There is probably some apprehension that this year the proceedings of the All India Youth Congress may be somewhat over-shadowed by the deliberations of the Indian National Congress and of the All-Parties Convention. But nothing to my mind can detract from the intrinsic importance of a congregation like the Youth Congress. Without minimizing in any way the importance of political problems in our life, I would maintain that the problems of youth are vital problems; they have an importance of their own. And we who are members of the Republic of Youth attach great value and significance to them. I have no doubt that the deliberations of this Congress will be carried on with a sense of seriousness commensurate with the responsibility which has been cast on our shoulders. I have no doubt that this congress will give a definite lead to the youth of this country on some of the most vital problems of our present-day life. I therefore consider it a privilege and an honour that I should be authorized by the Reception Committee to welcome you on such an important occasion.

If we cast our eyes beyond our frontiers and take a bird's eye-view of the march of world events, there is one outstanding phenomenon which greets us in every land; and that is the renaissance of youth. From North to South, from East to West, wherever we may happen to glance, the Youth Movement has become a reality. It is necessary for us to be clear in our own minds what the characteristics of the Youth Movement are, what are its mainsprings on the one side and its ultimate objective on the other.

Any association of young men or women does not deserve the designation of a youth association. A social service league or a famine relief society is not necessarily a youth association. A youth association is characterized by a feeling of dissatisfaction with the present order of things, and a desire for a better order accompanied by a vision of that order. Youth Movements are not reformist in outlook but revolutionary. A feeling of restlessness, of impatience with the present order, must come into existence before any youth movement can start. Personally, I do not consider such a movement to be a twentieth century phenomenon or an accidental phenomenon. From the time of Socrates and Buddha, men have been inspired by the vision of a better world and under that inspiration have endeavoured to reconstruct society. The youth movements of the modern age are characterized by a similar vision and a similar effort. Whether it is Bolshevism in Russia or Fascism in Italy or the Young Turk movement in Turkey, whether it is a movement in China or in Persia or in Germany, everywhere you will find the same impulse, vision and objective. Wherever the older generation of leaders have failed, youth have become self-conscious and have taken upon themselves the responsibility of reconstructing society and of guiding it on towards a better and nobler state of existence.

Friends, let us now come nearer home. It is not only the youths of Germany, Russia, Italy and China who are roused. Even in this land of lotus-eaters the awakening has come. I firmly believe that it is an awakening from within and not merely a ferment on the surface. The youth of India are no longer content with handing over all responsibility to their older leaders and sitting down with folded hands or following like dumb driven cattle. They have realized that it is for them to create a new India — free, great and powerful. They have accepted the responsibility, they have prepared themselves for the consequences, and they are now busy schooling themselves for the great task that awaits them. At this critical juncture, it is the duty of well-wishers of India to speak out fearlessly what they think of the movement or movements going on today. It has to be analysed critically, what defects there are have to be ruthlessly exposed and the entire movement has to be guided along healthy and fruitful channels.

As I look round me today, I am struck by two schools of thought about which it is my duty to speak out openly and fearlessly. I am referring to the two schools of thought which have their centres at Sabarmati and Pondicherry. I am not considering the fundamental philosophy underlying these two schools of thought. This is not the time for metaphysical speculation. I shall talk to you today as a pragmatist, as one who will judge the intrinsic value of any school of thought not from a metaphysical point of view but from experience of its actual effects and consequences.

The actual effect of the propaganda carried on by the Sabarmati school of thought is to create a feeling and an impression that modernism is bad, that large-scale production is an evil, that wants should not be increased, that the standard of living should not be raised, that we must endeavour to the best of our ability to go back to the days of the bullock-cart, and that the soul is so important that physical culture and military training can well be ignored.

The actual effect of the propaganda carried on by the Pondicherry school of thought is to create a feeling and an impression that there is nothing higher or nobler than peaceful contemplation, that Yoga means pranayama and dhyana, that while action may be tolerated as good, this particular brand of Yoga is something higher and better. This propaganda has led many a man to forget that spiritual progress under the present-day conditions is possible only by ceaseless and unselfish action, that the best way to conquer nature is to fight her, and it is weakness to seek refuge in contemplation when we are hemmed in on all sides by dangers and difficulties.

It is the passivism, not philosophic but actual, inculcated by these schools of thought against which I protest. In this holy land of ours ashrams are not new institutions and ascetics and yogis are not novel phenomena; they have held and they will continue to hold an honoured place in society. But it is not their lead that we shall have to follow if we are to create a new India, at once free, happy and great.

Friends, you will pardon me if in a fit of outspokenness I have trod on your sentiments. As I have just said, I do not for one moment consider the fundamental philosophy underlying the two schools of thought but the actual consequences from a pragmatic point of view. In India we want today a philosophy of activism. We must be inspired by robust optimism. We have to live in the present and to adapt ourselves to modern conditions.

We can no longer live in an isolated corner of the world. When India is free, she will have to fight her modern enemies with modern methods, both in the economic and in the political spheres. The days of the bullock-cart are gone and gone for ever. The free world must prepare itself for any eventuality as long as the whole world does not accept whole-heartedly the policy of disarmament.

I am not one of those who in their zeal for modernism forget the glories of the past. We must take our stand on our past. India has a culture of her own which she must continue to develop along her own distinctive channels. In philosophy, literature, art and science we have something new to give to the world which the world eagerly awaits. In a word, we must arrive at a synthesis. Some of our best thinkers and workers are already engaged in this important task. We must resist the cry of "Back to the Vedas", on the one side, and on the other side the meaningless craze of modern Europe for fashion and change. It is difficult to restrict a living movement within proper bounds, but I believe that if the pioneers and the leaders of the movement are on the whole on the right track, things will take proper shape in due time.

Friends, one word more and I have done. The present year is a landmark not only in the history of our political movement but also in the history of the Indian Youth Movement. I hope and pray that this session will give a bold and definite lead to the youth of this country. We are fortunate today in welcoming as our President one who needs no introduction to the youth of this country, Mr. Nariman of Bombay. Mr. Nariman may be more intimately known, loved and respected by youths in Western India, but it is also a fact that he is known, loved and respected by youths in other parts of the country as well. We have during the last few years followed his career and activity with the closest interest and it is a privilege for us to be able to welcome him in our midst. Under his able guidance and leadership, we shall have a most successful session.

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