In a letter written in Gujarati to a friend, Gandhiji had indicated, “The Working Committee has been going on. Its resolutions, I am sure, will be good. But how far they will be put into practice, God only knows. My suggestion is that, in so far as the Congress was intended solely to achieve Swaraj and that purpose has been gained – though I do not think what we have gained is full and real Swaraj – this organisation should be wound up, and that we should put to use all the energies of the country. In that way we shall be able to do a great deal. For instance, Jayaprakash Narain has immense energy. But he does not come forward now, because of party considerations. I feel strongly that if our country can get the benefit of whatever energy each one of us has, it will surely prosper.”
In 1943, Gandhiji had undertaken a fast for 21 days when he was imprisoned by the British in the premises of the Aga Khan Palace in Poona. Recalling that long fast, the Mahatma said, “I survived for twenty-one days not because of the amount of water I used to drink, or the orange juice I took for some days, or the extraordinary medical care that I had, but because I had installed in my heart God, whom I call as Rama. I was so much attracted by the lines of this bhajan that I asked for someone to send me by telegram the correct words of its text. I was very happy when I got them by reply telegram. The essence of the bhajan is that Rama Nama is everything, and that other Gods count for little compared to Him. I am mentioning this episode from my own life, because I want the AICC’s members to think and deliberate with God in their hearts when they meet for their important session on Saturday (the 15th). They will have to do so, because they are representative of all Congressmen. If the leading men of the Congress do not do so, and if they have Satan in their hearts instead of God, they cannot be true to their salt. If the AICC could claim with confidence that, so far as the Indian Union is concerned, the days of communal madness are over and that sanity will reign from one end of India to the other, it can oblige Pakistan to call back all the Hindus and Sikhs who have left it and offer them honour and safety. Such a situation can be created only if all of us have Rama in our hearts. Will my words have an echo in your hearts? Will the AICC be able to act wisely?”
November 14, 1947
(Taken from Mahatma Gandhi: The Last 200 Days by V Ramamurthy)
