43 24-10-547 ONE AND ONLY PASSION In his after-prayer speech Gandhiji said that it had appeared in the Press a few days ago that he would open the Asiatic Labour Conference which was meeting in Delhi on the 17th instant. He did not know who had given that news to the Press. He knew nothing about the whole thing. He had asked a newspaper man to contradict the report but no contradiction had appeared. He wanted to say that he was at present concentrating all his energies on the one pressing pro- blem of the day. He could not put his mind to anything else. Hindus, Muslims, Parsis, Christians and others were equally the sons and daughters of India and had equal rights of citizenship. This was the ideal he had before him from early youth. With the achievement of independence that ideal seemed to be melting away. The bhajan that they had just heard said, " Whether anyone praises one or abuses, it should not matter for all was to be dedicated to God." That is what he (Gandhiji) was trying to do. He would go on repeat- ing what he believed to be the truth irrespective of whether anyone liked it or not. KEEP YOUR FAITH BRIGHT He referred with sorrow to the sad plight of moneyed men of yesterday who were today homeless refugees without shelter and clothes. God would end their sufferings before long, if they kept their faith bright and stuck to the right path. 107