I have come here in the interest of peace. I felt that if the disturbances continued in Calcutta, the whole of India might get in course of time involved in the conflagration. Nothing that we could do seemed to be able to restore sanity in this city.
Indeed, I felt that the position was deteriorating rapidly, although there was a crescendo and a diminuendo in the number of incidents. The hatred that was being engendered was increasing, and I felt that something drastic must be done in order to bring home to the people. That Hindus and Muslims must live together, and that this was not the way of life.
The 15th of August also was approaching, and if nothing was done before that time, it was quite probable that Calcutta would again have been drenched in blood. I therefore returned post haste from Karachi and Delhi in order to see Mahatma Gandhi before he left for Noakhali, because I felt that the real problem was here in Calcutta and not in Noakhali. He agreed to stay at my request, but he made certain conditions, namely that we should take each other completely into confidence and that we should do nothing without consulting each other.
This was very gracious of him, and I accepted it with alacrity. I naturally had to see members of my family, and they agreed with the greatest pleasure, and I had the blessings of my father in this behalf. The results you have seen for yourself.
It was indeed a very moving sight that the pent-up feelings of Hindus and Muslims should have found expression in such jubilation and mutual happiness. What occurred was beyond our imagination. We never expected that the results would be so quick and so wonderful.
I believe that it is the mercy of God upon the people of Calcutta and of this country that this has occurred, and we sincerely hope that the re-establishment of mutual confidence and friendship will be continued. In fact, there are signs everywhere that this should continue. Now that the first flush of jubilation has passed, we can see that people are moving about in each other’s localities fearlessly.
Business has reopened, and there is absolutely no sign of terrorization or want of confidence. It will indeed be a calamity if we were again to go back to the previous days, but I do not think that there is any chance of doing so, as people have felt that their safety lies in mutual confidence and friendship, and not in standing on their dignity or on any wrong notions of superiority or inferiority or conflict.