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diff --git a/old/68572-0.txt b/old/68572-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index c80d3e9..0000000 --- a/old/68572-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6311 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of My mother India, by Dalip Singh Saund - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: My mother India - -Author: Dalip Singh Saund - -Release Date: July 20, 2022 [eBook #68572] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Tim Lindell, Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was - produced from images made available by the HathiTrust - Digital Library.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY MOTHER INDIA *** - - -+-------------------------------------------------+ -|Transcriber’s note: | -| | -|Obvious typographic errors have been corrected. | -| | -+-------------------------------------------------+ - - -MY MOTHER INDIA - -_by_ - -DALIP SINGH SAUND, M.A., Ph.D. - -[Illustration] - -_Published by_ - -THE PACIFIC COAST KHALSA DIWAN SOCIETY, INC. (SIKH TEMPLE) STOCKTON, -CALIFORNIA. - - - - -COPYRIGHT, 1930 - -BY - -DALIP SINGH SAUND - - -FROM THE PRESS OF -WETZEL PUBLISHING CO., INC. -LOS ANGELES - - - - -_Dedicated to -my beloved friend Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind_ - - - - -PREFACE - - -This work was undertaken at the request of THE PACIFIC COAST KHALSA -DIWAN SOCIETY, commonly known as the SIKH TEMPLE at Stockton, -California. The original plan was to write a comprehensive reply to -Katherine Mayo’s book MOTHER INDIA, which was changed later to one of -producing a handbook on India for general use by the American public. -In view of the momentous changes of worldwide interest, which have -taken place in India during recent years, the need for such a book was -quite imminent. And it was only fitting that THE PACIFIC COAST KHALSA -DIWAN SOCIETY, in its role as the interpreter of Hindu culture and -civilization to America, should undertake its publication. - -Only a few years ago, India, like other countries of the Orient, was a -far Eastern problem. To-day, if rightly judged, it has already become a -near Western issue. Except for the few scholars of oriental history and -literature, who occupied themselves diligently in exploring the hidden -treasures of Hindu civilization, the name of India was an unknown thing -to the rest of the American world. For the average man and woman in -the United States the affairs of that oriental country were too remote -an issue for them to notice. With the advances made by science during -recent times, however, different parts of the world have become so -near together, and their business and cultural relations have grown so -desperately interlaced, that the affairs of one section of the globe -cannot, and should not, remain a matter of comfortable unconcern for -the other. It has been my aim in the preparation of this book to answer -the various questions that commonly arise in the minds of the American -people regarding the cultural and political problems of India. And if I -have succeeded in bringing about a better understanding of India by the -people of America, I consider myself amply repaid. - -Wherever feasible I have made free uses of striking passages and -phrases from the writings of several authors. Since these were copied -from my notes gathered during a course of study extending over several -years, it has not always been possible for me to trace the source, for -which I wish to be humbly excused. - -I wish to express my sincerest appreciation to my beloved wife for -her untiring assistance in the preparation of the manuscript and the -reading of the proofs. I wish also to thank my friend Mr. Anoop Singh -Dhillon for valuable suggestions. - -Los Angeles, California. -March, 1930. - -DALIP SINGH SAUND. - - - - -CONTENTS - -CHAPTER PAGE - I. WOMAN’S POSITION IN INDIA. IS SHE BOND OR FREE? 9 - - II. THE HINDU IDEAL OF MARRIAGE 36 - - III. THE CIVILIZATION AND ETHICS OF INDIA 64 - - IV. THE CASTE SYSTEM OF INDIA 81 - - V. GANDHI--THE MAN AND HIS MESSAGE 108 - - VI. INDIA’S EXPERIMENT WITH PASSIVE RESISTANCE 126 - - VII. JALLIANWALLA MASSACRE AT AMRITSAR 146 - -VIII. WHY IS INDIA POOR? 162 - - IX. INDIAN NATIONALISM--ITS ORIGIN AND GROWTH 190 - - - - -CHAPTER I - -WOMAN’S POSITION IN INDIA. IS SHE BOND OR FREE? - - “_Where women are honored,_ - _there the gods are pleased;_ - _but where they are dishonored,_ - _no sacred rite yields reward._” - - -Thus, in the year 200 B. C., wrote Manu, the great law-giver of -India--India, whose mind was full grown when the western nations were -yet unborn; India, whose life rolled on while the West, like the -dragon fly, lived and died to live again. While Europe was still in a -state of primitive barbarism, the Indo-Aryans of _Bharat_ (India) had -reached an elevated state of moral and spiritual perfection; and in -the realm of intellectual culture they had attained an eminence which -has not yet been equalled by the most advanced of western countries. -Not only had they a perfect alphabet and a symmetrical language, but -their literature already contained models of true poetry and remarkable -treatises on philosophy, science, and ethics when the forefathers -of the modern western nations were still clothed in skins and could -neither read nor write. In their firm grasp of the fundamental meaning -and purpose of life, and in the organization of their society with a -view to the full attainment of the fruits of life, namely, “to take -from each according to his capacity, and to give to each according to -his needs,” they had attained to a high degree of excellence, which has -been recognized by the greatest of both western and oriental scholars. -Says Max Müller, the noted scholar of oriental languages: - - - “If I were to look over the whole world to find out the country - most richly endowed with all the wealth, power, and beauty that - nature can bestow--in some parts a very paradise on earth--I - should point to India. If I were asked under what sky the human - mind has most fully developed some of its choicest gifts, has - most deeply pondered on the greatest problems of life, and has - found solutions of some of them which well deserve the attention - even of those who have studied Plato and Kant--I should point - to India. And if I were to ask myself from what literature we, - here in Europe, we who have been nurtured almost exclusively on - the thoughts of Greeks and Romans, and of one Semitic race, the - Jewish, may draw that corrective which is most wanted in order - to make our inner life more perfect, more comprehensive, more - universal, in fact more truly human, a life not for this life - only, but a transfigured and eternal life--again I should point to - India.”[1] - - -Further, of the culture of this ancient people of India Sir -Monier-Williams, sometime Boden Professor of Sanskrit in the University -of Oxford, famous translator of Sanskrit drama, and author of many -works on history and literature, speaks from an intimate knowledge of -India derived from long residence in the country when he writes: - - - “Indeed, I am deeply convinced that the more we learn about the - ideas, feelings, drift of thought, religious and intellectual - development, eccentricities, and even errors of the people of - India, the less ready shall we be to judge them by our own - conventional European standards--the less disposed to regard - ourselves as the sole depositories of all the true knowledge, - learning, virtue and refinements of civilized life--the less prone - to despise as an ignorant and inferior race the men who compiled - the laws of Manu, one of the remarkable productions of the - world--who composed systems of ethics worthy of Christianity--who - imagined the _Ramayna_ and _Mahabharata_, poems in some respects - outrivalling the Iliad and the Odyssey--who invented for - themselves the sciences of grammar, arithmetic, astronomy, logic, - and six most subtle systems of philosophy. Above all, the less - inclined shall we be to stigmatize as benighted heathen the - authors of two religions, however false, which are at this moment - professed by about half the human race.”[2] - - -Such a civilization has built up the enormous literature of the Hindus -embodied in the _Vedas_, _Upnishads_, the epic poems of _Ramayna_ -and _Mahabharata_, and the immortal works of Kalidasa, a literature -comprising in itself an achievement of the human mind which may be -considered sublime, and of which any civilization, ancient or modern, -may feel justly proud. The poetical merit of Kalidasa’s _Sakuntala_ -is universally admitted, and it ranks among the best of the world’s -masterpieces of dramatic art. Its beauty of thought and its tenderness -in the expression of feeling are exquisite, while its creative fancy is -rich, and the charm of its spirit is full. Says Goethe: - - -“_Wouldst thou the life’s young blossoms and the fruits of its decline,_ -_All by which the soul is pleased, enraptured, feasted, fed,--_ -_Wouldst thou the earth and heaven itself in one sweet name combine?_ -_I name thee, O_ Sakuntala, _and all at once is said_.” - - -The epic poems of _Ramayna_ and _Mahabharata_ consist of stories -and legends which form a splendid superstructure on the teachings -contained in the earlier scriptures of the _Vedas_. By relating what -the men and women of those times thought, said, and did, these poems -illustrate in a highly instructive manner the general character and -culture of the early Hindus. The stories contained in these poems, -which, in fact, rival the best known epic poems of the world, tell -us of the thoughts and beliefs, hopes and fears, joys and sorrows of -the people of this earliest recorded period. Through these stories -we learn the fundamental concepts which governed the religious and -social life of the early Hindus; in them are revealed also the basic -moral and spiritual laws which controlled the actions, “not only of -gods and supernatural men, but of ordinary men and women of India.” -“They explain--by showing the degrees of danger incurred by such -vices as anger and pride, deception and faithlessness, intemperance -and impiety--the evil consequences of moral transgressions from both -man-made and supernatural laws; and at the same time they emphasize the -beauty of such virtues as patience and self-control, truthfulness and -purity, obedience and filial love.”[3] - -As an illustration of the fascinating and elevated nature of its lofty -idealism, we shall quote two passages from _Ramayna_. In the first, -Rama, the ideal king, has determined to execute the will of his late -father by staying in the forests as an exile for fourteen years. Sita, -his wife and the heroine of the story, begs her lord and husband to -allow her to accompany him in his exile to the forests and offers a -picture highly expressive of pious conjugal love. Sita says: - - -“_Thou art my king, my guide, my only refuge, my divinity._ -_It is my fixed resolve to follow thee. If thou must wander forth_ -_Through thorny trackless forests, I will go before thee, treading down_ -_The prickly brambles to make smooth thy path. Walking before thee, I_ -_Shall feel no weariness: the forest thorns will seem like silken robes;_ -_The bed of leaves, a couch of down. To me the shelter of thy presence_ -_Is better far than stately palaces, and paradise itself._ -_Protected by thy arm, gods, demons, men shall have no power to harm me._ -_Roaming with thee in desert wastes, a thousand years will be a day;_ -_Dwelling with thee, e’en hell itself would be to me a heaven of bliss._” - - -In the second selection Rama is heard answering to the entreaties of -Bharata, who has tried in vain to dissuade him from carrying out his -design. The following is Rama’s answer to the messenger of Bharata: - - - “The words which you have addressed to me, though they recommend - what _seems_ to be right and salutary, advise, in fact, the - contrary. The sinful transgressor, who lives according to the - rules of heretical systems, obtains no esteem from good men. It - is good conduct that marks a man to be noble or ignoble, heroic - or a pretender to manliness, pure or impure. Truth and mercy are - immemorial characteristics of a king’s conduct. Hence royal rule - is in its essence _truth_. On truth the world is based. Both sages - and gods have esteemed truth. The man who speaks truth in this - world attains the highest imperishable state. Men shrink with fear - and horror from a liar as from a serpent. In this world the chief - element in virtue is truth; it is called the basis of everything. - Truth is lord in the world; virtue always rests on truth. All - things are founded on truth; nothing is higher than it. Why, - then, should I not be true to my promise, and faithfully observe - the truthful injunction given by my father? Neither through - covetousness, nor delusion, nor ignorance, will I, overpowered by - darkness, break through the barrier of truth, but remain true to - my promise to my father. How shall I, having promised to him that - I would thus reside in the forests, transgress his injunction, and - do what Bharata recommends?” - - -In _Mahabharata_ again we find proof of the high esteem in which the -manly virtues of truthfulness, charity, benevolence, and chivalry -towards women were held by the ancient Hindus. The most important -incident in the drama (Mahabharata), namely, the death of Bhishma, -occurred when this brave and virtuous man, in fidelity to his pledge -never to hurt a woman, refused to fight, and was killed by a soldier -dressed in a woman’s garb. - -The drama is full of moral maxims, around each one of which the poet -has woven a story in a beautiful and elegant manner. - - - “If Truth and a hundred horse sacrifice were weighed together, - Truth would weigh the heavier. There is no virtue equal to Truth, - and no sin greater than falsehood.” - - “For the weak as well as for the strong, forgiveness is an - ornament.” - - “A person should never do to others what he does not like others - to do to him, knowing how painful it is to himself.” - - “The man who fails to protect his wife earns great infamy here, - and goes to hell afterwards.” - - - “_A wife is half the man, his truest friend;_ - _A loving wife is a perpetual spring_ - _Of virtue, pleasure, wealth; a faithful wife_ - _Is his best aid in seeking heavenly bliss;_ - _A sweetly-speaking wife is a companion_ - _In solitude, a father in advice,_ - _A mother in all seasons of distress,_ - _A rest in passing through life’s wilderness._” - - -These great epic poems have a special claim to our attention because -they not only illustrate the genius of a most interesting people, but -they are to this day believed as entirely and literally true by the -vast population of India. “Huge congregations of devout men and women -listen day after day with eager attention to recitations of these old -national stories with their striking incidents of moral uplift and -inspiration; and a large portion of the people of India order their -lives upon the models supplied by those venerable epics.” - -The subjection of woman was accepted as a natural thing by the entire -West until very recent times. Woman was held in the eyes of the law -as no better than a slave, and she was considered useful in society -merely to serve and gratify man, her master. Truly, such a condition -forms a dark page in the history of the race. Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt, -in her foreword to Mill’s _Subjection of Women_, writes: - - - “In defense of these expressions [subjection and slavery used in - Mill’s essay] and the general character of the essay, it must be - said that the position of women in society at that time [1869] - was comparable to that of no other class except the slave. As - the slave took the name of his master so the woman upon marriage - gave up her own and took that of her husband. Like the slave, the - married woman was permitted to own no property; as, upon marriage, - her property real and personal, and all she acquired subsequently - by gift, will, or her own labour, was absolutely in her husband’s - control and subject to his debts. He could even will away her - marriage portion and leave her destitute. The earnings of the - slave belonged to the master, those of the wife to the husband. - Neither slave nor wife could make a legal contract, sue or be - sued, establish business, testify in court, nor sign a paper as a - witness. Both were said to be ‘dead in law’. - - “The children of the slave belonged to the master; those of the - wife to the husband. Not even after the death of the husband was - the wife a legal guardian of her own children, unless he made her - so by will. While living he could give them away, and at death - could will them as he pleased. He dictated the form of education - and religion that they should be taught, and if the parents - differed in religion, the wife was forced to teach the husband’s - faith. Like the slave, if the wife left her husband she could take - nothing with her, as she had no legal claim to her children, her - clothing, nor her most personal possessions. - - “The law in many lands gave husbands the right to whip their wives - and administer other punishments for disobedience, provided they - kept within certain legal restrictions. Within the memory of those - living in Mill’s day, wife-beating was a common offense in England - and America, husbands contending that they were well within their - ‘rights’, when so doing. - - “ ... Education, always considered the most certain sign of - individual advancement, was either forbidden or disapproved, for - women. No colleges and few high schools, except in the United - States, were open to women. Common schools were less usual for - girls than for boys and the number of totally illiterate women - vastly exceeded the number of illiterate men. Religion was - recommended to women as a natural solace and avenue of usefulness, - but they were not permitted to preach, teach, or pray in most - churches, and in many singing was likewise barred! The professions - and more skilled trades were closed to them.” - - -That such a state of things was ever tolerated in the advanced -countries of Europe and America seems to us of India incredible. But -it is, nevertheless, true. As in the case of other social laws, the -subjection of woman was the result of the fundamental ideals (or the -lack of ideals) which governed the western society of those times. Men -were still in that low state of development in which “Might was Right,” -and in which the law of superior strength was the rule of life. No -pretension was made to regulate the affairs of society according to any -moral law. The physical law which sanctioned traffic in human slaves, -at the same time sustained the bondage of the weaker sex. - -We now live in an age where the law of the strongest, in principle -at least, has been abandoned as the guiding maxim of life. It is -still very widely practised in individual as well as in national -relationships, but always under the guise of higher social and -cultural ends. The law of force as the avowed rule of general conduct -has given place to ideals of social equality, human brotherhood, and -international goodwill. How far such ideals are being actively followed -by the different peoples of the world remains to be determined; but -their profession as the symbol of good culture, at least, is universal. - -The emancipation of woman in the West is thus a very recent -achievement. Yet it is rightly considered by most thinkers the -greatest single step forward in the advancement of the human race. Its -tremendous importance in the future development of the race is realized -now by all classes of people over the entire world. In fact, the social -status of woman in any society is regarded by most people, and properly -so, as the test of its civilization. - -Through what hardships and dangers, privations and humiliations ran the -thorny and uphill path of the early leaders of the women’s suffrage -movement. The deeds of true nobility and heroic determination that -were performed by the pioneers of women’s emancipation are very little -known to the average man and woman of the present day. How numerous -and difficult were the obstacles placed in the way of these pioneers -by their brow-beating opponents, how bitter was the nature of their -persecutions, how mean and foul the character of the insults offered -them, and blind and obstinate the attitude of the governing class to -their simple demand for justice are little realized by those who enjoy -the legacy left by those liberators. - -The high idealism which inspired the movement of the militant -suffragettes in England is manifest in their every word and action. -Their methods of peaceful, silent, dignified, conscious and -courageous suffering, contrasted with the treacherous, cowardly, -shameful, unmanly, and brutal attacks of their opponents, have -received considerations of high merit from all sections of honest and -fair-minded men the world over. Virtuous women belonging to the highest -stations in life and possessing qualities of rare courage, purity, and -self-denial were attacked in the most cowardly fashion by bands of -strong-bodied hooligans, “felled to the ground, struck in the face, -frog-marched, and tossed hither and thither in a shameless manner.” -“The women speakers were assaulted with dead mice and flocks of live -mice, and flights of sparrows were let loose into their meetings. Paid -gangs of drunken men were dispatched to the women’s gatherings to sing -obscene songs, and drown the voices of the speakers with the rattle of -tin cans and the ringing of bells. Bands of suffragettes were attacked, -struck down unconscious, and driven out over wet roads covered with -carbide by gangs of Liberal volunteers. Suffragette leaders were -imprisoned in the jails of England in groups of hundreds at a time and -were meted out the fancy punishment of forcible feeding through a tube -inserted into the stomach, a process which causes intense and lingering -pain.”[4] This barbarous treatment excited at once the horror and -indignation of the whole civilized world. Yet all these brutalities -were carried on under the very nose, in fact, at the direction of the -full-fledged Liberal members of the British cabinet. - -At a campaign meeting held in Swansea where the suffragettes attempted -to ask Mr. Lloyd-George questions regarding his attitude on the problem -of woman franchise, he is reported as having used such language as, -“sorry specimens of womanhood,” “I think a gag ought to be tried,” -“By and by we shall have to order sacks for them, and the first -to interrupt shall disappear,” “fling them ruthlessly out,” and, -“frog-march them.” At another meeting held in Manchester, February -4th, 1906, where Mr. Winston Churchill spoke, on asking a very simple -question, the fourteen year old daughter of Mrs. Pankhurst, Adela, was -savagely attacked, thrown down, and kicked by several men. - -The unwholesome and bitter experiences of the peaceful and gentle -suffragettes at the two election campaigns in May, 1907, are described -by Miss Sylvie E. Pankhurst as follows: - - - “After these stormy meetings the police and hosts of sympathisers - always escorted us home to protect us from the rowdies. Just as - we reached our door there was generally a little scuffle with a - band of youths who waited there to pelt us with sand and gravel as - we passed.... At Uppingham, the second largest town, the hostile - element was smaller than at Oakham, but its methods were more - dangerous. While Mary Gawthorpe was holding an open-air meeting - there one evening, a crowd of noisy youths began to throw up - peppermint ‘bull’s eyes’ and other hard-boiled sweets. ‘Sweets - to the sweet,’ said little Mary, smiling, and continued her - argument, but a pot-egg, thrown from the crowd behind, struck her - on the head and she fell unconscious....” - - -This is what happened on October 16th, 1909, at an open-air gathering -near Dundee, where Mr. Winston Churchill was to speak: - - - “ ... Standing in the road were some thirty or forty men, all - wearing the yellow rosettes of official Liberal stewards, and as - the car (containing four prominent suffragettes) slowed, they - rushed furiously towards it, shouting and tearing up sods from the - road and pelting the women with them. One man pulled out a knife - and began to cut the tires, whilst the others feverishly pulled - the loose pieces off with their fingers. The suffragettes tried to - quiet them with a few words of explanation, but their only reply - was to pull the hood of the motor over the women’s heads and then - to beat it and batter it until it was broken in several places. - Then they tore at the women’s clothes and tried to pull them out - of the car, whilst the son of the gentleman in whose ground the - meeting was being held drove up in another motor and threw a - shower of pepper in the women’s eyes.... The only excuse for the - stewards who took part in this extraordinary occurrence is that - many of them were intoxicated.”[5] - - -And the most pitiful part of the business was that such conduct seemed -to be regarded by its perpetrators as engaging pieces of gallantry. - -While a recitation of these incidents might be continued indefinitely, -one more will suffice to show with what contempt and dishonor the -western world has treated its women. On August 2, 1909, a great -Liberal fete was held at Canford Park, near Poole in Dorsetshire. There -were sports and games and Mr. Churchill was to deliver an address on -the budget. Annie Kenney with three companions attended the fete, and -the story of what took place is best told in her own words. She says: - - - “As we entered the Park together we saw two very young girls being - dragged about by a crowd of Liberal men, some of whom were old - enough to be their fathers. They had thrown a pig net over them, - and had pulled down their hair. We heard afterward that these - girls came from a village near by, but the Liberals suspected them - to be Suffragettes and ordered them out of the Park. ..., but they - were crowded round us and the language they used is not fit for - print.... They were calling out to each other to get hold of me - and throw me into the pond which was very near ..., but as soon - as my back was turned they started dragging me about in a most - shameful way. One man who was wearing the Liberal colours pulled a - knife out of his pocket, and to the delight of the other staunch - Liberals, started cutting my coat. They cut it into shreds right - from the neck downwards. Then they lifted up my coat and started - to cut my frock and one of them lifted up my frock and cut my - petticoat. This caused great excitement. A cry came from those - Liberals, who are supposed to have high ideas in public life, to - undress me. They took off my hat and pulled down my hair, but I - turned round upon them and said that it would be their shame and - not mine. They stopped then for a minute, and then two men, also - wearing the Liberal colours, got hold of me and lifted me up and - afterwards dragged me along, not giving me an opportunity to walk - out in a decent way.”[6] - - -The heroism and rare genius of Mrs. E. Pankhurst and her associates -in the suffragette movement will be acknowledged by their friends and -foes alike. Through their sufferings they have bequeathed to women of -the western world the priceless heritage of Freedom, and thus pushed -the progress of the human race a long step forward. Mrs. Pankhurst -possessed, undoubtedly, a firm character, a lofty mind, a generous -heart, strong and vigorous good sense. We shall call the emancipator -of English womanhood a great woman, using that word not as a cheap, -unmeaning title but as conveying three essential elements of greatness, -namely, unselfishness, honesty, and boldness. She who sacrificed -everything for the voice of justice and submitted herself and her three -young daughters to cruel indignities and hardships of jail life for -the sake of her fellow creatures was an unselfish, an honest, a bold -woman,--was a great woman--in the best sense of the word. And at this -distant time as a proof of our honest affection and admiration for her -goodness and virtue, we can afford to express a feeling of mingled -sorrow and joy at her prolonged sufferings and final success. - -In India, on the contrary, in the development of their wonderful -civilization men and women have played an equal part. The two sexes -have worked side by side in every branch of their spiritual endeavor, -and women have attained the same eminence as men in higher learning. -The Vedic hymns mention both men and women as divine revealers of Truth -and as spiritual instructors of mankind. In fact, The Rig Veda, the -earliest scriptural record of the world, contains hymns revealed by -women; and the Hindu god, Indra, is described as being initiated into -the knowledge of the Universal Spirit by the woman Aditi. Furthermore, -the Upnishads, the philosophical portion of the Veda, frequently -mention the names of women who discoursed on philosophical topics -with the most learned men philosophers of the times. Women scholars -were often appointed arbitrators and umpires in important philosophic -debates, and the names of the two women philosophers, Gargi and -Maitreyi, are familiar to all students of Hindu philosophy. In other -words, the paths of intellectual culture were equally open to men and -women, under exactly similar circumstances. In fact, the very spirit of -such equality is inculcated in the minds of the people from both their -law and their religion that made no distinction between the sexes in -the award of honors for merit. The law-givers of India, taking their -lessons from the Vedas, established the fundamental equality of man and -woman by defining the relation of the sexes thus: - - - “Before the creation of this phenomenal universe, the first born - Lord of all creatures divided his own self into two halves, so - that one half should be male and the other half female.” - - -Not only in the direction of scholarly pursuits, but in the -practical business affairs of the world also, the women of India -have distinguished themselves eminently as legislators, ministers, -commercial leaders, and military commanders. Men, women, and children -throughout India are familiar with the story of Queen Chand Bibi, who -defended Ahmedanagar during the long siege by the Grand Moghul; poets -also have sung of her valor and administrative wisdom. Another instance -of the recognition of the ability of women is the story of Nur Jahan -(Light of the Universe), the beautiful queen of the Moghul Emperor, -Jahangir, who guided the affairs of her husband’s vast territories -in a highly efficient manner for a period of nearly ten years. -Further, and well known to all students of history, is the story of -Mumtaz-i-Mahal, Emperor Shah Jahan’s consort, who assisted him in his -works of administration and in the construction of the famous buildings -of his period. This woman, described as a person of unexampled -dignity, delicacy, and charm, during her life-time was the “light of -his eyes,” and after death the perpetual source of inspiration to the -bereaved Emperor. On her death-bed, Mumtaz, the beloved companion of -his life’s happy days and mother of his six children, asked of Shah -Jahan that a memorial befitting a queen be placed over her grave. In -compliance with this request, and as a token of his unceasing love for -the deceased queen, the Emperor constructed on her grave the famous -Taj Mahal--a monument which by its beauty has made immortal the love -it commemorates. The most beautiful building in the world stands as a -memorial to man’s love for his wife--an unconquerable love, unbroken -and unsatisfied. Says Sir Edwin Arnold: - - - “He has immortalised--if he could not preserve alive for one brief - day--his peerless wife.... Admiration, delight, astonishment blent - in the absorbed thought with a feeling that human affection never - struggled more ardently, passionately and triumphantly against the - Oblivion of Death. There is one sustained, harmonious, majestic - sorrowfulness of pride in it, from the verse on the entrance - which says that ‘the pure of heart shall enter the Gardens - of God’, to the small, delicate letters of sculptured Arabic - upon the tombstone which tell, with a refined humility, that - Mumtaz-i-Mahal, the ‘Exalted of the Palace’, lies here, and that - ‘Allah alone is powerful.’”[7] - - -The heroic command of her own forces by the Rani (Queen) of Jhansi -during the Indian War of Independence in 1857 is a familiar and more -recent example of a woman entering into practical affairs. Clad in a -man’s uniform, she rode at the head of her troops, and died a brave -and patriotic death in the battlefield. The name of Rani Jhansi is -mentioned among the renowned heroes of the country, and as a special -tribute to her loving memory her picture in a general’s uniform is -kept in many homes. Indian society is not opposed to the active -participation of its women in the higher affairs of their national -life. If the positive declarations of a group of western critics to -the contrary were true, the action of Rani Jhansi would be condemned -instead of being so universally applauded as it is now by even the most -orthodox of old Hindu ladies. - -Throughout the long history of India, then, women have not been -hampered by any man-made restrictions from serving in the country’s -religious life, from fighting on its battlefields, and from holding -power in its councils. In the present generation we find women again -taking an active and important part in the affairs of the country. -They have the fullest freedom for self-expression, of which they -seem to have availed themselves in a highly creditable and fitting -manner, without sacrificing the admiration and respect of the men. In -times of their country’s need they have given proofs of patriotism -by self-sacrifice which speaks the language of love and devotion to -motherland. With a voluntary desire to coöperate, the men of India have -given to the women of the country a large share in its councils, and -have invited them to their national conferences of importance. In the -inner and more weighty deliberations of its leaders their influence is -evident, and on all occasions of national demonstration the women of -India are represented. - -Shrimati Lajiavati--a frail, delicate figure, but a beautiful model of -womanly courage and dignity--has won for herself in the Punjab a place -which is closely akin to worship. She founded, and is now managing as -its principal, the Arya Samaj Kanya Mahavidyala (girls’ school) in -Jallundhar City, Punjab. Another example of India’s modern women, who -stands high in her countrymen’s esteem, is Shrimati Ramabai Ranade. -Her work as the secretary of Seva Sadhan, a society for social service -work among the women of the country, has been amply recognized. During -the debate over the women’s suffrage bill in the Bombay Legislative -Council, one honorable member remarked amid the greatest applause of -the season: “There is no Council which would not be honored, graced, -and helped by the presence of such a woman as one who is known to us -all, Mrs. Ramabai Ranade.” Mrs. Margaret E. Cousins, describing her -interview with Mrs. Ranade, says: - - - “I asked her, ‘What do you think of the future of women in India?’ - ‘It is full of hope and promise’, she replied, and in doing so - spontaneously took my hand and pressed it. It touches a Westerner - when her Eastern sister does that. It bridges gulfs and knits the - human sisterhood together. Like Mirabai of the poet’s intuition she - - - _Wears little hands_ - _Such as God makes to hold big destinies._ - - - “Her hands revealed her soul, for in their touch was soft - sweetness and strong vitality which still inspire me, and which - promise the blessing of her remarkable powers of service to - humanity for years to come.”[8] - - -Where is the Indian whose heart does not beat with joy at the mention -of Mrs. Sarojini Naidu? Who does not remember with feelings of proud -exultation the name of this beloved and revered sister--she who is the -symbol of patriotism and a flower of womanly beauty and culture, from -whose elevated soul radiate grace, charm, and affection, and who is -the object of her countrymen’s adoration? In 1925, in recognition of -her manifold virtues, the people of India exalted her to the highest -position at their command; she was unanimously elected President of the -Indian National Congress.[9] _In the entire history of mankind no woman -has been more highly honored by her countrymen than has Mrs. Sarojini -Naidu._ Read her poems and you will find the heart of a woman forever -seeking the satisfaction of hungry love: - - - “_Hide me in a shrine of roses,_ - _Drown me in a wine of roses,_ - _Drawn from every fragrant grove!_” - - -Listen to her musical eloquence on the nationalist platform of India, -and you will hear the cry of a patriot’s heart groaning under the load -of its country’s humiliation from the merciless foreign yoke. - - - “Our arts have degenerated, our literatures are dead, our - beautiful industries have perished, our valor is done, our fires - are dim, our soul is sinking.” - - -A more striking proof of the confidence and respect which the men of -India bear towards their women was given during the debates on women’s -suffrage bills in the provincial legislative councils of the country. -The Southborough Franchise Committee, which was formed to study the -general conditions in the country with a view to granting the franchise -to the people of India, in its report to the British Government of -India (1919) had expressed its decision against granting the franchise -to Indian women. This decision was upheld by the British Government -of India in the statement, “In the present conditions of India we -agree with them [the Southborough Committee] that it is not practical -to open the franchise to women.” To this decision of the Government -Sir C. Sankaran Nair, the Indian member of the Executive Council, -entered a strong protest, based on the strength of the evidence which -was presented before the Southborough Committee in favor of granting -franchise to women. His contention, furthermore, was upheld by the -resolution passed at two successive sessions of the Indian National -Congress (Calcutta 1917 and Delhi 1918). This resolution expressed in -an unequivocal manner the opinion of the Indian nation on the important -question of woman franchise as follows: - - - “Women possessing the same qualifications as are laid down in any - part of the [Reform] Scheme shall not be disqualified on account - of sex.” - - -A tremendous agitation was staged in India after the publication of the -dispatch of the Government of India, unfavorable to women’s rights. As -a result of this agitation a provision was made whereby the provincial -legislatures were given the power to admit or exclude women from -franchise at their individual options. True to their traditions and -following the teaching of their ancient as well as their modern seers -the majority of the provinces have already granted the franchise to -women on the same basis as to men. This experience is unequalled in the -entire history of mankind. Everywhere else where the women enjoy any -rights to vote or possess property, they have had to fight a battle -involving prolonged hardships and outrageous indignities imposed upon -them by the indignant and oftentimes barbarous ruling sex. India is -the only civilized country of the world in which women in modern times -have been granted franchise on an equality with men without a single -demonstration of insult or disrespect directed against its aspiring -womanhood. If for no other reason, the respect which the people of -India have shown to the desire of their women for the franchise, -should entitle them to a high place in the scale of civilization. - -Mrs. Margaret E. Cousins is an international figure in the woman’s -suffrage movement, in which cause she has suffered imprisonments -in both Ireland and England. She is also the founder and Honorary -Secretary of the Women’s Indian Association with its fifty branches -spread over the country, and has lived for twelve years among the women -of India with relations of intimate friendship. Mrs. Cousins is not in -any sense of the word addicted to indiscriminate flattery, but she says: - - - “Turning then to India one finds that though the percentage - of education is appallingly low, the tradition of Indian law - leaves women very free to take any position for which they show - themselves capable. No Indian political organisations were at any - time closed to women. Women have at every stage of Indian history - taken high positions in their country’s public service. Springing - from their religious philosophy there is fundamentally a belief - in sex equality, and this shows itself when critical periods - demand it. This has been clearly shown during the movement of the - past ten years for self-government. Women have had their share - in all the local Conferences and in the National Congress. No - one who was present can easily forget the sight of the platform - at the Calcutta Congress of 1917 when three women leaders, Mrs. - Annie Besant, President of the Congress, Mrs. Sarojini Naidu, - representative of the Hindu women, and Bibi Ammam, mother of the - Ali brothers and representative of the Muslim women, sat side by - side, peeresses of such men leaders (also present) as Tilak, - Gandhi and Tagore, and receiving equal honor with them.”[10] - - -As a distinct contribution towards the solution of the world’s social -problems, the _East Indians_, by allowing woman the exercise of her -own free will and the entire responsibility of all her actions, have -established the fact that a woman left completely to herself with -opportunity to develop freely her instincts and faculties, may equal -man in reason, wisdom, and uprightness, and may surpass him in delicacy -and dignity. - -The Hindu religion has always stood for the absolute equality of woman -with man. In matters religious as well as secular the Hindu woman has -been considered the equal of man before the law since the origin of -the Hindu nation. The admission of women into American universities -began only in recent times, while her partial equality in the sight -of law, not yet quite complete, is less than twenty years old. But in -India women have enjoyed such rights and many more since the beginning -of its recorded history. To the western readers who have been very -injudiciously fed upon missionaries’ tales about India, with their -colorful pictures of the brutality of the heathen towards his women -folk, this statement may seem incredible. But it is an undisputed fact -of history that since the beginning of Hindu law, woman in India has -held more legal rights to acquire knowledge, to hold office, and to -possess property than her sisters in America are having today. She -was never barred from the national institutions of higher learning -because of sex, and in the development of her intellectual, moral, and -spiritual qualities she was not hampered by any social or religious -laws whatsoever. She has stood before law as an exact equal of man -with the same rights to possess property, the same rights to go -before courts of justice and to ask the protection of law. The system -of coeducation prevailed in the ancient universities of Nalanda and -Takhshashila. It is a familiar fact known to all western scholars that -_Sakuntala_, the heroine in Kalidasa’s drama of that name, pleaded her -own case before the court of King Dushyanta. Indian women have fought -on battlefields alongside of men, have taken leading parts in their -historic and philosophic debates, have revealed spiritual truths for -the _Vedas_, and have received, as personifications of the Deity, the -worship from adoring millions. Above all else, the Indian women have -ruled over the hearts of their husbands and children throughout the -ages with a power that is born exclusively of purity in character, and -the spirit of self-sacrifice and love. They have held their dignity -with a poise which does the female sex a great credit. - -Does Hindu religion sanction, then, the bondage of woman, and is -wife-beating permitted in Indian society? Is the Hindu wife considered -merely as an instrument of pleasure, and is her whole ambition in life -to be a passive and obedient servant of the husband? - -The maxims which guide the conduct of Hindu society were laid down by -the great Law-giver Manu, in the year 200 B. C. He says: - - - “Where female relations live in grief, the family soon perishes; - but that family where they are not unhappy ever prospers.” - - “A woman’s body must not be struck hard, even with a flower, - because it is sacred.” - - -That a nation which regularly listens to readings from epic poems of -Ramayana and Mahabharata morning and night on every day of the year, -and on whose lips the praises of Sita, the ideal wife (heroine in -Ramayana), dance forever, should be carried away by the desire of -ill-treating its womankind, as is actually believed by most westerners, -is simply inconceivable. Sita’s equal as a model of womanly chastity, -uprightness, kindness, and devotion has not been known in the history -of mankind. The story of her exile with her husband, King Rama, her -fidelity, and her spirituality is known to every child born in India; -while her character is set as an example before all Hindu women in the -country. With such ideals as these constantly before their minds, and -the moral influence of the peaceful, chaste family life always around -them, women of any nation will develop within themselves a power which -it will be impossible for any group of men, however foul and vicious, -to resist. And it must be remembered that the men of India, slow as -they are in catching the militaristic spirit of the competitive western -life, are to an exceptional degree spiritual and religious in their -general behavior. Sir Monier-Williams says: - - - “Religion of some kind enters largely into their [East Indian] - everyday life. Nay, it may even be said that religious ideas and - aspirations--religious hopes and fears--are interwoven with the - whole texture of their mental constitution. A clergyman, who has - resided nearly all his life in India, once remarked to me that - he had seen many a poor Indian villager whose childlike trust in - his god, and in the efficacy of his religious observances--whose - simplicity of character and practical application of his creed, - put us Christians to shame.”[11] - - -And again, in describing the general character of the Hindu women and -their family life, he writes: - - - “Hindu women must be allowed full credit for their strict - discharge of household duties, for their personal cleanliness, - thrift, activity, and practical fidelity to the doctrines and - precepts of their religion. They are generally loved by their - husbands, and are never brutally treated. A wife-beater drunkard - is unknown in India. In return, Indian wives and mothers are - devoted to their families. I have often seen wives in the act of - circumambulating the sacred _Tulsi_ plant 108 times, with the sole - object of bringing down a blessing on their husband and children. - In no other country in the world are family affection and - reverence for parents so conspicuously operative as in India. In - many households the first morning duty of a child on rising from - sleep is to lay his head on his mother’s feet in token of filial - obedience. Nor could there be a greater mistake than to suppose - that Indian women are without influence.”[12] - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] Max Müller--_What India Can Teach Us_. - -[2] Sir Monier-Williams--_Modern India and the Indians_, page 353. - -[3] Oman--_The Great Indian Epics_. - -[4] E. Sylvie Pankhurst. - -[5] E. Sylvie Pankhurst--_The Suffragette_, page 451. - -[6] E. Sylvie Pankhurst--_The Suffragette_, page 413. - -[7] Sir Edwin Arnold--_India Revisited_, page 211. - -[8] Margaret E. Cousins--_The Awakening of Asian Womanhood_, page 114. - -[9] The Indian National Congress is the largest representative body of -the Indian nation, with its ramifications spread throughout the country -consisting of thousands of branches. Its meetings are held annually in -different parts of the country. - -[10] _Awakening of Asian Womanhood_, page 9. - -[11] Sir Monier-Williams--_Modern India and the Indians_, page 54. - -[12] Sir Monier-Williams--_Modern India and the Indians_, page 318. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE HINDU IDEAL OF MARRIAGE - - -Irresponsible writers have discussed the marriage system of India in so -irrational and inaccurate a manner that the name _India_ has become, -in the mind of the westerner, synonymous with child marriage. These -writers have tried to show that child marriage is the result of a law -of the Hindu religion, which, according to them, strictly enjoins the -parents to enforce the marriage of their daughters at a tender age -under penalty of heavenly vengeance. They say that the law enjoins that -girls shall be married before the age of puberty, and, as a result, -the majority of Hindu girls become mothers nine months after reaching -puberty. One such writer[13] picks a few lines from the Hindu poet -Tagore’s essay in Keyserling’s _Book of Marriage_, and, mutilating its -text by clever omissions, misquotes it to prove the poet a defender of -child marriage. This unholy attempt of the author to misrepresent the -noted poet and philosopher deserves strong censure. In this chapter we -shall discuss the facts about marriage in India and its allied subject -of child marriage. - -The Hindu religion strictly forbids child marriage. The following -quotation from the Rig Veda explains the ideal of marriage: - - - “Woman is to be man’s comrade in life, his _Sakhi_, with the - same range of knowledge and interests, mature in body, mind and - understanding, able to enter into a purposeful union on equal - terms with a man of equal status, as life partner, of her own free - choice, both dedicating their lifework as service to the divine - Lord of the Universe, both ready to fulfil the purpose of married - life from the day of marriage onward.”[14] - - -The western method of marriage through courtship is, however, not the -rule in India. Though the courtship method is being widely copied among -the educated classes in the country, the prevailing custom of marriage -is still through the choice of parents. In earlier times marriage -by the _Svayambara_ system, in which the maiden freely selected her -future mate from a group of suitors, was commonly practised. This -practice was discontinued, however, with the invasion of India by the -foreigners because of the desire of the Indians to keep the pure Aryan -stock uncontaminated by foreign blood. Since that time the boys and -girls are mated through the choice of their parents. This custom may be -defended on wide social and eugenic grounds. The contention is that the -complete dominance of sentiment and individual desire in the courtship -method of marriage, is harmful to social discipline, and is, as a rule, -detrimental to the race. Marriage is a sacred bond and must be based -on an ideal of the spiritual union of the souls, and not on the lower -desires for sense pleasures. - -In order to enable the reader to understand fully the principles -underlying Hindu marriage it will be necessary to acquaint him with -the fundamental characteristics which form the basis of the social -structure of group life in India. One distinctive feature in the study -of India is the collective character of its communal life. Hindu -society was established on a basis of group morality. Society was -divided into different classes or communities; “and while no absolute -ethical code was held binding on all classes alike, yet within a given -class (or caste) the freedom of the individual must be subordinated -to the interest of the group. The concept of duty was paramount.”[15] -Social purpose must be served first, and the social order was placed -before the happiness of the individual, whether man or woman. - -In India the origin of marriage did not lie in passion. Marriage was -entered into, not to satisfy desire on the part of either man or -woman, but to fulfill a purpose in life. It was the duty of every -individual during life to marry and propagate for the continuation of -the race. His marital union did not depend upon the caprice of his -will; it was required of him as a social obligation. No individual’s -life was considered complete without an offspring. To both man and -woman marriage was the most conclusive of all incidents in life; it was -the fulfillment of one’s whole being. Marriage was not sought as the -satisfaction of human feelings but as “the fulfilment of a ritual duty -to the family in its relation to the Divine Spirit.” “The happiness -and fruition of family life were sought not in the tumults of passion, -but in the calm and ordered affection of a disciplined and worshipful -pair.” That strong sexual passion which has been so beautifully -sanctified by the grace of poetry and hallowed by the name of romantic -love, and which is the source of immense force and power in many a -young life in the West, is called by the Hindu idealist “an earthly -desire and an illusion.” - -Love as an expression of sentiment is transitory. People who once -fall in love may after some time and for similar reasons fall out of -love. Hence if the ideal basis for the union of the sexes is to be -mutual passion, an arrangement must be provided so that simultaneously -with a break in the fascination on either side, the marriage between -the parties shall come to an end. Yet under the existing conditions -over the entire civilized world it would not be possible to make the -marriage laws as lax as that. So long as such an arrangement remains -untried, and so long as there is any truth in the statement that human -hearts are to a high degree fickle, it must follow that successful -marriages should have other sources of lasting satisfaction than -romantic love. On observation, we find that most marriages, which were -entered into on the strict principle of mutual love, hold together from -habit, from considerations of prudence, and from duty towards children -long after lovers’ joy has totally disappeared from the lives of the -couple. The glimmer of first love very soon fades into nothingness. -Closer acquaintance brings to light faults which the lover’s eyes in -days of romance had stubbornly refused to see. Unless the parties -are possessed of sensitive souls, unless after a serious search for -a foothold they find a basis of common interest and common hobbies, -and unless their mutuality of temperament is found adequate for -friendship, there is left for their future relationships no happiness. -Why, then, excite one’s imagination in the beginning, and permit -oneself to be deluded by such obviously foolish hopes? - -The Hindu system of marriage reverses these considerations. There, -marriage is a form of vocation, a fulfillment of a social duty, it is -not the enjoyment of individual rights. In its ethics, designed for -the communal basis of life, individual desire and pleasures must be -subordinated to the interest of group morality. “Thus the social order -is placed before the happiness of the individual, whether man or woman. -This is the explanation of the greater peace which distinguishes the -arranged marriage of the East from the self-chosen marriage of the -West; where there is no deception there can be no disappointment.”[16] - -In this manner the champions of the system justify the Indian method of -marriage, in which marriages are arranged by the parents or relatives. -But, however ably its partisans may defend the old system, and in -whatever glowing colors they may exhibit its spiritual values, it -must go sooner or later. With changing times the ideals that govern -Indian society have changed also. Men and women of the present day are -demanding their individual freedom after the fashion of their brothers -and sisters in the West. Rightly or wrongly, they feel a desire to -express themselves according to the spontaneous dictates of the -heart. Simultaneously with the industrialization of the country the -restraints put upon the individual from outside through the medium of -social and religious laws are fast disappearing. The younger generation -of the Indian nation appears more concerned for rights than for duties. - -Those who care may lament over the past, but we shall welcome the -change with joy, because it brings new light and new hope into the -stereotyped and set system of Indian life. Marriage in human society is -after all nothing but a plunge into the unknown ocean of the future. -Its ultimate outcome alone can tell whether the entrants were destined -to sink or swim.[17] Marriage has been a lottery in the past, and it -will remain so in the future, unless our lives are so modulated as -to give to the forces of the spirit a larger and a freer scope. It -is impious blasphemy to seek to stifle the celestial senses, instead -of guiding and harmonizing them. It is hoped, however, that in their -new role as imitators of the West, men of India will not change their -attitude of tenderness, confidence, respect, and delicacy towards the -female sex; and that the women of India will retain the calmness and -dignity of their attitude, the self-respect and poise of their inner -life. - -All classes in India idolize motherhood. Among no people in the world -are mothers more loved, honored, and obeyed than among Indians. It -might be interesting to point out that a pregnant woman in India -has nothing of which to be ashamed or which she wishes to hide. -She is considered auspicious and must be accorded high respect and -consideration. We sometimes believe that the East Indian’s high -good humor and calm in life are the fruits of the Indian mother’s -unusual cheer and hope during the period of pregnancy. How unlike -the attitude of the Indian is to the westerner’s silly notions of -beauty, fine shape, and grace wherein pregnancy is made an object of -more or less open ridicule. Would that the women of America and other -western countries would forsake their restlessness and nervousness and -learn from their humbler eastern sisters the art of possessing poise, -composure, and serenity! Would that they would imitate the eastern -mother’s delicate benevolence, generosity of heart, loftiness of mind, -and independence and pride of character! - -This subject of marriage is so important a matter to India that we -desire to elucidate still further the ideals underlying it. We shall -quote at length from Keyserling’s _Book of Marriage_ an essay by -Tagore, than whom no one is better fitted to speak. Says Tagore: - - - “Another way for the better understanding by the European of the - mentality underlying our marriage system would be by reference to - the discussions on eugenics which are a feature of modern Europe. - The science of eugenics, like all other sciences, attaches but - little weight to personal sentiment. According to it, selection by - personal inclination must be rigorously regulated for the sake of - the progeny. If the principle involved be once admitted, marriage - needs must be rescued from the control of the heart, and brought - under the province of the intellect; otherwise insoluble problems - will keep on arising, for passion recks not of consequences, nor - brooks interference by outside judges. - - “Here the question arises: If desire be banished from the very - threshold of marriage, how can love find any place in the wedded - life? Those who have no true acquaintance with our country, and - whose marriage system is entirely different, take it for granted - that the Hindu marriage is loveless. But do we not know of our own - knowledge how false is such a conclusion? - - “ ... Therefore, from their earliest years, the husband as an - idea is held up before our girls, in verse and poetry, through - ceremonial and worship. When at length they get this husband, he - is to them not a person but a principle, like loyalty, patriotism, - or such other abstractions which owe their immense strength to the - fact that the best part of them is our own creation and therefore - part of our own being.” - - -The poet then offers his own personal contribution to the discussion of -the marriage question generally and concludes thus: - - - “This _shakti_, this joy-giving power of woman as the beloved, has - up to now largely been dissipated by the greed of man, who has - sought to use it for the purposes of his individual enjoyment, - corrupting it, confining it, like his property, within jealously - guarded limit. That has also obstructed for woman herself her - inward realization of the full glory of her own _shakti_. Her - personality has been insulted at every turn by being made to - display its power of delectation within a circumscribed arena. It - is because she has not found her true place in the great world - that she sometimes tries to capture man’s special estate as a - desperate means of coming into her own. But it is not by coming - out of her home that woman can gain her liberty. Her liberation - can only be effected in a society where her true _shakti_, her - _ananda_ (joy) is given the widest and highest scope for its - activity. Man has already achieved the means of self-expansion in - public activity without giving up his individual concerns. When, - likewise, any society shall be able to offer a larger field for - the creative work of woman’s special faculty, without detracting - from her creative work in the home, then in such society will the - true union of man and woman become possible. - - “The marriage system all over the world, from the earliest ages - till now, is a barrier in the way of such true union. That is why - woman’s _shakti_, in all existing societies, is so shamefully - wasted and corrupted. That is why in every country marriage is - still more or less of a prison-house for the confinement of - women--with all its guards wearing the badge of the dominant male. - That is why man, by dint of his efforts to bind woman, has made - her the strongest of fetters for his own bondage. That is why - woman is debarred from adding to the spiritual wealth of society - by the perfection of her own nature, and all human societies are - weighed down with the burden of the resulting poverty. - - “The civilization of man has not, up to now, loyally recognized - the reign of the spirit. Therefore the married state is still one - of the most fruitful sources of the unhappiness and downfall of - man, of his disgrace and humiliation. But those who believe that - society is a manifestation of the spirit will assuredly not rest - in their endeavors till they have rescued human marriage relations - from outrage by the brute forces of society--till they have - thereby given free play to the force of love in all the concerns - of humanity.” - - -Such is the Hindu poet’s explanation of the ideals underlying the -institution of marriage in the communal society of the Hindus. One -feels through his closing lines the poet’s sorrow at the sight of -the misery caused by a wrong conception of marriage throughout the -civilized world. The poet cherishes, however, the fond hope that a day -of the reign of spirit will dawn over the world, when mankind will -recognize the necessity of giving to the forces of love a free play in -the wide concerns of life. - -Marriage in India involves two separate ceremonies. The first ceremony -is the more elaborate, and judging from the permanent character of its -obligations, the more important. It is performed amid much festivity -and show. The bridal party, consisting of the bridegroom with his chief -relatives and friends, goes to the bride’s home in an elaborate musical -procession. There the party is handsomely feasted as guests of the -bride for one or more days, according to the means of the host. The -groom furnishes the entertainment, which consists of music, acrobatic -dancing, jugglers’ tricks, fireworks, and so forth. The day is spent -in simple outdoor amusements like hunting, horseback riding, swimming, -or gymnastic plays, the nature of the sport depending upon the -surroundings. In the evening, by the light of the fireworks, and in the -midst of a large crowd of near relatives and spectators, the ceremony -of the “union,” namely, the spiritual unification of the near relatives -of the bride and the bridegroom, is staged in a highly picturesque -manner. In order of their relation to the bride and groom--father of -the bride with the father of the bridegroom, first uncle of the one -with the first uncle of the other, and so forth--the near relatives -of the future couple embrace each other and exchange head-dresses as -a symbol of eternal friendship. Each such pledge of friendship is -beautifully harmonized with a song and a blessing from the daughters -of the village. Later in the evening, the girls lead the guests to the -bridal feast, singing in chorus on their march the “Welcome Home.” - -Marriage in the Indian home is thus an occasion of great rejoicing. -The atmosphere that prevails throughout the entire ceremony is one of -extreme wholesomeness and joy. Nothing could surpass the loveliness -and charm that surrounds the evening march to the bridal feast. The -pretty maidens of the village, who are conscious of their dignity as -personifications of the Deity and are inspired with a devoted love for -their sister bride, come in their gay festival dresses, with mingled -feelings of pride and modesty, to lead the procession with a song; -their eyes moistened with slowly gathering tears of deep and chaste -emotion, and their faces wrapped in ever changing blushes, give to -the whole picture a distinctive flavor of an inspiring nature. On the -following morning the couple are united in marriage by the officiating -priest, who reads from the scriptures while the husband and wife pace -together the seven steps. The vow of equal comradeship which is taken -by both the husband and the wife on this occasion reads thus: - - - “Become thou my partner, as thou hast paced all the seven steps - with me.... Apart from thee I cannot live. Apart from me do thou - not live. We shall live together; we each shall be an object - of love to the other; we shall be a source of joy each unto the - other; with mutual goodwill shall we live together.”[18] - - -The marriage ceremony being over, the bridal party departs with the -bride for the bridegroom’s home. On this first trip the bride is -accompanied by a maid, and the two return home together after an -overnight’s stay. The bride then remains at her parental home until -the performance of the second ceremony. The interval between the two -ceremonies varies from a few days to several years, depending mainly -upon the ages of the married couple and the husband’s ability to -support a home. - -This dual ceremonial has been the cause of a great deal of confusion -in the western mind. To all appearances the first ceremony is the -more important as it is termed marriage. After it the bride begins to -dress and behave like a married woman, but the couple do not begin -to live together until the second ceremony has also been performed, -and these two acts may be separated from each other by a considerably -long period. In other words the so-called marriage of the Hindu girl -is nothing but “an indefeasible betrothal in the western sense.” The -custom of early marriage (or betrothal, to be more exact) has existed -in some parts of the country from earlier times, but it became more -common during the period of the Mohammedan invasions into India. These -foreign invaders were in the habit of forcibly converting to Islam -the beautiful Hindu maidens, whom they later married. But no devout -Mohammedan ever injures or thinks evil towards a married woman. His -religion strictly forbids such practice. Thus, to safeguard the honor -of their young daughters the Hindus adopted this custom of early -marriage. - -The girl’s marriage, however, makes no change in her life. She -continues to live with her parents as before, and is there taught under -her mother’s supervision the elementary duties of a household. She is -instructed at the same time in other matters concerning a woman’s life. -When she becomes of an age to take upon herself the responsibilities of -married life, the second marriage ceremony is finished and she departs -for her new home. - -It is true that the standard of education among East Indian women as -compared with that of other countries is appallingly low. We shall -leave the discussion of the various political factors which have -contributed to this deplorable state of things for a later chapter. -For the present it will be sufficient to point out that even though -the Indian girl is illiterate and unable to read and write, she is not -uninstructed or uninformed in the proper sense of the word education. - -She knows how to cook, to sew, to embroider, and to do every other kind -of household work. She is fully informed concerning matters of hygiene -and sex. In matters intellectual her mind is developed to the extent -that “she understands thoroughly the various tenets of her religion and -is quite familiar with Hindu legends and the subject matter in the epic -literature of India.” - -My mother was the daughter of a village carpenter. She was brought up -in the village under the exclusive guidance of her mother and did -not have any school education. Mother, in her turn, has reared seven -children who have all grown to be perfectly healthy and normal boys and -girls. Even though we could easily afford a family doctor, we never had -one. Mother seemed to know so much about hygienic and medical science -that she did not need a doctor. Her little knowledge she had acquired -from her own mother; it consisted of a few simple rules, which she -observed very faithfully. As little children, we were required to clean -our teeth with a fresh twig, to be individually chewed into a brush, -every morning before breakfast, and to wash the mouth thoroughly with -water after each meal. For the morning teeth cleaning we were supplied -with twigs from a special kind of tree which leaves in the mouth a -very pleasant taste and contains juices of a beneficial nature. Also, -chewing a small twig every morning gives good exercise to the teeth and -furnishes the advantage of a new brush each time. We were told that -dirty teeth were unmannerly and hurt a person’s eyesight and general -heath. A cold water bath once a day and washing of both hands before -and after each meal were other fundamental requirements. - -For every kind of family sickness, whether it was a headache, a -fever, a cold in the head, or a bad cough, the prescription was -always the same. A mixture of simple herbs was boiled in water and -given to the patient for drinking. Its only effect was a motion of -the bowels. It was not a purgative, but had very mild and wholesome -laxative properties without any after reactions. Fasting during -sickness was highly recommended. In nearly every month occurred -some special festival day on which the whole family fasted. This -fast had a purifying effect on the systems of growing children. As -another precautionary measure, my mother prepared for the children, -every winter, a special kind of preserve from a bitter variety of -black beans, which is supposed to possess powerful blood-purifying -properties. With the exception of quinine during malarial epidemics, we -were never given any drugs whatsoever. These simple medicines, combined -with a fresh vegetable diet for every day in the year, constituted my -mother’s only safeguards against family sickness. And from my knowledge -I know that her system worked miraculously well. - -During pregnancy it is customary to surround the young girl with every -precaution. She returns to her parental home in order to secure freedom -from sexual intercourse during that period. In the months before my -eldest sister bore her first child, I remember how she was instructed -not to permit herself to be excited in any way. Pictures of the ideal -wife, _Sita_, and of national heroes and heroines were hung all over -the house for my sister to look at and admire. She was freed from all -household responsibilities in order that she could devote her time to -reading good stories from the Hindu epics. Every kind of irritant, -like pepper and spices, was rigidly excluded from her diet, and after -the child was born she refrained from injudicious combinations of food -until the child was a year or more old. - -Every night at bedtime my mother had a new story to tell the children, -a story which she herself had heard at bedtime when she was young. -These stories were drawn from the great Hindu epics, and there was -always a useful maxim connected with them. The tale was told to bring -home to the growing children some moral maxim like truthfulness, -fidelity to a pledge once given, conjugal happiness, and respect for -parents. In this manner the children in the most ignorant homes become -familiar with the ethical teachings of their nation and with the -hypotheses underlying their respective religions. Almost everyone in -India down to the most ignorant countrywoman understands the subtle -meaning of such intricate Hindu doctrines as the laws of _Karma_, the -theory of reincarnation, and the philosophy of _Maya_. - -As was stated earlier in this chapter, much misinformation about the -so-called child marriage has been spread by ignorant missionaries, -and has been eagerly swallowed by most western readers. It may be -well to observe here that the two expressions “child marriage” and -“early marriage” are very widely apart in meaning. The psychological -impressions conveyed by the two expressions are distinctly different. -If the first ceremony of the Hindu marriage is to be taken as meaning -marriage, what is practised in India perhaps more than anywhere else -in the world is _early marriage_ and not child marriage. Even at that, -early marriage is essentially wrong in principle. Its usefulness in -earlier times, when it was first recommended by the Hindu lawgivers as -a necessary measure to preserve the communal life of the nation, cannot -be denied. - -Like many other laws of those times, it has outlived its usefulness, -and through the influence of many corruptions which have been added -to the practice during ages, it has become a curse to the country. -This fact is frankly admitted by the leaders of modern India. In the -writings and speeches of the most prominent among them the custom of -early marriage has been condemned as a “deadly vermin in Hindu social -life,” and a “ghastly form of injustice.” Beginning with the days of -the eminent Hindu reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the whole literature -of social and religious reform in India is full of loud and emphatic -denunciations of early marriage. - -As a result of the untiring, self-sacrificing efforts of Hindu -reformers a great measure of success has already been achieved. The -Hindu girl’s age of marriage has been steadily increasing during the -last fifty years. According to figures from the official Census Report -of India (1921) only 399 out of every 1000 girls were married at the -end of their fifteenth year. In other words, 60 per cent of Indian -girls remained unmarried at the beginning of their sixteenth year. -Moreover, in the official records of India every girl who has passed -through the first ceremony of her marriage is included in the married -class. If we allow a little further concession on account of the warmer -climate of India, which has the tendency to lower the age of maturity -in girls, we shall concede that the present conditions in India in -respect to early marriage are not strikingly different from those in -most European countries. At the same time it must not be forgotten that -in India sex life begins invariably after marriage, and never before -marriage. Those familiar with the conditions in the western countries -know that such is not always the rule there. - -One evening the writer was talking in rather favorable terms to a small -group of friends about the Hindu system of marriage. While several -nodded their habitual, matter-of-fact, courteous assent, one young -lady (Dorothy), a classmate and an intimate friend, suddenly said in -an impatient tone, “This is all very foolish. By using those sweet -expressions in connection with the Hindu family life you do not mean to -tell me that marriage between two strangers, who have never met in life -before, or known each other, can be ever happy or just. ‘Felicity,’ -‘peace,’ ‘harmony,’ ‘wedded love,’ ‘idealization of the husband’--this -is all bunk. That _you_ should approve the blindfold yoking together -for life of innocent children in indefeasible marriage, is outrageous. -The system is shocking; it is a sin against decency. It is war against -the most sacred of human instincts and emotions, and as such I shall -condemn it as criminal and uncivilized.” Yet the young lady was in no -sense of the word unsympathetic or unfriendly to India. She is, and has -always been, a great friend and admirer of India. - -Dorothy is not much of a thinker, but she is very liberal and likes to -be called a radical. You could discuss with her any subject whatsoever, -even Free Love and Birth Control, with perfect ease and lack of -restraint. She is twenty-five years of age and unmarried. She has been -“in love” several times, but for one reason or the other she has not -yet found her ideal man. She would not tell this to everybody, but to -one of her boy friends, “whose big blue eyes had poetic inspiration -in them,” and who seemed to be fine and good and true in every way, -better than the best she had ever met before, and whom she loved quite -genuinely, she had given herself completely on one occasion. This -happened during a week-end trip to the mountains, and was the first -and last of her sexual experience. She said it was the moral as well -as the physical feast of her life. Later she saw him flirting in a -doubtful manner with a coarse Spanish girl, which made him loathsome in -her eyes. Gradually her love for him began to dwindle, until it died -off completely, leaving behind, however, a deep mortal scar in her -spiritual nature. For a period, Dorothy thought she could never love -any man again, until she began to admire a young college instructor in -a mild fashion. He is, however, “so kind and intelligent and different -from the rest,” with a fine physique and handsome face--his powerful -forehead setting so beautifully against his thick curly hair--that she -calls magnificent. It matters little that he is married, because she -writes him the most enchanting letters. Dorothy’s love for the handsome -professor is platonic. She says it will exist forever, even though -she entertains no hope of ever marrying him. Yet while she talked -about her latest “ideal,” a stream of tears gathered slowly in her big -luminous eyes. They were the tears of hopeless resignation. Dorothy is -beautiful, and possesses rare grace and charm of both body and mind. -She is well situated in the business world, and is not in want of men -admirers. But yet she is unhappy, extremely unhappy. She has had the -freedom, but no training to make proper use of it. While she was still -in her early teens she started going on picnic parties with different -boys. Under the impulse of youthful passion she learned to kiss any -one and every one in an indiscriminate fashion. This destroyed the -sanctity of her own moral and spiritual nature, and also killed, at the -same time, her respect for the male sex. Sacredness of sex and respect -for man being thus destroyed in her early years, she could not easily -find an ideal husband in later life. If she had been a stupid creature -with no imagination and no deep finer feelings she would have fallen -suddenly in love anywhere--there to pass the rest of her humdrum and -joyless existence in an everlasting stupor. Surely Dorothy did not -remember her own tragedy when she condemned the lot of the Hindu girls -in such vehement manner. Vanity is an ugly fault, yet it gives great -pleasure. - -Unlike India, where from their very childhood girls are initiated -into matters of sex, and where the ideal of acquiring a husband and a -family is kept before their minds from the beginning, American boys -and girls are brought up in utter ignorance of every thing pertaining -to sex. Sex is considered as something unclean, filthy, and nauseous, -and so unworthy of the attention and thought of young children. And yet -there is no country in the world where sex is kept more prominently -before the public eye in every walk of daily life than in America. -_The first impression which a stranger landing in America gets is of -the predominance of sex in its daily life._ The desire of the American -woman to show her figure to what Americans call “the coarse eye of -man,” expresses itself in short skirts and tight dresses. “American -movies are made with no other purpose in view than to emphasize -sex.” A college professor was recently told by one of the six biggest -directors of motion pictures in Hollywood, through whose hands passed -a business amounting to millions of dollars, that in making a motion -picture sex must constantly be borne in mind. The story must be based -on that knowledge, scenes selected with this view, and the plot -executed with that thought in mind. Vaudeville shows, one of America’s -national amusements, are nothing but a suggestive display of the -beautiful legs of young girls, who appear on the stage scantily dressed -and touch their foreheads with the toes in a highly suggestive manner. - -The writer was told by an elderly American lady that the American -national dances had a deep religious connotation. A spiritual thought -may exist behind American music, and its effect on the American -youth may be quite uplifting, but certainly such dances as the one -called “Button shining dance,” in which a specially close posture is -necessary, was invented with no high spiritual end in view. A wholesale -public display of bare legs to the hips, and a close view of the rest -of their bodies in tight bathing suits may be seen on the national -beaches. Young couples lie on the sands in public view closely locked -in seemingly everlasting embraces. - -While all this may be very pure, innocent, harmless, and even uplifting -in its hidden nature, its outward and more prevalent character -indicates an almost vicious result of the ideal of bringing up the -nation’s youth improperly instructed in matters of sex and its proper -function. - -The immediate effect of this anomalous condition in America resulting -from the misinstruction regarding sex by its youth on the one hand, -and the most exaggerated prominence given sex in its national life is -particularly disastrous and excessively humiliating. Using the word -moral in its popular conventional meaning, it may be very frankly said -that the morals of the American youth are anything but exemplary. -Judge Ben B. Lindsey, who is fully authorized to speak on the subject -from his experience as head of the Juvenile court in Denver for over -twenty-five years, and who is one of the keenest contemporary thinkers -in America, has stated facts in his book, _The Revolt of Modern Youth_, -which are appalling. He writes: - - - “The first item in the testimony of the high school students is - that of all the youth who go to parties, attend dances, and ride - together in automobiles, more than 90 per cent indulge in hugging - and kissing. This does not mean that every girl lets _any_ boy hug - and kiss her, but that she _is_ hugged and kissed. - - “The second part of the message is this. At least 50 per cent - of those who begin with hugging and kissing do not restrict - themselves to that, but go further, and indulge in other sex - liberties which, by all the conventions, are outrageously improper. - - “Now for the third part of the message. It is this: Fifteen to - twenty-five per cent of those who begin with the hugging and - kissing eventually ‘go the limit.’ This does not, in most cases, - mean either promiscuity or frequency, but it happens.”[19] - - -This situation is alarming, and the leaders of the country must take -immediate notice of it. When fifteen to twenty-five girls out of every -hundred in any country indulge in irresponsible sexual relationships -between the ages of fifteen and eighteen, that country is not in a -healthy moral condition. The effect of these early sexual intimacies -between young girls and boys is ruinous to their later spiritual -growth. How the situation may be remedied is a serious problem, which -is not the task of any foreigner, however honest and friendly, to solve. - -It may be of value to point out here how the Hindu thinkers sought -to control this situation. We quoted above the frank opinion of an -American college girl regarding the Hindu system of marriage. The -ill opinion of the Hindu system of marriage held by most westerners, -springs, however, not from their knowledge of the situation, but from -its very novelty, and from the dissociation of the name romance from -its system. The western method of marriage emphasizes freedom for -the individual, and as such its fundamental basis is both noble and -praiseworthy. From the exercise of freedom have developed some of the -finest traits of character; freedom, in fact, has been the source of -inspiration for the highest achievements of the human race. But freedom -in sex relationship without proper knowledge transforms itself into -license, as its exercise in the commercial relationships of the world -without sympathy and vision develops into tyranny. An illustration of -the former consequence may be seen in the disastrous effect of the -wrong kind of freedom on the morals of the American youth; the slums -of the industrial world are the results of the _laissez faire_ policy -when it is allowed to proceed unchecked, on its reckless career. - -In India marriage is regarded as a necessity in life; in the case of -woman it is the most conclusive of all incidents, the one action to -which all else in life is subsidiary. From marriage springs not only -her whole happiness, but on it also depends the fulfilment of her very -life. Marriage to a woman is a sacrament--an entrance into the higher -and holier regions of love and consecration--and motherhood is to her -a thing of pride and duty. From childhood she has been trained to be -the ideal of the husband whom marriage gives her. Dropping longingly -into the embrace of her husband with almost divine confidence in -his protection and love, she begins to look at the whole universe -in a different light. “Are the heavens and the earth so suddenly -transformed? Do the birds and trees, the stars and the heavens above, -take on a more brilliant coloring, and the wind begin to murmur a -sweeter music?” Or is it true that she is herself transformed at the -gentle touch of him who is henceforth to be her lord? - -So limitless is the power of human emotion that we can create in -our own imagination scenes of a joyful existence, which, when they -are finally realized, bring about miraculous changes in us almost -overnight. This miracle is no fiction; it is a reality. An overnight’s -blissful acquaintance with her husband has altered the constitution of -many a girl’s body and given to her figure nobler curves. I have seen -my own sister given in marriage, a girl of 18, a slender, playful, fond -child with barely a sign of womanhood in her habits and carriage; -and after a month when I went for a visit to her home I found it -difficult to recognize my own sister. How suddenly had the marital -union transformed her! In the place of a slender, sprightly girl was -now a plump woman with a blooming figure, seeming surcharged with -radiant energy; in the place of a straight childish look in the eyes -there was a look of happiness, wisdom, understanding that was inspiring -and ennobling. The atmosphere around my sister, once a girl, now a -woman, was of such a divine character and her appearance expressed -such exquisite joy that I fell spontaneously into her arms, and before -we separated our eyes were wet with tears of joy. Seeing my sister so -beautiful and so happy, I was happy; and in her moment of supreme joy -her brother, the beloved companion of early days, became doubly dear -to her. Some moments in our lives are difficult, nay, impossible to -forget. This experience was of so illuminating a nature that it is -still as vivid in my mind as if it had happened yesterday. - -The explanation is very simple. In the mind of my sister, as in the -mind of every other Indian girl, the idea of a husband had been -uppermost since her very childhood. Around his noble appearance, fine -carriage, and handsome expression she must have woven many a beautiful -story. Each time she saw one of her girl friends given in marriage -to a “flower-crowned bridegroom, dressed in saffron-colored clothes, -riding in procession on a decorated horse,” and accompanied by music -and festivity, she must have dreamed. And then when the ideal of her -childhood was realized, no wonder she found in his company that height -of emotional exaltation which springs from the proper union of the -sexes and is the noblest gift of God to man. The American girl thinks -my sister married a stranger, but she had married an ideal, a creation -of her imagination, and a part of her own being. - -The wise Hindu system which keeps the idea of a husband before the -girls from their childhood will not be easily understood by the -conventional western mind. Those who consider sex as something “unclean -and filthy” and have formed the conviction that its thoughts and its -very name must be strictly kept away from growing children must learn -two fundamental truths. In the first place, nothing in sex is filthy or -unclean; on the other hand, sex is “the purest and the loveliest thing -in life and if properly managed is emotionally exalting and highly -uplifting for our moral and spiritual development.”[20] Secondly, to -imagine that by maintaining a conspiracy of silence on the subject -of sex one can exclude its thought totally from the lives of growing -children is to betray in the grossest form ignorance of natural laws. - -In India, however, sex is considered a necessary part of a healthy -individual’s life; it is a sacred and a lovely thing; and, as such, -it is to be carefully examined and carefully cultivated. The sexual -impulse is recognized as the strongest of human impulses, and any -attempt to thwart it by outside force must result in disaster to the -individual and in ruin to social welfare. To overcome sex hunger by -keeping people ignorant of it is the meanest form of hypocrisy. To deny -facts is not to destroy them. It is not only stupid but cowardly to -imagine that one could make people moral and spiritual by keeping them -ignorant and superstitious. Show them the light, and they will find -their own way. Teach children the essentials of life, encourage in them -the habit of independent thought, show them by example and precept the -beauties of moral grandeur, and they will develop within themselves the -good qualities of self-respect and self-restraint which will further -insure against many pitfalls. Says the Hindu proverb: “A woman’s best -guard is her own virtue.” Virtue is a thing which must spring from -within and can never be imposed from the outside. - -The atmosphere in the Hindu household and the attitude of the elder -members of the family to each other is of such a nature that the boys -and girls gradually become aware of the central facts of nature. In -fact, no attempt is made to hide from the children anything about their -life functions. The subjects of marriage and child birth are freely -discussed in the family gatherings. Children are never excluded when -a brother or sister is born, and no one tells them stories of little -babies brought in baskets by the doctors or by storks. Whenever the -growing children ask curious questions about physiological facts, they -are given the necessary information to the extent that it will be -intelligible to them. - -The experience in India has clearly demonstrated the fact that if young -boys and girls are properly instructed in the laws of nature, and if -the knowledge is backed up by the right kind of moral stimulus and -idealism, these young people can be relied upon to develop invincible -powers of self-restraint and self-respect. Such boys and girls will -have noble aspirations and will grow into fine-spirited men and women -of healthy moral character and of unquestionable poise. - -The writer has no desire to eulogize the Hindu system of marriage, or -to disparage the Occidental. An attempt has been made to diagnose the -prevalent consequences of two systems. The Hindu customs certainly -need modification in view of the rapid economic and social changes; -the western system displays a deplorable lack of adjustment to new -conditions in those countries. The writer merely asks the reader to -remember that just because a system is different, it need not be -outrageous. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[13] Katherine Mayo. - -[14] Quoted from Cousins--_Awakening of Asian Womanhood_, page 40. - -[15] Coomaraswamy. - -[16] Coomaraswamy--_Dance of Siva_, page 88. - -[17] Tagore. - -[18] Quoted from Cousins--_The Awakening of Asian Womanhood_, page 38. - -[19] Pages 56, 59, 62. - -[20] Ben B. Lindsey. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE CIVILIZATION AND ETHICS OF INDIA - - -The distinctive feature of Hindu culture is its femininity. While the -northern branch of the Aryan family represented by the European group -had to undergo hard struggle with unyielding nature on account of a -barren soil and the severity of cold climate, which developed in them -the masculine qualities of aggressiveness, force, and exertion, the -southern branch of the Aryan family, who migrated into the smiling -valleys of the Indus and the Ganges, found in their new home abundance -of physical comfort. The extreme fertility of soil and the warm -climate made existence easy and left them leisure for speculation and -thought--conditions which have tended to make the people of India -emotional, meditative, and mystic. The bounty of nature released them -from struggle, and the resulting freedom from material cares and -security of existence developed in the Hindu character the benevolent -qualities of tolerance and thankfulness.[21] - -The peace-loving nature of the Hindu mind shows itself in its early -ventures into the study of the higher and deeper problems of life. -When they began to inquire into the secrets of the universe and its -relationship to human life with a view to discovering the mystery of -our existence on this planet, they were dominated solely by an absolute -and unqualified love of truth. “They never quarreled about their -beliefs or asked any questions about individual faiths. Their only -ambition was to acquire knowledge of the universe,--of its origin and -cause,--and to understand the whence and whither, the who and what -of the human soul.” The early pioneers of Hindu thought lay down for -rest on the open, fertile plains of the Ganges during the fragrant -summer nights of India, and their eyes sought the starry heavens above. -Then they looked into themselves, and must have asked, “What are we? -What is this life on earth meant for? How did we come here? Where -are we bound for? What becomes of the human soul?” and many another -difficult question. The answer that the Hindu sages of old gave to -these difficult questions is to be found in the one simple rule of the -Unity of All Life: One Supreme Being is the source of all joy; He is -the master of all knowledge; He is eternal, stainless, unchangeable, -and always present as a witness in every conscience; He alone is real -and lasting, and the rest of this material universe is _maya_, a mere -illusion. Human soul is made of the same substance as the Supreme soul. -It is separated from its source through ignorance. Through succeeding -incarnations it strives to reach its ultimate goal, which is its -identification with the Supreme Being. That is the final end of all -human effort--the realization of the Self--which accomplished, man’s -existence becomes one with the rest of the Universe, and his life -thereafter is one of limitless love. His soul unites with the Universal -soul and he has obtained his _Moksha_ (_salvation_). He begins to see -“All things in self and self in All.” - -This idea of spiritual freedom, which is the release of the self -from the ego concept, forms the foundation of Hindu culture, and has -influenced the whole character of India’s social and religious ideals. -Let us try to explain it a little more clearly. The recognition of -the unity of all life assumes the existence of one God, “one source, -one essence and one goal.” The final purpose of life is to realize -this unity, when the human soul becomes one with the Universal Spirit. -Ignorance is the cause of all evil, because it forever hides from -us the true vision. The wise man continually strives to overcome -ignorance through the study of philosophy and through self-restraint -and renunciation. He seeks to achieve knowledge of Self, in order -that he may see God face to face. Then he will attain _Moksha_ -(salvation). Until he has realized the absolute Truth, he must hold -on to the relative truth as he sees it, which is accomplished through -the exercise of such virtues as universal love, faith, devotion, -self-sacrifice, and renunciation. - -“Despising everything else, a wise man should strive after the -knowledge of the Self.” - -Human life on this earth is a journey from one village to the other. -We are all pilgrims here, and this abode is only our temporary home -and not a permanent residence. Instead of being continually in search -of material wealth, of power, of fame, and of toiling day and night, -why should we not regard life as a perpetual holiday and learn to rest -and enjoy it? Would it not be better if we had a little less of work, -a little less of so-called pleasure, and more of thought and peace? It -does not take much to sustain life; vegetable food in small quantities -will maintain the body in good health, and the shelter of a cottage is -all that a man requires. That he should build palaces and amass riches -proves his lack of knowledge; that he should try to find happiness -from the ruin of the happiness of his fellow beings, the inevitable -consequence of the building up of great fortunes, is absurd. Nothing -is real except His law and His power. Human life, like a bubble on -the surface of a mighty ocean, may burst and disappear at any moment. -“There is fruit on the trees in every forest, which everyone who likes -may pluck without trouble. There is cool and sweet water in the pure -rivers here and there. There is a soft bed made of the twigs of the -beautiful creepers. And yet wretched people suffer pain at the door of -the rich.” - - - “A man seeking for eternal happiness (moksha) might obtain it by a - hundredth part of the suffering which a foolish man endures in the - pursuit of riches.” - - “Poor men eat more excellent bread than the rich; for hunger gives - it sweetness.” - - -Thus the doctrine of Maya has taught the people of India that all -material things are illusion. - -Thus, guided by the vision of Universal Spirit, which sustains the -entire creation, and saved by the right comprehension of the doctrine -of Maya, the Hindus have developed a civilization in which people are -inspired largely by the ideals of human fellowship, by love and by -spiritual comfort. The wisdom of the Hindu’s retiring, passive attitude -toward life will not readily be acknowledged by his sturdy, aggressive, -and combative brothers in the western world. The Occidental’s -necessities of life have assumed such immense proportions, and social -relations have become so intricate and insecure, that a man’s whole -life is spent in making sure of mere existence, and in providing -against the accidents of the future. Such is the deadening influence -of the continual hurly-burly of every-day life around him, that he has -begun to regard life as synonymous with work. He has never himself -tasted the sweetness of security and peace, and when he hears anyone -else discuss it, he is likely to brand the doctrine as dreamy, unreal, -and impractical. “But is it surely wise to destroy the best objects of -life for the sake of life? Is the winning of wealth and the enjoying -of pleasure always a superior choice to that of spiritual freedom?” To -love leisure, ideals, and peace has been the criterion of Hindu wisdom. -Those who have closely studied the history of the Hindu nation know the -illumination, the peace, the joy, the strength that its lessons bring -into the lives of those simple, virtuous people. - -Hindu civilization has been, on the whole, humane and wholesome, and -the life of the people of India has been one of unalloyed usefulness -and service to humanity. India has always been the home of various -religions and its people have always been divided into innumerable -faiths. At no period of its long history, however, has religious -persecution been practised by any class of people in the country. -“No war was ever waged in or outside of India by the Hindu nation in -the name of religion. India has never witnessed the horrors of an -inquisition; no holy wars were undertaken, and no heretics burned alive -for the protection of religion.” In the entire history of the Hindu -nation, not a drop of blood has ever been shed in the name of religion. -To those who have read the accounts of the bloody tortures and the -massacres that have been enacted for the sake of religion among the -Christian nations of the world, this _is saying much_. - -The hobby of the Hindu is not Catholicism, Presbyterianism, Methodism, -or any other form of ism known to the western world; his interest -does not lie in Hinduism, Buddhism, or Sikhism. His passion is for -religion. “He loves not _a_ religion; _he lives for religion_.” It was -his love of religion which an old English missionary found among the -inhabitants of a small village in Northern India. Tired from walking -in the hot summer sun, this wandering friar lay down under the cool -shade of a banyan tree for rest, and fell asleep. How long he slept and -what brilliant dreams of His Master Lord Christ’s mercy this humble -mendicant had, no one knows. When in the late afternoon he opened his -eyes, he saw a beautiful young girl gently fanning his face, while her -little brother stood near, carrying in his arms a basket of choice -fruits and a jug of fresh, cool water. As the old friar’s eyes finally -met the maiden’s kindly gaze, he exclaimed: “At last after all these -weary travels I have found a Christian people!” - -Religion to the Hindu is not one among the many interests in life. It -is the all-absorbing interest. The thought of a Universal Brotherhood -taught in his religion guides every social, commercial, and political -act of his life; while the hope of divine sanction inspires his efforts -in the intellectual and spiritual spheres. Religion is not the mere -profession of a certain theological faith, whose ritual may be observed -on appointed occasions and then be forgotten till time again comes for -worship and prayer. Religion is the “Yearning beyond” on the part of -man, and when once its essence is realized, the spirit must influence -every interest of the individual’s life. This is the way in which -religion is understood in India. “It is not a matter of form, but of -mind and will. To the Hindu, it is more religious to cleanse the soul -and build a good character than to mutter prayers and observe a strict -ritual. Morality should form the basis of religion, and emphasis should -be laid, not on outward observance, but on inward spiritual culture.” - - - “By deed, thought, and word, one should do good to (all) living - beings. This Harsha declared to be the highest way of earning - religious merit.” - - -The main purpose of life is the realization of Self, to which all other -interests must be completely subordinated. The material things of the -world are but a means to this end; and the end being religion, its -thought must not be lost sight of in arranging the details of life. -Hence, religion pervades the entire fabric of Hindu society. Study -Indian art, law, ethics, and political economy; everywhere you will -find the same thought of God and his all-embracing mercy underlying -them all. - -The religion of the holy Jesus, who taught the doctrine of -non-resistance and whose Sermon on the Mount is resplendent with love -for humanity, has inspired many a Gandhi in the East. It has, however, -been the cause of much bloodshed and slaughter. Under its banner -slavery was sustained until the economic conditions throughout the -world made its abolition inevitable and imperative. The negro-traffic, -involving human brutality which makes us shudder and horrors which -freeze our blood and leave us aghast, was carried on by Christian -people with the express sanction of the most holy See and her august -lieutenants of God. As late as the end of the nineteenth century -China was subdued in the name of Christian religion. The immediate -provocation of the Boxer War was the murder of two white missionaries -in the interior of China. What deeds of chivalry the soldiers of -the western nations, who were sent to China for the defence of -Christianity, did, are recorded by Mr. Gowen in his _An Outline History -of China_ thus: - - - “But in Tung Chow alone, a city where the Chinese made no - resistance and where there was no fighting, five hundred and - seventy-three women of the upper classes committed suicide rather - than survive the indignities they had suffered. Our civilization - of which we boast so much is still something of a veneer.” - - -The religion of the Hindu requires him to practise love toward his -fellowman, tenderness toward animal life, and toleration of religious -diversities with other people. He believes that the Christians, -the Mohammedans, and the Jews may be as good men in their human -relationships as he and be on as straight a road to heaven as he is. -He does not question the divine revelation of the holy books of other -religions, nor does he deny “that Christ was the Son of God, and -Mohammed the Prophet of God.” All that he wishes in this life is that -he should be allowed to worship his Deity as he chooses. Says Krishna -in Bhagvat Gita, the Bible of the Hindus: “Whosoever come to Me, -through whatever form, through that I reach him; All men are struggling -to reach Me through various paths, and all the paths are Mine.” - -“There is in the Hindu religion a doctrine called _Ahimsa_, namely, -non-injury to any form of life, which transcends any ethical ideal -known to the western ethics. The idea finds expression in the Society -for Prevention of Cruelty to Children and Animals.” The Hindu religion -is the only religion in the world which forbids the eating of animal -flesh. If all life is of one essence, if the animal pleading for life -suffers as truly as man under the same conditions, is it fair to kill -the animal for the sake of a simple pleasure? This gentle doctrine of -harmlessness has helped to develop in the Hindu character the noble -virtues of benevolence and universal love. The Hindu may lack the -so-called “manly virtues”; his spiritual nature may be shocked to hear -that perfectly civilized men and women kill animals for sport, that -they go on pleasure excursions on the ocean to shoot the flying fish. -The fish is harmless, and when shot merely falls into the ocean; merely -in shooting it lies the sportsman’s amusement. Which of the two extreme -doctrines is right, we shall leave the reader to judge for himself. -But the general doctrine of “harmlessness” must commend itself to the -enlightened moral sense of the West. A right comprehension of this -principle will assist greatly in getting rid of the curse of cruelty -and war. - -Two features in the Hindu character which stand out most conspicuously -are truthfulness and chivalry towards women. The name for truth in the -Sanscrit language is _satya_, which means _to be_. “So truth in the -Hindu’s language means that which is. It may not necessarily be the -same as that which is believed by the majority of people. Again, the -highest praise given to the gods in the Veda is that they are truthful -and trustworthy. We know that people will ascribe to their gods the -same qualities which are held in highest regard among themselves. -The whole literature of ancient and modern India is full of episodes -proclaiming the virtue of truth. Rama’s answer to Bharata in the epic -poem of _Ramayna_ [quoted on page 13] is typical of the Hindu’s regard -for truth. In Mahabharata again we find the same devotion to a pledge -once given. Bhisma, for example, was willing to suffer death rather -than to disregard his pledge never to hurt a woman. The poets of the -Vedas, the sages of Upnishads, and the writers of the law books were -all inspired by feelings of profound love and reverence for truth. The -whole literature of India is vibrant with the same keynote--highest -regard for truth.”[22] A perusal of the accounts of the character and -culture of the people of India left by foreign travelers in ancient and -modern times shows that the traveler was most deeply impressed in each -instance by the Hindu’s love of truth. Let us examine a few of these -accounts. - -The Chinese traveler Hiouen-thsang writes: - - - “Though the Indians are of a light temperament, they are - distinguished by the straightforwardness and honesty of their - character. With regard to riches, they never take anything - unjustly; with regard to justice, they make even excessive - concessions.... Straightforwardness is the distinguishing feature - of their administration.”[23] - - -The Mohammedan historian, Idris, writes thus in his Geography (11th -century): - - - “The Indians are naturally inclined to justice, and never depart - from it in their actions. Their good faith, honesty, and fidelity - to their engagements are well known, and they are so famous for - these qualities that people flock to their country from every - side.”[23] - - -Marco Polo, the Venetian explorer, says: - - - “You must know that these Abraiaman (Brahman) are the best - merchants in the world, and the most truthful, for they would not - tell a lie for anything on earth.”[23] - - -Major-General Sir W. H. Sleeman, K. C. B., who resided in India nearly -a quarter of a century, and who was during this period employed in -various capacities in which he came in direct contact with hundreds of -people every day, writes of the Indians thus: - - - “I have had before me hundreds of cases in which a man’s property, - liberty, or life depended upon his telling a lie, and he has - refused to tell it.” - - -At another place while speaking about the Indian merchants Major -Sleeman says: - - - “I believe there is no class of men in the world more strictly - honorable in their dealings than the mercantile classes of - India. Under native government a merchant’s books were appealed - to as ‘holy writ,’ and the confidence in them has certainly not - diminished under our rule.” - - -Finally we shall quote from a speech made by Sir Guy Fleetwood Wilson -in 1913 when he was retiring from the high office of Finance Member of -the Indian Government: - - - “I wish to pay a tribute to the Indians whom I know best. The - Indian officials, high and low, of my department, through the - years of my connection with them, have proved themselves to be - unsparing of service and absolutely trustworthy. As for their - trustworthiness, let me give an instance. Three years ago, when it - fell to my lot to impose new taxes, it was imperative that their - nature should remain secret until they were officially announced. - Everybody in the department had to be entrusted with this secret. - Any one of these, from high officials to low-paid compositors of - the Government Press, would have become a millionaire by using the - secret improperly. But even under such tremendous temptation no - one betrayed his trust.”[24] - - -Comment after these unequivocal testimonies of eminent foreign -chroniclers of India is unnecessary. Where else in the world could -the experience of the Finance Member Sir Guy Wilson be repeated? If -everyone who visited the country was equally impressed by the truthful -character of the Hindus there must surely be meaning in the statement -that the Hindus are honest, truthful, and straightforward. Foreign -travelers have visited other lands during various historical periods, -but nowhere else were they so singularly impressed by the integrity of -the people as in India. But we are not obliged to look into ancient -histories to establish the Hindu’s honesty and love for truth. Go -to-day into any town of India. Walk in the business section of Bombay, -Calcutta, or Karachi and there you will find transactions amounting -to hundreds of thousands carried on day after day without a receipt -taken or given. An entry in the ledger books of both parties is all -that is held necessary in such cases. In my own family, low-paid -household servants drawing salaries up to a couple of hundreds a year -were intrusted in the course of their duties with the handling of many -thousands of dollars. And there was no least feeling of hesitation -or anxiety on the part of the family, not because the servants were -bonded, but because they were trusted. - -A people who respect truth so highly must be lovers of learning. At -every period in the history of India, a genius has been recognized and -accorded assistance, even if his thesis ran contrary to the popular -prejudice of the day. Whether a new sage lifted his head in the field -of religion, or a thinker in the philosophical or scientific field was -born, he was always allowed an opportunity to express himself under the -most favorable circumstances. He did not have to fear persecution on -account of his ideas. So long as he had a message to offer to mankind, -he was assured an audience. “_Freedom of thought has always prevailed -among all classes of people in India._” - -Chivalry toward women, which has been named as another outstanding -feature of Hindu character, has already been discussed in a previous -chapter. - -To review in detail the achievements of Hindu civilization would -require volumes. India’s contributions to the world’s study of -philosophy, science, religion, and social organization are legion. -While the continent of Europe was still in a state of barbarism, the -Hindus invented the sciences of grammar, arithmetic, and astronomy. -They were already masters of a perfect alphabet, of a polished -language, and of the most complete systems of law and social ethics -that the world has ever seen. When the forefathers of the Anglo-Saxon -races roamed in forests with painted bodies, the Hindus had an -extensive literature, an established religion, and a developed -civilization. In fact, India has ever been esteemed as the birthplace -of the most natural of natural religions, as the nurse of sciences, -as the inventress of fine arts, and as a fertile home for all forms -of genius. Her lawgivers evolved the most wonderful fabric of social -organization, and composed systems of ethics worthy of the highest -praise; her philosophers invented six most profound systems of -philosophy famous for their subtlety of thought and acuteness of logic; -and her religious teachers formed the two greatest religions of the -world, which are to this day professed by more than half of the human -race. Even in the domain of natural sciences Hindus have advanced to -a high state of development, a fact which is little realized by most -people. Says Sir Monier-Williams: - - - “Indeed, if I may be at all allowed the anachronism, the Hindus - were Spinozites more than two thousand years before the existence - of Spinoza; and Darwinians many centuries before Darwin; and - evolutionists many centuries before the doctrine of evolution had - been accepted by the scientists of our time, and before any word - like ‘evolution’ existed in any language of the world.” - - -The Hindus belong to a race of mankind which has outlasted all the -nations of the earth. “Before the days of Abraham India had achieved -a great civilization. Other civilizations had lived and died. Egypt, -Babylon, and Assyria--each came and went. After India had been -flourishing for more than two thousand years, Greece appeared and -passed on. The vast Roman Empire, dominating half the earth, paid huge -tribute to the art and industry of India, then closed its day while the -Hindu people continued to develop magnificent achievements in science, -literature, art, architecture, law and government, philosophy and -religion.” Lord Curzon, whose judgment undoubtedly was not biased in -favor of India, writes: - - - “India has left a deeper mark on the history, philosophy and - religion of mankind than any other terrestrial unit of the - universe.” - - -We have thus shown that as a nation the people of India have devoted -their efforts more to the development of the spiritual side of life -than the material. Unlike the aggressive and combative character of -western civilization, the prominent features of Hindu culture are a -passive and reflective attitude toward life. Compared with the record -of her sister nations in the West, the history of the country has been -happier, less fierce, and more peaceful and stable; the inhabitants -have been more careful and thoughtful, passive and tolerant. - -Two great civilizations of the world--India and China--separated only -by a long border, have flourished for centuries, and not once in their -entire history have they been at war with each other. They early -realized the truth that the object of human life is not possession of -immense wealth and dominion over weaker races for the sake of physical -comforts. The aim of human effort, as they saw it, should be the -development of the “mental, moral, and spiritual powers latent in man.” -The Hindus evolved for themselves the idea of a God that was omnipotent -and all-merciful, of a human soul that was part of the Universal soul -and must be pure, of a life that has the divine spark in it and must -be boundless and consecrated to the service of all. Truthfulness, -generosity, kindness of heart, gentleness of behavior, forgiveness, -and compassion were taught in India as everyday precepts long before -any such thing as ethics existed in any other part of the world. Their -insistence upon kindness and charity are marks of true virtue; their -belief that ethics must form the basis of religion and a moral life is -the criterion of religious mind; their realization that all men are -brothers and that a virtuous slave is better than a corrupt master, -mark the Hindus as a race of highly intelligent and moral people. - -Many of these statements may not be novel, but they have for us -a significant appeal in the fact that “they were thought out and -enunciated many centuries ago, and that they reflected life, not as -it might be imagined in a Utopia, but as it was actually lived by the -common people in the small villages and towns of India.” - -Thus wrote Manu, the great law-giver of India: - - - “That man obtains supreme happiness hereafter who _seeks to do - good to all creatures_.” - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[21] Max Müller. - -[22] Max Müller. - -[23] Quoted from Max Müller. - -[24] Quoted from _Sister India_. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE CASTE SYSTEM OF INDIA - - -The caste system of India is the most widely discussed subject all over -the world; it is also the least understood. It is really surprising how -little people outside of India know about the institution of caste, -as it was originally evolved and perfected to form the basis of the -country’s social, political, and economic structure. Even students -of Hindu philosophy and arts have but a very dim perception of the -meaning of caste. You cannot talk about India for five minutes to any -person without being confronted with the questions: “How about your -caste system? Isn’t it true that the upper classes refuse to marry the -untouchables, and even to come into any kind of physical contact with -them? Have not the Brahmans of India always lorded over the classes -for their own benefit? Wouldn’t they seize the power again for their -own benefit if the English left India today? Don’t you see that we -have given freedom to the negroes in this country? They have the -same political rights as white men to vote and to hold office in our -government. They can come into our homes and do the cooking for us and -we feel no repulsion for them. Would you permit such association of the -classes in India? This equality of spirit is democracy, and until India -gives up her old aristocratic habits and changes to the new democratic -ideals of the age, she will never be free politically, morally, or -spiritually--talk what you will of your spirituality and ethics.” - -I have heard such sermons over and over again from Americans of -every status in life. College professors and their wives, university -students, teachers, ministers, shirt dealers, insurance agents, -street-car conductors, bootblacks, and railroad porters have asked me -similar questions. In reply, I do not deny that one class of people -is called “untouchables” and that no other class will intermingle or -intermarry with them. I question most seriously, however, the truth of -the premise of the second statement. Brahmans have not always ruled the -country with purely selfish motives. The priestly class has wielded -immense influence in India’s political and social life at different -periods of its history, but they have used their power mostly for the -advancement of its culture and arts. To the Brahmans we owe in general -the elaboration and systematization of Hindu philosophy. The vast -treasures of Hindu literature and fine arts were both produced and -preserved by the same class, who for unknown ages have been the sole -repositories of knowledge in India. They have abused their authority at -several periods, but on such occasions a great reformer like Buddha or -Nanak always appeared among the Hindus and gave the corrupted priests -fresh warning for their mistakes. - -The power of the Brahmans was at its lowest when the British acquired -India, and the Brahmans have found in the English rulers of the -country great champions, who have succeeded first in demoralizing -them and then in assisting them to demoralize in turn the rest of -Hindu society. England with its mighty governing hand of steel is the -strongest bulwark of aristocracy in India. And those who say things -to the contrary either do not know the facts or they deliberately -misrepresent them. We shall explain later how the subtle methods of our -foreign rulers work. - -Lastly, I do not deny that India needs a reorganization of its -antiquated social system in order to fit properly into the modern -world. Her caste regulations have given to her numerous races and -classes only the negative benefits of peace and order at the expense of -the positive opportunities of expansion and movement. If India is to -live, and if it hopes ever to occupy its proper place among the family -of nations, it must cut out of its system the cancer of untouchability. -However manifest are the evils of India’s rigid caste system and the -necessity of its immediate overhauling, the contrast with America seems -so unjust. With typical complacency, the Americans declare that there -is no caste in the United States. Yet the American negro, although he -has a right to vote and to hold office, has absolutely no opportunity -to make use of these privileges. A child of ten has more chance of -beating the world’s heavyweight champion in a prize-fight than an -American negro with the highest moral and educational qualifications -has of becoming a governor of the smallest state in the Union. The -world knows that in most states the law prohibits marriage between -whites and negroes, while society everywhere will, in its own direct -and emphatic American way, ban the union of a white girl to a negro. -It is also true that in most states negro children are taught in -separate schools, and that on Sunday colored people must go for prayer -to separate churches. In the South, the center of the negro population -in the United States, negroes must travel in separate carriages -on railroad trains and use separate waiting rooms at the stations. -It is also a matter of history that on the average more than sixty -negroes are lynched in America every year by mobs for crimes, which if -committed under similar conditions by white persons, would be punished -through the regular course of law. - -This condition in the United States does not justify the injustice of -caste in India or anywhere else in the world, but it may help to give -the sharp critic of the Hindu system a milder temper in his judgment by -reminding him that human nature everywhere has its virtues and faults. -We shall now proceed to examine the origin and the function of the -caste of India. - -The Sanskrit word which has been wrongly translated into caste is -_Varna_, which means color. Thus the derivation of the term shows that -the original classifications in Hindu society were made on the basis -of color or race.[25] When the Aryans first migrated into India, they -found themselves face to face with hordes of savage tribes belonging to -inferior and aboriginal races. The position of those Aryan forefathers -was analogous to that which later confronted the immigrants of Europe -into the continents of America and Australia. While these latter -invaders have sought to simplify their race problems by exterminating -the original inhabitants of these countries, the early Hindus under -similar conditions accepted the inferior races as units in their social -structure and gave them a distinct place in the scale of labor, the -nature of their functions being strictly determined according to -their qualification. Even in our present stage of advancement we find -that caste prevails throughout the civilized world. Its ugly symptoms -are most prominent in America, Australia, and the white colonies of -Africa. In the United States, the lynching of negroes in the South and -the strict anti-Asiatic regulations of the state of California, and -in Australia the “Keep Australia white at all cost” spirit among the -population,--both of these show how deeply the spirit of race hatred -has penetrated into the system of the dominant white races of the -world. In the state of California, which is the center of oriental -population in America, law prohibits the Asiatics (Japanese, Chinese, -Hindus) from owning property and even from temporarily leasing lands -for farming purposes. Another statute rules against marriage between -whites and mongolians. The anti-Asiatic land lease regulations of -California have given a severe blow to the oriental population of -the state. The Japanese, Chinese, and Hindu immigrants to the United -States were chiefly agriculturists. In the early days of California -these frugal, honest, hard-working people contributed materially to the -development of agriculture. And the fact cannot well be denied that the -intensely hot regions of the Imperial Valley and the mosquito-ridden, -swampy northern counties were brought under cultivation almost -exclusively through the initiative of the Japanese and Hindu farmers of -California. The Chinese, in conjunction with the other oriental races, -had much to do in developing the largest asparagus growing region in -the world, represented by the deltas of the Sacramento Valley. Imperial -Valley is today the richest vegetable growing colony in the world. -The northern counties produce the finest qualities of California rice -in immense quantities, while the Delta asparagus has made California’s -name famous throughout the world as the producer of the choicest -qualities of both white and green asparagus. But the simple, peace -loving, industrious, and retiring Asiatics who toiled to make the name -of agricultural California great are barred by law from making even an -honest, meager living through farming on a small scale. And all because -of the caste of race! As one of the state senators exclaimed not long -ago: “_We must keep California safe from the yellow peril._” To which -an eminent Hindu publicist humorously replied: “I have seen no danger -of a yellow peril in California except that of the ‘Yellow Cabs’.” - -When a small group of immigrants in any land find themselves surrounded -by an endless environment of barbarous tribes, we grant that the -situation is critical. The small group of Aryan immigrants in India, -however, unlike the American colonists, who exterminated most of the -original inhabitants of the country, sought to assimilate the barbarous -tribes, and hence found themselves confronted with a difficult problem. -They were inspired with the desire to preserve the purity of their -superior race and culture on the one hand, and to assimilate in their -social system the aboriginal races as well as they could, in order to -save them from annihilation. On the other hand, they felt it necessary -to safeguard their race by refusing to intermarry with people on a -lower scale of civilization. The Aryan forefathers of India, by giving -to the original population of the country a distinct place in its -social life, however low, have preserved them on the one hand from -extermination and on the other from slavery of person. “Was this not -the very solution which suggested itself to the American emancipator -Lincoln, when at a much later date he faced the same problems under -similar conditions? That adjustment of their racial differences that -had been declared wise and that had been practised by the Hindus many -thousand years ago, was at last acknowledged by the leaders of the -western world as the only salvation from their difficult situation.” In -the meantime, whole populations had been obliterated, and generation -after generation of human beings had been subjected to the tortures of -slavery,--to injustice and suffering of the most loathsome kind. - -Before we judge the Hindu too harshly for refusing to drink the same -water as the non-Aryans and to eat food cooked by their hands, we must -remember that most of the aborigines of India were carrion eaters and -were more unclean than their Aryan neighbors. The Aryan would not -perform any act of life without previously taking his morning bath; he -was scrupulously clean in all his habits. He felt, therefore, that it -was merely a hygienic precaution not to allow the filthy barbarians -access to his person or his house. But it is the nature of caste to -convert temporary inhibitions into permanent barriers. In so far as -the early Hindu sociologists safeguarded the superior Aryan culture by -laying down strict rules--such as the refusals to intermarry and to -drink the same water--,they were in the right. Therein they recognized -the diversity of races and the necessity of keeping separate the -most highly developed and the least civilized. “But they erred most -dangerously in not grasping the fact that differences between human -beings are not fixed like the physical barriers of mountains, but are -mutable and fluid with life’s flow.”[26] “It is the law of life to -change its shape and volume through the impact of environment.” “Was -it not expected that contact with the civilized Aryans would develop -among the aboriginal inhabitants of India the wholesome qualities of -cleanliness, honesty, peace, and love characteristic of an advanced -race?”[26] To have thus bound in an iron frame the growing body of a -healthy people was not only an intellectual blunder, but a spiritual -crime. As a result, India, which is fundamentally one nation, is now -torn into innumerable castes and communities. And this is the cause of -her degradation and ruin. India, which should be the mightiest nation -of the world today, on account of her ancient culture and history and -the nobility and height of her spiritual idealism, is now fallen. If -there exists anywhere the law of Karma, the Hindus of the present age -are atoning for the sins of omission of their ancient forefathers. The -great, great, great grandchildren of those who denied their fellow -humans the natural rights of humanity have been cast out of the world’s -progressive life as the black pariahs of the race. In a recent decision -of the United States Supreme Court, which has ruled out the natives -of India as ineligible to the citizenship of America, the Honorable -Justice remarked: “Hindus of the high caste belonging to the Aryan -or Caucasian race, are not white persons.” Those Hindus who pride -themselves as _twice-born Brahmans_ should take notice of this language. - -Let those who wish clamor loud about their Nordic superiority or -Brahmanic purity. What is needed in the world today is not the purity -of the race so much as the purity of the human soul and its motives. -How far the soul of the western people is clean I would not say, but -being myself a Hindu, I do know that the soul of India is black. By -denying to their fellow brethren their rightful position as human -beings, the upper classes of India have sinned most atrociously against -themselves and their gods. “Where the touch from a fellow human being -pollutes and his shadow corrupts, there the gods can never reside, or -truth prevail.” The laws of nature are immutable. You may err against -them for a short time, but you cannot afford to ignore their existence -forever. In the ultimate reckoning nature will fall upon you in a mad -fury and wreak for your mistakes a terrible vengeance. Thus, those who -set out to humble and degrade others are in turn humbled themselves. -“In the act of tyranny, the tyrant loses sight of his ideals and -develops the pride of power, which is another name for the lowering of -his soul. Like a man under the influence of liquor, he may feel for the -time powerful and strong; yet from the moment an individual loses hold -of truth, the insanity of cruelty and injustice starts its deadly work, -which will end in his ruin and death.”[27] - -If the Hindus wish to survive, they must first humble themselves before -the members of the lower classes against whom they have long sinned -so terribly. They must purify their souls and promise to sin no more. -Unless they can do this, it is foolish to expect national freedom, and -it is idle to desire it. Those who will not grant freedom to those -below them, are themselves not fitted to have freedom. - -The high-born Hindu should think over the situation in which he finds -himself today. When he despises the Mohammedans and the lower caste -Hindus to such an extent that the mere physical touch from the most -highly cultured and clean of their kind will spoil the cooking of the -wretchedest of the so-called high-caste, how in the name of God, man, -or the devil can he expect them to love and serve him? The entire -history of mankind does not afford one instance in which an oppressed -class has fought to protect the honor or power of its oppressors. It -is idle to hope that the oppressed classes of India will ever consent -to shed their life-blood to win the freedom of their country. They may -at some time make immense sacrifices in the service and at the bidding -of such a universal soul as Gandhi, or perhaps unite to drive out an -intensely hated foreigner like the British. True liberation, however, -can be brought to the nation only through the spiritual unity of its -peoples; under the present social regulations the hope of such a union -is not only visionary but idiotic. - -My misguided Hindu brethren of India should remember what the followers -of Nanak, the Sikhs, have already done, and what the Arya Samajists are -doing now in the Punjab. They can do the same and much more! If they -need a leader to guide them, they can find no one holier or wiser in -the whole world today than Mahatma Gandhi, who will show them the light -as soon as they are ready to see it. Gandhi, the Mahatma (the Great -Soul), the leader of millions, has adopted an untouchable girl into -his family, whom Mrs. Gandhi is bringing up with their own children in -their home. This action has made Gandhi no smaller in the sight of God -or man. Will it make other Hindus smaller if they come forward and say -to their brethren: “Come, brothers, we embrace you. We shall forget the -past and be one again. Children of the same Father, we are all equal -before His law. There shall be, in future, no high or low among us. -Brahman and Sudra, Mohammedan and Parsi, we shall join hands and strive -to bring our motherland back to its former vigor.” Then and then alone -will the regeneration of India be possible. - -We find that quite early in the country’s history Hindu society fell -into two main divisions, the Aryans and the non-Aryans. The former -were again divided into three orders represented by priests, warriors, -and Aryan farmers or merchants; while the non-Aryans constituted the -servant class or the Sudras. The division of society into the three -priestly, warrior, and merchant classes is a natural one. We find its -parallel in ancient Persia, where the division of the community into -priests, warriors, and husbandmen is shown in the Avesta. “In fact, the -caste sentiment prevails in greater or less degree in all monarchical -countries of the world. In mediæval Europe the sentiment of caste grew -so strong that it found expression in literature and law.” - -The work of society in India was distributed among the four castes as -follows: - -1. Brahmans, the priestly class, were the teachers of the rest of -mankind. Their function was to study the Vedic scriptures and various -branches of knowledge such as science and philosophy. They were to -offer spiritual guidance and to assist all other classes in the -performance of religious rites and ceremonies. Everyone depended -upon them for favor with the gods, for they were believed to be -specially favored to interpret the Veda. As a tribute to the Brahmans’ -spirituality and learning, they were respected and loved by the other -classes. Their simple physical needs were amply provided for, so that -they were absolutely free from any form of material care. Within the -realm of their appointed duties they were the free, intellectual lords -of the Universe. This rule applied to the entire class of scholars and -religious teachers, and not to any chosen group among them. A parallel -state of intellectual freedom could be reached in the modern western -world if _all_ of its professors and religious instructors were born -with independent means. The Brahmans’ threefold function of teaching, -studying, and renunciation inspired among the masses of mankind the -feelings of reverence and affection for them. “A Brahman’s body was on -that account regarded as sacred, and to hurt him in any way was the -heaviest sin; while to kill a Brahman was an unpardonable sin which -could not be expiated even by penance through an unlimited number of -successive rebirths.” - -While the priestly class thus received the love and homage of the -populace, they at the same time enjoyed many immunities and exemptions. -From certain punishments a Brahman was always exempt, and his high rank -secured him pardon for numerous crimes. On the other hand, special -rules were laid down for his class in order to preserve its sanctity. -“He could never drink, eat meat, or enjoy the coarser pleasures of -life.” In fact, the law codes of the different castes specify that for -certain offences a Brahman should be punished many times more than -a man belonging to the lower classes. This severity was due to the -belief of the law-givers of India that “greater knowledge demanded -greater restraint, and that with the raise in a person’s status his -responsibility must also rise.” The rule for a Brahman as given by -Vasistha is this: “Those are true Brahmans who, well-taught, have -subdued their passions, injure no living being, and close their fingers -when gifts are offered them.” Again, the same teacher has said that a -Brahman by birth is not a true Brahman but a slave unless he lives a -virtuous and clean life devoted to study and restraint. Says Manu, the -great law-giver of India: “A Brahman who does not live as a Brahman -is no better than a slave.” He could be made an outcast and demoted -socially into a lower rank. - -Thus we find that while on the one hand their higher status won for -the Brahmans respect and reverence from the populace, on the other -hand their better position imposed upon them special restraints. It is -difficult for us to realize the wisdom of this dictum, yet the Hindu -law which prohibited its intellectual classes from possessing property -and otherwise amassing wealth was one of the most profoundly wise laws -in the social history of man. Looked at in conjunction with the text -“that a householder obtains high merit in this life and hereafter by -giving food, drink, and raiment to Brahmans,” the dictum against the -acquiring of wealth by the Brahman class will appear not only wise but -highly just. “Here was a class of scholars, leaders of mankind, who -were safe from the two great evils which are the curse of their noble -profession--the anxiety of making a livelihood and the temptation to -acquire fortunes.” - -Lest it be supposed that the scholars of India lived on the charity -of other classes, a condition which is not regarded in the West as -honorable, it may be added here in the form of a corollary that charity -in India has an altogether different meaning from that in the West. -The motives behind such acts in India and the western countries are -quite different. According to Hindu theology, the giver of a gift and -not the recipient is the beneficiary. Absolutely no sense of pride or -self-importance is attached to the bestowing of gifts. Such deeds are -always accompanied by a sense of deep humility and thankfulness in the -heart of the householder. “It is the _dharma_, which may be translated -as the _man-ness of man_, of every householder to provide handsomely -for the needs of a Brahman, and he does this from a sense of religious -and social duty as well as from a desire for a religious blessing.” -It is as much the householder’s duty and joy in life to accommodate a -Brahman as it is the hope and delight of every mother to comfort her -child. To assist a strange scholar in his work is considered no more -an act of charity in India than is the support of a son at college -in Europe or America. The experiences of Mrs. Margaret E. Noble, an -Englishwoman of literary eminence, who went to India for a study of -its philosophy, are illustrative of the Hindu psychology in this -matter. She relates in her book _The Web of Indian Life_ the story of -her residence in the Hindu section of Calcutta. After news reached -the neighborhood that she had come to India as a student, she found -in front of her door one morning a jar of fresh milk and a basket of -provisions left by some unknown visitor. This experience was repeated -almost every day of the year until her departure. Yet the donors of -these simple presents never made themselves known to Mrs. Noble, nor -was she ever questioned by anyone of her neighbors regarding her views -on Hindu life. They did not care whether she was friendly or hostile -to them in her judgments. The fact that she had come among them as a -_student_ was sufficient reason for them to provide for her. _India is -the only country in the world where poets and priests never starve._ - -2. _Khashatriyas_ or the royal and military class were the rulers of -the country, and their duty was to protect the other classes. The -Khashatriyas constituted the knightly caste of India. They were brave -and chivalrous. The enjoyment of the senses and of pleasures subject to -such laws as may protect the weak from the strong were the legitimate -rewards of this class. Many a deed of extreme heroism committed by this -class under the noble impulse to protect justice or to serve Cupid is -related in the epic history of India. - -“Chivalry taught them the lessons of gaiety and enjoyment. They learned -to admire and desire beauty. Unlike the austere ascetic Brahmans, -passion and pleasure in the company of woman was sought by the gallant -suitors of the warrior class. Women were often objects of jealousy, and -they always exercised great power through their beauty and charm. Fine, -full-blooded creatures they were, who knew how to get and give love. -Both men and women loved superbly and passionately. Their passions were -strong and consuming and their thirst for love great.” Theirs was a -love about which a poet sung: - - - “_Give me your love for a day,_ - _A night, an hour;_ - _If the wages of sin are death,_ - _I am willing to pay._ - - _Oh! Aziza, whom I adore,_ - _Aziza, my one delight,_ - _Only one night--I will die before day,_ - _And trouble your life no more._” - (LAWRENCE HOPE.)[28] - - -3. The _Vaishya_ or the merchant and husbandman class constituted the -body of the people. Theoretically they were the equals of the other -classes of the Aryan family; but “practically this class together -with the fourth caste, namely the Sudras, formed the majority of the -population, whose duty it was to support and serve the two upper -classes.” They managed the business life of the country and were -responsible for the maintenance of the other classes. They tilled the -soil and managed the entire commercial and industrial affairs of the -land. This class was again subdivided into various groups according to -their profession. This classification of the middle class of India on -the basis of occupation was founded upon a thorough understanding of -the laws of heredity--“the purpose being to develop the best qualities -through heredity transmission. Thereby an attempt was made to develop -further the brain of the scholar, the skill of the craftsman, and the -ingenuity of the trader through the cumulative influence of careful -selection from generation to generation.” By thus shutting different -trades and professions into air-tight compartments the Vaishya deprived -themselves of the benefits of the infusion of young blood into the old -system. While on the one hand it had the wholesome effect of reducing -the evils of competition to the minimum, on the other it has gradually -tended “to turn arts into crafts and genius into skill.” - -4. _Sudras_ or the servant class constituted the entire aboriginal -non-Aryan population of the country, whose function was to do -mechanical service in the household life of the community. According -to Manu the highest merit for this class was to serve faithfully the -other three classes. The Sudras performed the most degrading tasks, and -were allowed to come into contact with the Aryan population only as -menials. On account of their filthy habits these aboriginals were not -allowed a close approach to the persons of the higher classes--hence -the origin of the term “untouchable.” Yet the fact stands that even -the “untouchables” are members of the Hindu family group. At marriages -and other festivals gifts are freely exchanged between them and the -upper classes. For a householder it is equally important to participate -in the ceremonies of the village “untouchables” and his own cousins. -I remember very clearly how as a young boy I was instructed by my -mother to bow each morning before every elder member of the family, nor -forgetting the servants, or Sudras. - -Bhagavad Gita, the Bible of the Hindus, lays down the following rules -for the different castes of India: - - - “The duties of the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, as also - of Sudras, are divided in accordance with their nature-born - qualities. Peace, self-restraint, austerities, purity, - forgiveness, and uprightness, knowledge, direct intuition, - and faith in God are the natural qualities of the Brahmin. - Of the Kshatriyas, bravery, energy, fortitude, dexterity, - fleeing not in battle, gift and lordliness are the nature-born - qualities. Agriculture, protection of cows, merchandise, and - various industries are the nature-born duties of the Vaishyas. - Conscientiousness in menial service is the nature-born duty of the - Sudras. A man attains perfection by performing those duties which - he is able to do.” - - -This division of duties among the different castes “in accordance with -their nature-born qualities” needs special notice. We find here that -the original distinctions between different classes were made on the -basis of their natural qualifications. “The purpose of the early Hindu -sociologists was to design a society in which opportunity was allowed -to everyone for only such experience as his mental and spiritual -status was capable.” In the beginning, castes were not fixed by iron -barriers, nor were the occupations and professions of the people -hereditary. There was freedom for expansion, and everyone enjoyed the -privilege of rising into the higher scales of social rank through a -demonstration of his power and ability to do so. It is a curious fact -of Hindu history that nearly all of its incarnations,--namely, Buddha, -Rama, Krishna--belonged to the second or military caste. But the Hindu -castes had already lost their flexible natures as early as the sixth -century B.C., when Buddha once again preached the doctrines of equality -to all classes of people. Through the influence of Buddhist teachings -and for over a thousand years during which Buddhism reigned over -India, artificial hereditary caste divisions among peoples were almost -entirely demolished and forgotten. “Buddha gave to the spirit of caste -a death-blow. He refused to admit differences between persons because -of their color or race. He would not recognize a Brahman because he -was born a Brahman. On the other hand he distinguished between people -according to their intellectual status and moral worth.”[29] He who -possessed the qualities of “peace, self-restraint, self-control, -righteousness, devotion, love for humanity, and divine wisdom” was -alone a true Brahman. To the Buddhist, caste was less important than -character. His Jataka tales preached this doctrine in a simple but -highly eloquent manner: - - - “_It is not right_ - _To call men white_ - _Who virtue lack;_ - _For it is sin_ - _And not the skin - That makes men black._ - _Not by the cut of his hair,_ - _Not by his clan or birth,_ - _May a Brahmin claim the Brahmin’s name,_ - _But only by moral worth.”_[30] - - -About 600 A. D. however, when Buddhism declined and the Brahmans -regained their power, caste was once again established on the old -hereditary lines. Since that time the influence of the vicious system -has prevailed, except when it was checked by such teachers as Chaityna -who have regularly appeared at critical periods of the country’s -history. Nanak’s influence in modern times has been the strongest in -breaking down the barriers of caste. He was born near Lahore (Punjab) -in the year 1469 A.D. and became the founder of the Sikh religion. He -recognized the equality of all human beings, irrespective of their -color, rank, or sex. In one of his most popular verses he says: - - - “One God produced the light, and all creatures are of His - creation. When the entire universe has originated from one source, - why do men call one good and the other bad?” - - -Even in the present day the followers of Nanak are a tremendous force -in demolishing caste. In a recent general assembly of the Sikhs -held at Amritsar (the official headquarters of the Sikh religion) -it was announced that at all future gatherings of the community, -and in all of its free kitchens everywhere, cooks belonging to the -“untouchable” class shall be freely employed and even given special -preference. As a beginning of this policy the usual pudding offering -of the Sikhs was distributed by “untouchable” men and women to a -group of nearly twenty thousand delegates at the convention. Prior -to this, resolutions condemning “untouchability” had been passed on -innumerable occasions at social service conferences; but never before -had the ages-old custom been trampled upon, in a practical way, by any -other community belonging to the Hindu religion. May this auspicious -beginning inaugurate a triumphant conclusion. It is sincerely hoped -that the leadership of Gandhi and the virile followers of Nanak in -removing the curse of “untouchability” will soon be recognized by the -entire Hindu community. This alone could insure the enthusiastic Hindu -nationalists political economic freedom for their country. Had it not -been for the selfishness of the Brahmans during the mediæval period,--a -selfishness which has tended to segregate the Hindus into different -sections through the strict caste restrictions of various types,--India -would occupy today the vanguard of the world’s progress instead of -the rear. In spite of her present weakness India possesses, however, -within herself a marvelous reserve force which will enable her to pass -through this crisis. While the haughty West, which has always delighted -in taunting the Hindus for the latter’s caste, has not even begun to -examine her problem of race-conflict, India is already on its way to -solving her own caste problem. Gradually, as the younger generation -among the Hindus gains more power, “untouchability” and its allied -diseases will disappear. Personally, I believe that the leaders of -India are headed in the right direction, and that soon equality among -members of the different castes will be established in the country as -a permanent part of its social structure. - -“In the Hindu system, once the people were divided into different -castes, equality of opportunity for all prevailed within their -own castes, while the caste or group as a whole had collective -responsibilities and privileges.” Each caste had its own rules and -code of honor; and so long as a man’s mode of living was acceptable -to his caste-fellows, the rest of the community did not care about it -at all. On the other hand, a man’s status in the outside world or his -wealth made no change in his rank within the caste. I shall offer an -illustration from my own experience. During the mourning week after the -death of a near relative of His Royal Highness, the ruling Prince of -the native State of Kashmir, Her Royal Highness gave a state reception -to the sympathizing friends. Whereas she greeted the wives of the two -highest officials in the State, the English Resident and the Prime -Minister, with a nod of the head from her seat, Her Royal Highness -had to receive standing the humble housekeeper in my brother’s home, -because the latter belonged to the same caste as the ruling prince. -“Society thus organized can be best described by the term Guild -Socialism.” - -Another distinctive feature in the study of its caste is the communal -character of Hindu life. Hindu society was established on a basis of -group morality. No set of rules were held binding on all classes alike, -but within a given caste the freedom of the individual was subordinated -to the interest of the caste. Men lived not for their own interests -or comfort, but for the benefit of the community. It was a life of -self-sacrifice, and the concept of duty was paramount. The good of -caste, of race, of nation stood first, and that of the individual -second. Social welfare was placed before the happiness of the -individual. “For the family sacrifice the individual, for the community -the family, for the country the community, for the soul all the world.” - -Which of the two ideals, the communism of the Hindu or the -individualism of the Westerner is the better? Says Rabindranath Tagore: -“Europe may have preached and striven for individualism, but where else -in the world is the individual so much of slave?” - -On the other hand it must be remembered also that all ideals are -good only so far as they assist the individual to develop his full -manhood, and the moment they begin to hamper him in his natural growth -and thwart his own will they lose their value. So long as the caste -regulations of the Hindus assisted them in their spiritual development, -they were justified. But the moment they began to lose their original -character and became an oppression in the hands of the priestly -classes, who used their authority to stifle the nation’s spirit, they -had lost their usefulness and invited the ridicule and censure of all -intelligent thinkers. - -Where finer feelings of fraternal human-fellowship prevailed over -self-interest and individual gain, in such a community no voice cried -in vain at the time of distress. When deaths in the family left small -children parentless, or sickness and misfortunes made homes penniless, -the protection of other members of the caste was always available for -those in need. Orphans and helpless members within the caste were taken -into the homes of caste brothers and carefully brought up and fed -with the rest as members of the family. Here the lucky and the unlucky -were brought up side by side. Thus there has never arisen in India -the necessity of orphanages and poorhouses. As was said by an eminent -English writer:[31] “For to the ripe and mellow genius of the East it -has been always clear that the defenceless and unfortunate require a -_home_, not a barrack.” - -Let us now review the entire subject of caste thus: The Aryan invaders -of India found themselves surrounded by hordes of aboriginal and -inferior races. Under similar conditions the European invaders of -America and Australia exterminated the original population by killing -them off, or converted them into human slaves; the Hindu Aryans -avoided both of these inhumanities by taking the native inhabitants -of the land into their social life. They gave these inferior peoples -a distinct place in the scale of labor, and assigned to them the -duties of menial service, for which alone they were qualified at the -time. Further, to safeguard their superior culture, the Aryan leaders -laid down strict rules against intermarriage with their non-Aryan -neighbors. And as these aboriginals were filthy in their habits and -mostly carrion-eaters, it was also ordained as a measure of hygienic -precaution that the Aryans should not be allowed to drink the same -water or eat food cooked by non-Aryan hands. This was the beginning of -untouchability. - -Simultaneously with this racial division rose a functional division -among the Aryan population separating it into three orders of priests, -warriors, and husbandmen. This constituted the four-fold division of -the Hindu caste system--the Aryan inhabitants of the land forming the -first three castes of Brahmans, Khashatriyas, and Vaishyas, while the -non-Aryans constituted the fourth caste of servants or Sudras. At first -these divisions into different castes were flexible and persons in the -lower castes were allowed to rise into the ones higher by virtue of -their merit. We find that most of the historic religious teachers of -the Hindus, namely, Rama, Krishna, and Buddha, came from the second -class. - -Gradually, however, the castes began to lose their flexible nature, -and before the birth of Buddha in the year 600 B. C. they had already -acquired a hereditary character. The teachings of Buddhism had the -tendency to break down the hereditary barriers of caste, and during a -thousand years of its reign the people of India had forgotten their -caste boundaries. “Around 600 A. D. Buddhism began to decline and the -Brahman priests gained fresh prestige. They set up the different castes -on the old hereditary lines once again, and, except for a few local -breaks through the appearance of such leaders as Nanak in Punjab and -Chaityna in the South, the spirit of caste has prevailed throughout -Hindu India since the decline of Buddhism.” The greatest champion of -the lower classes who has appeared in recent times is the peaceful -leader of India’s silent revolution, Mahatma Gandhi. He has spoken and -written against untouchability and its allied evils more bitterly and -longer than against other vital political and economic wrongs of the -country. He has told his countrymen time and again that India’s soul -cannot become pure so long as untouchability stays amongst the Hindus -to defile it. And as a proof of his own sincerity in the matter he has -adopted in his own family an untouchable girl whom he calls the joy of -the household. - -The evils of caste are quite manifest. It has tended to divide the -Hindu community into various groups and thus destroyed among them -unity of feeling which alone could insure national strength. Lack of -united power opened the way for foreign invasions, which, again, has -resulted in dragging India down from her former place of glory to her -present state of humiliation and ruin. Yet alongside with the many -evils of India’s caste system several advantages have accrued from -it. Its existence has tended to make the people of India conservative -and tolerant. With the institution of caste they felt so well -fortified within themselves that they did not fear the influx of new -ideas into their midst. India offered a safe and welcome home to the -oppressed minorities from other lands. The Parsis and Jews came and -settled there. They were not merely tolerated but welcomed by the -Hindus, because the latter, assured of their own wonderful powers of -resistance, had nothing to fear from outside influences. The Hindu -caste system may be described as “the social formulation of defence -minus all elements of aggression.” Since the beginning of her history -India has been subjected to numerous invasions, but she has stood -against them successfully. In the cultural sense India, instead of -being conquered, “has always succeeded in conquering her conquerors.” -The invaders belonging to different civilizations and races have come -and disappeared, one after the other; but India still survives.[32] - -Again, in the Hindus’ scheme of the division of labor care was taken to -assign to every man his task and remuneration in such a manner as to -avoid all unnecessary friction among the different classes. Its value -will be readily recognized by those who are familiar with the evils -of modern industrialism, arising from the intense hatred within the -different classes. - -Finally, it must be said to the credit of Hindu sociologists that, at -least, they had the courage to face the problem of race-conflict with a -sympathetic mind. The problem was not of their creation. The diversity -of races existed in India before these new Aryan invaders came into -the country. The caste system of the Hindus was the result of their -sincere endeavors to seek a solution of their difficult problem. Its -object was to keep the different races together and yet afford each one -of them opportunity to express itself in its own separate way. “India -may not have achieved complete success in this. But who else has? It -was, at least, better than the best which the West has thought of so -far. There the stronger races have either exterminated the weaker ones -like the Red Indians in America, or shut them out completely like the -Asiatics in Australia and America.” “Whatever may be its merits,” says -Tagore, “you will have to admit that it does not spring from the higher -impulses of civilization, but from the lower passions of greed and -hatred.” - -FOOTNOTES: - -[25] Max Müller. - -[26] Tagore. - -[27] Tagore. - -[28] Quoted from Otto Rothfield--_Women of India._ - -[29] E. W. Hopkins. - -[30] Jataka, 440. Quoted from E. W. Hopkins _Ethics of India_. - -[31] Margaret E. Noble. - -[32] Tagore. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -GANDHI--THE MAN AND HIS MESSAGE - - -Mohandass Karamchand Gandhi is today the acknowledged leader of -three hundred million inhabitants of India. He is the author of the -Non-violent Non-coöperation movement, adopted by the Indian National -Congress as a weapon of passive resistance wherewith to win India’s -freedom. In March, 1922, because of his public activities in India -as a leader of this movement, Gandhi was convicted on the charge of -promoting disaffection towards the British crown, and was sentenced -to six years’ incarceration. He was released from prison, however, in -1924 by a special order of the British Labor Government. Since that -time he has remained the most powerful and beloved public figure in the -nationalist movement of India. - -His movement has aroused great interest among the different peoples of -the world. But the information given to the outside public has been so -vague and disconnected that it has led to very erroneous conclusions. -So much of pure nonsense in the form of praise and ridicule of Gandhi -and his activities has been passed around that it has become difficult -for the earnest student to separate the real from the fictitious. -Therefore it is only fitting that we should make a careful study of the -man and his message. - -A sufficient number of scholars, students, missionaries, travelers, -and writers have studied him carefully enough to enable them to -form a reliable opinion. Irrespective of their missions, opinions, -and designations, these investigators all agree as to the magnetic -personality of Gandhi and to the purity of his private and public -life. “His sweet, subtle sense of humor, and his profound confidence -in the ultimate triumph of truth and justice as against falsehood and -oppression never fail to influence and inspire everyone who comes his -way.” Even the very judge who, seven years ago, sentenced him to six -years’ incarceration could not resist the temptation to call him “a -great patriot and a great leader,” and to pay him the tribute: “Even -those who differ from you in politics look up to you as a man of high -ideals and as leading a noble and even saintly life.” - -Gandhi, born at Ahmedabad (India) in October, 1869, had all the -advantages of an early education under careful guidance. His father, -Karamchand Gandhi, a wealthy man and a statesman by profession, -combined in himself the highest political wisdom and learning together -with an utter simplicity of manner. He was respected throughout Deccan, -in which (province) he was prime minister of a native state, as a -just man and an uncompromising champion of the weak. “Gandhi’s mother -was an orthodox Hindu lady, with stubborn religious conceptions. She -led a very simple and dignified life after the teachings of the Hindu -Vedas.” She was a very jealous and affectionate mother and took a deep -interest in the bringing up of her children. Gandhi, the favorite -“Mohan” of his parents, was the center of all the cares and discipline -of his loving relatives. He inherited from his father a determination -of purpose and the tenacity of a powerful will, and from his mother -a sense of religious and moral purity of life. After graduating from -a native school in his home town, he was sent to England to finish -his education. He fitted himself for the bar at the University of -London, and on his return to India was admitted as an advocate of -the High Court of Bombay. While still in London, Gandhi acquired the -habit of passing the best part of his days in solitude. From the -temptations of the boisterous London life he could find escape only -when he sat alone by his window, violin in his lap, and thought of -an unconquered spiritual world in his mind. A product of the early -favorable circumstances and all the advanced education, Gandhi is thus -a highly cultured gentleman with finished manners. He possesses a happy -temperament with but a tinge of melancholy pervading his life and -conduct. - -As a patriot and leader of an oppressed people struggling for freedom, -Gandhi belongs in the category of the world’s great liberators with -such men as Washington, Lincoln, and Mazzini. As a saintly person who -has dedicated his life to preaching the gospel of love and truth, and -who has actually lived up to his preachings, he ranks among such of the -world’s great sages as Buddha, Jesus, and Socrates. On the one hand a -dangerous political agitator, an untiring and unresting promoter of -a huge mass revolution; yet on the other an uncompromising champion -of non-violence, a saint with the motto, “Love thine enemies,” Gandhi -stands unique, supreme, unequalled, and unsurpassed. - -His theory of a non-violent mass revolution aiming at the dethronement -of a powerful, militaristic government like the British Bureaucracy in -India, though strange and impractical at first thought, is yet very -simple and straightforward. - -“Man is born free, and yet,” lamented Rousseau, “he is everywhere -in chains.” “Man is born free, why should he refuse to live free?” -questions Gandhi. Freedom is man’s birthright. With unlimited liberty -in thought and action man could live in perfect peace and harmony on -condition that all men would rigidly observe their own duties and keep -within their own rights. “But men as they are and not as they should -be, possess a certain amount of animal nature. In some it is subdued, -while in others, let loose, it becomes the cause of disturbance and -dislocates all freedom.” To safeguard against the encroachment of such -natures on the “natural rights” and privileges of others, men have -organized themselves into groups called states. “By so doing, each -voluntary member of this state foregoes some of his personal rights -in exchange for certain individual privileges and communal rights to -be secured under its protection. The government of a country is thus -a matter of voluntary choice by its people and is organized to carry -on such functions as shall conduce to the highest good of the maximum -number.” When it becomes corrupt, when instead of protecting its -members from every form of evil and disorder, it becomes an instrument -of the forces of darkness and a tool of corruption, citizens have -an inalienable right to demand a change in the existing order. They -might first attempt peaceful reform, but should such attempts come to -nought, the right of revolution is theirs. It is indeed their right -to refuse their coöperation, direct or indirect, with a government -which has been responsible for the spiritual decadence and political -degeneracy of their country. Gandhi explains his attitude thus: - - - “We must refuse to wait for the wrong to be righted till the - wrong-doer has been roused to a sense of his iniquity. We must - not, for fear of ourselves or others having to suffer, remain - participators in it. But we must combat the wrong by ceasing to - assist the wrong-doer directly or indirectly. - - “If a father does an injustice, it is the duty of his children to - leave the parental roof. If the head-master of a school conducts - his institution on an immoral basis, the pupils must leave school. - If the chairman of a corporation is corrupt, the members must - wash their hands clean of his corruption by withdrawing from it; - even so, if a government does a grave injustice, the subject must - withdraw coöperation, wholly or partially, sufficiently to wean - the ruler from his wickedness. In each of the cases conceived by - me, there is an element of suffering whether mental or physical. - Without such suffering, it is impossible to attain freedom.” - - * * * - - “The business of every god-fearing person is to dissociate himself - from evil in total disregard of consequences. He must have faith - in a good deed producing only a good result; that in my opinion - is the Gita doctrine of work without attachment. God does not - permit him to peep into the future. He follows truth although the - following of it may endanger his very life. He knows that it is - better to die in the way of God than to live in the way of Satan. - Therefore whoever is satisfied that this Government represents - the activity of Satan has no choice left to him but to dissociate - himself from it....” - - -For a period of more than twenty-five years, Gandhi coöperated with the -British Empire whenever it was threatened and stood in need. Though -he vehemently criticized it when it went wrong, yet he did not wish -its destruction until his final decision of non-coöperation in 1920. -“He felt, that in spite of its abuses and shortcomings, the system was -mainly and intrinsically good.” Gandhi joined in the World War on the -side of the Allies. When the war started, he was in England, where he -organized an Ambulance Corps from among the group of his compatriots -residing there. Later on, in India, he accepted a position in the -British Recruiting Service as an honorary officer, and strained himself -to the breaking point in his efforts to assist Great Britain. - -“Gandhi gave proofs of his loyalty to the Empire and of his faith -in British justice by valuable services also on the occasion of the -Anglo-Boer war (1899) and the Zulu revolt (1906). In recognition of -his services on the two latter occasions he was awarded gold medals, -and his name was each time mentioned in the dispatches. Later, on his -return to India, he was awarded the Kaiser-i-Hind Gold Medal by Lord -Hardinge in recognition of his humanitarian services in South Africa.” -These medals he determinedly, though regretfully, returned to the -Viceroy of India on August 1, 1920. The letter that accompanied them -besides other things contained this statement: - - - “Your Excellency’s light-hearted treatment of the official crime, - your exoneration of Sir Michael O’Dwyer, Mr. Montague’s dispatch - and above all the shameful ignorance of the Punjab events and - callous disregard of the feelings of Indians betrayed by the House - of Lords, have filled me with the gravest misgivings regarding - the future of the Empire, have estranged me completely from the - present Government and have disabled me from tendering, as I have - hitherto whole-heartedly tendered, my loyal coöperation.” - - -His statement in court at the time of his conviction in March, 1922, -when he pleaded guilty, reads: - - - “From a staunch loyalist and coöperator, I have become an - uncompromising disaffectionist and non-coöperator.... To preach - disaffection towards the existing system of government has became - almost a passion with me.... If I were set free, I would still do - the same. I would be failing in my duty if I did not do so.... I - had to submit to a system which has done irreparable harm to my - country, or to incur the mad fury of my people, bursting forth - when they heard the truth from my lips.... I do not ask for mercy. - I am here to invite and to submit to the highest penalty that can - be inflicted upon me for what in law is a crime, but which is the - first duty of every citizen.... Affection cannot be manufactured - or regulated by law.... I hold it to be a virtue to be disaffected - towards a government which, in its totality, has done more harm to - India than any previous system.... It is the physical and brutal - ill-treatment of humanity which has made many of my co-workers and - myself impatient of life itself.” - - -The chief distinction between Gandhi and other liberators, the chief -difference between him and other leaders was that he wanted his -countrymen to love their friends, and yet not to hate their enemies. -“Hatred ceaseth not by hatred; hatred ceaseth by love” was his sole -plea to his fellowmen. He enjoined them to love their oppressors, for -through love and suffering alone could these same oppressors be brought -to see their mistakes. Thus, following his public announcement of -the non-coöperation policy he embarked upon an extensive tour of the -country. Wherever he went he preached disaffection towards the existing -government. - -Gandhi’s whole political career is inspired by a deep love for his -suffering countrymen. His heart burns with the desire to free his -country from its present state of thraldom and helpless servitude. -India, the cradle of civilization and culture, for ages the solitary -source of light and of wisdom, whence issued the undying message of -Buddhist missionaries, where empires flourished under the careful -guidance of distinguished statesmen, the land of Asoka and Akbar, lies -to-day at the tender mercy of a haughty conqueror, intoxicated and -maddened by the conquest of a helpless people. “Her arts degenerated, -her literatures dead, her beautiful industries perished, her valor -done,” she presents but a pitiful picture to the onlooking world. -Gandhi, the heroically determined son of India, feels the impulse -to save his motherland from the present state of “slow torture, -emasculation, and degradation,” and suggests to his countrymen the -use of the unique yet powerful weapon of peaceful non-coöperation. -Through this slow process of “self-denial” and “self-purification” he -proposes to carry his country forward till the goal of its political -emancipation and its spiritual freedom is fully realized. Political -freedom might be secured by force, but that is not what Gandhi wishes. -Unsatisfied with mere freedom of the body, he soars higher and strives -for a sublimer form of liberty, the freedom of the soul. To the -question, “Shall India follow the stern example of Europe, and fight -out its struggle for political and economic independence?” Gandhi -replies with an emphatic and unqualified “No.” “What has Europe’s -powerful military and material organization done to insure its future -peace?” Romain Rolland answers: “Half a century ago might dominated -right. To-day things are far worse. Might is right. Might has devoured -right.” - -No people, no nation has ever won or ever can win real freedom through -violence. “Violence implies the use of force, and the force is -oppressive. Those who fight and win with force, ultimately find it both -convenient and expedient to follow the line of least resistance; and -they continue to rely upon force in time of peace as well, ostensibly -to maintain law and order, but practically to suppress and stifle -every rising spirit. The power may thus change hands, yet leave the -evil process to continue without a moment’s break. Non-violence does -not carry with it this degeneration which is inherent in the use of -violence.” Gandhi is highly eloquent on this score when he says: - - - “They may forget non-coöperation, but they dare not forget - non-violence. Indeed, non-coöperation is non-violence. We are - violent when we support a government whose creed is violence. It - bases itself finally not on right but might. Its last appeal is - not to reason, nor the heart, but to the sword. We are tired of - this creed and we have risen against it. Let us ourselves not - belie our profession by being violent.” - - -“One must love one’s enemies while hating their deeds; hate Satanism -while loving Satan” is the principal article of Gandhi’s faith, and -he has proved himself worthy of this lofty profession by his own -personal conduct. Through all the stormy years of his life he has stood -firm in his noble convictions, with his love untainted, his faith -unchallenged, his veracity unquestioned, and his courage undaunted. “No -criticism however sharp, no abuse however bitter, ever affected the -loving heart of Gandhi.” In the knowledge of his life-long political -associates (members of the Indian National Congress and of other such -organizations), Gandhi has never, even in moments of the most violent -excitement, lost control of himself. When light-hearted criticisms -have been showered on his program by younger and more inexperienced -colleagues, when the bitterest sarcasms have been aimed at him by older -associates, he has never revealed by so much as a tone of his voice the -slightest touch of anger or the slightest show of contempt. _His limit -of tolerance has not yet been reached._ - -During the last ten years of his political life in India when he guided -the destines of his countrymen as leader of a great movement, Gandhi -again gave unmistakable proofs of the vastness of his love for mankind. -That his love is not reserved for his compatriots alone, but extends -even to his bitterest enemies, he revealed clearly throughout the most -critical period of his life. His enemies, the British bureaucrats, -tried to nip his movement in the very bud by using all the power -at their command to discredit him in the eyes of his countrymen -and of the world outside. Calumnies were heaped upon him from all -sides. He was called a “hypocrite,” an “unscrupulous agitator,” a -“disguised autocrat.” The vast number of his followers were branded -as “dumb-cattle,” and hundreds of thousands of them were flogged, -imprisoned, and in some cases even shot for no other offense than that -of wearing the coarse hand-spun “Gandhi cap” and singing the Indian -national hymn. Even in such trying moments he remained firm in his -faith, and loyal to his professions. Evidence as to the undisturbed, -peaceful condition of his mind and spirit is amply furnished by the -following statements which he gave to the Indian press in those -turbulent days: - - - “Our non-violence teaches us to love our enemies. By non-violent - non-coöperation we seek to conquer the wrath of English - administrators and their supporters. We must love them and pray to - God that they might have wisdom to see what appears to us to be - their error. It must be the prayer of the strong and not of the - weak. In our strength must we humble ourselves before our maker. - - “In the moment of our trial and our triumph let me declare my - faith. I believe in loving my enemies.... I believe in the power - of suffering to melt the stoniest heart.... We must by our - conduct demonstrate to every Englishman that he is as safe in - the remotest corner of India as he professes to feel behind the - machine gun.” - - * * * - - “There is only one God for us all, whether we find him through the - Bible, the Koran, the Gita, the Zindvesta or the Talmud, and He - is the God of love and truth. I do not hate an Englishman. I have - spoken much against his institutions, especially the one he has - set up in India. But you must not mistake my condemnation of the - system for that of the man. My religion requires me to love him as - I love myself. I have no interest in living except to prove the - faith in me. I would deny God if I do not attempt to prove it at - this critical moment.” - - -It must be remembered that all this was at a time when Mr. Gandhi -held undisputed sway over the hearts of his three hundred million -countrymen. Setting aside all precedence his countrymen unanimously -elected Gandhi dictator of the Indian National Congress with full power -to lead the country in emergencies. A word from him was sufficient to -induce the millions of India to sacrifice their lives without regret or -reproach. No man ever commanded the allegiance of so great a number of -men, and felt at the same time so meek. - -Through the successive stages of “self-denial” and “self-purification” -he is gradually preparing his countrymen for the final step in his -program, the civil disobedience. Once the country has reached that -state, if his program is carried through, the revolution will have been -accomplished without shedding a drop of blood. Henry David Thoreau -once wrote: “When the officer has resigned office, and the subject -has refused allegiance, the revolution is accomplished.” That will -be the dawn of day, hopeful and bright. The forces of darkness and -of evil will have made room for those of light and of love. But this -will not come to pass unless Gandhi’s policy is literally adopted, and -ultimately triumphs. He explains: - - - “The political non-violence of the Non-coöperators does not stand - the test in the vast majority of cases. Hence the prolongation of - the struggle. Let no one blame the unbending English nature. The - hardest fiber must melt before the fire of Love. When the British - or other nature does not respond, the fire is not strong enough. - - “If non-violence is to remain the policy of the nation, we are - bound to carry it out to the letter and in the spirit. We must - then quickly make up with the English and the Coöperators. We must - get their certificate that they feel absolutely safe in our midst, - that they regard us as friends, although we belong to a radically - different school of thought and politics. We must welcome them to - our political platform as honored guests; we must receive them on - neutral platforms as comrades. Our non-violence must not breed - violence, hatred, or ill-will. - - “If we approach our program with the mental reservation that, - after all, we shall wrest power from the British by force of arms, - then we are untrue to our profession of non-violence.... If we - believe in our program, we are bound to believe that the British - people are not unamenable to the force of affection, as they - undoubtedly are amenable to the force of arms. - - “Swaraj is a condition of mind, and the mental condition of India - has been challenged.... India will win independence and Swaraj - only when the people have acquired strength to die of their own - free will. Then there will be Swaraj.” - - -Gandhi has been bitterly assailed by both friends and foes for having -consented to render assistance to the cause of the World War in -contradiction to his own teachings of non-resistance. Gandhi has been -accused of inconsistency and even his most ardent admirers often fail -to reconcile his doings during the war with the doctrine of “Ahimsa” -(non-violence to any form of life). In his autobiography he has tried -to answer these objections, which we shall now examine. He writes: - - - “I make no distinction, from the point of view of _ahimsa_, - between combatants and non-combatants. He who volunteers to serve - a band of dacoits, by working as their carrier, or their watchman - while they are about their business, or their nurse when they are - wounded, is as much guilty of dacoity as the dacoits themselves. - In the same way those who confine themselves to attending to the - wounded in battle cannot be absolved from the guilt of war.” - - -This statement shows that his reasons for going into the war were -different from those of the Quakers, who think it is an act of -Christian love to succor the wounded in war. Gandhi, on the contrary, -believes that the person who made bandages for the Red Cross was as -much guilty of the murder in war as were the fighting combatants. -So long as you have consented to become a part of the machinery of -war, whose object is destruction, you are yourself an instrument -of destruction. And however you may argue the issue you cannot be -absolved from the moral guilt involved. The man who has offered -his services as an ambulance carrier on the battlefield is helping -the war-lords just as much as his brother who carries arms. One is -assisting the cause of the war-lord by killing the enemy, the other by -helping war to do its work of murder more efficiently. - -I am reminded of the argument I once had with a very conscientious -friend of mine, who is a stubborn enemy of war and yet who recalls the -following incident in his life with a sorrowful look in his face. One -day while he was living in London, a young friend of his came to say -his farewell before leaving for the front. Poison gas had been just -introduced into the war as a weapon. The combatants were instructed to -procure gas masks before departing, but the supply was limited, and his -young soldier friend had to go without a gas mask. He left his permit, -however, with the request that my friend should get the mask when the -next supply came in and send it to his regimental address. Two days -later the gas mask was mailed to this boy soldier at the battle front. -Before it reached there, however, the soldier was already dead. On the -first day after the arrival of the regiment, it was heavily gassed by -the enemy, and all of those who had gone without the protective masks -were killed. The parcel was returned to my friend at his London address -with the sad news that his friend was here no more. He was bitterly -disappointed that the mask had not reached the beloved young man in -time to save his life. I interpret the whole affair in this way: In -sending a gas mask to this English soldier, my pacifist friend was -conspiring, however unconsciously, to kill the Germans. He wanted to -save his friend from death, but did he realize that at the same time he -was wishing more deaths on the enemy? He was, in fact, helping to save -one young man in order that this young man might kill more young men on -the other side. How does Gandhi justify his action in joining the war, -then? We shall let him speak once again. He writes: - - - “When two nations are fighting, the duty of a votary of _ahimsa_ - is to stop the war. He who is not equal to that duty, he who has - no power of resisting war, he who is not qualified to resist war, - may take part in war, and yet whole-heartedly try to free himself, - his nation, and the world from war. - - “I had hoped to improve my status and that of my people through - the British Empire. Whilst in England, I was enjoying the - protection of the British fleet, and taking as I did shelter under - its armed might, I was directly participating in its potential - violence. Therefore if I desired to retain my connection with the - Empire and to live under its banner, one of three courses was open - to me: I could declare open resistance against the war, and in - accordance with the law of Satyagraha, boycott the Empire until it - changed its military policy, or I could seek imprisonment by civil - disobedience of such of its laws as were fit to be disobeyed, or I - could participate in the war on the side of the Empire and thereby - acquire the capacity and fitness for resisting the violence of - war. I lacked this capacity and fitness, so I thought there was - nothing for it but for me to serve in the war.” - - -How far Mr. Gandhi’s explanation can answer the objections of his -critics we shall leave our readers to judge for themselves. The -question is debatable, and admits of differences of opinion. If his -argument does not carry conviction with other believers in the doctrine -of non-resistance, Gandhi will not be surprised or offended. What an -eminent pacifist friend of mine wrote me after she had read the answer -of Gandhi may be summed up thus: - -Gandhi’s argument is entirely wrong. When she was asked to help the Red -Cross, she was also told that she had the protection of the army and -the navy. To this she replied that she did not wish the protection of -the army and the navy. As a conscientious objector to war, she felt it -her duty to resist war to the best of her ability and power. When she -stood against war with her full might, instead of being a mere cog in -the wheel of war, she was like a loose bolt in the machinery. Thus in -her resistance “she was a positive force against war.” - -Such in brief is the man Gandhi. As a specimen of the praise and -affection that have been heaped upon him from all quarters, we shall -in conclusion give the sketch of Gandhi from the artistic pen of his -honest admirer, Mr. Romain Rolland: - - - “Soft dark eyes, a small frail man, with a thin face and rather - large protruding eyes, his head covered with a little white - cap, his body clothed in coarse white cloth, barefooted. He - lives on rice and fruit and drinks only water. He sleeps on the - floor--sleeps very little, and works incessantly. His body does - not seem to count at all. His expression proclaims ‘infinite - patience and infinite love’. W. W. Pearson, who met him in South - Africa, instinctively thought of St. Francis of Assisi. There is - an almost childlike simplicity about him. His manner is gentle - and courteous even when dealing with adversaries, and he is - of immaculate sincerity. He is modest and unassuming, to the - point of sometimes seeming almost timid, hesitant, in making an - assertion. Yet you feel his indomitable spirit. Nor is he afraid - to admit having been in the wrong. Diplomacy is unknown to him, - he shuns oratorical effect or, rather, never thinks about it, and - he shrinks unconsciously from the great popular demonstrations - organized in his honor. Literally ‘ill with the multitude that - adores him’ he distrusts majorities and fears ‘mobocracy’ and the - unbridled passions of the populace. He feels at ease only in a - minority, and is happiest when, in meditative solitude, he listens - to the ‘still small voice within’.” - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -INDIA’S EXPERIMENT WITH PASSIVE RESISTANCE - - -In a previous chapter we discussed the character and spirit of Mahatma -Gandhi into whose hands has fallen the duty of leading a country -of 300 million people through a political revolution. It must be -understood, however, that Gandhi is the leader of the revolution and -not its creator. Modern thinkers universally admit that individuals or -small groups of reformers do not make revolutions. “Agitators or men -of genius and ability in a backward community might stir up sporadic -revolts and cause minor disturbances, but no human agency can ever -create mass revolutions. A successful revolution requires a state of -political and social evolution ready for the desired transformation. -The history of the world’s important political and social revolutions -furnishes sufficient evidence in support of this theory.”[33] The -insurrection of the slaves headed by the able Spartacus, in spite of -their early admirable victories, could not overthrow Roman domination. -The early attempts of the proletarian revolutionists, supported as -they were by leaders of genius and daring, were doomed to failure. -India’s revolt against English rule in 1857 was ably led, yet it -could not succeed. In all these cases the same argument holds. The -time was not ripe for the desired change. In the present case, Gandhi -has been eminently successful because India was prepared beforehand -for a mass revolution. Passive resistance, or no passive resistance, -the Indian revolution was bound to come as a necessary consequence -of the country’s long continued political oppression and economic -exploitation. The people were already growing desperate when a united -mass uprising was precipitated by the English government’s brutal -actions of 1919. During the war the English parliament had promised a -measure of self-government to the people of India as a reward for their -loyalty to the Empire. Early in 1919, when the country was agitating -for the promised self-government, the English government of India -forcibly passed against the unanimous opposition from all sections of -the people, special repressive measures in order to check the spread -of nationalism in India. Peaceful demonstrations directed against the -newly passed bills were organized all over the country. Once again the -government acted harshly in using inhuman methods in the form of public -flogging, crawlings and so forth, in the effort to suppress the rising -spirit of freedom throughout the land. Just at this time Gandhi came on -the stage, and proposed to his countrymen the use of passive resistance -for the accomplishment of their political revolution. His resolution -of non-violent non-coöperation was officially adopted by the Indian -National Congress, and the nation in its fight for freedom pledged -itself to non-violence. What are passive resistance and non-violent -non-coöperation? - -“The ethics of passive resistance is very simple and must be known to -every student of the New Testament. Passive resistance in its essence -is submission to physical force _under protest_. Passive resistance -is really a misnomer. No thought is farther away from the heart of the -passive resister than the thought of passivity. The soul of his ideal -is resistance, and he resists in the most heroic and forceful manner.” -The only difference between his heroism and our common conception -of the word is in the choice of the weapon. His main doctrine is to -avoid violence and to substitute for physical force the forces of -love, faith, and sacrifice. “Passive resistance resists, but not blow -for blow. Passive resistance calls the use of the physical weapon in -the hands of man the most cowardly thing in life.” Passive resistance -teaches men to resist heroically the might and injustice of the untrue -and unrighteous. But they must fight with moral and spiritual weapons. -They must resist tyranny with forbearance, hatred with love, wrong with -right, and injustice with faith. “To hurl back the cowardly weapon of -the wicked and the unjust is useless. Let it fall. Bear your suffering -with patience. Place your faith in the strength of the divine soul -of man.” “The hardest fibre must melt before the fire of love. When -the results do not correspond, the fire is not strong enough.” “The -indomitable tenacity and magic of the great soul will operate and -win out; force must bow down before heroic gentleness.” This is the -technique of passive resistance. - -The actual application of this principle to politics requires -explanation. Individuals or groups have a right to refuse submission -to the authority of government which they consider unjust and brutal. -“The people of India,” says Gandhi, “have been convinced, after long -and fearful trials, that the English government of India is Satanic. -It is based on violence. Its object is not the good of the people, but -rapine and plunder. It works not in the interests of the governed, and -its policies are not guided by their consent. It bases itself finally -not on right but on might. Its last appeal is not to the reason, nor -the heart, but to the sword. The country is tired of this creed and it -has risen against it.” Under these conditions the most straightforward -course to follow is to seek the destruction of such an institution. The -people of India can destroy the thing by force, or else they can refuse -their coöperation with its various activities and render it helpless; -then refuse their submission to its authority and render it useless. - -Just consider the case of a country where all government officers -resign from their offices, where the people boycott the various -governmental institutions such as public schools and colleges, law -courts, and legislatures; and where the taxpayers refuse to pay their -taxes. The people can do all this without resort to force, and so -stop the machinery of the government dead, and make it a meaningless -thing without use and power. To quote Thoreau once again: “When the -officer has resigned office, and the subject has refused allegiance, -the revolution is accomplished.” This is exactly what the people of -India have set out to do by their present policy of passive resistance. -However simple the theory may be, the practice of it is difficult -and perilous. When a people resort to these peaceful means for the -accomplishment of political revolution, they must be prepared to -undergo unlimited suffering. The enemy’s camp will be determined -and organized; from it will issue constant provocations and brutal -exhibitions of force. Under these difficult circumstances, the only -chance for the success of the passive resister is in his readiness -for infinite and courageous suffering, qualities that in turn imply a -powerful reserve of self-control and an utter dedication to the ideal. -Evidently to prepare a nation of 300 million people for this tremendous -task must take time and require great patience and courage. To quote -Gandhi: - - - “Non-coöperation is not a movement of brag, bluster, or bluff. - It is a test of our sincerity. It requires solid and silent - self-sacrifice. It challenges our honesty and our capacity for - national work. It is a movement that aims at translating ideas - into action.” - - -The people of India are moving on the road to freedom with dignity. -They are slowly nearing their goal. On their way the passive resisters -are learning their lessons from bitter experience, and are growing -stronger in faith every day. That they are headed in the right -direction and are quietly pushing forward we do know in a definite way, -but when they will emerge victorious we cannot say. To help the reader -to catch the subtle spirit behind this movement, we shall quote a few -more lines from the pen of its leader: - - - “I am a man of peace. I believe in peace. But I do not want peace - at any price. I do not want the peace that you find in stone. I do - not want the peace that you find in the grave; but I do want peace - which you find embedded in the human breast, which is exposed to - the arrows of the whole world, but which is protected from all - harm by the power of the Almighty God.” - - -The wearing of home-spun cloth by all classes of people, rich and -poor alike, is one of the most important items in the non-coöperative -program. Yet every time I have tried to justify it before my American -friends, I have received as response a shrug of the shoulders. Not only -the layman, but serious students of economics have replied: “That is -going back into mediæval ways. In these days of machinery home-spinning -is sheer foolishness.” Yet one does not have to be an economist to know -that “labor spent on home-spinning and thus used in the creation of -a utility, is better spent than wasted in idleness.” The majority of -the population of India lives directly upon the produce of the soil. -They remain in forced idleness for a greater part of the year. There -are no industries in the country, cottage or urban. So the people have -nothing to occupy them during their idle months. Before the English -conquest, agricultural India had its supplementary industries on which -the people could fall during their idle time. But these industries have -been completely destroyed by the English fiscal policy for India, which -was formulated with the desire to build England’s own fabric and other -industries upon the ruins of India’s industries. The country produces -more cotton than is needed for its own use. Under ordinary conditions -this cotton is exported out of the country, and cloth manufactured in -the mills of England is imported into the country for its consumption. -For want of a substitute people are forced to buy this foreign cloth. -And they are so miserably poor that the great majority of them cannot -afford one meal a day. Nothing could be more sensible for these people -than to adopt home-spinning during their idle hours. This will help to -save them, partially at least, from starvation. Let me quote Gandhi on -this subject: - - - “I claim for the spinning-wheel the properties of a musical - instrument, for whilst a hungry and a naked woman will refuse to - dance to the accompaniment of a piano, I have seen women beaming - with joy to see the spinning-wheel work, for they know that they - can through that rustic instrument both feed and clothe themselves. - - “Yes, it does solve the problem of India’s chronic poverty and is - an insurance against famine.... - - “When spinning was almost compulsorily stopped nothing replaced - it except slavery and idleness. Our mills cannot today spin - enough for our wants, and if they did, they will not keep down - prices unless they were compelled. They are frankly money-makers - and will not therefore regulate prices according to the needs of - the nation. Hand-spinning is therefore designed to put millions - of rupees in the hands of poor villagers. Every agricultural - country requires a supplementary industry to enable the peasants - to utilise the spare hours. Such industry for India has always - been spinning. Is it such a visionary ideal--an attempt to revive - an ancient occupation whose destruction has brought on slavery, - pauperism and disappearance of the inimitable artistic talent - which was once all expressed in the wonderful fabric of India and - which was the envy of the world?” - - -The people of India have made mistakes in the past, and they -will probably make others in the future. But that in sticking to -non-violence they are fulfilling the noblest ideal ever conceived by -man, and in staying loyal to the spirit of passive resistance they -are following a truer and a richer light will not be questioned. Will -humanity at large see the wisdom of passive resistance? To me in our -present state that seems very doubtful. It will be easy to convince the -common man of the virtue and wisdom of non-violence. But unfortunately -the reins of our destiny are not in the hands of common people. Those -who hold the power over the nations of the world have other interests -to look after than the common interests of the average man. They are -pledged to the service of other masters whose welfare is not the -welfare of the whole race. “The world is ruled at the present day by -those who must oppress and kill in order to exploit.” So long as this -condition continues, there is little hope for the reformation of human -society. We must all suffer because we would not learn. - -Mankind will not always refuse to listen to the voice of reason. A -time will come when the great masses all over the world will refuse to -fight, when exploitation and wars will cease, and the different groups -of the human race will consent to live together in coöperation and -peace. - -An illustration of the might of passive resistance was furnished during -the conflict between the British Government of India and the Akali -Sikhs over the management of their shrines. This incident shows to what -heights of self-sacrifice and suffering human beings can reach when -they are under the spell of noble idealism. Sikhs are a virile race of -fighting people. They are all members of a religious fellowship and -form nearly one-sixth of the population of the province of Punjab -in the northwest part of India. They constitute by themselves a very -important community, which is closely bound together by a feeling of -common brotherhood. They all go by the name of Singh, meaning the -lion, and are rightly proud of their history, which though brief in -scope of time, is yet full of inspiring deeds committed by the Sikh -forefathers in the defense of religious freedom and justice during the -evil days of a few corrupt and fanatic Moghul rulers of India. As a -rule Sikhs belong to the agriculturist class and both men and women are -stalwart and healthy-looking. Their men are distinguished by their long -hair and beards. They are born with martial characteristics and are -naturally very bold and brave in their habits. Once aroused to sense of -duty towards the weak and the oppressed, they have always been found -willing to give their lives without remorse or regret. Sikhs constitute -a major portion of the military and police forces of India and of -several British colonies. Those tourists who have been in the East will -recall the tall, bearded Sikh policemen of the British principalities -of Shanghai and Hongkong. Since the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, Sikhs have -always been regarded as the most loyal and devoted subjects of the -British Crown in India. “On the battlefields of Flanders, Mesopotamia, -Persia, and Egypt they have served the Empire faithfully and well. -Their deeds of heroism were particularly noticed during the most trying -moments of the World War.” - -Before the British acquired the province in 1849 Sikhs were the rulers -of the Punjab. During the period of their rule Sikh princes had made -rich grants of land and other property to the historic temples and -shrines of their religion. Because of the introduction of irrigation -canals some of these properties have acquired immense values in recent -years, their annual incomes in several cases running up to a million -rupees or more. - -The Sikhs have always regarded the temple properties as belonging -to the community. And when it was brought to the notice of their -progressive leaders that the hereditary priests at some of the historic -and rich Sikh centers had become corrupt and were wasting the temple -money in vicious pleasures, the Sikhs organized the Central Shrine -Management Committee. The object of the committee was to take away -the management of all important Sikh shrines from the corrupt priests -and to vest it in the community. The committee was first organized in -November, 1920, and its members were elected on the basis of universal -franchise open to both sexes. The method of procedure followed by the -committee was that of arbitration. A local sub-committee, consisting -of the leading Sikhs in the neighborhood, was formed to watch over the -affairs of every shrine. This sub-committee was to act in coöperation -with the temple priest, who was henceforth to be a subordinate and not -the sole master. Whenever the priests agreed to arbitrate the matter in -a fair manner, they were allowed free use of their residence quarters -and were awarded liberal salaries for household expenses. By this -method the Central Shrine Committee in a short time became masters of -some of the very rich and important Sikh shrines. - -While in several of the smaller places such transfer of ownership was -accomplished through peaceful means, in some of the bigger temples -the community had to undergo heavy losses in life. For instance at -Nanakana Sahib, the Jerusalem of the Sikhs, a band of one hundred -unarmed followers of the Central Committee were surrounded by a band -of armed hirelings of the priest. They were first shot at, then -assaulted with rifle butt-ends, and later cut into small pieces or -burnt alive after being previously soaked with kerosene oil. The priest -personally supervised this whole affair of daylight butchery which did -not finish until the last one of the Sikhs had been consumed by the -bloody bonfire. Later it was discovered that the priest had prepared -for the bloodshed long before, and that he had hired the armed ruffians -and barricaded the temple premises after consultation with the local -English Justice of the Peace. The leading dailies of the country -openly stated that the English civil commissioner was a co-partner in -the crime, but the government took no notice of the fact. The Hindu -population was not surprised that the priest who had murdered one -hundred innocent, inoffensive, devout Sikhs escaped capital punishment -in the British courts or that in his prison he was surrounded with all -the princely luxuries of his former palace. - -Guru Ka Bagh is a historic Sikh temple, situated at a distance of -nearly eight miles from the central headquarters of the Sikhs in the -city of Amritsar. Through an agreement drawn between the Central -Shrine Committee and the temple priest on January 31, 1921, Guru Ka -Bagh had come under the management of a local board assisted by the -priest. Six months later, presumably at the suggestion of the civil -commissioner, the priest burned all the temple records and drove the -representative of the Central Committee out of the temple premises; -whereupon the Central Committee took full charge of the temple. They -were in uncontested possession of the premises until trouble started, -a year later, from the arrest of five Akali Sikhs, who had gone out to -cut firewood from the surrounding grounds attached to the Guru Ka Bagh. -A formal complaint was obtained by the civil commissioner from the -ousted priest to the effect that in cutting wood for use in the temple -kitchen the Akalis were trespassing on his property rights. The cutting -of wood on the premises went on as usual until the police began to make -wholesale arrests of all so-called trespassers. - -This procedure continued for four days till the police found out -that large numbers of Akalis (immortals) were pouring in from all -sides, everyone eager to be arrested in protecting the rights of his -community. Then the police began to beat the Akali bands with bamboo -sticks six feet long and fitted with iron knobs on both ends. As soon -as Akalis, in groups of five, started to go across for cutting wood, -they were assaulted by the police armed with these bamboo sticks and -were mercilessly beaten over their heads and bodies until they became -unconscious and had to be carried away by the temple ambulance workers. - -The news of this novel method of punishment at once spread throughout -the country like wild fire and thousands of Sikhs started on their way -to Amritsar. The government closed the sale of railroad tickets to all -Akali Sikhs wearing black turbans, which constituted their national -uniform. The various highways leading into the city of the Golden -Temple, Amritsar, were blocked by armed police. But after a call for -them had been issued at the official headquarters of the Central Shrine -Management Committee, nothing could stop the Akalis from crowding into -the city. Where railroads refused passage they walked long distances -on foot, and when river and canal bridges were guarded against them, -both men and women swam across the waters to reach their holy temple -at Amritsar. In the course of two days the huge premises of the Golden -Temple were filled with Akalis of every sort and kind--boys of twelve -with feet sore with blisters from prolonged walking, women of all -ages--and still many were fast pouring in. - -“Among them were medaled veterans of many wars who had fought for -the English in foreign lands and won eminent recognition, and had -now rushed to Amritsar to win a higher and nobler merit in the -service of their religion and country. They had assembled there to be -ruthlessly beaten and killed by the agents of the same government for -whose protection they had fought at home and across the seas.” These -old warriors, disillusioned by their English friends, who were now -conspiring to take from them the simple rights of worship in their own -temples, had not lost their independence and courage. They had always -been the first to leap before the firing guns of the enemy on the -battlefields of England; they were first again here to throw themselves -at the feet of their Central Shrine Committee, willing to sacrifice -their lives at its bidding. All were eager, one more than the other, -to offer themselves for the beating at Guru Ka Bagh. - -Seeing that their efforts to stop the Akalis from gathering at Amritsar -had been wholly unsuccessful, the Government issued strict orders -against any person or group of persons from proceeding to Guru Ka Bagh. -Sizing up the whole situation, the assembled leaders of the community -represented in the Central Shrine Committee at once resolved on two -things. First, the community would contest its right of peaceful -pilgrimage and worship at Guru Ka Bagh and other temples until the -last among the Sikhs had been killed in the struggle. Secondly, they -would steadfastly adhere to the letter and spirit of Mahatma Gandhi’s -teachings of non-violence. Thirdly, they decided to send Akalis to Guru -Ka Bagh in batches of a hundred each, in direct defiance of the orders -of the British Government. Before starting on the march, each Akali -was required to take an oath of strict non-violence; that he would not -use force in action or speech under any provocation whatsoever; that -if assaulted he would submit to the rough treatment with resignation -and humility; that whatever might be the nature of his ordeal he would -not turn his face backward. He would either reach Guru Ka Bagh and go -out for chopping wood when so instructed, or he would be carried to the -committee’s emergency hospital unconscious, dead or alive. - -The first batch started towards Guru Ka Bagh on August 31, 1922, after -previously taking the vow of non-violence. The Akalis were dressed in -black turbans with garlands of white flowers wrapped around their -heads. On their way, as the Akalis sang their religious hymns in -chorus, they were met by a band of policemen armed with bamboo sticks. -Simultaneously the Akalis sat down and thrust their heads forward to -receive blows. An order was given by the English superintendent, and -on rushed the police with their long bamboo rods to do their bloody -work. They beat the non-resisting Sikhs on the heads, backs, and other -delicate parts of their bodies, until the entire one hundred was maimed -and battered and lay there in a mass unconscious, prostrate, bleeding. -While the volunteers were passively receiving blows from the police, -the English superintendent sportively ran his horse over them and back. -His assistants pulled the Sikhs by their sacred hair, spat upon their -faces, and cursed and called them names in the most offensive manner. -Later, their unconscious bodies were dragged away by the long hair and -thrown into the mud on either side of the road. From the ditches they -were picked up by the ambulance workers and brought to the emergency -hospital under the management of the Central Shrine Committee. - -In this way batches of one hundred, pledged to the principle of -non-violence, were sent every day to be beaten by the police in this -brutal fashion and then were picked up unconscious by the ambulance -service. After the tenth day Akalis were allowed to proceed freely on -their way. But the beatings in Guru Ka Bagh at the stop where wood for -kitchen use had been cut, continued till much later. After a few over -fifteen hundred non-resistant and innocent human beings had been thus -sacrificed, several hundred of whom had died of injuries received and -many others had been totally disabled for life, the Government withdrew -the police from Guru Ka Bagh and allowed the Sikhs free use of the -temple and its adjoining properties. - -It was an acknowledgment of defeat on the part of the British -Government and a definite victory for the passive resisters. -Non-violence had triumphed over brute force. The meek Sikhs had -established their moral and spiritual courage beyond a doubt. Those who -earlier had laughed at Gandhi’s doctrines now began to reconsider their -opinions and wondered if it were not true that the soul force of man -was the mightiest power in the world, more powerful than the might of -all its armies and navies put together. “Socrates and Christ are both -dead, but their spirits live and will continue to live.” Their bodies -were destroyed by those who possessed physical force, but their souls -were invincible. Who could conquer the spirit of Socrates, Christ, or -Gandhi when that spirit refused to be conquered? At the time of the -Guru Ka Bagh incident the physical Gandhi was locked behind iron bars -in a jail of India, but his spirit accompanied every Sikh as he stepped -across the line to receive the enemy’s cowardly blows. - -The amazing part of this whole story is the perfect peace that -prevailed throughout its entire course. The program of passive -resistance was carried to completion without one slip of action on the -part of the passive resisters. No community in the whole length and -breadth of India is more warlike and more inflammable for a righteous -cause than the Sikhs; and nothing is more provoking to a Sikh than an -insult offered to his sacred hair. Yet in hundreds of cases their -sacred hair was smeared with mud and trampled upon, while the bodies of -non-resisting Sikhs were dragged by their hair in the most malicious -manner by the police; but the passive resisters remained firm in their -resolve to the last and thereby proved their faith both in themselves -and in their principles. - -Those who have not grasped the subtle meaning of passive resistance -will call the Akali Sikhs cowards. They will say: “Well, the reason -why the Akalis did not return the blows of the police was because they -were afraid; and it was cowardice and not courage that made them submit -to such insults as the pulling of their sacred hair and so forth. A -truly brave person, who has a grain of salt in him, will answer the -blows of the enemy under those conditions and fight in the defense of -his honor until he is killed.” Although we do not agree with the first -part of our objecting friend’s argument, we shall admit the truth of -his statement that it takes a brave man to defend his honor at the -risk of death itself. Yet we hold that the Akali who, while defending -his national rights, voluntarily allowed himself to be beaten to death -without thoughts of malice or hatred in his heart against anybody was a -more courageous person than even the hero of our objecting friend. Why? -To use Gandhi’s illustration: “What do you think? Wherein is courage -required--in blowing others to pieces from behind a cannon or with a -smiling face approaching a cannon and being blown to pieces? Who is the -true warrior--he who keeps death as a bosom-friend or he who controls -the death of others? Believe me that a man devoid of courage and -manhood can never be a passive resister.” - -Let us stretch the point a little further in order to make it more -clear. During the martial law days at Amritsar in 1919, the commanding -officer ordered that all persons passing through a certain lane, where -previously an Englishwoman had been assaulted by a furious mob, should -be made to crawl on the bellies. Those living in the neighborhood had -submitted to this humiliation at the point of British bayonets. Later, -when Mahatma Gandhi visited the lane, he is reported to have made a -speech from the spot which may be summarized thus: “You Punjabees, who -possess muscular bodies and have statures six feet tall; you, who call -yourselves brave, submitted to the soul-degrading crawling order. I am -a small man and my physique is very weak. I weigh less than a hundred -pounds. But there is no power in this world that can make _me_ crawl -on my belly. General Dyer’s soldiers can bind my body and put me in -jail, or with their military weapons they can take my life; but when -he orders me to crawl on my belly I shall say: ‘Oh foolish man, don’t -you see, God has given me two feet to walk on? Why shall I crawl on my -knees, then?’” This is an instance of passive resistance. Under these -circumstances, would you call Gandhi a coward? You must remember this -distinction between a coward and a passive resister: a coward submits -to force through fear; while a passive resister submits to force _under -protest_. In our illustration of the crawling order those persons who -had submitted to the order because they were afraid of the punishment -involved if they disobeyed it were cowards of the first degree. But -Gandhi would be a passive resister, and you would not call him a -coward, would you? - -Let me give you a sample of the sublime heroism displayed by the Akalis -at Guru Ka Bagh. In one instance the policeman’s blow struck an Akali -with such violence that one of his eyeballs dropped out. His eye was -bleeding profusely, but still he walked forward towards his goal until -he was knocked down the second time and fell on the ground unconscious. -Another Akali, Pritipal Singh, was knocked down eight times. Each time -as soon as he recovered his senses, he stood on his feet and started -to go forward, until after the eighth time he lay on the ground wholly -prostrate. I have known Pritipal Singh in India. We went to school -together for five years. Pritipal was a good boy in every way. He was -the strongest person in our school and yet the meekest of all men. He -had a very jolly temper, and I can hear to this day his loud ringing -laugh. Inoffensive in his habits, he was a cultured and a loving -friend. When I read his name in the papers and later discovered how -cruelly he suffered from the injuries which finally resulted in his -premature death, I was indeed sorrowful. That such a saintly person as -Pritipal Singh should be made to go through such hellish tortures and -that his life should be thus cruelly ended in the prime of youth was -enough to give anyone a shock. But when I persuaded myself that with -the passing of that handsome youth there was one more gone for truth’s -sake, I felt peaceful and happy once more. - -Lest the reader be at a loss to know what this whole drama of horrible -tortures on the one hand and supernatural courage on the other was all -about, we shall give the gist of the whole affair as follows: - -At the time when the issue was precipitated in Guru Ka Bagh the Central -Shrine Management Committee had already acquired control over many -of the rich Sikh shrines, and become a powerful force in the uplift -of the community. The committee was receiving huge incomes from the -various shrine properties, which it proposed to spend on educational -and social service work. Those at the helm of affairs were profoundly -nationalistic in their views. Naturally, the British Government began -to fear their power, which it desired to break through suppression. -Hence the issue at Guru Ka Bagh was not the chopping of fuel wood. The -ghastly motive of the Government was to cow the Sikhs and crush their -spirits through oppression. How it started to demonstrate its power -and how shamefully it failed in its sinister purpose has already been -explained. - -Many other examples of the victory of soul force over brute strength -could be cited from the recent history of India. I chose the Guru Ka -Bagh affair as the subject of my illustration for two reasons. In -the first place, it was the most simple and yet the most prominent -demonstration of the holiness and might of passive resistance; and -secondly, the drama was performed in my own home town by actors who -belonged to my own community and were kith and kin to me in the sense -that I could know fully their joys and sorrows, their hopes and fears. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[33] Hyndman. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -JALLIANWALLA MASSACRE AT AMRITSAR - - -In this chapter we shall relate briefly the story of what occurred in -Punjab during the troubled days of 1919. These incidents, popularly -known as “the Punjab wrongs,” led to far-reaching consequences in the -relationship between England and India, and knowledge of them is very -necessary for a proper understanding of what has happened in India -since. We shall begin with the beginning of the World War and follow -the various incidents in the sequence of their occurrence. - -It is a matter of common knowledge now that the people of India -supported the British Empire throughout the period of the war in a very -liberal and enthusiastic manner. “India’s contributions to the war both -in its quota of man-force and money were far beyond the capacity of its -poor inhabitants.” Leaders of all states of opinion joined hands to -assist the Empire in its time of need. It has been stated before that -Gandhi overworked in the capacity as an honorary recruiting officer -until he contracted dysentery, which at one time threatened to prove -fatal. - -India was “bled white” in order to win the war. But for her support in -men and money England would have suffered greatly in prestige. Except -for Indian troops the German advance to Paris in the fall of 1914 might -not have been checked. The official publication, “India’s Contribution -to the Great War,” describes the work of the Indian troops thus: - - - “The Indian Corps reached France in the nick of time and helped - to stem the great German thrust towards Ypres and the Channel - Ports during the Autumn of 1914. These were the only trained - reinforcements immediately available in any part of the British - Empire and right worthily they played their part. - - “In Egypt and Palestine, in Mesopotamia, Persia, East and West - Africa and in subsidiary theatres they shared with their British - and Dominion comrades the attainment of final victory.”[34] - - -While the issue of the war still seemed doubtful, the British -Parliament, in order to induce the people of India to still greater -efforts in their support of the Empire, held out definite promises of -self-government to India after the war as a reward for their loyalty. -Mr. Montague, His Majesty’s Secretary of State for India, made the -following announcement on August 20, 1917: - - - “The policy of His Majesty’s Government with which the Government - of India are in complete accord, is that of the increasing - association of Indians in every branch of the administration and - the gradual development of self-governing institutions with a view - to the progressive realisation of responsible government in India - as an integral part of the British Empire. They have decided that - substantial steps in this direction should be taken as soon as - possible, ...” - - -The text of the above announcement was widely published in the -entire press of India. Then followed the famous message of President -Woodrow Wilson to the Congress with its definite pledge of -“self-determination” to subordinate nations. This helped to brighten -still more India’s hopes for home-rule. - -Naturally, after the Armistice was signed, the people of India expected -the fulfilment of the war promises. “But the British Government, -anticipating that soon after the war ended there would be a loud clamor -in the country for home-rule, gave instead of self-government the -Rowlatt Act, which was designed to stifle the nationalistic spirit in -its infancy.” The act gave unlimited power to the police to prohibit -public assemblies, to order indiscriminate searches of private homes, -to make arrests without notification, and so forth. “Its main purpose -was in such a manner to strengthen the authority of the police and -to enable them to root out of the country every form of liberal and -independent thought.” The plans of the British Bureaucracy were, -however, defeated in their entirety, because the passage of the act did -not go through the Legislative Assembly as smoothly as was expected. -The whole country cried out in one voice against the Rowlatt Act, but -it was passed by the British Government of India in the teeth of the -_unanimous_ opposition of _all_ elected as well as government appointed -Indian members of the Legislative Council. - -This was once again followed by mass meetings and parades in protest, -petitions to the British Parliament, delegations to the Viceroy, and a -nation-wide demonstration against the Rowlatt Act. But the Government -altogether ignored the sentiments of the country in this matter, an -attitude which in turn helped to inflame the masses still more. - -Gandhi considered the existence of the act on the statute books of -India a national humiliation, and in protest he ordered the people of -India to observe April 6, 1919, as a day of fast and national _hartal_. -_Hartal_ is the sign of deep mourning, during which the whole business -of the country is stopped and the people wander about the streets in -grief and lamentation. It was observed in ancient times only at the -death of popular kings or on the occasion of some other very serious -national calamity. - -The response to Gandhi’s appeal for the _hartal_ was very general. It -was surprising how quickly the sentiment of national consciousness had -spread throughout the country. Overnight Gandhi’s name was on the lips -of everybody, and even the most ignorant countrywomen were talking -about the Rowlatt Act. I remember that on the afternoon of April the -6th, while I was walking toward the site of the mass meeting in my -town, the like of which were being held all over India, and at which -resolutions of protest against the Rowlatt Act were passed, I saw a -girl of six nearly collapse on the street. After I had picked her up, -and she had rested from the heat of the sun, I asked her who she was -and where she was going. The little girl replied: “I am the daughter of -_Bharat Mata_ (Mother India) and I am going to the funeral of Daulat -(Rowlatt). Mahatma Dandhi (Gandhi) has called me.” - -The day passed quite peacefully except for slight disturbances in a few -places. But the excitement throughout the country, particularly in the -Punjab, was very great. The situation was so tense that Gandhi sent -his strong admonitions of non-violence to his people in a continual -stream. The activity at Amritsar started when, on the morning of April -10th the English Commissioner invited Dr. Kitchlew and Dr. Satyapal, -the two popular young leaders of the city, to his residence and ordered -their deportation to some unknown place. When it became known that -their leaders had been treacherously removed the citizens went on a -sudden _hartal_, and a huge mob began to gather in front of the main -city gate. The mob soon organized itself into a procession, which -started to move toward the District Commissioner’s residence to request -the restoration of Doctors Kitchlew and Satyapal. While crossing the -railroad bridge, the procession was met by armed police who soon -caused six casualties among the peaceful, unarmed mob. The mob soon -turned back and fell upon the city in a wild fury. It divided itself -into different groups and expended its rage by setting fire to the -city hall, two English banks, and a local Christian church. Two bank -managers, the only Englishmen present in town on that day, were cruelly -murdered. An English nurse who happened to be passing through a narrow -street was also assaulted by the mob, but was soon rescued by the -citizens and carried to a place of safety. Later on, this benevolent -Christian lady greatly endeared herself to the people of Amritsar by -refusing to accept any other indemnity for the assault than the price -of her wrist watch which was lost in the scramble. - -Immediately after the news of Amritsar reached the other towns in the -province, similar outbreaks of popular frenzy occurred in many places, -with this difference however, that at no other place besides Amritsar -were English residents injured. There were casualties on the side of -the mob everywhere, but none on the side of the English. On April 11th -the authority of the civil government was withdrawn, and martial law -was declared in most sections of the province of Punjab. - -Thus did the trouble begin that resulted in the massacre of Amritsar. -On that fatal day, April 13th, a mass meeting had been announced to -take place in Jallianwalla Bagh, an open enclosure in the heart of the -city of Amritsar. As it happened, April 13th was also the Baisakhi day, -which is observed all over India as a day of national festival. Large -crowds of country people had gathered into the city on that account. -On the morning of the 13th, General Dyer, the commanding officer -of the city, issued from the headquarters an order prohibiting the -Jallianwalla Bagh meeting, and notices to that effect were posted in -several places in the city. It should be mentioned here that unlike the -towns of America, there were in Amritsar at the time no universally -read daily papers which could convey the Commanding Officer’s order -all around in the short interval between its issue and the time of the -meeting. Under these circumstances General Dyer’s prohibitory order -could reach only a small fraction of the people in the city. - -Now let us come to the scene of the meeting. People began to assemble -in Jallianwalla Bagh at 3 o’clock. There were old men, women who -carried babies in their arms, and children who held toys in their -hands. They were all dressed in their holiday gala-dresses. “While -a few had come there to attend the meeting knowingly, the majority -had just followed the crowd and drifted in the Bagh out of simple -curiosity.” Whatever may have been its nature otherwise, it is -certain that the crowd at the Jallianwalla was not composed of bloody -revolutionists. Not one of them carried even a walking stick. They had -assembled there in the open inclosure peacefully to listen to speeches -and perhaps at the end to pass a few resolutions. At four o’clock the -meeting was called to order, and the speeches began. No more than forty -minutes of this peaceful gathering, and the audience were listening -in an attentive and orderly manner to the speaker who stood on a -raised platform in the center, when General Dyer walked in with his -band of thirty soldiers and suddenly opened fire on the crowd without -giving them any warning or chance to disperse. There was a sudden wild -skirmish in the inclosure. People began to run toward all sides to save -their lives; those who fell down were run over by the rest and crushed -under their weight. Others who attempted to escape by leaping over the -low wall on the east end were shot dead by the fire from the general’s -squad. As the crowd centered near the only escape from the unfinished -low wall, the general directed his shots there. He aimed where the -crowd was the thickest, and inside of the fifteen minutes during which -his ammunition lasted he had killed at least eight hundred men, women, -and children and wounded many times that number. - -It was already late afternoon when General Dyer, his ammunition having -run out, departed to his headquarters without providing any kind of -succor or medical aid to the wounded who lay bleeding and helpless at -the scene of slaughter. Before the people of the neighborhood recovered -from their consternation, it had already begun to get dark. As one -of the rules of martial law strictly forbade walking in the streets -of Amritsar after dark, it was impossible for any person or group of -persons to bring organized relief to the wounded at Jallianwalla. The -horrible agonies of those that lay in the Bagh disabled and deserted -were heard with grim patience all through the night by the faithful -wife Rattan Devi, when she sat there “in the midst of that ghastly -human carnival” holding in her lap the dead body of her beloved -husband. She had run to the scene after the shooting in a mad search -for her husband. After she had looked underneath a dozen heaps of dead -bodies and stumbled over many others, her eyes were drawn to the spot -where her husband’s dead body lay flat on the ground. Rattan Devi’s -husband was already dead and beyond human aid. The devoted wife could -not restore the dead man to life, but how could she afford to leave his -lifeless body in the stark neighborhood over night? She was too weak to -carry it home all by herself and there was no aid available. So she sat -there through the night holding a dead man in her lap. - -The horrors of that night of suffering were related by Rattan Devi in -her evidence before the Indian National Congress sub-committee, in -which she described “the fearful agony of dying human beings, who kept -crying for drinks of water all through the night.” No friendly aid came -to these departing souls in their last hours of deep distress. Afraid -of General Dyer’s deadly vengeance their fellowmen had stayed away, -while dogs from the neighboring streets wandered freely inside the Bagh -to feast on the bleeding human bodies. - -At the following session of the Indian National Congress which was held -at Amritsar, I myself saw at its exhibition twenty pairs of little -shoes, belonging to babies from a few months to a year old. These had -been picked up in the Jallianwalla Bagh by various persons after the -shooting, and they belonged to twenty innocent babies in their mothers’ -laps who had been completely obliterated in the mad scramble that had -accompanied the shooting. All that was left of these children was those -tiny shoes. May God bless the souls of the dear little ones and many -others who fell victims to the haughty general’s bloody mood on the -thirteenth of April, 1919, at Jallianwalla Bagh. - -Later, when General Dyer was cross-examined before Lord Hunter’s -Committee, which was appointed by the British Parliament to report on -Punjab disturbances, he testified to the following: - -1. That there was no provocation on the part of the people of Amritsar -for the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre either on the day of the shooting -or immediately before it. He had the situation well in hand and the -atmosphere was quite calm and peaceful. - -2. That his order prohibiting the meeting was issued the morning before -the meeting and reached only a fraction of the people in Amritsar on -that festival day of the thirteenth. - -3. That when he arrived on the scene of the meeting with his squad, he -found the people listening to the speaker in a calm manner and there -was no show of resistance offered to him. On the other hand, on seeing -him enter the premises, the audience began to run off in all directions. - -4. That he opened fire at the assembled meeting without giving the -people any warning or chance to disperse, and he continued firing while -his ammunition lasted--all the time directing his shots at places where -the crowd was the thickest. - -5. That he had brought a machine gun with him, which he had to leave -outside because the lane was too narrow for it to enter. And he -admitted that the casualties would have been much greater if he had -been able to use the machine gun. - -6. That his reason for the massacre at the Jallianwalla was to teach -the people a lesson, and he did not stop shooting after the crowd had -begun to disperse because he was afraid they would laugh at him. The -general wanted to show the people the might of the British rule. - -7. That he did not think to or care to provide succor to the wounded at -Jallianwalla. It was not a part of his business. - -Reproduced below is a part of General Dyer’s testimony before Lord -Hunter’s committee: - -“Q. When you got into the Bagh what did you do? A. I opened fire. - -Q. At once? A. Immediately. I had thought about the matter and don’t -imagine it took me more than thirty seconds to make up my mind as to -what my duty was. - -Q. How many people were in the crowd? A. I then estimated them roughly -at 5,000. I heard afterwards there were many more. - -Q. On the assumption that there was that risk of people being in the -crowd who were not aware of the proclamation, did it not occur to you -that it was a proper measure to ask the crowd to disperse before you -took that step of actually firing? A. No, at the time I did not. I -merely felt that my orders had not been obeyed, that martial law was -flouted, and that it was my duty to immediately disperse by rifle fire. - -Q. When you left Rambagh [his headquarters] did it occur to you that -you might have to fire? A. Yes, I had considered the nature of the duty -that I might have to face. - -Q. Did the crowd at once start to disperse as soon as you fired? A. -Immediately. - -Q. Did you continue firing? A. Yes. - -Q. What reason had you to suppose that if you had ordered the assembly -to leave the Bagh, they would not have done so without the necessity -of your firing and continuing firing for any length of time? A. Yes, I -think it quite possible that I could have dispersed them perhaps even -without firing. - -Q. Why did you not have recourse to that? A. They would have all come -back and laughed at me, and I should have made what I considered a fool -of myself. - -Q. And on counting the ammunition it was found that 1,650 rounds of -ammunition had been fired? A. Quite right. - -Q. Supposing the passage was sufficient to allow the armoured cars to -go in, would you have opened fire with the machine guns? A. I think, -probably, yes. - -Q. In that case the casualties would have been very much higher? A. Yes. - -Q. I take it that your idea in taking that action was to strike terror? -A. Call it what you like. I was going to punish them. My idea from the -military point of view was to make a wide impression.” - -During the course of its history mankind has witnessed many massacres -of a bloody and ruthless nature, but in every case before a massacre -occurred, there was a provocation of some kind. Jallianwalla Bagh -stands out unique in this respect--that it was an unprovoked, -premeditated and pre-arranged, coldblooded massacre of at least eight -hundred innocent men, women, and children, who were assembled in a -peaceful meeting on the day of their national festival, with no thought -of evil in their minds nor any desire to offer resistance of any sort -or kind to anybody. - -The most interesting part of the story is that what had happened at -Jallianwalla Bagh on the thirteenth of April was considered so trivial -and unimportant a matter that it took four months for the news to reach -official London. After the report of Lord Hunter’s committee had been -published, and all the horrible details of the massacre were fully -disclosed, General Dyer was retired from the military service on full -pension. But on his return to England he was handed a purse of ten -thousand pounds sterling, which amount had been raised by voluntary -subscription by the English people to recompense the general for his -heroic work at Jallianwalla Bagh. Such was the reaction of the English -nation to the massacre. - -Gandhi’s interpretation of General Dyer’s “heroism” is, however, -different. He writes: - - - “He [General Dyer] has called an unarmed crowd of men and - children--mostly holiday-makers--‘a rebel army.’ He believes - himself to be the saviour of Punjab in that he was able to - shoot down like rabbits men who were penned in an enclosure. - Such a man is unworthy of being considered a soldier. There was - no bravery in his action. He ran no risk. He shot without the - slightest opposition and without warning. This is not an ‘error of - judgment’. It is a paralysis of it in the face of fancied danger. - It is proof of criminal incapacity and heartlessness.” - - -The reader will be in a position now to understand the meaning of -Mahatma Gandhi’s letter to the Viceroy of India, dated August 1, -1920, and quoted on page 114 in which Gandhi gave his reasons for his -decision not to coöperate with the British Government of India. It -may be recalled that one of Mahatma Gandhi’s reasons was the “callous -disregard of the feelings of Indians” betrayed by the House of Lords. -It must be remembered here also that the massacre of Jallianwalla -occurred on April 13, 1919, and it was exactly a year and three months -later that Mahatma Gandhi made his decision to boycott the British -Government. During this interval he had persistently hoped for a change -in the British attitude. - -The massacre at Jallianwalla was only one part of the awful Punjab -story. What occurred at Amritsar and other towns in the province during -the martial days of 1919 was even more shameful and unworthy, “on -account of the outrage of human dignity it involved.” The issuing of -crawling orders and the throwing of bombs from aeroplanes over peaceful -towns constituted in part the doings of the military and police during -the unfortunate days of martial law. Nor was that all. Mrs. Sarojini -Naidu, the first woman president of India, said while speaking on the -“Punjab wrongs” before a large London audience (Kingsway Hall, June 3, -1919): - - - “My sisters were flogged, they were stripped naked; they were - outraged.” - - -The ingenuity of the English officials during the martial law period in -inventing fancy punishments showed itself conspicuously in the town of -Kasur where, according to the findings of the Congress sub-committee, - -“1. School boys and men were whipped, ‘with no particular object,’ and -there was no question of any martial law offense. Prostitutes were -invited to witness the ceremony. - -2. People were made to mark time and climb ladders. - -3. Religious mendicants were washed with lime. - -4. Those who failed to salute Europeans were made to rub their roses on -the ground. - -6. Public gallows were erected which were later abandoned. In all, -eighteen persons were hanged in the Punjab during the martial law -regime, many of whom were totally innocent.” - -We shall give below the evidence of Gurdevi, the widow of Mangal Jat, -before the Congress sub-committee on what had occured at Manianwalla: - - - “One day, during the Martial Law period, Mr. Bosworth Smith - gathered together all the males of over eight years at the - Dacca Dalia Bungalow, which is some miles from our village, in - connection with the investigations that were going on. Whilst the - men were at the Bungalow, he rode to our village, taking back with - him all the women who met him on the way carrying food for their - men at the Bungalow. Reaching the village, he went around the - lanes and ordered all women to come out of their houses, himself - forcing them out with sticks. He made us all stand near the - village Daira. The women folded their hands before him. He beat - some with his stick and spat at them and used the foulest and most - unmentionable language. He hit me twice and spat in my face.... - - “He repeatedly called us she-asses, bitches, flies and swines and - said: ‘You were in the same beds with your husbands; why did you - not prevent them from going out to do mischief? Now your skirts - will be looked by the Police Constables’. He gave me a kick also - and ordered us to undergo the torture of holding our ears by pass - our arms round the legs, whilst being bent double. - - “This treatment was meted out to us in the absence of our men who - were at the Bungalow.” - - -Cowardice, thy name is Bosworth Smith! Moral degradation in a human -being could not go any lower than this. Search the entire history -of mankind, and you will fail to find the equal of this act in its -ferocity and barbarism. How curious! The world believes still that -England’s mission in India is that of civilizing a backward people. - -The Jallianwalla massacre and other “Punjab wrongs” gave a great -impetus to the nationalist movement in India. What the Indian National -Congress had failed to accomplish in its steady work of thirty-two -years, the Punjab persecutions and humiliations did in the course of -a few months. It has helped to arouse in the minds of the people of -India a powerful national consciousness. It has been truly said that -the blood of the martyrs at Jallianwalla Bagh has made the heart of all -India to bleed. - -Those who ask the question, “Why does India revolt?” may find a part of -their answer in the word “Jallianwalla Bagh.” - -FOOTNOTE: - -[34] Page 221. Quoted from Lajpat Rai’s _Unhappy India_. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -WHY IS INDIA POOR? - - -Only two hundred years ago India was the richest country in the world. -Today it is the poorest. The gorgeous palaces of its kings with their -enormous treasures were the objects of admiration and wonder for the -other nations of the world. Its flourishing industries and its highly -lucrative trade excited the greed and envy of the merchant classes -everywhere. Its merchant ships laden with cargoes of valuable spices, -silken and cotton manufactures, and precious jewels sailed into the -harbors of England and other countries of Europe. How the maritime -nations of the world vied with each other to possess the trade of the -East Indies and fought over concessions in the Empire of the mighty -Moghuls is a matter of common knowledge to all students of history. It -was the fame of India that excited the imagination of Columbus when he -set out westward on his historic voyage; it was only by accident that -he discovered America. He had undertaken his voyage in search for a new -route to the fabulous riches of India, so that America really owes her -discovery to the fame of that ancient land. Pick up any standard work -on mediæval history or classical literature and you will find that the -riches of India and the splendor of the courts of its kings had become -proverbial among the nations of Europe. - -That fame of East Indian wealth which had inspired the careers of many -a European explorer, military commander, and financial genius had -totally disappeared long before the end of the nineteenth century; with -the disappearing of the Indian kings the splendor of their courts had -also vanished; with the extinction of the Indian fabric industries her -flourishing trade had ceased; and simultaneously with the loss of its -handicrafts and independence the prestige and prosperity of the nation -had come to an end. As early as the year 1900 A.D. India had begun to -be regarded by the historians as the poorest country in the world. -Her daily per capita income was fixed at three quarters of a penny -(equivalent to one and nine-sixteenths cents), and it was estimated -that the dawn of the twentieth century found among the inhabitants of -India one hundred and sixty million people who did not know what it -was to have one square meal a day. The percentage of literacy, which -included a knowledge of reading, writing, and arithmetic, had dropped -from thirty-three per cent in 1757 to less than four per cent in 1900. - -What is the cause of this astounding change in the condition of an -ancient people like the East Indians? How did it happen that the same -period which witnessed a sudden rise in the prosperity of most other -nations of the world found in the Hindu nation an equal or even more -sudden fall? What was the cause of the ruin of India’s famous silk -and cotton industries and of the loss of its political and economic -independence? How did India drop from the highest rank to the lowest, -from the proudest position to the humblest? - -For this state of things in India writers have offered different -explanations, several of which are so weak in nature that they would -not stand even a superficial examination. The downfall of the country -has been variously attributed to the low, immoral character of its -populace and the selfishness and cowardice of their leaders, to a large -increase in its population, to the inertia and extravagance of its -agricultural class, to the rigorous caste system, and to the hatred and -animosity which separates the different classes of its people. Some of -these evils were responsible in some measure for the political downfall -of India, but the reason for India’s economic ruin must be sought for -elsewhere. I maintain that the political subjugation of the country by -England, and the pursuance by the latter of a fiscal policy dictated -exclusively by the interests of British industries at the expense -of the native claims, forms the basis of India’s poverty and of its -consequent “ills and woes.” - -We shall first examine, in order, the various reasons for the country’s -poverty which have been given by others, and which I believe to be -unsatisfactory. Later I shall attempt to prove the truth of my thesis, -that the cupidity of English financial and industrial lords has been -the direct cause of India’s ruin. - -In the preceding pages much has been said concerning the moral -character of the people of India. Those who have lived among them and -have studied their habits and ideals at first hand know what heights -of moral and spiritual purity the inhabitants of that ancient land -once attained. Even in their present condition after generations -of political subjection and economic poverty, both of which have a -tendency to degrade the character of a people, it can be confidently -said that the people of India, when measured by any moral, ethical, -or cultural standard, will equal if not surpass any other people -throughout the entire world. In order to judge the moral condition of -this race at the time when their prosperity began to disappear, we -shall let those speak who knew them at first hand. - -Warren Hastings, whose name has been immortalized through his -impeachment by Edmund Burke, had spent the best part of his life in -India. Starting his career as a low-paid assistant of the East India -Company, he had risen to the position of Governor-General of India. No -one knew the people of that country better than did Warren Hastings, -because of all foreigners he had the best opportunity to come in close -contact with them. Yet he was no unqualified friend of India, as was -fully disclosed during his impeachment by the House of Commons in -England. Twenty-eight years after his retirement from India, Warren -Hastings gave the following testimony before the British Parliament: - - - “I affirm by the oath I have taken that this description of them - [that the people of India were in a state of moral turpitude] is - untrue and wholly unfounded.... They are gentle, benevolent, more - susceptible of gratitude for kindness shown them than prompted - to vengeance for wrongs inflicted, and as exempt from the worst - properties of human passion as any people on the face of the - earth.”[35] - - -It has been affirmed that overpopulation is the great cause of India’s -backwardness. But is India really over-populated? Has its population -increased very largely during the last two hundred years? When we -compare the census reports of the various countries of Europe, we find -that several of them, England included, are more densely populated than -India. If we compare England and India, we shall find that the increase -in population in the latter has been no greater than that in the former -since their political connection. In fact, since the beginning of the -twentieth century the population of India has actually decreased, while -that of England and several other countries of Europe has increased. - -That the agricultural class of India is a race of thrifty, -hard-working, abstemious, and experienced farmers who understand -thoroughly the art of tilling the soil, has been attested by many -foreigners, who had the opportunity to study their habits at close -range. The quality of their knowledge of the farming profession and -the extent of their initiative and perseverance may be judged from -the achievements of Hindu farmers in California. Here was a class of -agricultural people who had found it hard to make a decent living in -the “land of five rivers,” the Punjab. The Punjab is famous for its -fertile soil and has an irrigation system which is regarded as the -best in the world. Yet its agricultural population is in a state of -semi-starvation because of top-heavy taxation and other unprogressive -features of the country’s administration. The moment these farmers from -the Punjab were settled in the favorable environment of California they -made a success of farming which is acknowledged by friends and foes -alike. At the present time the anti-Asiatic laws of California prohibit -Hindus from farming, but it is a matter of common knowledge that Hindu -farm labor is paid higher wages in most sections than is American -labor, because the Hindus are “steady,” “hardworking,” “informed,” and -“dependable.” - -Ignorance and sluggishness do not keep the Hindu farmer in a worse -condition than is his own class in other countries; the small area of -his holdings, excessive taxation, and lack of capital are continually -dragging him backward. Eighty per cent of the people of India depend -upon agriculture for their sole support. They live on the soil and -by the soil. In former times India was also the home of flourishing -cottage industries, that helped to increase the income of its enormous -rural population. The invasion by English manufactures, caused by the -selfish English fiscal policy for India, has completely uprooted the -fabric industries of the Indian villages, a change which in turn has -driven the entire people to the land for their livelihood, thereby -bringing the total ruin of their economic prosperity. - -Lack of moral stamina in the people, overpopulation, ignorance or -sluggishness of the agricultural class are thus not the real causes of -India’s poverty. The economist who wishes to determine the cause of any -country’s poverty will have to ask himself the same questions which -the Hindu historian, R. C. Dutt, asked in regard to India a quarter -of century ago. “Does agriculture flourish? Are the finances properly -administered, so as to bring back to the people an adequate return for -the taxes paid by them? Are the sources of national wealth widened by a -Government anxious for the welfare of the people?” - -If it is true that in the same ratio as English power advanced in India -economic prosperity of the country began to decline, we might as well -inquire into the nature of British rule in India. We shall restrict -our inquiry to the answers of the following two questions: “Why -England acquired India?” and “Why England holds India?” It is a fact -that England first came in contact with India through the medium of a -trading company, whose object in establishing its trade stations in -the Eastern country was profit-making. It is asserted that the British -rulers of India have been guided in their work of governing the country -by altruistic and humanitarian motives of a high quality. To what -extent this claim of the English nation is founded on facts we shall -examine presently. In any case such humanitarian principles as may -have inspired the English rule in India, were of a much later origin. -The primary reason for which England established its connections with -its Eastern dependency was one of pure commercial greed. At the time -when the East India Company was organized in England the people of -Europe had not been trained in the use of such terms as “altruism” and -“civilizing the backward peoples.” These high-sounding epithets are -products of much later times. The minds of the Directors of the East -India Company were ruled by thoughts of large dividends and big profits. - -The simple facts of the case are that the British went over to India as -traders in order to make profit out of India. They found the people -of that vast and prosperous country divided among themselves, and -scenting the favorable opportunity, they set out cleverly to capitalize -the weakness of the natives for their own gain. Yet according to the -standards of the times nothing in their behavior was unusual or wrong. -The world had never actually been ruled by altruism. The East India -Company set the greedy, but innocent and confiding princes and peoples -of India one against the other, and using the natives as their tools, -became masters of the land. They have ever since held them under the -lash as chattels and slaves, “hewers of wood and drawers of water” for -Mother England. “Divide and rule” has been their constant motto. “Teach -and liberate” has never crossed their minds. Such phrases have been -invented by shrewd politicians merely to amuse and satisfy a class of -idealistic people in England and abroad who fall innocent victims to -artfully told lies. Such slogans were never intended as rules of state -policy. Study carefully the tragic result of this long and laborious -process of “liberating” a traditionally cultured and civilized people, -and you will be convinced of the truth. The motto of “Divide and rule,” -on the other hand, they used mercilessly to emasculate a nation of -helpless people, whom they made the innocent victims of their lust and -greed. For the details of this early exploitation and “treading under -foot” of the people of India read Edmund Burke’s impeachment of Warren -Hastings. Thus he closed his immortal condemnation of the barbarities -of his own people on the soil of India: - - - “I impeach Warren Hastings to high crimes and misdemeanors. I - impeach him in the name of the Commons’ House of Parliament, - whose trust he has betrayed. I impeach him in the name of the - English nation, whose ancient honor he has sullied. I impeach - him in the name of the people of India, whose rights he has - trodden underfoot, and whose country he has turned into a desert. - Lastly, in the name of every rank, I impeach the common enemy and - oppressor of all!” - - -Mr. Wm. Digby, another Englishman, who lived in India for over -twenty years as a member of the Indian Civil Service, gives valuable -historical and economic data on the subject of English Imperialism in -India, in his book ironically entitled _Prosperous British India_. The -book is a scholarly work on history and economics and deserves the -perusal of all thoughtful students. Mr. Digby shows that - -1. Since the beginning of the English rule in the country the per -capita income of the people of India has been gradually diminishing. -The daily per capita income was - - - in 1850 2 pence - in 1880 1½ pence - in 1900 ¾ pence. - - -2. That in 1900, proportionately to income, the Indian subject of -the British Crown was taxed more than four times higher than was his -Scottish fellow-subject, and three times higher than his English -compeer. He quotes the following figures from the _Statesman’s -Yearbook_, 1900-1: - - - Proportion of Taxation to Income - - Scotland with £45 India (outside 1,000,000 - per head as average, well-to-do people) with - one-seventeenth. 12s. per head as average, - nearly one-fourth. - - -3. In 1900 thirty-four and one-fifth days’ income of every inhabitant -of India was carried to England in the form of home charges. “Was ever -such a crushing tribute exacted by any conqueror at any period of -history?” - -4. Since the British have been in the country famines have been more -frequent, more widespread, and more deadly. “In the first quarter of -the nineteenth century there were reported only four famines in the -country, all of which were local. In the last quarter of the same -century there occurred twenty-two famines which were general and spread -all over the land.” - -A great nation was held a slave, was looted and routed, and yet the -world never heard of such a thing as British injustice in India. -But, let us ask, how was this great injustice perpetrated, this huge -exploitation continued? This question is eminently sane and pertinent, -and should be truthfully answered. - -The English people were too intelligent not to profit by the experience -of past conquerors and rulers over foreign races. As a result, they -did not evidently hold India down, but they kept her down. First, they -disarmed the natives totally. This procedure prevented armed rebellion, -and the world was saved the news of consequent repressions. In other -words, the English did not kill the people of India; they killed their -spirit. They robbed them of their land and of their daily meals, -and made them submissive and weak. The English novelist, Thackeray, -described as follows the early stages of English rule in India: - - - “It is very proper that, in England, a great share of the produce - of the earth should be appropriated to support certain families in - affluence, to produce senators, sages, and heroes for the service - and the defense of the State, or, in other words, that great - part of the rent should go to an opulent nobility and gentry, - who are to serve their country in Parliament, in the army and - navy, in the departments of science and liberal professions. The - leisure, independence, and high ideas, which the enjoyment of this - rent affords has enabled them to raise Britain to the pinnacle - of glory. Long may they enjoy it;--but in India, that haughty - spirit, independence, and deep thought, which the possession of - great wealth sometimes gives, ought to be suppressed. They are - directly adverse to our power and interest. The nature of things, - the past experience of all governments, renders it unnecessary to - enlarge on this subject We do not want generals, statesmen, and - legislators; we want industrious husbandmen.... - - “Considered politically, therefore, the general distribution of - land, among a number of small proprietors, who cannot easily - combine against Government, is an object of importance.” - - -This policy was followed in India with unwavering resolution and fatal -success. - -It is an unfortunate fact of recorded history which no well-informed -person may ignore, that under British rule the sources of national -wealth in India have been narrowed in many ways. In the eighteenth -century India was a great manufacturing as well as a great -agricultural country. How its greatness disappeared totally, and it was -left as a very poor agricultural country only, has been explained by -many English and Indian writers. The decline of Indian industries has -been attributed to the pursuance of a policy of commercial greed on the -part of the British manufacturers. The English historian, H. H. Wilson, -remarks: - - - “The British manufacturer employed the arm of political injustice - to keep down and ultimately strangle a competitor with whom he - could not have contended on equal terms.”[36] - - -We shall not tax the patience of our readers with irritating details of -the ways in which this arm of political power was actually employed. -But as a specimen we shall relate some of the incidents which helped to -build the cotton fabric industry of England at the expense of India. -It was the time of the home and cottage industries, when individuals -or small groups of hand weavers owned their establishments and worked -their business on a coöperative plan. The English merchants found -they could not compete with the highly skilled and efficient Indian -weavers; so they resolved to eliminate them altogether. This is what -they did. The agents of the East India Company went to the village with -the county magistrate (himself an employee of the Company, because the -Company was then the Government), and called together all the weavers -of the village. The agent offered loans and advances to those weavers -who would work for the Company. When the weavers refused to accept -their offers, the agents of the Company forcibly tied the money in the -napkins of the weavers, as a sign of their acceptance. The agents then -drove the workers back to their homes until such time as the Company -should demand their services. Thus they were forced to leave their own -looms and to work in the Company’s factories. There they were paid such -low wages that many of them fled from their homes, and hundreds and -thousands of others cut their thumbs and forefingers in order to render -themselves immune from this forced labor. - -By such means and others equally unfair “the prosperous class of Indian -weavers was made tradeless and homeless, and many were driven into -the jungle to starve and die.” At the same time England completed the -process of ruining the trade of India by charging an excise duty of -65% to 75% on Indian manufactures imported into England and admitting -English-made goods into British India free of duty. These statements -are not exaggerated. This procedure actually happened, and data -gathered by the English themselves is freely available. But should the -account be doubted when such and worse things happen in our own day -everywhere? - -All the high offices of governmental control, civil and military, were -given over to Englishmen, and Indians were employed as menials and -clerks. To be explicit: during the first one hundred and twenty-five -years of British rule in India not one Indian sat on the provincial or -national executive councils of the country. Until after the World War -no Indian held the commission of a lieutenant colonel in the British -army of India. If during this period India was not governed for the -good of the Indians, it is no wonder. How full of meaning are the words -of John Stuart Mill: - - - “The government of a people by itself has a meaning and a reality; - but such a thing as government of one people by another does not, - and cannot exist. One people may keep another for its own use, a - place to make money in, a human cattle-farm to be worked for the - profits of its own inhabitants. - - “It is an inherent condition of human affairs that no intention, - however sincere, of protecting the interests of others, can make - it safe or salutary to tie up their hands. By their own hands only - can any positive and durable improvement of their circumstances in - life be worked out.”[37] - - -Mr. Wm. Digby remarks on this account: - - - “Thus England’s unbounded prosperity owes its origin to - her connection with India, whilst it has, largely, been - maintained--disguisedly--from the same source, from the middle of - the eighteenth century to the present time. ‘Possibly, since the - world began, no investment has ever yielded the profits reaped - from the Indian plunder’ (Brooks Adams). - - “What was the extent of the wealth thus wrung from the East - Indies? No one has been able to reckon adequately, as no one - has been in a position to make a correct tally of the treasure - exported from India. Estimates have been made which vary from - five hundred million pounds sterling to nearly one billion pounds - sterling. Probably between Plassey (1757) and Waterloo the - last-mentioned sum was transferred from Indian hoards to English - banks.... Modern England has been made great by Indian wealth, - wealth never proffered by its possessor, but always taken by - the might and skill of the stronger. The difference between the - eighteenth and twentieth centuries is simply that the amount - received now is immensely larger and is obtained ‘according to - law’....”[38] - - -Let me quote Mrs. Sarojini Naidu, the “nightingale of India,” as to -the effect of British rule in India: “Our arts have degenerated, our -literatures are dead, our beautiful industries have perished, our valor -is done, our fires are dim, our soul is sinking.” - -All this has actually happened. Yet the world believes that England’s -mission in India is unselfish and holy, that she is there to save -the souls of a demoralized people and to educate an ignorant and -unprogressive nation. The nations have been made to believe that -without her influence there would be social and religious tyranny in -India, and that the weak would be left without a champion. The facts, -however, read differently. The people are poor and weak. They are -to a degree fanatic, and local conflicts occur occasionally between -religious groups. But do the English rulers of India prevent these -divisions or do they foster them? This is the important question. - -The English are our masters. They make their laws as stringent as they -please; they hold their grip as tight as they wish. They say to us: -“People of India, you are weak. Weakness is recognized in our system -as a crime. Therefore you are doomed.” So they show the power in their -hands and use it as they will. But when they say to us: “People of -India, cease to quarrel and live in peace,” they are not only cruel but -unjust and hypocritical, for the quarrels are their own creation, and -our divisions they recognize as their main support. Says the Premier of -England, Mr. Ramsay MacDonald: - - - “As the red patches advanced over the map of India, sections - pulled themselves together to resist, but no power then existing - could develop that Indian cohesion which was necessary if the - new trading invader was to be hurled back. We were not accepted, - but we could not be resisted. India challenged, but could not - make her challenge good.... Moreover, we were not a military - conquering power imposing tribute and hastening hither and thither - in our minds. The invasion was not of hordes of men seeking new - settlements, nor of military captains seeking spoil, but of - capital seeking investment, of merchants seeking profit. It was - necessarily slow; it divided to rule, and enlisted Indians to - subdue India.”[39] - - -Perhaps the reader will now be ready to concede that England acquired -control over India and has succeeded in holding her mastery over the -country through the policy of “Divide and rule.” He may grant also that -the existing fabric industries of India have been destroyed by the -unfair use of political power in the interest of the growing British -manufactures. Then followed the invasion of the power loom in Europe -which completed the ruin of India’s cotton industry. In the first -place India had been impoverished to such an extent that she could -not find the necessary capital to utilize the latest inventions; and -when at last she did succeed in setting up steam mills their progress -was nipped in the bud through the imposition of an excise duty on all -home manufactures. Here was an evident inversion of the natural order -of things. When machinery began to be introduced into the country, -a protective tariff was required to assist the infant industries. -Instead, the foreign rulers of India imposed an excise duty on cotton -fabrics, while foreign fabrics continued to be admitted free of duty. - -A similar mischievous policy was adopted in regard to the agricultural -industries of India. A government which has the welfare of the nation -in mind tries in every way to improve the condition of the governed by -increasing their sources of income. It grants its farmers subsidies, -helps them to improve the quality of their crops, and extends their -markets. What it exacts from them in the form of taxes is expended in -the improvement of their general condition. “It identifies itself with -the nation, and grows richer with it.” - -In India from the time when the East India Company became the rulers -of the country, this natural process has been reversed. These foreign -rulers of India regarded their possessions as a “human plantation,” and -their policy was to extract from the people all that was possible in -order to swell the profits of the Company’s stockholders in England. -Taxes on agricultural land were placed at the highest possible point -in the beginning, and were then increased at every successive revenue -settlement. The over-assessment and collection of taxes with the most -callous disregard for the material condition of the farmers, plunged -the country into misery. Soon they began to flee from their houses -into the jungles, leaving the country desolate. India was visited by -the most horrible famines, and while natives died in the streets from -hunger, the Company’s agents had the gratification of reporting an -increased collection from land taxes. It is estimated that the famine -of 1770 carried away with it one-third of the entire population of -Bengal, and yet in the following year the land revenue of Bengal was -raised and actually collected in cash. - -The two letters which were written from the Company’s Government in -India to its directors in England in the years 1771 and 1772 are of -peculiar interest in this matter. - -Dated 12th February, 1771: “Notwithstanding the great severity of the -late famine and the great reduction of people thereby, some increase -has been made in the settlements both of the Bengal and the Behar -Provinces for the present year.”[40] - -Dated 10th January, 1772: “The collections in each department of -revenue are as successfully carried on for the present year as we could -have wished.”[40] - -It is needless to say that in making a collection of an increased -revenue, following a devastating famine, a great deal more ingenuity -was needed. Every sort of advantage was taken of the distress of the -people. Their crops were monopolized, and in most cases the seed for -their next year’s crops was sold to realize the Company’s revenue. The -hereditary owners of the lands were driven away from their holding, and -their properties were transferred to the highest bidders for the land -revenue collection. - -A comparison between the land taxes claimed by the previous rulers of -India and by the East India Company may be made from the following -figures: - -The total land revenue collected by the last Mohammedan ruler of Bengal -in 1764, the last year of his administration, was £817,533; within -thirty years the British rulers collected an annual land revenue of -£2,680,000 in the same province. During this interval the country -had been visited by two of the most terrible famines of its history. -Colonel Briggs wrote in 1830: “A land tax like that which now exists in -India, professing to absorb the whole of the landlord’s rent, was never -known under any Government in Europe or Asia.”[41] - -Aside from the heavy assessment of the Government there were, more -disastrous still, the extortions and premiums of the Company’s -servants. Besides serving in the pay of the Company, each young clerk -or old veteran officer was ambitious to make a sudden fortune to be -carried with him to England. Nearly everyone of the Company’s servants -carried on his private trade. This evil was stopped, however, by Clive -in later years. English traders used all the tools at hand to take -improper advantage of their customers and of rival native traders. - -A typical case of this injustice occurred during the controversy over -excise duty in the Province of Bengal between its Nawab, Mir Kasam, -and the Company’s servants. The English victory at Plassey (1757) had -greatly enhanced the prestige of the Company. In exchange for its -protection, the Nawab of Bengal granted to the East India Company the -right to carry on its export and import trade, free of duty, within his -territory. This right the Nawab granted to the trade of the Company -and not to the private trade of the officials of the Company. In spite -of the repeated complaints from the Nawab, however, the Company’s -servants continued to carry on their private business without the -payment of any duties into the treasury of the Nawab. This arrangement, -of course, helped the private traders to rear colossal fortunes in a -very short period, but the Nawab’s treasury soon felt severely the -loss of its revenue. Moreover, the suffering of the native merchants -who had to pay heavy duties on their goods and thus found it difficult -to compete with these law-breaking traders, reached a critical state. -Overwhelmed from all sides, and finding his complaints to the Company’s -agents unheeded, the generous Nawab in a moment of noble and royal -indignation abolished all inland duties. By this act he personally -lost a large income from his revenues, but he placed his subjects on -equal terms with the employees of the East India Company. What followed -will be scarcely believed by our readers. The Executive Council of -the Company at Calcutta protested against this action of the Nawab as -a breach of faith towards the English nation. “The conduct of the -Company’s servants upon this occasion,” says James Mill in his history -of India, “furnishes one of the most remarkable instances upon record -of the power of interest to extinguish all sense of justice, and even -of shame.” “There can be no difference of opinion,” writes another -English historian, H. H. Wilson, “on the proceedings. The narrow-minded -selfishness of commercial cupidity had rendered all members of the -council, with the two honorable exceptions of Vansitart and Hastings, -obstinately inaccessible to the plainest dictates of reason, justice -and policy.”[42] More comment upon this is unnecessary. - -Here was a class of officials in India who regarded the country, which -they had been called upon to govern in the name of God Almighty, as -no other than a fishing pool. They declared that the purpose of their -government was to restore order in place of chaos, and justice instead -of corruption. But when one of the native princes, inspired by nobility -of heart, ordered a cancellation of his own revenues in order to -benefit his subjects, the government of the Company flared up in a rage -and called his act of unselfish benevolence a breach of faith against -the English nation. Edmund Burke was after all right when he spoke -about the East India Company’s officials thus: - - - “ ... The Tartar invasion was mischievous, but it is our - protection that destroys India. It was their enmity, but it is our - friendship. Our conquest there, after twenty years, is as crude as - it was the first day. The natives scarcely know what it is to see - the grey head of an Englishman; young men, boys almost, govern - there without society, and without sympathy with the natives. They - have no more social habits with the people than if they still - resided in England; nor, indeed, any species of intercourse but - that which is necessary to making a sudden fortune, with a view - to a remote settlement. Animated with all the avarice of age, and - all the impetuosity of youth, they roll in one after another, - wave after wave, and there is nothing before the eyes of the - natives but an endless, hopeless prospect of new flights of birds - of prey and passage, with appetites continually renewing for a - food that is continually wasting. Every rupee of profit made by - an Englishman is lost forever to India” (Edmund Burke in a speech - made in the House of Commons in 1783).” - - -After Plassey (1757) the English control over India began to expand -rapidly, and the East India Company acquired the real nature of -a government instead of a mere trading company. Gradually as the -political power of the Company grew in India and abuses crept in, the -English Parliament undertook to control all Indian affairs through -appointed representatives. This policy was carried out in so far that -on the eve of the Sepoy Mutiny (1857), which led to the transfer of the -Government of India to the British Sovereign, the English Parliament -already supervised the India affair through a cabinet minister and -a council board in England, and a governor-general appointed by the -British cabinet in India. - -The resentment of the people of India against the British rule and -its consequent political and economic humiliations found its tragic -expression in the rebellion of 1857, commonly known as the Sepoy -Mutiny. The masses of the country led by the native army burst forth -in mad fury against the yoke of their foreign rulers. The rebellion -started in the United Provinces and at once spread like wildfire -throughout the British territories. Once again the British played the -natives against each other. The rebellion, which at one time threatened -the complete overthrow of the British power in the country, was crushed -with the assistance of Sikh regiments from Punjab. The suppression of -the rebellion involved a terrible loss of life, and some of the deeds -of horror which were committed by the infuriated English soldiery -remain as fresh in the minds of the Indian people to this day as they -were in 1857. The last of the Moghul emperors was deposed and all of -his heirs were fired from the mouths of cannon. Thousands of rebels -were hung, and their dead bodies were left hanging from the branches of -trees in order to excite terror in the minds of the populace. Kaye and -Malleson’s _History of the Mutiny_ gives the most horrible account of -the butchery which the English officers carried on during the bloody -days after the Mutiny in the most indiscriminate and barbarous fashion. -The authors of this memorable account of the Mutiny state: “Already -our military officers were hunting down the criminals of all kinds, -and hanging them up with as little compunction as though they had been -pariah-dogs, or jackals, or vermin of a baser kind.” So ferocious was -the temper of the white soldiers, and so strongly had the fierce hatred -against all “who wore the dusky livery of the East” possessed them, -that on one occasion in the absence of tangible enemies they turned -on their own camp-followers and murdered a large number of their loyal -and unoffending servants. Sir Charles Ball writes: “Every day we had -expeditions to burn and destroy disaffected villages and we had taken -our revenge. We have the power of life in our hands and I assure you, -we spare not.” Innocent old men and helpless women with sucking infants -at their breasts felt the weight of the white man’s vengeance just as -much as the vilest malefactors. It is recorded that in several places -cow’s flesh was forced by spears and bayonets into the mouths of Hindu -prisoners because the English knew that the Hindu so abhors cow’s flesh -that he will rather die than eat it. Kaye and Malleson write: - - - “Afterwards the thirst for blood grew stronger still. It is on - the records of our British Parliament, in papers sent home by the - Governor-General of India in Council, that the aged, women and - children, are sacrificed, as well as those guilty of rebellion. - They were not deliberately hanged, but burnt to death in their - villages--perhaps now and then accidentally shot. Englishmen did - not hesitate to boast, or to record their boastings in writings, - that they had ‘spared no one’, and that ‘peppering away the - niggers’ was very pleasant pastime, ‘enjoyed amazingly’. It has - been stated in a book patronized by high class authorities, - that ‘for three months eight dead-carts daily went their rounds - from sunrise to sunset to take down the corpses which hung at - crossroads and market-places’, and that ‘six thousand beings’ had - been thus summarily disposed of and launched into eternity.”[43] - - -Following the Sepoy Mutiny an act was passed in the British Parliament -by virtue of which the government of India was transferred from the -East India Company to the British Crown. The English King thus became -the ruler of India, but the people of India paid the price of purchase. -The shareholders of the Company were recompensed for this change, and -the amount paid to them was added to the national debt of India. The -government of the country changed hands, but virtually no change was -made in the policy. Even in the times of peace that followed the public -debt of India continued to increase. The new rulers were determined -to promote English industries at the expense of Indian manufacturers -just as had been done under the rule of the Company. India remained -henceforth a colony of the Empire for the production of raw materials -at very low prices in the English factories. The manufactured goods -were afterwards re-shipped to India for the native consumption. The -posts of dignity and high emolument in the government service continued -to be regarded by the Englishman as his sole monopoly. No confidence -was placed in the natives; they were given no positions of authority, -and were excluded from offices of responsibility as much as possible. -In other words, the interests of Indians were completely subordinated -to those of the Englishmen. “The roads to wealth and honor were closed -to the natives. The highest among them were considered unworthy of -those places of trust in the state employments which were held by -young English boys fresh from school. The springs of Indian industry -were stopped, and the sources of the country’s wealth were dried up.” - -As a result of the direct British rule over India the public debt of -the country rose from £51,000,000 in 1857 to £200,000,000 in 1901. -The agricultural class of India, moreover, the backbone of national -prosperity in a country whose main occupation is agriculture, had -become so poor that in one district in 1900 85% of the land revenue -was directly paid to the Government officials by money-lenders, the -landowners being wholly unable to meet their obligations. It was -estimated by the leading medical journal of the world (_The Lancet_, -June, 1901) that during the last decimum of the nineteenth century -nineteen millions of British Indian subjects had died of starvation, -and one million from plague. And yet at the beginning of the twentieth -century according to the financial arrangements of the country half -of its total revenue was sent out of India to England each year. This -included the upkeep of the India office in London, pensions to retired -officials residing in England, and interest on public debts.[44] - -With these facts in mind the reader will not wonder that India is -poor. Place any other country in the world under the same conditions. -Let her government be carried on by a foreign power with the complete -exclusion of the sons of the soil from positions of responsibility; -let her fiscal policy be determined by the parliament of a rival -commercial nation without a single representative of the governed -nation sitting in its councils; let its industry be crippled or -destroyed by a malicious use of political power by its foreign rulers; -let its agriculture be subjected to a heavy and uncertain land tax; let -half its total revenue be carried away annually to a foreign land; and -you will not be surprised if the most prosperous nation in the world -sinks in the course of a few years to the lowest depths of poverty and -degradation.[45] - -A nation prospers if its government is wisely administered in the -interest of the people, if the sources of wealth are widened, and if -the proceeds from taxation are spent for the uplift of the people and -among the people. It is impoverished if its government is carried on -by an outside power for the purpose of exploitation; if the sources -of its wealth are narrowed from the crippling of its industries, and -if its revenues are largely remitted out of the country without an -economic return. Americans stand in awe before the single monopoly -of the Standard Oil Company. They are appalled by the magnitude and -tyranny of its power. They should remember that the Standard Oil -monopoly is a pigmy before the British monopoly of India. England has -exercised for nearly two hundred years exclusive and undivided control -over the affairs of India. She has had power to shape the destinies of -three hundred million people according to her will, being responsible -to no one but herself. She has held not only the government of India, -but its commerce, its finances, and its industry. In conclusion let -us repeat the poignant remark quoted earlier, “The national wealth of -India did not sprout wings and fly away. It had to be carried away.” - -FOOTNOTES: - -[35] Quoted from R. C. Dutt, _Economic History of British India_. - -[36] Quoted from R. C. Dutt. - -[37] Quoted from R. C. Dutt. - -[38] _Prosperous British India._ - -[39] From _The Government of India_. - -[40] Quoted from R. C. Dutt. - -[41] Quoted from R. C. Dutt. - -[42] Quoted from R. C. Dutt. - -[43] Quoted from Lajpat Rai. - -[44] Digby. - -[45] Digby. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -INDIAN NATIONALISM--ITS ORIGIN AND GROWTH - - -Before discussing at length the problems of Indian nationalism, let us -consider whether India is really a nation, or is merely a composite of -peoples inhabiting the same country. India’s fundamental unity as a -nation has been denied often by prominent scholars, while its historic -and cultured oneness has really never been acknowledged by the English -rulers of the country. Sir John Strachey remarks: - - - “This is the first and most essential thing to learn about - India--that there is not and never was an India, or even any - country of India, possessing, according to European ideas, any - sort of unity, physical, political, social, or religious; no - Indian nation, no ‘people of India’ of which we hear so much.” - - -We believe that Sir John Strachey is profoundly wrong in his assertion -that India is not a nation in the “physical, political, social, or -religious” sense. On the contrary, it can be proved easily that -geographically, historically, culturally, and spiritually India is -fundamentally one. Cut off from the north and the east by the snow-clad -Himalayas, and surrounded on the south and the west by the mighty -Indian Ocean, India is geographically, one country. Every part of the -interior is freely accessible from all sides. No natural boundary lines -within the country divide it into different parts; nor do any high -mountains obstruct the free passage from one part of the country to -the other. In fact, India is a physical unit, much more distinct than -any other country in Europe or America. - -When we study the history of India, from the ancient Vedic period to -modern times, we find again the whole of the Indian peninsula, from -Bengal to Gujrat, and from Ceylon to Kashmir, mentioned always as one -motherland. “The early Vedic literature contains hymns addressed to -the Motherland of India. The epic poems speak of the whole of BHARAT -as the home-land of Aryans.” We hear nowhere any account of separate -nationalities within the country. The literature of India is full of -thoughts about Indian nationality; but there is no mention of separate -Bengal, Madras, Gujrat, or Punjab nations, based upon geographic -divisions. Powerful emperors in ancient as well as modern times have -ruled over the entire peninsula in peace and security. “In fact, the -belief in the unity of India was so strong in ancient times that -no ruler considered his territories complete until he had acquired -control over the entire peninsula.” Asoka ruled over the whole of -India in perfect harmony. Akhbar’s power spread to the farthest ends -of the land. And when, later on, the different governors of the border -provinces rose in revolt and refused allegiance to the successors of -Akhbar, it was the great distance from the capital that suggested -revolt to the population of these distant provinces, and not a feeling -of separate nationality. - -Culturally, again, India is one nation. In their daily habits, their -ethical standards, and their spiritual responses the Indians of -every religion and locality are fundamentally alike. “Their family -life is founded on the same bases; their modes of dress and cooking -are the same. Their very tastes are similar.” They respect the same -national heroes and worship the same ideals. They have the same hopes -and aspirations in this life and in the hereafter. As a result, -their mental and spiritual behavior is similar. In fact, they are -fundamentally one in mind and in spirit. - -It is true that more than one dialect is spoken in the country. Until -1920 the business of the Indian National Congress itself was carried -on in the English language because no other language was common to -the whole of India. It was really tragic that a people who were -so profoundly proud of their national heritage and who aspired to -political freedom were obliged to use at the meetings of their national -assemblies an utterly foreign language. That the variety of languages -was in fact a very slight difficulty was demonstrated at the session -of the Indian National Congress in 1920. From the Congress platform at -Amritsar in 1919 Mahatma Gandhi had announced that at all subsequent -meetings the business of the Congress would be conducted in the Hindi -language, which is spoken by more than a third of the population of -the country. Teachers were sent immediately to different parts of the -country to instruct the people in the Hindi language and when the -Congress convened again in 1920 its business was carried on in Hindi. -Delegates from Bengal, Madras, and Bombay made their speeches in Hindi -as fluently as those from the United Provinces and the Punjab. Every -one felt satisfied at the change. A miracle had happened; _India had -acquired a common tongue in the course of a year_. - -The population of India is composed of many different peoples, who -came to the country originally as invaders, and later settled there -and became a part thereof. Through the process of assimilation and -adaptation extending over generations, the original Afghan, Mongol, and -Persian conquerors of India have lost their peculiar characteristics, -and become one with the rest of the population in their language, -ideas, and loyalties. The position of these foreign types in India is -exactly analogous to peoples of different nationalities, who migrated -from Europe into America in the early times. The interval of a single -generation was usually sufficient to transfer the loyalties of European -immigrants from their native countries to the United States. The -difference between India and the United States in this respect is -merely that the Indian must go back many more generations to reach his -immigrant than must the American. - -The chief barrier in the way of spiritual unity among the people -of India, is religion. Hinduism and Mohammedanism are the dominant -religions of the country. The main portion of the population is Hindu, -but seventy millions of Mohammedans are scattered over the whole -country in small groups. The Mohammedans came to India originally as -invaders and conquerors, and now occupy a position in the country -of mixed authority and subjection. Wherever they form the majority -group, they dominate the followers of other religions; while in -other places they are held down as minorities. Since the beginning -of their contact the Hindus and the Mohammedans of India have never -agreed. Intervals of peace and harmony between the two communities -have occurred occasionally during the reigns of benevolent emperors -like Akhbar and Shah Jahan; but their hearts were never joined in -true companionship even before the beginning of English influence. -The modern rulers of India have helped to strengthen the differences -between the Hindus and the Mohammedans in so far that the animosities -between the two religious groups were no less bitter in 1918 than they -were three hundred years ago. Since the days of Gandhi’s leadership, -however, a great deal has been accomplished in building up a feeling -of genuine comradeship and love between the Hindus and Mohammedans of -India. When the Moslems all over the world were in a state of deep -distress at the Khilafat issues after the Severes treaty, the Hindus -of India made common cause with the Moslems of the world. Khilafat was -included in the Congress program as one of India’s main issues. This -liberality helped to win the hearts of the Mohammedan population of -India toward their Hindu compatriots, and the Hindu Gandhi was idolized -by both religious groups, as leader and savior. It was an auspicious -beginning of friendship between these two isolated factions in India, -and ever since it has been enthusiastically followed up by the younger -generation of the country. It may be confidently expected that as the -youth of India acquire influence in the affairs of the country, the -friction between the Hindus and the Mohammedans will cease, and their -age-long battles based upon superstition and error will come to an end. - - -Worse still in their ethical and spiritual significance are the -differentiations between the caste groups among the Hindus. Numerous -social reform societies are working at the present time to remove the -barriers of caste within Hindu society; and until the work of building -up a human fellowship among the different caste and religious groups -of India, based upon the highest moral teachings of the Hindu sages, -is completed, the political as well as spiritual regeneration of the -country will remain an idle dream. - -We have seen that in the cultural sense, on account of the sameness -of feelings and instincts, the Hindus, Mohammedans, Sikhs, Parsis, -Bengalis, Mahratas, and Madrasis are fundamentally alike. Yet the -bitterness between these warring elements of the country had grown -into such immense proportions at one time that a communal feeling of -neighborhood and human decency among them seemed inconceivable. Two -hundred years ago, when the English first began to acquire control -over the country, the people of India were divided into perfectly -hostile groups; and no power then existed which could bring together -these warring factions. Among the causes that have secretly conspired -to develop a spirit of unity among the different religious and social -groups of India, the foremost has been British imperialism in the -country. Britain gave to India, in the first place, a long reign of -peace. This enabled the people of different parts of the country to -have a more direct and steady intercourse than was possible in earlier -times. The English also gave to the higher classes of India a knowledge -of English history and classical literature, whose study breathed -into the minds of the educated Indians a love of liberty. Acquaintance -with the spirit of European nationalism created a desire for Indian -nationality. A national consciousness soon sprang into existence and -found expression through the medium of the Indian National Congress. - -Greater than everything else, however, in its direct consequences of -uniting the people of India into one nation has been the universal -antagonism toward British rule. As the tyranny of foreign rule -gradually began to be felt, hatred against it increased. The different -factions in the country were forced to unite for the purpose of -driving out of the country the arrogant intruders. Whatever else may -be doubtful, one thing is certain about India: “The sentiment of -antagonism toward British rule and of resentment against its iniquitous -character is both universal and profound.” - -The principal grievances against English rule are its alien character -and its exploitation of the country’s wealth. Mahatma Gandhi calls it -“Satanic,” because it is founded not upon the consent of the governed -but upon the military strength of the ruler. “It is based not on right -but on might. Its last appeal is not to reason or to the heart but to -the sword.” Gandhi writes: - - - “I came reluctantly to the conclusion that the British connection - had made India more helpless than she ever was before, politically - and economically.... The government established by law in British - India is carried on for this exploitation of the masses. No - sophistry, no jugglery in figures can explain away the evidence - the skeletons in many villages present to the naked eye. I have - no doubt whatsoever that both England and the town-dwellers of - India will have to answer, if there is a God above, for this crime - against humanity which is perhaps unequalled in history.”--Gandhi, - _Speeches_, pp. 753-4. - - -We said just now that one of the main grievances against English rule -in India is its alien character. It may be asked: “Why should the -alien origin of a rule itself be such a strong argument against it?” -“Is it not true that England has given to India peace and efficiency -in government? That constitutes the chief function of governments -everywhere, and the rule which has successfully achieved this purpose -justifies its existence. If it is true elsewhere, it should be true in -India also.” Our questioner may be both profoundly right and profoundly -wrong. However, the acceptance or rejection of a foreign lordship by -the heart is a matter of such subtle sentiment, that the only way to -explain its meaning to the reader is to create a situation where he -shall be called upon to judge in the matter. - -Let us suppose that by some trick of fortune Japan obtained mastery -over America. Let us grant, at the same time, that the Japanese rule -over America was more efficient than the American rule, and in the -light of our modern knowledge it is not beyond the limit of probability -to imagine that Japanese efficiency in government could be greater than -American efficiency. How would our reader feel about the situation? -Would he be willing to discard his own indigenous native government -for the sake of a more efficient rule under the Japanese Mikado? -What would be his reaction if he saw his own “stars and stripes” -replaced by the Imperial flag of Japan? Certainly, he would not feel -at ease about the matter. The condition of the native of India under -British authority is exactly similar in cause and consequence. In -its fundamental aspect the rule of a country by an alien power is -essentially wrong in principle. It is unnatural and hence utterly -immoral. Whether it is the Japanese in Korea, the United States of -America in the Philippine Islands, or the English in India--it is -all unnatural and immoral. There can never be any ethical, moral, or -spiritual justification of an other than native rule in a country. -“The government of a people by itself,” says John Stuart Mill, “has a -meaning and reality; but such a thing as government of one people by -another does not, and cannot exist.” - -So far there have existed only two principles for the government of -any country in the world, one is the government of a country by its -chosen representatives, who are held responsible to their constituents, -and are necessarily required to rule the country in the interests of -the governed. This system was described by an American emancipator as -“government of the people, by the people, for the people.” When we -look back over the histories of the different countries of the world, -we find that, without a single exception, the countries which have -advanced in their material and cultural possessions, during the past -two hundred years, have been those whose governments were based on the -principle of “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” - - -In the modern world we find that the governments of the United States -of America, England, France, and Germany are typical for their -representative characters. It goes without saying that the progress -which these nations have made during recent times would not have been -possible under any other system of government. Take the case of any -of these countries, America for example; you will find that “America -has been made great by the democratic character of its governmental -institutions. Its colossal achievements in the mechanical arts, the -high advancement in its cultural and artistic life, the mammoth -nature of its commercial and industrial progress, the magnitude of -its educational equipment, its institutions of learning and research, -and its high standard of living--all these owe their origin to the -beneficent character of the American government,” whose foundation -was laid upon the noble principles contained in the Declaration of -Independence: - - - “ ... That all men are created equal; That they are endowed by - their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these - are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That, to secure - these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their - just powers from the consent of the governed; ...” - - -There is still another principle (or lack of principle) on which the -government of a country could be based. This occurs where the country -is governed by an alien power, which derives its authority not from the -consent of the governed, but from some outside source. As a natural -consequence of this system the rulers of such countries are not -concerned with the benefits to be derived by the ruled country. In such -cases the interests of the subject nation are completely subordinated -to those of the master country. “The commerce of the ruling power is -expanded at the expense of the ruled; the industries of the governing -country are enhanced at the cost of the extinction of those of the -governed.” “The material, cultural, and moral life of one people is -enriched at the expense of the life sources of a more helpless and -unfortunate people.” The process begins with the impoverishing of the -subject nation through a system of economic exploitation of its wealth -resources by the dominant powers. Poverty in its turn degrades the -character of the people, and the nation becomes morally flabby. The -degeneration of an impoverished and suppressed people is assisted by -the deteriorating influence of the other policies of the foreign ruler, -such as the disarming of the subject people, the introduction in their -midst of an alien system of education so designed as to form in its -higher classes a group of miseducated “snobs” and to create in the -upper sections of the country contempt for its past history and culture. - -This kind of government has existed in India for the past two hundred -years. To begin with, England carried away all the tangible wealth -of the country “in the form of indemnities, grants, and gifts from -its princes, and assessments and taxes from the people.” At the -same time the industries of the country were destroyed, and its -commercial prosperity was checked by a selfish policy of enriching the -manufacturing classes of England at the expense of those in India. -The entire population of the country was disarmed as the next step. -Thus were the natures of the people degraded, their martial spirit was -crushed, and “a race of soldiers and heroes converted into a timid -flock of quill-driving sheep.” - -The introduction of an utterly alien system of education was still -another step in rooting out of the country the remnants of national -honor and pride. According to the scheme of English education in the -country, formulated by Lord Macaulay, English was made the medium of -instruction for all branches of study. English history and English -literature received preference over Indian history and Indian -literature. The text-books for schools and colleges were prepared by -English agents of the government; and from them sentiments of love and -admiration for Indian civilization and culture on one hand, and respect -for the character and behavior of its princes on the other, were -rigidly excluded. In its place the English kings, the English people, -the English religion, the English government, the English institutions, -in fact everything English was held up as ideal. According to the -history texts, whenever a battle was fought between the English and -the native princes, the former were always in the right and the latter -forever in the wrong. The English were always the victorious, and the -natives always the beaten party. Mir Jafar, the arch-traitor of the -country, was a noble and worthy prince, while Mir Kasam, the benevolent -protector of his subjects against the injustice of the East India -Company’s agents, was a hypocrite and a debauché. The reason for the -exaltation of Mir Jafar and the execration of Mir Kasam is, however, -easily understood. Mir Jafar was the commander-in-chief of the army -of Siraj-ud-Daulah, who stood against the forces of Lord Clive on the -battlefield of Plassey. At a suggestion of bribery from Clive, Mir -Jafar led the whole of his army over to the side of the enemy, and thus -secured for the English the victory of Plassey, which was the beginning -of their real power in the country. On the other hand, Mir Kasam was -continually fighting against the encroachments of the East India -Company over his own territories and the rights of his subjects. Which -of the two princes was a real man and a worthy hero among his people, -Mir Jafar or Mir Kasam? Mir Kasam, according to every kind of moral and -ethical standard of nobility and courage; Mir Jafar, according to the -corrupt standards of British Imperialism in India. - -After the Indian youths had finished their scanty education, the future -that lay before them was of a very uninviting nature. As all the high -offices in the service of the country were monopolized by the English, -the only positions left for the educated classes of Indians were -those of low-paid clerks and assistants in the government offices. No -prospect of fame, or wealth, or power opened before them. There was no -great stimulus for the pursuit of higher knowledge. The young scholars -no sooner began to know their positions in the world than they realized -the uselessness of great attainments. Of what use was their learning if -they were not to have employment as responsible public administrators -of their country and so use their knowledge in the service of India? -The extent of the exclusion of the native inhabitants of the country -from offices of dignity and high emoluments in the government service -may be realized from the following figures. According to the figures of -1913, out of 2,501 civil and military offices in British India carrying -monthly salaries of 800 rupees ($266.00) or more, only 242, less than -ten per cent were held by Indians; out of the 4,986 appointments -carrying a monthly salary of 500 rupees ($166.00), only 19 per cent -were held by Indians; and out of the 11,064 appointments carrying a -monthly salary of 200 rupees ($66.00) only 42 per cent were held by -Indians. Conditions have not changed much since 1913.[46] - -In order to enable the American reader to realize fully the magnitude -of injustice involved in the wrong policies of the English government -in India regarding the country’s systems of education and public -employment, we shall use our previous illustration once more. Let it be -supposed that simultaneously with the consolidation of Japanese power -in America it was ordered by the Mikado that henceforth the Japanese -language should form the sole medium of instruction in the schools and -colleges throughout the United States. The American children would be -required to learn the Japanese language before reaching school. The -texts given to the youths of the country to study and digest would be -books written and published in Japan, from which the names of such -national heroes as Washington and Lincoln were excluded, but in which -the praises of Japan were sung in high chorus. Shakespeare, Milton, -Emerson, Longfellow, and Hawthorne would be excluded from the American -school curriculum, and Japanese literature substituted in its place. -The business of all governmental departments would be conducted in -Japanese, and its official circulars and reports would be printed in -Japanese. All the higher posts in the service of the country would -be reserved for the Mikado’s own countrymen. The president and his -cabinet; supreme, district, and superior court judges; the governors of -the states,--all would be appointed in Tokyo from among the Japanese -in favor with the government of the Mikado. Native-born Americans -would be employed only as stenographers, postmen, grammar school -teachers, and street car conductors, and then only at starvation wages. -Buddhism would be made the state religion of America. What would any -self-respecting American say if all this were done to his country? -What would he do when his children and his grandchildren raised a cry -against the injustice done to their country and its manhood, and this -cry was drowned by the declaration of the Japanese imperialists that -Japan was carrying the Yellow Man’s burden in the United States of -America. - -The feeling of a deep and passionate resentment felt by the people -of India regarding these matters was expressed by the late Mr. G. K. -Gokhale thus: - - - “A kind of dwarfing or stunting of the Indian race is going - on under the present system. We must live all our lives in an - atmosphere of inferiority, and the tallest of us must bend, in - order that the exigencies of the system may be satisfied. The - upward impulse, if I may use such an expression, which every - schoolboy at Eton or Harrow may feel, that he may one day be a - Gladstone, a Nelson, or a Wellington, and which may draw forth - the best efforts of which he is capable, that is denied to us. - The height to which our manhood is capable of rising can never - be reached by us under the present system. The moral elevation - which every Self-Governing people feel, cannot be felt by us. - Our administrative and military talents must gradually disappear - owing to sheer disuse, till at last our lot, as hewers of wood and - drawers of water in our own country, is stereotyped.” - - -If, therefore, the world sees the spectacle of an indignant India in -revolt against the English rule, it should not be surprised. It is only -natural that the English should resent the attempts of the Indians -to secure their independence. It is hoped, however, that the other -nations of the world will not feel hostile against the battle cry of -the Indians against the British oppression in their country. If the -English imperialists try to prove the virtue of their rule in India, -please remember that the question is not whether the English rule is -good or bad, but whether the principle underlying it is right or wrong. -No self-respecting American citizen desires to see Japanese lordship -established in his native land; he would call a condition intolerable -in which the Japanese held all the positions of power in the government -of his country. The full-blooded inhabitants of India feel in much -the same way about the British supremacy in India. The reason of this -attitude of both American and Indian nationalists is the same. The -self-respect of an honest man revolts against foreign domination. The -eyes of Modern India have been opened, and her people realize “that -they are men, with a man’s right to manage his own affairs.” As was -expressed by Mrs. Annie Besant in her presidential address before the -Indian National Congress in 1917: “India is no longer on her knees for -‘boons’; she is on her feet for Rights.” - -The first voice of organized Indian nationalist opinion demanding -reform in the British government of India, was heard in 1885. In -that year the first session of the Indian National Congress was held -in Bombay. The Congress began as a gathering of a small group of -progressive nationalist leaders from different parts of the country. -Gradually, as its function became known, the ranks of the congress -were swelled by delegates from all sections of India, and soon its -responsible character as the representative organ of Indian progressive -opinion on political matters was recognized in both England and India. - -The Congress began its career as a critic of British policies in -the country. It submitted a request to the English nation for an -inquiry into Indian affairs and presented claims for reforms in the -irresponsible and autocratic character of the British Government in the -country. As time passed and the real nature of English rule began to be -disclosed, the Indian nationalists became “bolder in their criticisms -and more ambitious in their claims for reform.” Except for minor -concessions granted through the courtesy of a few sympathetic viceroys -nothing positive in the direction of the better government of India was -accomplished by the Indian National Congress until the Morley-Minto -reforms of 1909. Yet in spite of its enormous difficulties, arising -from the stubbornness of British bureaucracy in India and the cold, -unconcerned attitude of the English Parliament towards Indian claims, -the Congress had done excellent work in arousing the educated classes -of the country to a realization of their political wrongs. - -The Indian nationalist movement received a great impetus during the -harsh reign of Lord Curzon as the high-handed Viceroy of India. One of -the acts of Lord Curzon was the partition of Bengal in 1905,--“an act -which aroused in the entire population of Bengal a violent outburst of -popular disapproval.” The purpose of the English Viceroy in dividing -the province into two portions was to destroy the unity of Bengal, and -to sow at the same time seeds of bitter Hindu-Muslim feuds. But the -Bengalee youths were determined not to accept the dismemberment of -their ancient land of Bengal, and the entire province was in a state -of anarchy for a period of six years. In spite of the attempts of the -English to quiet the agitation, it gradually spread all over India -until at last the hated act was repealed by royal proclamation at the -Delhi coronation Durbar in 1911. - -In the meantime the Morley-Minto reforms, sponsored by John Morley, -the noted biographer of Gladstone and at that time Secretary of State -for India, and Lord Minto, the Viceroy of India, had become law by -the India Council Act of 1909. The reforms were accepted by a few -moderate leaders as “generous,” but on the whole public opinion in -India regarded them as inadequate and petty. For the first time seats -in the executive councils of the provinces as well as those in the -Indian government were thrown open to Indians. The provincial and -central legislative councils were enlarged and made to include more -“elected” Indian members. Henceforth the provincial councils were to -contain a majority of “non-official” “elected” members as distinguished -from the “official” and “non-official nominated” members, the official -being the officers of the Government who sat in the councils as -ex-officio members and the non-official nominated who were nominated -to their positions as council members by the governor of the province -for provincial councils and by the Viceroy in the case of the central -council. - -The powers of the reformed councils, however, were limited. “The -councils,” says Prof. Parker T. Moon, “could pass resolutions subject -to the British Parliament’s overriding authority; they could discuss -the budget and other measures; they could criticise and suggest. They -could not oppose and propose, but neither depose nor dispose. They -could not overthrow the administration, or tighten the purse strings. -They were, in short, experimental debating clubs.”[47] - -Those who had put their confidence in the Morley-Minto reforms were -soon disappointed. The real nature of the new councils as mere -“debating clubs” was discovered and found unsatisfactory. The people of -India had demanded the right to control the affairs of their country’s -government, and they had been granted merely the right to discuss and -to criticize, with no authority whatsoever to alter the policies of -its officials. The helplessness of the Indian members in the Councils -was proved after the World War during the agitation over the Rowlatt -Bills. The uproar against this piece of repressive legislation was so -strong that all Indian members of the Central Legislative Council, -including those who were nominated by the government, voted against -its passage. But in spite of the solid opposition from Indian members -in the Council and an unprecedented revulsion against the Bills among -all classes in the country, they were made law by the Viceroy. That -legislation was a “direct slap in the face of nationalist India.” It is -a matter of common knowledge that it led to the _satyagraha_ of Mahatma -Gandhi, which in turn crystallized into the non-violent non-coöperation -movement. - -After the reforms of 1909, the Indian National Congress continued to -arouse the masses of the country to a national consciousness and to a -demand for representation in the government of the country. In 1914 -all groups of Indians joined in a spirit of loyalty to assist the -British Empire during the World War. India made heavy contributions to -the war-time needs of England in both man-power and money power; as a -recompense for her loyalty the people of India were promised liberal -home rule after the war. In the meantime the Indian National Congress -and the All-India Moslem League (founded in 1912 by the Mohammedans of -India) had agreed to present the joint claims of all communities in the -country for home rule. The scheme formulated by these two organizations -at Lucknow in 1916, and known as the Congress-League Scheme, had for -its aim the attainment of _Swaraj_ (home rule) within the British -Empire. They proposed a plan by which India within a period of fifteen -years should acquire the same rights as the self-governing colonies of -the Empire. - -Before the end of the war, the Secretary of State for India, Mr. -Montague, was sent to India by the British Parliament for the study -of the conditions of the country with a view to launching a scheme -of wider influence for its people. A joint report prepared by the -Secretary, Mr. Montague, and the Viceroy, Lord Chelmsford, was -published in 1918, and after slight modifications was passed by the -British Parliament as the Act of 1919. - -Although the Montague-Chelmsford reforms were an improvement over -the reforms of 1909, all sections of the Indian people except a -few isolated moderates at once declared them to be unsatisfactory. -Besides enlarging the existing councils and providing for more elected -members in them, the reforms of 1919 introduced the new principle of -“dyarchy” into the provinces. The various departments of the provincial -government were known as “reserved” or “transferred.” The control of -the “reserved” departments remained in the hands of the governors, -who were not responsible in any way to the legislatures. These -included law, order, justice, and police. The class of “transferred” -subjects included among others education, agriculture, and public -health. Their control was placed in the hands of ministers elected -by and responsible to the provincial legislatures, which contained a -majority of elected members. The system of “dyarchy” in the provincial -governments, however, was not a success. No sooner had the new scheme -begun to function than difficulties over the budget arose between -the ministers in charge of different departments. The ministers of -transferred subjects were given the privilege of managing their -departments according to popular demand, but they were not provided -with the funds necessary to make possible the proposed reforms. “The -strings of the purse were still held by an outside power,” a condition -which made work of these responsible ministers wholly ineffective. “In -defiance of Lincoln’s principles regarding the fate of a house divided -against itself,” comments Prof. Moon, “the British Government made -it a principle to divide the administration of India. India was to -be ‘half free, half slave.’ Autocracy and self-government were to be -twin columns supporting British imperialism. It is interesting to note -the subjects which were reserved as of interest to Great Britain--the -repression of disorder was a prime interest. Ingenious as it was, the -scheme was by no means an unqualified success.”[48] - -Yet it must be admitted that the reforms of 1919 were never given -a fair trial by the people of India. Before the time came for the -installation of the new councils, the Indian nation had already -launched upon its career of non-violent non-coöperation against the -British Government. How the agitation against the Rowlatt Bills led -to martial law in the Punjab and to the massacre at Amritsar, which -in turn drove Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian National Congress to the -policy of boycott against English rule, has already been explained in -a previous chapter. One of the items in the non-coöperation program -of the Congress was the boycott of councils, and as a consequence -of this item all the responsible nationalist leaders withheld their -names and support from the council elections. When after the arrest -of Mahatma Gandhi in 1922, one wing of the Indian nationalists under -the leadership of Mr. C. R. Das, decided to go into the councils, -they did so with the purpose of breaking them up. The avowed object -of followers of Mr. Das, who were henceforth called the “Swarajists,” -was to capture the councils with a view to breaking the machinery -of the government from within by obstructing its business at every -step. Even though the “Swarajists” finally did succeed in holding the -majority seats in different legislative councils of the country, and -in causing considerable annoyance to the government officials by their -obstructionist methods, yet they were far from being able at any time -to halt the government machinery. - -The point at issue between India and England is this: India has -outgrown its old habit of submission. It does not bend its knee to beg -for reforms and concessions. It is standing on its feet and demanding -its rights, and the methods it is using to secure the rights of the -people to govern themselves are of its own creation. The surprising -thing in this whole affair is not that India has lost faith in the -British sense of justice and has decided to boycott its English rulers; -the amazing thing is that it took the people of India so long to find -out the truth about England’s interests in the country and their own -welfare. It is a sad commentary upon the genius of Indian leadership -that it took the Indian National Congress thirty-five years to -discover the path of non-coöperation towards _Swaraj_ (home rule). To -expect from the English nation, which rewarded General Dyer for his -massacre of 800 unarmed civilians with a purse of £10,000 ($50,000), -a grant of self-government was stark nonsense. And yet until the new -path was struck out by Mahatma Gandhi in 1920, Indians of all shades -of opinion persevered in their belief that freedom could be acquired -by begging. Mahatma Gandhi was the first man among Indians to realize -the fact that freedom is never got by gifts of the rulers, but on the -contrary is won by the might of the ruled. Freedom is a thing which -cannot be given to a nation from outside; the ability to acquire it -must be developed from within. - -It is really amazing how old habits stick with beings long after -their uselessness has been established. A case of this occurred in -India after the incarceration of Mahatma Gandhi in 1922. The Mahatma -had started the country on the lines of non-coöperation, and they -were proceeding quite successfully, when he was suddenly arrested and -sentenced to six years’ imprisonment. Soon after he had disappeared -from the scene of the Congress, there sprang up in its midst a new -party which at once resolved to go back into the councils, as if they -had not had enough experience with the council business in previous -times. What prompted the “Swarajists” to this action has always -remained unintelligible to me. Did they really believe that they -could conquer the English bureaucracy of India through speeches in -the council chambers, or frighten them into submission through their -obstructionist terrors? If they did, it was a typical case of the -triumph of hope over experience. If ever anyone made the English rulers -of the country quake in their shoes it was Gandhi. He did not do this -by the politician’s tricks. He who fights against the English nation -with those weapons works against heavy odds, because the English are -already past masters in the art of diplomacy. The bureaucrats were -terrified by Gandhi because he used the weapon of passive resistance, -which was native to himself and his countrymen but foreign to the -British militarists. The rulers of the country were completely baffled -by Gandhi’s methods. They simply did not know what to do. If it had -been an armed insurrection of a rebellious nation, they possessed -enough military force to suppress it with success; but their best -strategists failed when they had to encounter a mass of three hundred -million disobeying and yet non-resisting people, who had risen in -sudden revolt against their established authority at the bidding of a -saintly leader. - -Gandhi’s non-violent non-coöperation still forms the creed of the -Indian National Congress. The masses all over the country have been -made conscious of the loss of their national dignity under the rule of -the British; the blood of the martyrs at Jallianwalla Bagh has made the -heart of India bleed; and it is hoped that before the present agitation -in the country is slackened, India will have achieved its national -freedom, and have become able once more to offer its contribution of -art, beauty, and culture to the rest of the world. - -Other outside influences besides the injustices of the British rule in -the country, that have conspired together to strengthen the nationalist -movement of India during the twentieth century, were the Japanese -victory in the Russo-Japanese war, and the lowering of the white man’s -prestige in the minds of all Eastern nations during and after the World -War. The crushing defeat of the Russian forces at the hands of the -Eastern islanders during the Russo-Japanese war broke forever the spell -of the invincibility of white man’s arms against Eastern foes; and this -incident gave a great impetus to the nationalistic movements in all -countries of the East. - -Again when during the World War native regiments from the different -colonial possessions of the fighting powers were gathered in the -battlefields of Europe to witness the “white man’s holocaust,” their -respect for his supposed superior civilization disappeared. At the same -time the World War weakened the potential powers of the imperialistic -white nations, thereby increasing considerably the chances of success -for the rebellious peoples in the East. The high-sounding sentiments -of “Self-determination” for weaker nations, and “a world made safe for -democracy” uttered by the allied statesmen, during the period of war, -had, ever since the ending of the World War on Armistice Day, quickened -the hopes not only of India but of other dependent nations as well to -seek in every direction for the realization of the ideals expressed by -these eloquent orators of the allies. What will the end be? - - * * * - -Since this was written some developments of a momentous character -have taken place in the political situation of India, of which an -appropriate notice may conveniently be taken here. - -At the 1928 session of the Indian National Congress held at Calcutta -a scheme of self-government, jointly prepared by all parties in -India, was presented to the British Parliament for enaction into -law. This scheme, known as the Nehru Report, was accompanied by an -ultimatum to the effect, that if Dominion Status equivalent to that -of other self-governing dominions of the Empire like Canada and South -Africa was not granted to India by the British Parliament before the -midnight of December 31st, 1929, the Indian National Congress would -henceforth declare complete independence as its immediate goal. Since -no satisfactory response was made to this ultimatum by the British -Parliament within the prescribed time limit, the Indian National -Congress at its annual session held at Lahore during the last week of -1929 committed itself to complete independence and a severance of all -relations with the British Government. The Independence resolution of -Mahatma Gandhi was carried by an overwhelming majority of 2,994 votes -against only 6. January 26th, 1930, was chosen by the Indian National -Congress as the day of Indian Independence. It was observed by all -Indians, in India and abroad, amidst spectacular demonstrations, during -which the national flag was hoisted with ceremony, and the Declaration -of Independence read to the masses. Resolutions of approval were passed -at nearly 750,000 meetings, and pledges of support given to the Indian -National Congress under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, by the -enthusiastic crowds, everywhere. At a later date the All-India Congress -Committee consisting of 300 members transferred its authority to guide -the policies of the Congress to a working committee of ten chosen -leaders of the people, who in turn have expressed their implicit faith -in the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. - -After all efforts at reconciliation with the British Government had -failed, Mahatma Gandhi embarked on his campaign of Civil Disobedience -on March 9th, 1930. On that day he left his home at Ahmedabad with -a batch of 79 volunteers to reach Jalalpur, a village on the ocean -shore and 150 miles distant, where he and his followers will start -manufacturing salt in open defiance of the British Government’s -monopoly of salt manufacture in India. This will be symbolic of -Gandhi’s program of Civil Disobedience. On this historic journey Gandhi -and his followers have been greeted with tremendous enthusiasm by the -general populace, who have gathered in numbers of hundreds of thousands -and lined Gandhi’s march all along his journey. - -The plan of Gandhi is very simple. He, with his batch of volunteers, -will start manufacturing salt at Jalalpur. Since this involves the -disobedience of the civil authority of the British Government, it will -be compelled to arrest Gandhi and his followers. The volunteers in case -of their arrest will be replaced by other batches of equal numbers. In -this way the campaign will continue until one of the parties withdraws. -The Government will either succeed in breaking up the power of Gandhi’s -followers or yield to the demands of nationalistic India. On the one -hand Gandhi has openly defied the British Government to arrest him, and -on the other hand he has strictly enjoined his followers to maintain a -spirit of non-violence. In a recent statement to the press he declared -that he was not afraid so much of the wrath of the British Government -as of the mad fury of his own countrymen bursting forth into open -violence. - -Gandhi’s march to Jalalpur has aroused universal enthusiasm all -over the country. Huge demonstrations are taking place everywhere. -Indication of the British Government’s policy of repression has -shown itself already in the arrest of Gandhi’s chief lieutenant, Mr. -Vallabhai Patel, and the mayor of Calcutta, Mr. Sen Gupta. The masses -have so far maintained the spirit of non-violence. Gandhi has given -to the British Government of India the choice between a peaceful -settlement and violence. He has been able so far to hold his countrymen -in a calm mood of peaceful agitation. If he is arrested and the -Government starts repression with its customary display of violence, -the revolution in India may take a different course. In such a case the -responsibility will be all England’s. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[46] Quoted from Lajpat Rai. - -[47] _Imperialism and World Politics_, page 300. - -[48] _Imperialism and World Politics_, page 303. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY MOTHER INDIA *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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