Evening star., 1928-12-02

Who has Just completed three years study
of conditions in India.
HERE are anxious days for all the
races. classes, caSteS and re-
ligions in India. Are the reforms
Il going to work? Is the millen-
MUM at hand? Everybody is
doing heavy thinking. including the
Hindu, the Mohammedan, the Sikh,
the Brahmin aristocrat, the pariah
sweeper and even the Briton him.
self and especially that combination
of Briton and Indian that is known as
the Anglo-Indian, who was formerly
called a Eurasian, which term has now
gone out of style.
The peninsula stands, it has reason
to hope at the beginning of new era.
To good many Indians it looks like
the opening of a twentieth century
golden age. But even the early years
of millennium must be a period of
adjustment, with new burdens and I'M
predictable possibilities And for some
groups in India the expected changes
apparently mean disaster. That is why
the Anglo-Indian is doing especially
hard thinking. He is half brother to
both the Briton and the Indian, but
full brother to neither, and as the
eStrangement grows between Briton
and Indian the Anglo-Indian finds
himself in a most unenviable position.
Serious Changes Coming.
Reforms are coming to India. The
Indians demand them, Britain has
promised and the Simon commission
from the British Parliament is over
there now arranging matters. When
the reforms are entered in the books
there will be conceivably place in the
Indian system for the Hindu, the Mo-
hammedan and the rest, including the
Briton. But what about the Anglo
Indian? Will his mixed parentage and
the fact that in his veins flows British
blood mixed with Turko-Iranian, or
with Indo-Aryan or Scytho-Dravidian
or Mongolo-Dravidian be any protec-'
ton? Apparently not The Indian
Goes not like his half-brother very well,
and the Briton is not what you would
call enthusiastic.
This is the Anglo-Indian tragedy. For
generations he has been doing much OF
the work of keeping the Indian empire
going, at established rates of rupees per
diem. His birthright the place between
the ruler and the ruled made him use
full Much of the running of the gov
ernment railways, telegraphs and the
post Office and other government bureaus
has been in his facile hands. He has
been salesman and clerk in shop and
business office as well, but his main
employment has been in the govern
ment service. OF late years, however,
he has found his existence more and
more difficult The business firms were
the first to begin replacing the Anglo
Indian with his full-blooded half
brother the Hindu or less often the
Mohammedan; and then the process
speeded up and the full-blood set out
with whoop to gather in Anglo-Indian
scalps in wholesale quantities. And
there you are!
Want to Fill All Jobs.
AS the full-blood has been equipping
himself with the higher education his
attack has become more deadly. All
this was unpleasant enough for the
victim in the ordinary course of events,
but now his plight is even more acutely
painful, for what the full-bloods con-
template under the forthcoming reforms
is the total Inflammation of the govern
ment machinery. The plan is to drive
out the English job-holders and admin
istrators, and with them the Anglo
Indian.
In time of trouble the Briton in
India can always go home" to England.
The Anglo-Indian cannot. He was born
in India and must stick here. And
when crowded out of his job what is
he to do? Starve?
This correspondents contacts with
the Anglo-IndianS were as a rule most
pleasant. We found them courteous