[Letter of November 16, 1927]
Your frequent communications keeping him in close touch with your activities and the work in India, are deeply appreciated, and he relies much upon your efforts to coordinate the work in India and to have more direct and material results than we have been accustomed to lately. When compared to some other countries and remembering the many years since the Cause was first known there, India, I am afraid, does not come up to expectations. Are we going to accept this secondary position or has the future a surprise in store? At any rate we patiently wait.
November 16, 1927
[Letter of May 6, 1928]
He was greatly pleased with the news of the work of Prof. Pritam Singh in Karachi and Lahore and he read his well-worded lectures with interest. It gives him immense pleasure to keep in touch with his activities and he prays for the success of his efforts from the bottom of his heart. He is confident that when his plans are carried out and he does travel throughout the whole of India in the interests of the Cause, he will show a record of constant progress and would have rendered valuable services to the Baha'i Faith. Please assure him of our Guardian's unfailing prayers and good wishes and also kindly convey to the Amritsar Baha'is the loving greetings of Shoghi Effendi...
I am sure it will interest you to know that we have had during the Ridwan festivals the first Baha'i pilgrim from Tunis. The representative of the Tunis Assembly is a young man full of hopes and schemes for the future.
[From the Guardian:]
I will specially supplicate, on behalf of my dear brethren in India & Burma, at the Beloved's Shrine, that they may arise with heart and soul and in perfect harmony and understanding to extend the scope of their activities, to consolidate the foundations of their work, to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of the Faith, and to carry out the Beloved's explicit instructions for the establishment of Baha'u'llah's undisputed sovereignty on this earth. May they be richly blessed and guided in their endeavours.
May 6, 1928
[Letter of June 22, 1928]
Among the subjects that the Guardian would expect your body to take are a coordination of the various efforts and endeavours throughout India and Burma, an acceleration and increase in the number of Baha'is and fellow-workers, ways and means to attract the attention of Indians from every class and creed to the message and vital dynamic spirit of the Baha'i Faith and as a cumulative and culminating step the final recognition of the Baha'i Community as a separate religious organization similar to what has been already achieved in America.
June 22, 1928
[Letter of August 21, 1928]
The news that we obtain from the various parts of the world are most gratifying, for though there are some great problems to solve, yet no one can fail to see the constant realization of those ideals we cherish. May that day soon dawn when the source of this spiritual power, which is permeating the whole of society, will be appreciated and venerated.
August 21, 1928
Present the Teachings at Various Conventions & Gatherings
This is to acknowledge the receipt of your letter ... reporting the events of the Brahmo Samaj Centenary gathering to Shoghi Effendi. Such meetings are wonderful occasions for showing the spirit and teachings of the Cause.... Shoghi Effendi's hope is that at such Conventions and gatherings the friends would present the teachings to persons otherwise inaccessible for individual contact.
[From the Guardian:]
I heartily approve the project of a Baha'i Convention and would leave the choice of the site and other arrangements to the National Assembly. The Cause in various countries is making a great headway and the reference of the case of the Baghdad House to the Mandates Commission of the League of Nations is a great step forward.
October 10, 1928
The Faith Publicized in Turkey
He was glad to hear from you and he has read with deep satisfaction the account of the good work of Syed Ilmi in Burma. Shoghi Effendi has always wondered as to the reasons why despite so many years of effort and activity, the Cause has not spread more rapidly either in India or Burma, perhaps the latter can be more proud of its results. He would in fact appreciate your own personal opinion, although God's ways are often hard to understand. We have lately had a remarkable illustration in Turkey where the Baha'is were an insignificant little group. Suddenly accused of constituting a secret political society the members of the N.S.A. in Constantinople and the S.A. in Smyrna were dragged to the police and kept for one night pending the formation of the Board of Inquiry. The next day the court sat and the president of the N.S.A. was cross-examined for eight consecutive hours. The result was that they were all dismissed, with the members of the Court deeply influenced and impressed by the teachings and principles which the President boldly and eloquently described. They asked for literature and many of them carried from that session much food for thought. Furthermore every paper in Turkey filled its front pages with the incident and a repetition of the teachings and good many a Turk heard of the Cause in a way that Baha'is could never bring about.
[From the Guardian:]
I trust and pray that circumstances will be favourable and the means provided for the holding of a Baha'i convention this year representative of India and Burma. A closer touch and more frequent interchange of thought among the Baha'i Centres in those lands are absolutely essential.
I am sending you a copy of the recently issued "Baha'i World", and wish you to urge the National and Local Assemblies in India & Burma to order as many copies as they possibly can from America for distribution among the enlightened public as well as a means for the assistance and encouragement of the Baha'i Publishing Committee in New York which is doing excellent service at the present time.
November 15, 1928 Assemblies Must Endeavour to Inspire Confidence
Although I had never meant that my enquiry from you as to the reasons of lack of progress of the Cause in India, should be asked from every individual Baha'i, yet I am sure, our Guardian will be interested to know the ideas and opinions of various sections of the friends both in India and Burma.
The expression of our views in written form sometimes helps us to think better and deeper and often brings various matters into proper perspective, enabling us thereby to disregard what is extraneous and unimportant. The answers to the question put forth, would, I feel, be extremely valuable to the N.S.A. in India, and with the proper backing, respect and support of the entire friends, they should not lose a minute in an endeavour to remedy and inspire what ought not and what should be done, in an effort to spread the Cause.
[From the Guardian:]
I trust that the forthcoming Convention will remedy most if not all the present deficiencies in the Cause and lend an unprecedented impetus to the progress of the Faith. The Teaching work should be stressed as it is the Fountain-head from which all future blessings will flow. We must first and foremost add to our small numbers, and introduce fresh blood into the organic life of the community. I will specially supplicate this bounty for the representative delegates to be assembled at Convention this year.
December 19, 1928
Maintain and Strengthen the Unity of the National Assembly
He was very glad to hear of the success of the Convention. He hopes that such gatherings will become yearly and, like in other countries, lead to a better understanding among the friends. It is surely true that as the Cause progresses differences will more and more arise. So unless there be a meeting place where the different views are thrashed, true unity of purpose and activity will not be obtained.
Just as much as the result of the Convention made him happy he was sorry to hear of the differences that exist between the N.S.A. members. The real source of the difficulty is, I believe, the lack of constant intercourse between the different members. As the country is so very vast meetings cannot be very frequent and well attended, and this ultimately leads to misunderstandings and lack of faith in each other. Shoghi Effendi knows the different individuals involved, he knows their integrity and faith in the Cause and its spirit. He is sure that they, each and all, have no other purpose but to serve the progress of the movement and uphold its interests. And they will surely not commit an act that would retard the very Cause they are serving. What the solution is, I do not know. What Shoghi Effendi has been hoping during the last two or three years is a spirit of mutual trust that would overcome physical handicaps. But that seems to be impossible. A lurking dissatisfaction is sure to appear at the end.
[From the Guardian:]
Your subsequent letter dated Jan. 24 has also reached me. I will specially remember our dear and valued co-worker Prof. Pritam Singh when I visit the sacred Shrine that the spirit of Baha'u'llah may inspire, guide and sustain him in his great task. Regarding your last convention and the non-participation of the Burma delegates, I feel that the utmost effort must be exerted during the coming elections in April to elect those who are best fitted for this supreme and responsible position, and once elected, resignation is not to be accepted. The members must meet and consult in person. Persia is preparing for the holding of national elections, and for India and Burma to revert to a system that is being abandoned by the Persian believers would be a decidedly retrograde step.
We must at all costs maintain and strengthen the unity of the National Assembly. Everything must be subordinated to this end. I will supplicate our Beloved to enable you to achieve His purpose.
February 12, 1929