I thank you from the very core of my heart for the warm and cordial welcome you have given me on the occasion of my first visit to the sacred 'Land of the Five Rivers'. I know how little I deserve the honour and the welcome which you have been pleased to accord me and my only wish to day is that I may be a little more worthy of the kindness and hospitality with which I have been greeted here.

You have summoned me from distant Calcutta to come and speak to you. Here I am standing before you today ready to respond to your call. But why have you summoned me of all persons? Is it because the East and the West must meet to solve their common problems? Is it because Bengal, which was the first to come under foreign yoke, and Punjab, which was the last to be enslaved, have needed each other? Or is it because you and I have something in common — sharing the same thoughts and cherishing the same aspirations?

And what an irony of fate that you want me — once an expelled student of a sister University to address a gathering of students here in Lahore? Can you now object if our elders complain that the time is out of joint, for strange persons and novel ideas now find favour with the world? If you have invited me with full knowledge of my past record, you ought really to be able to anticipate what I am going to say.

Friends, you will pardon me if at the very outset I take this opportunity of giving public utterance — however feeble it may be — to the feelings of gratitude that surge within me as I think of what the Punjab and particularly the youths of the Punjab have done for Jatindranath Das and his fellow-sufferers from Bengal during their stay in the Punjab jails. The arrangements for their defence, the extreme anxiety and solicitude felt for them as long as they were on hunger strike and the sympathy, affection and honour bestowed on Jatin during his lifetime and after — have stirred the heart of Bengal to its' depths.

Not content with what they had done at Lahore prominent members of the Defence Committee travelled all the way to Calcutta to escort the mortal remains of the great martyr and hand them over to us there. We are an emotional people and the largeness of your heart has endeared you to us to an indescribable degree. Bengal will ever remember with thankfulness and gratitude what Punjab did for her in one of her darkest days.

One of your distinguished leaders, Dr Alam, was describing to us one day in Calcutta, while referring to the great martyr, how the sun rose in the East and set in the West and how after sun set the moon rose in the West and travelled back to the East. Thus did Jatin live and die. From Calcutta to Lahore he travelled in life and after death, his mortal remains went back to Calcutta. They went back not as dead clay but as a symbol of something pure, noble and divine. Jatin today is not dead. He lives up in the heavens as a star "Of purest ray serene" to serve as a beacon light to posterity. He lives in his immortal sacrifice and in his celestial suffering. He lives as a vision, as an ideal — as an emblem of what is purest and noblest in humanity. And I believe that he has through his self-immolation not only roused the soul of India but has also forged an indissoluble tie between the two provinces where he was born and where he died. I therefore envy your great city which has been the "tapasyakshetra" — the place of penance of this modern 'Dadhichi'.

As we are gradually approaching the dawn of freedom, our cup of suffering and sorrow is becoming full. It is but natural that our rulers, like despots elsewhere, should become more and more relentless as they find power gradually slipping out of there hands. And one should not be surprised if by and by they cast off all pretensions to civilisation and rid themselves of the mask of decency in order that the nailed fist may be used freely and without hesitation. Punjab and Bengal are at the present moment enjoying the largest doses of repression. This is indeed a matter for congratulation for we are thereby qualifying for swaraj in an effective manner. The spirits of heroes like Bhagat Singh and Batukeswar Dutta cannot be cowed down by repression. On the contrary, it is through repression and suffering, through humiliation and sorrow, that heroes will be made. Let us therefore welcome repression with all our heart and make the fullest use of it when it comes.

Little do you know how much Bengali literature has drawn from the earlier history of the Punjab in order to enrich itself and edify its readers. Tales of your heroes have been composed and sung by our great poets including Rabindranath Tagore and some of them are today familiar in every Bengali home. Aphorisms of our saints have been translated into elegant Bengali and they afford solace and inspiration to millions in Bengal. This cultural contact has its counterparts in the political sphere and we find your political pilgrims meeting ours not only in the jails in India but also in the jails of distant Burma and in the wilds of the Andaman across the Seas.

Friends, I shall make no apology if in this discourse I refer at length to political questions and endeavour to answer them. I know that there are people in this country — even eminent personages — who think that "a subject race has no politics" and that students in particular should have nothing to do with politics. But my own view is that a subject-race has nothing but politics. In a dependent country every problem that you can think of, when analysed properly, will be found to be at bottom a political problem. Life is one whole — as the late Deshbandhu C R Das used to say — and you cannot therefore separate politics from economics or from education. Human life cannot be split up into compartments. All the aspects or phases of national life are inter-related and all the problems are, as it were, interwoven. This being the case, it will be found that in a subject race all the evils and all the shortcomings can be traced to a political cause —viz., political servitude. Consequently students cannot afford to blind themselves to this all-important problem of how to achieve our political emancipation.

I do not understand why a special ban should be imposed on participation in politics if no such ban is imposed on national work in general. I can understand a ban on all national work but a ban merely on political work is meaningless. If in a dependent country, all problems are fundamentally political problems — then all national activity is in reality political in character. There is no ban on participation in politics in any free country — on the contrary, students are encouraged to take part in politics. This encouragement is deliberately given because out of the ranks of the students arise political thinkers and politicians. If in India, students do not take active part in politics, from where are we to recruit our political workers and where are we to train them? Further, it has to be admitted that participation in politics is necessary for the development of character and manhood. Thought, without action, cannot suffice to build character and for this reason, participation in healthy activity — political, social, artistic, etc., — is necessary for developing character. Bookworms, gold-medalists and office-clerks are not what universities should endeavour to produce — but men of character who will become great by achieving greatness for their country in different spheres of life.

One of the most encouraging signs of time is the growth of a genuine students' movement all over India. This movement I consider to be a phase of the wider youth movement. There is a great deal of difference between the students' conference of to-day and those of the previous decade. The latter were generally held under official auspices and on the gateway appeared the motto — "those shall not talk politics". These conferences could in a manner be compared with those sessions of the Indian National Congress in the earlier stages of its history, where the first resolution passed was one affirming our loyalty to the King Emperor. We have fortunately outgrown that stage not only in the Indian National Congress but also in the students' movement. The students' conferences of today meet in a freer atmosphere and those who participate in these conferences think and talk as they like, subject to the restrictions imposed by the Indian Penal code.

The youth movement of today is characterised by a feeling of restlessness, of impatience with the present order of things and by an intense desire to usher in a new and a better order. A sense of responsibility and a spirit of self-reliance pervades this movement. Youth* of the present day no longer feel content by handing over all responsibility to their elders. They rather feel that the country and the country's future belong more to them than to the older generation and it is therefore their bounden duty to accept the fullest responsibility for the future of their country and to equip themselves for the proper discharge of that responsibility. The students' movement, being a phase of the larger youth movement, is inspired by the same outlook, psychology and purpose as the latter.

The first aspect of the students' movement, to which I have just referred, may not in the ordinary course of things be looked upon with disfavour by the powers that be, but the other aspect of the movement is likely to be discouraged, condemned and even thwarted at times It is neither desirable nor necessary for me to attempt to give a detailed programme of what you should undertake under the first head. That will depend partly on your special needs and shortcomings and partly on the arrangements, if any, that are made by the educational authorities to fulfil those needs and remove those shortcomings. Every student requires a strong and healthy physique, a sound character and a brain full of useful information and healthy dynamic ideas. If Ihe arrangements provided by the authorities do not conduce to the proper growth of physique, character and intellect, you will have to provide facilities which will ensure that growth. And if the authorities welcome your efforts in that direction all the better for you — but if they do not — leave them alone and go your own way. Your life is your own and the responsibility for developing it is after all yours, more than anybody else's.

In this connection there is one suggestion I have to offer to which I should like to draw your attention. I wish our students' associations could start cooperative Swade­shi stores within their respective jurisdiction for the ex­clusive benefit of the student population. If these stores are run efficiently by the students themselves, they will serve a dual purpose. On the one hand Swadeshi goods will be made available to the students at a cheap price and thereby home industries would be encouraged. On the other hand, students could acquire experience in running cooperative stores and could utilise the profits for advancing the welfare of the student community. For advancing the cause of student welfare, other items in your programme would be physical culture societies, gymnasium, study circles, debating societies, magazines, music clubs, libraries and reading rooms, social service leagues, etc.

The other, and probably more important aspect, of the students' movement is the training of the future citizen. This training will be both intellectual and practical. We shall have to hold out before the students a vision of the ideal society which he should try to realise in his own life-time and at the same time chalk out for him a programme of action which he should try to follow to the best of his ability, so that while performing his duties as a student he may at the same time be preparing himself for his post-university career. It is in this sphere of activity that there is a likelihood of conflict with the authorities. But whether the conflict will actually arise or not, depends largely on the attitude of the educational authorities. If the conflict does unfortunately arise, there is no help for it and students should once for all make up their minds to be absolutely fearless and self-reliant in the matter of preparing themselves, through thought and action, for their post-university career.

Before I proceed to give you my conception of the ideal that we should all cherish, I shall with your permission indulge in a digression which will not be altogether irrelevant. There is hardly any Asiatic today to whom the spectacle of Asia lying strangled at the feet of Europe does not cause pain and humiliation. But I want you to get rid of the idea, once for all, that Asia has always been in this state. Europe today may be the top-dog but time was when Asia was the top-dog. History tells us how in the days of old Asia conquered and held away over a large portion of Europe and in those days Europe was mightily afraid of Asia. The tables are turned now but the wheel of fortune is still moving and there is no cause for despair. Asia is at the present moment busy throwing off the yoke of thraldom and the time is not far off when rejuvenated Asia will rise resplendent in power and glory out of the darkness of the past and take her legitimate place in the comity of free nations.

The immortal East is sometimes stigmatized by the hustlers from the West as "unchanging" just as Turkey was once upon a time called the sick man of Europe. But this abuse can no longer apply to Asia in general or to Turkey in particular. From Japan to Turkey and from Siberia to Ceylon, the entire orient is astir. Everywhere there is change, there is progress, there is conflict with custom, authority and tradition. The East is unchanging as long as she chooses to be so, but once she resolves to move, she can progress faster than even Western nations. This is what is happening in Asia at the present day.

We are sometimes asked if the activity and the agitation that we witness in Asia and particularly in India are signs of real life or whether they are simply reactions to external stimuli and one has to be sure that the movements we behold are not like the reflex actions of muscles that are dead. My conviction is that the test of life is creative activity and when we find that present day movements give evidence of originality and creative genius we feel sure that we are really alive as a Nation and the renaissance that we witness in different spheres of our national life is a genuine awakening from within.

In India today we are in the midst of a whirlpool of ideas. Numerous currents, cross currents and under­currents are flowing from all directions. A strange inter­mingling is going on and in the midst of the confusion of ideas that has arisen, it is not possible for the ordinary man to distinguish between good and bad and right and wrong.

Indian civilization has just emerged out of the dark ages and is now entering on a new lease of life. At one time there was a genuine danger as to whether that civilisation would die a normal death like the civilisation of Phoenicia and Babylon. But it has once again survived the onslaught of time. If we want to continue the work of rejuvenation that has begun, we must bring about a revolution of ideas in the thought world and an intermingling of blood in the biological plane. Unless we refuse to accept the verdict of history and the considered opinion of thinkers like Sir Flinders Petrie — we have to admit that it is only by this means that old and worn out civilizations can be rejuvenated. If you do not accept this view of mine you will have to discover by your own investigation the law underlying the rise and fall of civilizations. Once we succeed in discovering this law; we shall be able to advise our countrymen as to what is necessary for us to do if we are to create a new, healthy and progressive nation in this ancient land of ours. If we are to bring about a revolution of ideas we have first to hold up before us an ideal which will galvanise our whole life. That ideal is Freedom. But freedom is a word which has a varied con­notation and even in our country, the conception of free­dom has undergone a process of evolution. By freedom I mean all-round freedom i.e., freedom for the individual as well as for society, freedom for man as well as for woman, freedom for the rich as well as for the poor, freedom for all individuals and for all classes. This free­dom implies not only emancipation from political bondage but also equal distribution of wealth, abolition of caste barriers and social iniquities and destruction of communalism and religious intolerance. This is an ideal which may appear Utopian to hard-headed men and women—but this ideal alone can appease the hunger of the soul.

The only method of achieving freedom is for us to think and feel as free men. Let there be a complete revolution within and let us be thoroughly intoxicated with the wine of freedom. It is only freedom-intoxicated men and women who will be able to free humanity. When the 'will to be free' is roused within us we shall then proceed to plunge headlong into an ocean of activity. The voice of caution will no longer deter us and the lure of truth and glory will lead us on to our cherished goal.

Friends, I have tried to tell you something about what I feel, think and dream about my life's goal and what is at present the motive power behind all my activities. Whether this will attract you or not, I do not know. But one thing is to me perfectly clear — life has but one purpose, viz., freedom from bondage of every kind. Hunger after freedom is the song of the soul — and the very first cry of the newborn baby is a cry of revolt against the bondage in which it finds itself. Rouse this intense desire for freedom within yourselves and in your countrymen and I am sure India will be free in no time.

India is bound to be free—of that there is not the slightest doubt. It is to me as sure as day follows night. There is no power on earth which can keep India in bon­dage any longer. But let us dream of an India for which it would be worthwhile to give all that we have—even life itself—and for which we could sacrifice our dearest and nearest. I have given you my own conception of freedom and I have tried to portray before you India as I want her to be; let a completely emancipated India preach to the world her new gospel of freedom.

Even at the risk of being called a chauvinist, I would say to my countrymen that India has a mission to fulfil and it is because of this that India still lives. There is nothing mystic in this word 'mission'. India has something original to contribute to the culture and civilization of the world in almost every department of human life. In the midst of her present degradation and slavery, the contri­bution she has been making is by no means a small one. Just imagine for a moment how great her contribution will be once she is free to develop along her own lines and in accordance with her own requirements.

There are people in this country and some of them eminent and respectable personages—who will not agree to an all-round application of the principle of freedom. We are sorry if we can not please them, but in no circu­mstance can we give up an ideal which is based on truth, justice, and equality. We shall go our own way, whether others join us or not — but you can be rest assured that even if a few desert us, thousands and even millions will ultimately join our army of freedom. Let us have no compromise with bondage, injustice or inequality. Friends, it is time for all lovers of freedom to bind themselves into one happy fraternity and form the army of freedom.

Let this army send out not only soldiers to fight the battle of freedom but also missionaries to propagate the new cult of freedom. It is from amongst you that these missionaries and these soldiers will have to be created. In our programme of action we must have intensive and extensive propaganda on the one hand and a country-wide volunteer organisation on the other. Our missionaries will have to go amongst the peasants and factory workers and preach the new message. They will have to inspire the youths and organise youth leagues all over the country. And last but not least, they will have to rouse the entire womanhood of the country—for woman must now come forward to take her place in society and in the body politic as an equal partner of man.

Friends, many of you must be now training yoursel­ves for joining the ranks of the Indian National Congress. The Indian National Congress is undoubtedly the supreme national organisation in this country and in it all our hopes are centered. But the Indian National Congress itself depends, or should depend, for its strength, influence and power on such movements as the labour movement, youth movement, peasant movement, women's movement, stu­dents' movement etc. If we succeed in emancipating our labour, peasantry, depressed classes, youths, students and womenfolk we shall be able to rouse such a force in the country as will make the Indian National Congress a potent instrument for achieving our political salvation. If there­fore you want to serve the Indian National Congress most effectively you will at the same time have to promote the allied movements to which I have referred above.

Next door to us is China—let us therefore take a leaf out of recent Chinese history. See what the students in China have done for their motherland. Can we not do the same in India ? The renaissance in modern China is due almost wholly to the -activities of Chinese students — both men and women. They have on the one hand gone out into the villages and into the towns and factories to preach the new message of freedom and on the other hand they have organised the whole country from one end to the other. We shall have to do the same thing in India. There is no royal road to freedom. The path to freedom is no doubt a thorny one but it is a path which also leads to glory and immortality. Let us break with the past, des­troy all the shackles which have bound us for ages and like true pilgrims let us march shoulder to shoulder tow­ards the destined goal of freedom. Freedom means life, and death in the pursuit of freedom means the highest glory imperishable. Let us therefore resolve to be free or at least to die in the pursuit of freedom — and let us show by our conduct and character that we are worthy of being the countrymen of the great martyr — Jatindra Nath Das

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