India -- History -- British occupation, 1765-1947; India -- Politics and government -- 1765-1947
With 70 million Moslems India is the most important centre of Mohammedan
sentiment. With Christians as their present rulers, the Hindus and
Mohammedans of India are coming to realise that their best interests
require a closing up of their ranks. There is no doubt that, come what
may, their relations in future will be much more cordial, friendly and
mutually sympathetic than they have been in the past. The Hindus will
stand by their Mohammedan countrymen in all their efforts to revive the
glory of Islam, and to regain political independence for it. There is no
fear of a Pan-Islamic movement if the new spirit of internationalism
prevails. If, however, it does not, the Pan-Islamic movement might find
a sympathetic soul in India. Islam is not dead. It cannot and will not
die. The only way to make it a force for harmony and peace is to
recognise its potentialities and to respect its susceptibilities. The
political independence of Islamic countries is the basic foundation for
such a state. We hope that the statesmen of the world will give their
most earnest thought to the question and sincerely put into practice the
principles they have been enunciating during the war. The case of India
will be an acid test.
A happy India will make a valuable contribution to the evolution of a
better and more improved humanity. An unhappy India will clog the wheels
of progress. It will not be easy for the masters of India to rule it on
old lines. If not reconciled it might prove the pivot of the next war. A
happy India will be one of the brightest spots in the British
Commonwealth. A discontented India will be a cause of standing shame and
a source of never ending trouble.
With a republican China in the northeast, a constitutional Persia in the
northwest and a Bolshevist Russia in the not remote north, it will be
extremely foolish to attempt to rule India despotically. Not even the
gods can do it. It is not possible even if the legislature devotes all
its sittings to the drafting and passing of one hundred coercion acts.
The peace of the world, international harmony and good-will, the good
name of the British Commonwealth, the safety of the Empire as such,
demand the peaceful introduction and development of democracy in India.
APPENDIX A
A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN INDUSTRIAL COMMISSIONERS' REPORT
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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