The Dominion. THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 1914. BRITISH RULE IN INDIA

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2119, 9 April 1914, Page 6

The Dominion. THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 1914. BRITISH RULE IN INDIA

A good deal of trouble has been caused in India during recent years by the criminal activities of a dis-. satisfied and dangerous section of the native population. These mischiefmakers arc no doubt few in number, but they are very persistent im their efforts to bow seeds of discontent and to undermine British prestige. They seem to be well organised, and they carry on their plotting, with' such secrecy and cunning that the police find extreme difficulty in making arrests arid securing convictions. Evidence of a very serious character has been given in connection with the conspiracy case which is now being heard at Delhi, According to ft cablegram which we publish in another column, the sons of the Eegeat of Jodhpur testified that a second attempt on the life of the Viceroy {Lord Habdisge) was planned during his visit to Jodhpur, and . that their tutors had been identified with the plot. It will be remembered that in December, 1812, Lord Hah&isge was seriously injured by a bomb which was thrown by someone in the crowd at the time of his state entry into Delhi. The crime caused a tremendous sensation, and evoked many expressions of loyalty and of abhorrence of the outrage ■ but, though a very largo reward was offered, the perpetrator of the dastardly deed was not discovered. Both before and since that attempt to kill the Viceroy a series of crimes of violence, besides numerous acts of claeoity aad intimidation, have taken place in •Bengal, In opening the Legislative Council early in 191JS the Viceroy declared that outrages of this kind could not be dismissed as the isolated acts of irresponsible fanatics, and that they were in most cases the outcome of organised conspiracies in which the actual agent was not always the most responsible. Steps were subsequently taken to strengthen the law so m to enable tile authorities _to deal more effectually with criminal conspiracies and other offences of -a similar character. The great difficulty which the police experience in sheeting home these crimes points to the existence of asecret and well-organised movement to undermine British rule in India, and indicates that an inner circle of conspirators is able to shelter itself behind the passive sympathy of all. the disaffected elements of the populace.

For some time past the conviction' has been growing that more' severe measures must be taken to suppress violence and sedition in India. The class of malcontents responsible for most of the- trouble are not to be won ovejrby gentle means. They' re-, gard' leniency" as an indication of fear, and any sign of weakness only encourages 4 them to carry their propaganda of disloyalty and acts of lawlessness another step forward. Nothing, could be more damaging to British rule in a country like India than that the impression should get abroad that the authorities were not completely masters of the situationNo room must be left for uncertainty on this point. The administration of justice must be unfaltering aiid impartial, and lawlessness of every form, especially sedition and crimes of violence, should receive exemplary punishment. A lively sense of the majesty of the law,and the power to enforce it is essential to the maintenance' .of British supremacy in a country in which the European residents form'only a very small percentage of the population. It is true that the British did not conquer India for philanthropic purposes, but even their enemies must adfflit that their rule has bti<m just, atid that it has resulted in the betterment of the people from almost- every point, of view. The vast majority of the inhabitants arc quite unfitted for self-government and do not want it. Most of the unrest has arisen among that section of the Indian population which has been educated on European lines. A large number of those people have thus been cut adrift from their old moorings, ami!, as they cannot find suitable c-mplpy-nient they become discontented. Unfulfilled hopes'and unrealised ideals have embittered them against the Government, and they a*e trying to make their countrymen believe that all the ills they have to endnro are duo to British administration. In this way sedition spreads, for. the great mass of the people knows no better. Thoy cannot be expected to imagine what would happen to India if British control should cease. "Its political unity, which depends entirely on the English Raj, Would vanish like a morning mist," writes Lord- BSyoe. "Wars would break out, wars of ambition, or plunder, or religion, which might end in the ascendancy of a few adventurers.

... Or perhaps the country would, after an interval of chaos, pass into the haids of some' other European Power. To India severance from EngJarrcl would moan confusion, bloodshed, and pillage." However, thews, is not the slightest likelihood of British rule breaking down. The population j§ so divided by difference of religion, caste, and language that combination is almost impossible. This orthat section may give, trouble; but with resolute firftjness and determination to do justice, maintain order, and promote tile welfare <)£ the people, British supremacy in India is not likely to be. seriously challenged.