344 THE BRITISH APPROACH TO POLITICS

but so also has the population. Religious customs, particularly
those which depress the position of women, cause a high birth
rate, and consequent pressure of population on. subsistence.
Nor have the Indian workers been able to better their position
by trade union and political action as British workers have done.
The British Government of India, in order to maintain its
authority, has been reluctant to rouse hostility by siding with
native religious and social reformers, and has endeavoured to^
remain on good terms with the wealthier classes. Only a Govern-
ment representative of the peoples of India will have the moral
authority necessary for social and economic reforms.

The British Government recognised the need for representative
institutions, by a declaration in 1917 which stated that its
policy would be "the gradual development of self-governing
institutions, with a view to the progressive realisation of
responsible Government in India, as an integral part of the
British Empire." It is here implied that India will become a
Dominion; and while this is generally agreed to be the goal of
British policy, there is much difference of opinion whether it
should be reache4 within a term of years or decades. The 1917
declaration was followed by the Government of India Act 1919,
which set up a system known as "Dyarchy", i.e., the sharing
of power between two authorities, the British-controlled
Government of India, and elected Indian Legislatures. Many
Indians, however, regarded these reforms as insufficient, and
their discontent was manifested by a growth in the power of the
National Congress. This party now drew support from all classes,
and, though predominantly Hindu, it attracted a number of
Moslems. Its object was Swaraj, i.e., self rule—either complete
independence, or at least Dominion status. Members of the^
Congress party who were elected to Legislatures, did their best
to obstruct the Government, and, throughout the country,
refusals to pay taxes and other forms of passive resistance were
organised. The most outstanding figure in the movement was
the Mahatma Gandhi, though his concern was not so much with-'