Political Freedom and Progress
Bridging the Gulf. By an Indian. (1'. S. King. 78.6d.) ANY book on India sponsored by Sir Rajindra Nati' Mookerjee deserves close attention. His insistence on the publication of this sober and original study of the Indian situation is in itself proof of his sound judgment. Our only cause for regret is that the unwieldy form of the book and its price may restrict its sale. A cheap and portable paper edition ought to follow.
For here we have what books, official reports, and the Round Table Conference have not yet given us : the views of an Indian business man who is primarily concerned with the economic foundations of Indian life. Our author's work on the Bengal Legislative Council and on other public bodies has brought him into close contact with politicians and administrators. In earlier days he was a Member of Congress. He is far, therefore, from underrating the ability or far. reaching influence of the extremists out of all proportion, as he points out, to the numerical strength of the Congress party. India's " passion for equality" in the British Common. wealth of Nations must be satisfied, and her demand for free and responsible self-government granted, within the shortest possible time. For India cannot be governed by force. But her road to political advancement, as distinct from mere status, lies only through economic improvement. And such improvement will he both the cause and the effect of that close association between England and India which is essential to the welfare of both nations.
It will be the cause, for it is the poverty and ignorance of the masses in the villages and towns, and the lack of profitable -employment for the educated classes, that enable the extremists to disseminate hatred of British rule. It will be the effect, -for British capital and British enterprise, devoted without racial discrimination to the material advancement of India and British shareholders alike, will open up new avenues of employment and increase the public resources from which facilities for the enlightenment of the masses and agricultural -development may be provided. Under such conditions political freedom in India will be consistent with progress. The party that clamours fora complete break with England will not disappear. But it will become a minority without any real hold on the non-political classes. If such conditions are not established there may be, ia the author's opinion, a-complete'
disruption of India's social fabric with appalling results to the world.
The establishment of these conditions demands a generous gesture from both sides. India on her side must substitute territorial nationalism " for " racial patriotism." The rights of equal citizenship to men of all races domiciled in India and contributing to her wealth must be guaranteed without any reservation or ambiguous references to the preferential claims of one or more races. What our author claims from England will not at first sight commend itself to the taxpayer. He calls for a financial contribution of about P.18,000,000 as England's share, roughly one third, of the cost of the army in India, regarded as an asset of Imperial defence. And the British Indian citizen should continue to serve India after his death by the payment of death duties on his estate into the Indian exchequer. These contributions should be devoted to a fund for the economic and educational advancement of India, with a small reserve for propaganda in favour of the Imperial connexion. What the British members of Parliament to whom these suggestions are primarily addressed will think of them remains to be seen. They may find it difficult to regard the army contribution as a profitable investment, though the writer's plea that India, emerging contented from economic stagnation, will assist in the restora- tion of British trade is at least arguable. But no one who has worked for long in India will deny that poverty lies at the root of many of her troubles and much of her unrest. This poverty retards the development of the social services, the spread and improvement of education, and the opening up of new sources of industrial wealth. There may be a way out of this vicious circle other than the external contribution suggested in this book. If there is, its discoverer has been remarkably modest about his achievement.
There are other suggestions, including an ingenious "solution" of the communal question, in this thought-pro- voking book. But its chief value lies not so much in its proposals as in the prominence which it gives to the economic aspect of the problems that face the Round Table Conference. The lofty idealism of the opening speeches of that Conference has served its purpose and met with due appreciation. But hard and gritty facts await consideration. There is a gulf. The title and substance of this book assure us that it can be bridged, but only by engineers who build on something more than ideas and who can convince the dwellers on either side of the gulf that it is worth their while to bridge it.
ARTHUR 3/LtYlIEWb
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