The Case for India

Speaking to the Indian National Congress in Calcutta on 26 December 1917, Annie Besant makes an urgent argument for Indian self-government. Her presidential address begins with thanks to delegates who supported her during her internment, then connects the demand for Home Rule with Britain's stated defence of national freedom during the Great War. She examines India's military contribution and the burden of spending on campaigns beyond its borders.

The address also considers the growth of national confidence, drawing on Swami Vivekananda's teaching, renewed interest in Sanskrit literature and Japan's victory over Russia. Besant contrasts promises of liberty with the restrictions imposed by colonial government and calls for substantial political reform. Readers interested in the independence movement will find a direct example of its public rhetoric: gratitude, spiritual conviction and criticism of imperial policy brought together in an appeal for a freely chosen partnership between India and Britain.