Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III POLITICAL MOVEMENTS—SECOND STAGE The Twenty-first Congress, held at Benares in December 1905, was attended by 756 delegates, of whom 718 were Hindus, 17 were Muhammadans, and 14 were Sikhs. The tone of the introductory note to the printed record of proceedings is notably aggressive. India was declared to be " distracted, discontented, despondent, the victim of many misfortunes, political and others " ; the " cup of national indignation had been filled to overflowing by the Partition designed to break down the political power and influence of the educated opinion of Bengal." The rise of Japan had, however, it was said, produced a great moral impression, and a new epoch had begun in the work of political regeneration and emancipation not only for Bengal, but for all India. The service of the motherland would become " as great and overmastering a passion as in Japan." The late Mr. Gokhale, a Chitpavan1 Brahman of great intellectual power, was elected President. He justified the boycott of European goods which had been proclaimed by the leaders of the anti-Partition agitation in Bengal, and declared that the time was sensibly nearer when the bureaucratic monopoly of power could be successfully assailed. He asked for a proportion of one-half elected members in all the Councils, for an extension of Council privileges, and for theappointment of three Indians to the Council of the Secretary of State. He considered that the time was auspicious for these demands. Mr. John Morley was at the India Office, and " our heart hopes and yettremble as it has never yet hoped and trembled before." 1 Chitpavan Brahmans. (See page 48.-) 1 The Ananda Math. See Appendix II. Bitter complaint was made of the treatment of Indians in the British colonies—a grievance of some standing...