The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1911-09-29

flying politician. taken In
hand by a Bengal, sees In
initely less In India than a British
workingman sees Of Germany con-
Quoted through manufacturing cities
by a tariff reformer 1t is most
foolish and most dangerous thing
for a man Of little observation, small
Imagination and no reflection to race
through one or two Indian cities and
then express himself on Indian pol
itics with more authority than a man
of science would speak of chemistry
after life of incessant investigation.
1t needs actual experience to appre-
ciate this amazing variety OF human
types; and yet until this variety Is
realized in the mind Of a European
there can be no intelligent under
standing of anything that has to do
with India. The very first thing
man must do who would form rational
opinions on Indian politics or carry
in his mind true picture OF Indian
color and Indian feeling Is to realize
that the 300, 900 900 OF humanity COM
prising the empire of India are not
one race or two races, but are 2,OO0
species of mankind as different from
each other as snakes from elephants,
tigers from fireflies and mosquitoes
from buffalOes.
Directed by Handful Of British.
You cannot dogmatize about India.
You can no more speak OF India as
one complete and single thing than
you can exhaust botany by smelling
a rose or paying sixpence for bunch
Of lilies India is infinite. A man
with seeing eyes begins to perceive
this battling truth on his very first
walk through a street. and he is at
once on his guard in forming opin-
Ions. and most diffident in venturing
to utter even the least uncertain OF
them. He who speaks of India as
nation Of Hindoos and Mohammedans
would speak Of the consultations as
consisting Of Orion and Ursa Major.
There are many good people in
England who think of Indians as two
peoples. Hindus and Mohammedans
purposely kept apart and purposely
held down by an immense army Of
proudf,il. Ubiquitous and atrabili-
GUS civil servants exported
year by year by the India
office Let these good people
bear IN mind that the inhabitants of
India represent 1000 species of man.
kind, that not only Is each species
opposed socially and Intellectually to
the rest, but that they practice to-
ward each other an ostracism which
has never existed in England between
the greatest Swellfoot and the most
downtrodden hind; and, further. let
him definitely apprehend and reflect
upon this fact, that the whole com
pany of British civil servants. in.
Guiding military officers holding civil
appointments, Is only 1900. India is
governed by Indians, a tremendous
army of them. with just 1000 British
! citizens at their head. One might far
more truly say that India employs a
handful of Englishmen to direct her
own government than assert that
England holds India In the grip Of
an iron hand
influence Of Caste Everywhere.
I have seen nothing Of violence or
even rudeness on the part of English
men toward the natives; but ! have
no doubt that Instances of this kind
could be cited and perhaps proved.
| have seen. known and | see It every
day ! live in India, and every mile |
travel In the country. instances of
the most intolerable exclusiveness
and appalling pride between native
and native. Consider these two facts
A Brahmah priest will not visit a
low caste person, however extreme
his need; and high caste doctor will
not go to the bedside of a dying
coolie. Thanks be to Cod" said 10
me a benevolent and educated Hindu
"for the hospitals set up for poor peo-
pie by the British government" A
postman will not deliver letters into
the hands OF a lower caste man than
himself: he fings them down on the
ground Democracy has no express
sion whatever In India except through
he government. which devotes all its