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The Dominion TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 1919. UNREST IN INDIA

Those who have followed the recent course of events in India will be under no uncertainty in regard to the origin of the widespread riots and disturbances of which ac- | counts have been given during the last day or two, or the merits of the issues raised. It may be said with some confidence that these upheavals do not represent a popular movement in any real .sense of the term, but are to be attributed to the incendiary activities of revolutionary agitators who, whatever their may be, are the wqif/j enemies of Indian reform. 4!iiplo evidence on these points appears in what is known of conditions in_ India and in the attitude and policy of the Government. The disorders which have made it necessary to suspend demobilisation in India, obviously call for stern repression as an attack upon Imperial solidarity at a time when this is vital to the satisfactory solution of peace- problems. Thev must be condiemned as unreservedly, however, if they are regarded from the narrower standpoint of purely Indian interests. In order to raise even a shadow of excuse for 'the tactics which the revolutionaries have developed on the lines reported, it would be necessary to show that the British Government was setting its face against reform in India and denying' the native population political concessions to which it is justly entitled. As a_ matter of fact, the exact contrary is true. The British Government has planned for immediate application in India a scheme of reform which aims at enabling the native inhabitants of, that country to take the longest possible step towards , pelf-government and at. putting everything in train for continued progress towards that goal. In view of the conditions that obtain in India the proposals err if anything on the side of extreme and liberality. Whether the projected _ reforms arc successfully carried into effect or not must depend largely upon the attitude taken up by the very small fraction of the native population which enjoys the advantages of education. Satisfactory evidence is available l that a very large proportion of these people arc ready and willing to co-operate with the Government. The one great pbstacle to reform is created by fanatical agitators—a minority of the educated class—who arc deaf to all reason. and refuse to turn from anarchical crime and from inflaming an illiterate and credulous population with as vicious a propaganda as was ever organised.- It is unlikely that these fanatics, will make much headway in their attack on Britisfi rule, but they are capable nevertheless of doing infinite harm. Their lawless agitation heavily and almost hopelessly magnifies obstacles to reformwhich in the most- favourable circumstances are of serious magnitude.

The reforms projected ■in India and the conditions in which they must be applied are clearly set forth in a comprehensive Report on Indian Constitutional Reforms, signed by the Viceroy and the Secretary of State, winch was published in July last year. In their total scope the proposals are, of necessity, complex, and it is. difficult to do them justice in a brief summary. So far, however, as definite political changes are concerned, three main features stand out. The autocratic powors of the Viceroy are to be retained for exercise in exceptional cases, but important modifications arc proposed in the machinery of the central Administration. The Government is to retain an official majority in the Council of State— an Upper House—but two-thirds of the members of the Legislative Assembly of India are to be elected, and only one-third nominated. Of the nominees, one-third are to be non-officials. in the government of the provinces that the boldest innovations are planned. The proposal here is to concede a definite though incomplete measure of local autonomy. Each of the provincial legislatures is to contain "a substantial elected majority," and from the elected members the Governor is to choose Ministers who will control certain specified branches of administration, and will be responsible to the provincial Legislative Council. The Reportsuggests tentatively that these branches might include taxation for provincial .purposes; local self-gov-ernment, rural and urban; education, primary, secondary, and technical ; sanitation, excise, minor public works, etc. It is proposed further _ that there should be as far as possible complete popular control in local bodies. • The franchise for elections to the provincial legislatures is to be as broad as existing conditions will permit. Provision is made also for a periodical revision by a Parliamentary Commission of the lists of subjects "reserved" and those transferred to local control, with a view to such extension of the powers of local self-gov-ernment as from time to time seems advisable.

These are merely a few salient features in a report which promises to mark the opening of ,a now era in Indian constitutional history. It of course, would bo absurd to measure tho reforms proposed by the standards of a self-governing Dominion. They must be- considered in light of the conditions that obtain in India. As the Eeport observes: The great mas 3 of India's people are illiterate peasants, living in mud-built villages, and cultivating small holdings of land, the produce of which is too often threatened by drought or deluge, The physical factors of India, the blazing sun, the enervating rains, liave-doubtless coloured the mental outlook of the innsses of her people. The Hindu caste system, with its segregating effect, ciroiimsnrilies the tango of public opinion by the range of personal sympathies, and tends to perpetuate many customs and usages which progressive Indians themselves recognise as a grievous impediment to progress.

A nother passage ,of tho Eeport mentions that the knowledge of English, "which is the one great bond of unity amongst the educated classes," is confincd to less than two million people. It is such conditions that impart a boldly experimental character to a programme of political reform which in some .countries would bo regarded as a strange survival from the dark ages. "The proposal is." as an English commentator observed sonio time ago, "that a people as yet unfitted' to assume the full control of its own affairs should be launched upon a course of gradual education in selfgovernment, under the supervision

of a central authority retaining sufficient power to secure the country against the disintegration which would certainly ensue upon the sudden withdrawal of all outside guidance." The road to reform in India is extraordinarily difficult, but it is open. A rapid approach to complete self-government is a physical impossibility, but the British Government has given clear proof of its honest anxiety to stimulate progress towards that goal by every means in its power. In the circumstances the fanatical agitators responsible for the current disorders are blocking rather than assisting progress of Indian reform.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19190422.2.7

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 177, 22 April 1919, Page 4

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,123

The Dominion TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 1919. UNREST IN INDIA Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 177, 22 April 1919, Page 4

The Dominion TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 1919. UNREST IN INDIA Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 177, 22 April 1919, Page 4

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