Education -- India; India -- Politics and government -- 1857-1919; India -- Social conditions
Is really self-government within the Empire a practicable
ideal? What would it mean? It would mean either no
real self-government for us or no real overlordship for England.
Would we be satisfied with the shadow of self-government?
If not, would England be satisfied with the shadow of overlordship?
In either case England would not be satisfied
with a shadowy overlordship, and we refuse to be satisfied
with a shadowy self-government. And therefore no compromise
is possible under such conditions between self-government
in India and the overlordship of England. If self-government
is conceded to us, what would be England's
position not only in India, but in the British Empire itself?
Self-government means the right of self-taxation; it means
the right of financial control; it means the right of the
people to impose protective and prohibitive tariffs on foreign
imports. The moment we have the right of self-taxation,
what shall we do? We shall not try to be engaged in this
uphill work of industrial boycott. But we shall do what
every nation has done. Under the circumstances in which
we live now, we shall impose a heavy prohibitive protective
tariff upon every inch of textile fabric from Manchester,
upon every blade of knife that comes from Leeds. We shall
refuse to grant admittance to a British soul into our territory.
We would not allow British capital to be engaged in
the development of Indian resources, as it is now engaged.
We would not grant any right to British capitalists to dig
up the mineral wealth of the land and carry it to their own
isles. We shall want foreign capital. But we shall apply
for foreign loans in the open market of the whole world,
guaranteeing the credit of the Indian Government, the
Indian nation, for the repayment of the loan, just as America
has done and is doing, just as Russia is doing now, just as
Japan has been doing of late. And England's commercial
interests would not be furthered in the way these are being
furthered now, under the conditions of popular self-government,
though it might be within the Empire. But what
would it mean within the Empire? It would mean that
England would have to enter into some arrangement with
us for some preferential tariff. England would have to come
to our markets on the conditions that we would impose
upon her for the purpose, if she wanted an open door in
India, and after a while, when we have developed our resources
a little and organized our industrial life, we would want the
open door not only to England, but to every part of the
British Empire. And do you think it is possible for a small
country like England with a handful of population, although
she might be enormously wealthy, to compete on fair and
equitable terms with a mighty continent like India, with
immense natural resources, with her teeming populations,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account