The call for truce is still going on. The advice to forgive and forget the wrongs inflicted on the nation during the Punjab disturbances is being insistently pressed upon the Indian public with an almost Christian fervour by those who are themselves responsible for the ignoble tragedy. But national and international wrongs cannot be so easily forgotten or forgiven without due regard for future safety. The necessity for discretion in the exercise of these virtues in national affairs is only increased when the appeal for peace comes from the erstwhile wrong-doers themselves, without any of the assuring manifestations of a repentent mind. No doubt a section of our countrymen, enamoured of the new dispensation, have shown only a too ready willingness to forget the insult and join in the chorus for an unreal peace. But the nation at large have awakened to the fundamental issues involved in the question and realised the serious dangers of passing lightly over such significant episodes in foreign domination. Hence it had refused to forgive or forget the memory of the Punjab until sufficient reparation for the past and adequate guarantees for the future are made by the grant of Swaraj.
