,,indian ,,home ,,rule ,,by ,m4 ,k4 ,,gandhi ,,fifth ,,edition ,,as4 #f ,,ganesh ,co41 ,,madras ,books by ,c4 ,f4 ,andrews ,the ,claim for ,independence ,within or without the ,british ,empire ,price ,as4 #h4 ,non-,co-operation ,the ,whys and ,wherefores ,price ,as4 #h4 ,indians in ,south ,africa ,helots within the ,british ,empire ,price ,as4 #h4 ,the ,drink and ,opium ,evil ,miss ,la ,molte says3 ,a nation that can subjugate #cjj1jjj1jjj helpless ,indian people1 and then turn them into drug addicts1 for the sake of revenue1 is a nation1 which commits a cold-blooded atrocity unparalleled by any atrocity committed in the rage and heat of war4 ,price ,as4 #d4 ,how ,india can be ,free ,india has no need to take the sword in order to be free3 ,she has a much more powerful weapon ready to her hand4 ,if once her people unitedly decide to be free they can be free4 ,price ,as4 #d4 ,indian ,independence3 ,the immediate need ,to be in subjection to a band of foreign rulers1 if ,seeley's historical maxim is true1 cannot but lead to national deterioration4 ,this is why the need for independence is so immediate4 ,this is why it cannot be postponed4 ,the verdict of the most sober ,english ,historians is this1 that ,india1 without a single hand being lifted to strike a single blow1 can determine her own destiny4 ,the sheer weight of numbers1--three hundred and twenty millions against a few thousands1--is so great1 that if these numbers could once speak with one mind1 their will must be carried out4 ,price ,as4 #h4 ,,ganesh ,co41 ,publishers1 ,madras4 ,,indian ,,home ,,rule ,,by ,m4 ,k4 ,,gandhi ,reprinted with a new foreword by the author ,,fifth ,,edition ,,ganesh ,co41 ,,madras #aibb ,,madras3 ,,the ,,modern ,,printing ,,works1 ,,mount ,,road4 ,,note ,the doctrine of violence is more widely believed in than is generally realised4 ,the votaries of violence can be divided into two classes4 ,some1 a small and dwindling class1 believe in it and are prepared to act according to their faith4 ,others1 a very large class always1 and now1 after bitter experiences of the failure of constitutional agitation1 larger than ever1 believe in violence1 but that belief does not lead them to action4 ,it disables them from work on any basis other than force4 ,the belief in violence serves to dissuade them from all other kinds of work or sacrifice4 ,in both cases the evil is great4 ,there can be no reconstruction or hope for this land of ours1 unless we eradicate the worship of force in all its forms1 and establish work on a basis other than violence4 ,a refutation of the doctrine of violence is1 in the present situation of the affairs of our country1 more necessary than ever4 ,to this end1 nothing better can be conceived than the publication and wide distribution of ,mr4 ,gandhi's famous book4 ,it was extremely patriotic of ,messrs4 ,ganesh and ,company to have readily agreed to undertake the work when they were approached with the request4 ,satyagrah ,sabha1 ,madras1 ,c4 ,,rajagopalachar4 #f-f-ai4 ,,foreword ,i have re-read this booklet more than once4 ,the value at the present moment lies in re-printing it as it is4 ,but if ,i had to revise it1 there is only one word ,i would alter in accordance with a promise made to an ,english friend4 ,she took exception to my use of the word 'prostitute' in speaking of the ,parliament4 ,her fine taste recoiled from the indelicacy of the expression4 ,i remind the reader that the booklet purports to be a free translation of the original which is in ,gujarati4 ,after years of endeavour to put into practice the views expressed in the following pages1 ,i feel that the way shown therein is the only true way to ,swaraj4 ,satyagrah--the law of love is the ,law of life4 ,departure from it leads to disintegration4 ,a firm adherence to it leads to regeneration4 ,,bombay1 #bhth ,may1 #aiai4 ,m4 ,k4 ,,gandhi4 ,,hind ,,swaraj ,,or ,,the ,,indian ,,home ,,rule ,reply to ,critics ,it is certainly my good fortune that this booklet of mine is receiving wide attention4 ,the original is in ,gujarati4 ,it had a chequered career4 ,it was first published in the columns of the ',indian ,opinion' of ,south ,africa4 ,it was written in #aijh during my return voyage from ,london to ,south ,africa in answer to the ,indian school of violence1 and its prototype in ,south ,africa4 ,i came in contact with every known ,indian anarchist in ,london4 ,their bravery impressed me1 but ,i feel that their zeal was misguided4 ,i felt that violence was no remedy for ,india's ills1 and that her civilization required the use of a different and higher weapon for self-protection4 ,the ,satyagrah of ,south ,africa was still an infant hardly two years old4 ,but it had developed sufficiently to permit me to write of it with some degree of confidence4 ,it was so much appreciated that it was published as a booklet4 ,it attracted some attention in ,india4 ,the ,bombay ,government prohibited its circulation4 ,i replied by publishing its translation4 ,i thought that it was due to my ,english friends that they should know its contents4 ,in my opinion it is a book which can be put into the hands of a child4 ,it teaches the gospel of love in the place of that of hate4 ,it replaces violence with self-sacrifice4 ,it pits soul force against brute force4 ,it has gone through several editions and ,i commend it to those who would care to read it4 ,i withdraw nothing except one word of it1 and that in deference to a lady friend4 ,i have given the reason for the alteration in the preface to the ,indian edition4 ,the booklet is a severe condemnation of 'modern civilization4' ,it was written in #aijh4 ,my conviction is deeper to-day than ever4 ,i feel that if ,india would discard 'modern civilization' she can only gain by doing so4 ,but ,i would warn the reader against thinking that ,i am to-day aiming at the ,swaraj described therein4 ,i know that ,india is not ripe for it4 ,it may seem an impertinence to say so4 ,but such is my conviction4 ,i am individually working for the self-rule pictured therein4 ,but to-day my corporate activity is undoubtedly devoted to the attainment of ,parliamentary ,swaraj in accordance with the wishes of the people of ,india4 ,i am not aiming at destroying railways or hospitals1 though ,i would certainly welcome their natural destruction4 ,neither railways nor hospitals are a test of a high and pure civilization4 ,at best they are a necessary evil4 ,neither adds one inch to the moral stature of a nation4 ,nor am ,i aiming at a permanent destruction of law courts1 much as ,i regard it as a 'consummation devoutly to be wished for4' ,still less am ,i trying to destroy all machinery and mills4 ,it requires a higher simplicity and renunciation than the people are to-day prepared for4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the only part of the programme which is now being carried out in its entirety is that of non-violence4 ,but ,i regret to have to confess that even that is not being carried out in the spirit of the book4 ,if it were1 ,india would establish ,swaraj in a day4 ,if ,india adopted the doctrine of love as an active part of her religion and introduced it in her politics1 ,swaraj would descend upon ,india from heaven4 ,but ,i am painfully aware that that event is far off as yet4 ,i offer these comments because ,i observe that much is being quoted from the booklet to discredit the present movement4 ,i have even seen writings suggesting that ,i am playing a deep game1 that ,i am using the present turmoil to foist my fads on ,india1 and am making religious experiments at ,india's expense4 ,i can only answer that ,satyagrah is made of sterner stuff4 ,there is nothing reserved and nothing secret in it4 ,a portion of the whole theory of life described in ',hind ,swaraj' is undoubtedly being carried into practice4 ,there is no danger attendant upon the whole of it being practised4 ,but it is not right to scare away people by reproducing from my writings passages that are irrelevant to the issue before the country4 ,m4 ,k4 ,,gandhi1 ,young ,india1 #bfth ,january1 #aiba4 ,,contents ,,chap4 ,,page ,i ,the ,congress and ,its ,officials #aa ,,ii ,the ,partition of ,bengal #ah ,,iii ,the ,discontent and ,unrest #ba ,,iv ,what is ,swaraj8 #bb ,v ,the ,condition of ,england #bf ,,vi ,civilization #cj ,,vii ,why was ,india ,lost8 #ce ,,viii ,the condition of ,india #ci ,,ix ,do4 ,railways #dc ,x ,do4 ,hindus and ,mahomedans #dg ,,xi ,do4 ,lawyers #ee ,,xii ,do4 ,doctors #fj ,,xiii ,what is ,true ,civilization8 #fc ,,xiv ,how can ,india become ,free8 #fg ,,xv ,italy and ,india #ga ,,xvi ,brute ,force #ge ,,xvii ,passive ,resistance #hd ,,xviii ,education #ig ,,xix ,machinery #aje ,,xx ,conclusion #aaj ,appendices #abc ,,indian ,,home ,,rule ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,congress ,,and ,,its ,,officials ,,reader3 ,just at present there is a ,home ,rule wave passing over ,india4 ,all our countrymen appear to be pining for ,national ,independence4 ,a similar spirit pervades them even in ,south ,africa4 ,indians seem to be eager after acquiring rights4 ,will you explain your views in this matter8 ,,editor3 ,you have well put the question1 but the answer is not easy4 ,one of the objects of a newspaper is to understand the popular feeling and to give expression to it2 another is to arouse among the people certain desirable sentiments2 and the third is fearlessly to expose popular defects4 ,the exercise of all these three functions is involved in answering your question4 ,to a certain extent the people's will has to be expressed2 certain sentiments will need to be fostered1 and defects will have to be brought to light4 ,but1 as you have asked the question1 it is my duty to answer it4 ,,reader3 ,do you then consider that a desire for ,home ,rule has been created among us8 ,,editor3 ,that desire gave rise to the ,national ,congress4 ,the choice of the word ,national implies it4 ,,reader3 ,that1 surely1 is not the case4 ,young ,india seems to ignore the ,congress4 ,it is considered to be an instrument for perpetuating ,british ,rule4 ,,editor3 ,that opinion is not justified4 ,had not the ,grand ,old ,man of ,india prepared the soil1 our young men could not have even spoken about ,home ,rule4 ,how can we forget what ,mr4 ,hume has written1 how he has lashed us into action1 and with what effort he has awakened us1 in order to achieve the objects of the ,congress8 ,sir ,william ,wedderburn has given his body1 mind and money to the same cause4 ,his writings are worthy of perusal to this day4 ,professor ,gokhale1 in order to prepare the ,nation1 embraced poverty and gave twenty years of his life4 ,even now1 he is living in poverty4 ,the late ,justice ,buddrudin ,tyebji was also one of those who1 through the ,congress1 sowed the seed of ,home ,rule4 ,similarly in ,bengal1 ,madras1 the ,punjab and other places1 there have been lovers of ,india and members of the ,congress1 both ,indian and ,english4 ,,reader3 ,stay1 stay1 you are going too far1 you are straying away from my question4 ,i have asked you about ,home or ,self-,rule2 you are discussing foreign rule4 ,i do not desire to hear ,english names1 and you are giving me such names4 ,in these circumstances1 ,i do not think we can ever meet4 ,i shall be pleased if you will confine yourself to ,home ,rule4 ,all other wise talk will not satisfy me4 ,,editor3 ,you are impatient4 ,i cannot afford to be likewise4 ,if you will bear with me for a while1 ,i think you will find that you will obtain what you want4 ,remember the old proverb that the tree does not grow in one day4 ,the fact that you have checked me1 and that you do not want to hear about the well-wishers of ,india1 shows that1 for you at any rate1 ,home ,rule is yet far away4 ,if we had many like you1 we would never make any advance4 ,this thought is worthy of your attention4 ,,reader3 ,it seems to me that you simply want to put me off by talking round and round4 ,those whom you consider to be well-wishers of ,india are not such in my estimation4 ,why1 then1 should ,i listen to your discourse on such people8 ,what has he whom you consider to be the father of the nation done for it8 ,he says that the ,english ,governors will do justice1 and that we should co-operate with them4 ,,editor3 ,i must tell you with all gentleness that it must be a matter of shame for us that you should speak about that great man1 in terms of disrespect4 ,just look at his work4 ,he has dedicated his life to the service of ,india4 ,we have learned what we know from him4 ,it was the respected ,dadabhai who taught us that the ,english had sucked our life-blood4 ,what does it matter that1 to-day1 his trust is still in the ,english nation8 ,is ,dadabhai less to be honoured because1 in the exuberance of youth1 we are prepared to go a step further8 ,are we1 on that account1 wiser than he8 ,it is a mark of wisdom not to kick against the very step from which we have risen higher4 ,the removal of a step from a staircase brings down the whole of it4 ,when1 out of infancy we grow into youth1 we do not despise infancy1 but1 on the contrary1 we recall with affection the days of our childhood4 ,if1 after many years of study1 a teacher were to teach me something1 and if ,i were to build a little more on the foundation laid by that teacher1 ,i would not1 on that account1 be considered wiser than the teacher4 ,he would always command my respect4 ,such is the case with the ,grand ,old ,man of ,india4 ,we must admit that he is the author of ,nationalism4 ,,reader3 ,you have spoken well4 ,i can now understand that we must look upon ,mr4 ,dadabhai with respect4 ,without him and men like him1 we would probably not have the spirit that fires us4 ,how can the same be said of ,professor ,gokhale8 ,he has constituted himself a great friend of the ,english2 he says that we have to learn a great deal from them1 that we have to learn their political wisdom1 before we can talk of ,home ,rule4 ,i am tired of reading his speeches4 ,,editor3 ,if you are tired1 it only betrays your impatience4 ,we believe that those who are discontented with the slowness of their parents1 and are angry because the parents would not run with their children1 are considered disrespectful to their parents4 ,professor ,gokhale occupies the place of a parent4 ,what does it matter if he cannot run with us8 ,a nation that is desirous of securing ,home ,rule cannot afford to despise its ancestors4 ,we shall become useless if we lack respect for our elders4 ,only men with mature thoughts are capable of ruling themselves and not the hasty-tempered4 ,moreover1 how many ,indians were there like ,professor ,gokhale1 when he gave himself to ,indian education8 ,i verily believe that whatever ,professor ,gokhale does he does with pure motives and with a view to serving ,india4 ,his devotion to the ,motherland is so great1 that he would give his life for it if necessary4 ,whatever he says is said not to flatter anyone but because he believes it to be true4 ,we are bound1 therefore1 to entertain the highest regard for him4 ,,reader3 ,are we1 then1 to follow him in every respect8 ,,editor3 ,i never said any such thing4 ,if we conscientiously differed from him1 the learned ,professor himself would advise us to follow the dictates of our conscience rather than him4 ,our chief purpose is not to cry down his work1 but to believe that he is infinitely greater than we1 and to feel assured that compared with his work for ,india1 ours is infinitesimal4 ,several newspapers write disrespectfully of him4 ,it is our duty to protest against such writings4 ,we should consider men like ,professor ,gokhale to be the pillars of ,home ,rule4 ,it is a bad habit to say that another man's thoughts are bad and ours only are good1 and that those holding different views from ours are the enemies of the country4 ,,reader3 ,i now begin to understand somewhat your meaning4 ,i shall have to think the matter over1 but what you say about ,mr4 ,hume and ,sir ,william ,wedderburn is beyond comprehension4 ,,editor3 ,the same rule holds good for the ,english as for the ,indians4 ,i can never subscribe to the statement that all ,englishmen are bad4 ,many ,englishmen desire ,home ,rule for ,india4 ,that the ,english people are somewhat more selfish than others is true1 but that does not prove that every ,englishman is bad4 ,we who seek justice will have to do justice to others4 ,sir ,william does not wish ill to ,india--that should be enough for us4 ,as we proceed1 you will see that1 if we act justly1 ,india will be sooner free4 ,you will see1 too1 that1 if we shun every ,englishman as an enemy1 ,home ,rule will be delayed4 ,but if we are just to them1 we shall receive their support in our progress towards the goal4 ,,reader3 ,all this seems to me at present to be simply nonsensical4 ,english support and the obtaining of ,home ,rule are two contradictory things4 ,how can the ,english people tolerate ,home ,rule for us8 ,but ,i do not want you to decide this question for me just yet4 ,to pass time over it is useless4 ,when you have shown how we can have ,home ,rule1 perhaps ,i shall understand your views4 ,you have prejudiced me against you by discoursing on ,english help4 ,i would1 therefore1 beseech you not to continue this subject4 ,,editor3 ,i have no desire to do so4 ,that you are prejudiced against me is not a matter for much anxiety4 ,it is well that ,i should say unpleasant things at the commencement1 it is my duty patiently to try to remove your prejudice4 ,,reader3 ,i like that last statement4 ,it emboldens me to say what ,i like4 ,one thing still puzzles me4 ,i do not understand how the ,congress laid the foundation of ,home ,rule4 ,,editor3 ,let us see4 ,the ,congress brought together ,indians from different parts of ,india1 and enthused us with the idea of ,nationality4 ,the ,government used to look upon it with disfavour4 ,the ,congress has always insisted that the ,nation should control revenue and expenditure4 ,it has always desired self-government after the ,canadian model4 ,whether we can get it or not1 whether we desire it or not1 and whether there is not something more desirable1 are different questions4 ,all ,i have to show is that the ,congress gave us a foretaste of ,home ,rule4 ,to deprive it of the honour is not proper1 and for us to do so would not only be ungrateful1 but retard the fulfilment of our object4 ,to treat the ,congress as an institution inimical to our growth as a ,nation would disable us from using that body4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,partition ,,of ,,bengal ,,reader3 ,considering the matter as you put it1 it seems proper to say that the foundation of ,home ,rule was laid by the ,congress4 ,but you will admit that it cannot be considered a real awakening4 ,when and how did the awakening take place8 ,,editor3 ,the seed is never seen4 ,it works underneath the ground1 is itself destroyed1 and the tree which rises above the ground is alone seen4 ,such is the case with the ,congress4 ,yet1 what you call the real awakening took place after the ,partition of ,bengal4 ,for this we have to be thankful to ,lord ,curzon4 ,at the time of the ,partition1 the people of ,bengal reasoned with ,lord ,curzon1 but1 in the pride of power1 he disregarded all their prayers--he took it for granted that ,indians could only prattle1 that they could never take any effective steps4 ,he used insulting language1 and1 in the teeth of all opposition1 partitioned ,bengal4 ,that day may be considered to be the day of the partition of the ,british ,empire4 ,the shock that the ,british power received through the ,partition has never been equalled by any other act4 ,this does not mean that the other injustices done to ,india are less glaring than that done by the ,partition4 ,the salt-tax is not a small injustice4 ,we shall see many such things later on4 ,but the people were ready to resist the ,partition4 ,at that time1 the feeling ran high4 ,many leading ,bengalis were ready to lose their all4 ,they knew their power2 hence the conflagration4 ,it is now well nigh unquenchable2 it is not necessary to quench it either4 ,partition will go1 ,bengal will be re-united1 but the rift in the ,english barque will remain3 it must daily widen4 ,india awakened is not likely to fall asleep4 ,demand for abrogation of ,partition is tantamount to demand for ,home ,rule4 ,leaders in ,bengal know this1 ,british officials realise it4 ,that is why ,partition still remains4 ,as time passes1 the ,nation is being forged4 ,nations are not formed in a day2 the formation requires years4 ,,reader3 ,what1 in your opinion1 are the results of ,partition8 ,,editor3 ,hitherto we have considered that for redress of grievances1 we must approach the ,throne and1 if we get no redress1 we must sit still1 except that we may still petition4 ,after the ,partition1 people saw that petitions must be backed up by force1 and that they must be capable of suffering4 ,this new spirit must be considered to be the chief result of ,partition4 ,that spirit was seen in the outspoken writings in the press4 ,that which the people said tremblingly and in secret began to be said and to be written publicly4 ,the ,swadeshi movement was inaugurated4 ,people1 young and old1 used to run away at the sight of an ,english face2 it now no longer awed them4 ,they did not fear even a row1 or being imprisoned4 ,some of the best sons of ,india are at present in banishment4 ,this is something different from mere petitioning4 ,thus are the people moved4 ,the spirit generated in ,bengal has spread in the ,north to the ,punjab1 and in the ,south to ,cape ,comorin4 ,,reader3 ,do you suggest any other striking result8 ,,editor3 ,the ,partition has not only made a rift in the ,english ship1 but has made it in ours also4 ,great events always produce great results4 ,our leaders are divided into two parties3 the ,moderates and the ,extremists4 ,these may be considered as the slow party and the impatient party4 ,some call the ,moderates the timid party1 and the ,extremists the bold party4 ,all interpret the two words according to their pre-conceptions4 ,this much is certain--that there has arisen an enmity between the two4 ,the one distrusts the other1 and imputes motives4 ,at the time of the ,surat ,congress1 there was almost a fight4 ,i think that this division is not a good thing for the country1 but ,i think also that such divisions will not last long4 ,it all depends upon the leaders how long they will last4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,discontent ,,and ,,unrest ,,reader3 ,then you consider ,partition to be a cause of the awakening8 ,do you welcome the unrest which has resulted from it8 ,,editor3 ,when a man rises from sleep1 he twists his limbs and is restless4 ,it takes some time before he is entirely awakened4 ,similarly1 although the ,partition has caused an awakening1 the comatose has not yet disappeared4 ,we are still twisting our limbs and still restless1 and just as the state between sleep and awakening must be considered to be necessary1 so may the present unrest in ,india be considered a necessary and1 therefore1 a proper state4 ,the knowledge that there is unrest will1 it is highly probable1 enable us to outgrow it4 ,rising from sleep1 we do not continue in a comatose state1 but1 according to our ability1 sooner or later1 we are completely restored to our senses4 ,so shall we be free from the present unrest which no one likes4 ,,reader3 ,what is the other form of unrest8 ,,editor3 ,unrest is1 in reality1 discontent4 ,the latter is only now described as unrest4 ,during the ,congress-period it was labelled discontent2 ,mr4 ,hume always said that the spread of discontent in ,india was necessary4 ,this discontent is a very useful thing4 ,so long as a man is contented with his present lot1 so long is it difficult to persuade him to come out of it4 ,therefore it is that every reform must be preceded by discontent4 ,we throw away things we have only when we cease to like them4 ,such discontent has been produced among us after reading the great works of ,indians and ,englishmen4 ,discontent has led to unrest1 and the latter has brought about many deaths1 many imprisonments1 many banishments4 ,such a state of things will still continue4 ,it must be so4 ,all these may be considered good signs1 but they may also lead to bad results4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,what ,,is ,,swaraj8 ,,reader3 ,i have now learnt what the ,congress has done to make ,india one nation1 how the ,partition has caused an awakening1 and how discontent and unrest have spread through the land4 ,i would now like to know your views on ,swaraj4 ,i fear that our interpretation is not the same4 ,,editor3 ,it is quite possible that we do not attach the same meaning to the term4 ,you and ,i and all ,indians are impatient to obtain ,swaraj1 but we are certainly not decided as to what it is4 ,to drive the ,english out of ,india is a thought heard from many mouths1 but it does not seem that many have properly considered why it should be so4 ,i must ask you a question4 ,do you think that it is necessary to drive away the ,english1 if we get all we want8 ,,reader3 ,i should ask of them only one thing that is3 ,please leave our country4 ,if after they have complied with this request1 their withdrawal from ,india means that they are still in ,india1 ,i should have no objection4 ,then we would understand that1 in our language1 the word gone is equivalent to remained4 ,,editor3 ,well then1 let us suppose that the ,english have retired4 ,what will you do then8 ,,reader3 ,that question cannot be answered at this stage4 ,the state after withdrawal will depend largely upon the manner of it4 ,if1 as you assume1 they retire1 it seems to me we shall still keep their constitution1 and shall carry on the government4 ,if they simply retire for the asking1 we should have an army1 etc4 ready at hand4 ,we should1 therefore1 have no difficulty in carrying on the government4 ,,editor3 ,you may think so3 ,i do not4 ,but ,i will not discuss the matter just now4 ,i have to answer your question1 and that ,i can do well by asking you several questions4 ,why do you want to drive away the ,english8 ,,reader3 ,because ,india has become impoverished by their government4 ,they take away our money from year to year4 ,the most important posts are reserved for themselves4 ,we are kept in a state of slavery4 ,they behave insolently towards us1 and disregard our feelings4 ,,editor3 ,if they do not take our money away1 become gentle1 and give us responsible posts1 would you still consider their presence to be harmful8 ,,reader3 ,that question is useless4 ,it is similar to the question whether there is any harm in associating with a tiger1 if he changes his nature4 ,such a question is sheer waste of time4 ,when a tiger changes his nature1 ,englishmen will change theirs4 ,this is not possible1 and to believe it to be possible is contrary to human experience4 ,,editor3 ,supposing we get self-government similar to what the ,canadians and the ,south ,africans have1 will it be good enough8 ,,reader3 ,that question also is useless4 ,we may get it when we have the same powers2 we shall then hoist our own flag4 ,as is ,japan1 so must ,india be4 ,we must own our navy1 our army1 and we must have our own splendour1 and then will ,india's voice ring through the world4 ,,editor3 ,you have well drawn the picture4 ,in effect it means this3 that we want ,english rule without the ,englishman4 ,you want the tiger's nature1 but not the tiger2 that is to say1 you would make ,india ,english1 and when it becomes ,english1 it will be called not ,hindustan but ,englistan4 ,this is not the ,swaraj that ,i want4 ,,reader3 ,i have placed before you my idea of ,swaraj as ,i think it should be4 ,if the education we have received be of any use1 if the works of ,spencer1 ,mill and others be of any importance and if the ,english ,parliament be the mother of ,parliaments1 ,i certainly think that we should copy the ,english people and this to such an extent that1 just as they do not allow others to obtain a footing in their country1 so we should not allow them or others to obtain it in ours4 ,what they have done in their own country has not been done in any other country4 ,it is1 therefore1 proper for us to import their institutions4 ,but now ,i want to know your views4 ,,editor3 ,there is need for patience4 ,my views will develop of themselves in the course of this discourse4 ,it is as difficult for me to understand the true nature of ,swaraj as it seems to you to be easy4 ,i shall1 therefore1 for the time being1 content myself with endeavouring to show that what you call ,swaraj is not truly ,swaraj4 ,,chapter ,v ,,the ,,condition ,,of ,,england ,,reader3 ,then from your statement1 ,i deduce the ,government of ,england is not desirable and not worth copying by us4 ,,editor3 ,your deduction is justified4 ,the condition of ,england at present is pitiable4 ,i pray to ,god that ,india may never be in that plight4 ,that which you consider to be the ,mother of ,parliaments is like a sterile woman and a prostitute4 ,both these are harsh terms1 but exactly fit the case4 ,that ,parliament has not yet of its own accord done a single good thing1 hence ,i have compared it to a sterile woman4 ,the natural condition of that ,parliament is such that1 without outside pressure1 it can do nothing4 ,it is like a prostitute because it is under the control of ministers who change from time to time4 ,to-day it is under ,mr4 ,asquith1 to-morrow it may be under ,mr4 ,balfour4 ,,reader3 ,you have said this sarcastically4 ,the term sterile woman is not applicable4 ,the ,parliament1 being elected by the people1 must work under public pressure4 ,this is its quality4 ,,editor3 ,you are mistaken4 ,let us examine it a little more closely4 ,the best men are supposed to be elected by the people4 ,the members serve without pay and1 therefore1 it must be assumed only for the public weal4 ,the electors are considered to be educated and1 therefore1 we should assume that they would not generally make mistakes in their choice4 ,such a ,parliament should not need the spur of petitions or any other pressure4 ,its work should be so smooth that its effect would be more apparent day by day4 ,but1 as a matter of fact1 it is generally acknowledged that the members are hypocritical and selfish4 ,each thinks of his own little interest4 ,it is fear that is the guiding motive4 ,what is done to-day may be undone to-morrow4 ,it is not possible to recall a single instance in which the finality can be predicted for its work4 ,when the greatest questions are debated its members have been seen to stretch themselves and to dose4 ,sometimes the members talk away until the listeners are disgusted4 ,carlyle has called it the talking shop of the world4 ,members vote for their party without a thought4 ,their so-called discipline binds them to it4 ,if any member1 by way of exception1 gives an independent vote1 he is considered a renegade4 ,if the money and the time wasted by the ,parliament were entrusted to a few good men1 the ,english nation would be occupying to-day a much higher platform4 ,the ,parliament is simply a costly toy of the nation4 ,these views are1 by no means1 peculiar to me4 ,some great ,english thinkers have expressed them4 ,one of the members of the ,parliament recently said that a true ,christian could not become a member of it4 ,another said that it was a baby4 ,and1 if it has remained a baby after an existence of seven hundred years1 when will it outgrow its babyhood8 ,,reader3 ,you have set me thinking2 you do not expect me to accept at once all you say4 ,you give me entirely novel views4 ,i shall have to digest them4 ,will you now explain the epithet prostitute8 ,,editor3 ,that you cannot accept my views at once is only right4 ,if you will read the literature on this subject1 you will have some idea of it4 ,the ,parliament is without a real master4 ,under the ,prime ,minister1 its movement is not steady1 but it is buffeted about like a prostitute4 ,the ,prime ,minister is more concerned about his power than about the welfare of the ,parliament4 ,his energy is concentrated upon securing the success of his party4 ,his care is not always that the ,parliament shall do right4 ,prime ,ministers are known to have made the ,parliament do things merely for party advantage4 ,all this is worth thinking over4 ,,reader3 ,then you are really attacking the very men whom we have hitherto considered to be patriotic and honest8 ,,editor3 ,yes1 that is true2 ,i can have nothing against ,prime ,ministers1 but what ,i have seen leads me to think that they cannot be considered really patriotic4 ,if they are to be considered honest because they do not take what is generally known as bribery1 let them be so considered1 but they are open to subtler influences4 ,in order to gain their ends1 they certainly bribe people with honours4 ,i do not hesitate to say that they have neither real honesty nor a living conscience4 ,,reader3 ,as you express these views about the ,parliament1 ,i would like to hear you on the ,english people1 so that ,i may have your views of their ,government4 ,,editor3 ,to the ,english voters their newspaper is their ,bible4 ,they take cue from their newspapers1 which latter are often dishonest4 ,the same fact is differently interpreted by different newspapers1 according to the party in whose interests they are edited4 ,one newspaper would consider a great ,englishman to be a paragon of honesty1 another would consider him dishonest4 ,what must be the condition of the people whose newspapers are of this type8 ,,reader3 ,you shall describe it4 ,,editor3 ,these people change their views frequently4 ,it is said that they change them every seven years4 ,these views swing like the pendulum of a clock and are never steadfast4 ,the people would follow a powerful orator or a man who gives them parties1 receptions1 etc4 ,as are the people1 so is their ,parliament4 ,they have certainly one quality very strongly developed4 ,they will never allow their country to be lost4 ,if any person were to cast an evil eye on it1 they would pluck out his eyes4 ,but that does not mean that the nation possesses every other virtue or that it should be imitated4 ,if ,india copies ,england1 it is my firm conviction that she will be ruined4 ,,reader3 ,to what do you ascribe this state of ,england8 ,,editor3 ,it is not due to any peculiar fault of the ,english people1 but the condition is due to modern civilization4 ,it is a civilization only in name4 ,under it the nations of ,europe are becoming degraded and ruined day by day4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,civilization ,,reader3 ,now you will have to explain what you mean by civilization4 ,,editor3 ,it is not a question of what ,i mean4 ,several ,english writers refuse to call that1 civilization which passes under that name4 ,many books have been written upon that subject4 ,societies have been formed to cure the nation of the evils of civilization4 ,a great ,english writer has written a work called ,civilization3 ,its ,cause and ,cure4 ,therein he has called it a disease4 ,,reader3 ,why do we not know this generally8 ,,editor3 ,the answer is very simple4 ,we rarely find people arguing against themselves4 ,those who are intoxicated by modern civilization are not likely to write against it4 ,their care will be to find out facts and arguments in support of it1 and this they do unconsciously1 believing it to be true4 ,a man1 whilst he is dreaming1 believes in his dream2 he is undeceived only when he is awakened from his sleep4 ,a man labouring under the bane of civilization is like a dreaming man4 ,what we usually read are the work of defenders of modern civilization1 which undoubtedly claims among its votaries very brilliant and even some very good men4 ,their writings hypnotise us4 ,and so1 one by one1 we are drawn into the vortex4 ,,reader3 ,this seems to be very plausible4 ,now will you tell me something of what you have read and thought of this civilization4 ,,editor3 ,let us first consider what state of things is described by the word civilization4 ,its true test lies in the fact that people living in it make bodily welfare the object of life4 ,we will take some examples4 ,the people of ,europe to-day live in better-built houses than they did a hundred years ago4 ,this is considered an emblem of civilization1 and this is also a matter to promote bodily happiness4 ,formerly1 they wore skins1 and used as their weapons spears4 ,now1 they wear long trousers1 and for embellishing their bodies they wear a variety of clothing1 and1 instead of spears1 they carry with them revolvers containing five or more chambers4 ,if people of a certain country1 who have hitherto not been in the habit of wearing much clothing1 boots1 etc41 adopt ,european clothing1 they are supposed to have become civilised out of savagery4 ,formerly1 in ,europe1 people ploughed their lands mainly by manual labour4 ,now1 one man can plough a vast tract by means of steam-engines1 and can thus amass great wealth4 ,this is called a sign of civilization4 ,formerly1 the fewest men wrote books1 that were most valuable4 ,now1 anybody writes and prints anything he likes and poisons people's minds4 ,formerly1 men travelled in waggons2 now they fly through the air1 in trains at the rate of four hundred and more miles per day4 ,this is considered the height of civilization4 ,it has been stated that1 as men progress1 they shall be able to travel in airships and reach any part of the world in a few hours4 ,men will not need the use of their hands and feet4 ,they will press a button1 and they will have their clothing by their side4 ,they will press another button1 and they will have their newspaper4 ,a third1 and a motor-car will be in waiting for them4 ,they will have a variety of delicately dished up food4 ,everything will be done by machinery4 ,formerly1 when people wanted to fight with one another1 they measured between them their bodily strength2 now it is possible to take away thousands of lives by one man working behind a gun from a hill4 ,this is civilization4 ,formerly1 men worked in the open air only so much as they liked4 ,now1 thousands of workmen meet together and for the sake of maintenance work in factories or mines4 ,their condition is worse than that of beasts4 ,they are obliged to work1 at the risk of their lives1 at most dangerous occupations1 for the sake of millionaires4 ,formerly1 men were made slaves under physical compulsion1 now they are enslaved by temptation of money and of the luxuries that money can buy4 ,there are now diseases of which people never dreamt before1 and an army of doctors is engaged in finding out their cures1 and so hospitals have increased4 ,this is a test of civilization4 ,formerly1 special messengers were required and much expense was incurred in order to send letters2 to-day1 anyone can abuse his fellow by means of a letter for one penny4 ,true1 at the same cost1 one can send one's thanks also4 ,formerly1 people had two or three meals consisting of homemade bread and vegetables2 now1 they require something to eat every two hours1 so that they have hardly leisure for anything else4 ,what more need ,i say8 ,all this you can ascertain from several authoritative books4 ,these are all true tests of civilization4 ,and1 if any one speaks to the contrary1 know that he is ignorant4 ,this civilization takes note neither of morality nor of religion4 ,its votaries calmly state that their business is not to teach religion4 ,some even consider it to be a superstitious growth4 ,others put on the cloak of religion1 and prate about morality4 ,but1 after twenty years' experience1 ,i have come to the conclusion that immorality is often taught in the name of morality4 ,even a child can understand that in all ,i have described above there can be no inducement to morality4 ,civilization seeks to increase bodily comforts1 and it fails miserably even in doing so4 ,this civilization is irreligion1 and it has taken such a hold on the people in ,europe that those who are in it appear to be half mad4 ,they lack real physical strength or courage4 ,they keep up their energy by intoxication4 ,they can hardly be happy in solitude4 ,women1 who should be the queens of households1 wander in the streets1 or they slave away in factories4 ,for the sake of a pittance1 half a million women in ,england alone are labouring under trying circumstances in factories or similar institutions4 ,this awful fact is one of the causes of the daily growing suffragette movement4 ,this civilization is such that one has only to be patient and it will be self-destroyed4 ,according to the teaching of ,mahomed this would be considered a ,satanic civilization4 ,hinduism calls it the ,black ,age4 ,i cannot give you an adequate conception of it4 ,it is eating into the vitals of the ,english nation4 ,it must be shunned4 ,parliament are really emblems of slavery4 ,if you will sufficiently think over this1 you will entertain the same opinion1 and cease to blame the ,english4 ,they rather deserve our sympathy4 ,they are a shrewd nation and ,i therefore believe that they will cast off the evil4 ,they are enterprising and industrious and their mode of thought is not inherently immoral4 ,neither are they bad at heart4 ,i1 therefore1 respect them4 ,civilization is not an incurable disease1 but it should never be forgotten that the ,english people are at present afflicted by it4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,why ,,was ,,india ,,lost8 ,,reader3 ,you have said much about civilization--enough to make me ponder over it4 ,i do not now know what ,i should adopt and what ,i should avoid from the nations of ,europe1 but one question comes to my lips immediately4 ,if civilization is a disease1 and if it has attacked ,england why has she been able to take ,india1 and why is she able to retain it8 ,,editor3 ,your question is not very difficult to answer1 and we shall presently be able to examine the true nature of ,swaraj2 for ,i am aware that ,i have still to answer that question4 ,i will1 however1 take up your previous question4 ,the ,english have not taken ,india2 we have given it to them4 ,they are not in ,india because of their strength1 but because we keep them4 ,let us now see whether these propositions can be sustained4 ,they came to our country originally for purposes of trade4 ,recall the ,company ,bahadur4 ,who made it ,bahadur8 ,they had not the slightest intention at the time of establishing a kingdom4 ,who assisted the ,company's officers8 ,who was tempted at the sight of their silver8 ,who bought their goods8 ,history testifies that we did all this4 ,in order to become rich all at once1 we welcomed the ,company's officers with open arms4 ,we assisted them4 ,if ,i am in the habit of drinking ,bhang and a seller thereof sells it to me1 am ,i to blame him or myself8 ,by blaming the seller shall ,i be able to avoid the habit8 ,and1 if a particular retailer is driven away1 will not another take his place8 ,a true servant of ,india will have to go to the root of the matter4 ,if an excess of food has caused me indigestion1 ,i will certainly not avoid it by blaming water4 ,he is a true physician who probes the cause of disease and1 if you pose as a physician for the disease of ,india1 you will have to find out its true cause4 ,,reader3 ,you are right4 ,now1 ,i think you will not have to argue much with me to drive your conclusions home4 ,i am impatient to know your further views4 ,we are now on a most interesting topic4 ,i shall1 therefore1 endeavour to follow your thought1 and stop you when ,i am in doubt4 ,,editor3 ,i am afraid that1 in spite of your enthusiasm1 as we proceed further we shall have differences of opinion4 ,nevertheless1 ,i shall argue only when you will stop me4 ,we have already seen that the ,english merchants were able to get a footing in ,india because we encouraged them4 ,when our princes fought among themselves1 they sought the assistance of ,company ,bahadur4 ,that corporation was versed alike in commerce and war4 ,it was unhampered by questions of morality4 ,its object was to increase its commerce1 and to make money4 ,it accepted our assistance1 and increased the number of its warehouses4 ,to protect the latter it employed an army which was utilised by us also4 ,is it not then useless to blame the ,english for what we did at that time8 ,the ,hindus and the ,mahomedans were at daggers drawn4 ,this1 too1 gave the ,company its opportunity2 and thus we created the circumstances that gave the ,company its control over ,india4 ,hence it is truer to say that we gave ,india to the ,english than that ,india was lost4 ,,reader3 ,will you now tell me how they are able to retain ,india8 ,,editor3 ,the causes that gave them ,india enable them to retain it4 ,some ,englishmen state that they took1 and they hold1 ,india by the sword4 ,both these statements are wrong4 ,the sword is entirely useless for holding ,india4 ,we alone keep them4 ,napoleon is said to have described the ,english as a nation of shop-keepers4 ,it is a fitting description4 ,they hold whatever dominions they have for the sake of their commerce4 ,their army and their navy are intended to protect it4 ,when the ,transvaal offered no such attractions1 the late ,mr4 ,gladstone discovered that it was not right for the ,english to hold it4 ,when it became a paying proposition1 resistance led to war4 ,mr4 ,chamberlain soon discovered that ,england enjoyed a suzerainty over the ,transvaal4 ,it is related that some one asked the late ,president ,kruger whether there was gold in the moon4 ,he replied that it was highly unlikely1 because1 if there were1 the ,english would have annexed it4 ,many problems can be solved by remembering that money is their ,god4 ,then it follows that we keep the ,english in ,india for our base self-interest4 ,we like their commerce1 they please us by their subtle methods1 and get what they want from us4 ,to blame them for this is to perpetuate their power4 ,we further strengthen their hold by quarrelling amongst ourselves4 ,if you accept the above statements1 it is proved that the ,english entered ,india for the purposes of trade4 ,they remain in it for the same purpose1 and we help them to do so4 ,their arms and ammunition are perfectly useless4 ,in this connection1 ,i remind you that it is the ,british flag which is waving in ,japan1 and not the ,japanese4 ,the ,english have a treaty with ,japan for the sake of their commerce1 and you will see that1 if they can manage it1 their commerce will greatly expand in that country4 ,they wish to convert the whole world into a vast market for their goods4 ,that they cannot do so is true1 but the blame will not be theirs4 ,they will leave no stone unturned to reach the goal4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,the ,,condition ,,of ,,india ,,reader3 ,i now understand why the ,english hold ,india4 ,i should like to know your views about the condition of our country4 ,,editor3 ,it is a sad condition4 ,in thinking of it1 my eyes water and my throat get parched4 ,i have grave doubts whether ,i shall be able sufficiently to explain what is in my heart4 ,it is my deliberate opinion that ,india is being ground down not under the ,english heel but under that of modern civilization4 ,it is groaning under the monster's terrible weight4 ,there is yet time to escape it1 but every day makes it more and more difficult4 ,religion is dear to me1 and my first complaint is that ,india is becoming irreligious4 ,here ,i am not thinking of the ,hindu and ,mahomedan or the ,zoroastrian religion1 but of the religion which underlies all religions4 ,we are turning away from ,god4 ,,reader3 ,how so8 ,,editor3 ,there is a charge laid against us that we are a lazy people1 and that the ,europeans are industrious and enterprising4 ,we have accepted the charge and we1 therefore1 wish to change our condition4 ,hinduism1 ,islamism1 ,zoroastrianism1 ,christianity and all other religions teach that we should remain passive about worldly pursuits and active about godly pursuits1 that we should set a limit to our worldly ambition1 and that our religious ambition should be illimitable4 ,our activity should be directed into the latter channel4 ,,reader3 ,you seem to be encouraging religious charlatanism4 ,many a cheat has by talking in a similar strain led the people astray4 ,,editor3 ,you are bringing an unlawful charge against religion4 ,humbug there undoubtedly is about all religions4 ,where there is light1 there is also shadow4 ,i am prepared to maintain that humbugs in worldly matters are far worse than the humbugs in religion4 ,the humbug of civilization that ,i endeavour to show to you is not to be found in religion4 ,,reader3 ,how can you say that8 ,in the name of religion ,hindus and ,mahomedans fought against one another4 ,for the same cause ,christians fought ,christians4 ,thousands of innocent men have been murdered1 thousands have been burned and tortured in its name4 ,surely1 this is much worse than any civilization4 ,,editor3 ,i certainly submit that the above hardships are far more bearable than those of civilization4 ,everybody understands that the cruelties you have named are not part of religion1 although they have been practised in its name3 therefore there is no aftermath to these cruelties4 ,they will always happen so long as there are to be found ignorant and credulous people4 ,but there is no end to the victims destroyed in the fire of civilization4 ,its deadly effect is that people came under its scorching flames believing it to be all good4 ,they become utterly irreligious and1 in reality1 derive little advantage from the world4 ,civilization is like a mouse gnawing1 while it is soothing us4 ,when its full effect is realised1 we will see that religious superstition is harmless compared to that of modern civilization4 ,i am not pleading for a continuance of religious superstitions4 ,we will certainly fight them tooth and nail1 but we can never do so by disregarding religion4 ,we can only do so by appreciating and conserving the latter4 ,,reader3 ,then you will contend that the ,pax ,britannica is a useless encumbrance8 ,,editor3 ,you may see peace if you like2 ,i see none4 ,,reader3 ,you make light of the terror that ,thugs1 the ,pindaris1 the ,bhils were to the country4 ,,editor3 ,if you will give the matter some thought1 you will see that the terror was by no means such a mighty thing4 ,if it had been a very substantial thing1 the other people would have died away before the ,english advent4 ,moreover1 the present peace is only nominal1 for by it we have become emasculated and cowardly4 ,we are not to assume that the ,english have changed the nature of the ,pindaris and the ,bhils4 ,it is1 therefore1 better to suffer the ,pindari peril than that some one else should protect us from it1 and thus render us effeminate4 ,i should prefer to be killed by the arrow of a ,bhil than to seek unmanly protection4 ,india without such protection was an ,india full of valour4 ,macaulay betrayed gross ignorance when he libelled ,indians as being practically cowards4 ,they never merited the charge4 ,cowards living in a country inhabited by hardy mountaineers1 infested by wolves and tigers must surely find an early grave4 ,have you ever visited our fields8 ,i assure you that our agriculturists sleep fearlessly on their farms even to-day1 and the ,english1 you and ,i would hesitate to sleep where they sleep4 ,strength lies in absence of fear1 not in the quantity of flesh and muscle we may have on our bodies4 ,moreover1 ,i must remind you who desire ,home ,rule that1 after all1 the ,bhils1 the ,pindaris1 the ,assamese and the ,thugs are our own countrymen4 ,to conquer them is your and my work4 ,so long as we fear our own brethren1 we are unfit to reach the goal4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,the ,,condition ,,of ,,india 7,continued7 ,,railways ,,reader3 ,you have deprived me of the consolation ,i used to have regarding peace in ,india4 ,,editor3 ,i have merely given you my opinion on the religious aspect1 but when ,i give you my views as to the poverty of ,india you will perhaps begin to dislike me1 because what you and ,i have hitherto considered beneficial for ,india no longer appears to me to be so4 ,,reader3 ,what may that be8 ,,editor3 ,railways1 lawyers and doctors have impoverished the country1 so much so that1 if we do not wake up in time1 we shall be ruined4 ,,reader3 ,i do now indeed fear that we are not likely to agree at all4 ,you are attacking the very institutions which we have hitherto considered to be good4 ,,editor3 ,it is necessary to exercise patience4 ,the true inwardness of the evils of civilization you will understand with difficulty4 ,doctors assure us that a consumptive clings to life even when he is about to die4 ,consumption does not produce apparent hurt--it even produces a seductive colour about a patient's face1 so as to induce the belief that all is well4 ,civilization is such a disease1 and we have to be very wary4 ,,reader3 ,very well1 then1 ,i shall hear you on the railways4 ,,editor3 ,it must be manifest to you that1 but for the railways1 the ,english could not have such a hold on ,india as they have4 ,the railways1 too1 have spread the bubonic plague4 ,without them1 masses could not move from place to place4 ,they are the carriers of plague germs4 ,formerly we had natural segregation4 ,railways have also increased the frequency of famines1 because1 owing to facility of means of locomotion1 people sell out their grain1 and it is sent to the dearest markets4 ,people become careless1 and so the pressure of famine increases4 ,they accentuate the evil nature of man4 ,bad men fulfil their evil designs with greater rapidity4 ,the holy places of ,india have become unholy4 ,formerly people went to these places with very great difficulty4 ,generally1 therefore1 only the real devotees visited such places4 ,now-a-days1 rogues visit them in order to practise their roguery4 ,,reader3 ,you have given an one-sided account4 ,good men can visit these places as well as bad men4 ,why do they not take the fullest advantage of the railways8 ,,editor3 ,good travels at a snail's pace--it can1 therefore1 have little to do with the railways4 ,those who want to do good are not selfish1 they are not in a hurry1 they know that to impregnate people with good requires a long time4 ,but evil has wings4 ,to build a house takes time4 ,its destruction takes none4 ,so the railways can become a distributing agency for the evil one only4 ,it may be a debatable matter whether railways spread famines1 but it is beyond dispute that they propagate evil4 ,,reader3 ,be that as it may1 all the disadvantages of railways are more than counter-balanced by the fact that it is due to them that we see in ,india the new spirit of nationalism4 ,,editor3 ,i hold this to be a mistake4 ,the ,english have taught us that we were not one nation before1 and that it will require centuries before we become one nation4 ,this is without foundation4 ,we were one nation before they came to ,india4 ,one thought inspired us4 ,our mode of life was the same4 ,it was because we were one nation that they were able to establish one kingdom4 ,subsequently they divided us4 ,,reader3 ,this requires an explanation4 ,,editor3 ,i do not wish to suggest that because we were one nation we had no differences1 but it is submitted that our leading men travelled throughout ,india either on foot or in bullock-carts4 ,they learned one another's languages1 and there was no aloofness between them4 ,what do you think could have been the intention of those far-seeing ancestors of ours who established ,shethubindu-,rameshwar in the ,south1 ,juggernaut in the ,south-,east and ,hardwar in the ,north as places of pilgrimage8 ,you will admit they were no fools4 ,they knew that worship of ,god could have been performed just as well at home4 ,they taught us that those whose hearts were aglow with righteousness had the ,ganges in their own homes4 ,but they saw that ,india was one undivided land so made by nature4 ,they1 therefore1 argued that it must be one nation4 ,arguing thus1 they established holy places in various parts of ,india1 and fired the people with an idea of nationality in a manner unknown in other parts of the world4 ,any two ,indians are one as no two ,englishmen are4 ,only you and ,i and others who consider ourselves civilised and superior persons imagine that we are many nations4 ,it was after the advent of railways that we began to believe in distinctions1 and you are at liberty now to say that it is through the railways that we are beginning to abolish those distinctions4 ,an opium-eater may argue the advantage of opium-eating from the fact that he began to understand the evil of the opium habit after having eaten it4 ,i would ask you to consider well what ,i have said on the railways4 ,,reader3 ,i will gladly do so1 but one question occurs to me even now4 ,you have described to me the ,india of the pre-,mahomedan period1 but now we have ,mahomedans1 ,parsees and ,christians4 ,how can they be one nation8 ,hindus and ,mahomedans are old enemies4 ,our very proverbs prove it4 ,mahomedans turn to the ,west for worship whilst ,hindus turn to the ,east4 ,the former look down on the ,hindus as idolators4 ,the ,hindus worship the cow1 the ,mahomedans kill her4 ,the ,hindus believe in the doctrine of non-killing1 the ,mahomedans do not4 ,we thus meet with differences at every step4 ,how can ,india be one nation8 ,,chapter ,x ,,the ,,condition ,,of ,,india 7,continued7 ,,the ,,hindus ,,and ,,the ,,mahomedans ,,editor3 ,your last question is a serious one2 and yet1 on careful consideration1 it will be found to be easy of solution4 ,the question arises because of the presence of the railways1 of the lawyers and of the doctors4 ,we shall presently examine the last two4 ,we have already considered the railways4 ,i should1 however1 like to add that man is so made by nature as to require him to restrict his movements as far as his hands and feet will take him4 ,if we did not rush about from place to place by means of railways and such other maddening conveniences1 much of the confusion that arises would be obviated4 ,our difficulties are of our own creation4 ,god set a limit to a man's locomotive ambition in the construction of his body4 ,man immediately proceeded to discover means of overriding the limit4 ,god gifted man with intellect that he might know his ,maker4 ,man abused it1 so that he might forget his ,maker4 ,i am so constructed that ,i can only serve my immediate neighbours1 but in my conceit1 ,i pretend to have discovered that ,i must with my body serve every individual in the ,universe4 ,in thus attempting the impossible1 man comes in contact with different natures1 different religions and is utterly confounded4 ,according to this reasoning1 it must be apparent to you that railways are a most dangerous institution4 ,man has there through gone further away from his ,maker4 ,,reader3 ,but ,i am impatient to hear your answer to my question4 ,has the introduction of ,mahomedanism not unmade the nation8 ,,editor3 ,india cannot cease to be one nation because people belonging to different religions live in it4 ,the introduction of foreigners does not necessarily destroy the nation1 they merge in it4 ,a country is one nation only when such a condition obtains in it4 ,that country must have a faculty for assimilation4 ,india has ever been such a country4 ,in reality1 there are as many religions as there are individuals1 but those who are conscious of the spirit of nationality do not interfere with one another's religion4 ,if they do1 they are not fit to be considered a nation4 ,if the ,hindus believe that ,india should be peopled only by ,hindus1 they are living in dreamland4 ,the ,hindus1 the ,mahomedans1 the ,parsees and the ,christians who have made ,india their country are fellow-countrymen1 and they will have to live in unity if only for their own interest4 ,in no part of the world are one nationality and one religion synonymous terms2 nor has it ever been so in ,india4 ,,reader3 ,but what about the inborn enmity between ,hindus and ,mahomedans8 ,,editor3 ,that phrase has been invented by our mutual enemy4 ,when the ,hindus and ,mahomedans fought against one another1 they certainly spoke in that strain4 ,they have long since ceased to fight4 ,how1 then1 can there be any inborn enmity8 ,pray remember this too1 that we did not cease to fight only after ,british occupation4 ,the ,hindus flourished under ,moslem sovereigns and ,moslems under the ,hindu4 ,each party recognised that mutual fighting was suicidal1 and that neither party would abandon its religion by force of arms4 ,both parties1 therefore1 decided to live in peace4 ,with the ,english advent the quarrels re-commenced4 ,the proverbs you have quoted were coined when both were fighting2 to quote them now is obviously harmful4 ,should we not remember that many ,hindus and ,mahomedans own the same ancestors1 and the same blood runs through their veins8 ,do people become enemies because they change their religion8 ,is the ,god of the ,mahomedan different from the ,god of the ,hindu8 ,religions are different roads converging to the same point4 ,what does it matter that we take different roads1 so long as we reach the same goal8 ,wherein is the cause for quarrelling8 ,moreover1 there are deadly proverbs as between the followers of ,shiva and those of ,vishnu1 yet nobody suggests that these two do not belong to the same nation4 ,it is said that the ,vedic religion is different from ,jainism1 but the followers of the respective faiths are not different nations4 ,the fact is that we have become enslaved1 and1 therefore1 quarrel and like to have our quarrels decided by a third party4 ,there are ,hindu iconoclasts as there are ,mahomedan4 ,the more we advance in true knowledge1 the better we shall understand that we need not be at war with those whose religion we may not follow4 ,,reader3 ,now ,i would like to know your views about cow protection4 ,,editor3 ,i myself respect the cow1 that is ,i look upon her with affectionate reverence4 ,the cow is the protector of ,india1 because1 it being an agricultural country1 is dependant on the cow's progeny4 ,she is a most useful animal in hundreds of ways4 ,our ,mahomedan brethren will admit this4 ,but1 just as ,i respect the cow so do ,i respect my fellow-men4 ,a man is just as useful as a cow1 no matter whether he be a ,mahomedan or a ,hindu4 ,am ,i1 then1 to fight with or kill a ,mahomedan in order to save a cow8 ,in doing so1 ,i would become an enemy as well of the cow as of the ,mahomedan4 ,therefore1 the only method ,i know of protecting the cow is that ,i should approach my ,mahomedan brother and urge him for the sake of the country to join me in protecting her4 ,if he would not listen to me1 ,i should let the cow go for the simple reason that the matter is beyond my ability4 ,if ,i were over full of pity for the cow1 ,i should sacrifice my life to save her1 but not take my brother's4 ,this1 ,i hold1 is the law of our religion4 ,when men become obstinate1 it is a difficult thing4 ,if ,i pull one way1 my ,moslem brother will pull another4 ,if ,i put on a superior air1 he will return the compliment4 ,if ,i bow to him gently1 he will do it much more so1 and if he does not1 ,i shall not be considered to have done wrong in having bowed4 ,when the ,hindus became insistent1 the killing of cows increased4 ,in my opinion1 cow protection societies may be considered cow-killing societies4 ,it is a disgrace to us that we should need such societies4 ,when we forgot how to protect cows1 ,i suppose we needed such societies4 ,what am ,i to do when a blood-brother is on the point of killing a cow8 ,am ,i to kill him1 or to fall down at his feet and implore him8 ,if you admit that ,i should adopt the latter course1 ,i must do the same to my ,moslem brother4 ,who protects the cow from destruction by ,hindus when they cruelly ill-treat her8 ,whoever reasons with the ,hindus when they mercilessly belabour the progeny of the cow with their sticks8 ,but this has not prevented us from remaining one nation4 ,lastly1 if it be true that the ,hindus believe in the doctrine of non-killing and the ,mahomedans do not1 what1 ,i pray1 is the duty of the former8 ,it is not written that a follower of the religion of ,ahimsa 7non-killing7 may kill a fellow-man4 ,for him the way is straight4 ,in order to save one being1 he may not kill another4 ,he can only plead--therein lies his sole duty4 ,but does every ,hindu believe in ,ahimsa8 ,going to the root of the matter1 not one man really practises such a religion1 because we do destroy life4 ,we are said to follow that religion because we want to obtain freedom from liability to kill any kind of life4 ,generally speaking1 we may observe that many ,hindus partake of meat and are not1 therefore1 followers of ,ahimsa4 ,it is1 therefore1 preposterous to suggest that the two cannot live together amicably because the ,hindus believe in ,ahimsa and the ,mahomedans do not4 ,these thoughts are put into our minds by selfish and false religious teachers4 ,the ,english put the finishing touch4 ,they have a habit of writing history2 they pretend to study the manners and customs of all peoples4 ,god has given us a limited mental capacity1 but they usurp the function of the ,god-head and indulge in novel experiments4 ,they write about their own researches in most laudatory terms and hypnotise us into believing them4 ,we1 in our ignorance1 then fall at their feet4 ,those who do not wish to misunderstand things may read up the ,koran1 and will find therein hundreds of passages acceptable to the ,hindus2 and the ,bhagavad-,gita contains passages to which not a ,mahomedan can take exception4 ,am ,i to dislike a ,mahomedan because there are passages in the ,koran ,i do not understand or like8 ,it takes two to make a quarrel4 ,if ,i do not want to quarrel with a ,mahomedan1 the latter will be powerless to foist a quarrel on me1 and1 similarly1 ,i should be powerless if a ,mahomedan refuses his assistance to quarrel with me4 ,an arm striking the air will become disjointed4 ,if every one will try to understand the core of his own religion and adhere to it1 and will not allow false teachers to dictate to him1 there will be no room left for quarrelling4 ,,reader3 ,but will the ,english ever allow the two bodies to join hands8 ,,editor3 ,this question arises out of your timidity4 ,it betrays our shallowness4 ,if two brothers want to live in peace is it possible for a third party to separate them8 ,if they were to listen to evil counsels1 we would consider them to be foolish4 ,similarly1 we ,hindus and ,mahomedans would have to blame our folly rather than the ,english1 if we allowed them to put us asunder4 ,a claypot would break through impact2 if not with one stone1 then with another4 ,the way to save the pot is not to keep it away from the danger point1 but to bake it so that no stone would break it4 ,we have then to make our hearts of perfectly baked clay4 ,then we shall be steeled against all danger4 ,this can be easily done by the ,hindus4 ,they are superior in numbers1 they pretend that they are more educated1 they are1 therefore1 better able to shield themselves from attack on their amicable relations with the ,mahomedans4 ,there is mutual distrust between the two communities4 ,the ,mahomedans1 therefore1 ask for certain concessions from ,lord ,morley4 ,why should the ,hindus oppose this8 ,if the ,hindus desisted1 the ,english would notice it1 the ,mahomedans would gradually begin to trust the ,hindus1 and brotherliness would be the outcome4 ,we should be ashamed to take our quarrels to the ,english4 ,everyone can find out for himself that the ,hindus can lose nothing by desisting4 ,that man who has inspired confidence in another has never lost anything in this world4 ,i do not suggest that the ,hindus and the ,mahomedans will never fight4 ,two brothers living together often do so4 ,we shall sometimes have our heads broken4 ,such a thing ought not to be necessary1 but all men are not equiminded4 ,when people are in a rage1 they do many foolish things4 ,these we have to put up with4 ,but1 when we do quarrel1 we certainly do not want to engage counsel and to resort to ,english or any law-courts4 ,two men fight2 both have their heads broken1 or one only4 ,how shall a third party distribute justice amongst them8 ,those who fight may expect to be injured4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,the ,,condition ,,of ,,india 7,continued7 ,,lawyers ,,reader3 ,you tell me that1 when two men quarrel1 they should not go to a law-court4 ,this is astonishing4 ,,editor3 ,whether you call it astonishing or not1 it is the truth4 ,and your question introduces us to the lawyers and the doctors4 ,my firm opinion is that the lawyers have enslaved ,india and they have accentuated the ,hindu-,mahomedan dissensions1 and have confirmed ,english authority4 ,,reader3 ,it is easy enough to bring these charges1 but it will be difficult for you to prove them4 ,but for the lawyers1 who would have shown us the road to independence8 ,who would have protected the poor8 ,who would have secured justice8 ,for instance1 the late ,mr4 ,manomohan ,ghose defended many a poor man free of charge4 ,the ,congress1 which you have praised so much1 is dependent for its existence and activity upon the work of the lawyers4 ,to denounce such an estimable class of men is to spell justice injustice1 and you are abusing the liberty of the press by decrying lawyers4 ,,editor3 ,at one time ,i used to think exactly like you4 ,i have no desire to convince you that they have never done a single good thing4 ,i honour ,mr4 ,ghose's memory4 ,it is quite true that he helped the poor4 ,that the ,congress owes the lawyers something is believable4 ,lawyers are also men1 and there is something good in every man4 ,whenever instances of lawyers having done good can be brought forward1 it will be found that the good is due to them as men rather than as lawyers4 ,all ,i am concerned with is to show you that the profession teaches immorality2 it is exposed to temptations from which few are saved4 ,the ,hindus and the ,mahomedans have quarrelled4 ,an ordinary man will ask them to forget all about it1 he will tell them that both must be more or less at fault1 and will advise them no longer to quarrel4 ,they go to lawyers4 ,the latter's duty is to side with their clients1 and to find out ways and arguments in favour of the clients to which they 7the clients7 are often strangers4 ,if they do not do so1 they will be considered to have degraded their profession4 ,the lawyers1 therefore1 will1 as a rule advance quarrels1 instead of repressing them4 ,moreover1 men take up that profession1 not in order to help others out of their miseries1 but to enrich themselves4 ,it is one of the avenues of becoming wealthy and their interest exists in multiplying disputes4 ,it is within my knowledge that they are glad when men have disputes4 ,petty pleaders actually manufacture them4 ,their touts1 like so many leeches1 suck the blood of the poor people4 ,lawyers are men who have little to do4 ,lazy people1 in order to indulge in luxuries1 take up such professions4 ,this is a true statement4 ,any other argument is a mere pretension4 ,it is the lawyers who have discovered that theirs is an honourable profession4 ,they frame laws as they frame their own praises4 ,they decide what fees they will charge1 and they put on so much side that poor people almost consider them to be heaven-born4 ,why do they want more fees than common labourers8 ,why are their requirements greater8 ,in what way are they more profitable to the country than the labourers8 ,are those who do good entitled to greater payment8 ,and1 if they have done anything for the country for the sake of money1 how shall it be counted as good8 ,those who know anything of the ,hindu-,mahomedan quarrels know that they have been often due to the intervention of lawyers4 ,some families have been ruined through them2 they have made brothers enemies4 ,principalities1 having come under lawyer's power1 have become loaded with debt4 ,many have been robbed of their all4 ,such instances can be multiplied4 ,but the greatest injury they have done to the country is that they have tightened the ,english grip4 ,do you think that it would be possible for the ,english to carry on their government without law-courts8 ,it is wrong to consider that courts are established for the benefit of the people4 ,those who want to perpetuate their power do so through the courts4 ,if people were to settle their own quarrels1 a third party would not be able to exercise any authority over them4 ,truly1 men were less unmanly when they settled their disputes either by fighting or by asking their relatives to decide upon them4 ,they became more unmanly and cowardly when they resorted to the courts of law4 ,it was certainly a sign of savagery when they settled their disputes by fighting4 ,is it any the less so if ,i ask a third party to decide between you and me8 ,surely1 the decision of a third party is not always right4 ,the parties alone know who is right4 ,we1 in our simplicity and ignorance1 imagine that a stranger1 by taking our money1 gives us justice4 ,the chief thing1 however1 to be remembered is that1 without lawyers1 courts could not have been established or conducted1 and without the latter the ,english could not rule4 ,supposing that there were only ,english ,judges1 ,english ,pleaders and ,english ,police1 they could only rule over the ,english4 ,the ,english could not do without ,indian ,judges and ,indian pleaders4 ,how the pleaders were made in the first instance and how they were favoured you should understand well4 ,then you will have the same abhorrence for the profession that ,i have4 ,if pleaders were to abandon their profession1 and consider it just as degrading as prostitution1 ,english rule would break up in a day4 ,they have been instrumental in having the charge laid against us that we love quarrels and courts1 as fish love water4 ,what ,i have said with reference to the pleaders necessarily applies to the judges2 they are first cousins1 and the one gives strength to the other4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,,the ,,condition ,,of ,,india 7,continued7 ,,doctors ,,reader3 ,i now understand the lawyers2 the good they may have done is accidental4 ,i feel that the profession is certainly hateful4 ,you1 however1 drag in these doctors also1 how is that8 ,,editor3 ,the views ,i submit to you are those ,i have adopted4 ,they are not original4 ,western writers have used stronger terms regarding both lawyers and doctors4 ,one writer has likened the whole modern system to the ,upas tree4 ,its branches are represented by parasitical professions1 including those of law and medicine1 and over the trunk has been raised the axe of true religion4 ,immorality is the root of the tree4 ,so you will see that the views do not come right out of my mind1 but they represent the combined experiences of many4 ,i was at one time a great lover of the medical profession4 ,it was my intention to become a doctor for the sake of the country4 ,i no longer hold that opinion4 ,i now understand why the medicine men 7the vaids7 among us have not occupied a very honourable status4 ,the ,english have certainly effectively used the medical profession for holding us4 ,english physicians are known to have used the profession with several ,asiatic potentates for political gain4 ,doctors have almost unhinged us4 ,sometimes ,i think that quacks are better than highly qualified doctors4 ,let us consider3 the business of a doctor is to take care of the body1 or1 properly speaking1 not even that4 ,their business is really to rid the body of diseases that may afflict it4 ,how do these diseases arise8 ,surely by our negligence or indulgence4 ,i overeat1 ,i have indigestion1 ,i go to a doctor1 he gives me medicine4 ,i am cured1 ,i overeat again1 and ,i take his pills again4 ,had ,i not taken the pills in the first instance1 ,i would have suffered the punishment deserved by me1 and ,i would not have overeaten again4 ,the doctor intervened and helped me to indulge myself4 ,my body thereby certainly felt more at ease1 but my mind became weakened4 ,a continuance of a course of a medicine must1 therefore1 result in loss of control over the mind4 ,i have indulged in vice1 ,i contract a disease1 a doctor cures me1 the odds are that ,i shall repeat the vice4 ,had the doctor not intervened1 nature would have done its work1 and ,i would have acquired mastery over myself1 would have been freed from vice1 and would have become happy4 ,hospitals are institutions for propagating sin4 ,men take less care of their bodies1 and immorality increases4 ,european doctors are the worst of all4 ,for the sake of a mistaken care of the human body1 they kill annually thousands of animals4 ,they practise vivisection4 ,no religion sanctions this4 ,all say that it is not necessary to take so many lives for the sake of our bodies4 ,these doctors violate our religious instinct4 ,most of their medical preparations contain either animal fat or spirituous liquors2 both of these are tabooed by ,hindus and ,mahomedans4 ,we may pretend to be civilised1 call religious prohibitions a superstition and wantonly indulge in what we like4 ,the fact remains that the doctors induce us to indulge1 and the result is that we have become deprived of self-control and have become effeminate4 ,in these circumstances1 we are unfit to serve the country4 ,to study ,european medicine is to deepen our slavery4 ,it is worth considering why we take up the profession of medicine4 ,it is certainly not taken up for the purpose of serving humanity4 ,we become doctors so that we may obtain honours and riches4 ,i have endeavoured to show that there is no real service of humanity in the profession1 and that it is injurious to mankind4 ,doctors make a show of their knowledge1 and charge exorbitant fees4 ,their preparations1 which are intrinsically worth a few pennies1 cost shillings4 ,the populace in its credulity and in the hope of ridding itself of some disease1 allows itself to be cheated4 ,are not quacks then1 whom we know1 better than the doctors who put on an air of humaneness8 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,what ,,is ,,true ,,civilization8 ,,reader3 ,you have denounced railways1 lawyers and doctors4 ,i can see that you will discard all machinery4 ,what1 then1 is civilization8 ,,editor3 ,the answer to that question is not difficult4 ,i believe that the civilization ,india has evolved is not to be beaten in the world4 ,nothing can equal the seeds sown by our ancestors4 ,rome went1 ,greece shared the same fate1 the might of the ,pharaohs was broken1 ,japan has become westernised1 of ,china nothing can be said1 but ,india is still1 somehow or other1 sound at the foundation4 ,the people of ,europe learn their lessons from the writings of the men of ,greece or ,rome1 which exist no longer in their former glory4 ,in trying to learn from them1 the ,europeans imagine that they will avoid the mistakes of ,greece and ,rome4 ,such is their pitiable condition4 ,in the midst of all this1 ,india remains immovable1 and that is her glory4 ,it is a charge against ,india that her people are so uncivilised1 ignorant and stolid1 that it is not possible to induce them to adopt any changes4 ,it is a charge really against our merit4 ,what we have tested and found true on the anvil of experience1 we dare not change4 ,many thrust their advice upon ,india1 and she remains steady4 ,this is her beauty2 it is the sheet-anchor of our hope4 ,civilization is that mode of conduct which points out to man the path of duty4 ,performance of duty and observance of morality are convertible terms4 ,to observe morality is to attain mastery over our mind and our passions4 ,so doing1 we know ourselves4 ,the ,gujarati equivalent for civilization means good conduct4 ,if this definition be correct1 then ,india1 as so many writers have shown1 has nothing to learn from anybody else1 and this is as it should be4 ,we notice that mind is a restless bird2 the more it gets the more it wants1 and still remains unsatisfied4 ,the more we indulge our passions1 the more unbridled they become4 ,our ancestors1 therefore1 set a limit to our indulgences4 ,they saw that happiness was largely a mental condition4 ,a man is not necessarily happy because he is rich1 or unhappy because he is poor4 ,the rich are often seem to be unhappy1 the poor to be happy4 ,millions will always remain poor4 ,observing all this1 our ancestors dissuaded us from luxuries and pleasures4 ,we have managed with the same kind of plough as it existed thousands of years ago4 ,we have retained the same kind of cottages that we had in former times1 and our indigenous education remains the same as before4 ,we have had no system of life-corroding competition4 ,each followed his own occupation or trade1 and charged a regulation wage4 ,it was not that we did not know how to invent machinery1 but our forefathers knew that1 if we set our hearts after such things1 we would become slaves and lose our moral fibre4 ,they1 therefore1 after due deliberation1 decided that we should only do what we could with our hands and feet4 ,they saw that our real happiness and health consisted in a proper use of our hands and feet4 ,they further reasoned that large cities were a snare and a useless encumbrance1 and that people would not be happy in them1 that there would be gangs of thieves and robbers1 prostitution and vice flourishing in them1 and that poor men would be robbed by rich men4 ,they were1 therefore1 satisfied with small villages4 ,they saw that kings and their swords were inferior to the sword of ethics1 and they1 therefore1 held the sovereigns of the earth to be inferior to the ,rishis and the ,fakirs4 ,a nation with a constitution like this is fitter to teach others than to learn from others4 ,this nation had courts1 lawyers and doctors1 but they were all within bounds4 ,everybody knew that these professions were not particularly superior2 moreover1 these vakils and vaids did not rob people2 they were considered people's dependents1 not their masters4 ,justice was tolerably fair4 ,the ordinary rule was to avoid courts4 ,there were no touts to lure people into them4 ,this evil1 too1 was noticeable only in and around capitals4 ,the common people lived independently1 and followed their agricultural occupation4 ,they enjoyed true ,home ,rule4 ,and where this cursed modern civilization has not reached1 ,india remains as it was before4 ,the inhabitants of that part of ,india will very properly laugh at your new-fangled notions4 ,the ,english do not rule over them nor will you ever rule over them4 ,those whose name we speak we do not know1 nor do they know us4 ,i would certainly advise you and those like you who love the motherland to go into the interior that has yet not been polluted by the railways1 and to live there for six months2 you might then be patriotic and speak of ,home ,rule4 ,now you see what ,i consider to be real civilization4 ,those who want to change conditions such as ,i have described are enemies of the country and are sinners4 ,,reader3 ,it would be all right if ,india were exactly as you have described it2 but it is also ,india where there are hundreds of child-widows1 where two-year-old babies are married1 where twelve-year-old girls are mothers and housewives1 where women practise polyandry1 where the practice of ,niyog obtains1 where1 in the name of religion1 girls dedicate themselves to prostitution1 and where1 in the name of religion1 sheep and goats are killed4 ,do you consider these also symbols of the civilization that you have described8 ,,editor3 ,you make a mistake4 ,the defects that you have shown are defects4 ,nobody mistakes them for ancient civilization4 ,they remain in spite of it4 ,attempts have always been made1 and will be made1 to remove them4 ,we may utilise the new spirit that is born in us for purging ourselves of these evils4 ,but what ,i have described to you as emblems of modern civilization are accepted as such by its votaries4 ,the ,indian civilization1 as described by me1 has been so described by its votaries4 ,in no part of the world1 and under no civilization1 have all men attained perfection4 ,the tendency of ,indian civilization is to elevate the moral being1 that of the western civilization is to propagate immorality4 ,the latter is godless1 the former is based on a belief in ,god4 ,so understanding and so believing1 it behoves every lover of ,india to cling to the old ,indian civilization even as a child clings to its mother's breast4 ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,how ,,can ,,india ,,become ,,free8 ,,reader3 ,i appreciate your views about civilization4 ,i will have to think over them4 ,i cannot take in all at once4 ,what1 then1 holding the views you do1 would you suggest for freeing ,india8 ,,editor3 ,i do not expect my views to be accepted all of a sudden4 ,my duty is to place them before readers like yourself4 ,time can be trusted to do the rest4 ,we have already examined the conditions for freeing ,india1 but we have done so indirectly2 we will now do so directly4 ,it is a world-known maxim that the removal of the cause of a disease results in the removal of the disease itself4 ,similarly1 if the cause of ,india's slavery be removed1 ,india can become free4 ,,reader3 ,if ,indian civilization is1 as you say1 the best of all1 how do you account for ,india's slavery8 ,,editor3 ,this civilization is unquestionably the best2 but it is to be observed that all civilizations have been on their trial4 ,that civilization which is permanent outlives it4 ,because the sons of ,india were found wanting1 its civilization has been placed in jeopardy4 ,but its strength is to be seen in its ability to survive the shock4 ,moreover1 the whole of ,india is not touched4 ,those alone who have been affected by western civilization have become enslaved4 ,we measure the universe by our own miserable foot-rule4 ,when we are slaves1 we think that the whole universe is enslaved4 ,because we are in an abject condition1 we think that the whole of ,india is in that condition4 ,as a matter of fact1 it is not so1 but it is as well to impute our slavery to the whole of ,india4 ,but if we bear in mind the above fact we can see that1 if we become free1 ,india is free4 ,and in this thought you have a definition of ,swaraj4 ,it is ,swaraj when we learn to rule ourselves4 ,it is therefore in the palm of our hands4 ,do not consider this ,swaraj to be like a dream4 ,hence there is no idea of sitting still4 ,the ,swaraj that ,i wish to picture before you and me is such that1 after we have once realised it1 we will endeavour to the end of our lifetime to persuade others to do likewise4 ,but such ,swaraj has to be experienced by each one for himself4 ,one drowning man will never save another4 ,slaves ourselves1 it would be a mere pretension to think of freeing others4 ,now you will have seen that it is not necessary for us to have as our goal the expulsion of the ,english4 ,if the ,english become ,indianised1 we can accommodate them4 ,if they wish to remain in ,india along with their civilization1 there is no room for them4 ,it lies with us to bring about such a state of things4 ,,reader3 ,it is impossible that ,englishmen should ever become ,indianised4 ,,editor3 ,to say that is equivalent to saying that the ,english have no humanity in them4 ,and it is really beside the point whether they become so or not4 ,if we keep our own house in order1 only those who are fit to live in it will remain4 ,others will leave of their own accord4 ,such things occur within the experience of all of us4 ,,reader3 ,but it has not occurred in history6 ,,editor3 ,to believe that1 what has not occurred in history will not occur at all1 is to argue disbelief in the dignity of man4 ,at any rate1 it behoves us to try what appeals to our reason4 ,all countries are not similarly conditioned4 ,the condition of ,india is unique4 ,its strength is immeasurable4 ,we need not1 therefore1 refer to the history of other countries4 ,i have drawn attention to the fact that1 when other civilizations have succumbed1 the ,indians has survived many a shock4 ,,reader3 ,i cannot follow this4 ,there seems little doubt that we shall have to expel the ,english by force of arms4 ,so long as they are in the country1 we cannot rest4 ,one of our poets says that slaves cannot even dream of happiness4 ,we are1 day by day1 becoming weakened owing to the presence of the ,english4 ,our greatness is gone2 our people look like terrified men4 ,the ,english are in the country like a blight which we must remove by every means4 ,,editor3 ,in your excitement1 you have forgotten all we have been considering4 ,we brought the ,english1 and we keep them4 ,why do you forget that our adoption of their civilization makes their presence in ,india at all possible8 ,your hatred against them ought to be transferred to their civilization4 ,but let us assume that we have to drive away the ,english by fighting2 how is that to be done8 ,,reader3 ,in the same way as ,italy did it4 ,what it was possible for ,mazzini and ,garibaldi to do1 is possible for us4 ,you cannot deny that they were very great men4 ,,chapter ,,xv ,,italy ,,and ,,india ,,editor3 ,it is well that you have instanced ,italy4 ,mazzini was a great and good man2 ,garibaldi was a great warrior4 ,both are adorable2 from their lives we can learn much4 ,but the condition of ,italy was different from that of ,india4 ,in the first instance the difference between ,mazzini and ,garibaldi is worth noting4 ,mazzini's ambition was not1 and has not yet been realised1 regarding ,italy4 ,mazzini has shown in his writings on the duty of man that every man must learn how to rule himself4 ,this has not happened in ,italy4 ,garibaldi did not hold this view of ,mazzini's4 ,garibaldi gave1 and every ,italian took arms4 ,italy and ,austria had the same civilization2 they were cousins in this respect4 ,it was a matter of tit for tat4 ,garibaldi simply wanted ,italy to be free from the ,austrian yoke4 ,the machinations of ,minister ,cavour disgrace that portion of the history of ,italy4 ,and what has been the result8 ,if you believe that1 because ,italians rule ,italy1 the ,italian nation is happy1 you are groping in darkness4 ,mazzini has shown conclusively that ,italy did not become free4 ,victor ,emanuel gave one meaning to the expression2 ,mazzini gave another4 ,according to ,emanuel1 ,cavour1 and even ,garibaldi1 ,italy meant the ,king of ,italy and his henchmen4 ,according to ,mazzini1 it meant the whole of the ,italian people1 that is1 its agriculturists4 ,emanuel was only its servant4 ,the ,italy of ,mazzini still remains in a state of slavery4 ,at the time of the so-called national war1 it was a game of chess between two rival kings1 with the people of ,italy as pawns4 ,the working classes in that land are still unhappy4 ,they therefore indulge in assassination1 rise in revolt1 and rebellion on their part is always expected4 ,what substantial gain did ,italy obtain after the withdrawal of the ,austrian troops8 ,the gain was only nominal4 ,the reforms1 for the sake of which the war was supposed to have been undertaken1 have not yet been granted4 ,the condition of the people1 in general1 still remains the same4 ,i am sure you do not wish to reproduce such a condition in ,india4 ,i believe that you want the millions of ,india to be happy1 not that you want the reins of ,government in your hands4 ,if that be so1 we have to consider only one thing3 how can the millions obtain self-rule8 ,you will admit that people under several ,indian princes are being ground down4 ,the latter mercilessly crush them4 ,their tyranny is greater than that of the ,english1 and1 if you want such tyranny in ,india1 that we shall never agree4 ,my patriotism does not teach me that ,i am to allow people to be crushed under the heel of ,indian princes1 if only the ,english retire4 ,if ,i have the power1 ,i should resist the tyranny of ,indian princes just as much as that of the ,english4 ,by patriotism ,i mean the welfare of the whole people1 and1 if ,i could secure it at the hands of the ,english1 ,i should bow down my head to them4 ,if any ,englishman dedicated his life to securing the freedom of ,india1 resisting tyranny and serving the land1 ,i should welcome that ,englishman as an ,indian4 ,again1 ,india can fight like ,italy only when she has arms4 ,you have not considered this problem at all4 ,the ,english are splendidly armed2 that does not frighten me1 but it is clear that1 to fit ourselves against them in arms1 thousands of ,indians must be armed4 ,if such a thing be possible1 how many years will it take4 ,moreover1 to arm ,india on a large scale is to ,europeanise it4 ,then her condition will be just as pitiable as that of ,europe4 ,this means1 in short1 that ,india must accept ,european civilization1 and if that is what we want1 the best thing is that we have among us those who are so well trained in that civilization4 ,we will then fight for a few rights1 will get what we can and so pass our days4 ,but the fact is that the ,indian nation will not adopt arms1 and it is well that it does not4 ,,reader3 ,you are overassuming facts4 ,all need not be armed4 ,at first1 we will assassinate a few ,englishmen and strike terror2 then a few men who will have been armed will fight openly4 ,we may have to lose a quarter of a million men1 more or less1 but we will regain our land4 ,we will undertake guerilla warfare1 and defeat the ,english4 ,,editor3 ,that is to say1 you want to make the holy land of ,india unholy4 ,do you not tremble to think of freeing ,india by assassination8 ,what we need to do is to kill ourselves4 ,it is a cowardly thought1 that of killing others4 ,whom do you suppose to free by assassination8 ,the millions of ,india do not desire it4 ,those who are intoxicated by the wretched modern civilization think of these things4 ,those who will rise to power by murder will certainly not make the nation happy4 ,those who believe that ,india has gained by ,dhingra's act and such other acts in ,india make a serious mistake4 ,dhingra was a patriot1 but his love was blind4 ,he gave his body in a wrong way2 its ultimate result can only be mischievous4 ,,reader3 ,but you will admit that the ,english have been frightened by these murders1 and that ,lord ,morley's reforms are due to fear4 ,,editor3 ,the ,english are both a timid and a brave nation4 ,she is1 ,i believe1 easily influenced by the use of gunpowder4 ,it is possible that ,lord ,morley has granted the reforms through fear1 but what is granted under fear can be retained only so long as the fear lasts4 ,,chapter ,,xvi ,,brute-,,force ,,reader3 ,this is a new doctrine2 that what is gained through fear is retained only while the fear lasts4 ,surely1 what is given will not be withdrawn8 ,,editor3 ,not so4 ,the ,proclamation of #aheg was given at the end of a revolt1 and for the purpose of preserving peace4 ,when peace was secured and people became simple-minded1 its full effect was toned down4 ,if ,i ceased stealing for fear of punishment1 ,i would re-commence the operation so soon as the fear is withdrawn from me4 ,this is almost a universal experience4 ,we have assumed that we can get men to do things by force and1 therefore1 we use force4 ,,reader3 ,will you not admit that you are arguing against yourself8 ,you know that what the ,english obtained in their own country they have obtained by using brute-force4 ,i know you have argued that what they have obtained is useless1 but that does not affect my argument4 ,they wanted useless things1 and they got them4 ,my point is that their desire was fulfilled4 ,what does it matter what means they adopted8 ,why should we not obtain our goal which is good1 by any means whatsoever even by using violence8 ,shall ,i think of the means when ,i have to deal with a thief in the house8 ,my duty is to drive him out anyhow4 ,you seem to admit that we have received nothing1 and that we shall receive nothing by petitioning4 ,why1 then1 may we not do so by using brute-force8 ,and1 to retain what we may receive1 we shall keep up the fear by using the same force to the extent that it may be necessary4 ,you will not find fault with a continuance of force to prevent a child from thrusting its foot into fire8 ,somehow or other1 we have to gain our end4 ,,editor3 ,your reasoning is plausible4 ,it has deluded many4 ,i have used similar arguments before now4 ,but ,i think ,i know better now1 and ,i shall endeavour to undeceive you4 ,let us first take the argument that we are justified in gaining our end by using brute-force1 because the ,english gained theirs by using similar means4 ,it is perfectly true that they used brute-force1 and that it is possible for us to do likewise3 but by using similar means1 we can get only the same thing that they got4 ,you will admit that we do not want that4 ,your belief that there is no connection between the means and the end is a great mistake4 ,through that mistake even men who have been considered religious have committed grievous crimes4 ,your reasoning is the same as saying that we can get a rose through planting a noxious weed4 ,if ,i want to cross the ocean1 ,i can do so only by means of a vessel2 if ,i were to use a cart for that purpose1 both the cart and ,i would soon find the bottom4 ,as is the ,god1 so is the votary1 is a maxim worth considering4 ,its meaning has been distorted1 and men have gone astray4 ,the means may be likened to a seed1 the end to a tree2 and there is just the same inviolable connection between the means and the end as there is between the seed and the tree4 ,i am not likely to obtain the result flowing from the worship of ,god by laying myself prostrate before ,satan4 ,if1 therefore1 anyone were to say3 ,i want to worship ,god3 it does not matter that ,i do so by means of ,satan1 it would be set down as ignorant folly4 ,we reap exactly as we sow4 ,the ,english in #ahcc obtained greater voting power by violence4 ,did they1 by using brute-force1 better appreciate their duty8 ,they wanted the right of voting1 which they obtained by using physical-force4 ,but real rights are a result of performance of duty2 these rights they have not obtained4 ,we1 therefore1 have before us in ,england the force of everybody wanting and insisting on his rights1 nobody thinking of his duty4 ,and1 where everybody wants rights1 who shall give them and to whom8 ,i do not wish to imply that they never perform their duty1 but ,i do wish to imply that they do not perform the duty to which those rights should correspond2 and1 as they do not perform that particular duty1 namely1 acquire fitness1 their rights have proved a burden to them4 ,in other words1 what they have obtained is an exact result of the means they adopted4 ,they used the means corresponding to the end4 ,if ,i want to deprive you of your watch1 ,i shall certainly have to fight for it2 if ,i want to buy your watch1 ,i shall have to pay you for it2 and1 if ,i want a gift1 ,i shall have to plead for it2 and1 according to the means ,i employ1 the watch is stolen property1 my own property1 or a donation4 ,thus we see three different results from three different means4 ,will you still say that means do not matter8 ,now we shall take the example given by you of the thief to be driven out4 ,i do not agree with you that the thief may be driven out by any means4 ,if it is my father who has come to steal ,i shall use one kind of means4 ,if it is an acquaintance1 ,i shall use another2 and1 in the case of a perfect stranger1 ,i shall use a third4 ,if it is a white man1 you will perhaps say1 you will use means different from those you will adopt with an ,indian thief4 ,if it is a weakling1 the means will be different from those to be adopted for dealing with an equal in physical strength2 and1 if the thief is armed from tip to toe1 ,i shall simply remain quiet4 ,thus we have a variety of means between the father and the armed man4 ,again1 ,i fancy that ,i should pretend to be sleeping whether the thief was my father or that strong-armed man4 ,the reason for this is that my father would also be armed1 and ,i should succumb to the strength possessed by either1 and allow my things to be stolen4 ,the strength of my father would make me weep with pity2 the strength of the armed man would rouse in me anger1 and we should become enemies4 ,such is the curious situation4 ,from these examples1 we may not be able to agree as to the means to be adopted in each case4 ,i myself seem clearly to see what should be done in all these cases1 but the remedy may frighten you4 ,i1 therefore1 hesitate to place it before you4 ,for the time being1 ,i will leave you to guess it1 and1 if you cannot1 it is clear that you will have to adopt different means in each case4 ,you will also have seen that any means will not avail to drive away the thief4 ,you will have to adopt means to fit each case4 ,hence it follows that your duty is not to drive away the thief by any means you like4 ,let us proceed a little further4 ,that a well-armed man has stolen your property1 you have harboured the thought1 you are filled with anger2 you argue that you want to punish that rogue1 not for your own sake1 but for the good of your neighbours2 you have collected a number of armed men1 you want to take his house by assault1 he is duly informed of it1 he runs away2 he too1 is incensed4 ,he collects his brother-robbers1 and sends you a defiant message that he will commit robbery in broad day-light4 ,you are strong1 you do not fear him1 you are prepared to receive him4 ,meanwhile1 the robber pesters your neighbours4 ,they complain before you1 you reply that you are doing all for their sake2 you do not mind that your own goods have been stolen4 ,your neighbours reply that the robber never pestered them before1 and that he commenced his depredations only after you declared hostilities against him4 ,you are between ,sylla and ,charybdis4 ,you are full of pity for the poor men4 ,what they say is true4 ,what are you to do8 ,you will be disgraced if you now leave the robber alone4 ,you1 therefore1 tell the poor men3 ,never mind4 ,come1 my wealth is yours1 ,i will give you arms1 ,i will teach you how to use them2 you should belabour the rogue2 don't you leave him alone4 ,and so the battle grows2 the robbers increase in number2 your neighbours have deliberately put themselves to inconvenience4 ,thus the result of wanting to take revenge upon the robber is that you have disturbed your own peace2 you are in perpetual fear of being robbed and assaulted2 your courage has given place to cowardice4 ,if you will patiently examine the argument1 you will see that ,i have not overdrawn the picture4 ,this is one of the means4 ,now let us examine the other4 ,you set this armed robber down as an ignorant brother2 you intend to reason with him at a suitable opportunity2 you argue that he is1 after all1 a fellow-man2 you do not know what prompted him to steal4 ,you1 therefore1 decide that1 when you can1 you will destroy the man's motive for stealing4 ,whilst you are thus reasoning with yourself1 the man comes again to steal4 ,instead of being angry with him1 you take pity on him4 ,you think that this stealing habit must be a disease with him4 ,henceforth you1 therefore1 keep your doors and windows open2 you change your sleeping-place1 and you keep your things in a manner most accessible to him4 ,the robber comes again1 and is confused1 as all this is new to him2 nevertheless1 he takes away your things4 ,but his mind is agitated4 ,he inquires about you in the village1 he comes to learn about your broad and loving heart1 he repents1 he begs your pardon1 returns you your things1 and leaves off the stealing habit4 ,he becomes your servant1 and you find for him honourable employment4 ,this is the second method4 ,thus1 you see different means have brought about totally different results4 ,i do not wish to deduce from this that robbers will act in the above manner or that all will have the same pity and love like you2 but ,i wish only to show that only fair means can produce fair results1 and that1 at least in the majority of cases1 if not1 indeed1 in all1 the force of love and pity is infinitely greater than the force of arms4 ,there is harm in the exercise of brute-force1 never in that of pity4 ,now we will take the question of petitioning4 ,it is a fact beyond dispute that a petition1 without the backing of force1 is useless4 ,however1 the late ,justice ,ranade used to say that petitions served a useful purpose because they were a means of educating people4 ,they give the latter an idea of their condition1 and warn the rulers4 ,from this point of view1 they are not altogether useless4 ,a petition of an equal is a sign of courtesy2 a petition from a slave is a symbol of his slavery4 ,a petition backed by force is a petition from an equal and1 when he transmits his demand in the form of a petition1 it testifies to his nobility4 ,two kinds of force can back petitions4 ,we will hurt you if you do not give this is one kind of force2 it is the force of arms1 whose evil results we have already examined4 ,the second kind of force can thus be stated3 ,if you do not concede our demand1 we will be no longer your petitioners4 ,you can govern us only so long as we remain the governed2 we shall no longer have any dealings with you4 ,the force implied in this may be described as love-force1 soul-force1 or1 more popularly but less accurately1 passive resistance4 ,this force is indestructible4 ,he who uses it perfectly understands his position4 ,we have an ancient proverb which literally means ,one negative cures thirty-six diseases4 ,the force of arms is powerless when matched against the force of love or the soul4 ,now we shall take your last illustration1 that of the child thrusting its foot into fire4 ,it will not avail you4 ,what do you really do to the child8 ,supposing that it can exert so much physical force that it renders you powerless and rushes into fire1 then you cannot prevent it4 ,there are only two remedies open to you--either you must kill it in order to prevent it from perishing in the flames1 or you must give your own life1 because you do not wish to see it perish before your very eyes4 ,you will not kill it4 ,if your heart is not quite full of pity1 it is possible that you will not surrender yourself by preceding the child and going into the fire yourself4 ,you1 therefore1 helplessly allow it to go into the flames4 ,thus1 at any rate1 you are not using physical force4 ,i hope you will not consider that it is still physical-force1 though of a low order1 when you would forcibly prevent the child from rushing towards the fire if you could4 ,that force is of a different order1 and we have to understand what it is4 ,remember that1 in thus preventing the child1 you are minding entirely its own interest1 you are exercising authority for its sole benefit4 ,your example does not apply to the ,english4 ,in using brute-force against the ,english1 you consult entirely your own1 that is the national interest4 ,there is no question here either of pity or of love4 ,if you say that the actions of the ,english1 being evil1 represent fire1 and that they proceed to their actions through ignorance1 and that1 therefore1 they occupy the position of a child1 and that you want to protect such a child1 then you will have to overtake every such evil action by whomsoever committed1 and1 as in the case of the child1 you will have to sacrifice yourself4 ,if you are capable of such immeasurable pity1 ,i wish you well in its exercise4 ,,chapter ,,xvii ,,passive ,,resistance ,,reader3 ,is there any historical evidence as to the success of what you have called soul-force or truth-force8 ,no instance seems to have happened of any nation having risen through soul-force4 ,i still think that the evil-doers will not cease doing evil without physical punishment4 ,,editor3 ,the poet ,tulsidas has said3 ,of religion1 pity or love is the root1 as egotism of the body4 ,therefore1 we should not abandon pity so long as we are alive4 ,this appears to me to be a scientific truth4 ,i believe in it as much as ,i believe in two and two being four4 ,the force of love is the same as the force of the soul or truth4 ,we have evidence of its working at every step4 ,the universe would disappear without the existence of that force4 ,but you ask for historical evidence4 ,it is1 therefore1 necessary to know what history means4 ,the ,gujarati equivalent means3 ,it so happened4 ,if that is the meaning of history1 it is possible to give copious evidence4 ,but if it means the doings of kings and emperors1 there can be no evidence of soul-force or passive resistance in such history4 ,you cannot expect silver-ore in a tin-mine4 ,history1 as we know it1 is a record of the wars of the world1 and so there is a proverb among ,englishmen that a nation which has no history1 that is1 no wars1 is a happy nation4 ,how kings played how they become enemies of one another and how they murdered one another is found accurately recorded in history and1 if this were all that had happened in the world1 it would have been ended long ago4 ,if the story of the universe had commenced with wars1 not a man would have been found alive to-day4 ,those people who have been warred against have disappeared1 as1 for instance1 the natives of ,australia1 of whom hardly a man was left alive by the intruders4 ,mark1 please1 that these natives did not use soul-force in self-defence1 and it does not require much foresight to know that the ,australians will share the same fate as their victims4 ,those that wield the sword shall perish by the sword4 ,with us1 the proverb is that professional swimmers will find a watery grave4 ,the fact that there are so many men still alive in the world shows that it is based not on the force of arms but on the force of truth or love4 ,therefore the greatest and most unimpeachable evidence of the success of this force is to be found in the fact that1 in spite of the wars of the world1 it still lives on4 ,thousands1 indeed1 tens of thousands1 depend for their existence on a very active working of this force4 ,little quarrels of millions of families in their daily lives disappear before the exercise of this force4 ,hundreds of nations live in peace4 ,history does not and cannot take note of this fact4 ,history is really a record of every interruption of the even working of the force of love or of the soul4 ,two brothers quarrel3 one of them repents and re-awakens the love that was lying dormant in him2 the two again begin to live in peace3 nobody takes note of this4 ,but if the two brothers1 through the intervention of solicitors or some other reason1 take up arms or go to law--which is another form of the exhibition of brute-force--their doings would be immediately noticed in the press1 they would be the talk of their neighbours1 and would probably go down to history4 ,and what is true of families and communities is true of nations4 ,there is no reason1 to believe that there is one law for families1 and another for nations4 ,history1 then1 is a record of an interruption of the course of nature4 ,soul-force1 being natural1 is not noted in history4 ,,reader3 ,according to what you say1 it is plain that instances of the kind of passive resistance are not to be found in history4 ,it is necessary to understand this passive resistance more fully4 ,it will be better1 therefore1 if you enlarge upon it4 ,,editor3 ,passive resistance is a method of securing rights by personal suffering2 it is the reverse of resistance by arms4 ,when ,i refuse to do a thing that is repugnant to my conscience1 ,i use soul-force4 ,for instance1 the government of the day has passed a law which is applicable to me3 ,i do not like it1 if1 by using violence1 ,i force the government to repeal the law1 ,i am employing what may be termed body-force4 ,if ,i do not obey the law and accept the penalty for its breach1 ,i use soul-force4 ,it involves sacrifice of self4 ,everybody admits that sacrifice of self is infinitely superior to sacrifice of others4 ,moreover1 if this kind of force is used in a cause that is unjust only the person using it suffers4 ,he does not make others suffer for his mistakes4 ,men have before now done many things which were subsequently found to have been wrong4 ,no man can claim to be absolutely in the right1 or that a particular thing is wrong1 because he thinks so1 but it is wrong for him so long as that is his deliberate judgment4 ,it is1 therefore1 meet that he should not do that which he knows to be wrong1 and suffer the consequence whatever it may be4 ,this is the key to the use of soul-force4 ,,reader3 ,you would then disregard laws--this is rank disloyalty4 ,we have always been considered a law-abiding nation4 ,you seem to be going even beyond the extremists4 ,they say that we must obey the laws that have been passed1 but that1 if the laws be bad1 we must drive out the law-givers even by force4 ,,editor3 ,whether ,i go beyond them or whether ,i do not1 is a matter of no consequence to either of us4 ,we simply want to find out what is right1 and to act accordingly4 ,the real meaning of the statement that we are a law-abiding nation is that we are passive resisters4 ,when we do not like certain laws1 we do not break the heads of law-givers1 but we suffer and do not submit to the laws4 ,that we should obey laws whether good or bad is a new-fangled notion4 ,there was no such thing in former days4 ,the people disregarded those laws they did not like1 and suffered the penalties for their breach4 ,it is contrary to our manhood1 if we obey laws repugnant to our conscience4 ,such teaching is opposed to religion and means slavery4 ,if the government were to ask us to go about without any clothing1 should we do so8 ,if ,i were a passive resister1 ,i would say to them that ,i would have nothing to do with their law4 ,but we have so forgotten ourselves and become so compliant1 that we do not mind any degrading law4 ,a man who has realised his manhood1 who fears only ,god1 will fear no one else4 ,man-made laws are not necessarily binding on him4 ,even the government do not expect any such thing from us4 ,they do not say3 ,you must do such and such a thing1 but they say3 ,if you do not do it1 we will punish you4 ,we are sunk so low1 that we fancy that it is our duty and our religion to do what the law lays down4 ,if man will only realise that it is unmanly to obey laws that are unjust1 no man's tyranny will enslave him4 ,this is the key to self-rule or home-rule4 ,it is a superstition and an ungodly thing to believe that an act of a majority binds a minority4 ,many examples can be given in which acts of majorities will be found to have been wrong1 and those of minorities to have been right4 ,all reforms owe their origin to the initiation of minorities in opposition to majorities4 ,if among a band of robbers1 a knowledge of robbing is obligatory1 is a pious man to accept the obligation8 ,so long as the superstition that men should obey unjust laws exists1 so long will their slavery exist4 ,and a passive resister alone can remove such a superstition4 ,to use brute-force1 to use gun-powder is contrary to passive resistance2 for it means that we want our opponent to do by force--that which we desire but he does not4 ,and1 if such a use of force is justifiable1 surely he is entitled to do likewise by us4 ,and so we should never come to an agreement4 ,we may simply fancy1 like the blind horse moving in a circle round a mill1 that we are making progress4 ,those who believe that they are not bound to obey laws which are repugnant to their conscience have only the remedy of passive resistance open to them4 ,any other must lead to disaster4 ,,reader3 ,from what you say1 ,i deduce that passive resistance is a splendid weapon of the weak but that1 when they are strong1 they may take up arms4 ,,editor3 ,this is gross ignorance4 ,passive resistance1 that is1 soul-force1 is matchless4 ,it is superior to the force of arms4 ,how1 then1 can it be considered only a weapon of the weak8 ,physical force men are strangers to the courage that is requisite in a passive resister4 ,do you believe that a coward can ever disobey a law that he dislikes8 ,extremists are considered to be advocates of brute-force4 ,why do they1 then1 talk about obeying laws8 ,i do not blame them4 ,they can say nothing else4 ,when they succeed in driving out the ,english1 and they themselves become governors1 they will want you and me to obey their laws4 ,and that is a fitting thing for their constitution4 ,but a passive resister will say he will not obey a law that is against his conscience1 even though he may be blown to pieces at the mouth of a cannon4 ,what do you think8 ,wherein is courage required--in blowing others to pieces from behind a cannon or with a smiling face to approach a cannon and to be blown to pieces8 ,who is the true warrior--he who keeps death always as a bosom-friend or he who controls the death of others8 ,believe me that a man devoid of courage and manhood can never be a passive resister4 ,this1 however1 ,i will admit3 that even a man1 weak in body1 is capable of offering this resistance4 ,one man can offer it just as well as millions4 ,both men and women can indulge in it4 ,it does not require the training of an army2 it needs no ,jiu-jitsu4 ,control over the mind is alone necessary1 and1 when that is attained1 man is free like the king of the forest1 and his very glance withers the enemy4 ,passive resistance is an all-sided sword2 it can be used anyhow2 it blesses him who uses it and him against whom it is used4 ,without drawing a drop of blood1 it produces far-reaching results4 ,it never rusts1 and cannot be stolen4 ,competition between passive resisters does not exhaust4 ,the sword of passive resistance does not require a scabbard4 ,it is strange indeed that you should consider such a weapon to be a weapon merely of the weak4 ,,reader3 ,you have said that passive resistance is a speciality of ,india4 ,have cannons never been used in ,india8 ,,editor3 ,evidently1 in your opinion1 ,india means its few princes4 ,to me1 it means its teeming millions1 on whom depends the existence of its princes and our own4 ,kings will always use their kingly weapons4 ,to use force is bred in them4 ,they want to command1 but those who have to obey commands1 do not want guns2 and these are in a majority throughout the world4 ,they have to learn either body-force or soul-force4 ,where they learn the former1 both the rulers and the ruled become like so many mad men1 but1 where they learn soul-force1 the commands of the rulers do not go beyond the point of their swords1 for true men disregard unjust commands4 ,peasants have never been subdued by the sword1 and never will be4 ,they do not know the use of the sword1 and they are not frightened by the use of it by others4 ,that nation is great which rests its head upon death as its pillow4 ,those who defy death are free from all fear4 ,for those who are labouring under the delusive charms of brute-force1 this picture is not overdrawn4 ,the fact is that1 in ,india1 the nation at large has generally used passive resistance in all departments of life4 ,we cease to co-operate with our rulers when they displease us4 ,this is passive resistance4 ,i remember an instance when1 in a small principality1 the villagers were offended by some command issued by the prince4 ,the former immediately began vacating the village4 ,the prince became nervous1 apologised to his subjects and withdrew his command4 ,many such instances can be found in ,india4 ,real home-rule is possible only where passive resistance is the guiding force of the people4 ,any other rule is foreign rule4 ,,reader3 ,then you will say that it is not at all necessary for us to train the body8 ,,editor3 ,i will certainly not say any such thing4 ,it is difficult to become a passive resister1 unless the body is trained4 ,as a rule1 the mind1 residing in a body that has become weakened by pampering1 is also weak1 and where there is no strength of mind1 there can be no strength of soul4 ,we will have to improve our physique by getting rid of infant marriages and luxurious living4 ,if ,i were to ask a man having a shattered body to face a cannon's mouth ,i would make of myself a laughing-stock4 ,,reader3 ,from what you say1 then1 it would appear that it is not a small thing to become a passive resister1 and1 if that is so1 ,i would like you to explain how a man may become a passive resister4 ,,editor3 ,to become a passive resister is easy enough1 but it is also equally difficult4 ,i have known a lad of fourteen years become a passive resister2 ,i have known also sick people doing likewise and ,i have also known physically strong and otherwise happy people being unable to take up passive resistance4 ,after a great deal of experience1 it seems to me that those who want to become passive resisters for the service of the country have to observe perfect chastity1 adopt poverty1 follow truth1 and cultivate fearlessness4 ,chastity is one of the greatest disciplines without which the mind cannot attain requisite firmness4 ,a man who is unchaste loses stamina1 becomes emasculated and cowardly4 ,he whose mind is given over to animal passions is not capable of any great effort4 ,this can be proved by innumerable instances4 ,what1 then1 is a married person to do1 is the question that arises naturally2 and yet it need not4 ,when a husband and wife gratify the passions1 it is no less an animal indulgence on that account4 ,such an indulgence1 except for perpetuating the race1 is strictly prohibited4 ,but a passive resister has to avoid even that very limited indulgence1 because he can have no desire for progeny4 ,a married man1 therefore1 can observe perfect chastity4 ,this subject is not capable of being treated at greater length4 ,several questions arise3 ,how is one to carry one's wife with one8 ,what are her rights1 and such other questions8 ,yet those who wish to take part in a great work are bound to solve these puzzles4 ,just as there is necessity for chastity1 so is there for poverty4 ,pecuniary ambition and passive resistance cannot well go together4 ,those who have money are not expected to throw it away1 but they are expected to be indifferent about it4 ,they must be prepared to lose every penny rather than give up passive resistance4 ,passive resistance has been described in the course of our discussion as truth-force4 ,truth1 therefore1 has necessarily to be followed1 and that at any cost4 ,in this connection1 academic questions such as whether a man may not lie in order to save a life1 etc4 arise1 but these questions occur only to those who wish to justify lying4 ,those who want to follow truth every time are not placed in such a quandary1 and1 if they are1 they are still saved from a false position4 ,passive resistance cannot proceed a step without fearlessness4 ,those alone can follow the path of passive resistance who are free from fear whether as to their possessions1 false honour1 their relatives1 the government1 bodily injuries1 death4 ,these observances are not to be abandoned in the belief that they are difficult4 ,nature has implanted in the human breast ability to cope with any difficulty or suffering that may come to man unprovoked4 ,these qualities are worth having1 even for those who do not wish to serve the country4 ,let there be no mistake as those who want to train themselves in the use of arms are also obliged to have these qualities more or less4 ,everybody does not become a warrior for the wish4 ,a would-be warrior will have to observe chastity1 and to be satisfied with poverty as his lot4 ,a warrior without fearlessness cannot be conceived of4 ,it may be thought that he would not need to be exactly truthful1 but that quality follows real fearlessness4 ,when a man abandons truth1 he does so owing to fear in some shape or form4 ,the above four attributes1 then1 need not frighten any one4 ,it may be as well here to note that a physical-force man has to have many other useless qualities which a passive resister never needs4 ,and you will find that whatever extra effort a swordsman needs is due to lack of fearlessness4 ,if he is an embodiment of the latter1 the sword will drop from his hand that very moment4 ,he does not need its support4 ,one who is free from hatred requires no sword4 ,a man with a stick suddenly came face to face with a lion1 and instinctively raised his weapon in self-defence4 ,the man saw that he had only prated about fearlessness when there was none in him4 ,that moment he dropped the stick1 and found himself free from all fear4 ,,chapter ,,xviii ,,education ,,reader3 ,in the whole of our discussion1 you have not demonstrated the necessity for education2 we always complain of its absence among us4 ,we notice a movement for compulsory education in our country4 ,the ,maharaja of ,gaekwar has introduced it in his territories4 ,every eye is directed towards them4 ,we bless the ,maharaja for it4 ,is all this effort then of no use8 ,,editor3 ,if we consider our civilization to be the highest1 ,i have regretfully to say that much of the effort you have described is of no use4 ,the motive of the ,maharaja and other great leaders who have been working in this direction is perfectly pure4 ,they1 therefore1 undoubtedly deserve great praise4 ,but we cannot conceal from ourselves the result that is likely to flow from their effort4 ,what is the meaning of education8 ,if it simply means a knowledge of letters1 it is merely an instrument1 and an instrument may be well used or abused4 ,the same instrument that may be used to cure a patient may be used to take his life1 and so may a knowledge of letters4 ,we daily observe that many men abuse it1 and very few make good use of it1 and if this is a correct statement1 we have proved that more harm has been done by it than good4 ,the ordinary meaning of education is a knowledge of letters4 ,to teach boys reading1 writing and arithmetic is called primary education4 ,a peasant earns his bread honestly4 ,he has ordinary knowledge of the world4 ,he knows fairly well how he should behave towards his parents1 his wife1 his children and his fellow-villagers4 ,he understands and observes the rules of morality4 ,but he cannot write his own name4 ,what do you propose to do by giving him a knowledge of letters8 ,will you add an inch to his happiness8 ,do you wish to make him discontented with his cottage or his lot8 ,and even if you want to do that1 he will not need such an education4 ,carried away by the flood of western thought1 we came to the conclusion1 without weighing pros and cons1 that we should give this kind of education to the people4 99 99 99 99 99 ,now let us take higher education4 ,i have learned ,geography1 ,astronomy1 ,algebra1 ,geometry1 etc4 ,what of that8 ,in what way have ,i benefitted myself or those around me8 ,why have ,i learned these things8 ,professor ,huxley has thus defined education3--,that man ,i think has had a liberal education who has been so trained in youth that his body is the ready servant of his will and does with ease and pleasure all the work that as a mechanism it is capable of1 whose intellect is a clear1 cold logic engine with all its parts of equal strength and in smooth working order 444 whose mind is stored with a knowledge of the fundamental truths of nature 444 whose passions are trained to come to heel by a vigorous will1 the servant of a tender conscience 444 who has learnt to hate all vileness and to respect others as himself4 ,such an one and no other1 ,i conceive1 has had a liberal education1 for he is in harmony with ,nature4 ,he will make the best of her and she of him4 ,if this be true education1 ,i must emphatically say that the sciences ,i have enumerated above1 ,i have never been able to use for controlling my senses4 ,therefore1 whether you take elementary education or higher education1 it is not required for the main thing4 ,it does not make of us men4 ,it does not enable us to do our duty4 ,,reader3 ,if that is so1 ,i shall have to ask you another question4 ,what enables you to tell all these things to me8 ,if you had not received higher education1 how would you have been able to explain to me the things that you have8 ,,editor3 ,you have spoken well4 ,but my answer is simple3 ,i do not for one moment believe that my life would have been wasted1 had ,i not received higher or lower education4 ,nor do ,i consider that ,i necessarily serve because ,i speak4 ,but ,i do desire to serve and1 in endeavouring to fulfil that desire1 ,i make use of the education ,i have received4 ,and1 if ,i am making good use of it1 even then it is not for the millions1 but ,i can use it only for such as you1 and this supports my contention4 ,both you and ,i have come under the bane of what is mainly false education4 ,i claim to have become free from its ill-effects1 and ,i am trying to give you the benefit of my experience1 and1 in doing so1 ,i am demonstrating the rottenness of this education4 ,moreover1 ,i have not run down a knowledge of letters under all circumstances4 ,all ,i have shown is that we must not make of it a fetish4 ,it is not our ,kamdhuk4 ,in its place it can be of use1 and it has its place when we have brought our senses under subjection1 and put our ethics on a firm foundation4 ,and then1 if we feel inclined to receive that education1 we may make good use of it4 ,as an ornament it is likely to sit well on us4 ,it now follows that it is not necessary to make this education compulsory4 ,our ancient school system is enough4 ,character-building has the first place in it1 and that is primary education4 ,a building erected on that foundation will last4 ,,reader3 ,do ,i then understand that you do not consider ,english education necessary for obtaining ,home ,rule8 ,,editor3 ,my answer is yes and no4 ,to give millions a knowledge of ,english is to enslave them4 ,the foundation that ,macaulay laid of education has enslaved us4 ,i do not suggest that he had any such intention1 but that has been the result4 ,is it not a sad commentary that we should have to speak of ,home ,rule in a foreign tongue8 ,and it is worthy of note that the systems which the ,europeans have discarded are the systems in vogue among us4 ,their learned men continually make changes4 ,we ignorantly adhere to their cast-off systems4 ,they are trying each division to improve its own status4 ,wales is a small portion of ,england4 ,great efforts are being made to revive a knowledge of ,welsh among ,welshmen4 ,the ,english ,chancellor1 ,mr4 ,lloyd ,george1 is taking a leading part in the movement to make ,welsh children speak ,welsh4 ,and what is our condition8 ,we write to each other in faulty ,english1 and from this even1 our ,m4 ,a4's are not free2 our best thoughts are expressed in ,english2 the proceedings of our ,congress are conducted in ,english2 our best newspapers are printed in ,english4 ,if this state of things continues for a long time1 posterity will--it is my firm opinion--condemn and curse us4 ,it is worth noting that1 by receiving ,english education1 we have enslaved the nation4 ,hypocrisy1 tyranny1 etc41 have increased2 ,english-knowing ,indians have not hesitated to cheat and strike terror into the people4 ,now1 if we are doing anything for the people at all1 we are paying only a portion of the debt due to them4 ,is it not a most painful thing that1 if ,i want to go to a court of justice1 ,i must employ the ,english language as medium2 that1 when ,i become a barrister1 ,i may not speak my mother-tongue1 and that some one else should have to translate to me from my own language8 ,is not this absolutely absurd8 ,is it not a sign of slavery8 ,am ,i to blame the ,english for it or myself8 ,it is we1 the ,english-knowing men1 that have enslaved ,india4 ,the curse of the nation will rest not upon the ,english but upon us4 ,i have told you that my answer to your last question is both yes and no4 ,i have explained to you why it is yes4 ,i shall now explain why it is no4 ,we are so much beset by the disease of civilization1 that we cannot altogether do without ,english education4 ,those who have already received it may make good use of it wherever necessary4 ,in our dealings with the ,english people1 in our dealings with our own people1 when we can only correspond with them through that language1 and for the purpose of knowing how much disgusted they 7the ,english7 have themselves become with their civilization1 we may use or learn ,english1 as the case may be4 ,those who have studied ,english will have to teach morality to their progeny through their mother-tongue1 and to teach them another ,indian language2 but when they have grown up1 they may learn ,english1 the ultimate aim being that we should not need it4 ,the object of making money thereby should be eschewed4 ,even in learning ,english to such a limited extent we will have to consider what we should learn through it and what we should not4 ,it will be necessary to know what sciences we should learn4 ,a little thought should show you that immediately we cease to care for ,english degrees1 the rulers will prick up their ears4 ,,reader3 ,then what education shall we give8 ,,editor3 ,this has been somewhat considered above1 but we will consider it a little more4 ,i think that we have to improve all our languages4 ,what subjects we should learn through them need not be elaborated here4 ,those ,english books which are valuable we should translate into the various ,indian languages4 ,we should abandon the pretension of learning many sciences4 ,religious1 that is ethical1 education will occupy the first place4 ,every cultured ,indian will know in addition to his own provincial language1 if a ,hindu1 ,sanskrit2 if a ,mahomedan1 ,arabic2 if a ,parsee1 ,persian2 and all1 ,hindi4 ,some ,hindus should know ,arabic and ,persian2 some ,mahomedans and ,parsees1 ,sanskrit4 ,several ,northerners and ,westerners should learn ,tamil4 ,a universal language for ,india should be ,hindi1 with the option of writing it in ,persian or ,nagric characters4 ,in order that the ,hindus and the ,mahomedans may have closer relations1 it is necessary to know both the characters4 ,and1 if we can do this1 we can drive the ,english language out of the field in a short time4 ,all this is necessary for us1 slaves4 ,through our slavery the nation has been enslaved1 and it will be free with our freedom4 ,,reader3 ,the question of religious education is very difficult4 ,,editor3 ,yet we cannot do without it4 ,india will never be godless4 ,rank atheism cannot flourish in that land4 ,the task is indeed difficult4 ,my head begins to turn as ,i think of religious education4 ,our religious teachers are hypocritical and selfish2 they will have to be approached4 ,the ,mullas1 the ,dasturs and the ,brahmins hold the key in their hands1 but if they will not have the good sense1 the energy that we have derived from ,english education will have to be devoted to religious education4 ,this is not very difficult4 ,only the fringe of the ocean has been polluted1 and it is those who are within the fringe who alone need cleansing4 ,we who come under this category can even cleanse ourselves1 because my remarks do not apply to the millions4 ,in order to restore ,india to its pristine condition1 we have to return to it4 ,in our own civilization1 there will naturally be progress1 retrogression1 reforms1 and reactions2 but one effort is required1 and that is to drive out ,western civilization4 ,all else will follow4 ,,chapter ,,xix ,,machinery ,,reader3 ,when you speak of driving out ,western civilization1 ,i suppose you will also say that we want no machinery4 ,,editor3 ,by raising this question1 you have opened the wound ,i had received4 ,when ,i read ,mr4 ,dutt's ,economic ,history of ,india ,i wept2 and1 as ,i think of it1 again my heart sickens4 ,it is machinery that has impoverished ,india4 ,it is difficult to measure the harm that ,manchester has done to us4 ,it is due to ,manchester that ,indian handicraft has all but disappeared4 ,but ,i make a mistake4 ,how can ,manchester be blamed8 ,we wore ,manchester cloth1 and that is why ,manchester wove it4 ,i was delighted when ,i read about the bravery of ,bengal4 ,there are no cloth-mills in that ,presidency4 ,they were1 therefore1 able to restore the original hand-weaving occupation4 ,it is true ,bengal encourages the mill-industry of ,bombay4 ,if ,bengal had proclaimed a boycott of all machine-made goods1 it would have been much better4 ,machinery has begun to desolate ,europe4 ,ruination is now knocking at the ,english gates4 ,machinery is the chief symbol of modern civilization2 it represents a great sin4 ,the workers in the mills of ,bombay have become slaves4 ,the condition of the women working in the mills is shocking4 ,when there were no mills1 these women were not starving4 ,if the machinery craze grows in our country1 it will become an unhappy land4 ,it may be considered a heresy1 but ,i am bound to say that it were better for us to send money to ,manchester and to use flimsy ,manchester cloth than to multiply mills in ,india4 ,by using ,manchester cloth we would only waste our money1 but by reproducing ,manchester in ,india1 we shall keep our money at the price of our blood1 because our very moral being will be sapped1 and ,i call in support of my statement the very mill-hands as witnesses4 ,and those who have amassed wealth out of factories are not likely to be better than other rich men4 ,it would be folly to assume that an ,indian ,rockfeller would be better than the ,american ,rockfeller4 ,impoverished ,india can become free1 but it will be hard for an ,india1 made rich through immorality1 to regain its freedom4 ,i fear we will have to admit that moneyed men support ,british rule2 their interest is bound up with its stability4 ,money renders a man helpless4 ,the other thing is as harmful as sexual vice4 ,both are poison4 ,a snakebite is a lesser poison than these two1 because the former merely destroys the body1 but the latter destroys body1 mind and soul4 ,we need not1 therefore1 be pleased with the prospect of the growth of the mill-industry4 ,,reader3 ,are the mills1 then1 to be closed down8 ,,editor3 ,that is difficult4 ,it is no easy task to do away with a thing that is established4 ,we1 therefore1 say that the non-beginning of a thing is1 supreme wisdom4 ,we cannot condemn mill-owners1 we can but pity them4 ,it would be too much to expect them to give up their mills1 but we may implore them not to increase them4 ,if they would be good1 they would gradually contract their business4 ,they can establish in thousands of households the ancient and sacred handlooms1 and they can buy out the cloth that may be thus woven4 ,whether the mill-owners do this or not1 people can cease to use machine-made goods4 ,,reader3 ,you have so far spoken about machine-made cloth1 but there are innumerable machine-made things4 ,we have either to import them or to introduce machinery into our country4 ,,editor3 ,indeed1 our gods even are made in ,germany4 ,what need1 then1 to speak of matches1 pins1 and glassware8 ,my answer can be only one4 ,what did ,india do before these articles were introduced8 ,precisely the same should be done to-day4 ,as long as we cannot make pins without machinery1 so long will we do without them4 ,the tinsel splendour of glassware we will have nothing to do with and we will make wicks1 as of old1 with home-grown cotton1 and use hand-made earthern saucers for lamps4 ,so doing1 we shall save our eyes and money1 and will support ,swadeshi1 and so shall we attain ,home ,rule4 ,it is not to be conceived that all men will do all these things at one time1 or that some men will give up all machine-made things at once4 ,but1 if the thought is sound1 we will always find out what we can give up1 and will gradually cease to use this4 ,what a few may do1 others will copy1 and the movement will grow like the cocoanut of the mathematical problem4 ,what the leaders do1 the populace will gladly follow4 ,the matter is neither complicated nor difficult4 ,you and ,i shall not wait until we can carry others with us4 ,those will be the losers who will not do it1 and those who will not do it1 although they can appreciate the truth1 will deserve to be called cowards4 ,,reader3 ,what1 then1 of the tram-cars and electricity8 ,,editor3 ,this question is now too late4 ,it signifies nothing4 ,if we are to do without the railways1 we shall have to do without the tram-cars4 ,machinery is like a snake-hole which may contain from one to a hundred snakes4 ,where there is machinery there are large cities2 and where there are large cities1 there are tram-cars and railways2 and there only does one see electric light4 ,english villages do not boast any of these things4 ,honest physicians will tell you that1 where means of artificial locomotion have increased1 the health of the people has suffered4 ,i remember that1 when in a ,european town there was a scarcity of money1 the receipts of the tramway company1 of the lawyers and of the doctors1 went down1 and the people were less unhealthy4 ,i cannot recall a single good point in connection with machinery4 ,books can be written to demonstrate its evils4 ,,reader3 ,it is a good point or a bad one that all you are saying will be printed through machinery8 ,,editor3 ,this is one of those instances which demonstrate that sometimes poison is used to kill poison4 ,this1 then1 will not be a good point regarding machinery4 ,as it expires1 the machinery1 as it were1 says to us3 ,beware and avoid me4 ,you will derive no benefit from me1 and the benefit that may accrue from printing will avail only those who are infected with the machinery-craze4 ,do not1 therefore1 forget the main thing4 ,it is necessary to realise that machinery is bad4 ,we shall then be able gradually to do away with it4 ,nature has not provided any way whereby we may reach a desired goal all of a sudden4 ,if1 instead of welcoming machinery as a boon1 we would look upon it as an evil1 it would ultimately go4 ,,chapter ,,xx ,,conclusion ,,reader3 ,from your views ,i gather that you would form a third party4 ,you are neither an extremist nor a moderate4 ,,editor3 ,that is a mistake4 ,i do not think of a third party at all4 ,we do not all think alike4 ,we cannot say that all the moderates hold identical views4 ,and how can those who want to serve only have a party8 ,i would serve both the moderates and the extremists4 ,where ,i should differ from them1 ,i would respectfully place my position before them1 and continue my service4 ,,reader3 ,what1 then1 would you say to both the parties8 ,,editor3 ,i would say to the extremists3--,i know that you want ,home ,rule for ,india2 it is not to be had for your asking4 ,everyone will have to take it for himself4 ,what others get for me is not ,home ,rule but foreign rule2 therefore1 it would not be proper for you to say that you have obtained ,home ,rule1 if you expelled the ,english4 ,i have already described the true nature of ,home ,rule4 ,this you would never obtain by force of arms4 ,brute-force is not natural to the ,indian soil4 ,you will have1 therefore1 to rely wholly on soul-force4 ,you must not consider that violence is necessary at any stage for reaching our goal4 ,i would say to the moderates3--,mere petitioning is derogatory2 we thereby confess inferiority4 ,to say that ,british rule is indispensable1 is almost a denial of the ,godhead4 ,we cannot say that anybody or anything is indispensable except ,god4 ,moreover1 commonsense should tell us that to state that1 for the time being1 the presence of the ,english in ,india is a necessity1 is to make them conceited4 ,if the ,english vacated ,india bag and baggage1 it must not be supposed that she would be widowed4 ,it is possible that those who are forced to observe peace under their pressure would fight after their withdrawal4 ,there can be no advantage in suppressing an eruption1 it must have its vent4 ,if1 therefore1 before we can remain at peace1 we must fight amongst ourselves1 it is better that we do so4 ,there is no occasion for a third party to protect the weak4 ,it is this so-called protection which has unnerved us4 ,such protection can only make the weak weaker4 ,unless we realise this1 we cannot have ,home ,rule4 ,i would paraphrase the thought of an ,english divine and say that anarchy under home rule were better than orderly foreign rule4 ,only1 the meaning that the learned divine attached to home rule is different to ,indian ,home ,rule according to my conception4 ,we have to learn1 and to teach others1 that we do not want the tyranny of their ,english rule or ,indian rule4 ,if this idea were carried out both the extremists and the moderates could join hands4 ,there is no occasion to fear or distrust one another4 ,,reader3 ,what1 then1 would you say to the ,english8 ,,editor3 ,to them ,i would respectfully say3 ,i admit you are my rulers4 ,it is not necessary to debate the question whether you hold ,india by the sword or by my consent4 ,i have no objection to your remaining in my country1 but although you are the rulers1 you will have to remain as servants of the people4 ,it is not we who have to do as you wish1 but it is you who have to do as we wish4 ,you may keep the riches that you have drained away from this land1 but you may not drain riches henceforth4 ,your function will be1 if you so wish1 to police ,india2 you must abandon the idea of deriving any commercial benefit from us4 ,we hold the civilization that you support to be the reverse of civilization4 ,we consider our civilization to be far superior to yours4 ,if you realise this truth1 it will be to your advantage1 and1 if you do not1 according to your own proverb1 you should only live in our country in the same manner as we do4 ,you must not do anything that is contrary to our religions4 ,it is your duty as rulers that1 for the sake of the ,hindus1 you should eschew beef1 and for the sake of the ,mahomedans1 you should avoid bacon and ham4 ,we have hitherto said nothing1 because we have been cowed down1 but you need not consider that you have not hurt our feelings by your conduct4 ,we are not expressing our sentiments either through base selfishness or fear1 but because it is our duty now to speak out boldly4 ,we consider your schools and law courts to be useless4 ,we want our own ancient schools and courts to be restored4 ,the common language of ,india is not ,english but ,hindi4 ,you should1 therefore1 learn it4 ,we can hold communication with you only in our national language4 ,we cannot tolerate the idea of your spending money on railways and the military4 ,we see no occasion for either4 ,you may fear ,russia2 we do not4 ,when she comes we will look after her4 ,if you are with us1 we will then receive her jointly4 ,we do not need any ,european cloth4 ,we will manage with articles produced and manufactured at home4 ,you may not keep one eye on ,manchester and the other on ,india4 ,we can work together only if our interests are identical4 ,this has not been said to you in arrogance4 ,you have great military resources4 ,your naval power is matchless4 ,if we wanted to fight with you on your own ground we would be unable to do so1 but1 if the above submissions be not acceptable to you1 we cease to play the ruled4 ,you may1 if you like1 cut us to pieces4 ,you may shatter us at the cannon's mouth4 ,if you act contrary to our will1 we will not help you and1 without our help1 we know that you cannot move one step forward4 ,it is likely that you will laugh at all this in the intoxication of your power4 ,we may not be able to disillusion you at once1 but1 if there be any manliness in us1 you will see shortly that your intoxication is suicidal1 and that your laugh at our expense is an aberration of intellect4 ,we believe that1 at heart you belong to a religious nation4 ,we are living in a land which is the source of religions4 ,how we came together need not be considered1 but we can make mutual good use of our relations4 ,you ,english who have come to ,india are not a good specimen of the ,english nation1 nor can we almost half ,anglicised ,indians1 be considered a good specimen of the real ,indian nation4 ,if the ,english nation were to know all you have done1 it would oppose many of your actions4 ,the mass of the ,indians have had few dealings with you4 ,if you will abandon your so-called civilization1 and search into your own scriptures1 you will find that our demands are just4 ,only on conditions of our demands being fully satisfied may you remain in ,india1 and1 if you remain under those conditions we shall learn several things from you1 and you will learn many from us4 ,so doing1 we shall benefit each other and the world4 ,but that will happen only when the root of our relationship is sunk in a religious soil4 ,,reader3 ,what will you say to the nation8 ,,editor3 ,who is the nation8 ,,reader3 ,for our purposes it is the nation that you and ,i have been thinking of1 that is1 those of us who are affected by ,european civilization1 and who are eager to have ,home ,rule4 ,,editor3 ,to these ,i would say3 ,it is only those ,indians who are imbued with real love who will be able to speak to the ,english in the above strain without being frightened1 and those only can be said to be so imbued who conscientiously believe that ,indian civilization is the best1 and that ,european is a nine days' wonder4 ,such ephemeral civilizations have often come and gone1 and will continue to do so4 ,those only can be considered to be so imbued1 who1 having experienced the force of the soul within themselves1 will not cower before brute-force1 and will not1 on any account1 desire to use brute-force4 ,those only can be considered to have been so imbued who are intensely dissatisfied with the present pitiable condition having already drunk the cup of poison4 ,if there be only one such ,indian1 he will speak as above to the ,english1 and the ,english will have to listen to him4 ,these demands are not demands1 but they show our mental state4 ,we will get nothing by asking2 we shall have to take what we want1 and we need the requisite strength for the effort and that strength will be available to him only who #a4 will1 only on rare occasions1 make use of the ,english language2 #b4 if a lawyer1 will give up his profession and take up a hand-loom2 #c4 if a lawyer1 will devote his knowledge to enlightening both his people and the ,english2 #d4 if a lawyer1 will not meddle with the quarrels between parties1 but will give up the courts and from his experience induce the people to do likewise2 #e4 if a lawyer1 will refuse to be a judge1 as the will give up his profession2 #f4 if a doctor1 will give up medicine1 and understand that rather than mending bodies1 he should mend souls2 #g4 if a doctor1 will understand1 that no matter to what religion he belongs1 it is better that bodies remain diseased rather than that they are cured through the instrumentality of the diabolical vivisection that is practised in ,european schools of medicine2 #h4 although a doctor1 will take up a hand-loom and1 if any patients come to him1 will tell them the cause of their diseases1 and will advise them to remove the cause1 rather than pamper them by giving useless drugs2 he will understand that1 if by not taking drugs1 perchance the patient dies1 the world will not come to grief1 and that he will have been really merciful to him2 #i4 although a wealthy man1 regardless of his wealth1 will speak out his mind and fear no one2 #aj4 if a wealthy man1 will devote his money to establishing hand-looms1 and encourage others to use hand-made goods by wearing them himself2 #aa4 like every other ,indian1 will know that this is a time for repentance1 expiation and mourning2 #ab4 like every other ,indian1 will know that to blame the ,english is useless1 that they came because of us1 and remain also for the same reason1 and that they will either go or change their nature1 only when we reform ourselves2 #ac4 like others1 will understand that1 at a time of mourning1 there can be no indulgence1 and that1 whilst we are in a fallen state1 to be in gaol or in banishment is much the best2 #ad4 like others1 will know that it is superstition to imagine it necessary that we should guard against being imprisoned in order that we may deal with the people2 #ae4 like others1 will know that action is much better than speech2 that it is our duty to say exactly what we think and face the consequences1 and that it will be only then that we shall be able to impress anybody with our speech2 #af4 like others1 will understand that we will become free only through suffering2 #ag4 like others1 will understand that deportation for life to the ,andamans is not enough expiation for the sin of encouraging ,european civilization2 #ah4 like others1 will know that no nation has risen without suffering2 that1 even in physical warfare1 the true test is suffering and not the killing of others1 much more so in the warfare of passive resistance2 #ai4 like others1 will know that it is an idle excuse to say that we will do a thing when the others also do it2 that we should do what we know to be right1 and that others will do it when they see the way2 that when ,i fancy a particular delicacy1 ,i do not wait till others taste it2 that to make a national effort and to suffer are in the nature of delicacies2 and that to suffer under pressure is no suffering4 ,,reader3 ,this is a large order4 ,when will all carry it out8 ,,editor3 ,you make a mistake4 ,you and ,i have nothing to do with the others4 ,let each do his duty4 ,if ,i do my duty1 that is1 serve myself1 ,i shall be able to serve others4 ,before ,i leave you1 ,i will take the liberty of repeating4 #a4 ,real home-rule is self-rule or self-control4 #b4 ,the way to it is passive resistance3 that is soul force or love-force4 #c4 ,in order to exert this force1 ,swadeshi in every sense is necessary4 #d4 ,what we want to do should be done1 not because we object to the ,english or that we want to retaliate1 but because it is our duty to do so4 ,thus1 supposing that the ,english remove the salt-tax1 restore our money1 give the highest posts to ,indians1 withdraw the ,english troops1 we shall certainly not use their machine-made goods1 nor use the ,english language1 nor many of their industries4 ,it is worth nothing that these things are1 in their nature1 harmful2 hence1 we do not want them4 ,i bear no enmity towards the ,english1 but ,i do towards their civilization4 ,in my opinion1 we have used the term ,swaraj without understanding its real significance4 ,i have endeavoured to explain it as ,i understand it1 and my conscience testifies that my life henceforth is dedicated to its attainment4 ,,appendices3 ,some ,authorities4 ,testimonies by ,eminent ,men4 ,,appendices4 ,some ,authorities4 ,the following books are recommended for perusal to follow up the study of the foregoing3-- ,the ,kingdom of ,god is ,within ,you--,tolstoy4 ,what is ,art8--,tolstoy4 ,slavery of ,our ,times--,tolstoy4 ,the ,first ,step--,tolstoy4 ,how ,shall ,we ,escape--,tolstoy4 ,letter to a ,hindoo--,tolstoy4 ,the ,white ,slaves of ,england--,sherard4 ,civilization3 ,its ,cause and ,cure--,carpenter4 ,the ,fallacy of ,speed--,taylor4 ,a ,new ,crusade--,blount4 ,on the ,duty of ,civil ,disobedience--,thoreau4 ,life ,without ,principle--,thoreau4 ,unto ,this ,last--,ruskin4 ,a ,joy for ,ever--,ruskin4 ,duties of ,man--,mazzini4 ,defence and ,death of ,socrates--,from ,plato4 ,paradoxes of ,civilization--,max ,nordau4 ,poverty and ,un-,british ,rule in ,india--,naoroji4 ,economic ,history of ,india--,dutt4 ,village ,communities--,maine4 ,testimonies by ,eminent ,men4 ,the following extracts from ,mr4 ,alfred ,webb's valuable collection1 if the testimony given therein be true1 show that the ancient ,indian civilization1 has little to learn from the modern3-- ,victor ,cousin4 7#agib--ahfg74 ,founder of ,systematic ,eclecticism in ,philosophy4 ,on the other hand when we read with attention the poetical and philosophical movements of the ,east1 above all1 those of ,india1 which are beginning to spread in ,europe1 we discover there so many truths1 and truths so profound1 and which make such a contrast with the meanness of the results at which the ,european genius has sometimes stopped1 that we are constrained to bend the knee before that of the ,east1 and to see in this cradle of the human race the native land of the highest philosophy4 ,j4 ,seymour ,keay1 ,m4 ,p4 ,banker in ,india and ,india ,agent4 7,writing in #ahhc47 ,it cannot be too well understood that our position in ,india has never been in any degree that of civilians bringing civilization to savage races4 ,when we landed in ,india we found there a hoary civilization1 which1 during the progress of thousands of years1 had fitted itself into the character and adjusted itself to the wants of highly intellectual races4 ,the civilization was not prefunctory1 but universal and all-pervading--furnishing the country not only with political systems but with social and domestic institutions of the most ramified description4 ,the beneficent nature of these institutions as a whole may be judged of from their effects on the character of the ,hindu race4 ,perhaps there are no other people in the world who show so much in their characters the advantageous effects of their own civilization4 ,they are shrewd in business1 acute in reasoning1 thrifty1 religious1 sober1 charitable1 obedient to parents1 reverential to old age1 amiable1 law-abiding1 compassionate towards the helpless1 and patient under suffering4 ,friedrich ,max ,muelier1 ,,ll4,d4 ,if ,i were to ask myself from what literature we hear in ,europe1 we who have been nurtured almost exclusively on the thoughts of ,greeks and ,romans1 and of one ,semetic race1 the ,jewish may draw that corrective which is most wanted in order to make our inner life more perfect1 more comprehensive1 more universal1 in fact more truly human1 a life1 not for this life only but a transfigured and eternal life--again ,i should point to ,india4 ,michael ,g4 ,mulhall1 ,f4,r4,s4,s4 ,statistics 7#ahii74 ,prison population per #ajj1jjj of inhabitants3 ,several ,european ,states #ajj to #bcj ,england and ,wales #ij ,india #ch --,dictionary of ,statistics1 ,michael ,g4 ,mulhall1 ,f4,r4,s4,s41 ,routledge and ,sons1 #ahii4 ,colonel ,thomas ,munro4 ,thirty-two years' service in ,india4 ,if a good system of agriculture1 unrivalled manufacturing skill1 a capacity to produce whatever can contribute to convenience or luxury2 schools established in every village1 for teaching1 reading1 writing and arithmetic2 the general practice of hospitality and charity among each other2 and1 above all1 treatment of the female sex1 full of confidence1 respect and delicacy1 are among the signs which denote a civilised people1 then the ,hindus are not inferior to the nations of ,europe2 and if civilization is to become an article of trade between the two countries1 ,i am convinced that this country ,england will gain by the import cargo4 ,frederick von ,schlegel4 ,it cannot be denied that the early ,indians possessed a knowledge of the true ,god2 all their writings are replete with sentiments and expressions noble1 clear and severely grand1 as deeply conceived and reverently expressed as in any human language in which men have spoken of their ,god4444 ,among nations possessing indigenous philosophy and metaphysics1 together with an innate relish for these pursuits1 such as at present characterises ,germany2 and in olden times1 was the proud distinction of ,greece1 ,hindustan holds the first rank in point of time4 ,sir ,william ,wedderburn1 ,bart4 ,the ,indian village has thus for centuries remained a bulwark against political disorder1 and the home of the simple domestic and social virtues4 ,no wonder1 therefore1 that philosophers and historians have always dwelt lovingly on this ancient institution which is the natural social unit and the best type of rural life2 self-contained1 industrious1 peace-loving1 conservative in the best sense of the word4444 ,i think you will agree with me that there is much that is both picturesque and attractive in this glimpse of social and domestic life in an ,indian village4 ,it is a harmless and happy form of human existence4 ,moreover1 it is not without good practical outcome4 ,j4 ,young4 ,secretary1 ,savon ,mechanics' ,institutes4 7,within recent years74 ,those races1 the ,indian viewed from a moral aspect are perhaps the most remarkable people in the world4 ,they breathe an atmosphere of moral purity1 which cannot but excite admiration1 and this is especially the case with the poorer classes who1 notwithstanding the privations of their humble lot1 appear to be happy and contented4 ,true children of nature1 they live on from day to day1 taking no thought of to-morrow and thankful for the simple fare which ,providence has provided for them4 ,it is curious to witness the spectacle of coolies of both sexes returning home at nightfall after a hard day's work often lasting from sunrise to sunset4 ,in spite of fatigue from the effects of the unremitting toil1 they are1 for the most part1 gay and animated1 conversing cheerfully together and occasionally breaking into snatches of light-hearted song4 ,yet what awaits them on their return to the hovels which they call home8 ,a dish of rice for food1 and the floor for a bed4 ,domestic felicity appears to be the rule among the ,natives1 and this is the more strange when the customs of marriage are taken into account1 parents arranging all such matters4 ,many ,indian households afford examples of the married state in its highest degree of perfection4 ,this may be due to the teachings of the ,shastras1 and to the strict injunctions which they inculcate with regard to marital obligations2 but it is no exaggeration to say that husbands are generally devotedly attached to their wives1 and in many instances the latter have the most exalted conception of their duties towards their husbands4 ,abbe ,j4 ,a4 ,dubois4 ,missionary in ,mysore4 ,extracts from letter dated ,seringapatam1 #aeth ,december1 #ahbj4 ,the authority of married women within their houses is chiefly exerted in preserving good order and peace among the persons who compose their families3 and a great many among them discharge this important duty with a prudence and a discretion which have scarcely a parallel in ,europe4 ,i have known families composed of between thirty and forty persons1 or more1 consisting of grown-up sons and daughters1 all married and all having children1 living together under the superintendence of an old matron--their mother or mother-in-law4 ,the latter1 by good management1 and by accommodating herself to the temper of the daughters-in-law1 by using1 according to circumstances1 firmness or forbearance1 succeeded in preserving peace and harmony during many years amongst so many females1 who had all jarring interests1 and still more jarring tempers4 ,i ask you whether it would be possible to attain the same end1 in the same circumstances1 in our countries1 where it is scarcely possible to make two women living under the same roof to agree together4 ,in fact1 there is perhaps no kind of honest employment in a civilised country in which the ,hindu females have not a due share4 ,besides the management of the household1 and the care of the family1 which 7as already noticed7 under their control1 the wives and daughters of husbandmen attend and assist their husbands and fathers in the labours of agriculture4 ,those of tradesmen assist theirs in carrying on their trade4 ,merchants are attended and assisted by theirs in their shops4 ,many females are shopkeepers on their own account and without a knowledge of the alphabet or of the decimal scale1 they keep by other means their accounts in excellent order1 and are considered as still shrewder than the males themselves in their commercial dealings4 ,,the ,,modern ,,printing ,,works1 ,,mount ,,road1 ,,madras4 ,books on ,liberty and ,freedom ,the ,ideal of ,swaraj4 ,in ,education and ,government by ,nirpendra ,chandra ,banerjee with an introduction by ,c4 ,f4 ,andrews4 ,those who are out of sheer prejudice and incapacity for political thought1 sneer1 at the goal of ,swaraj proclaimed by the ,national ,congress as merely a destructive and at best a visionary ideal as well as those who in spite of their approval of the goal are unable to visualise it in concrete contents1 will do well to read this interesting and instructive book by an ardent ,bengali patriot and ex-school master4 ,the author has political insight1 and faith in the country's capacity4 ,he recognises that the soul of ,india is in her numerous villages in rural centres and has given out practical suggestions for national reconstruction along sound lines4 ,mr4 ,andrews has written an introduction to the volume wherein he has dealt with the value of the ,swaraj ideal and his own conception of the same4 ,it is a useful publication worthy to be placed in the hands of our young men and women4--,hindu4 ,price ,rs4 #a4 ,india's ,will to ,freedom4 ,by ,lala ,lajpat ,rai4 ,a collection of ,writings and ,addresses on the present situation and the work before us4 ,we in ,india should1 one and all1 take a vow that whether we have to lay down our life1 whether we are mutilated or hanged1 whether our women and children are mal-treated1 our desire for ,swaraj will never grow a little any the less4 ,every child of this land1 whatever his religion or persuasion1 should swear that1 as long as there is life in his limbs1 or breath in his nostrils1 he would strive for national liberty4 ,price ,rs4 #b-h4 ,footsteps of ,freedom4 ,by ,james ,h4 ,cousins4 ,another stunt which will also be vigorously vamped by the opponents of dyarehy1 in fact of all reform will be the absolute necessity of politically educating the masses of ,india before giving them any measure of political freedom4 ,in a book of charming essays which he has just published through ,messrs4 ,ganesh ,co41 of ,madras1 under the title of ,footsteps of ,freedom ,mr4 ,james ,cousins attacks this particular fallacy and shatters it convincingly4 ,ditcher in ,capital4 ,price ,rs4 #b4 ,freedom's ,battle4 ,a comprehensive collection of ,writings and ,speeches of ,mahatma ,gandhi on the present situation including ,the ,khilafat ,wrongs1 ,the ,punjab ,agony1 ,swaraj1 ,hindu-,muslim ,unity1 ,indians ,overseas1 ,the ,depressed ,classes1 ,non-co-operation1 etc41 with an historical introduction by ,mr4 ,c4 ,rajagopalachar4 ,the war that the people of ,india have declared and which will purify and consolidate ,india1 and forge for her a true and stable liberty is a war with the latest and most effective weapon4 ,in this war1 what has hitherto been in the world an undesirable but necessary incident in freedom's battles1 the killing of innocent men has been eliminated2 and that which is the true essential for forging liberty1 the self-purification and self-strengthening of men and women has been kept pure and unalloyed4 ,the best preparation for any one who desires to take part in the great battle now going on is a silent study of the writings and speeches collected herein4 ,price ,rs4 #b-h4 ,,ganesh ,co41 ,publishers1 ,madras4 ,,transcriber',s ,,note3 ,obvious typographical and printer errors have been corrected without comment4 ,in addition to obvious errors1 the following two changes have been made3 ,page #fb3 'four' replaced with 'our' in the phrase3 444 to deepen our slavery4 ,page #aae3 'cover' changed to 'cower' in the phrase3 444 will not cower before brute-force4444 ,page #abh3 'foot' changed to 'roof' in the phrase3 444 living under the same roof4444' ,other than this1 any inconsistencies in the author's spelling1 use of grammar and punctuation have been preserved in this text as they appear in the original publication4 ,two possible printer errors which have not been corrected in this text include3 ,page #aaf3 444 the will give up his profession2 probably should read1 444 he 7or 'they'7 will give up his profession4444 ,page #aai3 ,it is worth nothing that these things are4444 probably should read1 ,it is worth noting that these things are4444