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Nigeria. I swore an oath that I would never return.I don’t often use the tired old Quora “I can’t believe nobody mentioned” trope (typically followed by some factoids about a Christopher Nolan movie), but this might be the appropriate occasion to do so. Here goes:I can’t believe that out of 295 answers (including the 115 collapsed ones), and only 206 sovereign states in the world,[1][1][1][1] nobody mentioned Nigeria.It’s not a country you would overlook, either. Out of 1.186 billion people (2015 estimate)[2][2][2][2] living in Africa, between 182 million (2015 estimate) and 187 million (2016 estimate)[3][3][3][3] live in Nigeria. That’s about 1 out of 6.Among the ten largest* countries in the world, one is in Africa (Nigeria), five are in Asia (Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, and Pakistan), two are in Latin America (Brazil and Mexico), one is in Northern America (United States of America), and one is in Europe (Russian Federation). Amongst these, Nigeria’s population, currently the seventh largest in the world, is growing the most rapidly. Consequently, the population of Nigeria is projected to surpass that of the United States by about 2050, at which point it would become the third largest country in the world.[4][4][4][4]* Note that the quoted study uses “largest” in the sense of the population size, not the country’s area.World population cartogram[5][5][5][5]And did I mention Nigeria is dangerous? You might have heard of Boko Haram, the “world’s deadliest terror group” that relegates ISIS to the #2 spot. With the crucial difference that while ISIS targets “Western civilization”, Boko Haram terrorizes Western Africa in general, and Nigeria in particular.A Nigerian policeman inspects the site of a suicide attack by Boko Haram at a busy cattle market in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri in June, 2015. Boko Haram overtook ISIS as the world's deadliest terror group last year, according to the Global Terrorism Index, while Nigeria had the biggest year-on-year increase in terrorism, with deaths up more than 300%.[6][6][6][6]Granted, my first and only visit to Nigeria was in June 1999, when Clinton (the husband) was President, and the world was a much more peaceful place. Nigeria was smaller back then, too. I remember population figures of 660 million for Africa and 110 million for Nigeria according to the then-current CIA World Factbook.[7][7][7][7]At the time, I was working within the EMEA division of a global software company, with a stress on A for Africa, specifically Sub-Saharan Africa. Our projects typically included customizing at the client’s premises. Thus, I visited Kenya, Zambia, South Africa, Tanzania — that last one being my favorite. If you have GSM reception in those countries, it’s due to me (well, partially).And, yes, I also stayed 10 days in Nigeria to get a new billing system up and running. Nobody else from the German office wanted to go there, so we relied on contractors from Serbia and Indonesia. Brave and brilliant people.Our client was based in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city [EDIT: not its capital, though, thanks to User-12969322025222788975 for pointing this out], with an estimated population of 21 million people within its metropolitan area and supposedly growing by several hundred thousand people per year. The trip from the airport into town — escorted by armed police guards! — took forever.Anyway, to give you an idea, the current Global Liveability Ranking 2016 by The Economist’s Intelligence Unit puts Lagos at number 138 out of 140 major cities. Only Tripoli (Lybia) and Damascus (Syria) are ranked worse than that.[8][8][8][8]To report about the actual trip, I now hand over the keyboard to my younger self. I retrieved three essential reports for you from my 1999 Outlook .pst file.(1.) Report before the tripOnce more I am about to fly to lands unknown to spread terror like only a project manager can. You see, this week, we finally got the contract for Nigeria, so on Wednesday, my boss kindly asked me to fly there — today.“Yeah, well ...”, I replied. “It's only for 10 days”, he said. “Oh, OK, that's no problem then, why didn't you say so before?” So I am indeed leaving today, since I managed to get a visa yesterday. I had to fly all the way to Brussels to get it, but it was worth the extra mile.You see, normal visa applications take about a month and lots of paperwork. Express visa applications take about a day and some patronage. In this case, a high-ranking staff member of the Nigerian embassy in Brussels happens to be chums with a high-ranking board member of the client in Lagos. So that's how it goes! The only condition is that you have to go to Brussels in person, which I did not mind at all.Then again, I spent all day yesterday chasing different people around the embassy. Really, all I wanted was a stamp in my passport, no more, no less. But no, it actually took a phone call between the two chums mentioned above to get things going. Though I arrived at the embassy at 9 a.m., I only got the visa at 4 p.m.14 days, single entry: 5000 francs, please. What? That's 125 euros! (And alas, about the same figure in dollars.) For that price, I can have two years of Zambia! Then again, I'd rather take the two weeks of Nigeria, thank you very much. At least, with a two-week visa, I know I'll have to be back after that time. Very reassuring.Though I doesn't actually mean that I will be back by that time. One hears lots of scary stuff about Nigeria these days. On the other hand, as one of my colleagues from South Africa used to say, one hears a lot of scary stuff about Frankfurt in Johannesburg. Right.(2.) Report during the tripHow can I describe Lagos? The best I can think of is to compare it to other African cities: Lagos is worse. There. I've said it all — and feel so much better. Lagos might be a thriving “centre of excellence” with over 15 million inhabitants, but it's just not safe. The client treats us like guests, giving us furnished apartments, free (Lebanese!) food and a driver, but you cannot set a foot outside of the mansion gates — or so the client says, at least, and I have not been tempted to prove him wrong.So we are trapped in a golden cage. I can live with it for a week, but I'll be happy when I get back home. The getting back point has still one question mark to it, however, for I have lost my passport. Or, more likely, it was taken from me without my consent.When I arrived at the airport last Saturday, I had it with me; when I checked Monday morning, it was nowhere to be found. So I've paid a couple of extended visits to the embassy (seems like I spend most of my time waiting around in embassies nowadays) and I expect to get a new one next Monday — though no new visa or entry stamp, which will cause some problems at the airport. But that's nothing money can't solve.(3.) Report after the tripI'm back. With my brand new passport, a recommendation letter from the client (who seemingly owns half of Nigeria) and, I'm sure, a little money here and there, I got though the immigration office at Lagos airport. Whew, that was close.I actually expected having to bribe people myself, but that was not necessary. So once past immigration and in the waiting lounge, I still had lots of local currency left: more or less 300 bank notes (about 1 kg) which are of no value outside Nigeria — and of very little value inside. What to do? Luckily, Lagos international airport is civilized enough to have a couple of duty free shops (unlike Schengen airports nowadays). So I bought a bottle of the oldest whiskey I could find.One more thing about passports. When I packed my luggage on Monday night, what did I find sitting in a side pocket of my beauty case? My old passport, of course. Not sure whether to trust our maid, I had hidden it so well that even I could not find it. Of course, I did not dare tell anybody that I found it, not wanting to cause even more confusion.Lessons Learned (for me)Never mistake your own stupidity for cleverness.Never go back to Nigeria. My colleagues and I swore oaths on this.Never stop listening to Fela Kuti’s music. Timeless and moving.EDIT: Frequently Added CommentsTwo months, hundreds of upvotes and dozens of comments later, allow me to add an FAQ section, or rather FAC — frequently added comments. In view of the subject matter, I originally wanted to do this Sierra Leone-style, but considering that “Movies” is the Quora topic I’m most active in, I’d rather do this Sergio Leone-style: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.The Good (lots of it)Let’s start with the easy part. There is no doubt at all that Fela Kuti was brilliant. He was no gentleman, but no zombie either. His music is something about Nigeria that I shall always treasure.Many people understood that I am telling a story here, one about my experience (or lack of it, but more about that in a minute). Your experience with Nigeria will be totally different. I especially like the imagery that it is but “one country in the mosaic that is Africa” and that “every experience in Africa is of Africa.”Several people calmly stated that my “reasoning unfairly paints the country in a bad light” and that I should “give Nigeria another chance”. Apparently, Nigeria has much improved since the nineties, it is “actually a beautiful country with lots to offer” — though not perfect, like any other place one might visit — it “might just pleasantly surprise” me. And even if it didn’t, I would have another story to tell.Lagos, too, seems improved — “like, really”, as one commenter stressed. Even if “traffic is crazy, bribery is rampant, corruption has no limits”, it is nevertheless “a bustling city with a thriving nightlife”, and in a nutshell, “actually a fine place”.On the other hand, a few people backed me up, stating with “apologies to all Nigerians” that they “have to agree with nearly everything in this post”, because “Nigeria can frustrate even the most excited and open-minded of visitors.” Nonetheless, one person wrote, “it’s still my country, and I love it”. Can’t argue with that.The Bad (less than the Good, I admit)Many people have questioned whether my little tale counts as an experience at all, calling it a “non-experience” which is kind of a non-word, but I get the point. All I can say is: reality is subjective. They weren’t there; I was. And without a passport — or so I thought. While “you can misplace your passport in just about any country”, being in an unpredictable, enormous city without any means of getting out again scared my twenty-something self shitless. I have been to many large cities in Africa during those years, but I never felt as afraid as in Lagos.One person wanted to reassure me by pointing out: “Your answer and your views about Nigeria is outdated.” — but actually achieved the opposite effect, since several commenters with more Nigerian experience confirmed that “there are MANY reasons one would never want to step foot in this country” and that “if you want to survive in my country, you have to be very tough, watchful and very observant.” Thanks, I’ll try to keep that in mind.Several comments blamed my client. They think, “It might be your client’s fault that you hated the place so much. I mean, he mad you feel unsafe.” And also that “your client didn't want any liabilities so covered himself by advising you not to go anywhere.” That may well be, but what really resonated with me was that “your host probably locked you up so you could focus on the task at hand and not get distracted by the lovely culture and beautiful women.” Very true, I actually had that issue, though it was in Zambia — but that’s another story which shall be told on another day.And one person wanted to pick a fight with me on whether the world was safer in 1999. I think so. Where was Boko Haram in 1999? Where was widespread jihadist terrorism? Then again, if that's the only thing that this person has an issue with, I don’t mind.Finally, if you don’t go to the country, the country will come to you: “i'm sure the oil in nigeria can buy your country and the people in it ;)” Thanks, but I don't think my country is for sale. But that’s a scary thought nonetheless. Not helping me feel safer about Nigeria.The Ugly (very little, because I ditched most of it)I’ve deleted most comments containing personal insults, but not before copying some of them to my notebook for later use. Allegedly, I am “trapped in a mental wall erected by [my] small mindedness”. Two commenters also pointed out my “typical Americal nonsensical behavior”. I, an American? Check again, please. At least I got the continent right.I’ve also been told, “on behalf of Nigerians please stay away and don’t look back we don’t need the likes of you visiting.” Other group generalizations were even more explicit: “all u guys are all corrupt And u need too go take a hike.” In case it wasn’t clear who “u” is, another commenter clarified that it is “’white’ people like you (bleak, blind and corrupt) — We do not want you in Nigeria. Don’t ever comeback. Don’t deface my country, you white piece of S@!#.”If any comment you might have is along those lines, consider upvoting someone else’s contribution instead of adding your own. OTOH, constructive criticism will always be appreciated. You might change my mind about Nigeria after all.Footnotes[1] List of sovereign states[1] List of sovereign states[1] List of sovereign states[1] List of sovereign states[2] World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations[2] World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations[2] World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations[2] World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations[3] World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations[3] World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations[3] World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations[3] World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations[4] https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/publications/files/key_findings_wpp_2015.pdf[4] https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/publications/files/key_findings_wpp_2015.pdf[4] https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/publications/files/key_findings_wpp_2015.pdf[4] https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/publications/files/key_findings_wpp_2015.pdf[5] World Population Map 2015 [7088 x 3008] [OC] • /r/MapPorn[5] World Population Map 2015 [7088 x 3008] [OC] • /r/MapPorn[5] World Population Map 2015 [7088 x 3008] [OC] • /r/MapPorn[5] World Population Map 2015 [7088 x 3008] [OC] • /r/MapPorn[6] Boko Haram overtakes ISIS as deadliest terrorists: Study[6] Boko Haram overtakes ISIS as deadliest terrorists: Study[6] Boko Haram overtakes ISIS as deadliest terrorists: Study[6] Boko Haram overtakes ISIS as deadliest terrorists: Study[7] Full text of "The 1998 CIA World Factbook"[7] Full text of "The 1998 CIA World Factbook"[7] Full text of "The 1998 CIA World Factbook"[7] Full text of "The 1998 CIA World Factbook"[8] http://pages.eiu.com/rs/783-XMC-194/images/Liveability_August2016.pdf[8] http://pages.eiu.com/rs/783-XMC-194/images/Liveability_August2016.pdf[8] http://pages.eiu.com/rs/783-XMC-194/images/Liveability_August2016.pdf[8] http://pages.eiu.com/rs/783-XMC-194/images/Liveability_August2016.pdf

Jogendra Nath Mandal wrote this resignation letter to the the Prime Minister of Pakistan Liaquat Ali Khan and It seems perfectly self explanatory as to why he chose to return to India. Sourced from Resignation letter of Jogendra Nath MandalMy dear Prime MinisterIt is with a heavy heart and a sense of utter frustration at the failure of my lifelong mission to uplift the backward Hindu masses of East Bengal that I feel compelled to tender resignation of my membership of your cabinet. It is proper that I should set forth in detail the reasons which have prompted me to take this decision at this important juncture of the Indo-Pakistani subcontinent. It is to share just a truth1. Before I narrate the remote and immediate causes of my resignation, it may be useful to give a short background of the important events that have taken place during the period of my co-operation with the League. Having been approached by a few prominent League leaders of Bengal in February 1943, I agreed to work with them in the Bengal Legislative Assembly. After the fall of the Fazlul Haq ministry in March 1943, with a party of 21 Scheduled Caste M.L.A.s, I agreed to cooperate with Khwaja Nazimuddin, the then leader of the Muslim League Parliamentary Party who formed the Cabinet in April 1943. Our co-operation was conditional on certain specific terms, such as the inclusion of three Scheduled Caste Ministers in the Cabinet, sanctioning of a sum of Rupees Five Lakhs as annual recurring grant for the education of the Scheduled Castes, and the unqualified application of the communal ratio rules in the matter of appointment to Government services.2. Apart from these terms, the principal objectives that prompted me to work in co-operation with the Muslim League was, first that the economic interests of the Muslims in Bengal were generally identical with those of the Scheduled Castes. Muslims were mostly cultivators and labourers, and so were members of the Scheduled Castes. One section of Muslims were fishermen, so was a section of the Scheduled Castes as well, and secondly that the Scheduled Castes and the Muslims were both educationally backward. I was persuaded that my co-operation with the League and its Ministry would lead to the undertaking on a wide scale of legislative and administrative measures which, while promoting the mutual welfare of the vas bulk of Bengal's population, and undermining the foundations of vested interest and privilege, would further the cause of communal peace and harmony. It may be mentioned here that Khwaja Nazimuddin took three Scheduled Caste Ministers in his cabinet and appointed three Parliamentary Secretaries from amongst the members of my community.SUHRAWARDY MINISTRY3. After the general elections held in March 1946 Mr. H.S.Suhrawardy became the leader of the League Parliamentary Party in March 1946 and formed the League Ministry in April 1946. I was the only Scheduled Caste member returned on the federation ticket. I was included in Mr. Suhrawardy's Cabinet. The 16th day of August of that year was observed in Calcutta as 'The Direct Action Day' by the Muslim League. It resulted, as you know, in a holocaust. Hindus demanded my resignation from the League Ministry. My life was in peril. I began to receive threatening letters almost every day. But I remained steadfast to my policy. Moreover, I issued an appeal through our journal 'Jagaran' to the Scheduled Caste people to keep themselves aloof from the bloody feud between the Congress and the Muslim League even at the risk of my life. I cannot but gratefully acknowledge the fact that I was saved from the wrath of infuriated Hindu mobs by my Caste Hindu neighbours. The Calcutta carnage was followed by the 'Noakhali Riot' in October 1946. There, Hindus including Scheduled Castes were killed and hundreds were converted to Islam. Hindu women were raped and abducted. Members of my community also suffered loss of life and property. Immediately after these happenings, I visited Tipperah and Feni and saw some riot-affected areas. The terrible sufferings of Hindus overwhelmed me with grief, but still I continued the policy of co-operation with the Muslim League. Immediately after the massive Calcutta Killing, a no-confidence motion was moved against the Suhrawardy Ministry. It was only due to my efforts that the support of four Anglo-Indian Members and of four Scheduled Caste members of the Assembly who had hitherto been with the Congress could be secured, but for which the Ministry would have been defeated.4. In October 1946, most unexpectedly came to me through Mr. Suhrawardy the offer of a seat in the Interim Government of India. After a good deal of hesitation and being given only one hour's time to take my final decision, I consented to accept the offer subject to the condition only that I should be permitted to resign if my leader Dr. B.R. Ambedkar disapproved of my action. Fortunately, however, I received his approval in a telegram sent from London. Before I left for Delhi to take over as Law Member, I persuaded Mr. Suhrawardy, the then Chief Minister of Bengal, to agree to take two Ministers in his Cabinet in my place and to appoint two Parliamentary Secretaries from the Scheduled Case Federation Group.5. I joined the Interim Government on November 1, 1946. After about a month when I paid a visit to Calcutta, Mr.Suhrawardy apprised me of the communal tension in some parts of East Bengal, especially in Gopalganj Sub-division, where the Namahsudras were in majority, being very high. He requested me to visit those areas and address meetings of Muslims and Namahsudras. The fact was that Namahsudras in those areas had made preparations for retaliation. I addressed about a dozen of largely attended meetings. The result was that Namahsudras gave up the idea of retaliation. Thus an inevitable dangerous communal disturbance was averted.6. After a few months, the British Government made their June 3 Statement (1947) embodying certain proposals for the partition of India. The whole country, especially the entire non-Muslim India, was startled. For the sake of truth I must admit that I had always considered the demand of Pakistan by the Muslim League as a bargaining counter. Although I honestly felt that in the context of India as a whole Muslims had legitimate cause for grievance against upper class Hindu chauvinism, I held the view very strongly indeed that the creation of Pakistan would never solve the communal problem. On the contrary, it would aggravate communal hatred and bitterness. Besides, I maintained that it would not ameliorate the condition of Muslims in Pakistan. The inevitable result of the partition of the country would be to prolong, if not perpetuate, the poverty, illiteracy and miserable condition of the toiling masses of both the States. I further apprehended that Pakistan might turn to be one of the most backward and undeveloped countries of the South East Asia.LAHORE RESOLUTION7. I must make it clear that I have thought that an attempt would be made, as is being done at present, to develop Pakistan as a purely 'Islamic' State based on the Shariat and the injunctions and formulae of Islam. I presumed that it would be set up in all essentials after the pattern contemplated in the Muslim League resolution adopted at Lahore on March 23, 1940. That resolution stated inter alia that (I) "geographically contiguous areas are demarcated into regions which should be constituted with such territorial readjustments as may be necessary, that the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in majority as in the north-western and eastern zones of India, should be grouped to constitute independent States in which the Constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign" and (II) "adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards should be specifically provided in the Constitution for minorities in these units and in these regions for the protection of their religious, cultural, political, administrative and other rights and interests in consultation with them." Implicitly in this formula were (a) that North western and eastern Muslim zones should be constituted into two independent States, (b) that the constituent units of these States should be autonomous and sovereign, (c) that minorities' guarantee should be in respect of rights as well as of interest and extend to every sphere of their lives, and (d) that Constitutional provisions should be made in these regards in consultation with the minorities themselves. I was fortified in my faith in this resolution and the professions of the League Leadership by the statement Qaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah was pleased to make on the 11th August 1947 as the President of the Constituent Assembly giving solemn assurance of equal treatment for Hindus & Muslims alike and calling upon them to remember that they were all Pakistanis. There was then no question of dividing he people on the basis of religion into full-fledged Muslim citizens and zimmies [i][1] being under the perpetual custody of the Islamic State and its Muslims citizens. Every one of these pledges is being flagrantly violated apparently to your knowledge and with your approval in complete disregard of the Qaid-e-Azam's wishes and sentiments and to the detriment and humiliation of the minorities.PARTITION OF BENGAL8. It may also be mentioned in this connection that I was opposed to the partition of Bengal. In launching a campaign in this regard I had to face not only tremendous resistance from all quarters but also unspeakable abuse, insult and dishonour. With great regret, I recollect those days when 32 crores of Hindus of this Indo-Pakistan Sub-continent turned their back against me and dubbed me as the enemy of Hindus and Hinduism, but I remained undaunted and unmoved in my loyalty to Pakistan. It is a matter of gratitude that my appeal to 7 million Scheduled Caste people of Pakistan evoked a ready and enthusiastic response from them. They lent me their unstinted support sympathy and encouragement.9. After the establishment of Pakistan on August 14, 1947 you formed the Pakistan Cabinet, in which I was included and Khwaja Nazimuddin formed a provisional Cabinet for East Bengal. On August 10, I had spoken to Khwaja Nazimuddin at Karachi and requested him to take 2 Scheduled Caste Ministers in the East Bengal Cabinet. He promised to do the same sometime later. What happened subsequently in this regard was a record of unpleasant and disappointing negotiation with you, Khwaja Nazimuddin and Mr. Nurul Amin, the present Chief Minister of East Bengal. When I realised that Khwaja Nazimuddin was avoiding the issue on this or that excuse, I became almost impatient and exasperated. I further discussed the matter with the Presidents of the Pakistan Muslim League and its East Bengal Branch. Ultimately, I brought the matter to your notice. You were pleased to discuss the subject with Khwaja Nazimuddin in my presence at your residence. Khwaja Nazimuddin agreed to take one Scheduled Caste Minister on his return to Dacca. As I had already became sceptic about the assurance of Khwaja Nazimuddin, I wanted to be definite about the time-frame. I insisted that he must act in this regard with a month, failing which I should be at liberty to resign. Both you and Khwaja Nazimuddin agreed to the condition. But alas! you did not perhaps mean what you said. Khwaja Nazimuddin did not keep his promise. After Mr. Nurul Amin had became the Chief Minister of East Bengal, I again took up the matter with him. He also followed the same old familiar tactics of evasion. When I again called your attention to this matter prior to your visit to Dacca in 1949, you were pleased to assure me that Minority Ministers would be appointed in East Bengal, and you asked 2/3 names from me for consideration. In stat deference to your wish, I sent you a note stating the Federation Group in the East Bengal Assembly and suggesting three names. When I made enquiries as to what had happened on your return from Dacca, you appeared to be very cold and only remarked : "Let Nurul Amin return from Delhi". After a few days I again pressed the matter. But you avoided the issue. I was then forced to come to the conclusion that neither you not Mr. Nurul Amin had any intention to take any Scheduled Caste Minister in the East Bengal Cabinet. Apart from this, I was noticing that Mr. Nurul Amin and some League leaders of East Bengal were trying to create disruption among the Members of the Scheduled Caste Federation. It appeared to me that my leadership and wide-spread popularity were considered ominous. My outspokenness, vigilance and sincere efforts to safeguard the interests of the minorities of Pakistan, in general, and of the Scheduled Caste, in particular, were considered a matter on annoyance to the East Bengal Govt. and few League leaders. Undaunted, I took my firm stand to safeguard the interests of the minorities of Pakistan.ANTI-HINDU POLICY10. When the question of partition of Bengal arose, the Scheduled Caste people were alarmed at the anticipated dangerous result of partition. Representation on their behalf were made to Mr. Suhrawardy, the then Chief Minister of Bengal who was pleased to issue a statement to the press declaring that none of the rights and privileges hitherto enjoyed by the Scheduled Caste People would be curtailed after partition and that they would not only continue to enjoy the existing rights and privileges but also receive additional advantages. This assurance was given by Mr. Suhrawardy not only in his personal capacity but also in his capacity as the Chief Minister of the League Ministry. To my utter regret it is to be stated that after partition, particularly after the death of Qaid-e-Azam, the Scheduled Castes have not received a fair deal in any matter. You will recollect that from time to time I brought the grievances of the Scheduled Castes to your notice. I explained to you on several occasions the nature of inefficient administration in East Bengal. I made serious charges against the police administration. I brought to your notice incidents of barbarous atrocities perpetrated by the police on frivolous grounds. I did not hesitate to bring to your notice the anti-Hindu policy pursued by the East Bengal Government especially the police administration and a section of Muslim League leaders.SOME INCIDENTS11. The first incident that shocked me took place at a village called Digharkul near Gopalganj where on the false complaint of a Muslim brutal atrocities were committed on the local Namahsudras. The fact was that a Muslim who was going in a boat attempted to throw his net to catch fish. A Namahsudra who was already there for the same purpose opposed the throwing of the net in his front. This was followed by some altercation and the Muslim got annoyed and went to the nearby Muslim village and made a false complaint that he and a woman in his boat had been assaulted by the Namahsudras. At that time, the S.D.O. of Gopalganj was passing in a boat through the canal, who without making any enquiry accepted the complaint as true and sent armed police to the spot to punish the Namahsudras. The armed police came and the local Muslims also joined them. They not only raided some houses of the Namahsudras but mercilessly beat both men and women, destroyed their properties and took away valuables. The merciless beating of a pregnant women resulted in abortion on the spot. This brutal action on the part of the local authority created panic over a large area.12. The second incidence of police oppression took place in early part of 1949 under P.S. Gournadi in the district of Barisal. Here a quarrel took place between two groups of members of a Union Board. One group which was in the good books of the police conspired against the opponents on the plea of their being Communists. On the information of a threat of attack on the Police Station, the O.C., Gournadi requisitioned armed forces from the headquarters. The Police, helped by the armed forces, then raided a large number of houses in the area, took away valuable properties, even from the house of absentee-owners who were never in politics, far less in the Communist Party. A large number of persons over a wide area were arrested. Teachers and students of many High English Schools were Communist suspects and unnecessarily harassed. This area being very near to my native village, I was informed of the incident. I wrote to the District Magistrate and the S.P. for an enquiry. A section of the local people also prayed for an enquiry by the S.D.O. But no enquiry was held. Even my letters to the District authorities were not acknowledged. I then brought this matter to the notice of the highest Authority in Pakistan, including yourself but to no avail.WOMEN FOR MILITARY13. The atrocities perpetrated by the police and the military on the innocent Hindus, especially the Scheduled Castes of Habibgarh in the District of Sylhet deserve description. Innocent men and women were brutally tortured, some women ravished, their houses raided and properties looted by the police and the local Muslims. Military pickets were posted in the area. The military not only oppressed these people and took away stuff forcibly from Hindu houses, but also forced Hindus to send their women-folk at night to the camp to satisfy the carnal desires of the military. This fact also I brought to your notice. You assured me of a report on the matter, but unfortunately no report was forthcoming.14. Then occurred the incident at the Nachole in the District of Rajshahi where in the name of suppression of Communists not only the police but also the local Muslims in collaboration with the police oppressed the Hindus and looted their properties. The Santhals then crossed the border and came over to West Bengal. They narrated the stories of atrocities wantonly committed by the Muslims and the police.15. An instance of callous and cold-blooded brutality is furnished by the incident that took place on December 20, 1949 in Kalshira under P.S. Mollarhat in the District of Khulna. What happened was that late at night four constables raided the house of one Joydev Brahma in village Kalshira in search of some alleged Communists. At the scent of the police, half a dozen of young men, some of whom might have been Communists, escaped from the house. The police constable entered into the house and assaulted the wife of Joydev Brahma whose cry attracted her husband and a few companions who escaped from the house. They became desperate, re-entered the house, found 4 constables with one gun only. That perhaps might have encouraged the young men who struck a blow on an armed constable who died on the spot. The young men then attacked another constable when the other two ran away and raised alarm which attracted some neighbouring people who came to their rescue. As the incident took place before sunrise when it was dark, the assailants fled with the dead body before the villagers could come. The S.P. of Khulna with a contingent of military and armed police appeared on the scene in the afternoon of the following day. In the meantime, the assailants fled and the intelligent neighbours also fled away. But the bulk of the villagers remained in their houses as they were absolutely innocent and failed to realise the consequence of the happening. Subsequently, the S.P., the military and armed police began to beat mercilessly the innocents of the entire village, encouraged the neighbouring Muslims to take away their properties. A number of persons were killed and men and women were forcibly converted. House-hold deities were broken and places of worship desecrated and destroyed. Several women were raped by the police, military and local Muslims. Thus a veritable hell was let loose not only in the village of Kalshira which is 1-1/2 miles in length with a large population, but also in a number of neighbouring Namahsudra villages. The village Kalshira was never suspected by the authority to be a place of Communist activities. Another village called Jhalardanga, which was at a distance of 3 miles from Kalshira, was known to be a centre of Communist activities. This village was raided by a large contingent of police on that day for hunt of the alleged Communists, a number of whom fled away and took shelter in the aforesaid house of village Kalshira which was considered to be a safe place for them.16. I visited Kalshira and one or two neighbouring villages on the 28th February 1950. The S.P., Khulna and some of the prominent League leaders of the district were with me. When I came to the village Kalshira, I found the place desolate and in ruins. I was told in the presence of S.P. that there were 350 homesteads in this village, of these, only three had been spared and the rest had been demolished. Country boats and heads of cattle belonging to the Namasudras had been all taken away. I reported these facts to the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary and Inspector of General of Police of East Bengal and to you.17. It may be mentioned in this connection that the news of this incident was published in West Bengal Press and this created some unrest among the Hindus there. A number of sufferers of Kalshira, both men and women, homeless and destitute had also come to Calcutta and narrated the stories of their sufferings which resulted in some communal disturbances in West Bengal in the last part of January.CAUSES OF THE FEBRUARY DISTURBANCE18. It must be noted that stories of a few incidents of communal disturbance that took place in West Bengal as a sort of repercussion of the incidents at Kalshira were published in exaggerated form in he East Bengal press. In the second week of February 1950 when the Budget Session of the East Bengal Assembly commenced, the Congress Members sought permission to move two adjournment motions to discuss the situation created at Kalshira and Nachole. But the motions were disallowed. The Congress members walked out of the Assembly in protest. This action of the Hindu members of the Assembly annoyed and enraged not only the Ministers but also the Muslim leaders and officials of the Province. This was perhaps one of the principal reasons for Dacca and East Bengal riots in February 1950.19. It is significant that on February 10, 1950 at about 10 o'clock in the morning a woman was painted with red to show that her breast was cut off in Calcutta riot, and was taken round the East Bengal Secretariat at Dacca. Immediately the Government servants of the Secretariat stuck work and came out in procession raising slogans of revenge against the Hindus. The procession began to swell as it passed over a distance of more than a mile. It ended in a meeting at Victoria Park at about 12 o'clock in the noon where violent speeches against the Hindus were delivered by several speakers, including officials. The fun of the whole show was that while the employees of the Secretariat went out of procession, the Chief Secretary of the East Bengal Government was holding a conference with his West Bengal counterpart in the same building to find out ways and means to stop communal disturbances in the two Bengals.OFFICIALS HELPED LOOTERS20. The riot started at about 1 p.m. simultaneously all over the city. Arson, looting of Hindu shops and houses and killing of Hindus, wherever they were found, commenced in full swing in all parts of the city. I got evidence even from the Muslims that arson and looting were committed even in the presence of high police officials. Jewellery shops belonging to the Hindus were looted in the presence of police officers. They not only did not attempt to stop loot, but also helped the looters with advice and direction. Unfortunately for me, I reached Dacca at 5 o'clock in the afternoon on the same day, in February10, 1950. To my utter dismay, I had occasion to see and know things from close quarters. What I saw and learnt from firsthand information was simply staggering and heart-rending.BACKGROUND OF THE RIOT21. The reasons for the Dacca riot were mainly five:(i) To punish the Hindus for the daring action of their representatives in the Assembly in their expression of protest by walking out of the Assembly when two adjournment motions on Kalshira and Nachole affairs were disallowed.(ii) Dissension and differences between the Suhrawardy Group and the Nazimuddin Group in the Parliamentary Party were becoming acute.(iii) Apprehension of launching of a movement for re-union of East and West Bengal by both Hindu and Muslim leaders made the East Bengal Ministry and the Muslim League nervous. They wanted to prevent such a move. They though that any large-scale communal riot in East Bengal was sure to produce reactions in West Bengal where Muslims might be killed. The result of such riots in both East and West Bengal, it was believed, would prevent any movement for re-union of Bengals.(iv) Feeling of antagonism between the Bengali Muslims and non-Bengali Muslims in East Bengal was gaining ground. This could only be prevented by creating hatred between Hindus and Muslims of East Bengal. The language question was also connected with it and(v) The consequences of non-devaluation and the Indo-Pakistan trade deadlock to the economy of East Bengal were being felt most acutely first in urban and rural areas and the Muslim League members and officials wanted to divert the attention of the Muslim masses from the impending economic breakdown by some sort of Jihad against Hindus.STAGGERING DETAILS - NEARLY 10,000 KILLED22. During my nine days' stay at Dacca, I visited most of the riot-affected areas of the city and suburbs. I visited Mirpur also under P.S. Tejgaon. The news of the killing of hundreds of innocent Hindus in trains, on railway lines between Dacca and Narayanganj, and Dacca and Chittagong gave me the rudest shock. On the second day of Dacca riot, I met the Chief Minister of East Bengal and requested him to issue immediate instructions to the District authorities to take all precautionary measures to prevent spreading of the riot in district towns and rural areas. On the 20th February 1950, I reached Barisal town and was astounded to know of the happenings in Barisal. In the District town, a number of Hindu houses were burnt and a large number of Hindus killed. I visited almost all riot-affected areas in the District. I was simply puzzled to find the havoc wrought by the Muslim rioters even at places like Kasipur, Madhabpasha and Lakutia which were within a radius of six miles from the District town and were connected with motorable roads. At the Madhabpasha Zamindar's house, about 200 people were killed and 40 injured. A place, called Muladi, witnessed a dreadful hell. At Muladi Bandar alone, the number killed would total more than three hundred, as was reported to me by the local Muslims including some officers. I visited Muladi village also, where I found skeletons of dead bodies at some places. I found dogs and vultures eating corpses on he river-side. I got the information there that after the whole-scale killing of all adult males, all the young girls were distributed among the ringleaders of the miscreants. At a place called Kaibartakhali under P.S. Rajapur, 63 persons were killed. Hindu houses within a stone's throw distance from the said thana office were looted, burnt and inmates killed. All Hindu shops of Babuganj Bazar were looted and then burnt and a large number of Hindus were killed. From detailed information received, the conservative estimate of casualties was placed at 2,500 killed in the District of Barisal alone. Total casualties of Dacca and East Bengal riot were estimated to be in the neighbourhood of 10,000 killed. The lamentation of women and children who had lost their all including near and dear ones melted my heart. I only asked myself "What was coming to Pakistan in the name of Islam."NO EARNEST DESIRE TO IMPLEMENT DELHI PACT23. The large scale exodus of Hindus from Bengal commenced in the latter part of March. It appeared that within a short time all the Hindus would migrate to India. A war cry was raised in India. The situation became extremely critical. A national calamity appeared to be inevitable. The apprehended disaster, however, was avoided by the Delhi Agreement of April 8. With a view to reviving the already lost morale of the panicky Hindus, I undertook an extensive tour of East Bengal. I visited a number of places of the districts of Dacca, Barisal, Faridpur, Khulna and Jessore. I addressed dozens of largely attended meetings and asked the Hindus to take courage and not to leave their ancestral hearths and homes. I had this expectation that the East Bengal Govt. and Muslim League leaders would implement the terms of the Delhi Agreement. But with the lapse of time, I began to realise that neither the East Bengal Govt. nor the Muslim League leaders were really earnest in the matter of implementation of the Delhi Agreement. The East Bengal Govt. was not only ready to set up a machinery as envisaged in the Delhi Agreement, but also was not willing to take effective steps for the purpose. A number of Hindus who returned to native village immediately after the Delhi Agreement were not given possession of their homes and lands which were occupied in the meantime by the Muslims.MOULANA AKRAM KHAN'S INCITATIONS24. My suspicion about the intention of League leaders was confirmed when I read editorial comments by Moulana Akram Khan, the President of the Provincial Muslim League in the "Baisak" issue of a monthly journal called 'Mohammadi'. In commenting on the first radio-broadcast of Dr.A.M.Malik, Minister for Minority Affairs of Pakistan, from Dacca Radio Station, wherein he said, "Even Prophet Mohammed had given religious freedom to the Jews in Arabia", Moulana Akram Khan said, "Dr.Malik would have done well had he not made any reference in his speech to the Jews of Arabia. It is true that the Jews in Arabia had been given religious freedom by Prophet Mohammed; but it was the first chapter of the history. The last chapter contains the definite direction of prophet Mohammed which runs as follows:- "Drive away all the Jews out of Arabia". Even despite this editorial comment of a person who held a very high position in the political, social and spiritual life of the Muslim community, I entertained some expectation that the Nurul Amin Ministry might not be so insincere. But that expectation of mine was totally shattered when Mr.Nurul Amin selected D.N.Barari as a Minister to represent the minorities in terms of the Delhi Agreement which clearly states that to restore confidence in the minds of the minorities one of their representatives will be taken in the Ministry of East Bengal and West Bengal Govt.NURUL AMIN GOVERNMENT'S INSINCERITY25. In one of my public statement, I expressed the view that the appointment of D.N.Barari as a Minister representing the minorities not only did not help restore any confidence, but, on the contrary, destroyed all expectations illusions, if there was any in the minds of the minorities about the sincerity of Mr.Nurul Amin's Govt. My own reaction was that Mr.Nurul Amin's Govt. was not only insincere but also wanted to defeat the principal objectives of the Delhi Agreement. I again repeat that D.N.Barari does not represent anybody except himself. He was returned to the Bengal Legislature Assembly on the Congress ticket with the money and organisation of the Congress. He opposed the Scheduled Caste Federation candidates. Some time after his election, he betrayed the Congress and joined the Federation. When he was appointed a Minister he had ceased to be a member of the Federation too. I know that East Bengal Hindus agree with me that by antecedents, character and intellectual attainments Barari is not qualified to hold the position of a Minister as envisaged in the Delhi Agreement.26. I recommended three names to Mr.Nurul Amin for this office. One of the persons I recommended was an MA.,LL.B., Advocate, Dacca High Court. He was Minister for more than 4 years in the first Fazlul Huq Ministry in Bengal. He was chairman of the Coal Mines Stowing Board, Calcutta, for about 6 years. He was the senior Vice-President of the Scheduled Caste Federation. My second nominee was a B.A., LL.B. He was a member of the Legislative Council for 7 years in the pre-reform regime. I would like to know what earthly reasons there might be for Mr.Nurul Amin in not selecting any of these two gentlemen and appointing instead a person whose appointment as Minister I strongly objected to for very rightly considerations. Without any fear of contradiction I can say that this action of Mr.Nurul Amin in selecting Barari as a Minister in terms of the Delhi Agreement is conclusive proof that the East Bengal Govt. was neither serious nor sincere in its professions about the terms of the Delhi Agreement whose main purpose is to create such conditions as would enable the Hindus to continue to live in East Bengal with a sense of security to their life, property, honour and religion.GOVERNMENT PLAN TO SQUEEZE OUT HINDUS27. I would like to reiterate in this connection my firm conviction that East Bengal Govt. is still following the well-planned policy of squeezing Hindus out of the Province. in my discussion with you on more than one occasion, I gave expression to this view of mine. I must say that this policy of driving out Hindus from Pakistan has succeeded completely in West Pakistan and is nearing completion in East Pakistan too. The appointment of D.N.Barari as a Minister and the East Bengal Government's unceremonious objection to my recommendation in this regard strictly conform to name of what they call an Islamic State. Pakistan has not given the Hindus entire satisfaction and a full sense of security. They now want to get rid of the Hindu intelligentsia so that the political, economic and social life of Pakistan may not in any way be influenced by them.EVASIVE TACTICS TO SHELVE JOINT ELECTORATE28. I have failed to understand why the question of electorate has not yet been decided. It is now three years that the minority Sub-Committee has been appointed. It sat on three occasions. The question of having joint or separation electorate came up for consideration at a meting of the Committee held in December last when all the representatives of recognised minorities in Pakistan expressed their view in support of Joint Electorate with reservation of seats for backward minorities. We, on behalf of the Scheduled Castes, demanded joint electorate with reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes. This matter again came up for consideration at a meeting called in August last. But without any discussion whatsoever on this point, the meeting was adjourned sine die. It is not difficult to understand what the motive is behind this kind of evasive tactics in regard to such a vital matter on the part of Pakistan's rulers.DISMAL FUTURE FOR HINDUS29. Coming now to the present condition and the future of Hindus in East Bengal as a result of the Delhi Agreement, I should say that the present condition is not only unsatisfactory but absolutely hopeless and that the future completely dark and dismal. Confidence of Hindus in East Bengal has not been restored in the least. The Agreement is treated as a mere scrap of paper alike by the East Bengal Government and the Muslim League. That a pretty large number of Hindus migrants, mostly Scheduled Caste cultivators are returning to East Bengal is no indication that confidence has been restored. It only indicates that their stay and rehabilitation in West Bengal, or elsewhere in the Indian Union have not been possible. The sufferings of refugee life are compelling them to go back to their homes. Besides, many of them are going back to bring movable articles and settle or dispose of immovable properties. That no serious communal disturbance has recently taken place in East Bengal is not to be attributed to the Delhi Agreement. It could not simply continue even if there were no Agreement or Pact.30. It must be admitted that the Delhi Pact was not an end in itself. It was intended that such conditions would be created as might effectively help resolve so many disputes and conflict existing between India and Pakistan. But during this period of six months after the Agreement, no dispute or conflict has really been resolved. On the contrary, communal propaganda and anti-India propaganda by Pakistan both at home and abroad are continuing in full swing. The observance of Kashmir Day by the Muslim League all over Pakistan is an eloquent proof of communal anti-India propaganda by Pakistan. The recent speech of the Governor of Punjab (Pak) saying that Pakistan needed a strong Army for the security of Indian Muslims has betrayed the real attitude of Pakistan towards India. It will only increase the tension between the two countries.WHAT IS HAPPENING IN EAST BENGAL TODAY31. What is today the condition in East Bengal? About fifty lakhs of Hindus have left since the partition of the country. Apart from the East Bengal riot of last February, the reasons for such a large scale exodus of Hindus are many. The boycott by the Muslims of Hindu lawyers, medical practitioners, shop-keepers, traders and merchants has compelled Hindus to migrate to West Bengal in search of their means of livelihood. Wholesale requisition of Hindu houses even without following due process of law in many and non-payment of any rent whatsoever to the owners have compelled them to seek for Indian shelter. Payments of rent to Hindu landlords was stopped long before. Besides, the Ansars against whom I received complaints all over are a standing menace to the safety and security of Hindus. Inference in matters of education and methods adopted by the Education Authority for Islamisation frightened the teaching staff of Secondary Schools and Colleges out of their old familiar moorings. They have left East Bengal. As a result, most of the educational institutions have been closed. I have received information that sometime ago the Educational Authority issued circular in Secondary Schools enjoining compulsory participation of teachers and students of all communities in recitation from the Holy Koran before the school work commenced. Another circular requires Headmasters of schools to name the different blocks of the premises after 12 distinguished Muslims, such as, Jinnah, Iqbal, Liaquat Ali, Nazimuddin, etc. Only very recently in an educational conference held at Dacca, the President disclosed that out of 1,500 High English Schools in East Bengal, only 500 were working. Owing to the migration of Medical Practitioners there is hardly any means of proper treatment of patients. Almost all the priests who used to worship the household deities at Hindu houses have left. Important places of worship have been abandoned. The result is that the Hindus of East Bengal have got now hardly any means to follow religious pursuits and performance of social ceremonies like marriage where the services of a priest are essential. Artisans who made images of gods and goddesses have also left. Hindu Presidents of Union Boards have been replaced by Muslims by coercive measures with the active help and connivance of the police and Circle Officers. Hindu Headmasters and Secretaries of Schools have been replaced by Muslims. The Life of the few Hindu Govt. servants has been made extremely miserable as many of them have either been superseded by junior Muslims or dismissed without sufficient or any cause. Only very recently a Hindu Public Prosecutor of Chittagong was arbitrarily removed from service as has been made clear in a statement made by Srijukta Nellie Sengupta against whom at least no change of anti-Muslim bias prejudice or malice can be leveled.HINDUS VIRTUALLY OUTLAWED32. Commission of thefts and dacoities even with murder is going on as before. Thana offices seldom record half the complaints made by the Hindus. That the abduction and rape of Hindu girls have been reduced to a certain extent is due only to the fact that there is no Caste Hindu girl between the ages of 12 and 30 living in East Bengal at present. The few depressed class girls who live in rural areas with their parents are not even spared by Muslim goondas. I have received information about a number of incidents of rape of Scheduled Caste Girls by Muslims. Full payment is seldom made by Muslims buyers for the price of jute and other agricultural commodities sold by Hindus in market places. As a matter of fact, there is no operation of law, justice or fair-play in Pakistan, so far as Hindus are concerned.FORCED CONVERSIONS IN WEST PAKISTAN33. Leaving aside the question of East Pakistan, let me now refer to West Pakistan, especially Sind. The West Punjab had after partition about a lakh of Scheduled Castes people. It may be noted that a large number of them were converted to Islam. Only 4 out of a dozen Scheduled Castes girls abducted by Muslims have yet been recovered in spite of repeated petitions to the Authority. Names of those girls with names of their abductors were supplied to the government. The last reply recently given by the Officer-in-Charge of recovery of abducted girls said that "his function was to recover Hindu girls and 'Achhuts' (Scheduled Castes) were not Hindus". The condition of the small number of Hindus that are still living in Sind and Karachi, the capital of Pakistan, is simply deplorable. I have got a list of 363 Hindu temples and gurdwaras of Karachi and Sind (which is by no means an exhaustive list) which are still in possession of Muslims. Some of the temples have been converted into cobbler's shops, slaughter houses and hotels. None of the Hindus has got back. Possession of their landed properties were taken away from them without any notice and distributed amongst refugees and local Muslims. I personally know that 200 to 300 Hindus were declared non-evacuees by the Custodian a pretty long time ago. But up till now properties have no been restored to any one of them. Even the possession of Karachi Pinjirapole[ii][2] has not been restored to the trustees, although it was declared non-evacuee property sometime ago. In Karachi I had received petitions from many unfortunate fathers and husbands of abducted Hindu girls, mostly Scheduled Castes. I drew the attention of the 2nd Provisional Government to this fact. There was little or no effect. To my extreme regret I received information that a large number of Scheduled Castes who are still living in Sind have been forcibly converted to Islam.PAKISTAN 'ACCURSED' FOR HINDUS34. Now this being in brief the overall picture of Pakistan so far as the Hindus are concerned, I shall not be unjustified in stating that Hindus of Pakistan have to all intents and purposes been rendered "Stateless" in their own houses. They have no other fault than that they profess the Hindu religion. Declarations are being repeatedly made by Muslim League leaders that Pakistan is and shall be an Islamic State. Islam is being offered as the sovereign remedy for all earthly evils. In the matchless dialectics of capitalism and socialism you present the exhilarating democratic synthesis of Islamic equality and fraternity. In that grand setting of the Shariat Muslims alone are rulers while Hindus and other minorities are zimmies who are entitled to protection at price, and you know more than anybody else Mr.Prime Minister, what that price is. After anxious and prolonged struggle I have come to the conclusion that Pakistan is no place for Hindus to live in and that their future is darkened by the ominous shadow of conversion or liquidation. The bulk of the upper class Hindus and politically conscious scheduled castes have left East Bengal. Those Hindus who will continue to stay accursed in Pakistan will, I am afraid, by gradual stages and in a planned manner be either converted to Islam or completely exterminated. It is really amazing that a man of your education, culture and experience should be an exponent of a doctrine fraught with so great a danger to humanity and subversive of all principles of equality and good sense. I may tell you and your fellow workers that Hindus will allow themselves, whatever the treat or temptation, to be treated as Zimmies in the land of their birth. Today they may, as indeed many of them have already done, abandon their hearths and homes in sorrow but in panic. Tomorrow they strive for their rightful place in the economy of life. Who knows what is in the womb of the future ? When I am convinced that my continuance in office in the Pakistan Central Government is not of any help to Hindus I should not with a clear conscience, create the false impression in the minds of the Hindus of Pakistan and peoples abroad that Hindus can live there with honour and with a sense of security in respect of their life, property and religion. This is about Hindus.NO CIVIL LIBERTY EVEN FOR MUSLIMS35. And what about the Muslims who are outside the charmed circle of the League rulers and their corrupt and inefficient bureaucracy ? There is hardly anything called civil liberty in Pakistan . Witness for example, the fate of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan than whom a more devout Muslim had not walked this earth for many years and of his gallant patriotic brother Dr. Khan Sahib. A large number of erstwhile League leaders of the Northwest and also of the Eastern belt of Pakistan are in detention without trial. Mr. Suhrawardy to whom is due in a large measure the League's triumph in Bengal is for practical purpose a Pakistani prisoner who has to move under permit and open his lips under orders. Mr. Fazlul Haq, that dearly loved grand old man of Bengal, who was the author of that now famous Lahore resolution, is ploughing his lonely furrow in the precincts of the Dacca High Court of Judicature, and the so called Islamic planning is as ruthless as it is complete. About the East Bengal Muslims general, the less said the better. They were promised of autonomous and sovereign units of the independent State. What have they got instead ? East Bengal has been transformed into a colony of the western belt of Pakistan, although it contained a population which is larger than that of all the units of Pakistan put together. It is a pale ineffective adjunct of Karachi doing the latter's bidding and carrying out its orders. East Bengal Muslims in their enthusiasm wanted bread and they have by the mysterious working of the Islamic State and the Shariat got stone instead from the arid deserts of Sind and the Punjab.MY OWN SAD AND BITTER EXPERIENCE36. Leaving aside the overall picture of Pakistan and the callous and cruel injustice done to others, my own personal experience is no less sad, bitter and revealing. You used your position as the Prime Minister and leader of the Parliamentary Party to ask me to issue a statement, which I did on the 8th September last. You know that I was not willing to make a statement containing untruths and half truths, which were worse that untruths. It was not possible for me to reject your request so long as I was there working as a Minister with you and under your leadership. But I can no longer afford to carry this load of false pretensions and untruth on my conscience and I have decided to offer my resignation as your Minister, which I am hereby placing in your hands and which, I hope, you will accept without delay. You are of course at liberty to dispense with that office or dispose of it in such a manner as may suit adequately and effectively the objectives of your Islamic State.Yours sincerely,Sd./- J.N. Mandal8th October 1950Sourced from Resignation letter of Jogendra Nath Mandal

Yes. Therefore, my answer is also yes. I’m predictable that way.The entire Commedia is an allegory of the soul’s journey through sin and purgation to the vision of God. That overarching allegory englobes countless other allegories. In a vitally important way, every sinner in Hell, every sufferer in Purgatory, and every saint in Heaven represents both his or her own historical particularity and some idea to which that existence gives, as it were, some eschatological significance in the grand scheme of salvation history and the forms and criteria of God’s judgment of his creatures.But rather than take my word for it, perhaps you will take Dante Alighieri’s own, here offered in an annotated English translation — and in the process, learn (a) of the fourfold model of biblical exegesis, and (b) that, in his truly extraordinary audacity, Dante believed that his poem should be considered a kind of third testament, and subjected to the same interpretative procedures as Scripture itself? Talk about a pair of coglioni!And here, as anyone who knows anything about Dante will see coming from a mile away, is a translation of the famous letter to Can Grande della Scala.The body of the text is prefaced with this remark:This translation was supplied by James Marchand of the University of Illinois, who has included some annotation on passages from other others quoted by Dante. Marchand observes, `This is an attempt at what used to be called "a natural translation", perhaps a little too close, but it is to help you understand the text; it is certainly not une belle infidele.' This was scanned from a typescript, so readers should be wary of misprints and the typical confusions of one letter form for another.And so to business:To the great and most victorious lord, Lord Can Grande della Scala, Vicar General of the Principate of the Holy Roman Emperor in the town of Verona and the municipality of Vicenza, his most devoted Dante Alighieri, Florentine in birth but not in manners, wishes him a happy life through long years, as well as a continuous increase in his glorious reputation.1. The outstanding praise of your Magnificence, which watchful fame spreads abroad on flying wing, pulls different people in different directions, so that it brings some to hope in their prosperity, casts down others in fear of destruction. The report of such fame, exceeding by far that of any present day person, as somewhat beyond the truth, I judged to be somewhat exaggerated. In truth, so that this great uncertainty might keep me in suspense longer, as the Queen of Sheba came to Jerusalem, as Pallas came to Helicon, I came to Verona to be an eye-witness for myself what I had heard. And there I saw your great works, I saw your benefices and touched them; and just as I had earlier suspected excess in part in your praisers, now later I know the excess of the deeds themselves. So that, just as by hearsay alone I was favorably inclined by a sort of submission of the mind, now I am through sight your faithful servant and friend.2. I am not afraid, in taking on the name of friend, as some perchance may object, that I will incur the guilt of presumption, since unequals are not less bound by the sacred bonds of friendship than are equals. Indeed, if one is willing to look at pleasureable and useful friendships, most frequently it will be obvious to him that they join persons of preeminence to their inferiors. And if the understanding turns to true, disinterested friendship, will it not show that frequently men of obscure fortune, outstanding in honesty, were friends of most illustrious princes? Why not? Since not even friendship between God and man is impeded by the disparity! But if to anyone that which is asserted seems now to be improper, let him hear the Holy Spirit offering certain men the sharing of his love. For in *Wisdom* one reads concerning wisdom: `For she is an infinite treasure to men; which they that use, become the friends of God' (citing from Douay-Rheims, Wisdom 7.14). But the inexperience of the common people has judgment without discrimination; and just as the sun is though to be the size of a foot, thus concerning customs they are deceived in vain credulity. For us, however, to whom it is given to know the best that is in us, it is not proper to follow the tracks of the herd, but rather we ought to confront their errors. For, being lacking in intellect and reason, though endowed as it were by divine freedom, they are restricted by no custom. It is not strange, since they are not directed by law, but rather the law by them. It is is clear then, as I said above, viz. that I am your servant and friend, is in no way presumptuous.3. Therefore, holding your friendship in high esteem, like a most precious treasure, I wish to preserve it with diligent care and close solicitude. Thus, as it is taught in moral philosophy that friendship is returned and preserved by similarity, I have purposed to follow similarity in paying back the benefits more that once conferred upon me; and for that reason I have often looked at my little gifts and separated them each from the other and then looked through them, looking for ones which might be worthy of and pleasing to you. Nor did I find anything more fitting for your very Preeminence, than the exalted canticle of the Comedy which is entitled Paradiso; and I dedicate it to you by the present letter, as if by a proper epigram; in fine, I dedicate, I offer, I recommend it to you.4. My burning affection will also not permit me simply to pass over in silence the fact that it would seem that in this donation honor is conferred more on the gift than on yourself; on the contrary, since in its title (salutation) already the prediction of the amplification of your fame will have been seen to be expressed by any attentive reader, as I intended. But, desire for your favor, for which I thirst, little estimating my life (own person), urges me forward to the goal set from the beginning. Thus, the form of the letter having been fulfilled, I shall move to the introduction of the work offered, rather compendiously, under the guise of reader.5. As the Philosopher says in the second book of Metaphysics: `As each thing is in respect of being, so it is with respect to truth' (citing from the Great Books of the Western World, vol 8, 512); the reason for this is that the truth about a thing, which consists in truth as in the subject, is the perfect image of the thing as it is. Of those things which are, there are some which are absolute within themselves; there are some which are dependent on something else through some relationship, such as to be at the same time and to exist with something else, as the relatives, like father and son, lord and servant, double and half, whole and part, and many other like things. Wherefore, since such a being depends on another, it follows that the truth of them depends on something else: if the concept of half is not known, never will double be known, and the same with the others.6. Those who wish to give some kind of introduction to a part of any kind of work ought to offer some information about the whole of which it is a part. Whence also I, wishing to offer something concerning the above named part of the whole Comedy by way of introduction, thought that I ought to first set down something about the whole work, that it might be a easier and better entry to the part. There are six things to be looked at at the beginning of any doctrinal work, viz. subject, actor, form, purpose, title, and the type of philosophy. Of these there are three in which this part, which I meant to dedicate to you, is different from the whole, that is, the subject, the form, and the title; in the others it does not differ, as is obvious to anyone who looks; and therefore, in the consideration of the whole, these three ought to be looked at separately: this having been accomplished, the way will be open for the introduction of the part. Then we will look at the other three, not only with respect to the whole, but also with respect to the part offered.7. For me be able to present what I am going to say, you must know that the sense of this work is not simple, rather it may be called polysemantic, that is, of many senses; the first sense is that which comes from the letter, the second is that of that which is signified by the letter. And the first is called the literal, the second allegorical or moral or anagogical. Which method of treatment, that it may be clearer, can be considered through these words: `When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a barbarous people, Judea was made his sanctuary, Israel his dominion' (Douay-Rheims, Ps. 113.1-2). If we look at it from the letter alone it means to us the exit of the Children of Israel from Egypt at the time of Moses; if from allegory, it means for us our redemption done by Christ; if from the moral sense, it means to us the conversion of the soul from the struggle and misery of sin to the status of grace; if from the anagogical, it means the leave taking of the blessed soul from the slavery of this corruption to the freedom of eternal glory. And though these mystical senses are called by various names, in general all can be called allegorical, because they are different from the literal or the historical. Now, allegory comes from Greek alleon, which is Latin means `other' or `different'.8. Now that we have seen this, it is obvious that the subject around which the two senses turn must be twofold. And therefore it is to be determined about the subject of this work when it is taken literally, then obout the subject when it is understood allegorically. The subject of the whole work, taken only from a literal standpoint, is simply the status of the soul after death, taken simply. The movement of the whole work turns from it and around it. If the work is taken allegorically, however, the subject is man, either gaining or losing merit through his freedom of will, subject to the justice of being rewarded or punished.9. Its form is twofold, the form of the treatise and the form of the treatment. The form of the treatise is three-fold, according to the three- fold division. The first division is that by which the entire work is divided into three canticles. The second that by which each canticle is divided into cantos. The third that by which each canto is divided into rhyming units. The form or the mode of treatment is poetic, fictive, descriptive, digressive, transumptive; and along with this definitive, divisive, probative, improbative, and setting examples. 10. The title of the book is: `Begins the Comedy of Dante Alighieri, Florentine in birth, not in custom.' In order to understand you need to know that *comedy* comes from *komos* `village' and *oda*, which means `song', whence *comedy* sort of means `country song'. And comedy is sort of a kind of poetic narration, different from all others. It differs, therefore, from the tragedy, in matter by the fact that tragedy in the beginning is admirable and quiet, in the end or final exit it is smelly and horrible; and it gets its name because of this from *tragos*, which means `goat', and *oda*, sort of like `goat-song', that is, smelly like a goat, as can be seen in Seneca's tragedies. But comedy begins with harshness in some thing, whereas its matter ends in a good way, as can be seen by Terence in his comedies. And thus letter writers are accustomed to say in their salutations in the place of an address `a tragic beginning, a comical end'. They differ also in the way of speaking: the tragedy is elevated and sublime, the comedy loose and humble, as Horace tells us in his *Poetria*, where he permits now and again comic writers to speak like tragedists and also vice versa (citing *The Complete Works of Horace*, transl. Kaspar J. Kraemer, Jr. Modern Library 141 (New York: Modern Library, 1963), 400:At times, however, even comedy exalts her voice, and an angry Chremes rants and raves; often, too, in a tragedy Telephus or Peleus utters his sorrow in the language of prose ...And from this it is obvious that the present work is called comedy. And if we look at the matter, in the beginning it is horrible and smelly, because *Inferno*; in the end it is good, desirable and graceful, for it is *Paradiso*; as to the manner of speaking, it is easy and humble, because it is in the vulgar tongue, in which also women communicate. And thus is is obvious why it is called Comedy. There are also other genres of poetic narration, such as bucolic song, elegy, satire and the votive sentence, as also may be seen through Horace in his *Poetria*, but at present there is nothing to be said about these.11. Now it can be explained how the part offered (*Paradiso*) may be assigned a subject. Well, if the subject of the whole work, taken literally, is this subject: The status of souls after death, taken simply and not limited, it is obvious that in this part such a status is the subject, but restricted, that is, the status of the blessed souls after death. And if the subject of thw whole work, taken allegorically, is man, as he gains or loses merit by the exercise of his freedom of will, being subject to the justice of punishment or reward, it is obvious that in this part the subject is restricted, namely, man, to the extent that he is subject by merits to the justice of punishment.12. And this is obvious concerning the form of the part through the form given to the whole. For, if the form of the treatise as a whole is threefold, in this part it is twofold only, i.e. the division of the canticle and the cantos. The first formal division is not proper here, since this part is of the first division.13. Also the title of the book is obvious. For if the title of the whole book is `Here begins the Comedy,' etc, as above, then the title of this part is `Here begins the third canticle of the Comedy of Dante, which is called *Paradiso*.'14. After we have examined this three by which the part varies from the whole, we must look at the other three, in which there is no variation from the whole. The agent (protagonist), then, of the whole as well as the part is he who has been mentioned, and throughout he will be seen to be.15. The purpose of the whole and the part could be multiple, that is both remote and proximate. But leaving off subtle investigation, we can say say briefly that the purpose of the whole as well as the part is to remove those living in this life frome the state of misery and to lead them to the state of bliss.16. The genus of philosophy under which we proceed here in the whole and in the part is the business of morals or ethics, since both the part and the whole are composed for practice rather than theory. But if in some place or passage things are lengthened out in the manner of theory, this is not for the purpose of theory, but of practice; for, as the Philosopher says in the second book of Metaphysics: `practical men theorize now and again' (loose quotation).17. These being settled, we move to the exposition of letter as a sort of prolepsis, and it should be mentioned ahead of time, that the exposition of the letter is nothing but the revelaiton of the form of the work. This part, therefore, is divided (that is the third canticle, which is called *Paradiso*), mainly into two parts, that is the prologue and the real part. The second part begins thus: `The lamp of the world rises on mortals by different entrances' (citing Sinclair, *Paradiso* 1.37).18. Concerning the first part you must know, though by common practice it may be called the exordium, properly speaking however it should be called nothing but prologue, as the Philosopher indicates when he says that `the proemium is in rhetorical oration as the prologue in poetic, and the prelude in the performance on the pipe' (cf. *Aristotle's Treatise on Rhetoric*, ed. Theodore Buckley, Bohn's Classical Library [London: Bohn, 1867], p. 251 [= Rhetoric, 3.14]). And it must also be noted first that this excursus, which may be called the exordium by common consent, is done one way by poets, another by rhetors, for rhetors often tell ahead of time what they are going to say, so that they may make the mind of the listener receptive. But poets not only do this, but also make some kind of invocation after this. And this is right for them, for they need many invocations, whenever a man contrary to common use must ask for something from superior beings, such as certain divine gifts. Thus the present prologue is divided into two parts: in the first is indicated what is to be said, in the second Apollo is called upon; and the second part begins: `O good Apollo, for the last labor' (Sinclair, *Paradiso*, 1.13).19. For the first part it is to be noted that three things are required for the making of a good exordium, as Cicero says in the Ad Herennium, namely that it render the listener well-intentioned, attentive and malleable, and this most strongly in the matter of something marvelous, as Cicero himself says. Since then the matter about which the present work revolves is marvelous, therefore at the beginning of the prologue or exordium these three intend to turn (the mind of the listener) to the marvelous, for it says that it is going to tell those things which someone who saw them in the first heaven was able to hold in mind. In which paragraph all those three are found: for the story in its usefulness captures benevolence, in its marvelous qualities attention, in its possibility receptivity. He suggests utility when he says he is going to tell about those things which are most attractive to the desires of man, namely the joys of Paradise; he touches on the marvelous when he promises to tell about such difficult, such sublime things, i.e. shows the possibility of the descriptions of the heavenly kingdom, when he says that he will tell those things which he was able to keep in mind, as he and others have been able. These all are touched upon in those words where he says he was in the first heaven, and that he wishes to tell concerning the heavenly kingdom whatever he was able to keep in mind, sort of as a treasure chest. The goodness and perfection of the first part of the Prologue having been seen, we move to the letter.20. He says that `the glory of Him who moves all things,' who is God, `shines in all parts of the universe,' but so that `in one part more, in another less.' The fact that he shines everywhere both reason and authority reveal. Reason thus: Everything which is either has being of itself or through something else. But it is known that to have being of itself is proper to only one being, that is the first one or the beginning, who is God, since to have being does not argue for the necessity of being of itself, and only one thing has the necessity of being of itself, namely the first or the beginning, which is the cause of all; ergo all things which are, except for one alone, have being from something else. If therefore one takes the last thing in the universe, not just anything, it is obvious that it has being from something else, and that from which *it* has being, of itself or from something else. If of itself, it is the first; if from something else, and it likewise either of itself, or from something else. And thus one may proceed in infinite regress in agent causes, as is shown in the second book of *Metaphysics*. And thus we will arrive at the first, which is God. And thus, directly or indirectly, everything which has being has being from Him; because from that which the second cause receives from the first, it extends over the caused, like a thing receiving and reflecting a ray, whence the first cause is the greater cause. And this is said in the book *Of Causes*, that `every primary cause has more influence on its effect than any secondary cause.' But this suffices as far as being is concerned. 21. As to essence, I demonstrate thusly: All essence, except for the first, is caused, otherwise there would be many things which would exist by necessity of being of themselves, which is impossible, for the caused is either by nature or by intellect, and that which is by nature is consequently caused by the intellect, since nature is the work of intelligence. All, then, which is caused is caused by some intellect indirectly or directly. Since therefore a virtue follows the essence of which it is a virtue, if it is an intellective essence, it is all and only that which causes. And thus, just as before we had to arrive at the first cause of that same being, now both of essence and of virtue. For which reason it is obvious that all essence and virtue comes from the first, and the inferior intelligences receive as if from something emitting rays, and they pass on the rays of the superior to their inferiors, like mirrors. Which Dionysius is seen to touch upon when speaking of the celestial hierarchy. And for this reason it is said in the book *Of Causes* that `every intelligence is full of forms.' It is obvious therefore in what way reason shows the divine light, that is the divine goodness, wisdom and virtue, to shine everywhere.22. Likewise also authority makes the thing more known. For the Holy Spirit says through Jeremiah: `Do I not fill heaven and earth?' (Jer. 23.24), and in the Psalm: `Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy face? If I ascend into heaven, thou art there; if I descend into hell, thou art present. If I take my wings,' etc. (Ps 138.7-9). And Wisdom says that `the spirit of the Lord hath filled the whole world' (Wisdom 1.7). And Ecclesiasticus in the forty-second chapter: `full of the glory of the Lord is his work' (Ecclu. 42.16). Which also is stated by the writings of the pagans, as in the ninth book of Lucan: `Jupiter is whatever you see, wherever you move' (citing from Haller, p. 106; cf. *Pharsalia* 9.580, *Lucan*, ed. A. E. Housman [Oxford: Blackwell, 1958; reprint], p. 279).23. Well then is it said, when he speaks of the divine ray or the divine glory `it penetrates the universe and shines'; it penetrates as to essence; it shines as to being. When he adds `more and less', this is manifestly true, for we see one essence in something on a higher level, another in one on a lower, as is seen in heaven and the elements, of which the former is incorruptible, whereas the latter are corruptible.24. And after he has set down first this truth, he continues from it, using circumlocution for Paradise {figurando il Paradiso}; and he says that he was in that heaven `which most receives the glory of God, or his light.' For which reason you must know that that heaven is the highest heaven, containing all bodies, and contained by none, within which all bodies move (while it remains in eternal quiet), and receiving power from no corporeal substance. And it is called *empyreum*, which is the same as fiery heaven or flaming with heat; not that in it is fire or material heat, but spiritual, which is holy love or charity.25. That it receives more of divine light can be shown by two things: First, by the fact that it contains all and is contained by nothing; sedond, by its eternal quiet or peace. As to the first it is shown thusly: The container is connected with the contained in natural condition as the formative to the formable, as is maintained in the fourth book of *Physics* (4.5, Great Books 8.291 f.). But in the condition of nature of the whole universe the first heaven contains all; thus it is related to all as the formative to the formable, which means to be related by way of cause. And since all causative power is a kind of ray flowing from the first cause, which is God, it is obvious that that heaven which has the greatest degree of cause receives more of the divine light.26. As far as the second is concerned, it is shown thusly: Everything which moves is moved by something which it does not have, which is the goal of its movement; the lunar sphere is moved because of some part which it does not have towards that towards which it moves; and since no part of it is fitted for anything towards which it moves (which is impossible), thence it is that it is always moving and never rests, and that is its urge. And that which I say concerning the lunar sphere is to be understood of all except the first. Thus everything which moves is defective in something and does not have all its being together. Therefore, that heaven which is moved by nothing must have in itself and each of its parts something which is perfect, because it does not need movement towards its perfection. And since all perfection is the ray of the Prime, which is in the highest degree of perfection, it is manifest that the first heaven receives more of the light of the Prime, which is God. This reasoning obviously argues towards the destruction of the preceding, because simply and as to the form of the argument it has no probative force. But if we look at its material logic, it is surely probative, because it deals with something eternal, in which it might be defective throught eternity; that is, if God did not give it motion, it would seem that He did not give it matter in any way deficient. And through this supposition the argument holds by reason of material logic; and a similar way of arguing is as if we said: If he is a man, he laughs; for in all convertibles a like reason holds by reason of the material logic. Thus it is obvious that when he says `in that heaven which receives most from the light of God' he intends a circumlocution for Paradise or the empyrean sphere.27. All of these reasonings having been gone through, the Philosopher says in the first chapter of *On the Heavens* `the superior glory of its nature is proportionate to its distance from this world of ours' (Great Books, 8.360; On the Heavens, 1.2). For this purpose might also be adduced what the Apostle says in Ephesians concerning Christ: `that ascended above all heavens, that he might fill all things' (Eph. 4.10). This is the heaven of delights of the Lord, concerning which delights it is said against Lucifer through Ezechiel: `Thou wast the seal of resemblance, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. Thou wast in the pleasures of the paradise of God' (Ezech. 28.12-13).28. And after he said that he was in this place of Paradise through his circumlocution, he continues, saying that he saw some things that he who descends from there cannot tell. And he cites the reason, saying `that our memory sinks so deep' into its desire, which is God, `that memory cannot follow it'. To understand this you msut know that the human intellect at the end of life, because of the inborn nature and affinity which it has for the separate intellectual substance, when it is raised, is raised to such an extent that memory is lacking after its return, since it transcended human kind. And this is shown to us by the Apostle, speaking to the Corinthians, where he says: `I know a man ... (whether in the body, or out of the body, I know not; God knoweth), caught up to the third heaven ..., and [he saw secret things of God], which it is not granted to man to utter'. Thus, after the intellect surpasses human reason in its ascension, it does not remember those things which took place outside of it. This is shown to us in Matthew, where the three disciples fell upon their faces, telling nothing later, as if forgotten. And it is written in Ezechiel: `And I saw, and I fell upon my face' (Ezech. 2.1). But if these are not sufficient for scoffers, let them read Richard of St. Victor in the book *On Contemplation*, let them read Bernard in the book *On Consideration*, let them read Augustine in the book *On the Capacity of the Soul*, and they will not scoff. But if they should object to the possibility of elevation because of the sinful nature of the person speaking, let them read Daniel, where they will find that even Nebuchadnezar saw a vision against sinners, and that God commended it to oblivion. For `who maketh his sun to rise upon the good and bad and raineth upon the just and the unjust' (Matth. 5.45), now merciful for conversion, now severe for punishment, mor or less, as he wishes, makes manifest his glory even through those who live an evil life.29. He saw, therefore, as he says, some things `which he who returns has not the knowledge or power to tell again'. It should be noted carefully that he says `neither knew nor could'. Did not know, because he had forgotten; he was unable because, even if he remembered and kept the knowledge, speech would be lacking. For we see many things with our mind for which vocal signs are lacking, as Plato tells us well in his books by taking on metaphors, for he saw many things with the light of his mind which he was not able to express in his own words.30. Then he says he is going to tell those things of the heavenly kingdom which he *was* able to retain; and he says this is to be the matter of his work; what they are and how many will be revealed in the narrative part.31. Then, when he says `O good Apollo', etc. he makes his invocation. And this part is divided into two parts: in the first he makes a petition; in the second part he persuades Apollo concerning the petition which has been made, promising a kind of remuneration; and the second part begins here: `O power divine'. The first part is divided into two parts: in the first he asks for divine aid, in the second he touches upon the necessity for his petition, which is to justify it: `Thus far the one peak of Parnassus', etc.32. This is the sense of the second part of the prologue in general. I shall not expound the specifics at present, for anxiety as to family matters presses upon me, so that I must leave off these and other things useful for the public weal. But I hope for your Magnificence that there will be other times to go on to a useful exposition.33. Concernin[g] the executive (narrative) part, which was separated from the entire prologue, nothing is said about dividing or summing up at present, except that everywhere it procedes arising from sphere to sphere, and one is told about the souls of the blessed found in each circle, and that that true beatitude consists in perceiving the principle of truth, as is revealed by John: `This is eternal life, that they may know thee, the only true God', etc. (Jn 17.3), and by Boethius in the third book of *The Consolation of Philosophy*: `The sight of thee is the goal' (citing Boethius, *The Consolation of Philosophy*, transl. Richard Green. The Library of Liberal Arts, 86 (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1952), p. 51 (Poem 9, last line). Whence it is that to show the glory of blessedness in those souls, as witnesses to all truth, much is required of them which has usefulness and entertainment. And since, the principle or the Prime being found, i.e. God, there is nothing more to be sought, since he is the Alpha and Omega, that is, the beginning and the end, as the vision of John calls him, this treatise is ended with God himself, who is blessed throughout the ages.[1][1][1][1]Footnotes[1] Dante to Cangrande: English[1] Dante to Cangrande: English[1] Dante to Cangrande: English[1] Dante to Cangrande: English