E-Book - Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi – His Life & TimesSimilarly, Britain divided the country between British India, governed directlyby England, and native India, governed indirectly by England but directly, andostensibly, by Indian princes. It was a cynical device, avowed as such by LordCanning on April 30, 1860; he wrote, 'It was long ago said by Sir John Malcolmthat if we made all India into zillahs (or British districts) it was not in thenature of things that our empire should last fifty years; but that if we couldkeep up a number of native states without political power but as royalinstruments, we should exist in India as long as our naval supremacy wasmaintained. Of the substantial truth of this opinion I have no doubt; the recentevents make it more deserving of our own attention than ever.' In the twentiethcentury, these royal instruments without political power number over fivehundred and fifty. With that number of puppets the British thought they weresecure.Professor Rushbrook Williams, a brilliant Englishman who often served asofficial intermediary with Indian princes, wrote in the London Evening Standardof May 28, 1930, The situations of these feudatory states, chequerboarding allIndia as they do, are a great safeguard. It is like establishing 3 vast network offriendly fortresses in debatable territory. " would be difficult for a generalrebellion against the British to sweep India because of this network ofpowerful, loyal, native states.'Nothing could be more clear.Lest India become strong enough economically to break from the Empire, and inorder, too, to help British industries in the motherland, Indian industries werediscouraged and Indian shipping and shipbuilding were officially restricted.Education was not designed to train a technical staff for industry nor aprofessional class to serve the country. With a population of approximately380,000,000, India, in 1939, had only 1306 students of agriculture, 2413 ofengineering, 719 of veterinary science, 150 of technology, 63 of forestry andonly 3561 in medicine, in her colleges and universities, according to the officialStatistical Abstract for British India.www.mkgandhi.org Page 193