New Britain herald., 1921-12-23
INDIA'S FUTURE,
SPEAKERS TOPIC
Hi-Y Boys Hear ApSiYatham at
Weekly Meeting

Eddy Arslvatham was the speaker
at the weekly meeting Of the Hi-N
club at the Y. NJ. c. A. last evening,
Mr. Arsivatham, "A student at the
Hartford Theological seminary, chose
for his subject THE Future Of IN
dia,"
slaves To Habit
He said that all are slaves to hab-
It's; to some fixed ways Of thinking,
or to circumstances 1t is human ma
ture to form small circles within cir
Giles, which We derive greater pleas
ure. Because man is social animal
he likes to form small groups. If
this were not so there would be no
Masonic and other lodges. But that
sort of provincialism can not last, he
said, the world war having shown the
smallness of the world, 1t has been
shown that people all over the world
have practically the same fashions,
hopes, fears and ambitions.
Continuing, he said:
81 wish to talk of the future of In
ria. As you know, Ind" is a land
of fortune tellers and magicians. /
dnd that it is easier to divide my talk
INTO several distinct parts and the first
Nivision is, The Political Future of
India
India Undergoing Change
AT the present time a great deal
of attention is being paid to India.
She is undergoing a great change.
To understand the political future of
India we should have knowledge of
the history of the English in that
country"
Mr.. Arsivatham then went on to
say that in the sixteenth century the
European traders were looking for a
new trade route to India. The route
through Asia Minor had been barred
by the Turks At last, Portuguese
explorer, Vasco de Cana, sailed
around Cape Hope and reached India
in that way. From that time on In
dia was open to the influences of the
western countries, especially England.
Many traders, those of France, Por-
tUgal and England went there only to
make money.
English In Power
At the end of the eighteenth CEN
tury the English traders were the
most important, the others being
slowly ousted. From the eighteenth
century these traders made use of In
dia's lack of unity and gained some
political control, India being divided
through the caste system.
Until 1857 India was ruled by the
traders, about three fifths being un-
der the control of the East India
:
which is commonly known as the In
dian mutiny, broke out, putting an
end to the rule of the East India
company. Queen Victoria said that
the company had not been faithful to
the people of India and the British
took control.
At present the governor of India is |
a viceroy, Lord Reading. Under him
are the governors and lieutenant
governors. There are two houses; |
the house of state and the second |
chamber. In the provincial, or state |
government there is a governor, a |
small executive council and two |
houses This government was form
ed January l, 1921.
Three Parties
There are three parties in India
but due to the short time which they |
have been in existence, they are not |
very we'll formed. The people, as a
whole, want government The |
three parties are; the Moderates; the |
Non iolents, Non coOperatiVes; and |
the Revolutionaries.
The Moderates want govern |
ment. They realize that England has |
done a great deal for India and that |
India has benefited but 1t is not fair |
to expect to be in state of depend
ence for all time, he said. The Mod
crates want to work hand in hand |
with the British.
The violent, -cooperatives
work Just opposite to the Moderates |
Mr.. Arsivatham said that they want |
the people of India to boycott all for
eign goods. Gahndi. one of India's
greatest men, is the leader of this
party. He is regarded as almost a
saint by the hero worshipping In
dams. The party further desires that
its members shall do no harm to 9TH
ers. That ideal is the greatest
strength of the party, Gahndi having
said:
You may disagree with the gov
eminent but do no act of violence"
They believe in suffering silently
should they be put in prison for dis
obeying the laws of the British.
Believe In No Law
The Revolutionaries, as in other
countries want to upset the govern
ment and reduce the country to
chaos. They do not believe in laws.
What is the political future of In
dia? India is supposed to be a very
conservative country, but changes are
rapidly going on and within fifteen
years she will have some sort of self
government he said
II wish to say a few words about
the educational future" continued the
speaker Education is at a very low
ebb. There are many great people
in that country, but as rule the peo-
pie are not educated Only ten men
out of every 100 can read or write
and only four women ont of every
100 can read or write India must
have a compulsory, primary educa-
ton. AS education is one Of the
things controlled by the Indian min
listers there will probably be a pri-
mary education there within a few
years"
Educational Works {
The speaker then described one Of
the few large schools. saying that
most of the instruction is carried on
in the open air They believe in |
original thinking. love of nature, and
love of meditation. Rabindranath Ia