The Colour Bar in Great Britain W E print in our
eorrespondence columns this week a letter from the chairman of the executive of the recently formed " Joint Council to Promote Under- standing between White and Coloured People in Great Britain." The title explains the objects of the new Society ; among its aims are the study of the misunder- standings arising from colour prejudice; an attempt to deal wisely with cases of the " colour bar " as they arise, the encouragement of personal contacts and the encourage- ment of an appreciation in Great Britain of the contribu- tion of coloured people to human welfare. We warmly welcome the establishment of the new Society—few subjects will better repay study in this country—and hope that its investigation will spread to the self-governing Dominions and British -Colonies and Dependencies.
The task which the Society is undertaking is one of extraordinary difficulty, and it would be foolish to under- estimate it, but if the British Commonwealth is to endure, as we hope and believe, we think it essential that we should frankly discuss the question of the " colour bar," how it arises, and what we can do to improve matters. We are not amongst those (living in a fool's paradise) who expect that the publication of a few articles in the Press or the holding of meetings at the Friends House in Euston Road will persuade men to change their outlook over- night. We know how difficult it is to deal with deeply- ingrained prejudices. But as the largest and most populous Empire—we do not count China, because she is not an empire or world Commonwealth as we use the term—with over 300,000,000 coloured fellow-subjects, there is an urgent need that we should clear our minds and ask ourselves questions such as, " Why have the French and certain other European nations practically no colour prejudice ? "
Colour prejudice—found in its extreme degree among the Anglo-Saxons, and to a lesser extent among the Nordic peoples in Europe—cannot be regarded as the hall-mark of civilization, for some of the most civilized peoples do not possess it. France is usually assumed, even by Anglo-Saxons, to be one of the most highly- cultured nations. Yet in France we had an object-lesson in her attitude to colour last month, in the appointment of M. Diagne, a native of Senegal, to the post of Under- Secretary of State for the Colonies in M. Laval's Cabinet.
As our readers arc aware, the Spectator has devoted much space and thought to the Indian Problem during the past eighteen months. In the course of our investigations one of the things which has constantly struck us is that much of the ill-feeling towards Great Britain in India to-day arises, not from a sense of political grievance, but from some personal slight, imagined or real. We could give chapter and verse for this statement. To our knowledge several of the most advanced leaders of Indian nationalism were formerly warm friends of Great Britain, and it was owing to their treatment by white British subjects that their outlook changed. We know from experience in other countries, not necessarily inhabited by coloured peoples, that nations striving for political freedom are apt to be hypersensitive, and are prone to Imagine condescension where none exists. But after making full allowance for the touchiness of some of our coloured fellow-subjects we think that the sense of Injustice and grievance is in many cases fully justified.
Two weeks ago we printed a letter from the Secretary Of the Y.M.C.A. Indian Students' Union and Hostel in Cower Street, in which the writer dealt with an aspect of the problem which especially concerns Londoners. He said that it was becoming more and more difficult for coloured students and visitors to London to obtain suitable accommodation. Mr. Aiman also quoted instances of rooms having been booked in advance for well-known and distinguished Indian visitors, who, when they came to instal themselves in their hotels, were refused accommoda- tion "on a flimsy excuse." From our experience we could give many similar instances.
What are we going to do about it ? A great empire and little minds go ill together. At a moment when we are straining every nerve to bring about a permanent under- standing between the peoples of India and ourselves, based on friendship and an appreciation of the good qualities of the other, can we afford " to send home (to India) every year hundreds of embittered and disillusioned students, with nothing but unhappy memories of. their stay in England " ? The problem is not confined to India, but concerns our coloured fellow-subjects from the West Indies, West Africa, and elsewhere, but in view of India's size and present political position, the problem is perhaps more urgent with regard to that country.
Those of us—Conservatives, Liberals and members of the Labour Party—who are working for a peaceable solution of the Indian problem cannot afford to have our work undone by the boarding-houses of Bloomsbury: Indians feel their treatment in Great Britain and in British steamship lines very deeply, for it is in marked contrast to the reception accorded them on the Continent Of Europe and in the French, Italian and Japanese steamers where they are received with all the courtesy shown to white travellers. Last week we discussed • the problem with an Englishman long resident in the East, and he said, " I fully admit the justice of what you say, but you must remember that as far as caste and class prejudice are concerned Indians are. the worst offenders ; we have nothing quite so bad over here as their treatment of the ' untouchables.' " There are, Of course, many features of Indian life which we deplore just as much as Mr. Gandhi, but our task is to set our own house in order before we start pulling out the motes in our brotherS' eyes. The fact that there arc grave social evils in India and elsewhere does not minimize our responsibility.
Cecil Rhodes used to proclaim as the "slogan" for South Africa, " equal rights for every civilized man south of the Zambezi." The only possible motto for a world common- wealth such as ours to adopt is " Equal rights and equal treatment for every civilized man whatever his colonr."
[We hope at an early date to publish a series of articles on the Colour Bar, the psychology behind it, how it arose and what we can do to remove it. We shall seek to give lair expreision to the most divergent points of view and shall be glad to have suggestions from readers as to how to make the series of the most practical use.—En. Spectator.]
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