split their blood on behalf of the Allied Powers.  All the elaborate argument therefore and the cogent reasoning of the above extract fall to pieces based as they are upon a case that has never existed.  I have thrown myself heart and soul into this question because British pledges abstract justice, and religious sentiment coincide.  I can conceive the possibility of a blind and fanatical religious sentiment existing in opposition to pure justice.  I should then resist the former and fight for the latter.  Nor would I insist upon pledges given dishonestly to support an unjust cause as has happened with England in the case of the secret treaties.  Resistance there becomes not only lawful but obligatory on the part of a nation that prides itself on its righteousness.

It is unnecessary for me to examine the position imagined by the English friend, viz., how India would have fared had she been an independent power.  It is unnecessary because Indian Mahomedans, and for that matter India, are fighting for a cause that is admittedly just; a cause in aid of which they are invoking the whole-hearted support of the British people.  I would however venture to suggest that this is a cause in which mere sympathy will not suffice.  It is a cause which demands support that is strong enough to bring about substantial justice.

FURTHER QUESTIONS ANSWERED

I have been overwhelmed with public criticism and private advice and even anonymous letters telling me exactly what I should do.  Some are impatient that I do not advise immediate and extensive non-co-operation; others tell me what harm I am doing the country by throwing it knowingly in a tempest of violence on either side.  It is difficult for me to deal with the whole of the criticism, but I would summarize some of the objections and endeavour to answer them to the best of my ability.  These are in addition to those I have already answered:—­

(1) Turkish claim is immoral or unjust and how can I, a lover of truth and justice, support it? (2) Even if the claim be just in theory, the Turk is hopelessly incapable, weak and cruel.  He does not deserve any assistance.

(3) Even if Turkey deserves all that is claimed for her, why should I land India in an international struggle?

(4) It is no part of the Indian Mahomedans’ business to meddle in this affair.  If they cherish any political ambition, they have tried, they have failed and they should now sit still.  If it is a religious matter with them, it cannot appeal to the Hindu reason in the manner it is put and in any case Hindus ought not to identify themselves with Mahomedans in their religious quarrel with Christendom.

(5) In no case should I advocate non-co-operation which in its extreme sense is nothing but a rebellion, no matter how peaceful it may be.

(6) Moreover, my experience of last year must show me that it is beyond the capacity of any single human being to control the forces of violence that are lying dormant in the land.