Syama Prasad Mookerjee, a Bengali educationist and former minister in Bengal, became president of the Hindu Mahasabha in December 1943. At its annual session at Bilaspur in December 1944 the Mahasabha adopted a draft constitution for a "Free Hindusthan." The Gandhi–Jinnah talks had failed in September, and Bhulabhai Desai of the Congress was holding private talks with the Muslim League. This page gives the Indian Annual Register's report of the Mahasabha Working Committee's meeting in New Delhi on 20–21 January 1945 and of Mookerjee's press conference on 21 January. The opening is the Register's summary, followed by the text of the main resolution, and most of the rest is Mookerjee's own words. It is a press report, not a speech.
The Working Committee resolves to send a delegation abroad to answer what it calls anti-Hindu propaganda, and it insists there can be no Hindu–Muslim settlement without the Mahasabha's consent. At the press conference Mookerjee declares: "We stand for one united and undivided India and there can be no compromise on this issue." He dismisses the Rajagopalachari formula as "nothing but a compromise with an untruth," and warns that "the Hindu-Muslim problem will never be solved by the spokesmen of the Congress bartering away the rights of the Hindus."
[p. 297] The Working Committee of the All India Hindu Mahasabha met at New Delhi on the 20th & 21st. January 1945 and decided to send a delegation to Great Britain, U. S. A., U. S. S. R. and China to "counteract the anti-Hindu and anti-Indian propaganda which is being carried on in England, America and other countries and to educate public opinion in the said countries on right lines with special reference to the ideology of the Hindu Mahasabha." The President was authorised to nominate the personnel of the delegation.
The Committee reviewed the present political situation and reiterated that there could be "no Hindu-Muslim settlement in Hindusthan without reference to and without the consent of the Hindu Mahasabha and that the Mahasabha is the only representative organisation competent to speak on behalf of the Hindus and to safeguard their rights and interests."
The resolution, inter-alia, said : "The Working Committee views with great concern the attempts that are being made in some quarters for the appeasement of the Muslim League by the surrender of the just rights and interests of the Hindus. The Hindus will not accept any composite government which will give undue weightage or disproportionate strength to the Muslims or other minorities in excess of what their proportions in the population justify.
The Working Committee demands dissolution of the present legislatures both in the Provinces and at the Centre which have long outived their terms and have ceased to be representative of public opinion in the country. The Committee demands the election of fresh legislatures and the formation of representative governments at the Centre and in the provinces and urges steps to be taken for convening a Constituent Assembly for framing the constitution of Free Hindusthan."
Three other resolutions passed by the Working Committee directed the Provincial Sabhas to "preach and propagate the ideology of the Mahasabha and make a drive for enrolment and mobilise in particular the Kisan and Labour populations in their areas," requested the Governor-General to commute the death sentence of Chimur and Ashti prisoners; and deplored "the state of affairs in Hyderabad State with regard to the export and import trade and distribution of foodstuffs in the State and urged the Government of India to make proper investigation."
Dr. Mukherjee Explains Mahasabha Stand
The fundamental difference between the Congress and the Hindu Mahasabha was explained by Dr. Shyama Prosad Mookerjee at a press conference on the 21st. January. Dr. Mookerjee said: "Our fundamental difference with the Congress is that we refuse to surrender on the basic principle of India's integrity nor do we subscribe to pandering to intransigent communalism."
Dr. Mookerjee referred to Mr. Bhulabhai Desai's move to forge a "fresh Congress League settlement" and expressed the opinion that the Hindu-Muslim problem would never be solved by the spokesmen of the Congress bartering away the rights of the Hindus and agreeing to increased percentage of representation to the Muslim League in the Central and Provincial Governments. The Hindu Mahasabha president commended the draft constitution framed by the Mahasabha and the decisions taken by the Bilaspur session to the Indian public.
Continuing, Dr. Mookerjee said : "The resolutions adopted at the Bilaspur session of the Hindu Mahasabha on the Indian political situation and the future constitution are of a far-reaching character and their significance requires to be explained to all sections of the people. The stand of the Hindu Mahasabha is wholly consistent with our national welfare and advancement and gives the fullest scope to all classes and sections of the people to develop themselves according to their just rights and potentialities. We stand for one united and undivided India and there can be no compromise on this issue. We recognise that the provincial boundaries may have to be readjusted on cultural and linguistic basis but there must be a central government in India having paramount powers, That government will be the residuary legatee in the constitution." Referring to the draft constitution Dr. Mookerjee said : "The Hindu Mahasabha does not stand for any narrow communal and [p. 298] sectarian advantages. We envisage a free India where the rights of man and the right of citizenship will be fully respected and protected and citizenship will not be dependent on the practice or profession of any particular religion. The constitution will be based on adult suffrage—one man, one vote—and joint electorate. There may be reservation of seats if minorities so desire it, but it should be on population basis. Further, the constitution shall guarantee the protection of religious and cultural rights of all, including the minorities. I ask our critics to analyse any constitution in the world and they will be satisfied that the constitution we have outlined is based on the truest principle of democracy and freedom. We have not shirked the economic issue and the fundamental rights of a free Indian citizen have been fully guaranteed in the constitution. Ours is not an utopian scheme. We have recognised the existence of the minorities' problem in India and we have provided adequate safeguards for their religion, language and culture." Explaining his differences with the Congress, the Mahasabha President said: "Our fundamental difference with the Congress is that we refuse to surrender on the basic principle of India's integrity nor do we subscribe to pandering to intransigent communalism. We must have the courage to face stern reality that the Congress policy of appeasement has merely widened the breach between Hindus and Muslims, has weakened the national resistance and has gravely jeopardised the legitimate rights of Hindus as such. The C. R. Formula, though powerfully backed by Gandhiji, failed to produce any result as it was nothing but a compromise with an untruth. "We hear again of a move for a fresh Congress-League settlement through the efforts of Mr. Bhulabhai Desai, though the detailed plans are not officially known to us. Let me say this unhesitatingly that the Hindu-Muslim problem will never be solved by the spokesmen of the Congress bartering away the rights of the Hindus and agreeing to increased percentage of representation to the Muslim League in the Central and Provincial Governments either on a higher basis than their population justifies or on a scale higher than what Muslims are entitled to even under the present constitution. Hindu-Muslim settlement can only be achieved by Hindus and Muslims as such and not between a party swayed by communal passions alone utterly oblivious of the country's welfare and another that owes its strength and popularity to Hindu support but openly declares that it does not represent the Hindu community. "We have offered a just and fair basis for a political settlement between Hindus and Muslims. If Hindu opinion is correctly and widely mobilised there will be no occasion for any non-Muslim organisation to run after the Muslim League for a temporary and patched up solution. The Muslim community is bound to discover the folly and unwisdom of its own leaders and come to an agreement with the Hindus on a just and equitable basis. It is clear to-day that British Government will not easily part with power in India. Our goal is complete independence for India. The present constitution stands suspended in the majority of Indian Provinces and the executive government at the Centre owes no responsibility to any elected legislature."
Welcoming Mr. Rajagopalachari's suggestion regarding the implementation of the Federal scheme, Dr. Mookerjee said: "Although we have differed fundamentally from Mr. Rajagopalachari, I welcome his latest suggestion that the Federation Scheme under the Government of India Act of 1935 should be brought into action immediately. Let me state here unequivocally that this cannot be an end in itself. India's right of complete political liberty is irresistible and must be achieved at any cost, but it is of fundamental importance to recognise that the present Fascist-cum-bureaucratic regime in India must cease as soon as possible and also the present constitution must not be allowed to function only to keep the Muslim League in power in some parts of India, acting detrimentally to the interests of Hindus and to the national cause itself. Our demand is that constitutional government should function in India even in a restricted manner as envisaged in the Government of India Act of 1935, but only as a first step towards the fuller advance for achieving full Indian freedom. Let the present legislature in the Centre and in the Provinces be dissolved and, on the basis of the newly elected legislature the entire constitution embodied in the Government of India Act of 1935 function in the Centre and in the Provinces as a preliminary step for framing the constitution of a free India. We put the British Government to this acid test and let us see how they respond."
In conclusion, Dr. Mookerjee said: "I confidently ask my countrymen to study the plan and programme of the Hindu Mahasabha as outlined in the Bilaspur session and extend to it its fullest support and co-operation. Freedom will not come as a gift from any foreign country nor will it follow patched up agreement based on [p. 299] blind policy of surrender to communal fanaticism. The Mahasabha aims at mobilising true nationalist opinion throughout the country, and the country's freedom and real communal harmony can be achieved only if this campaign is successful with the goodwill and support of as large sections of the Indian people as possible.
"By a strange and powerful combination of reactionary elements, both in the country and abroad, the true voice of India is to-day sought to be choked but believing as I do in the righteousness of our cause, no power can either crush the Hindus or resist India's claim for freedom only if we ourselves realise our own strength and unite for achieving our national goal."
The Indian Annual Register 1945, vol. I (Calcutta: Annual Register Office), pp. 297–299. Partly a report in the third person, with the resolution and Mookerjee's remarks quoted.