MORE SERMONS ON NON-VIOLENCE
would not tolerate the presence of a mere * native * ra
their midst!
In his village home Badshah Khan is popularly known
as the fakir, as his heart is always with the poor. The
meaning of it was vividly brought home to us when early
-one morning he took out some members of the party for
a little mountain climbing. " We must watch the sunrise
from that mountain top/' he insisted as he dragged us
out willy nilly into the nipping morning cold. The spec-
tacle presented by the russet mountain sides bathed in the
glory and freshness of the early winter morning was most
inspiring, while the panorama of terraced cultivation,
which rose tier upon tier from the gloomy depths of the
valleys below to the dizzy pine-clad tops of the surround-
ing hills, vividly set forth before one the ultimate triumph
of the principle of non-violence in the form of patient
industry and co-operation of millions of human hands in
the obstinate duel against nature that goes on everlasting-
ly among these hills. Badshah Khan took us to one of
these terraced fields to show us with what infinite toil the
work of preparing bare, stony mountain-sides for cultiva-
tion is carried out. The struggle proceeds slowly, pain*
fully, inch by inch. It may take years to remove the boul-
ders with the unaided labour of the hand from a narrow,
little strip of the field. And yet as soon as the land begins
to yield something, the state steps in to claim land reve-
nue. " It is a most iniquitous and heartless practice," broke
out Badshah Khan. " If I had the power I would grant
subsidy for this kind of reclamation work instead of taxing-
it. This is shameless grab/'
There was a solitary peasant hut in the midst of the
field. Badshah Khan insisted that my sister, Dr. Sushila
Nayyar, who accompanied us should visit the peasant
family in the hut and see whether they needed any medi-
cal help. And when she presently returned and told him
how she had suggested a simple remedy to one of the
family who was suffering from a minor malady, his joy
knew no bounds. "Mahatmaji, I hate politics/' he had
repeated to Gandhiji more than once during the tour. " It
P-9