[122]On August 3, 1922, "Unity" published a "Letter from Prison" where Gandhi speaks about the evils of modern civilization. The letter seems apocryphal to me. I should imagine it a summary of extracts written some time ago, particularly in the "Hind Swaraj."
[123]Guru-Ka-Bagh is a sanctuary (Gurdwara) about ten miles from Amritsar.
[124]"The Akali Struggle," by Andrews, professor at Santiniketan. Published in the "Swaraiya" of Madras and under separate cover. September 1, 1922.
[125]"Manchester Guardian Weekly," October 13, 1922.
[126]An article by Blanche Watson, in "Unity," November 16, 1922, enumerates the advantages which India has won by her fight of non-violent resistance.
This article claims that the internal revenues of India have decreased some seventy million dollars, and that the boycott of English goods has caused England to lose, in the course of a single year, some twenty million dollars. She claims that at that time about thirty thousand Indians were imprisoned, and that the governmental machinery was entirely upset. But Blanche Watson, who is a fervent admirer of Gandhism, has, perhaps, an unconscious tendency to exaggerate its successes. Other testimony would seem to be less encouraging and would seem to prove that the spirit of self-sacrifice is balked by the selfish attitude of the wealthy and of business people, while many of those who resigned from government posts in the first flush of enthusiasm have now returned to work. It would not be human to believe anything else. In every revolution many lag on behind, or retrace their steps. The point is to determine whether, or not, on the whole, the movement is on the increase or the decrease. In this connection it is interesting to refer to a description published in the "Manchester Guardian Weekly," February 16, 1928.
The "Manchester Guardian," whose intelligent liberalism is well known, but which nevertheless represents certain powerful interests directly imperiled by the non-coöperation movement, recently organized an investigation of conditions in India. The conclusion one draws after reading the results of this inquiry, in spite of a very natural tendency to discredit the movement, is that the situation is serious and causes grave misgivings. The last article (February 16, 1923) tries to prove that Gandhi's tactics have been proved ineffective and that the non-coöperation movement must be reorganized. But the article goes on to say that the spirit of non-coöperation is growing. Everywhere there are traces of distrust of the foreign Government and ardent hope of getting rid of it. The most cultivated people in India and the inhabitants of the large cities agree on this point. The ryot, or peasant, is only slightly affected by the movement, but conditions are such in the villages that within a short time he will have to take sides. The army still seems immune, but recruits come from the villages, and sooner or later they will be contaminated. The non-coöperation movement is frequently most intense among the best and the most moderate elements. These elements disapprove revolutionary methods, but their disapproval is not shared by the rest of the country. The writer claims that it will take about ten years for India really to bring about effective civil disobedience. But in the meantime the situation will grow more and more serious. It is impossible to hold the Indians in check by threatening them with imprisonment. They no longer fear it. Harsher coercive measures must be resorted to, and this will stir up hatred. There is only one peaceful solution—if it is not already too late—and that is for England to take the initiative of making Indian reforms. No half-measures, like those of 1919, and not applied till last year! They are not sufficient, and there is no time to lose. England must call a National Indian Convention where all parties and interests in India will be represented—Gandhi and his disciples as well as Indian princes and European capitalists, Mohammedans, Hindus, Parsees, Eurasians, Christians, pariahs—all must join in a convention and draft a constitution for an autonomous India within the empire and draw up the lines of such a home rule. This is the only way to avoid the breaking up of the empire.
I do not know how the Government of India and British bureaucracy look upon the "Manchester Guardian's" suggestion, and I hardly believe that Gandhi and his non-coöperators would agree to sit in a convention with European and Indian capitalists. But one thing is sure, and that is that no one questions, any more, India's right to home rule. It must come in one way or another. And nothing is more remarkable than the change of England's attitude to India since the beginning of the Gandhist movement. The European no longer scorns the Indian but treats him with consideration. Everybody agrees that it is a mistake to employ the violent methods which were the first the Governments resorted to in former days. From a spiritual and mental point of view, India is already victorious.
[127]Fragment of the oldest Invocation of Çiva, in the play "Mudra-Rakshasha" (400) by Vishakadatta.
[128]This is the standpoint of the "conscientious objectors" in England, which is spreading little by little to other countries.