द इण्डियन स्ट्रगल / भारतीय स्वाधीनता संग्राम (नेताजी सुभाष चन्द्र बोस - ऐतिहासिक विश्लेषण)

DEFEAT AND SURRENDER 303 the rumour that Gandhiji is giving up the leadership of the Congress is to be traced to the fact that Gandhiji has been thinking of introducing reforms in the Constitution of the Congress in order to make it more definitely purged of all forms of violence. . . . If the Congress does not adopt his reforms, he may even be prepared after the ensuing Congress session to start an independent organisation to have a body of strictly non-violent workers.' About ten days later, the Mahatma himself issued a statement confirming the rumour that `he had the intention of retiring, but saying that at the request of friends, he had postponed his decision until after the session of the Congress at Bombay. He referred to corruption in the ranks of the Congress and declared that he ' proposed to move the following three amendments to the constitution of the Congress:

1. Replacing the words 'legitimate and peaceful' by 'truthful and non-violent' means to achieve the aims of the Congress.
2. Replacing the four-anna (anna is one-sixteenth of a rupee; Rs. 13½ = £1 approximately) franchise¹ by the delivery by every member to the Congress Depot of 8,000 feet of well-tested even yarn of not less than fifteen counts spun by himself.
3. No one to be entitled to vote in a Congress election unless he has been on the Congress register for six months and has been a habitual wearer of Khaddar only during the same period. The Mahatma concluded by saying that he apprehended that his suggestions would not be acceptable to the majority, but there was room for compromise, and if they wanted him as leader, they would have to give due consideration to his proposals. The annual session of the Indian National Congress is to be held at Bombay on October 26th, 27th and 28th, 1934, and the elections to the Indian Legislative Assembly under the ¹ According to the present constitution of the Congress, every member has to pay a minimum annual subscription of four annas. The Mahatma's idea is to make spinning obligatory on the members instead of merely paying a subscription.