Himalayan Times (1957)

Six

January 13, 1967

FULL SOCIALIST ORDER FOR INDIA

CONGRESS ELECTION MANIFESTO

Seventy-one yean ago,
the Indian National Cong
reps was born. Its early
beginnings were small but
significant. This intant
organisation was to grow
into a mighty organ of
the Indian people repre-
senting their wishes and
urges for freedom. Year
by year it grew io Rcope
and outlook, and great
men and women, famous
in India's story, took part
in moulding it so that it
might play its destined
part to bring independence
to this country Dada
bhai Naoroji first enun-
ciated the goal of Swaraj.

Lokmanya Tilak broad-
ened the bass of the Cong-
ress and gave it strength
and dri»e. Mahatma Gan-
dhi made it the represen-
tative of the vast masses
of India and endowed it
with filth and self-reliance.
Under his leadership it
chalked out a new path
of peaoeful revolutionary
action based on the high
principles for which he
stood. Hundreds of thou-
sands of our countrymen
followed that path wil-
lingly and sacrificed every-
thing that thay had in
the pursuit of freedom
for their beloved country.

Gradually also, the
Congress developed a so.

cial content for that free-
dom and stood ever more
for the advancement of
the dispossessed and the
unprivileged and those
who had to suffer poll
tical, economic and social
disabilities.

"Decades after decade,
this peaceful and revolu
tionary struggle continued
in India, often convulsing
the life of the country
and drawing into its fold
millions of our people. At
the end" of 1929, the La-
hore Congress defined Swa-
raj as full independence,
and people all over the
country took this pledge.
At last, on the 15th of
August 1947,freedom came,
and the pledge that mil-
lions in India had taken
year after year was re-
deemed and largelly fill-'
filled. At that bolemn
and historic moment, when
India stepped out from
servitude to freedom, we
took another pledge of
dedication to the service
of India and her people
and the still.larger cause
of humanity".

Immediately the sun
of freedom was darkened
by conflict and disaster
and, soon after, the mas-
ter who had led us from
darkness to light, * passed
away making the ultimate

sacrifice for the cause he
held dear. Sorrow over-
whelmed us. But his voice
rang in our ears and his
message gave us strength.
We laboured to face this
challenge to our new-won
freedom and the people
of India defeated the for-
ces of darkness and reac-
tion.

Pledge to Fight Peverty

The Congress had ful-
filled its old pledge for
independence, but the
other pledge to fizht po-
verty and ignorance and
diseuse and inequality of
opportunity remained and
tlio Congress set itself to
this tremendous task.
Seven years have passed
since then and the story
of these seven years of
work and achievement is
before our people arid the
world. Whether in the
field of international affairs
or of our national and
domestic problems, India s
star has grown brighter
and her achievements have
been notable. Keeping fan h
with the old, we have
sought to build up a New
India, a modern atate
which would remove the
burdens of those who suf-
fer and^ive opportunity
for progress to all. The
great adventure on which
we embarktd involves a