawnpore · 3,271 of 15,693 words, about 14 min · Shortened
Speech Syama Prasad Mookerjee · Statement on His Resignation from the Bengal Cabinet 12 February 1943 · Bengal Legislative Assembly, Calcutta · 1,899 words, about 8 min
Speech Liaquat Ali Khan · Speech on the Federation Resolution, Central Legislative Assembly 18 February 1943 · New Delhi · 1,989 words, about 9 min
Writing Purshotamdas Thakurdas, J. R. D. Tata, G. D. Birla and others · The Bombay Plan: Introduction January 1944 · Bombay · 1,559 words, about 7 min · Excerpt
Writing Sardar Baldev Singh · Statement on Jinnah and the Punjab Ministry 1 May 1944 · Punjab · 1,070 words, about 5 min
Speech Jogendra Nath Mandal · Speech on the Ban on the Lora Conference, Bengal Legislative Assembly 5 June 1944 · Calcutta · 1,013 words, about 4 min
Writing V. D. Savarkar · "From 'Quit India' to 'Split India'" 14 July 1944 · Bombay · 1,352 words, about 6 min
Writing All Parties Sikh Conference · Sikh Resolutions against the Rajagopalachari Formula 20 August 1944 · Amritsar · 3,522 words, about 15 min
Reading C. Rajagopalachari, M. K. Gandhi and M. A. Jinnah · The Rajagopalachari Formula and Gandhi-Jinnah Correspondence September 1944 · 2,823 words, about 12 min
Writing Minoo Masani · Socialism Reconsidered: Preface to the Second Edition 1 October 1944 · Bombay · 3,700 words, about 16 min · Excerpt
Writing P. C. Joshi · Congress and Communists December 1944 · Bombay · 3,308 of 10,476 words, about 14 min · Shortened
Writing Master Tara Singh and other Sikh leaders · Sikh Leaders' Memorandum to the Sapru Conciliation Committee 1945 · Lahore · 3,773 words, about 16 min · Excerpt
Writing Rajendra Prasad · "The Communist Party's Support to Pakistan" 1945 · Bankipur jail, Patna · 2,963 words, about 13 min · Excerpt
Writing Rajendra Prasad · "Two Nations—Basis of Pakistan" 1945 · Bankipur jail, Patna · 3,080 words, about 13 min · Excerpt
Writing Syama Prasad Mookerjee · Hindu Mahasabha Working Committee Resolution and Press Conference 21 January 1945 · New Delhi · 1,629 words, about 7 min
Writing Muhammad Ali Jinnah · Interview with the News Chronicle 24 January 1945 · Bombay · 1,336 words, about 6 min
Writing J. C. Kumarappa · "Industrialisation" February 1945 · Wardha · 4,087 words, about 18 min · Excerpt
Writing V. D. Savarkar · "The Liaquat–Bhulabhai Pact Is Detrimental to Hindu Interests" 10 March 1945 · Bombay · 1,157 words, about 5 min
Speech B. R. Ambedkar · Communal Deadlock and a Way to Solve It 6 May 1945 · Bombay · 3,534 of 9,372 words, about 15 min · Shortened
Writing B. R. Ambedkar · "Gandhism: The Doom of the Untouchables" June 1945 · New Delhi · 3,504 of 9,950 words, about 15 min · Excerpt · Shortened
Speech Archibald Wavell, 1st Viscount Wavell · Broadcast Announcing the Simla Conference 14 June 1945 · New Delhi · 1,295 words, about 6 min
Speech Leopold S. Amery · Statement on the Wavell Plan, House of Commons 14 June 1945 · London · 2,620 of 5,253 words, about 11 min · Shortened
Speech Sir Stafford Cripps · "On India": Speech at Edinburgh on the Wavell Proposals 14 June 1945 · Edinburgh · 1,661 words, about 7 min
After 1945
Reading Gurbachan Singh and Lal Singh Gyani · Demanding a Sikh State 1946 · 3,254 words, about 14 min
Reading Jawaharlal Nehru · “Be Not Afraid” 1946 · 2,566 words, about 11 min
Reading Cabinet Mission · Cabinet Mission Memorandum on Paramountcy, 1946 12 May 1946 · 917 words, about 4 min
Reading Cabinet Mission · The Cabinet Mission Plan: The Last British Offer 16 May 1946 · 2,399 words, about 10 min
Reading Congress Working Committee · Congress’s Response to the Cabinet Mission Plan 24 May 1946 · 706 words, about 3 min
Reading Choudhary Rahmat Ali · “The Fatherland of the Pak Nation” 1947 · 1,004 words, about 4 min
Reading Sarat Chandra Bose · Proposing a Bengal Free State 1947 · 2,863 words, about 12 min
Reading E. M. S. Namboodiripad · The All-India Kisan Sabha 1954 · 3,661 words, about 16 min
Reading Jayaprakash Narayan · A Plea for a Communitarian Polity and Economy 1959 · 3,046 words, about 13 min
Reading Begum Shaista Ikramullah · Cherished Encounters with Jinnah 1963 · 2,514 of 5,032 words, about 11 min · Shortened
Reading P. Sundarayya · Excerpts from Telangana People’s Struggle 1972 · 4,268 words, about 19 min
Reading M. Abdullah Rasul · The Tebhaga Struggle of Bengal March 1986 · 2,662 of 5,225 words, about 12 min · Shortened