26 NOVEMBER 1921, Page 2

Mr. Gandhi, having sown the wind, publicly expressed surprise that

he had reaped the whirlwind. After the Bombay riots he

declared that he had been wrong in supposing that " mass civil disobedience " could be non-violent. He had, he said, brought into being the spirit of revolt, and now found that he could not control it. He added :- " I must do penance for it. For me the struggle is essentially religious. I believe in fasting and prayers, and I propose hence- forth to observe every Monday a twenty-four hours' fast till S'wamj (Home Rule) is obtained.

It is not necessary to suppose that Mr. Gandhi is merely sanctimonious hypocrite. He deceives himself as much as he deceives others. But to leave such a man at large is as dangerous as it would be to give a lunatic the free run of a powder magazine.