INDIANS AND THEIR IDEALS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 15 January 1931, Page 8

INDIANS AND THEIR IDEALS

THE NEW PATRIOTISM NO ANTAGONISM TO GREAT BRITAIN If India does not got some tangible result' from the conference that is now being hold in London there is likely to bo serious trouble. This is the opinion of Dr. S. N. Sinha, a clever young Indian who is doctor of the st earner Narbada, in Lyttelton this week on one of her periodical trips from India and tho Straits Settlements. Interviewed by a “Times” reporter he explained the present position of affairs in troubled India, and explained the Indian point of view, which is very different from what exaggerated accounts of happenings would lead some people to suppose. _ The doctor says the Indian aspiration for borne rtile or dominion status is the natural outcome of events since the. introduction of the education system that was inaugurated in the time of Lord Macaulay, who foresaw that India wouid reach the stage when she would require ’^elf-government. It, was only natural, said Dr. Sinha, that India would stagnate under foreign domination after her conquest, j but then came the gradual awakening along with education, and to-day there ■ W a S a strong patriotic national feeling throughout the country. He made it clear that the best opinion _in India was not antagonistic to Britain; on the contrary it was fully realised that.Bri-j fain had made possible the rehabilita- : tion of the Indian, and the result was a definite renaissance in the country. A CHANGED INDIA Post-war India was a very different place from pre-war India. The psychological effect of the mobilisation of forces for tho defence of the Empire, and the new inspirational ideas brought back by the thousands of troops who had served abroad, had all helped in the growth of the national feeling that was dominant to-day, and j India had also learned a lesson from j the facility with which Japan had I adopted tho best in Western civilisa-1 tion, and so had taken her place among the Great Powers.

A good deal was made in some quarters of the fact that only seven per cent, of the Indians were educated, but in a population of over 30,000,000 that percentage represented a vast number, and the educated Indians felt that they were now fully capable of governing their country according to Indian ideals. It must be remembered tliat Indian philosophy was second to none in the world. India had a wonderful history, and architecture, and now the time had arrived when the Indians wanted to govern themselves. Asked about the antipathy between Hindus and Moslems, the doctor said there were undoubtedly differences of opinion, but nothing like the exaggerated accounts that appeared ip some of the newspapers; it was not a matter that was incapable of solution, and it was very wide of the mark to say that the two creeds would always make it impossible for India to govern herself. EDUCATION AND HEALTH Dr. Sinha, who is only twenty-seven and took his M.B. degree three years ago, is a very good typo of Young India. He is a native of Calcutta, was educated at the'university in that city, and is typical of the educated middle class who have absorbed Western ideas and feel that they are quite competent io direct the affairs of their great country. He says that the first things on the programme of those who want home rule are education and the . rganisation of the hospitals. It would be their object to establish a network of schools, colleges and universities, and especially primary schools in which education would be compulsory. When King George was in India in 1911 ho saiid he desired to see a system of schools and .hospitals established a!l over India and that was to-day the objective of the Indians who wanted homo rule. Dr. Sinha mentioned that India had produced two native governors, and that to-day Calcutta was entirely run by Indians, and their muni- ! cipal .work and encouragement of free education were samples of what the ! educated middle class could do if given I the opportunity. j As an instance of the new trend of affairs in India the doctor mentioned that the trades unions movement had made great strides in India, and to-day the mill hands and railwaymen were organised into very strong bodies for the betterment of their conditions of work and pay.

INDIA DEPRESSED

At present there was a good deal of depression in the country owing to the overproduction of the staple products, such as jute, and rice, and the peasants could not understand why there was no demand. The riots reported from India at the present time were more or less due to industrial causes, though there was also a political element, and the extremists were always ready to exploit the workers for their own ends. The moderates, such as the Young India Party, wanted constitutional government, or dominion status, and Gandhi, who was definitely opposed to violence, held the balance between the two parties, and his influence to a great extent, wag the check that prevented revolutionary measures. THE NATIVE STATES When asked if he thought the non-co-operation movement would continue Dr. Sinha said it all depended whether or not India gained concessions as a result of the present conference. There was bound to be further trouble if nothing was conceded. Referring to the large areas governed by native princes ho said the patriotic and national movement had its repercussions in all the Native States and the rulers were trying to meet the new conditions by bringing about reforms. He saw no difficulty in these States taking their place in an India that governed itself. Mr Ramsay MacDonald was popular with those who aspired to home rule, and as a matter of fact many of the patriots now in prison were his persona] friends. Dr. Sinha in conclusion reiterated his opinion that the educated Indians were finite capable of running the country, and in his opinion the future depended entirely mi ;ho result of the present conference.