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LAKSHMAN "-.ND SURPANAKHA

By Ramgopal Vijayava~giya

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Prabasi Pres;, ~alctltta.

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"TH.R MODERN REVIEW

JUNE

" VOL. Lill., No.6

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1933

WHOLE No. 318

WORLD-WIDE BROTHERHOOD

By JABEZ T. SUNDERLAND

OUR world has many needs, many that are great and urgent. But among them all has it any other that is so vital as the need of

brotherhood? And the brotherhood. mtlst not be limited. It must be universal, it must, be world-wide, it must take in the entire human race.

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Perhaps the one thing that has done more than anything else in hurqan history to make this possible-to prepare the way for human brotherhood on the scale ot an entire humanity, has been the recent unifying of the physical world, that is, the bringing of 'the scattered parts of the earth's surface for the first time, intq actual relations with oue another, so as to form a whole. Strange as it may' seem, only within our own time has the earth been really one. Previously, tker€!> ~ere fragments of a world, parts of a world, some near to one another and some remote" . some known to one another "and s~me unknown; but not an entire and unbroken world. There was no uniby among the parts : therefore there w:s no basis .fllr a 1tlnHy QJ.

mankind. Althf:,ugh 'the spiritual .world •

transcends the physical, yet in- a very real sens1:J it rests .tipo!! it. Therefore, not until

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the physical world became a unity w~ it possible for humanity to become a unity.

How isolated and unconnected have been the different parts of the world is easily seen. The world as we know it today contains five main land-areas which we call contirrenta. But until very recent times only three of these-Asia, Europe, and Africa-even knew of the existence of the others: and in these three only relatively small parts which were contiguous, ever had much intercourse. The vastly larger outlying portions were almost as much strangers as if they had been in different universes. Until four centuries ago, so great and important a country as China was a mysterious land, pra~tically unknown beyond Iimited parts of Asia. Even Ii\g,ia, with her conspicuous place in Asiatic civilization, was hardly more than a name to

a lar~e part of mankind. Her silks and tapes'ries and other rich products of her looms, and the exquisite work of her jewellers and lapidaries, .had !nade their way to the chief citfes of Western Asia and the coun~ries around the Mediterranean Sea, and • her Buddhist monks seem to ~ave carried their gospel of brotherhood nearly as: far; yet it was not until a sea-route was discovered connecting Europe with the Orient, that India began to be at all adequately known to the Western world.

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THE MODERN REVIEW FOR JUNE, 1933

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~til sixty or seventy years ago, Japan can separate its fortunes from the fortunes

now so conspicuous among the nations-was • of all the rest-no part of which can prosper merely a group of obscure, far-away islands, without all other parts being. a-dvanced, 01' of which the majority of mankind bad never injured without all other parts of suffering. heard. Until foul' hundred years ago the The isolation and' self-sufficiency of peoples great continents of North and South America and of nations is gone, never to return.

were hidden away 'beyond the broad and St. Paul says of the human body: "The stormy Atlantic, undreamed of by any nation eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of the Eastern world. Until later still, of thee, or the head to the feet, I bave no Australia-larger in area than all of Europe need of you. If one member suffers, all the outside of Russia-was undiscovered by the members suffer with it; and if one member rest of mankind. The immense injerior of is honoured, all the members are honoured." Africa was a terra incognita until almof\t OLIT We are beginning to see that exactly the ow~ generation. The same was true of vast same is true of the world, ~ow that it has regions in the extreme north and the extreme become one. Asia cannot say "t~ Europe, south, in the vicinity of the north and south ((I have no need of you;" nor Europe to poles. Not until the modern age of explora- Asia," I have no need of you." ~ No nation,

"tion and discovery, consequent upon man's without folly, and loss, can be indifferent to mastery of the sea, were the thousands of the welfare of any other nation~ No people islands-some of them large and populous. can harm another p~ople without, sooner or scattered among the oceans of the world, ITtter, finding a lash falling upon their own

kno~ to Europe or Asia, or even to one back. •

another. The consequences flowing from the unifica-

But at last a very great change has come, tion of the world are necessarily very great a change beginning in the fifteenth century' aoo far-reaching. Since we have now one with such great voyagers and explorers as world arfti one' human family, with interests Colu~bus and Vasco da Gama, but not 'hat cannot be separated, we must have completed until our own generation. Now harmony, we must have brotherhood. Every

all important parts are discovered; the thing fossible must b.e done to I?reve~t . ill-

fragments are brought into touch; the feelings, misuuderstandings, contentions, mjus-

scattered pieces, no matter how far apart, tices, suspicions, fears, hates, whatever tends are joined; for the first time the world to. produce antagonisms and wars. The family, is re.ally one. , the whole family of humanity, must learn

And it is one not only in the sense to live together in peace and goodwill. This that 'all parts ate known to one another, but is absolut~y vital. This means that the most also 1il the deeper sense that relationships imperative, the most pressing question now undr:amed of before have been established before the entire world is how to promote between them, and c"mmon interests of a hum'an brotherhood, how to' enable the great hundred kinds have been discovered " tr newly-created world-family .of individuals, created, which are certain to be permanent. nations and races, to live together without Trade and commerce by land ana sea, destroying one another.

railways, steamships, airships, . telegraph~, I' . d b db' f . f ithl

cables under oceans, wireless and radio over • • t hIS ... ~a1 hY _!lUhtlllg, beal'ltnhg, hal d ess

... d.' 1 men t at llIlloug ts or uman 1'0 er 00 are

both oceans an bontinents- posta systems. leas hilarati d li htf ~

• extending to all countries, travel to remotest -r eas~~l' ex d !,):ratmg, de Ig u, Tbult are not

" . d id - f d practica an are mere reams. re answer,

reglOns, worl -WI e nance, newspapers an I - 'h . h t thi 1 b t

. . ul . h r th c ear as t e sun, IS t a no lllg e se u

literature eire atmg everyw ere- ese b h h d' . ti 1. er thin to the

things, the creations of our modern science 1'0~ er 0.0, IS prac rca ~ ev . y g

and modern knowledge-are shuttles, which ~ eontrary IS msanity, anarchy, ruin,

have woven alI parts of the earth too-ether -"Dream~ are they-our dreams of

• l:? - human brotherhood ?

and made them a umty,-one world III the Yes, they are dreams, 'b=t ~r,eams '"

fullest and deepest sense, no portion of which from God.

WORLD-WIDE BROTHERHOOD

Shall we despise and scorn themThat men Ij,hall love one another,

That all, whate'er their station, colour, Rank or name, shall call each other

brother,

That hate 'twixt land and land shall cease,

That war, red-handed, shall give place to peace,

That greed shall grow less in the mar ket- place,

That lust shall yield to love for the race,

That men shall meet God face to face?

Dreams are they all? Yes, God's dreams, and

Because they are God's dreams. As God lives they shall come true:"

Human brotherhood is important in whatever forrl\it,appears: it is particularly necessary, however, that it be promoted in four different dir"ections, namely, between Nations, between Races, between Individuals and Glasses (socral and industrial brotherhood) and between Religions. "

II

First, brotherhood between Races. One of the greatest obstacles in the way of inter-rae hI

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brotherhood has been the lack of acquaintance,.

with, and of knowledge of, one another.

"Herein lies the tragedy of the world:

Not that men are poor-v

All men.Jmow somethin~ of poverty. .. Not tha,t men are wickea-

Who is good? .

Not that men are ignorant of a thousand ", things-

Truth is infinite,

Nay, but that men and peoples 'mow

80 little of one another." "

For, the most part, the different races of the world have had habitats widely separated; and men are likely to be prejudiced against those at a distance whom they do not kn~w. People who are strange to us are apt to repel us. Charles Lamb in talking with a friend referred to a certain man as one whom he> hated. "But why do yoir hate him R" inquired the friend, '.'do you know him?" ((Dh no"n 'replied Lamb, ((that is why f hate him; if'I knew him, '1 couldn't hate him." Th'e fact that races Lave usually been so widely separated, and therefore strangers to one"anoMlern has

b . tt 1\. he ri ' "

een an Impor ~n cause 1Il t e rise 04: race

antigathies. H~ppil..r, as we ha;e seen," this cause Qf race hatl'e1:l and antagonism has now

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largely passed away under modern conditzms, since the physical world has become One' and , people of all races are being brought into closer contact.

Another 'cause of antagonism between races is difference of colour, hair, and physical characteristics, difference of language, of dress and of customs. But why should difference create alienation, or hatred, or repulsion? Would mankind be more attractive if all men were exactly alike?W ould we regard a flower-garden as more beautiful, if it contained only OM kind of flower? Would a forest made up of a single species of trees be thought superior to one containing many species ?- In the world of physical nature variety is considered an element of attraction, beauty, wealth. Why should it not be so in the world of human-, ity? Rightly looked at the fac~ that there are different races of men, with different appearances, customs, characterstics, means advantage; means a more interesting; and wonderful world. The world would be far poorer and far less desirable as a place to live in if there were in it only one race and one civilization, even if that race and civilization were our own. Intimate acquaintance. with different races shows that they all possess qualities which in their different ways are interesting and admirable, and which form a solid basis for mutual regard and fraternal relations. Friendships should not be confined to persons of one's own class, one's own statidn in life, or one's own race. Some of the warmest and truest friendships ever known have been between men of" widely different races.

Lives are widened and enriclfed' by

International and inter-racial contacts and "

sympathies.To know another civilization with sympathy and appreciation, is a valuable education. We should learn to care for human beings as human beings, without reference to the accidents that differentiate" them from one another or from us. Brotherheod should be as w~de as humanity.

Perhaps nothing in -the past has done so much to create antagonism b~ween laces, perhaps nothing is doing so much to create and foster such antagonism at the present time, as the d.ispositi'on on the part of toe stronger and more advanced races to tyrannize over oppress and wrong the weaker+-to subjugate

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THE MODERN REVIEW FOR JUNE, 1933

the~ .. and exploit their lands, and in many cases virtually to make slaves of them. Under such conditions, of course, brotherhood is impossible. Brotherhood can be based only

on kindness and justice. 0

Whenever races more advanced in civilization come into contact with those less advanced, their aim should not be to subjugate and exploit, but to befriend and lift up. Weare ashamed to take advantage of the weakness and ignorance of children to abuse and oppre$S them-because we are wiser and stronger than they : we recognize It to be our duty to protect them. It should be the sallie with advanced races in their dealings with races of inferior culture. The attitude of the superior should always be -that of friend,

,guardian, teacher never that of despoiler.

Thus it is that the promotion of brotherhood between races must always rest mainly with

the higher. r.

What have we in America done to promote or to hinder the spirit of brotherhood between races? Let us see.

I recall with shame that some years ago we, as a nation, forgot for the time being, our own ';;past history and the very foundation principle of our democracy-e-that "all just government derives its power from the consent of the governed"-and following the evil example of the nations of Europe, we obtained a, colony, or rather Ii dependency, in tl"te Far East. Finding the' people' of the Philippine Islands struggling to free themselves from a tyrannical foreign power, instead of aiding the!p, y;e committed the crime of seizing their counfry, carrying on' a cruel war to subdue them, and- have held ~hem ever since as our subjects, undoubtedly feeling ourselves more at liberty to do this because they were of a

race different.from our own. ('

True, we have probably treated Cthes~ Fllipino subjects. o£ ours better than any other nation nas "aver', treated a subject . people. We have done much to establish and maintain schools and education among-them everywhere, 1md to promote sanitation in all

-parts.of the Islands. We have allowed a majority of the offices of the country--the ,higher as well as the rower-to be filled by Filipinos. We have left municipal and local government al~~s~ ,wholly in the hands of the people. We

have even gone so far as to grant to the Filipinos themselves nearly lull power .in national legislation and in control of their national finances. In other words~ our {{benevolent despotism" has been extraordinarily

. benevolent,-benevolent to a degree hitherto unknown. Yet what of all this Y Nonetheless our rule has been a despotism, unpardonable and unendurable, because it has robbed nine or ten millions of people of something for the loss of which nothing can compensate, something dearer to them than life itself-their freedom, their independence; it has kept them in subjection to a foreign power whose ~ only right to rule them was-the right of the sword; it has humiliated and de;gq,ded them by depriving them of a place among the

nations of the world. <-

Will we persist in our national sin? I am happy to answer that I do {;ot think so. We have promised" the Filipinos their independenc~, and I believe we shall keep our promise. Our militarists) imperialists, and capitalists, to whom human- freedom means little (as it means little to those classes the world over) want to retain these rich Islands fl permanently for purposes of ex"ploitation, and are doing and will do all in their power to render our promise of no effect by catlsing interminable delays in its fulfilment. c Their power is great but, I do not believe they will succeed. The' American people as a whole are honourable and just. To them the nation's promises are not camollflage~ and not 3 crap s ~f paper to be t.rampled under foot at will. They are sacred things. I am confident that we shall dereat our capitalists and militarists, and 'at no ~ distant day grant to the Filipinos the freedom we have too long ..withheld from them.

We, Americans, have a very serious race problem here at home. It has to do· with

~ our negro -populatiori, How can ninety or -a hundred; millions of white people and ten or twelve millions of another race and colour live. together in the same nation? Unfortunately, we have tried the way of aI}tagonism as seen in

r- c-ur shameful ~ynching~. But antagonism only creates further antagonism, acd our difficulties deenen. Slowly but surely, a~ I believe, ~ our better minds-are beginning ~o see that because

WORLD-WIDE BROTHERHOOD

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we, the white people, have always' been free ~hile the negroes have been slaves, because we have enjoyed advantages of education and" self-development of which the negroes have been deprived, and because our civilization has been higher than theirs, therefore the chief responsibility for mending things rests upon us. Noblesse oblige. Our business is not to sneer or criticize or blame, but to help. To these people who are with us, not because they wanted to come, but because we brought them for our own advantage, we must now give the advantages that are their right-

1'1 facilities for education that will lift them but of their ignorance' and dependence, and make them jnloelligent, self-supporting, selfrespecting members of civilized communities. In other w'brds, we are beginning to discover that the key to our American negro problem is brotherh~od and that there is no other, as there is no other to any; of the race proble~s

of the world. ,e r

There is serious antagoni,sm, largely racial, between the peoples of Asia arid those of Europe. Because European nations belong to the so-called 'White' race, they have lang been disposed to look down' upofi Asiati!? peoples, and to regard themselves as at liberty to domineer over them, to exploit them and rob them of their territory, Today, Europe holds politieal control over three quarters of Asia. This injustice, of course, is felt deeply by the Asiatic peoples. They love freedom and independence as ~ milch as do' the people of Europe. They like no better to be robbed of their soil and be ruled 'by aliens. If antagonism between Asiatic and European nations is to be removed, -Europe must treat the older continent .with 'more of' justice than too often she has done. in 'the

past or is doing today. . ,

Great Britain's past treatment of China in twice waging war against her for - the; ~urpose of forcing thf opium -trade upon_ her people, thus to gain revenue t by their degradation and ruin, forms one of the darkest records of modern history. Indeed the treatment which nearly all the leading powers of Europe have accorded to China ~ has been' oveebearing' and unjust ~n the extreme.

'Great Bri~idn'13" treatment o~ India," her

persistence in holding in subjection a hi~hly intellectual people, with a civilization far older than her own, exploiting their country for her own enrichment, and granting them no effective voice whatever in their own government, is a great and lQng continued wrong which the whole civilized world should condemn.

It is especially unfortunate that there should be injustice and antagonism between the races of Europe and Asia, because of the fact that they are so closely related. Europeans call themselves 'white' and the peoples of Asht 'brown' and 'yellow.' But how very little do these colours really signify! Some Asiatics are whiter than some Europeans. When light-skinned Europeans migrate to tropical lands they grow darker in colour, and when dark-skinned Asiatics move to, colder climates, they grow lighter.,

If anywhere in either continent any race ls disposed to lift itself up in pride above others as a purer race and therefoee as superior, it may well be reminded that neither continent contains any such thing as a pure race. All the races of Asia and Europe are mixed: this is particularly true of Europe. It seems to be the verdict of the hrghest scientific authorities that there is probably not a single so-called 'European' person living who does not have Asiatic blood in his veins, while large numbers of the inhabitauts of Southern Europe possess more or less African blood. Considering these facts, how little ground is there among the peoples of either continent for race pride or race antagonisms and how much for race brotherhood.

Europe is disposed to be proud andGdomineering over Asia because she (Europe) claims ts-be at the front in the world's civilization. Her claim is open to dispute-the decision depending upon !Vhat we are to regard as ,high~t in civilization, things ~aterial or th~gs spiritual. And it may be, well for Europe to remember that even H she'is at the front today she was not always so, and the time _ may - come again when, she will not be. '1\ t one cime Egypt, in despised Al'rica; led the civilization of the world. At another, Babylon in Asia was the leader; at another, India;

at al'lother, "China, ...

If Europe has produced great nations, so has Asia. If Europe has given birth to great

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men} Asia has given birth to men quite as great. Indeed, has Europe had any sons in the past who may justly be ranked as the equal of Asia's Confucius, Buddha, Moses, Mahomet, and Jesus? Has she any today as truly great as Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindra-

" I nath Tagore? Europe should not forget that

'she did not originate her own civilization, but received it from Asia. More than that, she did not originate her moral laws, or her religion. Both of these inestimable treasures are Asia's gifts to her.

During the past century, Europe has been conferring upon Asia the valuable booe of

her science. For this Asia may well be grateful. But there is little cause fot boasting 0.0

• Europe's part. Surely, it is time tor her to be making some ,return to the oM(!r continent for the priceless boons of her own civilization and especially for the most valuable parts of her civilization, her moral laws, and her religious faith.

What is needed is for Europe and Asia to lay aside their antagonisms, to join hands in carrying forward civilization-civilization on both its sides, material and spiritual, and to co-operate in every way possibl€ in the work of practically uplifting the world.

(To be concluded)

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. HOW AMERICA TRAINS YOUNG CITIZ'ENS AS SbLDIERS

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By DR. SUDHINDRA BOSE

PACIFISTS there are in the United States; but passionate pacifism is far from becoming a cult among the sturdy American youths.' The general trend of tnought tn A'merimt is that in periods of peace, appropriate action must be~ taken "to 'insure the proper orgapization and maintenance of the means of providing for the country's defence. Then when -the The prirr:'ary object of the Reserve nation is .confronted with a war, it-will be Officers' 'l·raining Oorps is to provide ready to face the enemy with minimum loss. systematic training at schools and colleges of life and treasure. Means of preparedness for "the purpose of qualifying students for taken in peace time are' as . economical Qi commission as reserve officers in the Army manhood and money as they are guar~ntees of the United States. Its purpose is to of national security. . • . educate the future civilian leaders of the

The professipnal standing army of· the. - nation. to their military obligations of .- .. United States is smaller than that of other dtiz~nship while they are in the formative

great. nations. • Moreover, thi~ country does 'period of. their lives. The leadership.

• not require compulsory military service ot its developed as a. result of this training is to citruens. In order to remedy this partially, be utilized in time of national emergency. the ~atioI!.aJ.- Defence Acts provide '£or The system takes the place in the United the cqnstitution of the Reserve Officers' States of universal military Jlervice demanded Training Oorps (R. O. T. 0.) in educational b)" practKlallj all other Western countries. institutions throughout ·the country. It. is • Ths complete 'militar, course of true that except in a number of colleges' and instrpetion comprises four years: a basic universities aided 9Y the federal government, course of two. years and aIf advanced coufse

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the .estahlishment of the Reserve Officers'

':Praining Corps is voluntary with the authorities of the educational institutions. But the Oorps is _a v-itally important element of American national defence.

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THE MOD~~RN REVIEW FOR JUNE, 1933 Subject Condition and Pacifism or "Ahimsa"

. T odi vidual ahimsa or pacifism we appreciate as highly spiritual, particularly when a penon who is able to fight chooses not" to have recour~e to phys~cal force. Similarly we appreciate collective pacifism or ahimsa specially of virile nations who are able to fight:

For . that reason :ve think it is the great warhk~ powers which ought to set the example of ahimsa or pacifism. It is their ahimsa or pacifism which 'the world will accept

r- as the genuine thi"og. r

,,7 f) do not mean that weak peoples -s~ould' go' ~n .f~r himsa or the use of physICa1 force .IndIVldually or collectively. That r would be ineffectual and unwise. But what we ...... certainly do say is that weak peoples -should not Mast of their ahimsa or non-

r violence. Let them develop their strength. r And then they may be proud of their non-

violen ceo " '

"But this is a digression.

What we wan~d to ask ourselves is, what should be onr attitude or duty in vie:v of. th.e pacifistic propaganda carried ou III AI<l1 rica and some countries of Europe. Undergraduates of Oxford and some other

-- .~h universities have passed resolutions by big majorities that they will not fight for

r- rIng or country. There are older pacifists too i.o Gri,lat Britain and other European cou~trie~ and in America. At the same time, in many of these countries and jn Japan there is military training for students-even for girl studeuts. ; There is a very weak and mild movement for the military training of Indian

students. Should we denounce it or try to> . ~~. Caleb Williams Saleeby, M. D., writes

make it very very strong? We know, of , ... , III • work on The Proqress of Eugenics

co th t if th itati . f (Cassell and Co.) page 228 .

'. urse, a even 1 e agl ation III avour ,.

of the military training of our students beosme According to Sir Ronald Ross malaria is a

very Htrong~ the B!;itiRh Government wot:1d racial poison, and I have elsewhere cited the

6i'ldellCe of the Cambridge historians which

,.n.qt g~.ve all our physically fit young men suggests that the introduction of thi~ disease

the most up-to-date training with the most ~ may have teEn responsible for A thenian decad- •

un to d tAd .. en~e~the greatest tragedy in history. Grcat

Ii- - a e weapons. 11 It IS n~ :tlntam u;""espon~ble for malaria in India and

practical politics to suggest that there can (ill' the hour will come when we must deal with it.

should bq any. nun-official independent move- Florence Nightingale fou(!;ht durmg decades for

t f .. th h trai . "sanitation in ItJdia. .ann now we know that

men or glVWg em sue training, nothing coutd -.serve the In~an people so well

- vVhat should we then do Y Make"'a vi}:tlte as- me"sUl~S agJinst the malarial mosquito. It

of necessity and d'tlclare that, as we Indiaus~will ~e~ain to ~e seen 410W lheqduction of this

. ~.~ racial poison will affect the ·natural vigour of

are an ancient race which has attained the the "in~abitant8 of the peni~llaf. and 'lPeth*,

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highest degree of spirituality, we should··. prevent all our students from joining the University Training Corps or other similar" bodies, and go on boasting of.oijr innate pacifistic spirituality? If we choose to do so,

we should also fervently thank the British Goyernment for fostering the spiritual tenden-

cies of the vast majority of Indians.

But if our young men choose to go in for military training in order to acquire selfrespect and self-confidence, they should do so without being subject to the delusion that it

would be of such kinds and character as to enable them to defend their country from any possible foreign invasion in future. But they can certainly look forward to the next best ••

thing, namely, the ideal of offering s~me res is- .,

tance to the future invader, which" J3ven if • ineffectual, would be better than sheer servile acquiescence in every fresh future stbjugati'on

of India) after the British people have agreed

to the discontinuance 100£ their domination

here. ~ 1>

We are, therefore, of the opinion that, whilst the militarist Governments of the independent countries of the· world should go in> for pacifism, our Government should encourage ne military spirit in all provinces

of Tndia. In the world as a whole, those who are too bellicose should become pacifistic and thosa who are too pacifistic should.become capable of fighting-and both the..processes

and tendencies should receive encouragement

-froj;lh the respective Governments of the bellicose and pacifistic peoples.

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Malaria and British Rule

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without malaria, which is probably our best ally there, they will be content to remain' under our

rule. •.

We do not know what data have, led Dr.' Saleeby 11-0 -conclude that "Great Britain is responsible for malaria in India." But as the British people exercise supreme power over I ndia, it is certainly their bounden duty to eradicate this "racial poison." The task has not baffled human endeavour in some other countries and will not baffle it here, if undertaken in real earnest.

Japan Swa[{owing China

The ManrJzester Guardian. writes :

The Jaoanese campaign marches by the formula

f? which 'the Germans made historic in 1914: according ~ p).an. The plan has a double "face, diplomatic and military. In order to defend herself .Iapan attacked China, occupied Manchuria, established Monchukuc, Having rested. and in order to defend L1v.Ianchukuo, she invaded Jehol. Having rested again, and in order to defend Jehol, she has crossed the Grel:t Wall and occupied a triangle of groll1!ld near the coas] which includes Chinwangtao. How far will Japan have to advance into China in order to defend herself sufficiently? To Tientsin, to Pekin, to Nanking? There was no truth in her contention that self-defence forced her to make IVaI' in Manchuria in 1931. but ""it is true enough now that her military position is weak, However far she goes, tho continuance of Chinese resistance, the presence of substantial Chin6~e forces in the field, threatens the safety of her advanced army and irresistibly draws her on. Jehol is a Chinese base against Manchu-\?uo; the area i~mediately south of the Wall is a base against Jf,lhol; the Peking-Tientsin region is now a base against the new positions which Japan has

seized south of the WalL Japan must =eek "'>

military security, Her soldiers, who rule the

_..". country, may like war, but ns soldier desires indefinite war with the sa ne enemy. From his own point of view, the professional=soldier's, that means failure, with however many victories it is decorated. If he is more than a mere soldier, • he knows that it also means a strain an his country which will be serious if .there are economic and political weaknesses in the home front. _

Japan, therefore, is driven by circumstances to go on seekin~ military security. She is like the Indian Government which used always to dread an Afghanistan penetrated by Russian influence. But -a Japan's Afglianistan is not stationary; hc'Wev~r far she advances, ~it til still just ahead of her. General Araki (the same that is so anxious. teo free India from British 'opgressio~~,.., will new announce that the Japanese army will make no further move. 'unless deliberately challenged by the Chinese.' (formula used on March 16, before the advance from JeIwl), hut 0 that 'l\ is' ~he diplomatic

constant in his 'plan.' , . (1'''' r>" e . .

The Briti$ paper .. points eut what, Great'" Britain should do in collaboration wJt% the

'i1 -'1i ,,":' ""r!) " .

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NOTES

72'7 ?

League of Nations and the of America.

United States

p

It has been an astonishing abdication in the field of . foreign policy that we have apparently never since tleptember, 1931, realized, nor realize even now.t.whither Japan's absorption of Northern. China ts leading. Even now it might not be too. late for action if we had a policy and were prepared, along with the League and the United S'tates, to press it. But nowadays the bberal Influences seem always to be passive and hesitating ; the illiberal, quick and active. The Government should urge on the United States that policy of the embargo against Japan alone which France is already anxious to adopt; it should urge a common declaration that no financial ' assitance will be given to Japan. It does not matter that Japan at the moment may need rraither arms nor money from abroad; the day may c?me. when she will need both, and tin any event It IS .necessary to insist and re-insist that the world condemns her attack on China and will never ac?ept its results. We ought alse' to assist the Chinese Government, both now and in ' the future, by every means in our power, ChSna has accepted the co-operation of League advisers-> in her admiuietration and is seeking more of >

~ them. We should use all our influence at the League to extend this assistance, and, wherever possible, Americans should be brought in to. collaborate in it. China should be made J;o f!'Cl,ll that, whatever the present success of the Japanese aggressor, the League and its friends desire 10 goon helping her, if she will have her help to a better and more stable condition, and that 'however long the interval may be, they will o~e and

all refuse to recognize the results 0.1' J;_apanese aggression. If they would do that, the period would not be so long after all.

Influence of Soviet Governme~t on Asia

Mr. H.G.

What are We 90-91 :

Wells writes in his book" to do: with OUZo Lives, pa.ges

However severely the guiding the&e", and

practical unethods of the Soviet Government i3 Russia may be criticised, the fact remains that it ~ has cleared out of its way many of the main

.,.~ obstructive elements that we find still vigorous in the more highly organized communities of the West. It has liberated vast areas from the kindred sl~erstitions' of the monarchy and the need for a Vllvate proprietary control e of great economic lOte!ests: And It has presented both China. i,am!. '" In~I~ WIth the exciting spt;_9tac~ of a social and political s.y,sterri' capable of. throwing off many of Ji,he m<?st characteristic features of triumphant. Nestel'l11Sm, and yet pohling its own. Th the C(:;tys when Japan Iaced vup to nr~dern necessities, there were no "models for imitation that were not

~ communities of the Atlantic type pervaded by the methods .o] private- capitalism, and. in consequen ~_""'" W;te,.. Japanese reconstructed !{leir _ affairs on a 4\silOOtly European plan, adopring a Parliament

alld bringinl; their monarchy, social hierarchy, and

~ 728

•

THE MODERN REVIEW FOR JUNE, 1933

business. and financial methods into a general confnrrnity with that model. It IS extremely doubtful whether any other Asiatic community w~ll now set Itself to a parallel imitation, and it. will be thanks largely to the Russian revolution that this breakaway from EUropeanization has occurred.

.Santiniketan Colleqe

~

On the re-opening of colleges after the summer vacation undergraduates who lv-ant to prosecute their studies further will join somb' college or other. Those who have passed the Ma=riculation Examinatio:a will join 9011ege for the first time. Those who have passed the Intermediate Examination in .Arts or Science may continue to attend tb"0ir old colleges, if possible, or may join a new

c college. 'l'T

<,: • The attention of collegians who want to

- join a Dew college and of matriculates is drawn to the advertisement of Santiniketau' College- in the present issue of The Modern ':1evre-w.

r

..

7Ihe special features and advantages of this institution are known to old readers of rthis journal. For a liberal culture in harmony 'Wit~ o:Irlia's national cultures studies of a sOIgewhat wider range are required than are

~-ror-~Ared by t~e groups of courses in ordinary colleges. Besides such courses Santiniketan r- ·college offers its own courses of studies, for

_ which separate diplomas are given. More=; over, students of this' college can learn music, paintiug, etc., without .extra charge. Santiniketan is free from the distractions and temptajions of crowded city life but provides the- amenities of town life. A great advantage -;

- is open air life in touch with Nature. ARl the maximum number of students admittedto this college is one hundred and as in the coming session there will be only sixty-new admissions, the [lro£essor8 are in a posicion ,.

,,<'to cpay attention to the individual requirements of stud(\'nte:- The inctitution being _residential, corporate life is a possibility and an actuality. Studentc from many provinces of India coiigregate T here. ~ Among "the professers, too, there are persons f.rorn

~ifferent provinces of India and from oqtjiide India. Students are, therefore, _able to ~e&rn practical lessons in cosmopolitan life.

•

Rammohun Roy Centenary

In the advertisement se~tion of thi .. number the reader will find an .Appeal issued by the Rammohun Roy Centenary c<!lebrations committee presided over by Rabindranath Tagore. Preparations for the celebration of this centenary are being made in -Calcntta and many other provincial capitals and other towns. Preliminary preparatory meetings have been already held in many places. For instance, an Associated Press telegram informs the public that in Lahore

Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs aud Christians joined

in the birthday celebrations of Raja Rammohun Roy, the founder of the Brahmo Sarna]. Tributes were paid to Raja Rarnmohun Roy, who was •• described as the father of modern In"di~ at. the public oxeeting at which Mr. Justice Abll,ul Qadir. presided and also at a ladies' meeting v umder the presidentship of Mrs. Brijlal Nehru.

Sir Samuel Hoare on Pandit

1~

Madan Ivlohan Malauiya ~

Some weeks ago Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya circulated a statement givmg details of unprovoked assaults alleged to bav~ been committed upon peaceful and non-violent" delegates to the last session of the Indian National Congress in Oalcutta. The statement mentioned the exact places of occurre'ice, the nature of the assaults, and insults, the names of many of t9,e victims, and the dates and hours of the assaults, and g!i:VO details by means of which some at any rate of the policemen who were alleged t~ have committed the assaults could be ~ identified. Twenty-four members of the

I ndian Legislative A ssembly brought this statement to the notice of the Home Member of the Government of India, who thereupon promised to forward it to the Goverumen t of Bengal for inquiry and report.

_ On a question being put in the British Rous-e of Commons as to what has been done ;with regard' to the statemeut; Sir Samuel'. Hoare h~;,[)forn;lCd the House that the Bengal Government has found the statement to be false from start to finish. On a supplementary qNet.':ion 'being ~ asked, drawing ,att<:>ntrron" to til1e fact that Pandit Madan Moha'h~ Malaviya is corssidered-to be a person whoo speaks the· truth, Sir" ~amuel!, usWg

c'" offensive language, said that it was to be

r- regretted tha; the Paudit should have given publicity on two occasions to "very v-icious an\} false" cbargcs. The Secretary of State has also said that the Bengal Government will issue a communique on the subject. This has not yet (May 28) 1933) been published-

The~se questions and answers havingbeen published in Indian dailies) Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya sent a cable to the Secretary of State and some members of Parliament, saying that if a public inquiry were made he would have evidence leu to establish the truth of the statement. He added that if no-such inquiry were made, he would be glad to be

"" prosecuted on the charge of having issued a

" false sfatement. "-

ThesC' alternati ve challenges are~ extreme] y fair. As Sir Samuel Hoare is a brave Englishmtlll, it is to be hoped he will accept either according to his choice.

After the publidation _ of the Pundit's rejoinder the nFree- Press of India has published a statement made by Mr. Gopika Bilas Sen of Birbhum, Chairman of the Reception Committee of the last. session of the Indian National Congress (de~ared unlawful) to the effect that Panditji's statement is true to the letter and that he (Mr. Sen) was an eye-witness and victim of the -assaults, So, if Sir Samu-el Hoare orders at public inquiry, Mr. Sen would obviously be ready to give evidence; or", if he orders Panditji to be prosecilted,

• ~ Mr. Sen should also share, the- Pundit's fate.

Whatever happens) let" us In the

meantime wait for a little while'

for the Bengal Government's communique.

That document would be expected to

tell the • public by what process

that Government had arrived at the conclusion that the alleged assaults were entirely"

a figment of some men's imagiiiati3n.

- Evidently the value ~to be attached to the official communique would <!,epen0.ml the £:)'ct of there having been no Inquiry or some inquiry, and on the nature of the inquiry) if any. All offici!bls connected' ~ with the ailministration of India) from JI'tllC Secretary oJ State downwrrds, know (nat pff'ltJle all oxer the world consider the results ef rublic

r. .....-,

92-15

NOTES

inquiries more credible than tl~se of

inquiries in camera.

I t is unnecessary to discuss the degrees of credibility of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya ~ and the high British officers concerned. We do not mean to suggest that, eveu if the statement were proved after public enquiry to be false substantially or in detail, that would in the least affect Panditji's reputation for veracity. It would only show that he had been misinformed. On the other hand) if the statement; w~e proved true in substance, that would not show cO.\lciusively that the Secret~ry of State, the Goverument or India and the Government of Bengal had knowingly said things which were false. It would only show that t~ey had been misinformed.

It should, however, be added that t~ir love of truth would remain unimpugned' if" ~ either a public inquiry or the prosecution of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya were ordered.

The public would naturally attach importance to two facts. Even if the information, supplied to the Secretary of State bj' theGovernment of India and the Government or Bengal, turned out to be incorrect substantially or even in every detail, Coone of the august personages concerned would

run the risk of even the mi~~

punishment or censure. "-But so far

as Pandit Madan Mohan M alaviya is:l,

concerned, he has run t~e risk of prosecution, and punishment by circulating the statement. All over the world, ",other things being equal, different valnes are attached to statements made by persons who run no risks b,i'b l1,la~ing them and to statements made by persons who ,;fo run risks by rGaking them. Of course,"

""if Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya had no record of public service and if he were a peJ"ion who simply wanted to achieve notoriety by" conrting imprisonment? the mere fact of running a risk would not enhance the import>ance of his stotement. - .,

.-, The other occasion on which) according to-Sir Samuel, Panditji made himself responsible for ((very vicious ana- false"? charges,

was the case of some women 1J0ngress volunteers in B-enares. In relation to it tlN,'iPo'Pp;-,Gdit has rightly pointed' out that Government has Pilot 'published any reply to his

..

~730

THE MODERN REVIEW FOR JUNE, 1933

the non-defiant, just as in Bengal parents or other guardians arc punished £01' the technical offences committed by their sons,' daughters "or other wards. To _which the rejoinder may be that, as it has not been established that Messrs. Sapru, Jayakar & Co. are ~he guardians of Messrs. Gandhi & Co., so why should the former be punished by nonfulfilment of their payers for the guilt or the latter?

London, May, :a5. Mr. MacDonald says, "these were dealt

Referring to India in the Empire Day broadcast with quietly but firmly." "Firmly,}) yes.

from- Lossiemouth last evening, Mr. Ramsay

MacDonald said that the Government had tD ((QuietlY,}) no. Do the dealing of resounding

deal with a position in India where its demands lathi blows, the firing of shots, anti-Indian

became the occasion for the defiance of order d . B' . Ed' .

and rpeaee, These were deale with quietly but propagan a III ritain, 1 urope an America In

firmly. Every good government should be pre- the Press and on the platform amlthe raging pared to be terrorized. The problem in India= tearing agitation carried on by 0hrtrchill, wcs (me of natural growth. It had parentage in O'D & C 1 d f "

the education we had given to it and in the political ((wycr r.> 0., convey t re i ea 0 qq.ictness? •

l~ons we had taught to its people. Whatever Every good government should be pre-

- _ .steps we might have taken to meet it would have pared to be terrorized." Certainly, as ra

e- shown that ~ve knew as to why the problem had I

arisen and what its nature was and that our way measure of precaution. But will

in handling it had been to provide conditions for '~Mr. MacDonald mention ,<>, few good Governpeaceful development whilst retaining 'allegiance ments which haye been Iiterally terrorixed t to t!t-e Crown, That was the progress which gave

f.ioth life and spirit to the Commonwealtb.-, And is it not the previous and more urgent

~ "Ret:tet'." duty of every good Government so to con-

Assuming Mr. MacDonanld's description duet the administration by the timely adoption

- of the position in India to be correct, it of suitable means as not to give any occasion

would l;Io~ be unfair to ask who was respon- for terrorism ?

sible for it. Swaraj has been long overdue i\1r. MacDonald will either admit or

~lia. Mr. MacDonald himself admitted deny that the government of Britain is good.

long"'ago by i.cplication that lndia was ripe If he denies that it is good, how absurd it

:f;)l' Swaraj when be prophesied that another is for people who cannot govern their own

~ Dominion (meaning India) would be added country well to pretend that their go{-ernment

£0 the" existing ones in the course of a few uf a.£oreign country, India, is good! If he months. But every pledge, promise, or (as admits that the government of Britain is

he would put it) "declarabion of intention," good, he will ha-ve to show that it has been -.

given or made by British statesmen and terrorized and- that the British Government

royalty; ~;as vani~hed into thin order. Peti- dealt with terrorism by laihi charges, firing,

tiona, prayers, protests, arguments, for rordina"lces, etc., etc.

decades-nothing has been of any avail. When," ~ III India of the two defiant movements, all these constitutional means having been 'l! civil disobedience is far more widespread exhausted in their opinion, some ardY.,nt than terrorism proper. But tl'i.e premier patriots have adopted other but non-viol~t apparently includes them in the same class, Pt,ean~, Mr. MacDonald turns round and rorlf,etting that it-is civil disobedience which

casts angry look" on'rthem for not rernainino has stood between terrorism and the Govern-

for ever in the prayerful mo~d! Let u~ m~~t and that with the thorough crushing of

assume that he is rig~t. Why does he no~ Congress t'he""buft'e:: between Government and

then grant the ~prayers <of Sir ,Tej Bahadu-'r terrorism-would be gone.

Sapru, l\1{. Jayakar and Co., who have never, T~e British prime minister says:

~n defiant and non-pacific even in thought ? . The ;;prq.blem ~~I! India was of natural gro:vth.

The British premier will perhaps say t'q,a1 ,f(t ~~d,.'paren~age" In t?~ ;dueat,(!_n ,we ~1f1d .g~ven

th . f th d fi t t b .. d '" to lL end 10 tile political Iessorioswe had taugh]

e S10S 0 e e an are 0 e-visito ou to iti'i p~ople.

elaborate criticism of the Benares magistrate's judgmenl in the case-a criticism which has been accepted by the Indian public as legitimate, cogent, fair and conclusive, and as substantially establishing the truth of the

women volunteers' complaints. -

Premier's Defence of British Poficy in India

•

1. public meeting of Indian States' Sub- ' jects, residing in Bombay was held at Hirabag (€. P. Tank) Bombay on Sunday the 7th May to protest against the White Paper' propo-

'sals and their' detrimental effect on the

interests of Indian States' People. !>

,

It was attended by hundreds of S~tes' subjects representing J odhpur, .J unagadh; Baroda, Bikaner, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Gondal,' " Dhrangadhra, Limbdi, Rajkot, Morvi, Alwar,

As the Brahmo Samaj docs not believe Bhavnagar, Jamnagar etc.

in caste, and as untouchability is undoubtedly '"

a concomitant of caste, it would be natural The following resolution was unanimously

to inquire what this Samaj has done to adopted:

improve the condition of the de~essed This meeting of the Indian States' subjeots >,

condemns the White Paper proposals as they

classes and to eradicate untouohrlbility. The adversely affect the interests of Ladian t:ltates'

Indian },:[essengel', the weekly organ of "the subjects and declare the scheme of constitution

Sadharan Brahmo Samaj, has published outlined therein unacceptable, unless the fq:[lowing

amendments are made in it: oix.; -~~.

serially, accounts of what the S~maj has (1) Grant of representalioll" to Indian States'

done in these directions in South India, subjects in proportion to their population alid

Bengal lind Assam, Khasi Ellis, the regions election of theh~ representatives to the Federal'

inhabited by the Garos and Rabhas, .iJhotG Legislature 011 the sam,tJ qualifications and, through

>leL the same elective system as is to be fixed for

Nagpur, Andhra country and the Travancore British India under the New Constitution. (2)

....... State. These articles are available in book Declaration of fandamental rights of States'

. S dh subjects as laid down by the Indian States

form at fonr annas per copy at .... the 'a Man People's Conference. '3) Paramountcx to vest in

Brahmo Samaj Office, 211 Oornwallis the Federal Governm~nt of India ancr thot in the

Street, Calcutta. J t is interesting te learn Crown. ,

therefrom that (4) Bestowal of;'ight of appeal on Indian States'

N" subjects ~o the Supreme Court against the

After strenuous endeavours for ten years Mr. judgment of Indian States Courts, civil as well

Vithal Ram Shinde, Brahrno Missionary, founder as criminal.

of the Depressed Classes Mission Society of India, : (5) Making it obligatory upon she

eventually succeeded in gettin~ the Indian National join the Federation to establish such

Congress in its session at Ca cutta in J;)ec8nber and progressive Constitution as is to

1917 under the sympathetic presjdontship of Mrs. to Provincial Units. '"

Besant to pass, for the first. time, the following

important resolution :- ~~... ~

"This Congress urges uporf the people of India the necessity, justice, and righteousnees, of removing all disabilities imposed upon the Depressed Classes, the disabilities ecing lI'f a most 'i:exatious • and oppressive character, sllb~tiDg th~se people, to considerable hardship and inconve:UioIlce."· '"

Propos-e by Mrr' G. A. NRtesan of -Madras. Seconded b1 Mr. S. R. Bomanji of ..oa!.cutta.

(" ,': ('

If so, instead of punishiug India, the pupil, for learning its lessons well, why not " punish the teachers, the Britishers ? Part ~~t least of the punishment should Dfl inflicted on thenf. M

Mr. Ramsay MacDonald may believe or pretend to believe that the British cabinet's way j~l handling the problem in India '7.'had been to provide conditions for peaceful development whilst retaining allegiance to the Crown." In either case he may be safely chalJenged by any school of Indian political thought to mention those "Proposals" in the White Paper which provide conditions for automatic peaceful development. There are

none .. ~

Io,dians are at present powerless.

,. are n~t ",unintelligent. ~

But they

The Brahma Samai, the Depressed Classes:' and Untouchability.

'!'

NOTES

731~

Supported by Mr. S. K Damle of Poena, and Mr. Rarna Ay-yar of Oalicut.

Carried unanimously.

Mr. Shinde further succeeded in drawing the attention of Mahatma Gandhi to this problem in the session of the Congress held at N agpur in 1920, and in the very next session at Ahmedabad, Mahatma]! incorporated the issue of removing untouchability as an essential plank of the Congress propaganda.

e

Indian States' People Condemn White Paper

States who democratic be-graessd

The President, in his concluding address, sounded "" a clarion call to the States People to", be wide

~ awake Bor therird, in,.thbestsh· 11e also cabIled upon their ritish D Ian oret ren not tQ e a party to a Constitution which gave 53 per cent representation "(which is out of proportion t~!l=

'" Jegitiruate claims of States) to Indian Princes; out -completely disregarded thE!' interests of Indian v: States Peoples,

f "

732

r:

THE MODERN REVIEW FOR JUNE, 1933

o ,

Deuamitta Dhammapaia

f 0

By the death of the Venerable Devamitta

Dhammapala the world has lost its ~Lgreatest Y'3ud,d.1tist worker and missionary. He devoted his wliole fortune and life to' the resuscita-

An Would~be Deliuet er (?) of India tion of Buddhism in the land of its birth and

G~n~q:l Araki, Japan's War Minister, its propagatiCn abroad. The Mahabodhi

spoke as follows in the course of a recent ,Societies of !nd.ia and England, the

address : r-. Mulagrmdhakutl VIhasa at Sarnath and other

of three 1 d d ,...Viharas and the mallY schools in Ceylon

India, with its population lUll re "b j:,_' I . fi' ir-it 1!

millions jives in dire misery under Britain's ear witness to us un aggmgn SpIn or

oppre~Ei~e rule and faces a serious crisis. When service.

things are Jn this state in tbe Far East, t; it

possible for Japan, ~be leader of the Far East/In

r-.r-ber .own estimat iou and that of others alike, and "Btrdlrana-Nihetan" whose sacred mnsioLt it is to protect her

neighbours, 10 sit still and look on 'arlY 10n12:cr? . .. r. India, EO f~r as we are aware, does not

Tbe countries of the Far East are the object of r- • () • • f h

preSI:':1Te by the White ieee. But awakened Jal?alt contam an) ~Thstltu-:lOn or t e care, training

can tolerate no J;urther t yranny and oppressiqn and control of Indian feeble-minded and

at their band. 0 r- mentally defective children. About 80 acres

~ General Araki should convince th~ wsrld of land has beoID obtained as a:free gift from

that his BUg gestjoll would not be equivalent thA Zan;!lndar, known as the Raja) of Jhargram

to jumping "out of the frying P!W into 11A in Midnalmr for establishing su~ an institu-

'" .-

Britain, Russia and India

In Russia a few Englismen were arrested with a view to their public trial for offences alleged to have been committed by them, of which some of them were found guilty afterwards after regular trial. Before thGy had been found innocent or guilty, the British Parliament passed a law for the boycotting of trade with India.

In India hundreds of Indians have been arrested and detained £01' indefinitely 10J;lg periods without charge and trial. Picketing r and boycott of British goods in India is r considered a heinous offence by Britishers"

"

Social Reform in Nepal

t:!:is Highness the Maharaja of Nepal, who is tb.P Prime Minister and de facto ruler, has raised the ago; of marriage of Brahmins in that State slightly and that of Kshatriyas still higher. It is not necessary to take auy such steps in the case of Lepchas, Gurangs, etc:; as there is no child marriage nmong tlrem, "and widow-marriage and divorce are customary among them. The 'Maharaja has

- also prohibited marriages of old men of certain illifs with young brides of certain

ages.

~e Napalese inhabitants of the Terai were 'indebted' to their Government to the ,e2tent of about one crore of rupees. The Maharaja bas remitted these debts.

t;.. I" "

(

fire." Deliverer and devourer have too many letters in common.

"india under the British Crown" on

A{{ahabad r .-

The Leader writes:

fn the book India Under the British» Oroum by Major B. D. Basu, a companion volume of the Rise Of the Christian. PO!lJe1' in India by the same author, just published in collaboration with Dr. Phauindra Nath Bose aud Prof. Nagendra N ath Ghosh, the following interesting passage occurs with regard to Allahabad: '

"Allahabad forms all important landmark in the history 91 British India. It was to Allahabad that, Olive ~vent to receive the grant of the Dewany from Shah Alum, So the British Governmeat of India was hatched in AUahal;-;:4. Canning must have remembered this when !the chose Allahabad to announce the Proclamation" of the Queen, tr~ns£erring the Government tro~ the hands of th« 'Society of Adventurers' not 'Gentlemen' to the Parliament of Great Britain and Ireland. Allahabad should be looked uftOn therefore, as the place of hatching and rearing of the British Government of India.

"'The Fort at AUahab:rn. built by Akbar the Great was considered one of the ...srongest in Asia. Lord William Bentinck and Lord Canning were in favour of making Allahabad the seat of the Government of India."

Far from being made the seat of the Government of F;1Jdia, Allahabad is slowly and insidiously being dives-ad of even the trappings of the se~t of a provincial Government I

"'I'"

--

-tion, called Bodhana-Niketan. Buildings

o on a modest scale are in process of .coustruction ~for it and qualified educational., medical and other officers ha-le been appointed: It is hoped that the institution will be opened on the 1st July next. The inclusive charge per child has been fixed at Rs. 20 .per meuscm. The promoters h:;f.ve given contracts for the buildings relying on public generosity. They want at present only Rs. 10,000 for them. The monthly expenditure on salaries and contingencies will be about Rs. 400. Bodhana Samiti, the society which will maintain the institution,

(, bas been registered under Act xxi of 1860.

Details' aJld,..t:de annual report may be obtained "" from the- Secretary, Babu Girijabhushan

(lMukhe~ii,~M.A., B.L., 6-5 Bejoy -Mukherji Lane, t3liawanipur, Calcutta. Donations and monthly subscriptions will be thankfully received JJy him or by the President and Treasurer, Babu Ramananda Chatterjee, 2-1 Townshend Roa9? Bha~anipur, Calcutta.

Co

Mahatma Gandhi on Idol Worship

In Young Indict, October 12, 1P21, Mahatma Gandhi explained why - .. he called himself a Sanatani Hindu. That explanation has been reproduced in part in Natesan's "Speeches and Writings of Mahatma Gandhi." The passage relating to idol worship/runs as follows: f'

I have said I do Dot disbelieve in idol worWip.

An idol does Dot excite any feeling of veneration in me. But I think that idol worship is part, of rl" human nature. We hanker after symbolism. Why

_ should one be more composed ill a -church than elscwhere ? Images are an aid to worship. No Hindu considers an image to be God. I do not

consider idol worship a sin. P. L058. c

The Moden» Reoieui is not a theological journal. 'I'herefore the necessity and utility or otherwise of idol worship, or whether all or most idols are symbols, will not be discussed here. It may 'be mentionetl,

.however, that its editor does aiot worship idols j but, except when imlI!.~n~lity fyr cruelty are involved, he docs not' consider idol worship a sin either. At the same ~imc he does not think r- it necessary to worship iidols, ~-: - ~ _ .

But this i.~ a digression.. We W9-nt tC point out the impl_ications of what Maba~maji

o r

r

NOTES

733 ~

has said, as we understand them. The implications are: (1) Mahatmaji docs not say that he believes in idol worship, he only says that he does not disbelieve in it. (2) As "idol worship is part of human nature," in his opinion but as also "an idol does not excite any feeling of veneration in" Gandhiji, Gandhiji's nature must be somewhat different from "human nature." (3) «We hankel' after symbolism." (Images are an aid to worship." Evidently Mahatmaji does not "hanker after the kind of symbolism which, according to him, is implied in' idol worsh-p j-evidently images oare not an aid to kie act of worship. (4) The more a man approaehea Gandhiji in intellectuality?' and spirituality the less will any feeling of veneration be excited in him by an idol aCd the less will Itnages be an aid to worship i..n his case.

It is not illogical and unfair to assume ~hat Mahatma Gandhi is not against other Hindus trying to approach him nearer and nearer in intellectuality and spirituality, tl-..t'Cre~ by consequently dispensing with idol worship, ' as he has done.

Mahatmaji says : «No Hindu considers " an image to be God." According to our information, this assertion is inaccu~t--e. If it were a question of opinion, we should h:we

hesitated to contradict Mahatmaji. :;;~'

it is a question of fact. And the fact ~

is, there are many Hindus who in their

~ ignorance do consider an-Idol to be God. -

Separation af Burma from India

vVe have not the least doubt in ou~ wi"ds

'that, on the whole, the separation of Burma from ] ndia would injure the cause of the ~l;olitical and economic advancement of the Burmese. We are also convinced that the J"1ajority of politically minded, Burmese

, are' against separation all(l that their view~ was prevented from ~eing definitely al!i'd decisively voi2'ed in the Burma Legislative Coancil by the separationist Burman proteges of ~he Europeans tasing up-all the time by

their long speeches. :

Iudependent-mirsded Burman M. L. C. leade~ lfuw cabled protests to the Secretary of State, the Y@eroy and the Governor against the manner in \Vhich the ]1roceellings of the special session of

. .

734

THE MODERN REVIEW J!'OR JUNE; 1933

- .

-e

•

their Council were managed so as to prevent a decision against separation being recorded and an appeal that Burman 'delegates' should be associated with the Joint Select Committee, as Burma must be found a place in an all-India federation.

Futile protest) vain appeal.

Twenty-five Greatest Minds to P;;omote Cause of Peace

Dr. Albert Einstein wants to draw up a list of the twenty-five greatest minds in the world-intellectuals of the highest order hol~ing liberal views and enjoying international reputation) and form a committee of them) with a view to utilizing ~heir intcncetual powers and moral influence for promoting the cause of peace. 'A <f':>mmittee of such men will no doubt be a very potent moral and idealistic force) though {(f:lt an imm~diatcly effective force.

Dandit Mahavir Prasad Dtoioedi

:v e congratulate Pan did Mahavir Prasad 'Dwivedi, the distinguished Hindi journalist)

• essayist and literary critic) on his completing seventy years of his useful life. He won his laurels as the first editor of the Hindi illustrated montalj- Sarastoati, established by the late Babu Chiutamani Ghosh of Allahabad at the

.~~gestion of the present writer. May

Dwivediji Iive long to serve as a guide and inspirer to younger Hindi journalists and other writers.

. ~

-

Btiiliant Success of Lucknow Lady

~

Candidates

...

.. Tne three highest places in the recent, B. A. examination of the.Lucknow Universi~y have been won by lady candidates. W~ congratulate them.

{

Revised~Agteement with Ang[o~

r-

-- R.lJtsian Oil C9mpany

< ,.,

One of the advantages gained by Persia

• by -the revised agr~ement with the AngloPersian Oil ~ompany is that the Comfany will pal £10,000 per annum for the education ~f Persian students proceeding W England for the study o€ engineering. It is nO. t;> use asking what the Burma O'J Gompany Pays

for the education in engineering of Burmese and Indian students. For neither India nor"

~Burma is independent and able to exact terms, We mention Indian students al.io, because' India is a big customer of Burma oil and pays Government a high duty almost equal to. its price.

Tfze Aga Khan on Team Work

The Aga Khan is reported to have stated to Reuter:

The British Indian delegation are all trying to work as a team, but we are from far too many different interests and sections, political. and otherwise, to be able to start out as a real team.

The delegates have been se'l:~ - in such ~" a way as to make team work" well-nigh imp~ssib~e-sectionalists having pern given" predominance.

- It was at the suggestion of Itord Minto's Government that a Muhammadandeputation, headed by the Aga Khan) waited upon His Excellency ~nd urged th;>,t Muhammadan interests being distinct and separate, they should have separate rapresentation) etc. This was the "command performance" to which thel'J.ate Maulana Mohamed Ali referred in his presidential address at the Cocanac1a session 6'£ the Congress. Having been the protagonist of separatism, havin g been the first to." dance to the tunc of th,e British imperialist charmers- whose interest it is to prevent a united front, having beeri'fhe first to

'" SVpcumb to their syren song, the Aga Khan is undoubtedly the fittest man to complain

of absence of team work ! --

Worfd Economic Conference Entertainment Arrangements

~ British Official Wireless gives an account of the elaborate entertainment arrangements made in England for the

~

Cele~tation of" the delegates to the World

Economic (JonferencQ,. We hope the dele-, ~gfLtes oj the independent countries) their intellectual' powers and their economic nationalism will survive the banquets) parties, etc., As the independent", voice of Indian e<'.,ono~niq_ tho0.ght will not be heard at the

"Confcreuce, it .is to be .hoped r-'1,ome competent gou~m~ts will be selected to "represent" India.

A ... f"'I?.......,,.,.,

)In Anfi-casfe Campaign in the Pan jab

In connection with the anti-caste campaign started bf'Ja:t-Pat Torak Maudal, Lahore, with special reference to the omission of caste in College admission forms by the students seeking admission to First Year class, the following note has been received.from the Principal, D. A.-V. Cone~e, Hoshiarpur :-

"I have to say that long ago in the admission forms of this College the columu for caste was deleted. At present in our admission forms there is no such column wherein the student has to mention his caste."

"Caste" should be omitted admission or other forms, wherever

from all they exist.

c-.Exporf-of~d "Beneficial fa 'India

• r ,

and fhe'"Worfd"

"I adi'satisfied and I believe that the Government of India is satisfied that the exports of privately-owned gold and maintenance of the link between thenterling and rupee have been of the highest advantage to India," declared Sir Samuel Hoare replying to Mr. David Grenfell (Lab.), who asked what action the Government of India proposed to take regnrding represcnfntions of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce requesting an embargo on gold exports and protesting ag-ainst the sterling link.

Sir Samuel Hoare .also replied: "I think on the whole the export of gold has been beneficial to

India and the world." "-

Occidentals in general and Britishers in particular are all great philanthropists and altruists. _ They give away all good ideas and plans for th~ benefit of others. Hence Great Britain, France, U.S. A., South Africa, etc., are keeping their accursed gold, whereas India is being encouraged and indirectly forced to - .

export It.

r- r-

O'Dwyer the Polittcal Census-faker

Speaking recently at a public meeting in London Sir Michael O'Dwyer said: "Less than one per c-nt of the Indian intelligentsia are demanding that Britain should hand over

. the control of India to them." Sir Michael is an extremely clever man. By some occult: process he must have taken a secret census . of the opinions of our intelligentsia.; r- ~

Proposed Amendmenf 0/ Law of

Sedition ~

(('1

. Mr. C. S '. ~_Rangan Iyer, 1([. L. ~AiI~~h;s ~ introduced a bill to amend section 124 A of

'" "

NOTES

735

the Indian Penal Code, proposing that it should read as follows:

"Whoever by words, either spoken or written or by signs, or by visible represen tation or other~ wise, excites or attem pts to excite. feelings of disaffection .to the Government established by law in British India, with intent to incite disorder or violence or the use of force in any form calculated to subvert or resist the lawful authority of the Government. shall be punished with. simple imprisonment which may extend to three years or with fine or with. both." ,

As originally drafted the law of sedition in India was something like the proposed amendment, which would also make it similar to what it is in free countries, among which India was alleged to have been included "in action" under the late Br~ish Labour Government.

o

Maulana Karam Ali on Muslim

Polificians

~ Maulana Karam Ali is the secretary o£ the Jamait-ul-Ulema-i-Hind, On his return from Hedjaz he is reported to have said~ in", part:

He noted with regret that the reins of Muslim politics were in undesirable 'hands instead of in the hands of sincere, true and honest men whoso motto should be the service of the Motherland.

Pafel and Bose on Suspension of Civil Disobedience.

When the suspension of the civil dis-

-obedience movement £0" six weeks >Vas announced at the commencement of J\fahatma Gandhi's fast and the fact became known in Europe Mr. V. J. Patel and Mr, Subhas Chandra Bose made the following staf.9rue~i "'Lo Reuter's correspondent at Vienna:

- The latest action of Mahatma Gandhi in

CY'suspending the Civil Disobedience movement is a confession of fail ure so far as the pre~eut method of the Congress is concerned. We are "c\learly of the opinion that, as a politjcal leader Ma°J.atma Gandhi has failed. ' - .

The time has, therefore, come for a radical ~ reorganization of the Congress C"l a new priucipie

and with a. new" method. F'or bringing about this r~org!ll1lZatlOn a change of leadership is necessary,

fur It would be unfaij to Mahatma Gandlli to

ex.ieot him to evolve or work a ~roO'ramme and method not consistent with his li£elo;g principles.

"If the Congress as a whole can undergo this transfo~matlOn" It would '.be the best course. Failing-·~'-· th .• t,~a Dew party Will have to he formed within

t~ - Congres~ composed of all radical elements. Non-eo-operation "cannot be given up, but the

736

say that "it would be unfair to Mahatma ~ Gandhi to expect him to evolve or work a programJ:?e and method not consistent with his lifelong principles." So, one b-gs to ask, . what «lifelong principles" have the two leaders in view? Ahimsa or non-violence

is -one such. Another is overtness or nonsecrecy of plans and actions, which Gandhiji reiterated at the beginning of his fast. What else?

THE MODERN REVIEW ]'OR JUNE, 1933

As we understand the matter, the

temporary suspension of civil disobedience

<, was meant partly, if not mainly, to obtain a quiet atmosphere during Mahatrnaji's fast and the r subsequent period of convalescence. Therefore, this suspension in itself cannot be taken as a confession of failure, particularly as Gandhiji has not lost but on c the contrary has reiterated his faith in civil .An Incorrect Charge .Against

disobedience, nor has he said - that Mahatma Gandhi

the movement would not be started again; if

neceJ¥l3ry. The announcement of the suspen- It is said that the tin gods of Simla arc -

sion itself, in our opinion, was wise. displeased with Gandhiji for b~ade a .....

Apart from the announcement, the move- statement after his release which fn part."

r m~nt had practically come to a standstill containedpolitical matter. They ar-i 60ported

a1,wost throughout the country. A nd to be of the opinion that a man of honour ought

·it· is also ~ true that the main object of not to have taken advantage of ltis release,

~ civil disobedience, namely, the attainment which was due to a fast 011 religious grounds,

of Swaraj, has Dot yet been gained. This' to make an excufsio-: into politics. But want of: success some will ascribe to the the release was unconditiouaz Gandhiji was t1atu~e of N on-co-operation itself, others not asked to give any undertaking, nor did

r will" say that Non-co-operation would have he give any. True, he had said in effect that been a success if a larger number of the fast had nothing to do with politics. But men and women of all creed:", castes, that'Could not mean that after release he would

commnnlties and provinces had become not refer lb any political matter. Government

uon-co-operators and if all the items released him of its own accord only to avoid

""" r r-; ,,-Q_f I the N on-co-operation programme as an embarrassing situation arising out of

originally dr-awn IIp had been given effect the possibility of a long fast ending fatally, '" to. Hence the fact that the movement has not not on any implied or express understanding, yet succeeded may be constrned either as No official had, therefore, any' business

• thc failure of Mahatllia Gandhi's policy and 'P to, t:'Ssume that, when free, Mahatmaji would methods and of his leadership, or as the not have anything to do with politics. Now failure of his countrymen in general to come that he has broken his fast, Government can ~ Llp to t4e 'standard of courage, sacrifice and clap him in Jail again lor the heinous offence"

nOG-,,'imence which he expected of them. of making a gesture of peace!

Neither Mahatma Gandhi nor any other :'

leader can stand in the way of the adoptior-' Sir ~Samue[ Hoare at the

of a new principle and a new method. vVe Bombay Dinner. do not think Mahatma Gandhi is not r')pen

to conviction. r He is capable~· of ~

----:cl~pting new methods, if he can

be couvinced tnat· they are likely to be .effective and are not in conflict with ,bis religious principles. -But Messrs. Patel and Bose, while declaring that "Ncn-co-operafion cannot" be given up, but the form of

• ~on-co-operation will have to be" ch~n3'ed into a more nfilitant one and the flgh..Jor freedom to be waged on all rronte," also

form of non-co-operation will have to be changed into t;,' more militant one and the fight for freedom to be waged on all fronts.

(

. ,

London, May, 26.

"One of the conditions for any great Indian

1) corrstitutional change must be no commercial discrimination. against British trade and. industry,". ~ emphasized Sir Samuel Hoare, speaking at the ~Bombfr"'" -I'-inner.

He "declared "that British business people and India» business meu had much the same problems to face.

-It would, bf: much easier- to find a solution if , jhey-, worked 1C'gethEl" and did not try to cut each l' other's tnroats;

Slr'"Samuel Hoare ehailenged C;."'>youe to cite an instance in the history of ~the world in which a

".... """ '"

1 '.

great business community had exploited to so small an extent an Empire, which its armies had conquered, ..... nd whose associatious with that country had been so much of benefit to thy

country i.tself.-Reute1". ~

Everf C;ountry has tho natural right, which free countries including Britain have exercised repeatedly, to safe-guard its own

. trade and industry first of all. If this cadilOt be done without eliminating or weakening foreign competition, every free country does eliminate or weaken foreign competition. Sir Samuel Hoare speaks as if Britishers had a greater right than or an equal right with Indians to trade in India. It is the height of absurdity. Natidnals and _ ~tionals do not and cannot 'hive iliefl' same sort of rights in a country

" in all l~atters. If Indian trade and-industries cannot' flourish in India without minimizing Bl'itish, Jaf,anese or other foreign competition, that will have to be done, and "any great constitutional change" in India necessary for economic W' political progress will come to pass in spite of Sir Samuel Hoare.

It is true that British business people and Indian business men have much the same problems to face. But whereas in BMtaiu the "Bay British" slogan is patriot~ aud leg al and has the patronage of royalty; in India "Buy Indian" is looked upon with disfa vonr b"y Britishers as sedition, discrimination

and what not. '/<

Will ~ir Samuel Hoare point out any period or occasion in history when Indian> business men tried to cut the throats of British "'""'btlsiness men in Britain?

The challenge contained il'?' the fourth paragraph quoted above is unanswerable for the simple reason that the British .Iodian ~ Empire is the only Empire in which the

yard-wand has become the sceptre. ..

Whether~ the great British business community's exploitation of India has been and is small can be easily -known from ... a r-

• pernsal of books likl1- Major g. D. Basu's

Ruin at Indian Tmde and Industries. ' •

Whether the Indian Empire m~~('qni;:ed' solely or mostly by conquest· by the E:;..st India Company's armies (for, which India had to find most of "'the men and l1"a"alI t~e ~lO'n!lY-), is known to readers", of Major B. D. l,Basu'~ Rise of the UhTis#an P01.VCT in India.

~ ~ ~

~ 93-o!16'"

..

_,

NOTES

737:7

There is no question, that in some directions India has benefited by her essociations with Britain, But Englishmen who speak of these benefits should bear in mind certain facts. The British connection has

been far, more advantageous to Britain than /' to India. To promote her own interests Britain

had to do certain things and these incidentally benefited India. India has paid more than enough for all these benefits. It is difficult

to say offhand whether India's mor,:al and material gain or loss from the British connec-

tion has been greater. It is always a profit-

less task to discuss what m,ight have been,

Butt it is very probable that if India had not been a subject country, it would not \\have been less advanced in all directions in the year 1933 than it is. The intelligence, indas- - try and the ethical qualities of her people and " her ancient culture and civilization) and w.e, Time-spirit would not have allowed her'to •

"'lag behinI. It is no injustice to Britishers to say that they could have easily done very very much more to equip Indians with--edlk cation and sanitation than they have done., and that they have chosen not to educate and sanitate India adequately.

Dissociation of Politics and Bus/ness

Sir Samuel Hoare concluded his s,p,g,ec~

at the Bombay Presidency dinner in London", "with an appeal to cease political wrangling .and keep politics out of, business and business , out of politics."

After the British, people have succeeded in promoting their business by the _exercise of their political power, it suits theip,.spo):esmen DOW to advise others to keep politics and business apart. ~ Many passages can be ~

""'quoted from English historians to show how in the past political power was exercised in Gre:tt Britain to promote her business int~rests. Two or three wI suffice:

"At the end of the seventeenth century ~ quantities of eheap and graceful Indian calicoes, muslins and chintzes were imported into Eugland. "and they found such favour that the woolen anu silk manufacturers were seriously alarmed. Acts of 'Parliament were accordingly pas tied in 1700 and

~ 1721, absolutely prohibiting, with a ~ very few specified exceptions, the employment of print~ ~ 1"9r,.dyea calicoes in England, either in dress or·

in. furniture, and the use of aIllJ printed or dyed

"goods of w:"ich-<Jotton formed any part."-Lecky's

•

• •

,

History oj' FJngZand in the 18th century, pp. 2~-56. I

Again. In Great Britain, it was

Vol. VII,

THE MODERN REVIEW FOR JUNE, 1933

"penal for any woman to wear a dress made of Indian calico. In 1766 a lady was fined £ 200 at the Guild Hall because it was" proved that her handkerchief was of French cambric."-lbid., p.320.

'J'he following passage is from The Historq nf British India, by Horace Hayman Wilson, vol, i, p. 285 :

''The history of the trade of cotton cloth with Indja affords a singular exemplification of the inapplicability to all times and circumstances of that principle oj free trade which advocates the' unrestricted admission of a cheap article. in p\'lce of jrotecting by heavy duties a dearer one of home manufacture. It is also a melancholy instance of the wrong done to India by the counti\Y on which she had become dependent. It was

,. Rtated in evidence, that the cotton and silk goods of India up to the period [1813] could be sold ~r 3 profit in the British market, at a price from fifty to sixty per cent. lower than those fabricated in England. Tt consequently became necessary to protect the latter by duties of ~ seventy and eighty per cent. on their value or by positive- prohibition, Had this not been the case,

-had" not such prohibitory duties and decrees existed, the mills of Paisley and of Manchester would

~ have been stopped in their outs=t, and could scarcely havo been again set in motion even ny the power of steam. They were created by the sacrifice of the Indian 'manufactures. Had India been indepencent, she would have retaliated: would have imposed preventive .duties npon British goods and would thus have preserved her own productive

~in4u.str~' from annihilation. This act of selfdefence' was 1\ot permitted her; she was at the .. mercy of the stranger. British goods were forced

~ upon her without payini!; any duty: and the

• forei.gn manufacturer employed the a~·m· of political injustice to K\)ep clown and ultimately strangle a competitor with whor: he could not have contended on equal tesms."

Political Pickfing of Untouchability

These extracts, out of many' more, have' .'

been-t~.en from Major B. D. Basu's Ruin. of An article published in this issue else-

'indian Trude and Industries. ~where.shows· that to some extent caste owes

These all relate to ·times past. But," its long life, strength, sub-divisions, etc., to though Britain's preseut is . built on her past, ,.. what has been done officially for years. We are it is not necessa.ry to ransack past history afraid the British Premier's communal decision to show t~at the British people have 'fot together with its amendments by the Pooua dissociated and do ~ot dissociate their politics ·Pa.~t 'iould sirnikrrly pickle and preserve un-

~. their businase ~ and nice versa. The tonchability .• The curs) of untouchability has present Tory Government of 13ritain, mis- Mop. dis~pearillg gradually as the result of named "National," have legislated to impose contact - w'ii!h tl!e manners, customs and

(duties or placed an .·~mbargo on foreign . civilization of the West, and because of imports in order to ensure: the saJe of British, education, the .condjtions of railway and r ~ds. Why, the White Paper .. publishe~ by t~e st6'amer tran~p~t, and the ~orts of social

British Government, of which Sir Samuel H"'a~e r(ffo~m~"s *and other causes. But as council

.. • ••• f

is a. member, contains proposals, for. safeguarft- entry has been made comparatlVely easy or

• .. •• t •

• •

- 738

,._-_._

ing British business with and in India. lsnot this an example of politico-commercial ~ ~ction in relation to India? Dare Englandmake su'ch proposals to any irzlependent ~ country over which she has no" political power? The Ottawa pact, so far as it relates

to India, is the result of the use or abuse of En~aDd's political power over India, by which· India has been made to gi,e preference to British goods.

So far as Indo-British relations are concerned, we are prepared to keep our politics out of business provided Engla.nd reciprocates by refraining from politically inserting in tho

Tndidn constitution any provisions for promot- .• \

ing her own business with and inW~.t on)'

expense. Would Sir Samuel Hoare a~r~o ? . _tI {,

In this« and the previous note .wl have • commented on Sir Samuel's speech as cabled by Renter. In tho Free Press cable we fuold

the following : 'i

Sir Ftamuel Hoare conc~cled that the interference of politicians with trade was more harmful than anything else and wanted Bo~ay to end the tiresome chapter of political interference and boycotting.

When British politicians interfere with non- . r'itish trade, P. g., Russian trade, Irish trade, etc., -iby legislative and other boycott

in 'the interests of British trade, it is all right. But when non-British politicians and people want to Rfotect their own trade agaipst the competition of British and other foreign traders by non-legislative hoycott,~o why, it

"heJ;l~ecomes positively ohjectionable.

i

•

< •

. . ,

...

• candidates belonging to castes considered ,r{untouchable,n "depressed," «socially back-

~ • ward," et9', and as this advantage ~would be lost by ~hGm as soon as they ceased to consider themselves and be considered by others "untouchable," "depressed," "socially

• backward," etc., there would be a tendency to maintain untouchability. This tendency would not be discouraged by officialdom.

No class in India can be said to have effective political power. But whatever the "Had public opinion been strong in India extent, degree or character of the political and had thc people possessed political power power which J ndians have, it is natural for and ~een credited by the "bureaucracy with

all classes and sections of them to desire to some intelligence, the Government of India share.i ,:r class or section can be or should would not have published the communique

-. M eonJ.;eIft with the efforts, if any, made by -it has from Simla on May 29 in connec- ..

,. other~o better their condition. It is the right tion with Pandit M adan Mohan Malaviga's

and duty of all to secure opportunities of statement alleging police assaults on ...

~proving their condition by their own efforts. Congress delegates in Calcutta. «~h~

Hence it .3 necessary and proper for persons Government of Bengal considerthc state- '"' belonging to the so-called "untouchable" or .... ment as a whole to be a false statement. «depressed" classes "also to become members ... The Government of India after considerof the legislatures. But it "would not be in~ the report of the Bengal - GpveWgood for them to enter the councils as ment fnlly endorses their conclusions." "untouchables" or "depressed" persons. -We have, however, arrived at a different

Whatever their opponents may say, conclusion after going through the document

~ Mahatma Gandhi and Congress ehave great carefully. The admissions made in it

influence in the country. If they consider show that many delegates wer~ 1'oughly council-entry desirable, at least for those handled and that they received injuries, classes whom the Poena Pact is intended to though the use of force is i;lxplainedA.w<::.:y benefit/tit would be better, in our Bpinion, if as having been involved in the disehargq Congress' selected a considerable number of its of their duty by the police, and the injuries ---candidates from those classes which are ~ack"" are either minimized .or said to have- been, ward in education,--not because these classes due to a fall from a prison van. Our' conclu-

- are "untouchable" or «depressed" or "socially sion is that a public inquiry is necessary to

• backward," but becauso theyeare backvsard find out whether the force used :was legally in education. If this were done, it wouRrbe justified, what kind and amount of :&>)::c~ was found that the object- of the Poons, Pact- used, whether it could produce the serious would be gained without even indirectly "injuries complained of, etc.· As Oongress has helping to prolong the _ijfe of "untouchability." ". never yet been declared unlawful, the arrest of

Educational backwardness is more easily Congress delegates was illegal.

remediable than "untouchability." . f a man It!~ The enquiry on which the communique

becomes a graduate he ceases to be ba,ckwarc.' is mainly based was nrade by the Commisin education. But if ~ so-called. "untouchable" sioner of Police, the- very officer' '>v~ becomes even a D. Sc., unreasonable people administration has be~n arraigned and whose may continue to consider ht'rd ""r(unto~ch- ~ubordinates were alleged to have b~en tho able!' Therefore, it is better fOIl' people uilty party. The O~missioger bas, of course, to have re(lI'osentatives. of their own" derived all' his information ultimately from class because 01 their e&uc:erio"nal b~ck~I'd- those ~ubordina.tes of his who were' allege t? ness than bl4~ause ~f their. ((unt~uc~bilit,.". n~~e committed the assaultj. Thus the same "U ntouchables" may cling to their't(untouch-, 'fJart.y com.bin~ in their persons the functions \biliiy/' ~ca~~e otherwise. they· m;y lose of the accused, judge, jury, witnesses etc .

'-

I

..

•

,

NOTES

739 ..-

a comparatively easy means of getti!i}g into the councils. But the educationally backward need not cling to educational backwardnes~, for if they become educationally advanced, that itself ~will help and enable them to enter

.....the legislatures .

Government Communique on Irandit , Malaoiya'» Statement

"

•

~ 740

THE MODERN REVIEW .FOR JUNE, 1933

..

,

, :~

•

I • ,

I

"Hear the other side" is a time-honoured rule observ;d on all occasions where truth has to be arrived at judicially. In this case this rule was not observed. We do not take it for granted that the Calcutta police are untruthful; but neither can Panditji's informants and himself be taken to be untruthful without givi~g them an opportunity to establish the

correctness of their version of the affair. Collective fines, curfew orders-not to

That the Calcutta press made "general speak or the raids and looting which had references to lathi charges" but did "not taken place previously-vhave not been con-

give ~details, can be explained by the Press sidered sufficient punishment for the Hindus

Officer's activities and the elastic but drastic of Chitt:lgong, for the offence of not being

-- press laws. [After writing this Note we f}nd able to Ip1l the police the whereabouts of a

seversl Calcutta dailies give the same reason fp,w absconding accused. Tlwm District

.. in detail. I That "these particular al1egations'~ Magistrate has ordered that frtim., :rane

_ emp;nated, not from Calcutta but from Benares, 20 ouwards Hindu juveniles of the bl~adra,- • "was because Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya lok (gentle-folk) class aged 12 to~r years

of ..d3enares was the President-elect of the must always have or carry with them rt'Jif

• last session 'of the Congress· and the most blue or white identity cards. ~tenus in

outstanding political personality not in jail" home or village domicile will be required to

at that time. carry red cards, suspfets blue cards, all

'It was at about 7 P. M. that some other's white cards and productthem whenever

of tbe arrested delegates are said to ordered by policemen, etc. How very humiliating have" "missed their steps in consequence of and irritating! The dispensers of these cards the darkness and fell on the ground" at the will eRe the all-knowing and absolutely inLalbazar lock-up gate. If the place was so fallible am] impeccable police. Bhadralok dark ail R r. :M" why was no light juvaniles, though suspects, are credited provided beforehand? And could a fall with sufficient honesty not to manufacture f~~ prison van produce the serious white cards and not to dress themselves IlS injuries of two delegates described in working "men, coolies, peasants, Muslims,

--,.. the statement? In dealing with the third Eurasians, etc. In fact, there is ~ Bengal allegation, the communique 'mentions "a dis- JJovernment order that it would be a penal location' of a left shoulder-bone" of one. dele- ofi'e-ace for anybody in Bengal to wear any gate and "a dislocation r- of two teeth" of but hts usual dress. This order should be - another. These were produced by the use suppleinented, by another, namely, that ., of the legal "minimum force! It is said twice Chittagong Hindu juveniles who become that'" no complaints were made to superior -converts to Muhammadanism, Christianity, police officers. Non-co-operators generally" Sikhism and Buddhism would be legally

do not lodge complaints and they also think nf punished.

r- that complaints are futile, And it is possible

that co~pla~uts ma~e wer( n~)" recorded f~y Exit st»: -For How Long? the police. There rs mention of such a thmg <1 "When after the quelling of the Sepoy War

~~e Statemeut. • it wa; found, n,ecessary, to pacify and re- •

ft is no pl'esu~pti-¢-e proof or the falsity assure the people and princes of India, Queen of Mr. Malaviya's SIi.atement that no M. L. <A ViCtoria ""'ic~ued -her famous proclamation, drew attention to the allGged assaults in tll'-\e which promised among other things: "We Bengal Council," which was in" session till , shall respect th~ rig!?t, dignity and honour April 4 lsst, All complaints rare not voiced of -uative prin'0e:s.. as our owii," Ordinarily,

.~re j M. L. C.s. know the futility of aslHrtg tlwugh }no~ under ReguLation or Ordinsnoe

questions, etc j a'hd the Iikej., N one of ~ or " Ordihance-law rule,' a common person

, prisoners referred to in Panditji's statement is entnIell to be ]leaI'd III selr..{le~nce l4efore

came out of jail before the morning, of the 3rcl • some came out on and after the 4th, . and; hence, even if so inclined, they ~d hardly,

time to approach the M. L. C S, • ,

Stiff Greater 1 rouble and Humiliation

!or'(),Chiftagong Hindus •

,1

Bahatualpur ~.,., Sir N ripendra N ath Sircar, Adv~cate-"

,. In recent years serious complaints, have General of Bengal, .,bas been making a few

• been heard against the Muhammadan States telling speeches in London. He w~ given ten

of Bhopal and J unagarh. Recently minutes to address a gathering of at-J:)l),t ",400

complaints of alleged arbitrariness, '" like ~ Conservatives. Among other f lOgS he told

the declaration of €he local. Hindu *hem: ,.,

• Sabha and the Hindu Yuvak Sangh as- un- ~ If the W~ite Paper goes illi 2;h, Army and

lawful bodies, were ventilated agaiust the External Alfalrs remain Reserved Strb.rects, untoueh-

B hID b Tl h ~Ie by Indian hands. They have no voice in the

a awa pur ur ar. rese- ave not been, p..1·ogress of Indianizatiou of the hrmy. About

investigated. And now The. Dct£ly lfm;:J3,,(fj't F'iuances, as eighty per '0ent of tbe Ventral

writes: Revenue is eaten up by Army expenditure,".~

." Service, guarscteed pays, tpen1iions and allow:llices,

Something like' twelve crores 'of rupees are dfie the Finance Minister can play with only the

by Bahawalpur Durbar to the.,Centrn.h50vernrilent ".balance, i. e., twenty per cent.

on account of loaus and interest incurred for the A voice; Is that so~? I don't find that'"in the

Sutlej Colonization Project. And Bahawalpur ,'White Paper, 0 1;

can't pay: . It thus appe~r3 t!;iat not only does '" Chairman: That is quite accurate.

the Judicial S'!istem of the" ,fitate r"qu~re As regards the .Services: not only recruitment,

overhauling, but the Financial /l)nditif,\n i~ just as ~ut ~v©. tran,fer of members of the Super'r.'i't"""'

rotten. Ther~js grave,,!1eed for ~rastic mea~ures <1.' l5<;fvlCes will be beyond the power of the Ministers .

. econ?mJ: and reform. Ill. Bahawa~pur. El't.'tte, and ~he Ministecs ~not censure persons who on paper

. one IS inclined .to unagme that, If HIS r,f[i!i'bness and in theory are their servants.

·did l!Ot staoo o~ the "favourit .. wife" side "'Of the Is this oubdication t

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~ being punished. The Maharaja of Alwar has <not been dealt with, so far as is known tQ, r the public-under auy Regulation, 0rMnance, or Ordinance-law, Is his «right, dignity and , ';onour" then less than those of common Indians that he is alleged to have been asked r to leave his State within 48 hours witt70ut ,..being heard in his defence and has been ~ practically exiled-for two years or more?

These big Maharajas are fond of boasting of their sovereign rights! They will not brook paramountcy beiuz vested in the . '"

proposed Federal Government, over which

commoners may have influence!

~ politicoes placed in States like ~r." Why does not Government advise

" and pr 'snthe ruling princes through them to govern well and to adopt the modern ~to-date methods of limited monarchies? Why is fI not warning given to them in time, when necessary? Is . the drastic remedy of • abdication') or «exile"

h ~ ~

t e only remedy?

It is a rather curious coincidence that hitherto only non-Muslim princes have been drastically dealt with. Of course, there dIave been in the cases of two them rebellions by their Mahammadan subjects. Bllt that "is only because Muhammadans in Hindu States and their co-religionists in British India are

d . n, \,... f"

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picture, the Government of India would? long ere this, have taken such measures as WOUIt.! ensure the drastic overhauling of affairs in the I::1tate.

Hunqeu-strike and Death of Political ,-/'

Prisoners in the Andamans

A crowded meeting of the citizens 01 Calcutta was held in the Albert Haleon the 30th May last under the president..§D.ip of lVII''.' Santosh Kumar Basu, the Mayor, to give expression to the strong feeling roused by 0, Government's (belated) publication of news " of -the deaths of two political prisoners and

the continued bunger-strike of 39 mlhe, to demand an immediate and open enquiry into the circumstances leading to the h ungErstrike and the deaths, to strongly protest '"' against the re-openiug of the A ndatiran-. Cellular jail for the transfer" of political ,.,

,. prisoners from India in the teeth of vehement popular feeling and against the recommendations of the Cardew Committee, and

to demand their immediate re-transfor to India, «so that the conditions of jail life may ~ • be amenable to public influence and may be more effectively supervised both by the

Gov~rnment and the public." 1i .,.

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it N. N. Sitcat on Cry of "British

Abdication"

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THE MODERN REVIEW FOR JUNE) 1933

Sir Sdmuel Hoare Again on Pandif Malaviya's Statement

On May 29 in the House of Commons, replying to Mr. Tom Williams' request of an enquiry into the allegations made in Pandit Malaviya's statement and "prosecution of the nttere.Jis of untruths,"

Bit-' Samuel Hoare said "We have had full inqli-:.:y. The people, who have made the charges, are en tit] ed, if they wish, to take the charges" into co urts. "

Mr. Tom Williams suggested that as evidence

. seemed to show ithat the statements were '"Wholly untrue it was the duty of the Government of Iodia 1,0 I"rosecnte Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya and othera.

Sir Samuel Hoare: "It is quite unnecessary so ,l;ake such steps. I am satisfied, as also' the Government oE India, that there is 110 ground for Jillese charges." +Reuter.

((.l!"'ull imjuiry" indeed! Sir Samuel knows that Non-eo-operators do not generally take charges into British courts. Is that the reason' ,~h)- he "Wants them to take the charges into courts'! It is not enough that he and the

• Government of India are satisfied. They arc always disposed to be satisfied with what their executive and police underlings do. liIecshould have the eourage to take up Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviva's challenge and~'osecut~ him.

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~ Amendment of the Calcutta

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Municipal Act

The bill to amend the Calcutta Municipal Act, aboutrwhosa origin and occasion something was s~m in the last issue of this Review has ~

"' two ends in view : first, t.o deprive all persons who have becn convicted of political offences; of their employment in the Calcutta Corporation; and, secondly, to bring the finaqcial affairs of" the C9.rporation completely under

...!:l,O)4ernmPllt control. On both these parts o·Nhe bill we ha~e s few words to say.

If the political clauses of the bill receive the sanction of the legislature it will not 'be simp,ly the future offenders WF,O will run ~he risk of heing penalized) but past ones as welt,

~r these clauses of the proposedramen<l,ing Jaw have been ~ven retrospective effect'.;£rom April 1, 1930, that is to ~y :l'l.'()ffi the ~ry beginning of the present political distur-

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bances. It is superfluous to add that the • bill does not aim to bring any 'other kind of, offence -&rithin its purview howe,er serious . • that may be. The special poweh ~hich ai; -<:. sought in this connection apply only to tl "political offences," which are not easy 0' deJtb.ition either morally or legally .• We do\

not wish to raise here the question of moral , guilt involved in the so-called 'political offences, and shall confine ourselves to the obvious remark that under the system of government prevailing in India they may be no more than technical and even whoily artificial offences. The notion of political offence has no fixed +aai~nd changes from day to day according ~ t; h~'-j' convenienec of the rulers of th~ ~untry. - Actions which are not offences todil'y may become offences tomorrow. For instaoee.: peaceful picketing which was not l'egarded as

''':;-.:1 offence two years agOr is an offence under the existing laws and ordinances. Besides, actions which~ are considered praiseworthy in free countries are offences in India. As long as political offences retain their unstabic and j"ltrbitrary character, it is hardly fair to deprive p-ersons of their livelihood on this sGbre alone,

But leaving aside for the moment the question, of moral guilt, there ah other good reasons why political offenders sJlOulc1 not be dealt with in so summary a fashion. Most

'" of- the men who were convicted for participating in the civil disobedience movement did not take part in the trials out of eonscientious ?" scruples. 11'.; is possible thaf had they tried ~ to defend themselves they could in man:' cases have proved themselves innocent. As

things are, they were convicted on wholly

('~r: parte evidence. _

) The clause of the bill which lays dowu

-1 ~t~at its provisions will apply only to those W11;) have been 'Sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for any-period axd simple imprisonment. fo:". terms "of six months or more will also, in our opinion, ~ involve discrimination and injustice,

It is of course" true ~hat Government rtJay, df ,.th~y ""!So wish, exempt any person "from ... j:.pe operations o,f thesS. clauses. But justica.and favour are quite different things, and there can <be no doubt {ltat \he pr<JJVisi~ns

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~f the bill will result in serious encroachments under any of the engineering depart-

• on the autono.mons powers of the Corporation, mcuts can 't be done for fear 01 the

'which is not honourable to that grel,J,t corpo-, auditor.

• . tate body.J I Every work of improvement in the spheres

,I The 4fi'1:ncial powers claimed by Govern- of water supply, drainage and conservancy,

,..-- ment in the second part of this bill on behalf roads, lighfing, transport, can be called part of of themselves or their agents are ~ore one big scheme or other (of the value of over I nrbitrarb still. It seeks to make the Go~rn- Rs. 212 lakhs) which have had the approval of Imeut fl~ditor the supreme arbiter of the Government or which are awaiting approval

~ financial affairs of the Corporation, and by under section 14. Therefore, all works introducing a system of surcharges to make however small in value will have to be sent the powers of this functionary absolutely to Government for approval with conse<;i_uent

supreme. H this part of the proposed bill delays and postponements.

passes into law, the whole machinery of l(lj IrVetteT TVo1'ks. Any new pipe-laying

"';he technical spending departments programme for introduction or augmonration"

~utta Corporation will break Q,I water supply in any area of Calcutta," waY'

down. "Section JA will remain a (lead letter be said to be part of the various big water

• and a l~elwry. Section 14 has rightly been supply schemes already carried out undel'" _termed the keystone of the self-government section 14 and cannot therefore be taken 1i.n t~ric of'; Sir Surendranath's Municipal hand until Government approval c'is obtained .., Act. It defines the fiscal autonomy of ~again under section 14. The current works tho Corporation in ,'egaI'd to irnprovemen't cntailing fresh expenditure of mOlley for

works. It limios the self-governing powers completion will have to be stopped 1>eqding

of that body to an expenditure up to Rs. 21/2 auditor's approval. The approval may depend

lukhs. It is because this section has been on the nationality and credentials of the 0

put into real practice in the interests of the makers supplying the pipes.

ratepayers of Calcutta that the Goverrzhent

'has become restive and has comC'0 forward (2) Ditto-in relation to replac~m.Knt of

with a measure which seeks to make (lit engines and pumps. v

inoperative and useless. (3) J)itto-if any power unit is ele~fied

The autocracy of the Govcrnmcnc auditor and electricity not taken fromtho C, E. S:,.

will bring the spending departments to a Corporation.

standstill. It will demolish discipline, 'fl (4) Dmina.rJe-samA as (3) Drainage-

encourage insubordination and ~lhe pumps and as (2) for replacements .

• .;I-Iouting of the orders of the Committees

officers (5) No works in connection with drainage

.nnd the Corporation bX f Il . d II' ....... f . ti

and heads of departments. If an out a ,e. ,g., repair or remo e mg u, .eXls mg

f sewers and channels:--although ""'Vitally

officer is asked to formulate a projeci or ~

( I 1 h ) h t;!ecessary-can be o done without the specific ..

improvement works under Rs. 21/2 a;:: s e .. £ th n -tl . tf 11

may refuse to do it until the approval of the ~»e~mlsslo~ 0 ~ auc 1 or--.~~ ie Gam ou at

Government r auditor is obtained beforehand. sc e~~e f aSth 1 ee~ th awai lllg overnment

!';ven if a departmental proposal for new h sanGr 1011 or, e as ree years.

works is passed through comprittees and tV" \'6) No internal drainage w0I1s can be Corporation, the head of the department undertaken for reasons as i~l (5) and (11n~

• dealin.g with the 'yorh: may retus.e. to have (7) C'onse1'::vancy- N 0 adinierini arrange~

anythl~g to do With the !,superv;l~l: ~;J,d mrnts regarding purchase of carts and panics execution of the work .until. the pe~.mlssIOn for-replacement and no;tlew J'eq1:lirements can be

. of the Government auditor }S obtained for made-as the Hs. 61akhs scheme of mechanized

every detail, fOl. fear Of di~~l~wance "flrW transport.,(althouglr approved by GovernmenA _

surohargo. '" ), '" caCn®t be undertaken for want of funds.

'I'he follow'rng list will sho'; how 11'0' work r'(8) No -replacement of wagons, locomo-

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THE~,:M:ODERN REVIEW FOR JUNE) 1938 (.

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PRINTED AND P<UBL:1}ED BY;r>)!~ANW. \{HANi>RA DAB

.~RABASJ __ RESS, "

12e.--3, PPPER CiR«ULAR ROAD, ~CALCUTTA

f

tives, rails will be possible after the Incineration Scheme i" sent to G6vernment for approval under Sec. 14. Every specific item will have to be approved by Government. Resllit-df'adiock.

(9) Roads-Economical methods nf road improvements and maintenance will have to be B('~vel':l11y sent to Government for approval, and If ("'efnsed, will have to postponed.

(10) Street Lighting. Conversion of gas

.~ e-' lamps-to electricity although allowed in the 9-as

Agre~ment may be refused by Government unless the current is taken from the C. E. S.

Corporation. Inrprovement and economy thus

go o~crboard. r:

• (-.1 17- W01·l.;shop- Reorganization cannot

be",undprtaken in parts; (because a comprehen,. sive scheme ml'ly be withheld by Government, or,.,.. even if approved could not be carried out for wanl<. of funds). Result-crippling of r productive power and economy.

(l~) Stores-Every item of engineering'" .-rr I3tore~ is a part of one or other project :tpproved under Sec. 14. Fresh sanction will

-therefore be required. The auditor may invoke Sec. 14 evel'Y time to cloak his disapproval of indigenous goods bought or of goods.J.11~ufactnred ill Corporation workshops.

j

)I l::l.!l.!? Way~ of Imposing a 1 ax

..--..... In the Forest Administration Report for

., 1931-32 we find :

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• • The assessment of fisheries in the forest are.:' of the Sunderbans was started in the district of Khulua from the 17th November 1~31 in theshape 1 of levYI~g a toll on boats, The toll is b~in0'1 collected' through the agency of the F rest Depar~~. ' ment, The revenue from this source. a unted to

Rs. 3,489 during the year. .

This is taxing the poor, illiterate fishermen', b:l(~ging . mostly to the depressed "cla'!ses, without either legislating or consulting the Bengal Legislative 0011 neil. In aftpr years -. thi~ will perhaps be cited as a precedent fOJ: taXing the poor boatmen in the interest of Revenue, and we hope, not in the interest of railways.

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THE COLOURED('FRONTISPIECE..

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The subject of the coloured frontispiece (Lakshrpjm and Surpanakha by Ramo-opal Vijat:.abaTgiya) is taken from the Rama~a.na. Surparnakba, the sister of Ravana, while w-mdering in the Dandaka :forest, met Lakshman and offer=d her love to him. She, however, met with a very humiliatiug rebuff . This led=to the development which "resulted in the war between Rama and Ravana.

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