" THE REAL' BAR TO INDIAN SELF-- GOVERNMENT..
[To the Editor of the Siterkron.]
Sm,—May I say a word about Lord Winterton's article in a recent issue on" The Real Bar to Indian Self-Government" ? I dOuht if the position he has taken up would prove to be an infallible defence against Nationalist aggression. For example, one does not hear much of the Hindu-Moslem feud in native States : it is largely worked up by incitement, and it is only, I believe, in British territory that it can be described as an ever-present 'source of trouble. Even in what is now British territory I doubt if it could be accu- rately described as having been of this character for many generations, It is, I believe, maintainable as a matter of history that before Aurangzebe's oppression and the Mahratta outbreak Hindus and Mohammedans had learnt to live together without a chronic desire to tread on each others'
toe§.
With regard to the Depressed Classes in Madras, it would not seem reasonable to deny- an Indian Government to other parts of India because of a special anachronism in Madras. In my own province and Bengal the lower classes seemed capable of organfiing their .own caste, movements, and I should say that the upper, classes were apprehensive of them rather than otherwise, particularly since Gandhi's prOpaganda. At any rate,, the loWei cligses have begun to show a -capacity for looking after themselves- whicli it will -not be altogether
easy to repress., . _
Should we not, :be asking Indians, on Lord Winterton's contention, to fulfil eonditigns that , we . could not havn fulfilled ourselves had the - right fo.nover4 ourselves been 'made dependent upon their fulfilment by some other power ? Have' we and other nations in Europe not bad political disabilities, religious disabilities, class differentiations, -con- siderable sections of the population in a state of social degradation, want of an active sense of brotherhood and perhaps other deficiencies to fight our way through ? Have we not still got theni to contend with ? What Indians want is to be 'allowed to make their way through the impedi- ments to their own progress, as we have done ourselves, not to carry the reproach; as it seems to them,-of a dependent people owing everything to British initiative—tea . feeling which I believe to be strnng amongst the younger generation, who will have to be reckoned with in the, near future as well as the politicians of the day. But even the politicians have supplied men like. Gokliale and Gandhi, who See beyond, caste conventions. There is no reason why such men should not arise in the future with more practical conceptions at any rate than Gandhi's. What is happening now is that energies which might be devoted to a better purpose are concentrated upon defeating us.
grant that representative government is, and is likely to be _ for some time, a delusion, and that the politicians, if put into power, would need some check upon them which their constituencies could not supply. It does not matter whether the authority set up for such a purpose be deSig- nated Regent or Governor or Chief, provided that he could not permit misgovernment to go on in his area without incurring a risk to himself. Lord Winterton would get his guarantees on paper to-morrow, but they would not be effective without an authority in reserve to enforce then'. Is it not then better to aim at devising such an authority than to declare that Indians cannot have a government of, their own until we are perceptibly nearer to the Millennium ?
Lord Winterton has set down nothing on the credit side- against the blemishes he has specified, except the ability and charm of Indians in the circle he has met. He thinks it no wonder that their quick-witted intellect has proved too much for the lumbering British mind, including that of certain ex-Governors. It is true that the lumbering mind has been forfeiting control of the situation. But it would be hard on the ex-Governors to confine the monopoly of the faculty to them, just as it is hard on Indians to ignore the existence of any asset other-than the circle with which Lord Winteiton has dealt. Is it not possible to find material within the country for a sufficiently balanced constitution ? Can we really not give Indians, admitting their imperfections and our own, a chance to make something of their country for themselves, and to take a pride in doing so, instead of dis- sipating their energies in endeavouring to make our Govern. ment impossible ?—I am, Sir, &c.,
L. MoitsiinAn„. Arm-mane/lei-les-Bans, July 24th.
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