I had hesitated long before I decided to place these letters before a wider audience than they were originally intended for. But the reception which a kindly press and a kindlier public gave to them emboldened me and quieted my doubts and fears. The first edition has long been exhausted and even the author of the ‘Letters’ has no copy left. A second edition is therefore being brought out. A few minor errors have been corrected; otherwise there is no change.
Emboldened by the welcome given to this little book, I had thought of adding to these letters. But I had allied myself to a jealous mistress and her service left me little time or inclination to dabble in other matters. Last year when I went to Naini prison, the thought came back to me and time was not lacking. But prison letters are not frequent and a prison does not provide books of reference. And above all, my mind was too full of the making of history, as it was being made from day to day in India, for me to think of the dead past. I came out of jail and returned to it after a brief week of absence; and again the months passed.
On the first of January of this year, however, I made a New Year resolve to continue these letters. I made some progress, but too soon, on January 26, I was suddenly discharged. Domestic affliction and the whirlpool of public affairs caught me in their swirl and cast me hither and thither. And I await again the peace and quiet of the prison cell to continue this task.
Meanwhile, Indira grows and I might not keep pace for long with her growing knowledge.
ALLAHABAD October 1931 JAWAHARLAL NEHRU