Sharma : How did you react to the Gandhi Irwin Pect?
Chavan : The Gandhi-Irwin Pact was quite all right, because it gave a breathing time and a feeling of victory to the people. That was necessary. It was a very important Gandhian technique, If I may say so. When you were leading a movement of non-violent people against a very well- organised military power like Britain, you could not give them a feeling of complete defeat all the time. This compromise gave a feeling of elation to the people, that people's struggle succeeded. Irwin had to call Gandhiji and had to arrive at some sort of agreement. So I reacted very well to the Pact.
Sharma : Do you recall the atmosphere at the Karachi session of the Congress?
Chavan : Yes, I do remember. The Karachi Congress was dominated by the Bhagat Singh affair and the Gandhi Irwin Pact also. There was a feeling of elation. But emotionally it was Bhagat Singh who dominated the Scene Sardar Patel was president of the Congress at that time. This is the impression that I have.
But I was more interested in the Karachi Congress Resolution, what exactly it meant. It was something very new in terms of the Congress. So far there were a talk about dominion status, full swaraj and round table conference. But what we could do if Swaraj came. For the first time, there was something specific in which I was interested. So it was a session of struggle and its triumph, and also at the same time a tragic feeling for Bhagat Singh – an emotional mix-up was there.
Sharma : Did you see M. N. Roy also in the session?
Chavan : No. I did not know that he was there, but later on I heard that he was there and he had his part in the drafting of this 1931 Resolution as well.
