The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. THURSDAY, MARCH, 27, 1930. THE FANATICAL IN INDIA.

Hokitika Guardian, 27 March 1930, Page 4

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. THURSDAY, MARCH, 27, 1930. THE FANATICAL IN INDIA.

] iim mai'ui or uariUiU in luiua is in Keeping witii trie fanatical m uiu uuuutiy. A grave crisis is possible at ally nine, them is tne tin eat Oi a campaign or “unadulterated uon-vioienoe” against• British rule. Gandhi iias al-v-ajs oeen ramer an incalculable factor in ilie complicated jntLan problem, intellectual ami cuAured, a well-train-od lawyer and a man or affairs, lie lias deliberately chosen the caieor of a lanatßal reformer, and it has always oeen unpossiule to predict the course that lie will take, because his Oriental ms One is and his personal knowledge ol Uesteni lile and civilisation are continually m conflict with each other. In the later stages cf. his caieer, however, fanaticism—Unit is to say, resolution not based upon piaciical reason and hearing no relation to the material lacts ol hie—has come to dominate his character completely, and ne lias finally, after much hesitation, declared “inexpiable war” against the British llaj and everything for which it stands. The demand of Gandhi and tne millions of extienlists who now foilow hinii.,.is' ..for Swaraj—that is, home Rule, pure and simple. They maintain that India is infinitely worse off under British rule than it would he without it. It must, of course, he understood says an Exchange, that the material benefits of Western civilisation that have accrued to India, chiefly through its contact with Britain, do not appeal strongly to Orientals. They hate the restraints imposed by European methods bf government, they resent the heavy expenditure which British administration entails, even if the

money is expended wholly in India, and chiefly for the benefit of its people. But in any case-they ding'tenaciously to the fundamental principle of Nationalism that, as Abraham Lincoln said, “good government is no substitute for self-government,” and in reply to all offers of administration, they make answer in tho words of a great Italian patriot: “We do not ask you to rule us better; we only ask you to go.” It is nqt very clear what precise line of action Gandhi and his followers will adopt. But universal “non-parti-cipation” in political life and a farreaching boycott or general strike suen as they appear to contemplate might plac'e the authorities in a position of great difficulty and danger. Yet it is some consolation to reflect that the Hindus stand almost alone in their antagonism to the British Raj, and that the Mohammedan section of the population, though temporarily allied with the Nationalists, have now detac-h----id themselves completely from Gandhi.

Moslem indignation against Britain was roused after the war- by the losses nid indignities inflicted on the Turks. Hut when the Allies relented and left Constantinople in Turkish hands, the vhilafat agitation died down. Sbaukat Hi, who once co-operated with Gandhi igainst the British Raj, now realises hat it is India’s only defence for the ilohammedans against Hindu racial

hatred and religious bigotry. If the conflict becomes fierce, the Moslems will side with the Viceroy rather than with Gandhi; but it' is devoutly to he hoped that any form of violence may vet be averted. Still the situation is pregnant with possibilities, for clashes are sure to occur, and some small incident may he the prime factor in a great event. On the whole Gandhi’s march has not been ns spectacularly sucessful as lie would hone for. The native mind is always difficult to penetrate, and an outward calm might be merely a cover for a serious inward state of feeling. The authorities will be alert as to the general sitmuTon.

and the prestige of the British in India is not likelv to be easily famished. The situation eertainlv calls for a full and careful understanding of the course of events.