Mr. Gandhi and the Villages The members of the Indian
National . Congress have . dispersed in some Mystification regarding the intentions of Mr. Gandhi. Whether he has really severed his connexion with Congress, no one quite knows. Many of his proposals, such as the reduction of the number of delegates and. the requirement that each of them shall have spun a certain quantity of yarn, or engaged in some other industrial. activity, have been adopted. And the Mahatma's own crusade for the regeneration of the villages has - been approved. It is to this that Mr. Gandhi is now to deVote his energies, ..whether from mainly social or mainly political motives remains uncertain. It must never be forgotten „that 80 per cent. of the people of India live in villages, and that with the gradual extension of the franchise the peasants' vote may become important.. The development of subsidiary village industries and some attempt to provide relief from the grip of the moneylender would be endeavours worth making in themselves, and such activity would be fully in line with Mr. Gandhi's campaign for thedepressed classes: Whether he has any idea of making political capital out of the influence he will thus acquire is not a question of Much consequence at the moment.
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