India and the War
Sons of the Soil. Studies of the Indian Cultivator. Edited by W. Burns, C.I.E., D.Sc., I.A. S. (Government of India Publications.
4s.) Will War Come to India ? A week-by-week Record of the first
two years of the World War. By N. G. Jog. Foreword by the - Rt. Hon. Dr. M. R. Jayakar, P.C. (New Book Company, Bombay.
4 Rupees) Bout these books appear at an opportune moment. In spite of industrial progress, India is still a land of peasants, and the back-
bone of the country is the sturdy cultivator. Yet the average Englishman, even after years of residence in the East, knows little more about him than what he has gleaned from the windows of his railway carriage, as the train bears him through seemingly endless plains. In Sons of the Soil we are given brief accounts, from the hands of experts, of the daily life and agricultural methods of cultivators from thirteen districts. Some of these descriptions, e.g. that of the Gond by Verrier Elwin, and of the Maratha by the Editor, Dr. Burns, are little gems, and enable the reader to picture Indian village life far more vividly than many volumes of Government reports. A special word of praise is due to the admirable photographs. That of the Bengali cultivator, as Dr. Burns remarks, is worthy of Rodin. A glance at them reveals the source from which are drawn those magnifi- cent Indian regiments which are so largely responsible for the destinies of the Empire today.
Will War Come To India? is intended for the Indian rather than the English reader, but will be found useful for anyone who requires a brief day-by-day summary of the progress of the war. It consists of reprints of weekly articles contributed each Sunday to the Bombay Chronicle. They are admirable in tone, and view events from a detached standpoint. Criticisms of policy are shrewd but fair, and enable people in England to understand the attitude towards current events of an enlightened Indian observer. As the Hon. Mr. Jayakar remarks in his Fore- word, India has too long looked on the situation with a comfort- able feeling of safety. Now that the enemy is at her gates, Indians must close their ranks and forget internal dissensions. It is equally incumbent on the Indian Government to realise that the defence of India must' in future be increasingly the concern of the people of the country. It is to be hoped that this work will
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