INDIA AND INDIANS.

Franklin Times, Volume 9, Issue 642, 17 June 1921, Page 5

INDIA AND INDIANS.

IMPRESSIONS AND OPINIONS.

A COUNTRY OF MYSTERIES.

WHERE TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FICTION.

It is said that the second state of India would be worse than the first. If John Buli left to-morrow and topic alt the Mohammedans in India away with him, the old struggles would begin all over again among the Hindus who were left. Miss Henderson \yus of opinion that Gandhi’s original, idea of holding- Hartals, or holy days, which were celebrated'by the closing- of all places of business , and industrial activity, and the whole mass of the people joining in a day of prayer and supplication, was not being- departed from. From the actions of this powerful man in recent years it appeared that he was not the disinterested person that he was priginaliy. represented as. Mrs Be-, sant was the real spirt of the Home Rule movement for India, and'now that they had been granted their requests further agitation was beginning to take place. This last amounted to a demand that the British return to the country whence they-came and leave" the Indian's peaceably to govern themselves. In the words of Gandhi “brotherly love” would' shortly smooth out any difficulties as they arose. Miss Henderson regards ,the attitude of the

princely Indian gs the height of foolishness. She has seen through many years of hard, experience how utterly irreconciable are the various castes and religious denominations of the country. Mr- Francis A. Walker has well said. “A classification which would meet the facts of industrial organisation in England would omit factors of prime importance in India.” To the most casual observer any statement • to the effect that ah organisations which works smoothly and harmoniously in England cannot conceivably be applied W India without changes which make it .practically a new system' carries a good deal of truth with it. To Maintain Order. Now this movement of Gandhi has .been taken as a basis for the representations of political agitator,s, who. :t is said, have been the cause of many mob riots and the time of such disturbances has been . regarded by those of the lower classes as a good Opportunity for rbbhing'and plundering. In Miss' • Henderson’s opinion General Dyer diet the correct thing when he ordered troops to fire on rioters at Amritsar, for if that derising had not been quelled .with a firm hand there would not have been a single white man left in .the Punjab. The district has a population of about twenty millions, a, comparatively very small percentage being- whites, But, although the missionary considers that General Dyer acted rightly and promptly, she does not imply .that, because India was won by the sword, it should be' kept by the sword. England would be evading her duty if she were to forsake India and let her hundreds of millions of different creeds and races

drift back to the state from which

it has taken .three centuries to rescue

them. The guiding- hand of Gandhi iwoulcl. be an inestitrriable aid in carrying out the duty that lies before the officials if he could only b*» brought to '.seethe genuineness of the desire to help the people, for to draw a contrast that will be readily appreciated, Gandhi has achieved just as wonderful ascendency over his peo-r>Jv-—the natives of India—by his self-denial, and ssceticims, • as has Katana over the native Maori mind, y.rrb'a must be governed ,and at the head of that Government there was as much need as ever of a strong m an, a ruler who could hold a steady balance between the motley races. fStfficitlt Country to Understand. India is a country that is difficult

to understand, and it has eve-b been said that one can never get a full mental gasp of its manifold problems. One who lived in India from childhood had a great advantage over the grown-up student of affairs. Kipling’s knowledge of the country and customs probably owed much to his observations when a boy. His portrait of life was remarkkably true and accurately set forth. Some of the descriptions of soldiers, however, are now old-fashioned, and the men who carry out defence operations arp much more sober and more modern in their camp life. Miss Henderson says that with reference to - “Kim,” the pages,of that book could be duplicated every day in the town where her headquarters were/

Place of Jugglers and Acrobats.

IT he mysterious mango trick has also been performed before the eye's of the missionary lady, but like others who; have seen it done she cannot throw any light 1 on the method. However, she is sure it is neither mesmerism . .or hypnotism. On the floor of the verandah of her house it had been performed time after time. To those who are not familiar with this favourite little trick of the fakirs it may be of interest to know that they place a mango seed "in a Heap of sand and from that they make a mango tree appear before the eyes of the. observer. Miss Henderson abas never seen or heard of it beingperformed in any other country, and various theories have been advanced as to how it is carried out. 'Some maintain that the juggler brings with him a mango branch concealed beneath his garments. Oe observation is that the tree never has large fruit upon it, but is ahyas laden with small green fruit.

- Another trick which is equally remarkable and performed by the jugglers in broad daylight consists in an Indian girl with all her limbs bound being placed in a wicker basket. The jugglers then proceed to thrust their swords through the basket and dikiw them forth red as though they were stained with (blood. The basket is then opened and all that can be seen on the inside are the ropes with which the girl has'been bound.. Again the basket is shut, and when the girl is called she promptly' runs' forward from some unexpected quarter. Mysterious as this may .appear it'is only one of many which are just as -worthy of mention. The jugglers pride themselves on their skill *and whenever there are any entertainments at the houses of the higher classes they are generally to be found among the gathering. In the villages they may be seen constantly practising to keep themselves at the required degree of skill; and' in this manner the wayfarer who is passing through a village is! supplied with a gratuitous entertainment that to a New Zealander would seem considerably above the ordinary standard at circuses and juggling shows. Many of the people excel as. acrobats and the ablest exponents of the acrobatic art can literally tie themselves in knots. Miss Henderson'says that India is a charming place in which to live, but, despite that fact, it has never appealed to her as a place wherein she would like to spend her life, were it not for the fact that she is carrying out a very important work. ■

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