The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-01-31
INDIANS ANXIOUS
FOR ADVANCE IN
POLITICAL FIELD
Country Feels It Has An
Added Importance to En-
pire Since War Began.

Lahore, India, Jan. 29.-Politica1
matters have taken on an added
prominence in India Of late, due
largely, according to the general eX-
preston Of opinion, to the fact that
| the war has shown the people of this
country their importance to the rest
Of the Empire, thereby arousing their
aspirations for progress. Naturally
the subject of ultimate home-rule oc-
cupies a large place in the thoughts
of the Indian politician, few of the
so-called ultra-radicals even advocat-
| ing the immediate granting Of some
form of self-government.
The questions of what the British
government ought to do and intends
to do towards bestowing further poll
teal powers on the Indian, and Of
how much immediate advance the In
dian himself is capable Of making,
are being generally and eagerly dis
cussed. A correspondent of the As
ISOLATED Press has discussed these
questions with scores Of prominent
Europeans and Indians during the
| past few months. Some extremely
radical views were encountered, but
the majority of those who expressed
an opinion met on certain common
grounds which are well summarized
in an interview with the Rev. DR.. j.
G.. r. Ewing, the well-known Amer
lean educator, who for the past seven
years has occupied the important
post of Vice-Chancel1or, or president,
of the University Of the Punjab. DR..
Ewing is the only American who has
ever been accorded so high an honor
in India as was bestowed upon him
when he was made head Of this uni,
versity to direct the activities Of II
affiliated colleges in the province,
with their student population Of Some
1900. AS mark of appreciation
for his service to this country he was
decorated by the King in 1914, be-
ing made Companion Of the Indian
Empire. He has made deep study
Of political questions in India and
mot infrequently has been consulted
by government officials on delicate
matters of policy.
DR.. Ewing expressed the belief that
home-rule for India was inevitable,
but declared that the country was
not prepared for it at the moment
and would not be ready for this inn
portant step for many years to come.
when the British government at
the time of Lord Macaulay introduce
ed Western education into India, it
opened the door for self-govern-
ment," said the doctor. "Such a step,
involving the, teaching of democratic
ideals, could have no other result. 1t
was the crossing Of the Rubicon, and
there is no turning back. To do the
British government justice, I believe
that they made this move with the
full knowledge of what the outcome
must be, and that they have always
had in mind the ultimate granting of
home-ruIe to the people Of hindus-
tan.
There are, Of course, various.
shades Of opinion among both Euro
peans and indians as to the speed to-
wards which the home-ru1e goal
should be approached. The great
bulk of the people Of India are IL
Kliterate, something like "a per cent,
according to the latest statistics, but
among the other six per cent. there
are many highly educated and bril-
liant men who could be called upon
to play their part in government
Home-rule can never become an &C
complished fact until trained body
of Indians has been raised up. And
in order to achieve this, one of the
most, important steps will be the
opening up Of the Civil Service to a
still greater extent to the educated
Indian. Not only must this be done
but Indian and British government
employees must be placed on the same
footing and must learn to work in
close cooperation.
foreigners in considering home
rule for India often make the mis-
take 0f looking upon India as a ma
ton. AS a matter Of fact, Hindustan
represents many races and many Ian
guages, and in the, process of uni
fcation there are as many difficulties
to be overcome as there would be, for
Instance, in an attempt to bring all
the various countries of North and
South America under one govern
ment.
Moreover, the average Indian of
the so-called illiterate class knows
nothing Of politics and takes no in
terest in problems Of government. He
is mainly concerned with his own
little personal matters, and SO long
as conditions off, government favor
him in the pursuit of his affairs it
makes small difference to him what
that government is or what shape it
takes.
NThe ideas Of democracy are en-
tirely foreign to the bulk of 1nc.a.
For endless centuries, until the as
sumption Of British rule, the people
were governed as a conquered race,
and so thoroughly has the idea of
subsection been fnstilled that it will
be exceedingly hard for them to
break. away from the belief that thew
can have no voice in governing them
selves. But all this is bound to
change gradually with the spread of
general education.
Zone great stumbling block in the
way Of democracy is the fact that the
Indian never has learned to bow to
the will Of the majority. This may
be seen wherever bodies Of Indians
come together for the discussion Of
matters of mutual interest Opinion
is divided along partisan lines, fam
lily, racial and religious ties playing
an important part in the division. The
fact that the majority decide that GER
tain things are for the best means
nothing to the minority, and a split of
the body into two or more factions
is almost inevitable. This character
istic is something that must be over
come before any success can be
achieved in the matter Of popular
government.
There are numerous other fea-
lures which present obstacles to the
home-rule advocates. We have two