द इण्डियन स्ट्रगल / भारतीय स्वाधीनता संग्राम (नेताजी सुभाष चन्द्र बोस - ऐतिहासिक विश्लेषण)

CHAPTER XII
MAHATMA GANDHI IN EUROPE (1931)
DRESSED in loin-cloth and sandals and with but a shawl to
protect him from the inclement weather, the Mahatma landed
in Marseilles on September 11th, 1931. A select group of
British and Indian friends and admirers met him there and
accompanied him to London. On arriving there, he was
taken straight to a reception at the Friends' House. In reply
to the address of welcome, referring to the British Govern-
ment, he humorously remarked: 'You cannot honestly balance
the Budget without first balancing the relations between
India and England.'
The writer was one of those who at one time felt mis-
givings as to whether the Mahatma would be well-advised to
visit Europe in his characteristic loin-cloth: On his former
visits to Europe, he was, of course, clothed differently. But
on this occasion he did the right thing in adhering to his
favourite dress. Questioned by a reporter about his dress,
the Mahatma once jocosely remarked: 'You people wear
plus-fours, mine are minus-fours.' Then changing to a more
serious vein, he said: 'If I came here to live and work like
an English citizen, then I should conform to the customs of
the country and should wear the dress of an Englishman.
But I am here on a great and special mission, and my loin-
cloth, if you choose so to describe it, is the dress of my
principals, the people of India.' His countrymen to-day feel
proud that he stuck to the dress of his principals and even
attended the Buckingham Palace party in the same dress.
During his stay in London, between September 12th and
December 1st, the Mahatma spoke twelve times at the Round
Table Conference¹—twice before the plenary session of the
¹ The second Round Table Conference consisted of 107 members, Of
these, 65 were from British India, 22 from the Indian States and 20 from
the three British Parties. The Minorities Committee of the Conference
was composed of 6 Britishers, 13 Moslems, 10 Hindus, 2 from the depressed
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