“It is not me that you are seeking to judge and condemn, but rather hundreds of millions of the people of India and that is a large task even for a proud empire.
Perhaps it may be that, though I am standing before you in my trial, it is the British Empire itself that is on its trial before the bar of the world.
Individuals count for little, they come and go, as I shall go when my time is up. Seven times I have been tried and convicted by British authority in India, and many years of my life lie buried within prison walls. An eighth time or ninth, and a few more years, make little difference. But it is no small matter what happens to India and her millions of sons and daughters. That is the issue before me, and that ultimately is the issue before you, Sir.” -
Perhaps it may be that, though I am standing before you in my trial, it is the British Empire itself that is on its trial before the bar of the world.
Individuals count for little, they come and go, as I shall go when my time is up. Seven times I have been tried and convicted by British authority in India, and many years of my life lie buried within prison walls. An eighth time or ninth, and a few more years, make little difference. But it is no small matter what happens to India and her millions of sons and daughters. That is the issue before me, and that ultimately is the issue before you, Sir.” -
A statement Nehru made at his trial in Gorakhpur on November 4, 1940. He was indeed a master of prose.
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