The Annual Session of the Congress in karachi -1913

The Twenty eighth National Congress met in Karachi, Sindh, on the 26th, 27th and 28th December, 1913. The Pavilion was dignified and well decorated, and each of the sixteen gates was ornamented with a motto descriptive of the objects of the Congress an original idea. The delegates were 550 in number, distributed as follows :

·         Bombav and Sindh …………..…….. 264

·         U.P …………………………….…….. 13

·         Pan jab…………………………..……… 10

·         Bohar ………………………………… 4

·         Madras ... ……………………………. 33

·         Bengal ………………………………..22

·         Canada …………………..…………… 3

·         Sindh (Reception Committee) ……... 201

·                                                                      550

Some notable figures were absent from the Congress. The heart affection which killed him in 1915 kept Mr. Gokhale away, and Sir Pherozeshah Mehta, Mr. Surendranath Bannerji and Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya were all absent'.

The Hon. Mr. Harchandrai Vishindas, the Chairman of the reception Committee, welcomed, the President-elect and the delegates, and gave a short sketch of Sindh and its special difficulties, such as its decennial revision Settlements and its irrigation problem. He then turned to the various questions which lay before the Congress for discussion, and finally called on the delegates formally to elect the Hon. Nawab Syed Muhammad Bahadur as President. The proposal was moved by Rao Bahadur R. N. Mudholkar, seconded by Rai Baikunthanath Sen, supported by Mr. Gopaldas Jhamatmal aud Pandit Rambhuj Dutt Choudhuri, and carried with acclamation.

After speaking of the necessity of the continued work of the Congress, he alluded to the King Emperor's message on leaving India, and urged that the unity hoped for by His Majesty should be sought, and that Muhammadans, Christians, Parsis and Hindus, should advance together, rather than in separate group. He noted the rapprochement Hindus and Musalmans, as shown by the hope expressed by the All-India Muslim League that the leaders on both sides should meet periodically "to find a modus operandi for joint and concerted action in questions of public good". He next spoke of the troubles of the Indians in South Africa, then reaching their climax, and he advised retaliatory measures against South African whites, such as shutting out Natal coal, and closing the door of the Civil Service against them. He then turned to the India Council and the need for its radical reform; it must be only an advisory, not an administrative body. He repeated the condemnation of the Regulations which had spoiled the reforms, showed how dilatory was the action of Government with regard to Local Self-Government, emphasized the enormous importance of Primary and Technical Education, and the need of Permanent Settlement to relieve the grave economic situation. The President alluded also to the Public Service Commission then in India, and urged the granting to Indians of Commissions in the Army, quoting some recent remarks on the subject by Lord Minto in London, the previous year, relating his efforts to bring it about. He then said a few words, fraught with deep emotion, on "the subversion of the Ottoman power in Europe and the strangling of Persia," and expressed the grief with which all the Muslims had felt the blow to their Turkish brethren. He concluded with an earnest plea that Hindus and Musalmans should clasp hands, and work for the Motherland. "The Tide of National Unity..... by God's grace, will surely sweep away in its majestic onward course the unnatural and artificial barriers of race, colour and religion."

The President resumed his seat amid loud applause.

The second day's work began with the moving from the Chair of Resolution I, regretting the deaths of Mr. J. Ghosal and Mr. Justice P. R. Sundara Aiyar. It was passed standing.

Resolution II, dealing with the Indians in South Africa, was moved by Dewan Bahadur L. A. Govinda-raghava Aiyar, and seconded by Lala Lajpat Rai in Hindustani. It was supported by six more speakers who urged the arguments so familiar to us all, and was carried.

The second day began with the moving of Resolution III, the Separation of Judicial and Executive Functions, by Mr. C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar, who quoted Sir Harvey Adamson's condemnation of a judge having the police organization at his back ; Mr. R. C. Dutt and Sir Pherozeshah Mehta had showed that the reform would not entail extra expenditure. A re-distribution of functions among munsiffs, magistrates and judges could be made without greater cost. Mr. K. C. Ganguli seconded, complaining that the Congress had passed an annual resolution since 1886, but the bureaucracy opposed it. Messrs: Lalchand Navalrai and Abdul Rahman supported, and the Resolution was carried.

Resolution IV welcomed the adoption by the Muslim League of the ideal of self government for India, and the declaration of the necessity of harmonious co-operation, to be found by the leaders deciding on joint concerted action. It was proposed by Mr. Bhupendranath Basu, saying that Hindus and Muhammadans must concentrate their attention on the one united ideal, for the India of to-day was not the India of the Hindu or the Muslim, nor of the Anglo-Indian, much less of the European, but the India in which all had a share. "If there have been misunderstandings in the past, let us forget them". If they were united, "the India of the future will be a stronger, nobler, greater, higher, aye, and a brighter India than was realized by Ashoka in the plenitude of his power, a better India than was revealed to Akbar in the wildest of his visions".

Rao Bahadur R. N. Mudholkar seconded, and said that the Congress and the League now stood on a common platform, and could work together. Mr. Jehangir B. Petit said that many had thought that Hindus and Muslims would never unite, but that if they did they would be a powerful instrument for good and a force to be reckoned with. Mr. D. A. Khare said that Self-Government would be won by the brotherhood of Hindu and Muslim. Mr. Mathradas Ramchand further supported, and Mr. C. Gopala Menon welcomed the pronouncement of the Muslim League as marking an important epoch in the history of the Congress. Mr. D. E. Wacha said that the Congress had entered on a new Nativity and with the new Star they would achieve new success. The Resolution was carried with great applause.

Resolution "V was on the Reform of the India Council. It was moved by Mr. M. A. Jinnah, who pointed out that the Council was composed of old officials who had served in India, and non-official India had no voice. The Secretary of State was responsible to nobody, and was a greater Mughal than any Mughal who had ever ruled in India. Mr. N. M. Samarth seconded, and said that the -Secretary of State for India should be accountable to Parliament as was the Secretary for the Colonies, and one-third of the Council should be elected by Indians. The Hon. Mr. Krishna Rao supported, and gave a short review of the changes that had taken place in the constitution of the Council. The Resolution was further supported by Messrs. Gopaidas Jhainatmal and Surendranath Mallik_; and carried.

The Congress then adjourned.

On meeting for the third session, the Congress; took up a new question, the "continuous journey clause" of the Canadian Privy Council Order, No. 920. The ingenuity of this clause was that it forbade Indians to enter Canada unless they had made a continuous journey from India, and they could not make a continuous journey because there was no direct boat-service and the Steamship Companies refused through booking. Hence it forbade the entry of any Indian into Canada, and prevented any Indian already there from bringing over his wife and family. [It was this Order which caused the chartering of theKumagatu and the subsequent troubles.] The Resolution (VI) was moved by Sardar Nand Singh Sikra, who, himself a Sikh, spoke for his brethren in Canada, but pointed out that all India suffered in the suffering of Sikhs in Canada and Indians in South Africa, and " we join hands as one United. Nation, and with one heart and one voice we condemn the Colonial atrocities". The Chief Justice of British Columbia had condemned as illegal the Federal Orders in Council, but that did not seem to help them much. General Swayne had explained the real reason of the exclusion. He said :

One of those things that make the presence of East Indians here, or in any other white Colony, politically inexpedient, is the familiarity they acquire with the whites, the instance of which is given by the speedy elimination of caste in this Province, as shown by the way all castes help each other. These men go back to India, and preach ideas of emancipation, which, if brought about, would upset the machinery of law and order. While this emancipation may be a good thing at some future date, the present time is premature for the emancipation of caste.

Is then the whole Empire in a conspiracy against Indian freedom, and is caste to be a weapon in the hands of the bureaucracy to prevent her emancipation ?

The Sardar Sahab was one of the three delegates elected by the Canadian Sikhs on February 22nd, 1913, to go to the Congress and represent their grievances.

Mr. Krishna Kumar Mitra seconded, remarking that it would be better for Canadians to say openly that they would not admit indians rather than pass so cowardly a law. Mr. Ayuo Khan and Pandit Rambhuj Dutt Choudhuri supported, and the Resolution was carried.

Resolution VII was on the Public Service Commission, and was very full, laying down the grievances under which Indians suffered and suggesting changes. It was moved by Rai Baikunthanath Sen Bahadur, who remarked on the charges leveled by witnesses before the Royal Commission against Indians; it was said they had defects in moral character, and were lacking in physical endurance, administrative efficiency and power of initiative. He brought in rebuttal the districts in East Bengal where there were anarchical disturbances, and while those managed by British Civilians were much disturbed, those in charge of Bengali Civilians were kept quiet. He asked for the cases where Indians had failed. Witnesses from English commercial houses naturally preferred their own kith and kin and depreciated Indians.

The Hon. Dr. Nilratan Sarkar seconded, and took the sound ground that Indians had a birthright to serve their own country, and that non-Indians should be admitted only when necessary and for a short time. But in the Public Services, "the upper branch is synonymous with European, and the lower with Indian. This is as indefensible in principle as it is mischievous in practice." "We are to remain content, as a Nation of assistants." He illustrated Indian efficiency with various examples, and remarked that Dr. Pal Roy had no equal in India but he is to remain all his life in the provincial inferior Service". Messrs. V. V. Jogiah Pantulu and Mathradas Ramchand supported the Resolution and it was carried.

Mr. Bhupendranath Basu moved Resolution VIII, asking for the repeal of the Press Act. He pointed out that in 1837, Sir Charles Metcalfe had liberated the Indian Press; Lord Lytton replaced fetters in 1878, with his Vernacular Press Act, but Mr. Glad­stone repealed it. When Sir Herbert Risley spoke in 1910 in favour of introducing the present Press Act; he had destroyed several papers, such as the Gugantar, and had, said that in the 47 cases instituted by Government under the old law of sedition, a conviction had been secured in every one. What more did they want? The Law Member, who certainly believed what he said, had laid stress on the right of appeal to the High Court but in a late case the High Court had said that a for­feiture was invalid and illegal, but the High Court had no power to interfere. So there was "a special law of a very drastic nature without any safeguards," and it was "a wet cloth on all expressions of public opinion". "Situated as the Government of India is, foreign in its composition and aloof in its character, that law is a source of great peril." Mr. Dalvi, seconding, quoted Sir L. Jenkins, the Chief Justice, in the Comrade case, who said that it is difficult to see to "what lengths the operation of these sections. may not be plausibly extended by an ingenious mind.

Mr. J. Choudhuri, supporting, gave his own case as editor of a legal journal, the Calcutta Weekly Nutess His printer and publisher died and he had to find a new one, and was running backwards and forwards between his office and the Presidency Magistrate's Court before his declaration was accepted. The C.I.D. could find nothing against the printer, except that his knowledge of English was not as perfect as it might be! Sir Herbert Risley had said that the Press Act would not affect existing papers, and that the administration of the law would not be in the hands of the Police. Both assurances were false. When a declaration is made the magistrate hands over the papers to the C.I.D., and the Habul Matin, an existing paper, was called on to furnish security.

Mr. Kishindas Jhamrai supported the Resolution, and it was carried.

Resolution IX, on Permanent Settlement, was moved by the Hon. Mr. A. S. Krishna Rao, seconded by Rao Bahadur Hiranand Khemsing, supported by Mr. Mathradas Ramchand, and carried.

Then followed a series of Resolutions, put from the Chair : X, Army Commission ; XI, Education (including a protest against the veto by the Government of India of three lecturers, Messrs. Rasul, S libravardi and Jayaswal, on the ground of their connection with politics); XII, High Courts; XIII, Swadeshi; XIV, Indentured Labour; XV, Local Self-Government; XVI, Council Regulation; XVII, Executive Councils for U. P. and Panjab; XVIII, authorising the All-India Congress Committee to arrange a deputation to England, to represent Indian views on: (1) , Indians in S. Africa and the Colonies; (2) Press AcT; (3) Return of India Council; (4) Separation of Judicial and Executive Functions; (5) Important Questions on which Congress has expressed opinion; XIX, Thanks to Sir William Wedderburn and members of the British Committee. These Resolutions, put seriatim,, were really our old friend
the Omnibus. ' ;

Resolution XX, was an expression of deep regret at the retirement of Messrs. Wacha and Khare, from the office of Secretaries, and thanks for their work. Rai Baikunthanath Sen Bahadur voiced the gratitude of the Congress to the eminent veteran, who had acted for 18 years, with great self-denial and ability. Mr. Khare had worked well for 6 years. Mr. C, P. Rama swami Aiyar seconded, saying that the greatness of the Congress was largely due to its Secretaries. The Resolution was carried with cheers, and then the Hon. Mr. Harchandrai Vishindas proposed and Mr. D. G. Dalvi seconded the election of the Hon. Nawab Syed Muhammad Bahadur and Mr. N. Subba Rao Pantulu as General Secretaries for the ensuing year Carried.

Mr. N. Subba Rao invited the Congress to Madras, and Resolution XXII decided the acceptance.

The vote of thanks to the Chair was moved by Mr. Ghulam ali G. Chayla, seconded by Mr. Bhupendranath Basu, supported by Mr. Lakamal Chellaram and Mir Ayab Khan, and carried by acclamation. The President's brief reply closed the proceedings, and the Twenty eighth National Congress dissolved.

RESOLUTIONS

Brief of Congress

I. Besolved—That this Congress desires to place on record its sense of the great loss sustained by the country by the death of Mr. J. Ghosal, who was a staunch worker in the Congress cause, and Mr. Justice P. R. Sundara Aiyer.

Indians in South Africa and Canada

South Africa

II. Resolved—(a). That this Congress enters its emphatic protest against the provisions of the Immigration Act in that they violate the promises made by the Ministers of the South African Union, and respectfully urges the Crown to veto the Act and requests the Imperial and Indian Governments to adopt such measures as would ensure to the Indians in South Africa just and honourable treatment.

(b) That this Congress expresses its abhorrence of the cruel treatment to which Indians were subjected in Natal in the recent strikes, and entirely disapproves of the personnel of the Committee appointed by the South African Union to enquire into the matter, as two of its members are already known to be biased against Indians and as it does not include persons who command the confidence of Indians in South Africa and here.

(c) That this Congress tenders its most respectful thanks to His Excellency the Viceroy for his statesmanlike pronouncement of the policy of the Government of India on the South African question.

(d) That this Congress requests the Imperial and Indian Governments to take the steps needed, to redress the grievances relating to the questions of the ₤3 tax, indentured labour, domicile, the Educational test, validity of Indian Marriages and other questions bearing on the status of Indians in South Africa.

(e) That this Congress expresses its warm and grateful appreciation of the heroic struggle carried on by Mr. Gandhi and his co-workers, and calls upon the people of this country of all classes and creeds to continue to supply them with funds.

Canada

VI. Resolved—That this Congress strongly protests against prohibition of immigration, resulting from the operation of the Canadian Privy Council Order No. 920, generally known as the "Continuous Journey Clause," as the order in question has practically the effect of preventing any Indian, not already settled there, from going to Canada, in as much as there is no direct steamship service between the two Countries, and the Steamship Companies refuse through booking and further subjects the present Indian Settlers in Canada to great hardship by precluding them from bringing over their wives and children. This Congress, therefore, urges upon the Imperial Government the necessity of securing the repeal of the said Continuous Journey Regulation.

Legal

Separation of Judicial and Executive Functions

III. Resolved.—That this Congress, concurring with previous Congresses, urges the early Separation of Judicial from Executive Functions in the best interests of the Empire and prays that any scheme of Separation that may be undertaken to be really effective must place all judiciary solely under the control of the highest Court in every Province. .

High Courts

XII. Resolved—That this Congress is strongly of opinion that all the High Courts of India, inclusive of non-chartered High Courts, should have the same direct relation with the Government of India alone, as the High Court of Fort William in Bengal has at the present time. The Congress is, further, of opinion that the Chief Judge of unchartered High Courts should be appointed from the members of the bar.

Union for Self-Government of Congress and Muslim League

IV. Eeaolved—That this Congress places on record its warm appreciation of the adoption by the All-India Muslim League of the ideal of Self-Government for India within the British Empire, and expresses its complete accord with the belief that the League has so emphatically declared at its last sessions that the political future of the country depends on the harmonious working and co-operation of the various Communities in the country which has been the cherished ideal of the Congress. This Congress most heartily welcomes the hope expressed by the League that the leaders of the different communities will make every endeavor to find a modus operandi for joint and concerted action on all questions of national
good and earnestly appeals to all the sections of the people to help the object We all have at heart.

India Council Reform

V. Resolved—That this Congress is of opinion that tie Council of the Secretary of State for India, as at present constituted, should be abolished, and makes the following suggestions for its reconstruction:

(a) That the salary of the Secretary of State for India should be placed on the English Estimates.

(b) That, with a view to the efficiency and independence of the Council, it is expedient that it should be partly nominated and partly elected.

(c) That the total number of members of the Council should not be less than nine.

(d) That the elected portion of the Council should consist of not less than one-third of the total number of members, who should be non-official Indians chosen by a constituency consisting of the elected members of the Imperial and Provincial Legislative Councils.

(e) That not less than one-half of the nominated portion of the Council should consist of public men of merit and ability unconnected with the Indian administration.

(f) That the remaining portion of the nominated Council should consist of officials who have served in India for not less than 10 years and have not been away from India for more than two years.

(g) That the character of the Council should be advisory and not administrative.

(h) That the term of office of each member should be five years

Public Service

VII. Resolved—(d) That this Congress places on record its indignant protest against, and emphatically repudiates, as utterly unfounded, the charges of general incompetence, lack of initiative, lack of character, etc., which some of the witnesses, among whom this Congress notices with regret some of the highest administrative officers, have freely leveled at Indians as a people.

(b) That this Congress begs to express its earnest hope that the Royal Commissioners will, alike on grounds of justice, national progress , economy, efficiency and even expediency, see fit to make recommendations which will have the certain effect of largely increasing the present very inadequate proportion of Indians in the high appointments in the Public Services of their own country; thus redeeming the solemn pledge contained in the Charter Act of 1833 and the Royal Proclamation of 1858.

(c) In particular, this Congress places on record its deep conviction :

(1) that justice can never be done to the claim of the people of this country unless the examination for the recruitment of the superior offices of the various Services be held in India as well as in England;

(2) That the age limit in the case of candidates for the Indian Civil Service should not be lowered, as such a step will operate to the disadvantage of Indian candidates as well as prove detrimental to efficiency;

(3) that the Judicial and Executive Services and Functions should be completely separated and the Judicial Service recruited from the legal profession and placed in subordination to the High Court instead of to the Executive Government;

(4) that such restrictions as exist at present against the appointment of persons other than members of the Indian Civil Service to certain high offices be removed;

(5) that any rule or order which, in terms or in effect, operates as a bar against the appointment of an Indian as such to any office under the Crown for which he may otherwise be eligible, should be rescinded as opposed to the Act and the Proclamation hereinbefore mentioned;

(6) that the division of Services into Imperial and Provincial be abolished and the conditions of Services be equalized as between Indians and Europeans, and that in case the division be maintained, the recruitment of the Executive branch of the Provincial Civil Service be made by means of an open competitive examination instead of by nomination ;

(7) that in case the said division be maintained, the Indian Educational and other Services be recruited in India as well as England, and Indians of the requisite attainments be appointed thereto both directly and by promotion from the respective Provincial Services;

(8) that civil medical posts should not be filled by the appointment of members of the Military I. M. S. or I. S. M. D., and a distinct and separate Indian Civil Medical Service should be constituted therefore and recruited by means of a competitive examination held in India as well as England; educational and scientific appointments, however, being filled by advertisement in India and abroad;

(9) that the present scale of salaried is sufficiently high and should not be raised, and further, that exchange compensation allowance should be abolished, as it has been a costly anomaly since exchange was fixed by statute ; and

(10) that the people of those dominions of the Crown, where they are not accorded the rights of British citizens, should be declared ineligible for appointments in India.

Coercion

Press

VIII. Resolved—That this Congress reiterates its protest against the continuation of the Indian Press Act on the Statute Book, and urges that the same be repealed, specially, in view of the recent decision of the High Court of Calcutta, which declares that the safeguards provided by the Act are illusory and incapable of being enforced.

Permanent Settlement

IX. Resolved—That this Congress is strongly of opinion that a reasonable and definite limitation to the demand of the State on land and the introduction of a Permanent Settlement directly between Government and land-holders in ryotwari-areas, or a settlement for a period of not less than 60 years in those Provinces where shorter periodical settlements on revision prevail will substantially help in ameliorating the present unsatisfactory condition of the Agricultural population.

Military

X. Resolved That this Congress again respectfully points out to the Government of India the injustice of keeping the higherranks in the Army closed against the people of this country, and urges that the same should remain no longer unredressed.

Education

XT. Resolved (a) That this Congress, while thanking the Government of India for its donation of larger grants towards the extension of Primary Education in India, is strongly of opinion that a beginning should now be made for introducing Free and Compulsory Education in some selected areas.

(b) That the Congress, while approving of the proposals by Government for introducing teaching and residential Universities, is strongly of opinion that that system should supplement, and not replace, the existing system of University Education, as otherwise the progress of Higher Education among the poorer classes will be seriously retarded.

(c) That this Congress reiterates its prayer to Government to make adequate provision for imparting Industrial and Technical Education in the different Provinces, having regard to local requirements.

(d) That this Congress records its strong protest against the action of the Government of India vetoing the selection by the Calcutta University of Messrs. Basul, Suhravardi and Jayaswal, as lecturers, on the ground of their connection with politics; as the bar of politics is so general as to lend itself to arbitrary exclusion of the best scholarship from the lecturer's chair, so detrimental to the interests of Education in the country.

Swadeshi

XIII. Resolved That this Congress accords its most cordial support -to the Swadeshi Movement, and calls upon the people of India to labour for its success, by making earnest and sustained efforts to promote the growth of indigenous industries, by giving preference wherever practicable, to Indian products over imported commodities, even at a sacrifice.

Indentured Labour

XIV. Resolved--That owing to the scarcity of labour in India, and the grave results from the system of Indentured Labour, which reduces the labourers, during the period of their indenture, practically to the position of slaves, this Congress strongly urges the total prohibition of recruitment of labour under indenture, either for work in India or elsewhere.

Representation

XV,Resolved--That this Congress expresses its regret that the recommendations of the Decentralization Commission, with regard to the further development of Local Self -Government, have not yet been given effect to, and urges that the Government of India may be pleased to take steps, without delay, to increase the
powers and resources of Local Bodies.

XVI. Resolved That this Congress records its sense of keen disappointment that at the last revision of the Legislative Council Regulations, the anomalies and inequalities, rectification of which the four previous Congresses strongly urged upon the Government, were not removed. And in order to allay the widespread dissatisfaction caused by the defects complained of, and in view of the experience of the last four years, this Congress earnestly prays that (1 ) there should be a non-official majority in the Imperial Legislative Council ; (2) there should be a majority of elected members in all Provincial Councils ; (3) the system of voting by delegates be done away with, where it still exists ; (4) the franchise be broadened by simplifying the qualifications of electors, basing it on education, property or income ; (5) the Government should riot have the power arbitrarily to declare any person ineligible for election on the ground of his antecedents or reputation ; (6) no person should be held ineligible for election on
the ground of dismissal from Government Service, or of conviction in a criminal court, or from whom security for keeping the peace has been taken, unless his conduct has involved moral turpitude , (7) no property or residential qualification should be required of a candidate, nor service as member of a Local Body ; (8) a person ignorant of English should be held ineligible for membership , (9) it should be expressly laid down that officials should not be allowed to influence elections in any way; (10) Finance Committees of Provincial Councils should be more closely associated with Government in the preparation of the Annual Financial Statements ; (11) there should be a Finance Committee of the Imperial Legislative Council as in the case of Provincial Legislative Councils ; (12) the fight of putting supplementary questions should be extended to all members and not be restricted to the member putting the original question ; (13) the strength of the Punjab Council be raised from 26 to 50, and more adequate representation be allowed to the Punjab in the Imperial Council.

And further, this Congress, while recognizing the necessity of providing for a fair and adequate representation in the LegislativeCouncils for the Muhammadans or the other communities where they are in a minority, disapproves of the present regulations to carry out this object by means of separate electorates.

XVII. Resolved That the Congress again urges that an Executive Council, with an Indian member, be established in the United Provinces at an early date, and is of opinion, that a similar Council should be established in the Punjab too.

Deputation to Bngland

XVIII. Resolved That the All-India Congress Committee be authorized to arrange for a Deputation consisting, as far as possible, of representatives from different Provinces, to England, to represent Indian views on the following subjects :

(1) Indians in South Africa and other Colonies ;

(2) Press Act ;

(3) Reform of the India Council ,

(4) Separation of Judicial and Executive Functions ,

(5) And important questions on which Congress has expressed opinion.

Thank of Congress

XIX. Resolved That this Congress records its sense of high appreciation of the services of Sir William Wedderburn and other members of the British Committee, and resolves that the organization of the British Committee and India should be
maintained.

Retirement of General Secretaries

XX. Resolved That this Congress expresses its sense of deep regret at the retirement of Mr. D. E. Wachu and Mr. D. A. Khare, from the office of its General Secretaries, and bogs to place on record its sense of warm appreciation of the very signal and distinguished Services rendered by the former for 18 years, and the latter for 6 years, to tho cause of thu Congress.

Formal

XXI. Resolved That the Hon. Navvab Syed Muhammad Bahadur and Mr. N Subba Rao Pantulu be appointed General Secretaries for the next year.

XXII. Resolved That the Congress of the year 1014 be held in the Province of Madras,