Again in 1916 when Mr. Montagu came to India Chitta Ranjan was for the first time invited to the Government House. He went there and learnt that he was invited at the suggestion of the Secretary of State himself. The subject for discussion was the political condition of India at that time. In course of the conversation the question arose if India was just at that time fit for self-government and His Excellency the Governor was of opinion that she was not. Chitta Ranjan could not bear this unjustified remark; he said with a retort--"If after bearing the responsibility of educating India for the last one hundred and fifty years, you have failed to make us fit for self-government, the fault is surely not ours." His Excellency became red with anger at these fearless words of one of his subjects and immediately left the place. But Mr. Montagu was much pleased with this just remark of Chitta Ranjan and talked with him for hours together over many important topics relating to the welfare of India.
On another occasion when he was staying at England during the Puja holidays one of his Bengali friends introduced him to Lord Morley. After the formal introduction Lord Morley asked him, "Are you a Native?" Chitta Ranjan replied with a smile, "Certainly I am." At this frank reply Lord Morley was so very impressed that afterwards he mentioned this fact to his friend Sir Lawrence Jenkins (who had just then retired from the Chief-Justiceship of Bengal) and spoke very highly of Chitta Ranjan. Sir Lawrence could not but then utter these few words--"And this is the man your government wanted to deport."
In fact Chitta Ranjan has never borne any racial feeling against the Europeans but has only opposed the present system of Bureaucratic Government. In course of one of his speeches he has remarked:--
"When I ask for Home-rule or Self-Government, I am not asking for another Bureaucracy. In my opinion Bureaucracy is Bureaucracy, be that Bureaucracy of Englishmen, or of Anglo-Indians or of Indians."
When in accordance with the announcement of August 1917, Mr Montagu, the Secretary of State came to India to learn at first hand what reforms were actually wanted by the people themselves, the Nationalist party of India thought it proper to convene meetings at different places of the Provinces so as to advise the political associations of the country to demand full responsible Self-Government at once. None of the leading pleaders and barristers of Calcutta was ready to go to the mufassil for that purpose at a great personal loss. But Chitta Ranjan to whom the question of the welfare of his mother-country was ever dearer than life itself could not but respond to this call of duty. "Work for my country is part of my religion"--this is the motto of his life. He left Calcutta, and visited different places and educated the public in the question of national welfare on Indian ideals. For though he obtained western education, he never forgot our ancient ideals. Of this he spoke in a lecture at Mymensingh delivered in October 1917:--