The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 1018. POLITICAL REFORM IN INDIA
The report of the Committee on Indian Constitutional Reforms foreshadows a new era in the history of Britain's great dependency. The need for granting a further measure of self-government t.o India was generally recognised before the outbreak of war, and doubts regarding the wisdom of this policy have been to a large extent removed by the ungrudging and whole-hearted support which the princes and peoples of India have given to the Empire in its fight to ensure a firmer place in the world for that reign of law which British rule has done so much to establish in India. Tho loyalty of India has been greatly tested, and greatly has it stood tho test, India has presented an unflinching face to 'the common foe. It would, of course, have been unreasonable to have expected that the ferment caused by a great war would have had no evil effccts whatever in this vast country of 315,000,-, 000 inhabitants, comprised, as Sir' Francis YouNGnusiuND reminds us, of an extraordinary diversity of races, ranging from primitive aboriginal savages to cultured Bengalis, and a wonderful variety of customs,' habits, laws, institutions, languages, and religious beliefs. Tho Indian Government has had its anxieties, and has had to repress occasional outbreaks of lawlessness; hut all the disaffected elements put together represent but an infinitesimal minority. India as a whole has been faithful and true. She has turned a deaf ear to the temptations of the enemy. But her loyalty has not been a passive, negative thing. Sho has taken a very active and decidedly elective part in the struggle. When tire call of tho Empire reached her sho responded with an enthusiasm which evoked the admiration of our friends and the curses of our foes.. Tho people of India went into the war in uo huckstering spirit. They did not wait to bargain. They asked for no political conccssion as a reward for their help. At the recent Delhi Conference the Maharajah of Bikaner spoke for India as a whole when he declared that it was' a time for deeds not words. India's services were the outcome of unquestioned loyalty to . tho KinoEmperor, and were not for barter or sale. The Maharajah ok GwaMOR was equally emphatic in his expression of fidelity. Indians might differ, he said, in politics and religion, but were united in their determination to support the Empire. The scheme of reform drawn up by tho Committee may not be carried out in its entirety, and it may not bo possible for the British Parliament to deal with bucli a momentous and exceedingly complex constitutional problem until tho war is over; but the publication of the report at the present juncture may fairly be regarded as an assurance to the people of India that a large extension of self-government will be put into operation in the near future. In fact, we arc expressly told that the work of the Committee is a fulfilment of tho War Cabinet's pledge "to take substantial steps in the direction of the gradual development of self-govern-mg institutions with a view to the
progressive realisation of responsible government in India as an integral part of the Empire." This does not mean the adoption of an entirely new policy. It simply indicates the advent of another "critical point" in an evolutionary proSir Andrew Eraser, formerly Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, writing in the Nineteenth Century, tells us that "the British rulers of India have long rccogniscd that their principal mission has been to sccui'c for tne peoples of India a peaceful and righteous Government, to seek to giro them education and enlightenment, and to aim at making them fit for taking their share in the government and administration of the country." The Committee has undoubtedly framed a bold programme. Thoy recommend that a big experiment should be tried. There are risks involved, but courageous statesmanship docs not hesitate to take risks when the circumstances warrant such a course. Progress largely consists of "great adventures." The exercise of political imagination is often as fruitful as the free play of the scientific imagination.
The time has undoubtedly come for a sympathetic endeavour to sec how far it is possible to give effect to the natural desire of a largo section of the people of India for a .more direct and potent influence in shaping the destinies of their conntry. The clamour of extremists for the impossible should not be allowed to prejudice legitimate and reasonable claims like those put forward 111 an address delivered tw T o years ago by Sir Satyendra P. Siniia, as President of the Indian Congress. We seek io make no capital (he said) out of the service so ungrudgingly rendered by our countrymen lo Iho Empire. There is not, I trust, a. single person in our camp who expects reforms ■as tho price or tho reward of our loyalty. . . . Nor could any serious and responsible Indian publicist advocate that, as a result of the war, ihero should bo a sudden and violent breakage in (he evolution of political institutions in indn. What he does claim is that the spontaneous outbreak of loyalty must Jjave dispelled distrust and suspicion. Therefore, without asking {or any violent, departure from the lino of constitutional development which . far-sighted statesmen—English and Indian—desire for India, wo can still press for a substantial advance towards tho develonment of free institutions in this country. Though India does not demand reform as a price for its loyalty or as a repayment for the blood of her sons which has been _shed in defence of tho Empire, Britishers the world over are grateful for what she has done. They can never forget the assistance she has given. She has proved herself worthy of their trust, and has by her actions declared to the whole world that she is determined that her future shall lie for over within tlie British Empire. When the proposals of the Committee on Indian Constitutional Boforms como up for the consideration of the British Parliament they will certainly recoivo fair and favourable consideration. But it must always be remembered that the British Government is bound to give heed to the interests and wellbeing of the whole population of India, and not merely the comparatively small number represented by the reform movenicnt. Referring to this aspect of the problem, Sir Andrew Fp.aser urges that the utmost' care must he taken to fit those who are_ to bo called to share the responsibility of government to undertake it without undue sacrifices of the interests of the great masses who themselves have no desire for anything except to live peaceful lives without oppression and without worry. The extension of selfgovernment should keep step with the "progressive improvement in the mental, moral, and _ material condition of the people, which would on the one hand render them worthy of it, and on the other make it any longer to withhold it." In these wise words Sir Andrew Fkaskh sums up the fundamental principles of constitutional reform in India.
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Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 250, 10 July 1918, Page 4
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1,177The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 1018. POLITICAL REFORM IN INDIA Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 250, 10 July 1918, Page 4
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