Chandra, Ram

OpenSIUC

148 THE OPEN COURT.ings with his fellow men they are at one with each other and withevery great religion of the world to-day.The theological side of any religion may be considered asephemeral, perhaps altogether so. Theologies have changed largelyin the past as men have gained knowledge concerning natural laws,and our present knowledge of nature can hardly be considered com-plete. Many theologies of the present day are rapidly changingas our discoveries are sweeping us onward toward a fuller under-standing of God's plan, more of which may be revealed to our chil-dren at some distant day ; but the great firm and solid edifice ofmoral law, of man's relati'onship to man, that has been growingprecept upon precept for untold ages, whose architects have beenthe great men and the sainted teachers of the past and whose builders'have been men even as we, this edifice is not changing but onlygrowing. Its stones are not guesses at infinity, replaced in the nextgeneration by other guesses, but truths wrought from the hearts ofnoble and just men whose sympathies have turned to the pains andthe failings of their fellow men and who have sought to remedythem.And as this temple rises, tier upon tier, we builders of thepresent may look forward through the mists of future years andbehold its completed dome under which all the nations of the earthwill unite in their paeans to the one Universal Father whom all mennow worship, though under divers names and through varyingceremonies.WHAT ENGLAND HAS DONE FOR INDIA.BY RAM CHANDRA.THE English first went to India for the purpose of extendingtheir trade. The East India Company was farmed for com-mercial purposes alone and the operations of that Company werethe scandal of the civilized world. The proceedings of the trial ofWarren Hastings are a sufficient exemplification of this fact. TheHouse of Lords in the end acquitted Warren Hastings, in spite ofhis crimes, because of his services in extending the dominion ofthe Empire. Eventually Great Britain assumed possession of India,ostensibly on account of the iniquities of the East India Company.All this was accomplished by stirring up antagonism between dif-ferent sections of the country, setting one prince against another,one religious sect against another, and in the name of local interestsWHAT ENGLAND HAS DONE FOR INDIA. 149constantly contriving to extend the British influence. The peoplewere deceived. They were too simple, trusting and generous. Eng-land posed as a benefactor, and the people not being suspicious offoreigners, as were the Japanese, gave them a free hand for theirmachinations. They embraced the benefactor only to find them-selves bound hand and foot, helpless at the feet of a rapaciousdespoiler. What followed may best be described in the words ofAdam Brooks, in Laws of Civilization and Decay, who says:"Very soon after the battle of Plassey (fought in 1757), theBengal plunder began to arrive in London and the effect appearsto have been almost instantaneous. Probably since the world began,no investment has yielded the profit from the Indian plunder. Theamount of treasure wrung from the conquered people and trans-ferred from India to English banks between Plassey and Waterloo(fifty-seven years) has been variously estimated at from $2,500-000,000 to $5,000,000,000. The methods of plunder and embezzle-ment by which every Briton in India enriched himself during theearlier history of the East India Company gradually passed away,but the drain did not pass away. The difference between theearlier day and the present is that India's tribute to England isobtained by 'indirect methods' under forms of law."In judging the effect of foreign rule upon any people, the threemost important factors to be considered are:First : The influence upon industry, or the economic effect.Second: The influence upon education.Third : The influence upon the development of political life, orpreparation for self-government.As to the influence of Great Britain upon India's industries, Iwill quote from the late Air. G. K. Gokhale, CLE., a member of theImperial Legislative Council of the V-iceroy. Professor Gokhale says:"When we come to this question of India's industrial dominationby England, we come to what may be described as the most de-plorable result of British rule in this country. In other mattersthere are things on the credit side and things on the debit side. . . .But when you come to the industrial field you will find that theresults have been disastrous."Briefly stated, the facts are these:A distinct policy of taxation and tariff was adopted by whichraw material was prevented from being first turned into manu-factures in India, thus causing it to be transported to England forthat purpose and the manufactured products then returned to besold in India, thus enabling English merchants to secure double150 THE OPEN COURT.profits. In this way some forty million Hindus were thrown outof work and forced into agriculture.In agriculture practically nothing has been done to improveconditions, it remains in its primitive state ; the inhabitants are stillusing the old wooden plows ; very little has been done for irrigation.But taxation has steadily increased until at the present time a Hindufarmer is obliged to pay from 50 per cent to 60 per cent of his annualproduct to the government. As a result of this constant and in-credible drain, the most wide-spread and terrible poverty prevailsthroughout India. The average income of a Hindu is 27 rupees($9.00) according to Lord Curzon, and 15 rupees ($5.00) ac-cording to Sir William Digby. India is now in a state of perpetualfamine. From 1891 to 1900 not less than 19,000,000 died of starva-tion. This is not all. On account of the weakened condition of thepeople they have fallen victim to disease in incredible numbers.According to Sir William Digby, 15,000,000 also died of plagueand malaria during the above period. (See Prosperous BritishIndia by Sir William Digby.) This makes a total equal to one-third the population of the United States. All of this could havebeen prevented by proper government measures. England is respon-sible for it all. Prior to the English occupation, no such poverty,famine or plague were ever known in India. In fact, it is thedirect result of the measures taken by England to absorb to herselfthe wealth of India.The following are the official figures concerning the faminesof India:FAMINES BEFORE THE BRITISH RULE.In the 11th century. . . .2 famines both local1 around DelhiIn the 13th century.In the 14th century.In the 15th century.In the 16th century.In the 17th century.In the 18th century.3 " all local2 both local3 " all local3 general area not defined.4 " to 1754, NorthwesternProvince, Delhi, Sindh(twice, all local).FAMINES UNDER THE BRITISH RULE DURING THE NINETEENTH CENTURY1800 to 1825 5 famines, nearly 1.000,000 deaths1825 to 1850 2 " " 500,000"1850 to 1875 6 " " 5,000,000"1875 to 1900 18 " " 25,000,000"WHAT ENGLAND HAS DONE FOR INDIA. 151The above figures are taken from Prosperous British India, bySir William Digby (publication in India prohibited). Even in 1915and 1916. there was almost a constant famine in Bankura, Bengal,and in Rajputana.As to education, what has England done? She has establishedfive universities—this in a country with 300,000,000 inhabitants.For general public education she has done very little. The fiveuniversities were established for the sole purpose of preparingHindus to fill certain subordinate positions in the government ser-vice. High fees were fixed, so that only the children of the wealthycould attend and but few of them. As to the masses, Lord Curzonsaid it would not be wise to educate them, it might cause sedition.Even where movements have been set on foot among the Hindusthemselves to secure public education along modern lines, and wherethey have offered to defray all expenses by an increase in localtaxation, the answer of the government has been, "We do not thinkit necessary."In 1910 a movement was started by prominent Hindu andMohammedan leaders to raise funds for the purpose of establishingtwo independent universities, one under Hindu and the other underMohammedan auspices. The government agreed to grant chartersprovided a sum was collected equal to $4,000,000 for each institi-tion. In 1914 the money had been raised and the Maharaja of Dur-bhanga and the Raja of Mahmudabad went to the government atSimla and made application for the charters. Sir Harcourt Butler,Minister of Education, refused to grant the charters except underconditions by which the government would appoint the instructorsand in fact control the universities in every respect. This was agreat disappointment. After much discussion the government in-duced the Hindus to accept the conditions, but the Mohammedansup to this time have refused.In the past two years several hundred private schools havebeen closed by the government under various pretexts. Insteadof increasing education it is being diminished. After one hundredand fifty years of British rule not more than ten per cent of theinhabitants know how to read and write.After the above, it is hardly necessary to deny that Englandhas done anything toward preparing the Hindus for self-government.India is ruled by a viceroy who gets double the pay of the presidentof the United States. The Council of the Viceroy contains someHindu members, but the majority are always Englishmen and theHindu members consist of princes and title holders who are not sym-152 THE OPEN COURT.pathetic with the people. The government is strictly autocratic.The masses of the people have nothing to do with it except to obeyits mandates. In Civil Service there are only 65 Hindus employedas compared with 1200 Englishmen, or slightly more than 5 percent. In fact the policy of the government is to prevent the ideaof self-government arising among the people.The United States came into the possession of the PhilippineIslands and after some fifteen years of occupation sixty per centof the Filipinos are educated according to the most improved meth-ods. The product of their work formed one of the most superioreducational exhibits at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.Congress has definitely adopted a program which will lead in a fewyears to complete self-government in the Philippines. Industrythere is being reconstructed according to most modern methods, andthe Filipinos are looking forward to a career of prosperity andfreedom.On the other hand, after one hundred and fifty years of oppor-tunity England has done nothing for India, and the land lies desolatein poverty and ignorance. During the past fifty years the Hindushave begged England to change her policy and begin to do some-thing for India's benefit. Since the only response is the same oldpolicy of pretense and suppression, they are at last rising in revolt.Xo promises of reform will be of any avail ; the fire of liberty isspreading and sooner or later the country will be free.THE NEW NATIONALISM IN INDIA.BY BASANTA KOOMAR ROY.THE present revolutionary activities for the establishment of arepublic in Ireland and the subsequent execution of its leadersincluding Sir Roger Casement has naturally made many think ofthe outlook in India, for the case of India is somewhat analogousto that of Ireland. India may be called the Ireland of Asia, andIreland the India of Europe. The history of these two countriesunfolds a parallel story of past prosperity and present poverty andhelplessness. P»oth were conquered by blood and iron, and it ismortifyingly true that both Erin and India are kept under foreigndomination primarily by disunion among the factious classes and

What England Has Done for India.

http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3145&context=ocj

What England Has Done for India.

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

OpenSIUC