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:.!

Studi

of Cali;\ --uia

California

i^4.-.^_oy i,

Reflections

on

the

Political

Situation in India
Wll
ith

Peisonal Note and Extracts from Indian and

English Newspapers etcelra

Lajpat Rai
of Lahore,

JAHAN

India

Reflections

on

the

Political

Situation in India
with

Personal Note and Extracts from Indian and

English Newspapers etcetra

by

Lajpat Rai
of

Lahore,

India

HIFT

.3

PART

598

The Author

begs the pardon of the reader

for errors of proof reading, etc., that

what

some-

disfigure this pamphlet.

The pamphlet was written in September

and printed in Japan, after he had left the
country.
he

Our task is nothing less than the regeneration

of Europe the vindication of the twin principles of
''

and democracy and the emancipation of

subject races from alien Rule."
nationality

SIR

HENRY CAMPBELL BANNERMAN.

"

Good Government can

never be a substitute for Self

Government.'*

There are times when

speaking at other times.

come when

silence

In

saying what follows.

The

plain the situation perhaps

well

man

is

as criminal as indiscreet

judgement the time has

the whole truth about the Indian situation should

be told to the British public.

ments.

my

The

meaning

That

is

my

justification for

personal note appended, will ex-

more

clearly than general state-

facts related therein are, in the opinion of

Britishers

and Americans,

sufficient to

desperate, yet I have never been so, and,

do not intend to

lose

my

provoking circumstances.

God

many

make a
willing

balance of mind even under more

REFLECTIONS ON THE POLITICAL

SITUATION IN INDIA.
Doctor Seton Watson

What

"

in

Is

at stake in the

War.''
"

Our task

is

nothing less than the regeneration

of Europe the vindication of the twin principles of

and democracy and the emancipation of

subject races from alien Rule."
nationality

SIR

HENRY CAMPBELL BANNERMAN.

"

Good Government can

never be a substitute for Self

Government.'*

I.

There are times \vhen

speaking at other times.

come when

silence

In

as criminal as indiscreet

judgement the time has

the whole truth about the Indian situation should

be told to the British public.

saying what follows.

The

plain the situation perhaps

ments.

is

my

The

That

is

my

justification for

personal note appended, will ex-

more

clearly than general state-

facts related therein are, in the opinion of

well meaning Britishers and Americans, sufficient to

man

desperate, yet I have never been so, and,

do not intend to

lose

my

provoking circumstances.

God

many

make a
willing

balance of mind even under more

II.

The

years have furnished ample evidences of

last ten

the fact that India,

ceding

it,

manifests
is

is,

as

compared with the decade pre-

seething with discontent, which, not infrequently

itself in

That there

former and ascribe

it

sedition also

to causes other than a general wide-

spread dissatisfaction with British rule.

is

is

But they explain away the

they do not and can not deny.

maintain,

That there

forms of sedition and violence.

unrest, even the British admit.

The

they

latter,

due to the mischevous propaganda of a few

revolutionary malcontents, whose numbers and importance

they

belittle.

sures, to
in

But the many repressive and coercive mea-

which they have resorted within the

down

order to put

sedition,

last ten

a different

tell

mere existence of statutary provisions

coercion may not mean much, though

years

tale.

for repression
their

The
and

enactment

in

times of admitted unrest, and following the various violent

manifestations

what

is

of sedition,

own

its

significance.

But

conclusive evidence of the widespread presence of

seditionary discontent
liave

has

is

the fact that the government should

had to enforce those provisions

in

many

cases.

The

mere enacting of a Press Act, almost unsurpassed in its

comprehensive rigidity and in the summary powers which it
gives to the Executive Government, to supress

paper or publication which the Government

has not proved

effective.

Government by the
dreds of cases.

The

legislature

Hundreds of

drastic

any news

may

dislike,

powers given to

have been exercised

in

hun-

native newspapers conducted

by Hindus, Mohammadans and Sikhs have been summarily dealt with under the Act,

in

numerous

cases, in the discontinuance of the publications

concerned

and

in

others,

in

huge monetary

resulting

losses to the conductors


Similarly

thereof.

hundreds

proscribed and

been

eight years

the

Company

without

trial.*

of

Twice within the

Government was forced

last

use of

of the late East

and education,

to deport Indians of position

The law of

make

to

by a Regulation

it

have

pubh'cations

other

confiscated.

the powers granted to

India

and conspiracy has

sedition

been changed and altered about half a dozen times within

the last eight years with a view to

it

the subject, though

getically

admitted that

sedition that

had made

its

it

was

it

was reluctantly and apoloalso

appearance

the law as to trials and procedure at

to allow the
trial

made compre-

into conformity with English

was being brought

Law on

being

Every time the plea has

hensive, deterrent, and effective.

been, that

its

Gov^ernment to select

needed to put down

Even

in the country.

trials,
its

has been changed

ow^n judges for the'

of political cases, to permit the latter to admit evidence

deny right of appeal to

During the War, of course, even more

not ordinarily admissible and to

persons convicted.

stringent measures have been taken

on the plea that they

Numerous

were necessary for the defence of the realm.

Indians have

Every

made.

been interned
letter

numerous

going to or out of India

numbers of them have been withheld.

called for,

arrests
is

have been

opened and

If a return

showing the number of arrests made

for or

were
under

suspicion of political crime as well as of the persons and

houses and places searched for arms and

in

connection with

political crime, within the last eight years, the figures

make

startling disclosures

political

would

and so also the number of alleged

offenders absconding from justice

during which they remained absconding.

and the period

Violent political

* Since the above was written news have travelled from India that a

number of Bengali gentlemen have

regulations.

recently been deported under the

same old

crime made
bances

appearance

its first

in the

Punjab

in

in

1908

The

1907.

if

we omit

the distur-

unrest in the Punjab in

1907 and the disturbances resulting therefrom, were said to be

due to agrarian troubles. These agrarian troubles however
could be traced to deep rooted economic and political causes.

However
political

sive

if

we

crime

take

measures and

sedition

and

1908 as the starting point of violent

in India,

we might say

political

that in spite of repres-

Lord Morley's Reform Scheme,

in spite of

crime

has not only decreased

in India

but has actually increased since then.*

It

has spread over

a large area, has penetrated into the non-educated classes,

and has taken bolder and more audacious forms.

lias

been met by violence.

consfiscation

press
on.

has

by

secret conspiracy

been

muzrded

The Criminal

yet

and secret treason.

The

propaganda

goes

secret

and Criminal Investigation

intelligence

departments have been strengthened

normally alive and active

rampant

and have been ab-

and public espionage

private

Violence

Repression, suppression, and

platform oratary has disappeared

propaganda has almost stopped.

On

open

the other hand open

manifestations of loyalty have increased at least

perhaps 1000

All this can be put

fold.

is

political

of the Government, yet the balance will

down
still

100 fold

to the credit

be

in

favour

Lord Hardinge's wise

of the seditionists and revolutionists.

statesmanship has been of the greatest value to the British,

but even that has

failed to

fidence between the rulers

restore peace

and the ruled.

and establish con-

Lord Hardinge's

methods have perhaps checked the growth of

sedition

violent manifestations to a certain extent but

* The Special Commissioners who

in their final judgement.

We

know

over India, including the Punjab.

We

tried the

'1

has kept ebbing and flowing since then."

and

its

can not be

Lahore Conspiracy Case say

that in 1907 a

know,

it

wave of

too, that the

sedition passed

wave of

sedition

said that sedition in India

\\

ithin the last

is

dead or

is

At no

dying.

seven years has the country been free from

There have been periods of more or

sedition.

time

but

less lull

such interval has been followed by an outbreak of a

-every

severer nature than the one preceding

The war opened

it.

a remarkable and enthusiastic outburst of loyalty.

with

Some

people thought at the time that the outburst was

neither spontaneous nor genuine but even

can deny that

it

has since cooled

indications are not

going the other way.

down

was, no one

if it

considerably and

wanting that the pendulum

In the

war the

British

is

perhaps

had a splendid

and God sent opportunity of irrevocably binding India to

them and of uprooting

sedition,

by their
The policy

but they have

policy of mistrust and jingoism, lost

it

for ever.

of trust and goodwill might have killed sedition and created

a strong

reaction against the revolutionaries and the violent

politicals

but the policy actually pursued and the cruel and

savage sentences given

in political cases

People are asking "if this

feeling.

is

have reversed the

happening during the

we hope for, after the war is over." The

now more than one year old. Comparing the first

war, what can

war
six

is

months with the

last six

change that has taken place

England.*

The

officials

months one can judge of the

in the feeling

and the

loyalists

both

have

planations of the conspiracies that have

come

the disturbances that have taken place.

W^e

in India

their

own

to light
shall

and
ex-

and of

examine

these explanations later on but the facts that (a) that thousands

of native Indians have been interned (b) that thousands of

arrests have been
*

We

made

in the Punjab,

and Bengal, and num-

give a few quotations from the Indian Press in the end

which

should be of interest in connection with this statement, also some extracts from
the

Morning Post of London, the most

Empire.

influential.

Tory paper

in the British

bers in other provinces (c) that Special Tribunals had to be

created for the

trial

of these cases and (d) last but not the least

that this time at least units of the

army were actually tampered

with and had to be executed,* show that (a) unrest in India

is

now

not

confined to the intellectuals, (b) that

it

not

is

confined to a few (c) that the causes of dissatisfaction are

particularly shown by
number of days in the
For a man
of the Punjab.

deep seated and fundamental.

This

is

the wholesale loot that went on for a

South Western
not biased

by

districts

and possess-

pre-disposition or political motives

ed of a sober temper and a clear mind, the evidence

the

in

conspiracy and dacoity cases tried at Lahore and Multan

by

the special Tribunals created, under the Defence of India

Act by

the Executive Government of the Punjab,

Standing

sigiiifcance.

spiracies

may

by themselves perhaps

is full

of

those con-

not be sufficient for a verdict that there

is

deep

seated widespread discontent in the Punjab, but read in the

light of past

events,

of what has been happening in the

North West

districts

of Punjab for the last lo years, of

what happened
ing

all

and

eighties,

this

in

1907, 19 10, 191 3 and 19 14 and compar-

with the loyalty of the Punjab in the Seventies

one

who knows

the province well, cannot but

conclude that the Punjab, the recruiting ground of the

British

what
rest

is

of

Indian army,

is

seething

true of the Punjab,

India.

The Punjabees

* 14 have been recently hanged

Meerut and 2

are

in the

And

with discontent. f

more or

is

less true

virile

of the

people,

less

Punjab and 4 were hanged

at

at Jhansi.

t The Special Commissioners who tried the Lahore Conspiracy Case,

admit that the Conspiracy was " widespread " and that they are not sure if ali
its

ramifications have been discovered but they are satisfied that the bulk of

The Lieutenant Governor says that

would have produced in the Province a state of
of Hindustan in the Mutiny of 1857."

the people are loyal.

if

checked

affairs similar to

that

it

not promptly

versed in the art and ways of diplomacy and they can not
for long

be patient nor can perhaps the Bengalees

sentimental people.

The

who

are a

causes of discontent, however, that

are at the bottom of the political condition of these provinces

are

more or

ant fact

neither

the

nationalists

tremists

less

of general application.

Yet the most import-

connection with the Government of India

ruling

is

that

bureaucracy nor the moderate Indian

The exis widespread.

Anglo Indians and the extremists among

admit that discontent

among

the

the Indians sometimes admit the existence of this widespread

discontent but their voices are

drowned

and repudiations made by the

denials

moderates among the

Anglo Indian

The

nationalists.

press want

more

in the

agency

in

more brute

repression and

They have always opposed

concilation.

and the

extremists of the

force in the administration of the country

representative

chorus of

authorities,

they deprecate

the extension of

and the employment of native

institutions

They

the higher ranks of officialdom.

are op-

posed to Council Government and they oppose any further

They do

extension of Legislative councils.

Indians in the higher offices

them.

They

much

less

not want any

a large

number of

think that the British forms of justice are unsuit-

ed.to the country and that the country

They hold
and ought to be held by
education.

that India

suffers

In short they are for an

the sword.

absolute, unmitigated despotism.

They admit

of a widespread discontent, ascribe

it

administration and want the

from over-

was conquered by sword

the existence

to education

Government

and

lenient

to pursue a policy

of repression and extirpation without regard to the principles

of law or procedure or the feelings of the people.
leniency and equality

Some

is

"

damned nonsense

All talk of

" in their eyes.

of them are brutually frank and say that as India

belongs to them by virtue of conquest they are entitled to

make

the most out of

bureaucracy

in India

among them do

not,

The rank and

it.

think on the same

of the

file

lines,

official

but the highest

They

nor do the Government at home.

would not admit the existence of a widespread and deep

seated disaffection in India because that

on

reflection

their

would be a serious

They do not want

rule.

democracy or the world

know, that

to

the

British

their rule in India

has been a failure and that the people regard

it

as tyrranical

Thus they belittle these manifestations of

and trace them to the doings and sayings of a set of

and oppressive.
sedition,

mischievous revolutionaries, with

have no sympathy.

They

whom

the people at large

justify their repressive

measures

directed against the revolutionaries, and they try to conciliate

by Homeopathic doses of political

concessions, and label them as the ** expansion of the liberties
of the people of India." The moderates amongst the Indian
the rest of the country

nationalists

deny that

admit that the people are discontented but they

their discontent

is

so deep and widespread as to

amount to disloyalty. They oppose repressive legislation

but when the government confronts them with the details of
political
is

crimes and contends that the repressive legislation

directed against the

**

revolutionaries " only,

abiding constitutional reformers

government

in

it

was

their

and as law

duty to help the

maintaining law and uprooting crime, they

are not only silenced but forced to vote with the Govern-

ment.

We thus

find

a Gokhale supporting a Press Act and

a Surrendra Nath Bannerjee voting

other coercive
reigns
tion

is

supreme

measures.
in all

The

fact

for a crimes act

is

political circles in India

and the

situa-

so perplexing and peculiar that no one can afford to

be absolutely frank and speak the whole truth.

in politics,

tained

and

that inconsistency

Consistency

once said Lord Roseberry, could only be main-

by an

ass

and as the

politicians of India (Anglo-Indians

and Indians) are not

The
fate

they don't care for consistency.

asses,

situation in India

is

however becoming grave and the

of both England and India

India, she loses her rank as

more important
for her goods.

is,

is

involved.

If

loses

even

is

market she has

that she loses the greatest

On

England

a world power but what

the other hand, Indians are not quite

by the severence of their

The most thoughtful amongst

sure that their troubles will end

connection with England.

them are
will

inclined to think that perhaps the real troubles

only commence when the British have

left

accounted for

British loss of India can be

The

India.

in

two ways

either by another great power taking India or by India becoming independent. So far as the first is concerned a few

years before, no Indian entertained the idea of exchanging

In his opinion no calamity could be greater and

masters.

more

The people

disastrous than that.

low, loyalists and nationalists were

But now
that

am

question.

American

afraid there

The

is

Indians

all

of India, high and

agreed on that point.

no such unanimity even on

abroad have seen

travelling

rule in the Phillipines

and the Hawaii

and

islands

the French-rule in Indo-China, and through their writings,

the Indians at

home have

also

come

know something

to

about the rule of other nations over their possessions and the
superiority

which

in their

eyes British rule in this respect

possessed as compared with other foreign administrations in

the world, has at least dwindled

if

respects the British rule in India

Ivussia.

On

In

some

worse than the Russian

and much worse than even Czar's

rule in Turkistan,

Some

not disappeared.
is

the other point also there

is

no unanimity.

of the extremists are inclined to think that no liberty

is

not

won by

has to pass through a

test

of blood, before

worth having which

free national

Government and

force

in

is

that every nation

it

can establish a

that a period of anarchy

and

lo

disorder and bloodshed must precede the establishment of

a firm Government of the people for the people, based on

law.

For them the prospect of years of anarchy, disorder

terror.
There are others, however,

and bloodshed have no

who

can not look at the thing

in that

way

they abhor

order and bloodshed and would rather remain

dis-

under an

Then there is the

Hindu Mohammadan problem. There are some among the
Hindu Nationalists who would prefer a IMoslem Government
over the British Government but their number is not very
large.
The bulk of the Hindus would not like Moslem

alien

Government than

supremacy and

face anarchy.

But there are enough indications

vice versa.

that the

Hindus and Mohammadans are being animated by

common

patriotism and the feeling

stronger every day that

it

is

a system of national Government which

to

Hindus and Moslems

alike

and that

may be

and

this

have India

Nationalists,

do not

free,

The

feeling

consolidation and strengthening

consideration weighs heavily with the

Mohammadan

for

acceptable

in politics, the reli-

gious distinctions should be altogether dropped.

however requires time

and

getting stronger

should not be impossible to evolve

who though

they

Hindu and
love to

will

desire the immediate severence of

British connection with India.

To

this class

belongs a large

number of thoughtful moderates and in the same category

are to be found a good many of thoughtful extremists.
In
any case it shall not be far from truth to say that their
loyalty to

England

Government but

is

by

not actuated
the fears

of

by a
the

love of the British

immediate

of their country, in case the British have to leave

future
it

yet

neither their fears nor their hopes can stop the spread of

revolutionary ideas and the expansion and development of

the

movement
by the

passed

for

independence.

British

Every death sentence

Courts of justice on those

who

are


caught

ill

II

the revolutionary

compaign sends the roots

movement deeper and deeper and

The sufferings of political
tions.*
the

strengthens

convicts and

of

founda-

its

political

prisoners are acting as powerful incentives for future action

and there seems to be no chance of the movement dying out

want of

The

fresh recruits or for fear.

truth

is

for

that all classes

of Indians are thoroughly discontented, with the exception of

who

course of those,

are in receipt of large profits

the total strength of the nation the

necessarily be small,

by

As compared

connection with the British Government.

number of the

latter

their

with

must

and although they exert a certain amount

of influence on society and have some following, their influence

counts for

little

so far as the strata of society

from which the revolutionaries get

ful

is

their recruits.

concerned

power-

Government with untold resources of wealth and with a

large

army

at

its

back can always command the allegiance

and services of a large number of people who

will

spy

on the movements of their own countrymen and who will

hand them over to justice, as soon as they can do so
with sure prospects of gain and profit.
Once in the
hands of the authorities their conviction and punishment

Every such conviction how^ever adds

to the strength of the movement.
The convicts become
*'
martyrs " and those who are acquitted begin to actively
follows

of course.

sympathise with the movement even

indifferent before.

may

Some

retire to private

life.

become dour and begin

The

sufferings

of them

downward and
a good many who

drift

But there are

to harbour thoughts of revenge.

* In the Punjab alone within the

a larger number

they were absolutely

and tortures that they have undergone during

September between 50
periods.

if

may

to

last eight

months from February

to

60 youngmea have received death sentences, and

have been

transported

for

life

or

imprisoned for long

trial

wipe out the

their thoughts.

of loyalty

last traces

any

In

if

any, that existed in

case, their loyalty, disappears for

good and they become active and passive opponents of the

British rule in India.
Thus the number of the enemies of the
British raj
friends

in India, is

ever on the increase and that of

gone through the

fire

its

Those who have once

and admirers on the decrease.

whether convicted or acquitted provide

nourishment as well as strength for the growth of the tree

which

what

is

Anglo

there are no signs that the revolutionary

is

in

Say

thus constantly renovated and kept standing.

interested politicians (Indians or

Indians) may,,

movement

in India

any danger of extinction or extirpation or of being

appreciably weakened.

The

reactionaries

among

the

Anglo

Indians and British politicians in India as well as in England,

whose number

is

fairly large

and who always keep themselves

before the public eyes, are the most important allies of the
revolutionaries,

and so are such moderates and

loyalists

who

speak of the revolutionaries with contempt and ridicule their

It may require
man from whom one

courage, their patriotism, and their strength.

a certain
differs,

amount of courage

a coward, but

latter to prov^e that

it

he

to call a

furnishes a certain incentive to the

is

The

not.

British vilifiers of the

Bengalees and their loyalist followers have contributed

in

no

small decree to the evolution of the " Bengalee anarchist."

To

call

a disarmed nation, deprived of

or defence, a nation of cowards,

and pride on the part of those

vilification,

latter

but

it

leaves

its

and helps materially

all

means of offence

may be an
who indulge

sure
in the

act of courage
in this sort

mark on the

bringing about of gradual

transformation which goads them to desperate deeds.

every reactionary
Indian people
to

is

of

souls of the

in Indian politics

and every

vilifier

Thus
of the

a source of indirect strength and inspiration

the revolutionaries and the latter rely

upon them

for

'3

Under tlie present

the Indian Press can hardly carry on a campaign

furnishing materials for their propaganda.

state of law,

They can not even

of constructive political ideas.

abstract political theories because they

They can not

suggestive.

because their

discussions

They can

sedition.

wrongs

No

righted.

be

them

risk

of

and

bring the

Europe and America by

in

capitalists,

Socialists,

bureaucrats,

proceeded

against

under the Press

current topics in the light of past history

writer

perilously

Comrade of Delhi

veiled

Indian journalist can use the language

in

(a

near the

mohammadan

proceeded against because

Egypt

history

as

royalists without running the almost certain

being

Comments on

past

interpreted

to take steps to have their

Republicans, and Democrats against

militarists

India's

discuss

dangerously

not speak of the miseries and troubles of

the masses and appeal to

every day used

discuss

may

may be

it

Andammans.

Act.

may
The

paper of influence) was

referred to the past history of

commenting upon the conduct of Tuikey

The

joining this war.

the present action of

certain events that

Turkey but

had happened

one could prove that

in

writer expressed his disapproval of

his

in his discussion referred to

in

Egypt

in the past.

No

references were inaccurate or his

language incendiary, but the highest British Court, declared

it was sedition to publish such historical truths as might
any way influence the Indians to think disparagingly of the
English.
Similarly it is out of the question for any Indian

that

in

in India to try to establish

statements

made by

by evidence or argument that the

about the Mutiny of

British historians

1857 or about the conduct of the mutineers, are incorrect.

Any

attempt to defend the rebels or to speak in admiration

of their deeds or in extenuation of the charges laid at their door

by

biased historians

of the law and

may

afford

bring the writer within the clutches

ground

for a sentence of death or


transportation for

14

While

life.

in India,

an Indian can hardly

carry on any historical research on British administration as

it

may

hatred.

ican publishers

may

if

contempt or

by European or Amer-

published

be sold

in India

but their translation into

vernacular becomes actionable.

into

Books speaking of British conquest or of British

administration in India

Government

easily tend to bring the

of Seeley's

translator

expansion of England was once prosecuted

for sedition not

because the translation was a perversion of the original but

because
/

/'

it

was

A translator of
on

likely to create disaffection against the British.

Mr. Bryan's
to

circumstances,

it

lives

on the

reactionaries

a term
is

such
The

of imprisonment.

English or

of the

Under

these

mistakes as the House

Anglo-Indian

was

of Lords

throwing out the Government of India's

proposal to grant an
Provinces.

article

no wonder that the Indian Press only

mistakes

lately guilty of, in

American statesman)

India was actually convicted of sedition

British rule in

and sentenced

(the

Executive

Council to the United

Indian press was for months excited over

the action of the House of Lords in this matter and judging

from the amount of space and attention devoted to

it,

an

outsider might have reasonably concluded that the fate of the

United Provinces or India,

measure

itself

on the measure.

The

not of such importance but the Indian

is

politician sees in

rested

its

rejection,

cherished hopes in the

Sell

Government.

like

that,

If

supported

an end of many of

direction

his fondly

of a speedy advance in

an innocent and harmless measure

by

the

Government of India

and

accepted by the Cabinet could not be carried through, what

chance there was, argued the Indian

politician, of any measure

autonomy being conceded to India in the near future.
mistake like that comes very handy to the moderate press,

of real

but

it is

dangerously effective

in the

hands of the extremists.


It
liis

15

brings fresh recruits to the ranks of the latter

movement

ridicule the

as fuel feeds

moderate

renewed

with

force,

politics

gives

it

logic

it

feeds

him opportunity

and to pursue

his

and

to

propaganda

fatal

success.

on, finding fresh strength,

renewed

irresistable

Thus the movement goes

vitality

fire

As soon

and driving force day by day.

as the

courts have disposed of one batch of seditionists, another

comes forward and takes up the work of

dead comrades.

Outside

their imprisoned

of

number of Indians

the

India,

sincerely loyal to the British connection can not exceed, five

The

percent.

religions

ties,

their

Indians outside India belong to

and

classes

all

communi-

and there can be no explanation of

unconcealed disloyalty towards Britain except

British rule in India does not satisfy

that their national backwardness

is

them and they

due to that

rule.

that
think-

The

contempt with which the other parts of the British Empire

and the world outside,
they begin to

treats

feel that life

them,

affects

without liberty

is

them deeply and

not worth living.

Indians settled or working in Canada or United States of

America

are, as

India, than

Some

a rule, materially

they would have been

much

better off outside of

in their

own

native land.

them are owners of landed property. Others have

good banking accounts. Every one gets enough to eat and
drink and live well and also save some thing for the rainy
day.
Yet the evidence in the Lahore Conspiracy Case has
disclosed how numbers of them left these cheering environments and proceeded to India, practically to give up their
lives for the cause of their country's freedom.
When put on
their trial they made no secret of their mission and openly
of

confessed their love of freedom and have since willingly paid

the

penalty for that

Alipore

Bomb

This

is

the second case after the

Case of 1908

in

which the accused made no

attempt to conceal their hatred for foreign Government and


7^

their desire to free their

i6

country of

To

it.-

known India of the nineteenth century,

The numerous young men engaged

man who had

this fact is phenonional.

in

propaganda

secret

can not be unaware of the ahnost hopelessness of immediate

Their willingness to suffer and to die for the cause

results.

of their country, in spite of that knowledge,

of the changed attitude of the country and

meaning

who have

to those

Her sons

and hundreds of thousands) have begun to

worthwhile to die

in the

pregnant with

the intelligence to understand.

on a new phase.

India has entered

symptomatic

is
is

cause of freedom.

thousands

(in

feel that it

With

is

5 millions

of their countrymen behind them, they can well afford to die

even

in

millions

thereby they can loosen the bonds of

if

(slavery which enchain their country and their countrymen.

Large numbers

that

feel

without liberty

life

is

mere

existence but

without honour

life

is

even worse.

It is

Hardly

disgrace.

day passes but when the force

circumstances makes them

Their sense of honor

of their

life

is

and they become

extremely

painful

high

education,

some
away

of

them

to

see

sullen

their lives,

for

to

suppose that

They

show

die in order to

way

of

noble

It

promise,

of great

mien and

the merest chance of awakening the

Success

liberation.

every step

of the noblest families in the land throwing

immediate success.

other

at

a despised

and discontented.

youngmen

country to a sense of shame.

intelligence

are

outraged

is

motives,

lofty

of

that they

feel

people.

of

They
uoiv

It

would be a

they
is

entertain

slight to their

any hope of

not what they aspire

to their

after.

countrymen, the path to

die because in their

judgement there

is

no

(under the regime of Press and Seditious

Meetings act) to preach patriotism and to exhort people to

love their country.

Once a country

enters that phase, the

task of an alien Government becomes impossible.

It

may


linger

on

for a

how we

number of years but

Oh

sealed.

its fate is

wish the British Administrators of India would

We

realise that.

British statesman

Else they would

are afraid they do not.

have

as they

not act

17

What

the last ten years.

in

ought to

realise

and once

for all

the

that

is,

it

power of any human agency to set back the

hours of the clock and that repression will not succeed where
The Indian movement has
substantial concessions may.
passed that stage when it could be stifled by repression
Once in that stage, no
It has entered on a new stage.
is

not

in

the

nation can be kept in chains for long.

a heavy

toll

from

they
toll

may

in the

who

people

men

but determined

will cross

it,

You might

try to

exact

the bridge

cross

Nay,

notwithstanding.

course of the crossing exact a fairly heavy

of blood from the

collectors as

toll

freedom newly awakened

in

India finds

The

well.

love of

more than ample

support from the chronic-poverty from which the Indian

The

masses suffer from day to day.

Britishers' chief boast

the protection they give to the poor against the rich.

is

Yet the increase of crime among the poor due

and ignorance

is

appalling.

The

rich often

escape punishment because they can

buy

the i^oor have to suffer and the

are

jails

question of the poverty of India and

British rule has been very ably

by
**

the late Mr.

Digby

C.

I.

book "

Un

by

method

full

freedom but

of them.

The

increase under the

and exhaustively d^alt with

by Mr. Dadabhoy Naroji

British rule in India."

of discussing the matter here but we

British

their

to poverty

not always

E. in his book ironically called

Prosperous British India " and

his

its

if

We

in

have no intention

may just

note that the

of estimating the prosperity of the country

trade returns or

country or by the

by

the

rise in

amount of gold imported

the price of land

prosperity of a country must be judged

is

into the

fallacious.

by

The

the economic

position of the

view

it

wage earner and judged from

much poorer today

classes are in effect

This

before.

lawlessness

The

that point of

can be conclusively proved that the wage-earning

rise

in prices

all

in

than they were

wages

is

ev^er

of the increase

over the country, particularly

in the

of

Punjab.

not always proportionate to the rise

and judged by that standard, the wages have

actually fallen.

was paid

explanation

the true

is

In pre-british days the agricultural labour

Now

in kind.

was paid

in

he

much

not bring him as

paid in cash.

This cash does

food as he used to get

Add

kind.

is

to this the

change

when he

in standards

and the expenses that have been made necessary

of

life

by

the advent of

**

civilization."

The purchasing power of

Rupee has considerably fallen and that has affected the

classes most.
The fact that the British Government can
find recruits for their army on a salary of less than five
shillings a week and police conslabulary on a salary of less
than four shillings a week shows the economic condition of
the

poo r

the masses.

Lawlessness in the Punjab

is

increasing and shall

continue to increase as long as the economic position of the

_masses continues what

it

is

The

classes

that have

capitalists or those

The opening of

today.

and canal colonic have saved the

situation only partially.

mostly benefited from

among

canals

the farmers

it,

are the

who had some money

resources at their back.

The peasantry of the North
Western Province and of the western and south western
districts of the Punjab live in a state of chronic proverty.

Their ignorance

is

colossal.

They

are unable to defend

themselves against the tricks of professional money-lenders.

Add

to this their religious prejudice against the Hindu.

combination of these three causes

(a)

abject and

grinding

poverty (b) ignorance (c) religious fanaticism, explains the

outburst of lawlessness in these parts of the Punjab.

The

19

outbreak of the war gave only a new point to their ignorance

and poverty and they

lation (the

upon the unarmed Hindu popu-

fell

only people having blood) like wolves.

amount of confidence they repose

They are a virile

among them have

in the powder of the

people physically

fit

They

Iielming majority in those districts.

and well to do Mohammadans because the

and

The Hindu

followers.

neither.

It is

in

an over-

in

spare the rich

have arms

latter

and money-lender has

trader

absolute rot to talk of

Turkish influence

British.

and the prominent

Moreover they are

arms.

Their

was over, shows the

readiness to believe that the British rule

German

connection with these

intrigues or of

and

riots

it

is

equally absurd to say that they w^ere due to the abnormal

rise

months
in

What happened

prices.

in

on a wholesale

districts

instalments in

to check

it.

the

has been taking place

North-Western

The Government has

We

Punjab and

districts

in the

famishing population
causes are political

W.

N.

Frontier Province will not be

is

The

root

and unless

they

are

will

The

not disappear either in the

soon make

will

its

appearance

desperate

men

(d)
(e)

want of training
political

These root causes can not be removed except by

changes

The

in the

in

causes are (a) ignorance (b)

want of arms of defence

meet armed and

device

upon an already

both stupid and cruel.

Punjab or from Bengal and

other provinces as well.

The

force.

police

and economic

removed, the violent crime

(c)

last

are disposed to think that the violent crime

checked by the increase of the Police

poverty

for the

so far ignominiously failed

of imposing temporary punitive

to

South W^estern

course of two or three

in the early part of this year,

ten years. '^

in the

the

in

scale, in the

despair.
radical

form, constitution and policy of the Govern-

condition of the masses

is

more or

less similar all over the Punjab.

20

The Hindu leaders of the Punjab are fooh'sh to

a Hindu-Mohammadan question. The Hindus in
tlie Punjab have
been misled throughout by self-seeking
leaders.
The fact is that they have neither intelligence to
ment.

make

it

probe into the

enough

wrong
be a

body, yet

non-political

wrong

the

The Hindu-Sabha

lines.

differences

nor courage

real causes of these troubles

They

to boldly proclaim them.

As

side.

meddles

it

working on

Punjab professes to

in the

a non-political

are

in politics

body

it

always on

can only foment

and disunion among the Hindus.

has neither

It

resources nor courage nor even intelligence and wisdom.

It

who want to remain in the

good books of the Government and to get favours by keepingthe Hindus away from politics. The sooner the Hindus realise
is

mostly a body of time servers

this,

Nay

the better for them.

realises this the better for

ary propaganda

in the

them

Government
The revolution-

the sooner the

also perhaps.

Punjab owes

part at least

its virility in

to the absence of " legitimate " constitutional political activity

The

in that province.

latter

has been

made impossible by the

repressive and harsh policy of the Punjab Government, who-

have

in

this respect

been materially helped by the Hindu

Sabha and the Muslim League.

Punjab on Congress

lines

The

political

has been crushed

by

methods of the Punjab Government, the Punjab

well

as

by

life

in the

the oppressive
judiciary, as

denominational jealousies of the province

the

which have been fanned, encouraged and deliberately kept

and strengthened by Government policy. The sen-

alive

tences passed in political cases and the convictions obtained,

in the Punjab, are

India.*
*

The Bengalee
it

in the

history of politcial crime in

parallel

either

in

Bengal,

or in

of Calcutta in a most soberly written article commenting

on the sentences given

says that "

unique

They have no

in the

would be

Lahore Conspiracy Case by the Special Tribunal

difficult to find

a parrallel to this in our annals of

Bombay

or even

in

Madras or U.

Yet

P.

Punjab Press*

tlic

or the Punjab public bodies have not raised even a feeble

which would not have been considered

anywhere

for conviction
least

else in

The

India.

or reliable

sufficient

but not the

last

Punjab Government have stooped to the most

the

of Russian

contemptible

methods,

employing

in

can

reads the
find

evidence in the

agents

Any

provocateurs for the detection of political crime.

who

one

Lahore Conspiracy Case

that out but for facility of reference

take the

following from the authorised report of the proceedings of

" Liaqat Hussein Khan Deputy Superintendent
that case.

of Police Amritsar

is

reported to have said that on February

5 witness sent for

191

him

Bela Singh Zaildar of Kohala and told

that he should secure the services of a

man who

help them in getting at the returned emigrants and

Bela

a police spy.

the

Straits

could

work

as

Singh brought one Kirpal Singh of

Barar (informer) and said that the

in

Settlement,

man had

knew some

spent sometime

of

the

returned

emigrants and would be able to win the confidence of the

conspirators

who was

through

a constant

his

cousin Balwant Singh, a sowar

associate of the returned emigrants.

Henceforth Kirpal Singh kept witness constantly informed

of the doings and

movements of the Ghadar

party.

Witness

kept the Deputy Inspector General of Criminal Intelligence

Department duly informed of

suggestion Kirpal Singh

justice."

all

At witness

that

had proposed and

the cofispirators

Similar are the commenis of the Amrita Bazar Patrika another

leading Calcutta Daily.

* The sentences given in the I -ahore Conspiracy Case have proved too
much even for the Punjabee Press. The Tribune and the Punjabee have come
out with bold protests. The Tribune charactrises them as " shocking " and
the

comments of

>

Persons have been hanged on evidence*^

voice of protest.

the Punjabee are equally outspoken

and manly.

^/^

agreed

attack the local police station for

to

The

following

is

of the Police spy Kirpal Singh

p^

amis''

the authorised report of the statement

who had been deputed

by-

He
Deputy Superintendent Liaqat Hussein Khan
** made a long statement wherein he explained how he won

How

the confidence of the accused,

and not only took part

their plans

he entered into

in their discussion

but

suggested raids and dacoities in order to get the conspirators

together and

facilitate their arrest."

Other witnesses have stated how Kirpal Singh persuaded

them to join the conspiracy although they were unwilling to

do so or at least reluctant.
If a list of proceedings under the Press Act were called
for,

it

ments

will

be found that the Punjab Government's achievethe

are

for

greatest,

the

simple

Punjab bureaucracy has been the

least

changes that India has seen within the

the administrative

reason
affected

last fifty

machinery of the Punjab

antiquated and reactionary.

What

is

the Punjab

that

the

by

the

years and
the most
Goverment

has achieved by these methods can better be judged by the

abnormal increase

in

lawlessness,

denominational disputes
years.

Lip

multiplied,

in

and

in political

crime and

the Punjab within the last ten

loyalty

have

and so also have sedition and discontent.

The
more

loyalty

manifestations

of

latter underground and made it

The Punjab Government has done nothing

former has driven the

dangerous.

uproot the causes.

On

to

the other hand they have added to

by enhancement of land tax and, water rate, by

Land Alienation .Vets, by their Colonization Acts and

the unrest
their

* The proceedings of the Special Tribunal were not allowed

the

to

be

The Press was not admitted. A reporter was engaged by

Government who issued a brief statement every day purporting to give the

reported in

full.

substance of the proceedings.

These extracts are from

this official report.

Regulations, and by

opposition to

their

the expansion of

education.*
It

can not be denied that compared with the Govern-

ment of other provinces, the Punjab administration has been

more stupid and reactionary but after all it is only a question

The

of degree.

India

discontent in

is

based on funda-

mental grounds and unless they are boldly, and in a

of true genuine liberal statesmanship handled, there

chance of India being

The

pacified.

truth

is,

spirit
is

no

that India has

outgrown the patriarchal form of Government and no policy

short of one of complete trust will be of

The

present policy

denying the people

is

one of

their

fine

much

avail

now.

and simple despotism,

Say what

fundamental rights.

the

Governors and others may, the people cannot accept that

the policy of the
India and that

Government

should be maintained.
Indian

politicians

is

determined for the good of

in their interests

it is

The

and the

and at times make frank

that the present policy

extremists

among

London Times
admissions

that,

The

fact is

governed by a handful of white people

is

the interests of the latter and that this

denying the people

*As

feel

which confirm the

people in their ideas about their Government.

that India

the Anglo-

also

their

is

in

only possible by

fundamental rights.

The whole

Panjab Govt we give the

made by His Honor the Lieutenant
Governor. ' The comparison has been made between the Revolutionary leaders
in the Punjab and the Boer rebels such as De Wet.
I have no sympathy with
De Wet. He was a rebel and a traitor. One should be just even to a traitor
and it should be unjust to place him in the same category as the men whose

an

illustration of the statesmanship of the

following extract from a recent speech

aims and actions

have described to you.

De Wet and

his adherents took

the field openly as rebels, they carried their lives in their hands

them paid the

forfeit.

robbery and terrorism were not

their

weapons."

and many of

Revolution was their end, but wholesale murder,

among

Iheir

methods nor was the bomb among

world

is

nation

is

free to

boys and

Every

keep arms and use arms.

interested

giving a military

in

and

citizens

and other military

in teaching

tactics.

Some

civilized

training

to

her

them the use of arms

countries do this by

No
others do it on a voluntary basis.
Government entided to be called sane ever thinks of
denying arms to such of its people as want to use them
The free possession of arms and
for legitimate purposes.
conscription,

purposes of individual and

free training in military tactics for

national defence

Even

the

Amir

is

the birth right of every son of a mother.

of Kabul does not deny that to his people.

Nations are vying with each other

and
is

in their military

in giving military training to their citizens.

thinking of introducing conscription.

training

is

preparations

Even China

In Japan military

In some places even the girls learn

compulsory.

the use of arms and practise fencing.

as well as in the other states of

In the United States

America the negroes and

American Indians can keep arms and receive military

training.
But the Indians of India can not keep arms.
Every nation is interested in the manufacture of arms and

the

ammunition and

in

who

to those
this

is

inventing effective methods of dealing

Governments give every encouragement

with their enemies.

invent

new arms or improve

denied to the Indians.*

subject people.

Why ?

old ones.

Their Government can not trust

* The ludicrous extent

which the prohibition

to

All

because they are a

to

them.

keep and use arms has

been carried will be better illustrated by the following incident reported by

the Bengalee of Calcutta.

"

A five

year old boy of Munshi ganj Road, Kidderpore, had a toy pistol

purchased for one anna.

it

On

the 8th August last the child was playing with

but could not explode the paper caps.

how

to

do

off to the

it.

The boy was

at

Watganj thana with the

for trial at Alipur

thirteen years old lad

showed him

once arrested by a beat constable and marched

fire arm.
The boy was eventually sent up
and the Court tlned him three rupees."

The

army in India can not exceed a

they can not handle
British army

strength of the native

certain proportion of the

the artillery

and numerous other

upon the possession and use of arms by them.

they not fit to handle arms ? Are they not brave
intemperate

No

Indian

No

ozvn Government, they

their

They can be

mere

enrolled as

Beyond

certain numbers.

in

Are they unfit, or

The truth is that the

population be trusted to keep arms

Much

fuss

has been

having been allowed to participate

The

Indians have gone

the greatest
truth

is

boon

mad

much

made
in

Nor can

of the Indians

European War.
if that was

the

on them.

Without, the

Indian

contingent,

interests.

Britain

could not send a decent expeditionary

The whole

moved from

India.

The

was actuated by and taken purely

British

France.

the

manu-

less to

over the incident as

that could be conferred

that the step

soldiers

that they can

not get any military training or military rank.

facture them.

by

fit

Why ?

and physically imbeciles

can not be trusted.

civil

Are
Are they

however

social position,

Government of India not being

and that only

Indian can be admitted into a Military Col-

lege in India or in Great Britain.

intellectually

Why ?

can get a commissioned rank,

however high by birth or

education.

imposed

restrictions are

of the white

in

Great

force

to

army could not be

re-

In removing large numbers of them,

it

was necessary to remov^e proportionately large numbers of

the native

army

distrustful

of the native army.

also.

The

British

Government

No amount

is

always

of false state-

ments and

fallacious reasoning

British

India can not allow the Indians to manufacture

in

can conceal the fact that the

arms or carry arms, cannot give them a

can not even keep a large native
the strength of the permanent

military training,

army (more than double

British garrison)

because,

They

fear that

being foreigners they can not trust them.


some day

the

26

arms or military training given them, may be

Looking at it from their point of

used against themselves.

view

can not be said that they are not

it

why

But then,

right.

ask the Indians to accept that the Government

why

is

na-

and that ihey are the equal subjects of the crown

tional

make
The

hide the truth and

tions to the contrary

their rule in India

and

false

know

British

in the

and hypocritical declarathe weakness of

disarming of the people they

see the best gurrantee of the continuance of their rule and

In the matter of arms, the present situation in India

power.
is

One may

this.

may
dom

steal

purchase

illicitly

may smuggle them one

them from those who have the freearms, one

of possessing, for the purpose of con)miting crime but

one can not have them

the

and honor of

life

sisters,

and

for defending his

his daughters).*

It is this

and property,
mother, his

which gives awful power

and which explains the

to the lawless portions of the society

and hardships of those who

losses

life

his family (his wife, his

hav^e suffered

from the

depredations of the latter and are suffering from dacoities

and robberies and murders

where.

in

Bengal and Punjab and

There are plenty of arms

in the

criminal but none for the peace loving

for defensive purposes).

of India

is

a foreign

subjects and

who do

of loyalty becomes

(who only want them

All this because the Government

Government who can not

not believe

light of this fact all talk

stale.

else-

country fo^ the

in

trust their

their loyalty.

In the

about the extraordinary outburst

So long

as this state of things

Commenting on the annual report of the issue of licences the Indian

made similar comments. One of the Punjabee says " while the

press have

ruffians bent

on crime have been able

to secure fire

arms by foul means, the

law abiding section of the community have for the most part continued helpless

owing

to

the difficulties of obtaining licences for firearms."

Bengalee of the 6th Oct. 1915.

See also

-/

continues

it is

useless for the

people can accept

and

it,

arises

India

in

as

it,

Never before

national Government.

of British rule

Government

treat

to expect that the

if

was

it

their

own

since the introduction

was the sense of

helplessness that

of the consciousness of being a disarmed people,

brought home to the people of India so vividly and strongly

as during the war.

mind.

"

Suppose the

new

dawned on the public

fear has

British lose,

we

are lost " says the

The Germans may come or the Russians or even

Amir, we can not even make a show of resistance. All
wisdom and legal arguments of Chandarvarkars or

Indian.

the
the

A people so helpless and dependent

Sinhas will not avail us.

by

deserve to be despised

The war has madej

the world.

the Indian feel that as a British subject he

is

able creature entitled to no consideration at

other people of the world.

much

Africa or America) are

prayers of Indian C.

Even

really a despic-\

tb.e

hands of thoJ

the negroes (whether in

better placed than he

The
Khan

is.

E's and Rai Bahadur's and

I.

Bahadur's notwithstanding, the British can not be invincible

for ever.
will

The time

decay.

What

is

to

will

Will they be transferred

ferred

by agreement,

world power

will

come when

their

prowess

in

arms

then be the fate of India and Indians.

like

sheep?

If not actually trans-

the nation replacing the English in the

The very

take possession of India.

But

disquieting and crushingly humiliating.

this is

idea

is

not the

only circumstance which constantly reminds people that their

Government

is

an alien Gov^ernment whose

interest in

them

is

only secondary.

Let us look
under British rule
parts, for

at education

now

over a century

in the Punjab.

in

India.

for a century
in others

and for

Yet the percentage of

been

India has

and a

some

half in

at least

65 years
nigh

illiteracy is well

95 percent taking the progress of the whole of India.

Great-


est ignorance prevails

What

among

the peasantry and the rnihtary.

two great bulwarks of

the

classes,

28

rule in India.

British

has the Government done to educate these classes.

Some

Nothing.

maintain that they have been deliberately

kept out of education because once educated they

may no

longer be such willing tools as they are now.

Agriculture in India as elsewhere

industries

and

it

not at

is

all

is

the least paying of

strange that large numbers of

sturdy Punjabees prefer to labour in other countries rather

than rot on their farms in the Punjab,

In the early years of

and the trading

British rule the educated

classes flourished

and became prosperous, but now they are thoroughly

The

contented.

native traders are

British rule (i) because the net

import and export

facilities

available to

have disappeared

work of railways and

offices dealing direct

and the consumer have ruined

(3)

them

dis-

no longer happy under

because the

their business (2)

in the early

foreign

with the producer

days of British rule

because the bureaucracy

is

always

incit-

them and
devoted heads both by word and

ing the agricultural and military classes against

heaping insults on their

deed.

In almost every province, special legislation has been

enacted professedly in the interests of the agricultural classes

but really diverted against the Indian

Instead,

lender.

trader

or

money

what has the Government done to open

non-agricultural pursuits to them.

Nothing.

length and breadth of the country there

Technological

Institute.

Institutes are

called

by

The
that

is

In the whole

not a single

private or aided Technological

name only by

these days of international trade there

is

courtesy.

no provision

in

In

any

of the Indian Universities for the teaching of modern languages.

While Germans, Austrians,

Italians,

Americans and

Japanese can learn Hindustanee and English in their

countries

in

own

order to further their trade with India, the

29

Government of India have never given a thought to the

making a provision for the teaching of German,

necessity of

French, Japanese &c. to the Indians and of encouraging

The

Indians to learn these languages.

student Hfe

is

the use of the English language.

to

know

best part of a boys

compulsorily spent in acquiring excellence in

Indians are not supposed

other languages or to trade with other countries

because the English do

it

for

them.

It is

not the concern of

the British to encourage the native to have direct commercial

There

transactions with foreign countries.

not a single

is

place in India where an Indian student can do real research

work
full

in

steamers

While the country

chemistry or other sciences.

of mines there

is

come and go from Indian

is

Hundreds of

no place to learn mining.

ports but there

is

no

place in India where an Indian youth can qualify himself even

for

In the whole

merchant marine not to speak of the navy.

of India with

its

splendid resources there

place where ships can be built.

The

is

not a single

Indian Government,

has never given a thought to these questions because they

do not concern them

because they are not interested in the

development of the indigenous industries and

status of the people.

the produce of

They have done a

raw materials necessary

for their food (cotton,

wheat

oil,

in raising the

lot to

encourage

for their industries or

seeds etc.) but almost no-

thing to encourage manufacturing industries.

Originally they

wanted to preserve the Indian markets for themselves only

but their policy of free trade stood
the

in the

way and

Germans and now the Japanese are sharing

latterly

that market

with them, but to teach the Indian to manufacture for his

own consumption

has never entered the thought of those

responsible for the administration of India.

not right to say that

it

Perhaps

never entered their thought.

are too intelligent and shrewd not to

know

that they

it

is

They
had not

30

matters but the interest of

their

duty to India

tlieir

own

people was paramount and that they could not

side.

done

set

The

British

in these

Government

can not go

in India

universal elementary education as there

greater disaffection resulting therefrom

in

for

a danger of even

is

they can not give

technical education of a high order as that might interfere

with British industries

for the

same reason

they can not protect Indian industries

they can not provide for

high class

real

commercial education with a teaching of foreign languages

and a knowledge of seafaring and navigation as they do not

want the Indians to

directly

engage

contract relations with other nations.

in

oversea trade and

They can not

and subsidise Indian industries as that

primarily conducted

The people
industrially
benefits

in the interests

commercially

England and

But that

not

is

Government

is

all.

for the

in

India

is

of India.

of India must remain ignorant,

and

free

Yet they want

trade and detrimental to British industries.

the Indians to believe that the British

protect

opposed to

is

dependent

illiterate

because

and
that

advantage of her people.

The Government

even provide for high class education

of India can not

in sciences, in

engineer-

ing and in medicine for the simple reason that the higher

branches of these professions they want to reserve for their

own

people.

Of

late the

number of

trained in these departments of

foreign Universities has so

Indians educated and

knowledge

in British

increased as to

embarrassing to the Government of India.

and other

become rather
They can not

them without reducing the number of Britishers in

This they do not desire. The result is that
there are numbers of qualified Indians in India with high
class British and European qualifications who have to be
utilise

these services.

contented

w'ith

subordinate positions under Britishers of lesser

qualifications,

The

31

and perhaps

at

of no

times,

qualifications.

competitiv'e examinations for higher services are held in

luigland which in

itself is

a great injustice but this year on

account of the war, there being fewer qualified Britishers to

compete

for these services the

discontinue

some of

Government, has resolved to

the examinations, for fear less a larger

number of Indians than is desirable, might get into them.

Can they still say that the Government of India is as good
or perhaps better than a national Government ? The trutli
is that they do not want a larger number of Indians in the
higher services because they can not trust them. For the
same reason they distrust private educational institutions and
insist
upon the employment of Britishers as Inspectors
of Schools and as

They

will allow^

ofUces but that

professors

in

educational

the

service.

a certain number of Indians in the higher

number must not be

make

so large as to

it

even remotely possible for them to create trouble for the

Government.
local bodies
It is

The same

fear underlies the administration of

and the constitution and powers of the councils.

simply begging the question to argue that Indians are

not yet ready or

question

is

fit

the dread of

into Indian hands.*

power passing from the

It is that

dread that

is

is

real

Britishers

the dominating

Government

influence in the policy of the British

India

The

for representative Institutions.

in India.

a possession and dependency and must be administer,

ed in the best interests of the master.

Indians talk of the liberty

Many

credulous

loving traditions of the British

democracy but they forget that the application of these

traditions to India
safes,

would make such

purses and incomes that they as

* Mr. Lowes Dickinson an English Professor

big holes

men swayed by
who

Civilization of India, China,

and Japan,

their
self-

has largely travelled

in India has practically admitted the truth of this remark.

on the

in

(P. 23,

see also P. P. 27

An

and

Essay
28}.

interest

and love of power and glory, can never think of

The

enforcing these principles in India.

people.

In

all

personal dealings they are honest,

But when National

reliable.

are

British

good

frank,

and

and the

interests are at stake

interests of the nation dictate a different line of policy, then,

they cannot help following the

hardship they

may

latter,

however,

upon others

inflict

in

injustice

doing

and

The

so.

English political moralist and thinker believes and preaches

that the State exists for the people

che that the

state is greater

exist for the former,

and Colonies the

is

and people are

Triets-

than the people and that the

immoral and

is

vicious.

latter

In Great Britain

British act as they believe but in India they

German

follow the doctrine of the

India

that state

words and that the teachings of

really interchangeable

The

Professor.

an authority imposed from without, and

is

State in

therefore

The

distinct

from and independent of the people.*

India

is

the British people and therefore the interests of the

latter

must override those of the Indian people.

in India

is

judged by that standard.

good, benevolent,

just,

virtues are dominated

kind,

by

state in

Everything

The English may be

and fairminded but

all

these

the supreme test mentioned above.

All the real troubles of India arise from the circumstance.

Everything connected with India

angle.

is

looked at from that

Unless that angle changes there

any such changes taking place

of the Government of India as
respect of the Indian or to

which the country suffers.

in the

is

no

possibility of

system and the policy

are likely to satisfy the

self-

remove the disadvantages from

At

the

commencement of

the

war

the British politician and publicist talked a great deal of the

readjustment of India's relations with England.

"

The Pioneer

of Allahabad a semi

in a recent issue said that "

The

official

Even

the

organ of Anglo-Indians has

safety of the State

greater importance than the rights of the individuals."

is

and must be of

far

Tory

Press led

by the Times made hopeful pronouncements,

l^ut the tone has since

House of Lords

changed and the intervention of the

the

in

Council, the decision

matter of

U. P. Executive

the

of the Secretary of State about the

Punjab Chief Court, and the constitution of the Coalition

Cabinet

all

much

point to the conclusion that

can not be

upon the pronouncements made during the early part

built

of the war in the stress of necessity and the exuberance of

We

gratitude for India's " response." *

propose however,

come up

to consider briefly the questions that are likely to

and decision immediately

for discussion

after the war.

III.

The

may

Indian politicians

roughly be divided into

three classes.

The

(a)

who
They do

extremists

fundamental grounds.

can or

will

ever grant them freedom of any

kind or any

They

self

appreciative

government worth the name

are therefore opposed to

memorials.

propaganda on

base their

not believe that the British

Some

of

making

petitions

them want absolute

**

voluntarily.

and sending

Swaraj

"
;

qualified " Swaraj " on Colonial Hues, but every one of

believes that neither

is

possible except

They

successful passive resistence.

by

some
them

active revolt or

feel that

they are not in

a position to organise either, for some time to come but that

in the

to

meantime

it is

their

duty to do as

as they can,

embarrass the Government by following the

guerilla warfare

and by conducting a

They say they must keep

heavy
^

may

much

their losses.

What

the

terrorist

flag flying

In their opinion

it

is

tactics of

campaign.

no matter how
the only

way

to

value this response possesses in the eyes of the government classes

be judged from an

article of the

in the third part of the pavephlet.

Morning Post from which we

give extracts

34

carry on their propaganda and

pressing the country

How

cause.

make

and gaining

it

fresh

effective for

recruits to

they are wise in their plans

far

imtheir

another

is

question.

The Moderates

(b)

who want

of the Indian National

to conduct their agitation

on

Congress

constitutional lines

within the limits of law are not in favour of embarrassing

The men

the Government.
hardly

be

in

power

in

out and out, and are opposed to

loyalists

their party

can

who

are

from the third party

distinguished

all

agitation leaving

Good
many Moderates believe that after the war the Government
will make large political concessions and the country will
make a material advance on the road to self-government on
They have not yet formulated their procolonial lines.
gramme* but the demands that are likely to be made may be
every thing to the good sense of the Government.

classified as

Repeal and modification of the

( I )
it

below.

possible, at least for

keep arms without

(

Some

men

Arms Act making

of education and property, to

license.

provision for the military training

of the

Indian youths.
(

3 )

Army

Improvements

commissions to Indians.
in the position

and'prospects of the

Indian soldier.

( 5 )

change

in

the

constitution of the

Imperial

Executive Council so as to admit of more than one Indian

being appointed to
(

* Since

it.

Changes

this

in the legislative Councils.

was written I have seen schemes of Self-Government promul-

gated by the Congress Committees in the Indian papers.

autonomy and

practical control of Indian affairs

by Indians.

Their burden

is

~
Non

(a)

35

elected majority in the Viceroy's

official,

counil.

(b)

Direct election.

(c)

Removal of

restrictions

the

in

choice of

candidates.

Freedom of debate.
Freedom from the embargo of

(d)
(e)

of State for India, in

(

the Secretary

fiscal legislation.

Similar changes in the Provincial Councils with

provincial fiscal

autonomy and greater freedom

in provincial

legislation.
(

Executive Councils

(a)

for the provinces that are

without them.

A provision that each council should have at

(b)

least

That the

(c)
(

Compulsory

provision

two Indian members.

latter

education,

Commercial

Technical,

for

should be elected.

primary

with

and

ample

Scientific

education.
(10)

Complete separation of

functions with

High Courts

in

judicial

from executive

place of Chief Courts in the

minor provinces also and an extension of jury

(i i)

Governors

Commissioners
(12)

agency

in place of

trials.

Lieut.-Governors and Chief

in all the provinces.

Exclusive or at least larger employment of Indian

in the Public Services.

(13)

Inaugaration

of

patronage with a protective

technical

(14)

and

tariff

under

Government

and ample provision

for

industrial education in the country.

The holding of simultaneous

nations in India for

all

The

competitive exami-

branches of the Indian Services for

which examinations are held

(15)

industries

in

England.

repeal of the Indian Press

Act and other

30

book within

coercive atid repressive laws put on the statue

the last lo years.

(i6)

Better treatment in the colonies with freedom of

and emigration or freedom to bar the colonials from

travel

holding any positions in India.

(17)

Freedom of

(18)

Local self-government freed of

from

education.
official

control

village unions upwards.

Most of these demands will be strongly opposed.

Those that touch the fundamental position of the Government

as stated before, will be rejected.

may

be made under heads

be done under

3,

the

nor

will

they

in

who

They

will

manage

fidelity,

T/ie

far this will satisfy the

of extremism

is

situation will

become more

to

made

be seen.

feels

fiuidamental

their oivn affairs

and control

their Governvient will not be accepted or conceded in

How

be

has behaved well and served

master with devotion and

rig]it of the people to

to popular control of

of India.

and generosity which a master

towards a servant or slave

not

will

power, and status of the govern-

any way lead

Government by the people

in the spirit of kindness

the

9,

Minor concessions
and something might

These concessions however

16.

affect the present position,

ment

4 and

any way.

people and check the growth

The

probabilities are that the

serious and grave.

Even the

concessions likely to be granted will according to the practice of the

Government of

India, take at least ten years to

be

commence a fresh struggle on

the part of the bureaucracy to make them nugatory and
ineffective and to vvhittle them down to zero point in the
actual working of them.
Our past experience justifies all
these prognostications and we see no reason to assume that
put into

effect

and then

will

the temperament and the nature of the British rulers of India

will

undergo material and radical changes

after

the

war.

Kven now when the war

is

on and

distress in all parts of India

and

acute economic

tlicre is

ranks of the Indian

in all

population below the wealthy, the British services are getting

extra

war allowances

losses

caused by refusal of leave

to

compensate them for supposed

and

etc.

for extra

work

on account of the war, while nothing substantial has

entailed

been done for the native subordinate.

Thus

the ball goes on and will go on unless something

happens which makes the

in patience

and

The odds

engaged.

in

may work

favour

his

they might lose India

is

are

hold his soul

all

which the Indian

in

against him.

of

righteousness

the

may

for the consolidation of his people.

an extremly hard struggle

It is
is

I^ritish fear

Till then, the Indian patriot

altogether.

patience and sacrifice and the grace of

patriot

The only

thing

cause.

With

his

God he may some

day succeed though the chances of an early success are few

and

far between.

(3)

The

third class consists of those

out loyalists and

whom

who

are out and

the present arrangement places in a

Their number

position of advantage.

is

by no means veiy

large and with the increase of political crime in the country

demands

their

services are

ment

for

bound

will find

it

possibility of large

with the others.

for

substantial

It

compensation and rewards for loyalty

to

impossible

to

grant.

So

there

numbers of them throwing

may

is

self-government the

country

every

in their lot

thus be fairly said that in the

demand

practically

is

united and any hesitation or refusal to concede

tell

ar.d

increase which even a despotic Govern-

is

bound

to

very adversely on their loyalty.

So
no one

With

far the
in the

English have governed India as

world to contest

their right to

if

there

do as they

was

liked.

the advance of nationalism in India and with the turn

the politics have taken in the world at large, the British


Government

in India will

Even the

have to count with numerous

No body

turbing elements.
war.

38

dis-

can yet forsee the end of the

best friends of the Allies are not so sure of their

some months before. In any

gloomy and even the most optimistic can

eventual victory as they were

case the future

is

not say that Great Britain will emerge altogether unschathed

from the

Even victory would be awfully

w^ar.

costly not only

men and in money but also in prestige and influence. Great

Britain won against the Boers but that victory reduced their
prestige.
The present war is however going to make a still
The Indians can no longer consider the
greater change.
The Germans have at least shatterBritish to be invincible.
in

ed that idea and that

rule

British

different seats of

their

own

fact alone

in inferior positions

I^st but not the

The

different.

come

is

going to

fighting power, in their strength

their equality with the w^hite.

them

is

least the

talk

It will

and

Muslim

is

at least

entirely

for all times to

w^ar

No

far occupied.

would be

attitude

about ending the

In fact there

in

be impossible to keep

which they have so

pure and simple non-sense.

be possible.

aftect seriously

The Indians who return from the

war will come back with greater faith in

India.

in

one believes

it

to

every possibility of greater

complications taking place in European politics as the result

of this war.

The

seeds of future

war are being sown and

A discontented

the British will have to be ready for that.

India will be a source of constant danger and weakness and

it is

for the British statesmanship to decide

like to

or lose

whether they

will

have a selfgoverning India as a part of the Empire

it

altogether.

That may be taken

for certain that

the British cannot govern India on the old lines even for the

next ten years.

No

thoughtful Indian at present

is

anxious

or even walling to seek the aid of a foreign Government

against the British, but circumstances

may change

at

any


moment ending
India.

in

39

results disastrous

both to England and

These are matters which we sincerely urge

consideration of the British statesmen, though

hope of
is

their being properly weighed.

a poison which permeats the system,

disables

its

im.possible.

We

one of anxious
Britishers,

say

so,

for

May we

enough

not in a

solicitude

spirit

to

and

hope that

make recovery

of insolence but in

our people as well as the

among whom we count some

dearest friends.

little

Jingo Imperialism

affects the brain,

victims to think soundly.

the poison has not yet gone deep

for the

we have

of our best and

PART

II,

PERSONAL NOTE.
The

reflections

recorded in this

cipally for the British pubh'c.

form as

are published in this

of the Indian Press Law, no Indian

in the present state

publication would publish

was

are meant prin-

leaflet

They

them and no

British publication

The fact that for

have been more or less active

the last 33 years of

do

likely to

so.

my life I
my country gives me
publish my opinions.

in the public life of

my

a right to speak out

mind and

In these few paragraphs I desire to

relate the sort of life I

have been forced to lead since

my

return from Mandalay, in 1907, where I had been deported

without

by

trial

in

May, the same

As

year.

then predicted

the leading exponent of the Anglo-Indian opinion in

India,

the Pioneer

release,

of Allahabad, in connection with

have been

The shadow

years

these

all

of the spy and the informer have always been

over me, no matter wherever

The

went.

and prosecution has always

arrest, search,

of those interested

in

me

because

is

it

that the P^nglish in India never admit

never forgive a

enemy.

my

"a marked man."

Conduct

like this

well

their

man whom they have

fear

filled

of

my

the minds

understood

mistake

and

decided to treat as

would lower

their prestige they

So ever since 1907 I

Every time a political case cropped up I was
suspected of complicity and was even more closely watched
have

think.

been treated as a

suspect.

than before.
that

on

my

never

left

my

house without apprehending

return I might find

guard.

Immediately on

engaged

in

famine

relief

my

it

sorrounded by a Police

return

from deportation

operations which were

eminently


My

successful.

Arya Samaj and

and the suspicions under which

officials

The Government could

to stop

opera-

one of

some

In

it.

laboured.

not openly suppress the

movement

did everything possible to discourage

officials

from accepting
place

The

however, greatly hampered by the attitude of

tions were,

but their

by

other public bodies

and cheerfully co-operated with me.

willingly

and

appeal for funds was nobly responded to

the country and the

the

42

relief

my

districts

IVIagisterate

in

they even prevented people

my

by

distributed

agents.

agents was actually arrested

others they were threatened

by

In one
in

some

the Collector and District

again they

others

it

were persecuted and

I managed to
young volunteers
working under me did noble work. The work was hardly
finished when the head of the Punjab Government and the

hampered by the subordinate

Yet

officials.

give relief in several provinces and the

Higher

Officials

began to poison the minds of those who

worked with me.

with

me and

change

so on.

in the

The latter were advised not to associate

The events of 1907 had brought a sad

educated Indians of Lahore and elsewhere, and

One

the atmosphere was charged with fear and suspicion.

of the judges of the Chief Court, advised

me

my

to resume

work at the bar if I wanted to ward off suspicions which the

Government entertained against me. This I was not in a
mood to do. So I decided to leave India and went over to
England. I was half-minded to leave India for good but I
could not stay out for more than six months. (Firstly) because
Iwas wanted

in India for

evidence in the cases I had brousfht

against the Englishman and the Civil and Military Gazette

(Secondly) because

my

touchingly to return.

father

So

and

my

family urged

of 1909 and decided to follow the advice given to

Chief Court Judge.

me most

returned to India in the spring

The same year saw

me by

the end of

my

the

case


'*

against
in

my

43

the Englishman " newspaper whieh was

favour and

down

settled

decided

profession which was wanted for the education of

whom

had

London and

in

left

of the other cases against the

of

down when

my
son

the prosecution

for

also

and Military Gazette

Civil

Lahore and the Daily Express of London.

settled

at

my

make money

to

had hardly

the Police one day proclaimed that they

had found out highly incriminatory documentary evidence

me

against

P^ventually

house

the

in

search

was discovered

it

there

criminating in these documents and

tain passages
all

my

sufficient to give the authorities

My

by

the

the

an

public

few^ friends

own safety

necessary for their

work and of the

ed to leave me.

effective

by
was

handle to

was

little

left

campaign that was started against

The

officials.

satisfactory

public activities had already

ceased to be of any magnitude but what

by

in

explanation of cer-

the language of those documents

Still

create a scare against me.

threatened

was nothing

was evidently considered quite

concerned.

deemed

Parma Nand.

Bhai

of

that

that

had stuck to me

was

me

felt it

as well as for the safety of their

institutions in

was required to

which they were

retire

from

interest-

all activities

connected with the Arya Samaj and irresistable pressure

was put on

my

was considered

friend the proprietor of the Punjabee

to

my

be

organ, to transfer the paper only

for the price of the press to a syndicate of

The

which

Hindu Leaders.

was considered necessary and pressed in the interests of the Hindu Community in general and of the Arya
Samaj in particular.
The Arya Samaj was then being
prosecuted at Patiala and the general belief was that this was
step

being done at the instance of the Punjab Government.

then

received the news that

consumption and had

So once more

left

been

for

my

son in

transferred

England and

Just

England had caught

to

after

a sanitorium.
another stay of

44

my

months returned to India with

six

boy was dying when

was asked

High Court

to attend the

at Calcutta in order to give evidence in

The

diseased son.

my

case against the

and Military Gazette which had been postponed from

Civil

time to time sometimes to suit the convenience of the de-

my

fendant and sometimes

to leave the death

own.

my

bed of

It

son.

prom.ised and let drop in default.

down

a few months I again settled

this tim.e I

some

slight

was not engaged

work

my

profession.

any public

in

The Arya Samaj was

At

my

me and

closed to

work.

political

friends suggested that

should enter the Municipal Committee of the city and

thus re enter public

Hindus, opposed

Some

life.

my

titled

among

gentlemen

my

election

letter to

the

Deputy Commissioner asking him

Government was opposed

Commissioner as

my

to

was not

myself in conflict with them.

Lahore thought

it

bility

of

election

my

in

several

Magistrates and other

The

titled

officials

if

me

that

the Hindu

friends as to the possiofficial

no way slackened.

Commissioner of the District did

against me.

election

being vetoed but the

was

supporters and

my

best in their interests to return

This removed the fears of

my

the

a Municipal

as

In reply, he informed

me.

my election

election

if

at that time prepared to put

the Government was not opposed to

electors of

vilifica-

As My friends were afraid lest

may be vetoed by the Punjab government, I

and opposition.

wrote a

the

candidature and the Punjabee, the

paper founded by me, started an active campaign of

tion

to

activity except

myself was refraining from every kind of

In this state of things some of

I

in

in connection wdth the education of the

depressed classes.
I

was impossible for me

So the case was comThe boy died and after

opposition

The Deputy

his best to frighten

gentlemen

and

were kept busy

in a

my

Honorary
campaign

figures at the polls how^ever stunned

them


and they found

to their horror that their machinations

my

no way affected

in

45

my

influence with

headed the polls and a record vote was recorded

So

favour.

the officials were discomfited and

make up

almost two months to

required announcement in the

time

division.

The

letter

minds to make the

their

Eventually

was written under

me

my

instructions of the

the officials never gave

was done to

limit

my

me

the public

life

was

vince

their confidence

in

my

elected to a seat

by a vote of 28

would be

better

if I

withdrew.

professional career or to

work,

was considered

me

position

same time

In the spring of

was informally

No

decision

was due
that

my

be above reproach.

to

told that

was recorded

On my

in writing.

any suspicion

was assured
to

my

regained

profession.

the attitude of the judges

sional

as gainst 12 but the Chief Court

nor any communicated to

if

and every thing

on the Bar Council of the pro-

refused to confirm that election.

it

gave

influence in the Municipal Committee,

of the province and was at the

doing good business

191 3 I

this

of the country and although

life

yet within two years from that time

in

gave a suitable

was gazetted and

election

a fresh start in the public

of advice,

commisioner of the

then Lieut-Governor of the Province.

reply.

In the mean-

letter

official

covert threat, from the

containing a

my

in

took them

it

official Gazette.

was favoured with a semi

had

countrymen.

any

enquiring

defect in

relating to

my

my

profes-

professional conduct

Under

the circum-

stances the only possible reason for this action was the fact
of

my

having been deported for

having oozed out, having been published

opponents, somewhat affected

my

began to suspect that the judges

their cases,

my

clients,

would not be

however stuck

safe in

to

The news
broadcast by my

political reasons.

me

practice, as the litigants

still

my

disliked

me and

hands.

The bulk

that

of

but the incident disturbed

me

much

so

Twice

my

work

at law.

In the meantime

the elevation and education

gave away

my

all

the rest of

my

a trip

So

post-

summer and continued

developed

my

scheme

of the depressed

It

when

was

my

was

The

to that cause.

life

Just

my

in

for

to
for

and

classes

professional earnings of the preceding

three years to the cause.

otherwise.

however stood

to cancel them.

departure to the next

from the

to retire

engaged steamer berths

England but both times had

poned

mind

matters

private

19 13

in

my

made up

Some

profession.

way.
to

that

46

in the

intention to devote

however decided

fate

midst of a highly suc-

cessful tour undertaken in the cause of the depressed classes

came a

bolt

man who had been my

about a year,

known

(since

my

not in

when

May

the

191 3.

me and

when he was

months

bomb was
.

arrested.

before, but he

Case

He had

left

that

was

my

ser-

in

alleged to have been throw^n, in

although the police could not

bit

Bomb

The man was

This once more revived suspicion against

bit of evidence against

every

Lahore

as the Delhi Conspiracy Case).

service

arrest of a

personal assistant in that mission for

complicity in the

for

service four or five

vice

That was, the

from the blue heaven.

of paper

me, yet

find

even the smallest

was closely watched and

connected with the depressed classes

movement was searched and looked into. The men who

worked under me were harassed and various attempts were
made to entangle me. These suspicions etc. affected me
very deeply as on account of them
helping those
their defence.

whom
I

otherwise

believed and even

of the accused originally prosecuted

Case, were innocent.

still

was prevented from

could and would help

now

believe that

in the

believe that

in

some

Delhi Conspiracy

Balmokand one

of

the accused since hanged, had nothing to do with the murder

with which he was charged;

Even the

courts, have held

47

that there was no evidence directly connecting him with the

incident.
He has been convicted and hanged because he
was beheved to be a member of the society, the members
of which committed that deed.
Similarly there was no

name

evidence worth the

Hanwant Sahai

that Balraj and

were ever members of that conspiracy.

Both of them have

been convicted on mere circumstantial evidence of a very

doubtful

nature.

people but

This made

waited

my own

position

very miserable.

So

whole evidence of the prosecution was

the

till

me

defend these

to

could not do so on account of

being rather awkward.

I

much wanted

very

tendered and the preliminary enquiry before the magistrate

As soon

finished.

join

as this

was over

stay in England and

my

left

for Encrland to

had already

the Congress Deputation that

experiences there

pessimistic about the political future of India.

to build largely

Some how

people.
justice,

These

governed by

England

harmful

in

am

unable

can not believe that

in international

do not believe that

large political concessions to India

sure that the refusal to do so will be

more

her interests than their granting of the same./ In

respect the ruling

despotic monarchs.

have the

opinion almost exclusively

and expediency.

make any

is

my

My

generosity of the British

or the other,

latter are in

interest

will

unless she

In

political

fairplay, and generosity, play much part

politics.

this

on the

left.

made me very

democracies are even worse than

Democracies having party governments

easiest loopholes to get out of

politics

declarations

made

count for much.

Government

promises and pledges.

promises and pledges even,

is

in general

Consequently

less

do not believe that

going to give us our

able extent after the war, yet

believe in the sanity of the

much

vague

ambiguous language, do not

liberties to

British

any appreci-

can not bring myself to

programme

of the Revolutionaries.

Wherever

have been

48

United States of America

in the

have tried to remonstrate with them and to show to them

the weakness and rather the hopelessness of their methods.

Some have refused to hsten to me others have confronted

me with the equal hopelessness of the Congress programme
;

and Congress methods and between these

convince them of the practicability of the

Parma Nand

of Bhai

in the

to

me

to think that

it is

any one

as well as

political views.

Knowing

Comrade Case

in the

impossible for any one at present

do any kind of constructive work

Parma Nand

arrest

Ali and Shaukat Ali

and the judgement of the Chief Court

incline

failed to

The

Lahore Conspiracy Case and

Mohammad

the internment of Messrs.

have

latter.

these

else
is

it

know Bhai
I know his

in India.

does.

impossible

for

me

to

believe that he could be party to such an insane conspiracy

as the

Lahore Conspiracy was

to connect

him with the

latter

is

any evidence

except the heresay statement

When

of a perjured Police spy.

nor there

left

India in April 1914

Parmanand was strongly opposed to all propaganda of violence and said so openly to all those who met him.
He
distinctly

the

and unambiguously disapproved of the doing of

Ghadar

party.

His History of India gives indications

of his being amply conscious of the present incapacity of his

countrymen to organise a successful revolt against the

Under the circumstances

it

is

British.

impossible to believe that he

could have joined the impossible conspiracy planned

some
that

that

members of

Ghadar Party.
some of these people approached him
of the

some

of

the

them made use of his name but

to believe that

He was

it
it is

is

possible

impossible

he joined the conspiracy, gave them any

direct or indirect help or even authorised

name.

by

It is possible

them

to use his

never so foolish or insane or rash as to be

capable of doing that.

Yet he has been charged with

that


and has now been under
I

am

writing

in his case

it

not

is

49

As

arrest for the last six months.

known what

orders have been passed

but considering the constitution of the commission

and the temper and

futile to entertain

traditions of the

any hope of

Punjab Judiciary

it

is

The Punjab

his acquitial.*

is almost omnipotent.
There are many things done
by them which never see the light of the day and can not
be proved. Of course the testimony of the victims them-

Police

selves

of " no value " and independent evidence of torture

is

illegal things done by them is never forthcoming.

The matter was forcibly brought to the notice of the Parliament in the Gulab Bano Case in w^hich case it was judicially

and other

found that the

appeared

some of

in

woman was

of the

investigation

horribly

During the
some notes

tortured.

Conspiracy

Delhi

Case

one of the leading papers of Lahore, exposing

by

the methods adopted

tion of that case

and

the Police in the investiga-

was being

telling of the pressure that

The

induce people to give evidence.

exercised to

attracted the attention of the

Government and

notes

instead of

instituting enquiries to find out the truth of the statements,

the Government lost temper and the District Magistrate sent

a ferocious letter to the Editor which stopped

criticism

The
trial

and exposure of Police methods.

all

further

read this

letter.

Police methods and their treatment of the under

prisoners thus remains a sealed

authorities but the people

done by the

Police,

know

however

it

book

full

the

to

higher

well as every thing

secret, leaks out

and

is

circulat-

tales

arc too

Some of these
The methods
words.

ed from mouth to mouth.

of torture
horrible to be put in
adopted by them are so ingeniously brutal, and savage as to

defy decency

He

itself.

The good members of

has been convicted and sentenced to death

the

British


Parliament

may

please, the

Punjab Police

50

much

hoarse and protest as

cry

as they

not give up their methods so

will

long as the officers are recruited from the ranks and so longas the idea prevails that they are not the servants of the

public but of the foreign

not to protect

by

Government and

their business

is

by obtaining
upon
obtained by them in crimes

the prevention of crime but

convictions Their prosperity and promotion depends

the percentage of convictions

In political cases the temptations are even greater.

reported.

The powers of search vested

by the Punjab Chief Court

preted

in

them by

Law

are unlimited.

as inter-

They can

search any one for any suspicion without a warrant or any

thing from a Magistrate.

But the worst

is

that their search

need not be confined to particular things wanted, nor need

They

they search for specific articles or documents only.

can just search to

find

anything incriminating and they

Remove anything and every thing they

like.

heard said that an Englishman's house

India no Indian house

house

is

is

safe

is

searched by the Police be

The whole house

the owner has the

books on

most of

ill

have often

his casde,

but

in

from the Police and whenever a

it

for

suspicion a lot of unnecessary and wanton

his belongings.

We

may

is

any offence or any

damage

is

done to

turned upside down.

If

luck of possessing a Library containing

politics, history etc,

he stands the chance of finding

books being removed by the Police to

enable them to judge at leisure if some of them may not be
put in evidence against him at the trial to prove his tendencies
his valuable

or to find out

if

the books have marginal notes or other

marks which may

purposes.*

any w^ay be used for incriminating

Thus the owner of a library who sometimes
in

* In the search of Principal Harsraj of tlie D. A. V. College a cart load

of his books including University Calendars, Vedas, Upanishdas, and text

31

lends books to others stands the cliance of finding

difficulty for

Great sensation was caused

himself.

being found

letters

wherein

Socialism, industrial

with revolutions.
collection of

collections in the

v^olumes

my

in

in

England

is

to send

me

democracy or dealing

have been fond of books

books

some
Parma Nand,

19 lo upon

in

possession of Bhai

in the

had asked him when he was

some books on

my

Iiinisclf in

marginal notes &c., made by persons other than

my

all

life

and

perhaps one of the two best private

whole Province.

had several thousand

Library including books on

all

subjects.

some of my
became very anxious lest my house be searched and
the presence of a good number of books dealing with revolu-

When

the above mentioned sensation was caused

friends

and revolutionary propaganda

tions

England, and Germany,

In their anxiety for

many be

in

France, Italy, Russia,

used as evidence against me.

my safety and in

my

their zeal for

they removed a large number of good books

Library, burnt

some and concealed others

thus impoverishing

my

not

as

all.

when

Library and depriving

been
full

me of their
Put

injury.

In India no body's private correspondence

use
this

safe

is

the Police comes to search they want to read and see

everything.
Police

my

at their discretion

and causing me material, mental and moral

is

welfare

from

Nothing

is

sacred

in

the eyes of the Punjab

not even your most sacredly private

in public for

over 28 years,

in

19 10, I

affairs.

Having

had several boxes

of private correspondence and other documents preserved

for reference including

my

diaries.

My

correspondence has

been very extensive and comprehensive.

All grades

o{

down to the Coolies have been in

The highest Government servants

society from the Maharajas

correspondence with me.

among
boclvs
if

on

Indians have associated with me.

political

economy were removed

they were returned.

There were docu-

to the police office.

do not

know

ments

my

in

possession which

ment and evolution of

province within the

documents
founders.

history of

in the

showed the
the public

all

Most

last 3 years.

hand writing of the

of

origin, develope-

movements

of the

them were

original

original

promoters and

All this was extremely valuable material

modern Punjab. During my deportation all

boxes were buried by a friend underground

and handed over to me on

my

return.

in his

for a

these

own house

took sometime

in

sorting them, and kept only such, as were the most valuable
for

pubHc or

when a

In 19 10, however,

historial purposes.

my house was imminent my friends advised me to

my papers from my house or to burn them. Not

search of

remove

agreeing to the latter course

gave them over to a

me

cooly told

that he

considered that

had burnt the whole

way but

one box and

after,

lot

or

disfavour

in those

he very

because he

greater risk

papers which was

there was sufficient in

many government

discredit

all in

few days

by keeping them he ran even a

incriminating in any

into

There was nothing

than myself

bring a good

put them

friend.

them

to

servants and other loyalists

with

government

maintained such intimate relations with

me

having

for

or for having at

some stage of their life entertained noble and patriotic ideas.

There was again sufficient to ruin the credit or reputation of
Bhai Parma Nand had when in London, jotted some
others.
notes for a future national Government of India on mere slips
These

of paper.

slips

of papers were put in and accepted as

evidence of his seditious views.

Who

knew, not even

could

remember, how many ideas of that kind or of a similar

nature were in
best

in

the

my

diaries.

interest of all

So

my

friend

argued that

it

was

concerned to destroy them.

know it as a fact that the correspondence of many a public

man in India hns met the same f^te and numerous documents
have been

lost for

ever which could be of untold value to the


future historian of India.

53

It

would be thus

easily seen that a

can neither keep a good library

patriotic Indian

in his

house

nor can he trust to the privacy of his apartments for the

secrets of his

my

return from England in 1905 and again on

from Mandalay

in

my

my

1507,

of the country did

&c., in

me

countrymen

number of

my

me

worded addresses

finely

them over

them with me from place

my

to

house

in fine caskets.

when

addresses were given

these

touring in the country on a mission of famine relief

of carrying

return

in different parts

the honour of arranging receptions

honor and presented

of welcome or appreciations sometimes

large

On

or those of his friends and associates.

life

was

Instead

to place or sending

deposited a collection of them with

For sometime I forgot all about the

deposit and when the recollection came to me, and I asked
for them I was cooly told that they had been destroyed for
fear of being found out in a Police search and being used

friend

against

in

U.P.

him

as evidence of association with

PVom

political suspect."

to form

these facts

my

" notorious

reader will be able

idea of the fear of the police which dominates

some

the minds of educated Indians and the respect which they

have

for them.

But that

not

is

all.

political prisoner receives

after conviction

some

is

political

what

is

prisoners are

accorded

in

a solitary

well as

cell

It is in

kept in so'itary

from the moment he

is

not so, a few years before, but the practice

now and

is

the

rule,

rather the exception.

cells.

prisoner

is

up

to

arrested

the time of his release after the expiration of his term.

was

In

in Russia.

In India of late at least almost every political

kept

Indian

too horrible to be called human.

respects worse than

Russia few

The treatment which an

even when under trial as

is

This

growing

vSimilarly in

Russia as a rule political prisoners are not required to do


hard labour.
labour

is

54

In India the rule

that the hardest possible

is

The Russian

expected of them.

climate being cold

the Russian prisoners do not suffer from that intense pain

which

is

summer season

the fate of the Indian prisoner in the

when

in the plains of India

in

some

places (Lahore

one of

is

them) the temperature ranges between Ii6 to 122 F.

Then

shade.

of the worst possible kind.

Jails is

Outside

even of the poorest class would look at

contains

in the

the food allowed to Indian prisoners in Indian

more

than

50

Jail

no Indian

The bread
The

it.

percent of sand or

clay.

vegetables are the coarsest possible and cooked most carelessly

Yet driven by hunger the prisoners get

and revoltingly.

accustomed to

it

and sometimes

find that the quantity

they

The

satisfy their need.

and

bacilli,

bearable

is

each others food when

clothing

when compared with

is

not

generally

is

is

insult a political prisoner.

to say that as a rule they are

are as

many

Any

political

prisoners

bad men.

good men.
Russia

in

own

sent to Siberia have

My

are

much more freedom

civilised

this connection I

knowledge of these

same before very

view

to

own

do not

experience was

allowed to

Political

than

is

prisoners

accorded to

Andamans.

Yet the

Government, has the reputation of being much more

humane and
* In

may

But bad men

sometimes

food and clothing.

Indian Political prisoners sent to the

British

one

In the matter of food and clothing the

rather unfortunate.

purchase their

however

The white Superintendent

of course above law and can do any thing.

mean

at least as

to

of vermin

the taunts and insults of the

and Superintendents.

jailors

suflficient

full

All this

specially the blankets.*

warders and

abuse or

steal

given to them

ma

ters

long.

than the Russian Government and the

am

collecting evidence of tlio=e

who have

personal

having suffered therefrom and hope to publish the

I

have also been visiting foreign prisons with a

comparing the conditions therein with conditions in Indian prisons.


always

public

British

Russia

temptuously.

Russian

of

talks

is

55

methods

charged with barbarism

con-

in British

home and in Anglo-Saxon circles abroad. An

American lady (one of the gentlest and kindest of her sex)

circles at

who heard

bombs

&c.,

and that she wondered

and forbearance of the Indians.

My

was

among

possible, because of disunion

so long as that existed

bombs and
that

she were an

at the patience

reply was that

all

this

the Indians and that

saw no good

she admired

me

was opposed

She wondered

proceedings.

me

for

my

in the

throwing of

my

at

to

these

methods

and

moderation and although

humanity, in her heart of hearts she

for imbecility.

the British public

his

if

the killing of English officers here and there and

personally

scorned

that

might have done something even worse than

Indian, she

throwing

me

som.e of these things told

This personal note should show

what a hard

lot

country and wants to serve

of an Indian

it is

it.

who

have written

loves

this note

order to give them an idea of the circumstances which

" Anarchists "
produce
and ** Bomb throwers."
The
in

Indians of
food.

all

creeds detest taking

Yet some of the

noblest

life

even for purposes of

youngmen

of high families are

being hanged or transported for throwing or abbeting the

throwing of bombs.

do not mean

to justify

them but

have not the soul to condemn them as ordinary murderers

They may be misguided or foolish or

number of their countrymen

or cut throats.

insane yet in the eyes of a large

they shall ever

the great

God

live as

of

conditions of

life

on both

is

sides

all,

martyrs for the cause of

liberty.

bring about such a change

as to stop

all

this

May

in Indian

carnage and bloodshed

the earnest prayer of the writer.

PART

III

(Extracts from

'*

tlie

tember 22nd,

91

l^cngali " of Calcutta dated Sep-

5.)

THE VICEROY AND THE LAHORE

CONSPIRACY CASE.
The judgement has been prounced in the Lahore Conwe are not guilty of the sh'ghtest exaggeration when we say that it has filled the country with a hense
We may be far away from Lahore, but
of bewilderment.
the feeling is universal, and is shared in full measure by the
people of Bengal. Of the sixty-one persons, the Commission
spiracy Case, and

has sentenced twenty-four to death, twenty-seven to transportation (eleven with a recommendation of mercy), six have

been sentenced to various terms of imprisonment, and four

have been acquitted.

Thus out of a

total

of sixty-one

persons, fifty-one have been sentenced to the highest punish-

ments known

to the law.

parrallel to this in

It

would be

difficult

our annals of Criminal Justice

to
;

find

and the

mind that the procedure followed was

under an extraordinary enactment which dispenses with
many of the safeguards of the ordinary Criminal Law.
fact has to

be borne

The Pioneer

in

in its special

pleading for the severity of

the Lahore sentences has prefered open revolt to private

murder and robbery.

was only the other day that the

Allahabad journal pictured state as the most sacred thing on
It

58

whose

the surface of th^ earth before

justice does not count.

who

And

safety even absolute

today we are told that those

design secret murders ought to be given no quarters

who

while those

lead

open

rebellion against

a State are

deserving of mercy.

(From Bengali dated 22nd September, 191 5.)

The Anglo-Indian

Press appreciates only the negative

methods of exorcising anarchism.

It is for

meeting harshness

by harshness and hatred by hatred. The mantra for exorcising an evil spirit is known by the pure in heart alone.
The severest possible blow will only scotch and not kill it.
It may sound pedantic and impractical, but all the same it is
the true antidote to the poison which we are all so anxious
The comments of the Anglo-Indian Press on
to neutralize.
the result of the Lahore Conspiracy Trial are only adding
fuel to

the

judgement
its

fire

of popular excitement.

in this particular

wonted denunciation

The

country.

article in the

It

Bomb

India

the

of all classe of public

workers

in

the

following paragraphs from a very sensible

New

India of

Madras

in

which our able con-

temporary prescribes some positive methods

of the

made

has

case the peg on which to hang

evil are well

for

worth reproduction.

the cure

Says

New

"

The Times

makes the

of India " in

sinister

its

statement that

form of Government."

What

leader on the conspiracy,

it

does

" must influence our

this

mean?

It

looks

though the conspiracy, probably promoted by Germany,

which the *' Times " admits was frustrated by " the good
as

sense and staunch loyalty of the mass of the people " as well
as

by "

the vigilance of the Police,"

argument against the

Home

is

to be used as

an

Rule which India has been


asking for thirty years, and

the soil

much
has
ical

in

is

now demanding

in

no uncertain

Government which gives

which conspiracies can be sown.
There was

It is

v'olce.

59

the present form of

conspiracy

in

Ireland during the coercion period

it

vanished with the granting of Home Rule.

Anarchmovements can only spread where grevious wrongs exist,

all

and the wise governments suppress thein by removing the

wrong.
but

it

is

It is right for

a government to crush a conspiracy,

most unwise

to

use

it

as a reason for coercing

non-conspirators.

(An

extract from

*'

Pioneer " of Allahabad an Anglo-

Indian paper.)
'*

The

safety of the state

is

and must be of

far greater

importance than the rights of the individual."

(An

extract from a leading article of the

India " of
If this

Bombay

'*

Times of

an Anglo-Indian paper.)

conspiracy had been disclosed

in

ordinary times,

there might have been a tendency to regard the

members

as

representative of a considerable class in India.

There

no

such danger now.

The people

their attachment to the

any words.

The

is

of this country have proved

Empire by deeds

far stronger

than

revolutionary party stands out a mere

fraction of the population

dangerous and determined

fraction of the population perhaps, yet so small that

it

cannot

command any chance

of success whilst the sentiment of the

country remains what

it

(An

has been so splendidly proved to be.

extract from " Panjabee " of Lahore dated 22nd

September 191 S, commenting on the judgement of


the

6o

Lahore Conspiracy Case,

Bhai Parma Nand.

re

M.A.)

We

"

have carefully perused the part of the judgement

accused as well as the arguments for and

him during the hearing of the case, and the conclusion to which we have come, and which we think it our
duty, with all deference both to the prosecution counsel and
relating to this

against

the commissioners,
that grave as

to state

with the

utmost frankness,

were the charges brought aganist

they were by no means so satisfactorily proved as to

it

desirable for the

Government

to allow the

is

accused*

this

make

extreme sentence

passed on him."

**

secure
the

While the
fire

ruffians bent

arms by

foul

community have

owing

upon crime have been able

to

means, the law abiding section of

for the

most part continued

helpless

to the difficulty of obtaining licenses for fire arms."

(Extracts from the speech of the Lieut.-Governor of

Punjab delivered on September 25th,

19 15

in

the

Punjab Legislative Council.)

But unfortunately the abnormal conditions caused by

the war and high prices, the sudden outburst of lawlessness
in

South West Punjab

carried on

by

last

Spring and the Ghadar campaign

certain returned emigrants

had

let to

a great

half of the present year.

Some

increase of crime in the

first

800 persons concerned

in dacoltles

had received examplary

punishment from the courts, and executive action had been

taken by Government against Government
lambardars, and others

who had

force of punitive police

officials alladars,

failed in their duty,

had been imposed on the

a strong
localities

6i

affected at the cost of those responsible for the disorder

It is

hardly necessary to add that these crimes did,

the Central Punjab, from

November 1914

they have not yet ceased) create a

and

state not

only of alarm

and even panic, and

insecurity but of terror

over

all

to July 19 15 (and

if

they had

not been promptly checked by the firm hand of authority

and the active co-operation of the people would have produced in the Province, as was intended by the conspirators,
a state of

of Hindustan in the Munity

affairs similar to that

paralysis of authority, widespread terrorism

and murder not

only of the officers of the Government, but of loyal and well

disposed subjects.

Leader September 8th 191 5.

1914 and 1915.

The

not unkindly

critics

remarked that he has got a

unemotional
between,

The

nature.

when he

Bull

occasions

few

are

often

and

When Lord

far

swayed by any

One such exception

conduct was furnished

outbreak of the war

have

temperament and an

himself to be

allows

strong outburst of passion.

general course of

of John
stolid

last

to

his

year at the

Hardinge wired to

P2ngland the message of India, her ungrudging and whole

hearted response to the

call

of the hour,

its

announcement

House of Commons touched the deepest chords in the

hearts of Englishmen.
For the nonce they let themselves
was
There
almost a storm in English emotion. Even
go.
the Times thought that it could no longer be in its sulks, it

in the

foreshadowed a great

and England.

'

change

Asiaticus

'

in

the

relations

the paeon of the praise of Indian loyalty.

creed of former days.

He

of

India

joined the chorus and swelled

He

even praised Mr.

recanted his
Tilak.

Mr.

62

Roberts spoke of a change

Other

angle of vision.

in the

statesmen and other papers uttered

same language of joy

th.e

Some

All this naturally raised hopes in India.

and hope.

more imaginative than

They imagined they could

see

Others again

governn^ent.

thought that

if

the

with

soil

was the

gleam of

self

nature

imaginative

still

a far off adorable

The landing

see better da}^s.

troops on the European

visions of glory.

distant

less

self-government was

dream they might yet

up

others, conjured

of Indian

signal for the outburst of

Their heroic deeds, their

another denionstration of feeling.

unquestioning devotion to duty, formed the theme of sketch

writers and leader writers in English press.

one who had

last

And

yet to

any

closely followed the course of events during the

six or seven

months and studied the writings of the

English press and the utterances of notable Englishmen in

England and India nothing

ominous

reserve has again

Mr. Bonar

Law

more

is

on

day that he assumed

tht^

his lips,

Downing
his

lips

House

English mind.

talks of a consultation with the colonies,

and whatever

may

his

and

Mr. Austen Chamberlain,

forgets the very existence of India.

since

than that an

clear

overtaken the

new

office,

has put a seal

flow beneath the surface from

Street to Delhi or Simla nothing has flown from

that can inspire confidence or kindle hope.

of

sympathetic

Eords

have already given

Viceroy

when

in

their

reply

name of

the

The
to

avoiding

controversial issues, they shelved the question of Executive

Council for these provinces, which

is

another

way

of saying

Lord Curzon, Lord MacDonnel and

likely to learn the wisdom which
not
Lord Sydenham are
If
the force of events would teach to more plastic minds.

that they strangled

it.

Indian students in England approach the higher authorities

with a prayer that they

may

be admitted to the Officer's

Training Corps, they are told to wait

indefinitely.

If Sir

George

Scott

63

Robertson,

imprudent

with

suggests the creation of an Indian guard, he

that he

upon
no

impatient

is

Asiaticus

'

The House

have done

their

is

roundly told

has again frankly gone back

his short h'ved liberalism,

better.

enthusiasm,

and Sir Valentine Chirol

is

of Lords apparently think that they

whole duty to India when they have passed

the Government of India

Bill

and conciliated and respected

when they have apologised somewhat

dramatically for retaining the word native instead of Indian
in the Act, as if the word Indian instead of the word native
Indian sentiment

'

would
of

in itself

meant a great accession to the

discussion on the Indian

Out here
us.

political status

Convenience suggests the postponement of

the country.

Budget and the

statute allows

the doctrine of unconditional loyalty

We are told

that

it is

folly,

if

is

it.

held up to

not a crime, to talk of

what may come to Indian when the time for readjustment

Meanwhile India speculation, so natural to a nation

<:omes.

of speculators,

is

roaming

free.

Hopes spring up only

to

give place to fears

There are not wanting men among us also who have

only one counsel to give, and that

doubt the virtues of patience are

far as patience alone is

help herself she will have

Let her

great,

may

in the world.

little

distinctly tell

easily

throw

If India will not

reason to grumble

if

others

England that the time

and gingerly reform has gone and th^t

half measures

No

but we think that so

concerned India

out a challenge to any nation

will not.

wait and see.

is,

for
for

bold and courageous steps has come.

Leader September nth, 191 5.

In

our

article

on Sunday on the

attitude of British

statesmen and publicists towards Indian reform soon after the


war broke out and

we

said that

in

the Empire.

their present attitude of doubtful silence,.

what India wanted was a position of

We

will

duced without delay

to

self-respect

to-day state at some length the

particular reforms that in our

The

64

judgement needed

be intro-

to

after the conclusion of the war.

Legislative Councils as they stand at present have

The

be considerably overhauled.

representation there

The

must not only be larger and wider but rhore powerful.

shadowy non-official majority of the Legislative Councils

must give away to an elective majority resting upon a
The power to control the
larger and more direct franchise.
budgets must be effective and not nominal as at present.

The
as

resolutions of the non-official

may

members should be

treated

they were better than mere recommendations which

if

or

may

not be accepted

by

We have

the Government.

said that the representation should

be made wider and larger.

This can only be done by organising representative

tions

from the bottom.

institu-

Village Panchayats and District

be the first rung of the representative

Councils must

A broader

institutions in India.

and more active policy

education should replace the present timorous policy.

ail

very well for

responsible

'

members of

the

to speak of an atmosphere of pure study.

Government

Indian opinion,

however, maintains that the Indian educational policy

largely

controlled

by

political

treated

as

its political

larger measure than

given

its

shackles.

something better than

forbidden fruit and not as the source of the

education should be

ie>

preconceptions and biases.

Indian education must be rescued from

Knowledge should be

in

It is

made compulsory and

Mr. Gokhale urged,

evil.

free

Primary
even

verdict unmistakably during the last few years

also realised that the present policy

is

in

for the country has

extremely

Secondary education should be freed from the

and

ineffective.

restraints

65

which have been multiplying during the

need for a

more

liberal policy in

clearly recognised

The

and the responsibility

which has so

closefisted policy

technical

and

last

far

for

it

must be

industrial education

gladly assumed.

way

stood in the

In the matter of the public services

doned.

The

few years.

higher education must be

of

aban-

definitely

we do not know

what the report of the Public Services Commission has in

we know clearly and it is this,

store for us, but one thing

that

if

demand

the

conceded and
improved,

if

if it

simultaneous examinations

is

not

the lot of the provincial services

is

not

is

for

not

made

easier for Indians to enter the

Com-

higher imperial services of the country, the Royal

mission must be prepared to face

ing the forces of discontent

which makes

it

in

its

responsibility for swell-

The bar

the country.

sinister

impossible for an Indian, howsoever high and

able, to become the permanent Chief Justice of an

High
Indian
Court should be removed and it should not be
considered enough to meet the Indian demand to provide
that only one out of the seven members of the Government of
India or one out of three or four members of provincial

howsoever

governments

shall

be Indians.

Indian opinion, that

is

to say,

the opinion of that section of the public which can think for
itself
its

and which has thought over the Indian problem

various

aspects,

and not the 'opinion of

w^hich can not think for itself or

which

in all

section

th:it

too respectable to

is

terms of dissent from the

is

quite

clear that the steady progress of the country depends

upon

express

itself in

the Constitution of the Government.

tion has,

time

is

it

when

felt,

is

is

utility.
all

present Constitu-

There

powers

is

in the

perhaps a

hands of a

indispensable for the development and pro-

gress of a country.
ask,

its

the concentration of

bureaucracy

We

outlived

The

ofificia!,

But there are

limits to that time

the present constitution of the government where

 eels

supreme, one which

the time, or

permanent

is

it

official

is

suited to the altered conditions of

necessary that

it

should

substance, be liberalised

a genuine popular element

How

this

we

the infusion of

can be best effected

a question on which difference of opinion

if

and the

in truth

by

is

is

But

permissible.

are to follow the course of natural development there

would perhaps be not so much

difficulty.

Government

itself fell

to be pacified the

When

Bombay and Madras and gave it

Member in it. Why

cedent of

Bengal had

back upon the

Council with a Indian

pre-

a Governor-innot, therefore,

endow other major provinces with Governors,

recruited not

from the ranks of the sun-dried bureaucracy but from among

English s'atesmen bred up

such Councils
will suffer.

may be
less

the free atmosphere of ordered

in

Why not, again, increase the number

freedom ?

perhaps we

But, efficiency

of Indians in

be told again that efficinency

shall

sometimes a commodity which

is

purchased too dearly.

It

may

cost at times nothing

than the contentment and satisfaction of an entire people.

be

It will

just as

for English statesmanship to

it is

answer these questions

for us to put them.

V/e have spoken above of the cravings of our

They

are

many and

varied, but

among them none

is

or keener than that the nation should be restored to

The meanest

hood.

white, even

though he be an

bear arms and walk like a proud

But not so the biggest, the

unless he be one

The

whom

the

man on

tallest

self consciousness, the self respect

its

alien,

man-

may

the soil of India.

or the highest

Arms Act

soul.

stronger

among

us

permits to do so.

and the dignity which

the possession of arms and military training can alone bestow

upon a

nation,

to us.

have

Are we

in all conscience

suspicion and distrust

that

we

been too long denied

ban of

to continue to be under a perpetual

?

And

are

we

are the equal subjects of

again to be reminded

King Emperor

Eet

67

ponder over

British statesmanship

this.

What

an asset of

would be the male population of India

Empire at this hour of crisis? As it is, the

incalculable value

have been to

nation can only be a silent spectator of the great

which
tlie^e

no

is

being enacted

in

so

many

drama

theatres of the world.

If

some of the changes which India would like to see,

urgently would she press that her relations with the

are

less

colonies should be placed on a footing consistent with her posi-

We

tion in the Empire.

ship in arms of which

do not know whether the comrade-

we hear so much from

the Dardanelles

or from Elanders would lead to a change

We

vision of the colonies.

that the note

which would be struck

one of harmony and not of discord.

be destined

to be frustrated then

of the difficulty would

lie

would enable India to

with her.

For

it

in

sincerely trust that

in

after the

we

think the only solution

a system of recipricity which

deal with

them

as they

supply indentured labour and to put up with

Her

we have

position outside

lot

would deal
of India to

inequalities

and

must be one, as

said above, of self-respect.

(An

When

extract from the Bengalee of Calcutta.)

the war suddenly broke out in Europe there was

a great outburst of

any

would and

war would be

But should our hopes

can not be the perpetual

to suffer indignities.

the angle of
it

capacity.

feeling in India to serve the

Empire

in

There was a widespread desire among the

more ardent spirits in

Empire and in Bengal,

this

to enlist as volunteers.
cast aside their attitude

at

country to fight

any

rate,

there

in defence

of the

was an eager rush

These youngmen were willing to

of aloofness from what was primarily

England's concern and even of their traditional antipathy

against fighting.

They

set before

themselves a

new

ideal,

68

--^

By

the ideal of national self-realisation.

in this struggle

own

of their

faith, faith

they

freedom.

They became

in themselves,

mother country.
of duty was

This

beyond

their participation

they would be fighting the battles

felt

faith

spirit

in

baptised with a

of self immolation at the shrine

all praise.

It

was the highest

Government could expect from the people

and devotion to the throne.

their loyalty

of

official

were

tribute the

of this country of

But the

chill air

We

scepticism nipped the scheme in the bud.

told at the time not to enibarrass the

any way, but we

still

lived in

new

the future destiny of their

Government

in

hopes that some means might

be devised which would enable our youngmen to participate

in

struggle so that from

this

might

comradeship

arise

in

comradeship

life

its

instinctive disregard of others' feelings

not only threw cold water on

its

arms there
necessary

But a bureaucracy

elevation of our status in the Empire.

with

in

leading to the

and

interests

scheme but applied

salutary

new fetters of repression. Thus the

Defence of the Realm Act came to be passed which is far
more drastic and stringent than the similar statute in England. Internments have since become the order of the day.
The whole tlung offers a j^ainful illustration of the psycho
its

mind

to forging

logy of the bureaucratic mind

in

its

endavour to breed

For while the spontaneous

offer of our people, which was the outcome of a general
impulse and of genuine sentiments of loyalty and devotion,
loyalty and prevent disaffection.

has been refused, fresh doses of repression are being applied

to the

wound

the crisis
this

is

But

thus inflicted on the minds of the people.

not yet over, nor has the rising tide of feeling in

country completely subsided. There

is

demand

for

men always for more men, at the front. It seems we cannot

have too many men or too much of munitions if we want
a crushing victory.

All

the

factories

of England

and

every available factroy has been

of munitions of war

are

69

the manufacture

utilised for

working

top speed

at

production of powder and shells for cannon.

the

for

As

regards

men, volunteers arc pouring forth from Canada, Australia,

New
all

Zealand and the mother country

itself,

parts of the British Empire, except India.

say

why

this invidious distinction

is

in

from

fact

Can any one

yet maintained

Why,

while gifts of every sort from us are gladly accepted, the

most precious

gift

of

implies, continues to

attendant risk that

it

Lord Kitchner

still

is

that of personal service with

all,

calling for

all

the

be so unwelcome?

Mr. Bonar Law's

men.

recent speech at Shrewsburry indicates that even conscription

may have

to be resorted to.

our

offers of

men?

The

Why

not then accept the

regular troops in the fighting line

have earned no end of praise from the highest authorities

from the display of

Corps shews the

The Abulance
our youngmen that

their martial qualities.

latest potentialities in

are capable of development under proper guidance and training.

We

have not

slightest

prove themselves equally

duties they are called
to

fit

upon

doubt that our volunteers would

and capable, no matter what the
to discharge.

This war

is

said

be a war of democracy against militarism and autocracy,

war of

a holy

justice

and righteouncss against the violation

of internalional morality and the independence

Are

nations.
refusal of

these assertions strictly

consistent

small

of

with the

our loyal offer? which also amounts to a denial

of equality of status with the rest of the

during the heat of the war

Empire

and in the midst of the

If,

crisis,

there be yet observed and maintained this patent inequality

of treatment and this assertion of racial superiority,

we expect
aside

after

made?

that they wall be

the

altogether

how can

forgotten or cast

war when the readjustment comes

Repression

we

to be

repeat for the hundredth time,

is


other hand

camps.

into hostile

a healing and

is

sympathies, destroys union

It alienates

distintegrating force.

and throws people

JO

Co-operation on the

cemmenting

without equality of treatment there

and without co-operation there can not be any

operation,

By

prospect of permanent peace.

accepting our offer the

Government n^ay give an earnest of the

It will sensibly

concessions.

both here and

Let not the words

'

future reforms and

ease and improve the situation

But bureaucracy has so

at the front.

and

failed to realise the situation

tunity.

But

principle.

can not be any co-

far

avail itself of the oppor-

too late

'

be written by the future

historian of India of the action of the bureaucracy in this

India wants equality of

chapter of the history of India

status with the rest of the

she also wants to fight as

Burke h^s

Empire and as a means to this end

volunteers in this war, and if what

said be true of Englishmen, neither the one nor

the other of India's claims can be justly denied to her.

(In the course of his article

**

Sir Ali

Imam's speech

at

the Simla dinner " the Amrita Bazar Patrika in his

issue of the 28th

The

September 19 15 remarks.)

Government of Lord Minto,

to the people

and the

and creating seething

not

in the

by the
doing unmitigated harm both

prevailing policy of repression, inaugurated

good

State.

is

It

is

discontent.

crushing

is

manly

graces of the authorities feels that he

quite safe from the encroachments of the C.

of things

all

spirit

Every public man who

I.

D.

is

This

is

not

state

as detrimental to the interests of the people as to

those of the Government.

But, alas, not only has this policy

of repression not been supplanted by one of the sympathy

and

conciliation,

during these

five

but
years

it

has been

rendered more stringent


The

breasts, but,

do not

Act not only

Press

/I

s^ts like

j^nitn

spectre on our

reminds the people constantly that the rulers

it

them, though they have given indisputable

trust

Crown again and

and which have been acknowledged by the respon-

proofs of their fervent loyalty to the British

again,

both here and

sible rulers,

in

England,

in the

warmest terms

possible.

(An

course of a speech delivered in England Sir

In the

Frank Forbes
that

extract from " India of London.")

Adam

had been called

*'

during

all

**

One country

self government

"

gem in the Imperial Crown

He had lived many years in India, and

day when

cause there were

no hesitation

in

many

might be a long time coming, be-

It

peculiarities to

be studied, but he had

saying that the splendid exhibition of patriot-

ism and loyalty

the last twelve

of the princes

months made

war was over a great

effort

the goal which everyone

it

and peoples of India during

certain that as soon as the

would be made

who

(Extracts from a speech

you wish

advance towards

by Mr. G.

S. Arundel.)

SENSE.

what India stands for at present^

statesmen and publicists, and
If you wish toforeigners.
of
guesses
the second-hand
to find out

to the utterances of her

not to

to

loved India had in view."

THE NEED FOR COMMON

feel

movement

the inhabitants of India would be able

govern themselves.

If

country that

those years there had been a steady

tov/ards the

go

alone remained

the brightest

and that was India.

to

said,

had not yet obtained

own

the heart of Indian a piration,

read the speeches of

Gokhale, of Tilak, of Naoroji, of Ranade, of Ghandi,

of

Lajpat Rai, and you

ev^er

know

will

and do not be content to accept

that which

take a

you could

India better than

Use your common sense with regard

or Rees, or Hewett.
to India,

will

know

her from the orations of Curzon, or MacDonnell,

you can
little

easily obtain at

second hand

at

hand

first

if

only you

trouble

THE PARTING OF THE WAYS.

At

be clear on one point.

least

have self-government, and whether

India

it is

is

determined to

to be self-government

Empire or outside depends almost entirely upon

the wisdom of British statesmen strengthened by British
within the

by

public opinion, and directed

Every great

self-government must

give

come

patriot,

it,

world are waiting to see

if

parting of the
Britain

grown

You
under the

will

ways

selfish

the lesson of the

follow

extracts

Post,"

may

loss

of the

America went

Are we

at the

America, or has

1780?

then read what Indian newspapers dare print

ri^rour of the Indian Press

(Some

not.

and ignorant.

shall India

wiser since

agreed that

and those who administer the

American colonies has been learned or

because England was

is

Either Great Britain

soon.

or India will take

it

the British sense of justice.

Indian, every Indian

from an

London about

Act.

article

from the " Morning

the loyalty of India and India's

claim to representation in the Imperial Conference.)

It will

probably be put forward on the ground of being

a recognitioji due to the loyalty that India has displayed and

the sacrifices she has undergone in the cause of the Empire.

But the loyalty

is

that

of the

army

totally

different


stratum from

politicians

tlie

71

and

the sacrifices are ratlicr

Not one penny has been added

liard to discover.

the

to

extremely moderate texation of the country since the war

began, and a large proportion of the population

is

unconci-

medium of grotesque rumours, that

a state of war exists. The loyalty is in fact of the passive
order with one exception. The Native States which were
free agents in the matter, have come forward voluntarily,
ous, except through the

with scarcely an exception, to the aid of their Sovereign and

through every possible avenue personal service

British Raj

the offer of their troops, aeroplanes, cars, medical assistance,

charity

with

a zeal that could not be surpassed

by any

British subject.

(Extracts from an article published in the "

Times"

of October 24,

educationist

Mr. A,

W.

Dulles

New York

from an American

19 15

who

has been

in India

from July 191 4 to August 191 5.)

Since the outbreak of war in Europe there has been no

attempt made to

enlist

hundred millions of
has had for
its

its

any large number of

What

service.

object the keeping of the Indian

normal strength, 150,000, while

has always kept a large English

of the

first line

war broke

out,

India's three

recruiting there has been

troops,

at the

army

army up

to

same time England

in India.

The

which were removed shortly

were Immediately taken by

places

after the

territorials

who

are using India as their training ground and at the same time
are kept ready to meet any anti-English movement.

The presence of
battle-front of

these Indian troops on

sion of the state of Indian opinion even

war of

their

the

western

Europe could hardly be considered an expres-

own

free will.

It

if

they went to the

need hardly be said that they


had no choice

in the

order of their English

74

In going they obeyed the

matter.

officers,

who

deal promptly

and

finally

with any suspicion of insubordination on the part of their

Indian soldiers
go, as action

is

nor was

probably

it

distasteful to

them to

seldom unwelcome to the trained soldier

a long period of inactivity.

after

shown

In action they have

themselves to be brave and useful soldiers.

Much
has

of the support for the British cause from India

come from

the

native Princes, the rajahs,

who have

nominal control over one- third of the territory of India,

though only

one- sixth of

its

people and none of the import-

ant seaports being comprised in the large

At

govern.

they

territory

the time of the British conquest of India

it

was

power some of the Indian chiefs,

who, along wi;h the British, had seized what they could of
found advisable to keep

the disintegrating

macy

in

Mogul Empire.

of the British position

left

The overwhelming

supre-

these Princes, whether single

or combined, too weak to dream of being successful rivals of

the British power.
It will

thus be clearly seen that the power of these native

Princes depends absolutely upon the

good

will of the English,

Further, the overthrow of that Government in India would

shortly be followed
native states in the

by the downfall

of the rulers of these

anarchy v/hich would inevitably follow

the withdrawal of the English, since the power of these

Princes does not

come from

the support they receive from

their subjects.
It

does not seem strange that these Indian Princes

should vie with each other

in their presents to the

Government and should have a

vital

bring the war to a successful conclusion.

more

English

interest to seeing

Their loyalty

it

is

often the loyalty of self-interest than that of affection.

When we

read that Sindhia of Gvvalior has given a hundred

75

to the King of England, that the Nizam of

Hyderabad has contributed so many lakhs of rupees to the
Prince of Wales Fund, you may be sure that these men

ambulance cars

expect a return on their investment

in

the form of renewed

Government and

favors from the English

the assurance of

its

continued supports.

The majority of educated and

Mohaniinedans are not loyal

Jialf- educated

to the British

The loyalty of the lower class of

has

been

alienated to some

oectirred recently.

were

so

that

the

disgrace

evilly

the

Government.

Indiariy the labortfs,

by

events

The Indian workmen

in

zvhich

have

South Africa

treated by the white element of that country

condition
to

extent

Hindus and

to

ivhich

Empire.

they

icere

reduced became a

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