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PICTURES of INDIAN LIFE

By

SHISHIR KUMAR GHOSE

WITH
A LIFE SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR

FOREWORD BY

Dr. Sir. RASH BEHARY GHOSE

K.T. C.S.I. CLE., D.L., etc ,

GANESH & CO., MADRAS

%*

CONTENTS

Page.

Publishers' Note v

Foreword vii

Life Sketch

The Great King on his throne

The Baboo

Suttee in India

April, May and June

One of the last Kings of Bengal

A Story of Patriotism in Bengal

Brahmin and a Plebian

An Orthodox Ghost Story

The Story of a Lunatic

The Railway Platform

Behari Sardar

The Perpectual Slavery of India

""Military Examination

Asia the Chosen Place of God

The Lessons to be learned from wild
Dogs ... 225

The Great Inventor of a Nation ... 232

1

43
48

55
62

67

72

81

86

99
108

ii5

157
211

218

IV

1 !

Pelting of Stoni- I > dhi

The Agricultural S larshi[ ... 2

The Deterioration Indiai ... 256

PUBLISHERS' NOTE

This is a collection of the Life and
select writings of Babu Shishir Kumar Ghose
the founder of the Amrita Bazar Patrika. The
biography of Shishir Kumar should itself prove a
mine of Indian political information and contains
a full account of the Indian Administration and
the reforms introduced by Lords Northbrook.Lytton,
Ripon, Duflerin and others ; and when one such
comes to be written the world will see how this
great man was able to influence all these high
officials and thereby contributed his share to the
building of the Indian Nation. The essays and
anecdotes included in this volume are written on
every conceivable subject and his political writings
are so exhaustive and of such perennial interest
that they are always a source of inspiration and
guidance. A peculiar vein of humour and origi-
nality runs through his writings and combined
■"Wiliffreshness and vigour they are of enduring
value. Mr. W. 8. Caine, that great friend of India,
says "J fyeartily commend to every cultured and
earnest Indian, to every Christian Missionary and
also to every European who cares to look beneath the

VI

surface of Indian life and thought the articles from
the 'pen of Shishir Kumar Ghose which will be ren-
dered doubly interesting by the careful perusal."

These articles originally appeared in the
Amrita Bazar Patrika before the year 1898. In
view of the permanent value of these literary gems
and as a token of the Publishers' reverential
admiration and tribute, this volume is presented to
the public so that the rising generation may reap
the benefit of them. In conclusion the Publishers
are highly indebted to the Proprietors of the
Amrita Bazar Patrika for having allowed them to
present the book in this form.

FOREWORD

The author of these Pictures of Indian Life
Babu Shishir Kumar Ghose was in many ways a
most distinguished man — distinguished by quali-
ties of mind and still more distinguished by quali-
ties of soul. The story of the founding of the Amrita
Bazar Patrika and the brilliant success it achieved
under his editorship need not be repeated for it
has passed into history. I will only say that no
Indian newspaper was more eagerly read by the
public or more disliked in official circles than the
Patrika. Its articles were always full of humour
and sparkled with wit.

A fearless champion of the rights of his
countrymen Babu Shishir Kumar engaged himself
in the establishment of the Indian League— a body
which in its time did very useful work and paved
the way tor the present National movement.
Politics however did not absorb all his energies.
To borrow Disraeli's words, he affected the mind
of his generation not in one way but in various
dilutions. He was a man of intense spiritual
fervour and his religious works which have
enjoyed a wide circulation, show him perhaps at
his best. Of Babu Shishir Kumar it may be truly

Vlll

said that he broke no promise, served no private
end, gained no title and lost no friends.

The writings of such a man deserve to be
made known all over India and I commend the
following- pages to my countrymen in the confi-
dent hope that they will derive both profit and
pleasure from them.

Calcutta,")
17-12-17. J RASH BEHARY GHOSE

SHISHIR KUMAR GHOSE.

Ah, when shall all mew's good
Be each man's rule, and universal peace-
Lie like a lane of beams athwart the sea,
Thro' all the circle of the -golden year?

Tennyson.
To write a history of the life of Babu Shishir
Kumar Ghose within the small compass of a few
pages is simply like playing1 with an edged tool.
This great man's life was so eventful and pregnant
with so many activities for the good of his race
and of mankind that it is not possible for us to give
our readers more than a mere glimpse into his
career. Several characteristic features governed
his whole earthly career. They were world patrio-
tism, complete self-effacement, unquenchable thirst
for the love of God and firm conviction in the
eternity of man's life. Two men were born in the
early days of the present century that bore a
■pc<£uiiaf resemblance to each other, — Babu Shishir
Kumar Ghose of Bengal and Mr. William T. Stead
of England. Both were princes of journalists, both
were great philanthropists, and both high thinkers
and noble spiritualists of the age.

SHISHIR KUMAR GHOSE

•

Babu Shishir Kumar Ghose was born in the
year 1842 in the village of Magura (now Amrita-
bazar), in the district of Jessore. He was the third
of the eight sons of Babu Harinarayan Ghose, the
leader of the local Bar. Shishir Babu s eldest
brother was Basanta Kumar, who was a precoci-
ous youth and latterly, an absorbent philosopher
and strong moralist from whom the former derived
no small inspiration. Shishir Babu was a genius
a ready and original wit, a splendid debater and
a man of towering intellect. He attained to a
position, which was and still is an object of envy
to most of his countrymen. Mr. W. S. Caine M. P.,
a devoted friend of India, wrote in 1897 in his
short sketch of Mr. Ghose's life : —

" In his youth, Shishir Kumar Ghose had few
of the advantages now possessed by young
Indians. His education was local and elementary;
and he owes entirely to himself and his extra-
ordinary energy of character, all the intellectual
culture he possesses. One of his own favourite
sayings is, "time is the best gift of God to man",
and he has always lived up to this principle.
From his earliest youth, he has utilised every spare
moment, which he has seized in passing* to "pi " ir
into his own service, for the improvement of his
mind, or to add to that marvellous store of know-
ledge concerning India and her people, which is
the wonder of his friends".

2

LIFE SKETCH

After receiving the rudiments of education at
the village school, Shishir Kumar came to Cal-
cutta. Here he was admitted to the Hare School
and passed his Entrance examination with great
credit standing fourth in the general list and
obtained a scholarship.

The early days of Shishir Kumar were spent
in the development of physical power. While
yet a boy, he proved himself an expert in climbing
trees, in riding, running, fencing, swimming and
gymnastic exercises. Here is a story illustrating
his great energy and wonderful physical power.
In his native village there was a reservoir, called
"Bhola-pukur'' — a large sheet of water, which few,
if any, villagers would venture to swim across.
Shishir was asked to do this, and he did it more
than creditably. Indeed, he swam across the tank
about fifty times and for some three hours' run-
ning, to the great pleasure and admiration of his
friends and obtained a prize from the Magistrate
of the district.

At a very tender age, too, Shishir Kumar
cultivated the art of music. He was not only
successful in his efforts but published a book called
'S'a'ngit Shastra". Latterly, he brought his know-
ledge to perfection and became an excellent
musician, both vocal and instrumental.

At the time when Shishir was a boy, Brah-
moism was making serious inroads upon

3

SHISHIR KUMAR GHOSE

Hinduism in Bengal. As a man of an intensely
religious turn of mind, he at once adopted that
religion, while still a youth. But in the latter
part of his life, his views underwent a change and
he became the shining light — the life and soul —
of Baishnavism. He was a man of strong princi-
ples ; and in the teeth of great opposition and
despite all threats of excommunication, he gave
his sister in marriage to a gentleman belonging to
a different sect of Kayasthas. So, it was he who
took the first step to combat the present-day social
evils. Subsequently, he became an ardent votary
of spiritualism and a sincere admirer and follower
of "Sri Gauranga", — the Prophet of Naaia. Every-
one in Bengal is well aware that it was Shishir
Kumar who turned the tide of popular belief in
favour of the noble teachings of this the latest
Prophet and re-established the claims of "Bhakti-
yoga."

From his verv bovhood Shishir Kumar was a
lover of humanity. In conjunction with his
brothers he inaugurated an association called
"Bhratri-Samaj." the chief aim of which was to
raise subscriptions to defray the expenses of a
dispensary and hospital, which they hao." c&a.
blished in their native village. Indeed, his idea
was to make his village a model one in every
respect, to cultivate self-help, co-operation and
brotherhood amongst the villagers. And in loving

4

LIFE SKETCH

memory of his mother, he changed the name of his
village to Amrita Bazar after the name of his
mother " Amritamoyee." With indefatigable
efforts, the brothers headed by Shishir Kumar also
founded some Brahmo churches, girls schools,
night schools for cultivators, as also a high
English school and a post office- So greatly
imbued were the brothers with humanitarian
principles that careless of catching the contagion
during epidemics of cholera, they would, under
his leadership, go about in the village with supplies
of medicines and thus greatly help — in lowering
the rate of mortality. For all this, Babu Shishir
Kumar was highly eulogised in several official
reports of Mr. James Munro, the then Collector of
Jessore, who was a great friend of Shishir Kumar
and often visited the village to watch its onward
progress. Indeed, so struck was Mr. Munro by
the growing importance of the village, that he at
one time agreed with Babu Shishir Kumar, when
requested by him to remove the headquarters of
the district to that village.

The journalistic career of Shishir Babu com-
menced in the small village of Magura. He was
» L-isax^l^eighteen years old when he contributed a
series of articles to the "Hindu Patriot" protesting
against the oppression of ryots by the all-powerful
indigo planters. These letters created great sensa-
tion among the local authorities. Mr. Molony, the

5

SHISHIR KUMAR GHOSE

District Magistrate -of Jessore, threatened to
prosecute him if he did not cease writing. But he
continued his mission undauntedly, and so great
was his desire for serving his motherland, that at
last, he was able to liberate the helpless ryots from
the hands of the despotic planters. Some of these
articles of Babu Shishir Kumar found their way
into the Indigo Commission's report, and they
display his remarkable sagacity, strong com-
monsense, power of expression and clear, scathing
style and mastery over the English language even
in those days when he was a mere stripling.

The names of Messrs. Munro and O'Kinealy
are very intimately connected with the life of Babu
Shishir Kumar Ghose. It was at their instance
and under them that Shishir Babu served for a
time as a Deputy Collector. At this time he was
able to introduce many valuable reforms in his
own native district. But a man of strong in-
dependence, he did not long find Government
service to his liking. So he gave up his appoint-
ment and started a newspaper, the "Amrita Bazar
Patrika", after the name of his village. The initial
difficulties which Shishir Babu had to contend
with in order to make his paper a success- aflw*»«=:
well-known to bear repetition here. However,
if his village had so long its dispensary, post
office, various schools and associations and a fully
equipped market, it now had the proud distinc-

6

LIFE SKETCH

tion of having a printing press and a newspaper,
a glorious position for a Bengal village in the
interior in those days, unconnected by railways,
and which even many towns at the time could not

boast of.

It has now grown into a household story in
this part of the country, and everyone knows that
the "Patrika" was first started with only a wooden
printing press, without a compositor or even a
pressman, and that Shishir Babu had to do every-
thing- sinsrlehanded as did Bennett in the early
days of the "New York Herald". But still during
the government of Lord Lytton and Sir Ashley
Eden when the Vernacular Press Act was passed,
—and it is an open secret now that the slowgrind-
ing legislative machinery was thus moved to stifle
this paper to death in infancy, — Shishir Kumar
converted it within a single night from a heb-
domadal to an English weekly to the mortifica-
tion of his enemies, to his own safetv, and to the
admiration of both the people and the Govern-
ment. The birth of the "Amrita Bazar Patrika''
marks an epoch in the journalistic life of India.
The "Patrika" may not be the oldest paper in
^jvcTutftry, but it is undoubtedly, so far as Indian
politics is concerned, the oldest usherer of a new
light. The late poet Nobin Chunder Sen, wrote
in his autobiography, "whatever heavy sighs I
have heaved and whatever tears 1 have shed for

7

SHISHIR KUMAR GHOSE

the love of my motherland, in my short poems on
Jessore and the battle of Plassey, to some extent
they are the outcome of my association with and
instructions from Babu Shishir Kumar Ghose.
He and his "Patrika" are the pioneers of patriotism
in our country".

The "Patrika" soon grew into something- like
a terror for the European authorities, made a name
for itself and became noted for being honest,
upright and independent in views. For the
amusement of the reader, we give here a petty
incident of its early career. It so happened once
that a certain bund was being forcibly cut by some
indigo planters. The ryots stood up against this,
as it meant a great loss to them. They applied
to the Magistrate, who appointed one Mr. Mitra,
a police Inspector, to look into the matter. The
latter, on reaching the spot requested the European
planters who were disturbing the peace of the
village, not to do so, as it was the order of the
Magistrate. The haughty planters made light of
Inspector Mitra's warning. There upon the officer
arrested some of them. This greatly surprised
them and they enquired if the Inspector belonged
to the "Patrika" party. This story only lllust.i'aTks
the 'fearless conduct of the " Patrika " and the
wholesome terror it inspired in even an important
and powerful body like the planting community.
Such instances may be multiplied almost ad infi-

8

LIFE SKETCH

nitum but our limited space does not permit this
extravagance.

The " Patrika " was hardly more than four
months old, when a libel suit was instituted
against it by a European Deputy Magistrate. It
lasted eight months and ruined the proprietors
financially. But the successful advocacy of that
well-know criminal lawyer, Mr. Monmohan Ghose,
on behalf of Shishir Babu, led to his acquittal. It,
however, proved a blessing in disguise, for it
secured great popularity to the paper. At this
time malaria broke out in Jessore in so ' virulent
a form that Shishir Babu had to leave his ever
dear Magura for Calcutta. Notwithstanding many
inconveniences and pecuniary difficulties, the
" Patrika " now gradually became an influential
organ of public opinion in Bengal and caused a
great stir in the country. Mr. Caine wrote in his
biography of Shishir Babu ; "The brilliant editing
of the paper by Shishir Kumar Ghose, who almost
killed himself by hard work and anxiety quickly
brought it back to its old issue, and eventually
far beyond it, until it became the most influential
newspaper in Bengal, and probably in all India,
"vttieYe it circulates from the Himalayas to Cape
Comorin. For thirty years it has been one of the
most potent factors in Indian society and politics;
and during that period there has been no solid
and lasting reform, which does not owe much to

9

SHISHIR KUMAR GHOSE

its influence and advocacy. To my mind, it is
the most courageous and outspoken journal in all
India. It is read by the Viceroy and his Council,
and is alike the organ of Indian prince and Indian
peasant."

Under the auspices of the Strachey Brothers
with a view evidently to undermine the Perman-
ent Settlement in Bengal, the Government of Lord
Mayo imposed a new cess upon the land, still
known as the Road Cess. Sir George Campbell
created two new classes of subordinate executive
officers named Sub-Deputies and Kanungoes, and
lowered the position of judges by what is known
as the system of parallel promotion. The then
Law Member, Sir J. Stephen, by the introduction
of his Criminal Procedure Code, made the Police
all-powerful in the country. All these resulted in
violent agrarian riots in Pabna. The "Patrika"
manfully stood against these measures; and as
the other papers of Calcutta were quite innocent
of any Moftussil experience, it devolved upon it
to vehemently attack these measures and lay bare
their hollowness and undesirability.

It was Babu Shishir Kumar who first intro-
duced cartoons and skits in Indian joirrn
His skit, " Political Geometry ", created such a
tremendous sensation that scores of Civilians
purchased the issue in which it appeared. The
•'Hindu Review" says: "The "Patrika" came

10

LIFE SKETCH

to special prominence under the Lieutenant
Governorship of Sir George Campbell, (1870-73),
whose attempt to restrict higher education with
the avowed object of diverting the public funds,
thus set free, to the diffusion of primary education,
aroused opposition from the educated class. And
in their criticism of Sir George Campbell's act and
policy, Babu Shishir Kumar Ghose and his
brothers, — for the "Patrika" has always been a
journalistic joint family, — adopted a tone of biting
satire and undisguised abuse, which first shook
people's nerves somewhat violently, and then
gradually put a new courage and self-conscious-
ness into them ".

He was a past master in pun and lampoon,
railery and repartee. Ready wit, rugged force,
caustic satire, and native humour ran through
all his writings, and the gems that thus glistened
in his productions were of such real lustre as
to have hardly their equal in the writings of any
other we can think of. The simplicity of his style
and the originality of happy expression were the
marked features of his literary productions.

His power of reply and repartee was, again,
ma-fvo9l<5us, whether it was the "pioneer" or the
"Times,'' no other paper ever got the better of
the " Patrika " in this respect. In logic and,
debating powers also he stood out unique.

Gradually Shishir Kumar began to grow more

11

SHISHIR KUMAR GHOSE

and more popular in the country. He joined the
British Indian Association and soon became
acquainted with all its members. But very shortly
afterwards, he found that the Association was
more a show than a really useful institution, and
so he made up his mind to make it truly powerful.
He proposed to Rai Kristo Das Pal Bahadur and
others that the subscription should be reduced
from Rs. 50 to Rs. 5 per annum, so as to come
within the reach of the middle classes, but his
suggestion was not listened to. So he founded
another Association called the "Indian League,"
with which the names of many great men, such
as Sir Rash Behari Ghose, the late Mr. Ananda
Mohan Bose, Babu Kali Charan Banerji, Hem
Chunder Banerji, Grish Chunder Ghose (the
dramatist) and Sir Romesh Chunder Mitter, were
very closely connected. It was a creation of Mr.
Ghose's own brain, and let a distinguished Euro-
pean say what it achieved " 'The Indian League'
is identified in the social and political develop-
ment of India, with many most important reforms,
notably that of trial by jury, and the Municipal
system, which containing the germs of represen-
tative government, led on to the establis-ntffui* of-
the elective system municipally as well as in its
higher development of elected members of the
Provincial and Viceregal Councils."

As will be clear from the above, Shishir Kumar

12

LIFE SKETCH

was really the founder of the present system of
Council Government in India. Let us now say
how it came about. A grand meeting, to dis-
cuss the advantages of the municipal elective
system, of the Indian League was held under
the presidency of Babu Kali Charan Banerji.
The proceedings attracted the notice of his
Honour Sir Richard Temple, the then Lieutenant
Governor of Bengal. The latter called upon
Shishir Babu and asked him it he was willing
that the elective system should be introduced in
the municipal bodies in the country. And this
was the first time but by no means the last that
Shishir Kumar had the opportunity of having an
interview with the governor of the province. To
make matters clear, let us quote here a few lines
from the conversation that took place between
Shishir Babu and His Honour on this memorable
occasion : —

L. G. — So you want the elective system? Do
you think the citizens are fit for such a boon ?
S. — Yes, your Honour, quite fit.
L. G. — You see, I am agreeable. But if I
grant you the privilege, there will be such astrom
GV'opposition, that the Government of India will
be obliged to go against me.

S. — Will it please your Honour, if I say, that
India must have the beginning of self-government,
and your Honour must be the man to initiate it?

13

SHISHIR KUMAR GHOSE

L. G. — Well, I shall take the risk, but see that
the middle classes join you in a body. Let us
have the entire middle classes on our side.

S. — I shall induce every voter in Calcutta to
support your Honour. We have the largest house-
owner, Hiralal Seal, on our side.

As expected, a vehement attack was made by
the British Indian Association and the Anglo-
Indian community. But in the words of Mr. W. S.
Caine, it may be said, "mainly by the help of
Shishir and " Amrita Bazar Patrika", it was
carried out in the face of the fierce opposition".

Babu Shishir Kumar was the pioneer also in
the matter of technical education in India, and
the way in which he brought into being the Albert
Temple of Science was something miraculous. For
some time past Shishir Babu had been advocating
the cause of technical education in India. Now
somehow he had come to know that Babu Harish
Chunder Roy of Mymensingh was willing to
contribute Rs. 50,000 towards the improvement
of his scheme, if only the Lieut. Governor would
ask him to do so ; and that at Berhampur there
were two brothers, named Lachmipat and
Dhanpat who were being compelled "bv" Wr.
Mackenzie, the District Magistrate, to pay Rs.
50,000 each for the Berhampur College. Shishir
Kumar thought over all this and began to devise
means to secure the money so as to materialise

14

LIFE SKETCH

his ideas into a fiat accompli. He at last started
for Belvedere the residence of the Lieut. Gover-
nor. It was 9 o'clock in a winter evening- that
he waited upon Sir Richard. It was in fact the eve
of Prince Albert's visit to Calcutta. Let us
reproduce here the conversation he had with his
host for the edification of our readers : —

S. — The Prince is coming to-morrow early in
the morning and your Honour is going to Diamond
Harbour to receive him ?

Sir Richard. — Yes.

S. — No sooner does the Prince come, you will
be lost to us, for you will be too busy with him.
We want to commemorate the Royal visit by
establishing the most needed institution in the
country, a technical college.

Sir Richard. — Yes, a technical college is the
need of the country. But you will need a large
sum of money. Have you secured it?

S. Almost. — Only if your Honour will be so
good as to help me.

Sir R. — In what way ?

S. — Babu Harish Chunder Ray of Mymen-
singh and Messrs. Lachmipat and Dhanpat of
BeihcuUfmr are each willing to contribute Rs.
50,000. Your Honour may tell them that this is
the best way to use the money.

Sir R. — Very well, if they come to me, I may
persuade them.

15

SHISHIR KUMAR GHOSE

S. — But you are going away to-morrow at
6 A. M. My plan is this. It is now 9. 30 P. M. If
you will kindly give me letters to the three gentle-
men asking them to see you before 6 A. M. in the
morning, I will arrange the rest.

Sir Richard smiled and said : — What you
suggest is improper from the beginning to the
end. I don't know them. Yet I am required
privately to ask them to come. When they come,
I am to ask them to oblige me by contributing
Rs 50,000/- each. It would be highly improper
for me to interfere with the arrangements that
Mr. Mackenzie has made with his people for the
improvement of a college in his district.

At last, however, Shishir Babu was able to
prevail upon the Lieut. Governor, and a meeting
under his presidency was held in the premises of
the National Theatre and the former's efforts were
crowned with success to the great mortification of
his opponents. The Albert Temple was establish-
ed, and got a subside of Rs. 8,000- per annum
from the Government.

Sir Richard Temple was succeeded by Sir
Ashley Eden. He was a man of peculiar whims.
He did not like the bold tone of the' "*?irmrita
Bazar Patrika" and so he wanted to moderate it
by converting it into a Government paper. He
had already won to his side Babu Kristo Das Pal
of the "Hindu Patriot" and other Bengali leaders

16

LIFE SKETCH

and he thought it quite easier to buy off Shishir
Babu, who was then living a hand-to-mouth exist-
ence and had to support a large family of some 30
members. Dear readers, think for a moment the
situation ! On the one hand was the tempi ing
offer of Sir Ashley Eden at a time of stress and
struggle, and on the other, his duties to his mother-
land. He, however, never gave any thought to
the former but decided in favour of the latter.
Here are some extracts from the conversation that
followed between His Honour and Shishir Babu: —
Sir A. — I know you are a friend, and so I
shall make no ceremony with you. I say, why
do you abuse us in that way ? That I am a friend
of the Bengalees is well-known. So Lord North-
brook showed me some of your articles which were
so abusive that I did not know what to say. I
had to hang down my head in shame.

S. — Your Honour says that we have been
abusive, but pardon my impertinence. I chal-
lenge anyone to show one abusive expression in
our writings. Besides, the law keeps the most
reckless newspapers in the land in check. It we
had written anything seditious, the Government
woulcf'lfiave pounced upon us. Since the Gov-
ernment has not ever meddled with us, that is a
proof that we are in our writings always within
the bounds of law.

Sir A. — The Government is very gencous

17
S— 2

SHISHIR KUMAR GHOSE

and you take advantage of its generosity.

S. — But can your Honor point out any expres-
sion which is abusive, scurrilous, or even imperti-
nent ?

Sir A.— Oh! You mean that you don't use
abusive terms. I know that you are very "chalak"
(clever) in that respect. You don't call us rob-
bers, thieves, cheats, and murderers, or as many
other words. But one can see at a glance, by
going through your writings, that you mean
nothing else. Lord North brook showed me some
of your former issues which he kept in his box.

In this way Sir Ashley tried to seduce Shishir
Kumar, but the latter was so strong and so deter-
mined that it was found impossible to make him
deviate from the right path. When the Lieutenant
Governor received the curt reply that Shishir
Kumar did not care for the promised privileges
and that famous retort that there should be at
least one honest journal in the country, he became
sored with anger that he even did not hesitate
to hold out threats to the latter. " Mind this,"
said he "in six months I shall drive you away from
Calcutta." He now kept his word so far as to
withdraw the grant that had been madefy his
predecessor to the Albert Temple of Science, while
it was at this time,too,that the vernacular Press Act
(that new fetter on Sir Ashley's legislative anvil)
was passed to ruin the editor of the "Patrika."

18

LIFE SKETCH

It would, indeed, be a mistake to suppose that
the influence of the "Patrika" was at this or any
other time confined to Bengal alone. As the late
Mr. Caine used to say, "the "Patrika" is alike the
organ of Indian Prince and Indian peasant" and
so really it was. Every educated Indian knows
that it was Shishir Babu and his paper that came
to the rescue of Mulhar Rao Gaekwar when he
was sought to be ruined by Col. Phayre, by
showing that according to its own promise the
Government was not justified in interfering with
the internalaffairs of a Native State. It was, again,
Shishir Babu who wrote vigorously advocating the
cause of the Dowagar Rani of Rewa and the
Begum of Bhopal against Sir Lepel Griffin ; and
he was at last successful in securing justice by
bringing the case to the notice of Lord Dufferin.
In short, the " Patrika " appeared to have become,
by this time, the mouth- piece of Indian princes.
The services of Shishir Babu in connection with
the Beames and Gilgit affairs are too well-known
to need repetition. It must, however, be said,
that it was to his friend, Mr. Charles Bradlaugh,
a distinguished and influential M. P., that some of
the successes were due. His friends in England
in those days were Messrs. Bradlaugh, Caine,
William, Digby and W. T. Stead.

When on his arrival here in India as Viceory
and Governor General, Lord Ripon expressed his

19

SHISHIR KUMAR GHOSE

svmpathy with the Indian mill-owners, it was the
"Patrika" that opposed this view of His Excellency,
on the ground that the people of India should
first be given the opportunity of saving their
lives and then of saving their time. But afterwards
Shishir Babu came to realise the noble character
and high ideals of Lord Ripon and not ^nly
became a great friend of His Excellency but very
much influenced his administration. Mr. Primrose,
his Private Secretary, was also a great friend of
Shishir Babu. The Allahabad Criminal Case, the
Webb Case, ' and the subsequent Viceregal
resolution on them clearly testify to the influence
of Babu Shishir Kumar Ghose over Lord Ripon's
Government. It is well known that Lord Ripon
introduced self-government in India, but very
few people know that the subject of this sketch
was his right-hand man in this connection: On
the eve 01 his Lordship's departure from India»
Shishir Kumar with folded hands, bent his knees
before Lord Ripon, and prayed : "My Lord, you
can oblige me eternally by granting my people
the privilege of trial by jury." Lord Ripon replied,
" my 'Jear sir, rise and oblige me. You pain me
very much. I have already given up cha'^e, and
I cannot do anything now. Very well, I promise
I shall speak to Lord Dufferin about it."

It is impossible to show by instances, in a
small compass, what towering influence the

20

LIFE SKETCH

-•Patrika'' used to possess at the hands of Babu
Shishir Kumar. In the memorial meeting of Babu
S. K. Ghose held after his death at the Town
Hall of Calcutta, Dr. S. K. Mullick related a
story. He said that during his long stay in London
whenever he paid a visit to the India Office, he
found all the Indian and English newspapers
lying on the table, but he always missed the
"Patrika." On enquiring this fact of Mr. Onslow,
the then Under-Secretary, he was told that the
"Patrika,'' as it gave a true and reliable version
of Indian affairs from the peoples point of view
was preserved in a special file for use of the
Secretary of State. Indeed, the "Patrika' was
conducted on such original lines that it always
was a perennial source of delight not only to its
Indian but European readers. Many Europeans
used to read it to enjoy the wordy battles that
continuously went on between the "Patrika'' and
the then influential Anglo-Indian papers, and to
their mortification the indomitable and sharp-wit-
ted " Patrika'' could never be cornered, on the
other hand the)* were always made the laughing
stock of the public by superior talents of Babu
Shishirlvumar. A beautiful skit published in the
"Parsee (new Hindi) Punch" at the time very
properly explained the situation. Babu Shishir
Kumar was depicted as a snake-charmer and
the "Pioneer" and the "Times of India'' were

21

SHISHIR KUMAR GHOSE

represented by two big hooded snakes who were
being played by the charmer to the sound of his
flute (tumri).

When the illustrious Mr. Hume was forming
schemes in his mind to weld India into a nation by
the organisation of a national assembly, he came
to Mr. Ghose to take his counsel on this matter.
The latter requested him to infuse that idea into
the minds of the masses, and he promised Mr.
Hume to show the way of doing it. The Jhinker-
gacha Mass Meeting of the 13th. March 1886, was
a practical example of what, Shishir aimed at. It
was quite a new departure in the politics and
political methods of India and was so successful
in essentially teaching the general public to learn
to take an interest in their country and its affairs
that it proved quite alarming to the opponents of
Indian progress and so famous it became that
even mention was made about it in some Ameri-
can and English journals, at a time when Indian
affairs scarcely came in for any notice in them.
Mr. Ranade had come to pay a visit to the Editor
of the "Patrika"; and he said that Lord Dufferin
was of opinion that it was aimed at doing a great
thing, but failed to do it owing to the ne^ject of
his countrymen.

The above is only a short sketch of the politi-
cal life of Babu Shishir Kumar Ghose. It is very
difficult to judge the man from this brief resume,

22

LIFE SKETCH

but still we fervently hope, the reader will be able
to form some slight idea of him. The biography
of Shishir Kumar should itself prove a mine of
Indian political information and contain a full
account of the Indian administration and the
reforms introduced by Lords Northbrook, Lytton,
Ripon, Dufferin and others; and when one such
comes to be written the world will see how this
great man was able to influence all these high
officials and thereby contributed his share to the
building of the Indian nation.

Babu Shishir Kumar was a voluminous writer.
He has written on every conceivable subject and
his political writings are so exhaustive and of such
perennial interest that they are always a source
of inspiration and guide to the present conductors
of the "Patrika". A peculiar vein of humour and
originality runs through his writings, and com-
bined with freshness and vigour they are, of endur-
ing value. Unfortunately, however only some of
his political articles have been embodied in a
book called the " Indian Sketches." A second
volume of the book was being printed, but for
obvious reasons the attempt was given up.
Hund'/feUs of volumes of "Indian Sketches'' can
still be published from collection of articles from
the old files of the " Patrika ".

. A keen observer will be able to see that a
certain link of harmony and increasing popularity

23

SHISHIR KUMAR GHOSE

extends from his private to his public life, i.e. his
life as father or guardian of a family to his life as
a benefactor of his countrymen and guardian of
their interests. It is true that there are some men
in India who could claim greater erudition or
wider knowledge of the world besides, but none
there has been who have had greater insight into
the pDlitical position and needs of their own native
land.

We shall now give only one instance to show
how the misery of men moved the heart of Babu
Shishir Kumar so violently that he would not
have any rest till he found some remedy. In his
younger days he saw a horrible death by snake-
bite. The painful picture always troubled his mind
till after 20 years' patient labour and investiga-
tion he was able to unearth the available remedy
and place it before the public in the form of a
booklet called " Snakes : Snake-bites and their
treatment." The book has since been translated
into several vernacular languages and commands
a wide sale. We cannot resist the temptation oi
quoting the following interesting account of the
snakes in Bengal from that book :

"I was sitting with the Police Officer inTnarge
of the station at Gopalnagore, then in the district
of Nuddea, now in Jessore. It was during the
great flood of 187 1. I had sought his protection
to procure me a boat to convey me, across the sea

24

LIFE SKETCH

of water which surrounded me, to my destination.

Just then intelligence was brought to us, that
a troupe of malvadyas have caught hundreds of
snakes, in a village close by. We sent for them
with their snakes, and they came. We saw the
snakes that they had caught, but said they ; "Will
you go to see, Sir ? It is a sight to see. It is snakes
and snakes, all round. We have never seen so
many together, no man ever did." And, as a
matter of fact, we saw a sight which has been the
good fortune of a few people to witness. The
sight we saw will never fade from my memory.

We soon organized an expedition. We took
three mals. The Sub-Inspector of Police, a strong
man, took his doublebarrelled gun. We entered
the boat at about n in the morning. It was a
small boat, and was rowed by two men. The
current was favorable, and the boat ran like a dog
in pursuit of a jackal. We had not to follow the
course of a canal or a river, for we were in a vast
sheet of water. It would have looked like a sea,
but for the trees and huts, which yet shewed their
heads above water. The flood was then at its
highest, and the people in great distress.

We took the straight course over huts and
trees, and in this manner we crossed the village
of Gopalnagore. We then entered an open space,
and saw in the dim horizon the marsh of Choital,
our destination. The place was recognized by the

25

SHISHIR KUMAR GHOSE

presence of a couple of tall palm trees. We rowed
all of us, and though the tiny boat swang to and
fro by our vigorous efforts at rowing, we had not
much to fear. For, by a pole we kept measuring
the water all the way, and though it was deep
here and there, generally our passage lay over
shallow water.

And at last we entered the heel (marsh) of
Choital. It is a low land and paddy is grown
there, but here and there were high spots, where
there were trees. This big field has a diameter
of, say, six miles. It is all plain land, with the
exception of a few trees which shewed their heads
above water. On the first tree on our way, we
saw only a few snakes and an iguana. But the
mals told us that the grand scene was yet before
us.

Before us, we saw in that vast sheet of water,
a couple of palm trees, a few date trees, and a
banian tree. The heads of the palm trees were
about thirty feet above water, the banian tree
covered a large space of land, and the date trees
only shewed their leaves. The palm trees were
examined by us first. We saw that the snakes
have coiled round the trunks of these trfEs from
the bottom to the top. There was no empty space
visible on the trunks.

At the bottom, we saw a few kraits, and we
saw there a black one which is the biggest we

26

LIFE SKETCH

have ever seen. But though we saw a few kraits
and a few black snakes here and there, all the
others were only keutas. There was not cobra
there, nor any hamadryad. The snakes not only
coiled round the trees, but were found to have
coiled one above the other. It was thus all black
from bottom to top. The branches, which are
thorny in palm trees, have been avoided, but the
leaves had given space to as many as they could
hold. We did not disturb them in their position
of rest in the palm trees.

From there we proceeded to the date trees.
All the leaves were covered by the snakes. The
three mals stood to catch them. The rower who
was in the front was pushed behind, and one of
the mals took his oar. He rowed vigorously and
caught a branch of a date tree. As soon as he
caught the branch, thousands of keutas fell from
it into the water. The fellow not only caught the
branch, but pulled it, and the head of our small
boat was thus made to penetrate through the
branches. It was then a truly exciting scene*
Hundreds and thousands of snakes began to let
themselves drop from the branches in the water,
and our boat was soon surrounded by thousands
of swimming keutas.

The Police Officer shrieked in anger and
terror, "Let go the boat, you haramjadas* cried he,
,'they will soon fill our boat." But I was enthralled

27

SHISHIR KUMAR GHOSE

with the scene, and had not the power of feeling
any terror. The mals were engrossed in the work
before them, and they had no ear to listen to the
commands of the officer. They buised themselves;
in catching the snakes, and were not at all dis-
posed to remove the boat from the position which
it had been forced to take.

In a second or two the swimming snakes
invaded our boat. Of course it was not their
object to bite or swallow us, but they found a
floating substance in our boat, and they wanted
to make it a resting place. The officer was stand-
ing with his gun in his hand, and I told him to
leave it and take a pole to protect the boat from
the snakes. So both he and I took a pole each,
and so also did each of the boat men. The snakes
swam all around us with only their heads above
water. They appeared like a shoal of fish. We
began to splash all round our boat with the poles,
with a view to drive them away. But their number
was too many for us. And a good many touched
our boat in spite of the beating of the water.

They tried to climb the boat, but they could
not. They could not raise their heads much
above water; and it is altogether doubtful,
whether, even left to themselves, they could climb
the boat. But surely they were not given much
time to make the effort. The boat was small ; we
were standing and beating the water with our

28

LIFE SKETCH

poles; the mals were catching the snakes ; and
all these made the tiny thing reel like a drunken
mehter, and prevented the snakes to gain a hold of
the boat. But greater danger was a-head of us.

The head of the boat had penetrated the
dense branches of the date tree, and the mals
were catching the snakes. They were not catch-
ing the reptiles at random, but selecting the big-
gest ! A keuta is a creature which is rarely met
with. A mal will purchase one from a comrade
for more than rupees ten. But here they had such
a large number to select from, that they avoided
the smaller ones, and thought only of catching
the biggest which they could reach.

Now their attempt to catch the biggest created
more than one serious danger for us. If a big
snake, which they had fixed their eyes upon to
catch, was not accessible, they dragged the boat
deeper, and this took our tiny vessel almost into
the bosom of the branches of the date tree. Just
bear in mind that all these branches had keuta
upon them, each containing hundreds and more.
The mals were catching the snakes; the branches
of the tree covered the boat partially, but covered
them completely. Keutas hung over their heads
and licked their foreheads. Snakes came in con-
tact with their ears, arms, and backs. But the
viah cared not.

When the boat came in contact with the

29

SHISHIR KUMAR GHOSE

branches, we raised an alarm. For there was
nothing to prevent the snakes creeping over the
branches and entering our boat. But we forgot
our own danger when we saw to which the mals
had subjected themselves. They were all " un-
shaved" keutas, and one touch of their fang and
the strongest man would have dropped down dead
on the spot in five minutes ! These snakes sur-
rounded the mals. Every one of the three mals
might have been bitten by one thousand keutas at
that moment.

We forgot our danger, and indeed at that
moment none of us, the mals included, was in his
proper senses. I recollect seeing a keuta licking
the fore-head of a mal, and having cried aloud
and given him a warning. But the warning had
not much effect. The mal only lowered his head
an inch or so, to avoid the contact of the tongue
of the keuta. One of them muttered, without
however stopping in his work, "No fear, Sir: at
such times they do not bite/'' "But they do bite,"
said I, "during inundations." "Yes, but if they
are hurt," was the laconic reply. The mals de-
ceived me with a view to work uninterruptedly.
The snakes do bite during floods, button that
occasion, th e sight produced extraordinary excite-
ment which deprived the mals of their senses.
When we forgot the danger, it is no wonder that
they should. Besides, they had gone well pro vi-

30

LIFE SKETCH

ded with lancets, and sone cords. Familiarity
breeds contempt, and the mals have great con-
tempt for these reptiles. On that occasion this
contempt was heightened by their large number.

We too caught the contagion, and forgot
temporarily our fear of the snakes, and entered
into the pleasures of the exciting work. The
snakes swam in shoals round our boat, but we
became indifferent to their presence. Those in
the date tree had an easy access to our boat, but
we gave up the thought of driving them away.
Every minute the number of swimming snakes
was increasing. For, hundreds were dropping
down from the branches of the date trees every
second, and the heads of the snakes blackened
the water all around us. The date tree shewed
no more snakes — on that side where our boat was
— except a few small ones here and there.

The mals then wanted to go to the other side
of the date tree, but we objected and desired to see
the banian tree. The boat was turned towards
it, and we rowed over shoals of snakes. They
tried to give way to our boat, but the crowd was
so great that they could not move at their plea-
sure. When we left the date tree, a athought struck
us to make a search of the boat to see whether
any snake had been able to find its way into it or
not. It was when we had left the date tree that
we felt, that we had been in great danger so long.

31

SHISHIR KUMAR GHOSE

The banian tree was quite close, and its big"
trunk was about three feet above water. J ust
above the trunk there were two big branches
stretching slantingly in opposite directions.
Between these two sat a wild cat. It was utterly-
helpless, and was surrounded by keutas on all
sides. But he lived in peace with them. O r
rather the snakes lived in peace with him. As
our boat approached towards the tree.the creatur e
looked at us piteously, and the sight excited my
pity. There was no ferocity of the wild cat in his
look. But bang went the gun and the cat fell in
the water beneath. While I was gazing at the
cat, the Sub-Inspector was steadying his aim at it
from behind, from the moving boat. The cat fell,
as also a few snakes, shot dead or wounded, for
the gun was charged with small shots.

This exploit of the Police Officer I did net
like,as it shewed neither courage nor any delicacy
of feeling. But the cat was only wounded if
wounded at all, for it reached the trunk again,
though it took a new position which concealed it
from our view.

We gazed at the tree — it was a canopy of
snakes. The metis wanted to catch more snakes
but I opposed. They had caught enough, and no
snake could be caught from the banian tree
without incurring serious danger. So we only
gazed at the snakes, at their beauty, their variety,

32

LIFE SKETCH

and their movements. As for their doings, they
did nothing. They coiled round the branches,
sometimes one above the other, and kept quiet and
immovable. The beauty of their heads surpasses
description but this beauty was only seen when
they were moving about or raising themselves
up in anger or terror, which they only did when
teased by us. The variety was so great that it
seemed to us that each snake belonged to a
separate species. One had a yellow hood, the
next one a white, and the next a white and red-
dish, and so on. The colour of the skin also differed
in this manner. The kewias have no doubt more
than a hundred variety.

While gazing at the snakes, a vial cried in
excitement: "Lo: there is a bara bharee samp (very
big snake.)" The other two mals saw it at once,
but we could not. It was on a branch high above
our heads. We could not however identify, which
snake was meant. But while we were looking for
the "very big snake," one of the mals was rowing
the boat towards the trunk. The trunk was
reached, and he caught it, left the boat, and began
to ascend the tree!

No\v this we could not permit. The man
wanted to ascend a big tree, every available space
of which was covered bv the most deadlv of all
snakes. There his expertness and his agility would
avail him little. We bawled out to him in tones

33
S-3

SHISHIR KUMAR GHOSL

of anger to come down instantly. But the man
said, bara bharee samp, and paid no heed whatever
to our commands. I threatened to shoot him if he
did not come down, but he repeated, "the snake
was very big, Sir! ' The fact is, the temptation
before him was great, he could not resist it. The
mals who were in the boat were intently gazing at
the snake, and muttering: "he won't be able to
catch it. Its position is bad.''

But my eye was fixed towards whom I con-
sidered the doomt :-d man. As he moved on the
branches, there was a rustle amongst the snakes.
A good many fell from the branches, and some
moved up before the man. These disturbed the
others, which were sleeping quietly. Some find-
ing their progress barred, were coming back
towards the man. The proceedings of the man
would have caused amusement if the matter were
not serious. He wTas moving over a branch in all
fours. Now he sat to give the snakes an opportu-
nity of making way for him. When the way was
clear for a few paces, he advanced a little and
waited again. The snakes which were coming
towards him, he pushed away with his hands. In
this manner he employed his feet too. But the
snakes shewed no disposition to bite him. None
raised its hood, or hissed in anger. It was because
they were not touched. Those caught in the date
tree shewed a good deal of ferocity, but then their

34

LIFE SKETCH

tails had been caught. In the banian tree none
was touched, and those which were touched were
shoved into the water.

The man then caught hold of another small
branch. It was on the branch where the big snake
was. He began to crawl over it with great care
and difficulty, for the branch was small. And
then we saw the big snake — it was a jet black
keuta. At the approach of the mal, the snake
shewed signs of uneasiness, and then it moved.
Just as it was eluding his hand, the mal caught
hold of the tail. If the snake had then turned
round and attacked him, the only way of saving
himself was to throw it down below. But the
snake acted otherwise. There was a small branch
before it, and it coiled its head round it, and held
it firmly. The mal pulled it by the tail, but the
snake shewed no signs of giving way. The man
then held the tail by both the hands and began to
pull with all his strength. In the struggle and
under the excitement, he lost his balance.

The branch was about sixteen feet above
water, and he fell down with a splash into
the water below. There was silence for a few
seconds, for the water was rather deep there,
and he had gone to the very bottom by his fall
from such a height. I thought it was all over
with him, but he rose again. He was not cowed,
but was on the contrary in the highest spirits, and

35

SHISHIR KUMAR GHOSE

he cried : " I have it, here it is." While he said
this lie raised his hand, which had clasped the
tail of the snake ! Surely the tail was in his grasp!
Another mal from the boat caught the tail and
dragged the snake up. The third held it in the
middle, and then it was put into a jar. Under
ordinary circumstances a snake like that would
have demanded the exertions of two or three men
to catch it. But, then, fortune was against it. It
was caught in a position where, none of its
predecessors perhaps had ever been caught.
Talking of position, it had every advantage over
the mal. If the man had not fallen from the tree,
the snake would have never been secured, for it
was not in the power of the mal to compel a big
snake like that to let go its hold of the branch.
And then in the water, it could not have also been
caught. But the fall hurt it, for, in spite of its
strength, it is a tender creature ; and in spite of
its ferocity, it is usually timid. The fall hurt it,
and gave it such a fright, that it never raised its
head when it was put into the jar.

I came back to Gopalnagore at about 4 P. M.
On the following day I wrote to the Lieutenant-
Governor of Bengal, to the Commissioner of the
Nuddea Division, and to the Magistrate of Nuddea
to take prompt measures, for the destruction of
the snakes. I wrote to them that at a trifling cost
Government could destroy, millions of snakes.

36

LIFE SKETCH

The Magistrate asked for permission of the
government to do it, and the latter, wrote to
the Magistrate for report. At last it was admitted
that my suggestion deserved consideration, and
the cost was sanctioned. But then the flood had
subsided, and the snakes had entered their holes!
The heel of Choital is to this day notorious for
its Keutas."

True perhaps that there are some who by
virtue of birth and wealth, rank and riches, Govern-
ment titles and University distinctions, scientific
training and forensic skill, pushing nature and
power of gal have thrust themselves so well for-
ward either in the estimation of ihe ruling race or
the notice of the outside world, as to throw him
in the background ; but when it comes to the
judging of any man by the standard of real work-
steep, up hill, pioneer work.and of genuine untiring
zeal and services to the cause of his country and
country men, it is Babu Shishir Kumar's name
that occurs first and foremost. He was a veritable
patriarch, a veritable patriot, and a veritable
spiritualist. Dr. James Coates a well-known author
and spiritualist of Scotland writes in his short
sketch of Shishir Babu :

Perhaps one of the most interesting points in
the Babu's career to us is that he is a veritable
patriarch. He might have been translated from the
plains of Mamre of the days of Abraham to the

37

SHISHIR KUMAR GHOSE

India of to-day. Although a modern journalist,
business man, dealer in landed estates, and posses-
sing several interests in public affairs, he is also
the father — patriarch — of one of the largest fami-
lies in India. The family of which he is the head
consists of his brothers, their wives, children and
grandchildren ; of his own direct descendants,
children and grand-children. Add to these the
servants and hand-maidens or other dependants
of the several distinct branches, all dewelling
within the s^me compound, sleeping there and
messing — eating at the same tables, or whatever
their equivalent may be in the true Indian home.
But this is not all. This very remarkable family
— the members of which are spiritualists — are co-
operators, all working or interested in or depend-
ent on the various enterprises initiated by the
head of this — probably the largest family of the
patriarchial order in India today- Such a farmh-
and such a community of interests, where all are
working in harmony, for the good of each and all
is not thinkable by us with our ideas of family life,
yet these Hindus do so in love and harmony.
The secret is the binding influence of the veritable
patriarch's moral and spiritual power. He is
regarded by his family and by large numbers of
the community as saint on account of his ardent
piety and lovableness of his character. There
have been many saints in history, and some of

38

LIFE SKETCH

them have not been particularly lovable. Yet, this
man, who has been no worker of miracles, is
revered as a saint by his country-men, in his life
time. Probity in his dealings, marked self-abne
gation, devotedness to the welfare and happiness
of those of whom he is the family head, have
brought him the respect and high merit in which
he is esteemed. That he was an intellectual force
there is no doubt, or he would not have been
honoured by the government, but it is through
being a moral and a spiritual force that he has

made his mark.

" It is a strange story for us who are inclined
to think that we excel in the excellence of the
family, and are a pattern to the world, as far as
the meaning of home is concerned, yet this Hindu
proves that we have no monopoly of virtues,
albeit we claim such high civilization and Chris-
tian virtues.*'

During the latter part of his life, Shishir
Kumar founded a monthly journal, called " The
Hindu Spiritual Magazine." It is quite a depar-
ture from the orthodox Hindu spiritual ideas, as it
does away with the theory of re-incarnation. Not-
withstanding much opposition to this belief of his
from several influential quarters, Shishir Babu
was able to maintain his own reputation. This
periodical is still being conducted together with
the "Patrika" as successfully as before, especially

39

SHISHIR KUMAR GHOSE

through the zeal, skill and labours of Babu Moti
Lai Ghose, a life-long co-adjutor and fourth
brother of Babu Shishir Kumar and of Babu
Piyush Kanti Ghose, his eldest son and a veritable
chip of the old block. Babu Moti Lai Ghose, the
able successor of Shishir Kumar, is now growing
old to take any large active part in the public
affairs of the country. So the onerous duty of
editor has largely devolved upon Piyush Babu,
and he has proved, during the last few years, that
inspirations from his father far from falling flat
upon him have entered his very blood and mar-
row and made him a successful successor of his
father and uncle.

The life of Babu Shishir Kumar Ghose can
conveniently be divided into three parts, — social,
political, and spiritual. We have already said
something about the first two, and we should
now say a little about the last one. It is not an
easy task for us to write about his spiritual life.
We will therefore do what little we can by quota-
tions from his life-sketches from the pens of some
profound writers and thinkers of the day. Dr.
J. M. Peebles, the great publicist and tourist of
America, says ; — " Babu Shishir Kumar Ghose
was no ordinary personage. He was not only
an upright and conscientious man, not only
a broad-minded thinker and reformer, but he
was in the best sense of the word, a saint,

40

LIFE SKETCH

— a saint whose soul was a fire with devotion
to India, politically and religiously, and in a
wider sense, to the whole world of humanity —
symbolised, — " We are Brothers All. " Again Dr.
Peebles says, " Never can I forget to the end
of mortal life my close social communion, a blend-
ing of America and India with the lamented
originator and editor of the "Hindu Spiritual
Magazine''. He was a thinker, a scholar, and a
brilliant torch of intellectual progress. He was
also an affectionate, unassuming man, and yet
really great ; for all true greatness is based upon
goodness, intelligence, and consecration to the
benefit of all tribes, races and nations.'' He lived
the life of a saint and in Vaishnava Bhajanas
(Kirtans) he went into ecstatic trances. He has
left behind a large number of Bhaktas (devotees)
who worship him daily even to this day. His
Bengali religious works are the saviours of quite
a large number of sinners and they in a manner,
bi ought on a new era, in the religious thoughts
of Bengal.

As a token of his undiminishing love and
devotion to Lord Gauranga and for the benefit
of mankind, Shishir Babu has left a few works
upon His life and teachings. These works are ; —
(i) " Lord Gauranga or Salvation for All", (in
English) (2) " Amiya Nimai Charit", (3) " Kala-
chand Gita", and many others in Bangali. So

4i

SHISHIR KUMAR GHOSE

great was his love for the religion of Sri Gaur-
anga that he also published a monthly journal in
Bengali called " Vishnupriya Patrika" which was
after some time made a weekly and named
Vishnupriya and Ananda Bazar Patrika.'' This
latter paper did very useful work in the field of
Vaishnavism and politics for a large number of
years. From a careful perusal of his books and
articles in the " Vishnupriya " one will rise a
better and wiser man and find himself in the
right position to judge of Shishir Babu as a re-
ligious preacher. His was a life truly lived for
he began as a social reformer, developed into a
politician and at last ended as a fervent religious
reformer and a spiritualist. Johnson said of Gold-
smith, that whatever he undertook he shed lustre
on, and let us say with Johnson, that whatever
Shishir Babu touched, he touched to better it.

42

THE GREAT KING ON HIS THRONE

The irresistible King sat on His Golden
Throne, surrounded by His beloved ministers,
whom His subjects, divided into diverse races,
called Prophets. He ruled with such consummate
wisdom that every one thought that the race to
which he belonged, was the most favourite or the
Lord Sovereign. His laws were so simple that every
one could know what they were. But more : He
made the obedience to His laws a source of profit
to His subjects, and disobedience that of loss. The
King, however, lived at a distance, far from the
reach of His subjects ; and this led those, who had
foolishly created perverse tastes for themselves, to
break the laws and bring misery upon their heads.
When thus afflicted, they sent petitions to the
King, and for this they had neither to pay for
stamps nor any other fees. All their petitions
reached the foot of the Throne direct and without
cost.

As the King sat, a petition reached the foot of
th Throne, which the Private Secretary took up
and read. It was from the Abyssinians who begged
protection from the invasion of the Italians. No
sooner was the petition read than another was
taken up by the Secretary. It was from the

43

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

Italians who prayed for victory over the Abys-
sinians.

The King wanted to know the grounds upon
which they prayed for His intervention. The
Secretary said in reply that the Abyssinians
claimed to be the only loyal subjects of His Majesty,
while the Italians preferred the same claim.

The King smiled, and addressing a minister
said : "Jesus, My beloved son, they both belong to
you. It is for you to advise Me how to satisfy both
parties."

Jesus said, "My revered Father, wiiy dost
Thou call them my own ? I told them distinctly
that it would not do to call me "good" and disobey
the laws. I have told them that murder is murder
whether committed on the high-ways or on the
battle-field. I have told them that they are all
brothers and must love one another. I cannot call
them my own, who disobey Your laws and then
selfishly throw all the responsibility upon my
shoulders.''

The King again smiled, and ordered the peti-
tions to be filed with the remark, that the parties
must take the consequence of their own acts.

Just then a petition came from Emperor
William. Emperor William wanted to keep Alsace
and Lorraine in his possession and prayed for the
assistance of the King. He proposed in his petition,
that if the King afforded the necessary help, he,

44

THE GREAT KING ON HIS THRONE

the Emperor, would offer the King, in return, his
hearty thanks, and praise Him and proclaim His
glory.

The King again turned to Jesus and said. —
"How is it that Emperor William thinks me such
an idiotic fool? His idea is to bribe me by a few
good words to help him in pursuit of his selfish
ends. Let the petition of Emperor William be filed
without any order."

The Armenians sent a petition for protection
from the Sultan, and the Sultan did the same to
protect himself from the Christian Powers. The
King addressed Mahomet and said, "Beloved
Friend, what have you to say to this?'' Mahomet
replied : "Brother Jesus is in a better position to
give the reply than I am. Previously my followers
were the stronger party, but his are now the
masters of the situation."

Just then petitions reached the Throne from
the battlefield in Chitral. The Christian prayed
for victory, and the Mussalmans prayed for the
same thing. The Christians charged the Mussal-
mans with being followers of a pretender and false
Prophet, and the Mussalmans charged the Christi-
ans with being unbelievers and therefore enemies
of the King whom it is therefore meritorious work
to kill.

Both Jesus and Mahomet were appointed
arbitrators to settle this dispute. How it was clone

45

PICTUR1 • LIP1

a ii, ih
■
\ petiti I

•jh-ss <.i the the

. The I

■

■
with ; '•'

K iman. 11<

- that he ha -

rill m

• ie King

that ■
inhabite 1 ; • it <li I i

kn- :. wh

Pi ph< t
I
difttributt

the a - I'i:

imm<
I infinite (»1» King \n«1

in return what the i bum

. ith \i
posso
them ; .iil.1 b (

The Kin . •■ I . » hat tin

• •
1 <!■ aJl. Fust, ;.

THE GREAT KING ON HIS THRONE

laid down by me and bring misery upon them-
selves; secondly, the}', every one of them, will
have to come here in a short time, leaving all their
possessions behind, to render an account for their
actions. They will have to explain why they
committed murder, why they stole, and why they
did other unlawful things.'' Then turning to Jesus,
the King said sorrowfully : "Ami was it for this
that you, my beloved son, bled?"

THE BABOO.

[The following is an extract from the unpubli-
shed diary of a globe-trotter in India.]
It was at Cawnpore, that I first heard of that
strange animal of Bengal, of which so much has
been spoken and written. I was expecting every
moment my friend with whom I was staying, for
it was past office hours, when he rushed in,
apparently in a great fury, and threw himself
prostrate upon a sofa. I soothingly inquired of
him the cause of his illhumor, and he said that his
"Baboo would be the cause of death to him."
"What was a Baboo?" thought I. I had heard of
baboons and seen some of them in Africa, but
never a baboo. I asked what was a baboo, and at
this simple query, my friend laughed immodera-
tely, till tears trickled down his cheeks. "Never
heard of or saw a baboo in your life?'' said he.
"Well, a baboo is a strange animal and very
vicious too," I was a little annoyed at his un-
seasonable merriment and told him so, but he
apologised and told me that a baboo not only
vexed but also amused him a great deal.

* la the beginning- the Bengal Zemindar was the object of
wrath to the average Englishman in India. When that class had
been very much humbled, the wrath was transferred to the
"Baboos" of Bengal, by which expression were meant those
natives of Bengal who had learnt the English language.

48

THE BABOO

I wanted to see his baboo, for I was informed
that the baboo had its own and separate quarters.
I requested my friend to send for its keeper to come
along with the animal ; but to my astonishment I
was told that his baboo roamed at large and did
not need the services of a keeper. Well, what
was then a baboo? I petulantly asked. My
friend said that it was an animal from Bengal
which was his constant tormentor. It annoyed
and irritated him very much, and it oftentimes
roused his worst passions, "It will approach you
when you don't want him and stick to you, and at
last render you a helpless idiot."—

I interrupted him and inquired why then he
kept a baboo at all. He said, because, he could
not help it ; " every European has a baboo and it
is impossible to do anything in this country with-
out its help. Baboo labour is cheap, and the
baboos are very useful animals."

I did not fullv understand what my friend
meant ; his words mystified me more than ever,
and I inquired why he did not break those which
proved vicious.

Friend. — They are all vicious, and as to break-
ing them I dare not. They have paws and teeth
and they can both scratch and bite.

Trotter. — Are they more ferocious than the
Bengal tiger and the African lion?
Fr.— The baboo is a very gentle creature, indeed.

49
S-4

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

Tr. — Why, then, don't you shoot him down
whenever you find him, despite his cheap and
useful labour?

Fr. — Shoot a baboo! I would rather cut off
my right forefinger. I dare not even flog him,
and I am obliged even to humour him and treat
him as a fellow-being. Shoot a baboo! You
don't know what would be the consequences of
such a rash act. Shoot a baboo and he will no
doubt be dead, but then the other baboos of the
country, — thousands and tens of thousands, will
join together, and raise such a piercing, terrible
awful, unearthly howl that it will shake the nerves
of the boldest amongst us. They will howl from
street to street, from town to town, from province
to province, from Calcutta to Bombay.

Tr. — I see, I see, the baboos are then a species
of apes which I saw in large numbers in America.
They are called howling monkeys, of a brown
color, with a capacious pouch under their
chins.

Fr. — They are not howling monkeys, my
friend, but they more closely resemble the human
species, though I must tell you that the lower
orders are now and then mistaken for apes and
shot by the Europeans. But you are going down
to Calcutta : you will see plenty of them there.
You will see baboos also in all the Railway
Stations, for baboo power is absolutely necessary

5o

THE BABOO

to make the cars go, but my last injunction to you
is, avoid a baboo!

On the following- morning I purchased a
Calcutta ticket, and before getting into 'the train,
closely examined the engine which waited there
for some time, to see where the baboo power was
applied. There the engine stood just like other
engines I had seen in England and other places ;
and I could not see where the baboos were yoked.
I inquired of the engine-driver, and evidently not
understanding me, he pointed out to me one of
the office rooms. Just then the bell rang and I was
obliged to go in. There were some other Euro-
peans in the car, and, as I was putting my luggage
into order the door of the compartment was
violently shut by a gentleman who, evidently
highly incensed, told to a fellow-passenger, " a
rascally baboo was coming in." Though the
gentleman was unknown to me, I could not help
inquiring, with a shudder, whether the door had
been properly shut, for I felt a little nervous. He
said it had been shut but not locked. I then inquired
where the baboo then was, for I longed to have a
peep at him from such a safe place, surrounded
as I was by my countrymen ; but he said that the
baboo had been kicked out, and had perhaps
entered another compartment.

I then thought within myself that the "yahoos"
of Swift were probably the baboos of Bengal.

5i

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

Most anxious was I to see how the baboos helped
the motion of the train, but I could not. At
every station the guard called out "baboo, baboo;"
but as the car moved immediately, I thought that,
that was an encouraging word to the baboos to
do their duty better. There was a Civilian
Magistrate pi up-country sitting next to me, and
to him I confidently said how anxious I was to see
a baboo. "Do no such a thing," said he, "his very
touch is contamination. I have tried to close my
doors against him. I wish I had succeeded." "Why
do you allow them to come to you !" said I. "Very
difficult to resist them," muttered he.

There was a missionary gentleman in the com-
partment who crossed himself when the name of
the animal was mentioned, and said that it was
on account of these baboos, that he could not
propagate his faith. The Magistrate said that the
baboos were the greatest foes of the Civilians ;
they ought to be put down at all cost. There
was a medical man who swore that he would take
the first opportunity of transferring himself to a
station where there were no baboos. A baboo
had made him very uncomfortable in his present
post and deprived him of his practice. There was
an engineer too, who clenched his fist and well
nigh broke the door by striking it, while he cursed
the meddlesomeness of his baboo.

The Magistrate hissed "baboo/ The mis-

52

THE BABOO

sionary cursed the "baboo." The Doctor swore
at the "baboo." And every one hissed "baboo''
between his teeth.

All this was enough for me. I did not choose
to encounter a baboo just then, as my revolver was
out of order. "Well you will find plenty of baboos
at the Howrah Station," wickedly observed the
Magistrate, and a cold tremor came over me.

How to avoid them, was the thought that
engrossed my mind. Calcutta was at last reached,
my companions boldly opened the door and came
down upon the platform, but somehow or other
the late talk had made me a little nervous, and I
was not prepared to come across a baboo just then.
So I loitered and peeped through the doors to see
whether there were baboos on the platform, and
what they were like ; but the porters teased me
very much. I asked them in English whether there
were any baboos roaming there at large, and a
porter ran away apparently to beckon some body.
Forthwith came a native gentleman ; and with
that respectful demeanour which they always
preserve before Europeans, he inquired what I
wanted. What could I say ? I said I must alight,
and the gentleman very obligingly helped to
remove my luggage to the platform. But I was
still in the car and very anxious : I was constantly
directing my glance towards the platform. The
gentleman again enquired to know whether I

53

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

wanted anything more. "Well," I stammered, "my
dear, dear — s — sir, are the b — b — baboos all gone!':'
'Not all" said he. "Where are they?" I whis-
pered in his ear. He enquired, why I asked. "My
d-dear s-sir, not so loud, I simply want to know,"
said I. He said : "Well, sir, I am a baboo." "You,
a baboo !" shrieked I. My brain reeled and I
fainted awav !

SUTTEE IN INDIA

It has been always assumed that Sutteeism, that
is, the practice of a disconsolate woman burning
herself to death with the dead body of her hus-
band, is a barbarous institution, and the British
Government conferred a benefit by abolishing it.
We shall show that these assumptions have no
basis to stand upon. A Suttee occurred but very
rarely in India. Of course, when the institution
was abolished, the Government had to state that
more Suttees occurred than what actually did.
The East India Company were deservedly un-
popular with the people of England, and they
wanted to stand well with their countrymen. They
selected the Suttee question for their purpose, and
they represented that the horrible evil was a com-
mon spectacle. As in the case of the Age of
Consent Act, the existence of the evil was esta-
blished by "cases0 which had no real existence,
and the East India Company took great credit
irom the civilized world by abolishing it.

But, as a matter of fact, Suttees occurred very
rarely, once in, say, fifty years in a part of the
country, with a population of several millions.
Whenever a Suttee occurred, tombs of the hus-
band and the Suttee were erected to commemorate

55

PICTURI : \N I. ll

the g event, and these I unbs carefully

preserved by the idantBoi tin- Suttee So it

i> possible even now t > ascertain how m

I u Bengal within the last two hundi

i only " h tomb in this

vast | s one sncfa tomb

also in t! it ami holy cky oi Benares. The

ent ha arred iust alter the advenl oi th»-

tgbsh, and tin t.>ml>s <-t tht- couple nefally

preserve I. We ha sen a ver) lew in other

pla

It hen th

u omen \a an'

• ■ n ■ mi ■
When a do

c Sutfc had toui eata

Every o ;«»i the honor tailed,

and it « BS 00 ■ i thousand

that had the glory. Th»- tests simply were thai

lissuadc bet ir»m
the sacrifice, and it was wbei ied

in carrying all her people with he she »

perni lie with her hits The following

:ount of a Suttee- is taken from her friends wIm
to >k parr in the ceremony.

We saw in the Bankura district -mall

tombs on the banks of a small lake We enquti
of the man who was with us. oi the r. diis

,v spectacle in a purely Hindoo vill ued

5*

SUTTEE IN INDIA

so close to the house of the Gossains. He said :
" The tombs contain the ashes of the Suttee and
her husband, who were both burnt on this very-
spot. The Suttee belonged to the family of the
Gossains, and there may be persons yet living
who could give you an account of the whole affair."

On hearing this, a strange emotion seized us,
and we knelt by the tomb of the lady, and then
prayed with clasped hands : "Teach us, noble
soul, Sacrifice; teach us Devotion and Fidelity;
teach us Love."

The village is in the district of Bankura, and
called Gader Dehee, whe^e resides the Gossain
family, celebrated throughout that part of the
country. We were led to an old man who had
himself assisted in the ceremony, being the
younger brother of the husband of the lady. He
was twenty-two when his brother died;
his brother was fortv-nve, and the ladv, the
Suttee, was twenty-five. The event happened 59
years ago, and so the old man, who related the
story to us, was then 81. The name of the husband
of the lady was Brahmananda Gossain, and he
died of fever in the morning. Now we shall speak
in the words of the narrator : " She wept not,
bui: sat by the dead body of my brother. How we
: wished that she could give vent to her feelings,
frand relieve herself. But no, she sat and uttered

(neither a sigh nor a groan. At last she rose and

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

proceeded straightway towards the Thakur Baree
of God Sree Krishna. There she went, followed
by many men and women, and prostrated herself
before the holy Image of God. There she stood,
and began to divest herself of the ornaments, that
she had on her person. One by one she took them
off and placed them at the feet of the God, for the
first time speaking in these words : "Here, my
Lord, take them, 1 need them no longer." And
then she slowly came back to where the body of
her husband was lying covered. She ihen
addressed her brother-in-law and said : "Prepare
for the ceremony of cremation, and you know I
can't live without him. I must accompany him."
Though her relations, friends and neighbours
had all suspected that something serious was
impending, the first announcement was received
with a shock which could not be described. Then
followed dissuasions and they all began to
dissuade her to no purpose. The uncle-in-law, the
mother-in-law, whom a Hindu lady is bound to
revere next to God, commanded, and then
earnestly pleaded to her to forbear ; but she was
not to be moved. Then came the Guru the
Purohit, whom, as her spiritual guides, she was
bound to obey ; they tried their best, but she was
as firm as rock.

Time rolled on, and she wavered not for a
moment. Then the last device was resorted to

58

SUTTEE IN INDIA

Her fears were appealed to ; they described
to her the horrible and painful sufferings of a
living being upon a funeral pile. At first she dis-
dained to give replies to their appeals to her fears,
but at last, when obliged to say something, she
said : "You need not be anxious ; my soul has
fled with my Lord. As for bodily sufferings, I shall
shew you that I need not apprehend them." There
was a lamp burning, according to the usual
custom by the corpse, and she put one of her
fingers upon the slow flame of the lamp and burnt
it without winking. Crowds had then collected
from all parts of the country. It was then about
4 p. m. and the corpse was carried to the burning
ghat on the bank of the small lake, only about a
couple of hundred yards from the house, and the
lady followed, followed by thousands of men and
women, chanting "Haribole." The crowd then
began to collect dry faggots, and heaps were
gathered in a moment.

While the funeral pile was in the process of
being prepared, the corpse was bathed, and the
lady herself performed her ablutions. She then
put on vermillion on her forehead,* and dressed
herself in a new Saree (cloth for ladies) and then

* Women who have husbands alone have the privilege of

putting on the vermillion. The vermillion shewed that she

disdained to live as a widow. Indeed, before ascending the

funeral pile she dressed herself as a new bride going to hrr

husband.

59

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

slowly ascended the funeral pile. Her hair was
properly adjusted by her friends, and they adorn-
ed her with garlands and wreaths of flowers. The
crowd then, with tearful eyes, begged of her bless-
ings and some tokens from her to be kept in
remembrance of her self-sacrifice. She was sup-
plied with cowries, plantains, betel-nuts, &c, and
she began to throw handfuls of them amongst the
crowd. She then laid herself by the corpse of her
husband in the posture of a warm embrace. She
gave the order, and the pile was lighted in several
places and there was at once a blazing fire. The
Suttee raised her right hand and began to utter
the name of "Hari," turning her hand round and
round. This was followed by loud responsive
shouts of " Haribole " from the crowd. She was
dead before the fire had reached her sacred person.
The lady had no child."

But we inquired: " How was it that, you
being many thousands, you say, almost a hundred
thousand, you could not prevent a fragile lady
from burning herself?''

To this the old Brahmin replied : "It could
not be done. She sat there as a statue, the most
beautiful woman in the world. There was no
sorrow on her face ; on the contrary, it beamed,
as it were, with ecstacy ; and it seemed that light
was emitting from her wmole body. She was
simply unapproachable and irresistible, and the

60

SUTTEE IN INDIA

seething mass stood transfixed with awe before
her. It was not possible fof man to go against
her wishes, the greatest of monarchs could not
have done it."

When the real spirit of Sutteeism descends
to a lady she becomes irresistible, and, though the
Government has stopped it, Suttee may occur even
now any day. It is not, therefore, quite correct
to say that the Government has stopped it, it has
stopped of itself.

The description given above of the Suttee
tallies exactly with cases to which Europeans
have been eye witnesses.

APRIL, MAY AND JUNE

In those early days when gods did not disdain
to come down from their celestial abodes to hold
converse with men below — that such thing's hap-
pened, the Bible is our witness — the fishermen of
Bengal prayed to Heaven to be protected from
thieves. Their god, for each caste had its own,
came down to listen to what they had to say.
The fishermen said that their custom was to spread
nets in rivers at night and watch. But the river-
breeze induced sleep, and when they fell down
overpowered by it, the thieves stole all the fishes
that were netted. They, therefore, prayed for
something to neutralize the effects of the river-
breeze. Their god was moved to pity and gave
them mosquitoes as a remedy against drowsiness.
Thus came mosquitoes in India, says the legend
of the fishermen.

The Bannias amassed gold, and were, in like
manner, robbed by thieves. They prayed to their
god to afford them some protection from the
robbers of their hard-earned property. The god
came down and said that fishermen had got
mosqaitoes, and those insects ought to be a
sufficient protection to them also. The Bannias
said that they had acquired a bad name for them-

62

APRIL, MAY AND JUNE

selves by their economical habits. They were
considered stingy, so stingy indeed, that even the
mosquitoes have been affected by this foul rumour.
Indeed, they have been so scared away by the
rumour that they (the mosquitoes) avoided them as
they did not expect a drop of blood from them. They
wanted something more potent than mosquitoes.
On reflection, the god gave them poisonous snakes.
Thus came these reptiles in India. The terror of
being bitten by snakes which glided about at night,
gave, in those days, sufficient protection to the
Bannias from thieves.

Thus did India get its scourges, one by one,
obtained by the people themselves, by their selfish
folly. But, at one time, a national prayer was
offered up to all the gods of the country. The
gods had desired the people to live in peace, and
treat all men as brethren and perform all religious
sacrifices. The people followed the rule of life
thus laid down by the thirty-threee millions of
gods for them. The result was disastrous ; for,
they forgot to fight and thus became objects of
attack to all ungodly and powerful nations.

When the entire nation prayed, all the gods
came down, and these thirty-three millions of
celestial beings with their consorts looked, says
the legend, like a swarm of glow-worms. They
filled the whole heaven, and were yet fifty miles
deep ! The people with folded hands prayed to

63

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

the gods to be protected from the invaders of their

country.

The god of the fishermen thus replied
addressing the people,— "You ought to have no
fear of any invader. I have given your country
mosquito. No foreign nation will consequently
care to come to India.'' The people submitted
that mosquitoes would be no protection at all.

The eod of the Bannias then said that he had
given them poisonous snakes, and surely no nation
would, alter that, venture to come to India. The
people again demurred.

The thirty-three millions of gods with their
consorts then held a consultation amongst them-
selves, but could arrive at no definite and
satisfactory conclusion. One goddess interrupted
the proceedings by declaring that she would do
the needful. She would give cholera, and that
would afford the most adequate protection to
India against all invaders. The name of this ever
to-be-feared goddess is Ola Debi or the Cholera

Goddess.

The deluded people of India accepted the gift
with joy, but they were not yet satisfied. The
gods held another conference, and they at last
succeeded in arriving at a definite conclusion.
Thev said that invasions of India could only be
made by powerful nations, and powerful nations
come from cold countries. To make India

64

APRIL, MAY AND JUNE

intolerable to such people, the country ought to be
made hot. Thus two hot months were given to
India — the months of Baisakh and Jaishta. The
gods calculated that any nation from the cold
countries, however tenacious of purpose, would be
compelled to flee from their beloved India, when
subjected to the heat of April, May and June.

The overpowering heat which makes the life of
every inhabitant of the Indian plains miserable,
reminds us of the above legend which we heard
in our early days ; and which is still believed in
by the ignorant masses of the country as true. If
you ask them to explain how, in spite of the
mosquitoes, the cobras, the cholera and the heat,
India has been taken possession of by a nation
hailing from a cold country, the believers in the
above legend will tell you that, in this iron age,
the gods have been rendered powerless by men.
And are not the English, they will tell you, a
nation powerful enough to defy even the ordinan-
ces of so many gods as thirty-three millions. ?

We are, however, disposed to agree with the
gods that the heat of April, May and June ought
to be sufficient terror to any people from any cold
country. The gods were right in their calculation,
but they had no idea of the tenacity of purpose of
an Englishman. Many of those Englishmen and
Scotchmen, who come to India to earn money by
entering service, do not act wisely. They do no

65
S-5

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

good to themselves in any way, by coming out here.
India is as much dreary to them, as Siberia is to
a Russian prisoner. They have to leave society
behind to find no society here. They have to live
alone in the midst of millions of aliens. They
have to leave dear surroundings of their early
days to live amongst strangers. They have to do
the same thing over again, all the days of their
lives. Their pay is fat no doubt, but their work
is hard too. They have barely time to enjoy the
necessary sleep of seven hours. The heat is
unbearable for a native : it can well be conceived
how dreadful it must be to inhabitants of cold
countries. It is true they earn some money ; but
what of that ? When in their old age they go
home with their bags of money, they find them-
selves again in the midst of strangers, with no
friends and no congenial spirits to make their
existence bearable. All that they gain is that they
die rich, if that is any consolation at all. The best
thing tor them is for most of them to go home.
Let those who can spend their days on hills alone
remain for the purpose of ruling the country.

ONE OF THE LAST KINGS OF
BENGAL.

When the Bengalees were independent, they
were a warlike race. Martial spirit, like Goddess
Lakshmi, is fickle, and travels from one nation to
another. A nation which is weak now, may
become strong under the impulse of circumstances.
This can at once be proved by a reference to
history. The Bengalees were at one time not
only a warlike, but also a conquering, race. This
was under the Sen Kings of the province. These
Sens are Kayasthas according to Ayin Akbari,
and Vaidyas according to popular belief.

The most warlike of these Sen Kings was
Vijoy. He conquered Assam, Madras and Ceylon,
and sent a fleet to the West by the Ganges, with
what result is not known. But the martial spirit,
the nation began to decline after the reign of
Vijoy. Bengal was at last wrested by the
Mussalmans from the hands of its old King, Laksh-
man Sen.

He is called Lakshmania by the Mussalman
authors. But popularly it is believed that the last
Sen King of Bengal was Lakshman Sen who,
when the Mussalmans came, was eighty years of
age. When the Mussalmans invaded Bengal, he

67

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

fled without offering them any battle. TheMussal-
man authors refer to a legend in connection with
this King of Bengal. It is this: Astrologers had pre-
dicted that if his mother gave him birth at a certain
auspicious moment, he would live to reign eighty
years in Bengal. His mother was big with child,
when his father died. The auspicious moment was
approaching ; but the infant in the womb was in a
hurry to be born, and, indeed, he would have come
down two hours before the auspicious moment, had
not the mother adopted a sure means of preventing
it. She had herself hung up by the two feet, with
the head downwards. She was taken down at the
proper time ; and when she gave birth to her
child (Lakshman Sen) he was immediately pro-
claimed King. The mother, however, died of the
means she had adopted to secure eighty years'
reign for her son.

After Vijoy Sen, the Bengalees devoted them-
selves to arts, sciences, and literature. Mithila was
the centre of the Naya philosophy, but Bengal
soon after eclipsed that famous seat of learning.
The Naya (logic), the Tantra (religious philo-
sophy), literature, mathematics and poetry, etc.,
engrossed the attention of the higher classes of
Bengalees during the days of the last Sen Kings
01 Bengal.

The last King, Lakshman Sen, was himself a
great poet, and he surrounded himself by poets.

68

ONE OF THE LAST KINGS OF BENGAL

His wife was a poetess, so was his son, so was his
daughter-in-law, and so were his ministers. The
great Jaydeva was the first poet at his court, and
his rival was Umapati Dhar. This Umapati Dhar
was a Suvarnabanik. Dr. Rajendra Lala Mittra
mistook him for a Brahmin, however. Jaydeva
talks of this Umapati in his great book, the best
lyrical poem in the world, theGeeta Govinda. We
said Lakshman Sen was himself a poet ; some of
his pieces are extant, and they are written in
Bengalee characters.

Fancy the spectacle of a King and his cabinet
devoting themselves to poetic pleasures ! The
village communities took care of themselves ; and,
being too strong for the governors, remained
virtually independent. The King could be only
approached by a subject with a Sloka (couplet) in
hand. There was no other way of having access
to him. A good sentiment, a happy simile, or an
apt metaphor carried the day with him.

The King had once sent his son to a distant
part of his dominions on some business. The wife
of his son pined away. The son could not come
home without the permission of the King, his
master ; nor could he himself venture to ask it.
But the wife of his son conceived and carried out
a bold plan. She entered the bed-chamber of the
King, her father-in-law, when he was out, and
wrote a couplet which is known to almost all

69

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

pandits versed in Sanskrit. But there is no harm
in giving a translation of the couplet. It is this : —

"The clouds are pouring without intermission,
and the peacocks are dancing with joy ; on such a
day, death or my beloved alone can remove my
suffer in gs."

The King, on entering his room for his after-
noon nap, saw the couplet on the wall, and was
deeply moved. On inquiry he learnt that it was
the work of his daughter-in-law ! He left his bed,
and immediately sent an express for his son.

On another occasion, the King absented him-
self from home for a considerable time to the
detriment of business, because of his love for a
low-born damsel. His son sent him two couplets
which were addressed to a river. They may be
translated thus: "'Generally cool art thou, O river !
and transparent by nature. Thou art thyself not
only pure, but makest every thing pure by thy
touch. But more. Art not thou the life of all living
things? Why then dost thou flow downwards?"

The penitent King, of course, hastened to
his capital. When the Mussalmans came, the King
was eighty years old. It is further said he had no
heirs. He called all the philosophers of his court
together. They were all poets and pious men ;
and none of them had any taste for fighting, They
all addressed the King in these terms : Life was
like a drop of water on a lotus leaf. The object of

70

ONE OF THE LAST KINGS OF BENGAL

■life was salvation. It was only mad men who
fought for the acquirement of earthly blessings. It
was a horrible sin to shed the blood of an animal;
how much more horrible then it was to shed
human blood 1 Let the Mussalmans enjoy the
blessings of the world. They were fools to en-
danger their hereafter for such worthless advan-
tages. They must endanger it, if they possessed
them at the cost of others. "Let us." said they,
"enjoy the nectar that flowed from the lotus feet of
Sree Krishna."

English education has effected a good deal of
change in the instincts of the Hindus of Bengal.
But yet the feelings, which guided the last Sen
King and his advisers, have not lost their hold
completely upon their minds. Political agitation
and political privileges are ideas imported from
the West, and the Bengalees have not been able
to acclimatize them yet in their country. What
the rulers need to keep them contented is to leave
them alone, with the enjoyment of their simple
food, domestic enjoyment, intellectual pleasures,
and religious exercises. If the rulers of the land
had not tried to interfere with the domestic
arrangements of the Bengalees and with their
cherished objects and notions, they would have
grown no political institution or newspaper in our
country.

A STORY OF PATRIOTISM
IN BENGAL.*

The death of our lamented countryman, Mr.
Ganesh Vasudev Joshi of Poona, and the attempt
of the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal (Sir Ashley
Eden) to snub Mr. O'Donnell, a District Magis-
trate, for directing public attention to the abuses
of the indigo planting system in Behar, reminds
us of a promise, we had made to a friend, of dis-
closing to the world the secret of the origin of the
great indigo disturbance in Bengal in which
millions of indigo ryots and other Bengalees
shewed a degree of patriotism, self-sacrifice and
devotion scarcely witnessed in the annals of the
world before. People in jail refused to sow indigo
though solemn promises were held out by the
authorities to set them free ; to rebuild their
houses, which had been destroyed by their
opponents, the planters ; and to restore to them
their families, wives and children who had been
roaming in the country as beggars. People refused
to sow indigo even for a year. Thousands thus
preferred indescribable miser yto handling indigo
seed again.

* This appeared in 1880 in the Ameita Bazar Patrika.

72

A STORY OF PATRIOTISM IN BENGAL

The rulers of the Empire know not the origin
of this great combination. It is yet a mystery to
them as to how a combination of the apathetic
Bengalee ryots, a combination in which about
five millions of men took part, was brought about
so secretly and so suddenly without the authorities
knowing anything about it. We shall disclose
the secret to-day, for the benefit of the rulers of
the land. There is no longer any need for secrecy
as both the noble heroes of our story are dead.

In the village of Chougatcha, district Nadia,
lived two gentlemen, Babus Vishnu Charan
Biswas and Digambar Biswas. They were both
men of some property : Babu Vishnu Charan was
a small Zemindar, and Babu Digambar, a
Mahajan, that is, he lent money and paddy on
interest. They were not acquainted with the
English language, but they were men of
indomitable perseverence and courage. They
were, besides, men of heart, and had a large
share of that intelligence which generally cha-
racterises a Bengalee gentleman. Both of them
served as Dewans of several indigo factories in
the district of Nadia, and they were obliged to
leave service in disgust, as Dewans of indigo
factories, who had hearts, had to do in those days.

In those days, the indigo planters of Bengal
governed the country with despotic sway. Sir
Frederic Halliday was not aware of the real state

73

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

of affairs, and the planters found in him a warm
friend and supporter. So much so that the
ignorant ryot had been led to believe that the
Government had a share in all the indigo concerns
of the country. The more intelligent believed
that the Lieutenant-Governor was personally
interested in some indigo factories. At least, the
planters never failed to give circulation to that
rumour, to the damage of that worthy statesman's
character. In short, the planters obtained the-
support of the executive, from the police constable
to the head of the province, in their acts oM
spoliation and oppression. 1

They held courts, criminal and civil, andJ
awarded all sorts of punishment. They confined
men in their own jails, and sometimes did much
worse. They were not respectors of persons ; and
Zemindars and ryots trembled before them. In
short, they were the absolute masters of the
persons and properties of the people, and they
never failed to exercise, to the fullest extent, the
despotic powers they possessed. The ryots meekly
suffered, for they had no help. If they resisted,
their villages were plundered, and sometimes
burnt down and some of them murdered. The
Magistrates punished, not the planters, but
the injured ryots. The ring-leaders were sent
to prison on alleged charges of damaging
indigo crops and others too numerous to

74

A STORY OF PATRIOTISM IN BENGAL

mention and this kept the people in a quiet
state.

It was during the government of Sir Frederic
Halliday, that this system of growing indigo
was pushed to its uttermost limits. Previously
the planters fought amongst themselves, and
thus enhanced the value of the indigo ryot, and
he obtained protection from rival planters. But
the shrewd planters saw their mistake, and formed
themselves into a body, for the purpose of avoid-
ing these internal dissensions. From that day
the indigo ryots of Bengal became utterly help-
less. And when everything was rife for an out-
burst, Babus Vishnu Charan and Digambar
applied the lighted match to the fuse. It took
however, two years to ignite the whole country.

Babu Vishnu Charan left the planter's service
in disgust. He saw, and was made to do, things
which shocked his feelings ; and he at last came
to the determination of not serving the planters,
but to expel them from the country, if possible.
He knew that the planters never resorted to law-
courts unless they were forced by circumstances.
Law was expensive ; but this deterred them not so
much as the idea that going to the law-courts
would cause damage to their prestige. "Why
should I allow that damaging idea to be circulated
that I am not strong enough to subdue refractory
ryots and that I have a master in the hakims?"

75

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

thought the average planter. Babu Vishnu Charan
thought that the first thing necessary was to
defy the planter ; the second to fight a battle and
win it ; and the third, to rouse the whole country.
He knew that the first battle won would secure to
him allies. The ryots had been goaded to despera-
tion for they were reduced almost to the condition
of Carolina slaves in spite of the law-courts with
which the country was studded.

He counselled with Digambar Biswas who
heartily entered into the plot. It was just at the
time when Nana Saheb was organizing his revolt.
Nana's efforts were directed against the Govern-
ment, those of the two Biswases against the
planters. The first thing that they did was to
prevent the ryots of their village from sowing
indigo, and to promise them protection. They
sent envoys to other villages to induce the ryots to
join in the combination, and engaged the services
of renowned lathials (clubmen) whom they brought
from the east, i. e., Barrisal. All the villages
declined to join them except one, and to that
village they sent eight spearsmen for its protection.
The planter, who was thus defied, resolved to nip
the rebellion in the bud, and collected about a
thousand men, about one hundred of whom were
regulars. Mind all these preparations were being
made within eight to ten miles of the sudder
station, the town of Nadia !

76

A STORY OF PATRIOTISM IN BENGAL

The planters spread a rumour to the effect
that they would attack the village of Chougatcha
on a certain day, and in the morning of that day
actually advanced towards it. But wheeling
round suddenly, they attacked the village which
had joined the two Biswases. The villagers had
entrenched themselves within an impenetrable
fence ; but, deceived by the rumour of the planters,
they had sent away four out of the eight lancers
they had for their own protection to help the
garrison of chougatcha. They were thus taken
at a disadvantage, and found themselves surround-
ed by one thousand men. The fence protected
them for a time, but eventually the village was
taken by assault and plundered, one of the
Sharkiwallas or spearsmen being wounded, who
subsequently died in the factory.

So the first battle was lost, and the combina-
tion might have collapsed, but for an extremely
lucky circumstance. About that time, the district
of Nadia was in charge of a young and zealous
officer who, unlike the majority of his brother
Magistrates, had no particular partiality for the
planters. The fact of the dispute came to his
notice, and taking an elephant, he came to make
inquiries personally. He found that the planters
were the aggressive party, and he began to deal
even-handed justice. This encouraged the ryots
a little, and Babus Vishnu Charan and Digambar

77

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

freely supplied them with funds for law and other
expenses. The name of this Englishman, to
whom Bengal is for ever indebted, is Mr. R. L
Tottenham, lately one of the Judges of the
Calcutta High Court.

This officer was transferred from the district,
for evincing his zeal on behalf of the wronged,
but the leaders of the combination tried, by all
means in their power, to keep up the spirit of the
ryots who had thrown off the yoke of the planters.
It was at this time that the patience and patriotism
of the Biswases were sorely tried. The planters*
scouts kept watch day and night for the purpose
of waylaying them. They could, therefore, only
travel by night when leaving home. Thev were
under the constant apprehension of being invaded
in their own village by overwhelming numbers,
and they slept with their swords drawn. They
engaged the services of a large body of lathials,
who kept guard over the village day and night.
Almost all the villagers had sent away their
families to live in the houses of relatives.

Any ordinary man would have succumbed to
the series of troubles which beset the Biswases, —
troubles, a faint idea of which we have given
above. But they had other troubles from unexpec-
ted quarters. The ryots, for whom they were
suffering so much in every way, did not feel that
they were as much obliged to them, as the Biswases

78

A STORY OF PATRIOTISM IN BENGAL

were to them for joining in the combination.
Comes one ryot to say : "I owe so much to the
planter, and I cannot pay it. If I join him, he
will make over the bond to me. If you pay the
amount I join you." The Biswases did pay the
amount. The planters obtained decrees against
many ryots, but the money was ungrudgingly paid
by the Biswases. There were ryots who were
rascally enough to lay blackmail upon the Biswas-
es simply for their forbearance in not going
against them !

Another village joined them, and another.
Within the course of a year and-a-half, they found
the factory tottering. The ryots had become then
the stronger party. The tidings spread far and
wide that the indigo ryots had fought and won
against the planters. This the ryots could never
believe before. Babus Vishnu Charan and
Digambar shewed by their disinterested patriotism
that it was possible, even for little men like them,
to wage a war with the formidable planters of
Bengal and that successfully. The prestige of
the planters was thus utterly destroyed. The ryots
of Lokenathpore concern in the same district were
the next to take up arms, and within the course
of two years, from the time the patriots had taken
into their head to form a combination against the
planters, the whole of Bengal was up against
them.

79

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

The Babus examined their accounts and
found that the whole affair had cost them only
seventeen thousand rupees, a large sum consider-
ing that they were only middle-class men, but
ridiculously small when the gigantic results
obtained were considered. They never made
speeches, nor did the newspapers parade their
good works. Their names are not even known,
and this is the first time that we are induced to
give publicity to their doings. Both of them have
left descendants, but babu Digambar was ruined,
and his son is not in comfortable circumstances
now.

BRAHMIN AND A PLEBIAN

India owes more to England than she can
ever repay, is a sentiment we found in the columns
of an Anglo-Indian paper a few days ago. This
is very well-known to the people of this country,
and always acknowledged by them gratefullv.
Perhaps England also owes some obligations to
the people of this country. They say in honest
pride that, "we have generously given you educa-
tion, good roads, railways, law courts and many
other institutions." That is all true, but we shall
here tell a nice story of a Brahmin and a plebeian,
who met accidentally on their way to Calcutta.
They accosted each other, and came to know that
they were going in the same direction, for the
same purpose, viz., to Calcutta in search of
employment. Says the Brahmin to the other :
f Now, as you are a low-caste man and can only
be a menia) servant, you can be provided for at
once. I will do it for you ; be my servant, and I
will make you a reasonable allowance." This
was agreed to by the other.

The Brahmin had very dirty clothes on, while
his servant had provided himself with clean pieces.
Says the Brahmin again : — "Rama," (this was the
name of his just-appointed servant) " this cannot

81
S— 6

PICTURES OK INDIAN LIFE

be. I, your master, to put on such dirty clothes
and you to wear such clean and nice ones ! This
won't do. People will laugh at me, but that I
don't care, but they will laugh at you. So let us
exchange clothes." To this very reasonable
request, Rama, of course, gave his assent. And
they changed their clothes, and thus attired, they
came at last to Calcutta.

The Brahmin rented a small hut, and asked
Rama whether he had any money with him. "Yes,
two rupees I brought from home for passage
expenses," says Rama. " Well, give me these
two rupees, we must provide for our immediate
wants," says the Brahmin, "and besides, the land-
lord will have to be paid one rupee in advance."
Of course, Rama could not object to this second,
and still more reasonable, request.

Says the Brahmin again : " Now, Rama, you
are servant, I am master. It is your duty to see
that I may be put to no trouble. You must do all
the work of the house. An indolent man never
prospers in this world. Besides, to tell you the
truth, I am a little strict. If I find you in fault, I
will dismiss you immediately. Well, have you
finished all the household work?" "Yes, Sir,'' says
Rama. " Have you had a bellyful of rice ?'' asks
the master. (Now, be it remembered, the market-
ing was made with Rama's money.) "Yes, Sir,"
replies Rama again. Then the Brahmin tells him,

82

BRAHMIN AND A PLEBIAN

" Now let me take my rest and afternoon nap,
while you go to the streets to beg. Take care,
don't loiter in the streets. I shall judge you by
the amount you bring home."

Rama went to beg, and his master slept. In
the evening, Rama came back with a good many
annas in his pocket. His pocket was heavy with
copper. Of course, all that Rama brought was
taken by the master. Rama worked as a servant
when at home and left it for begging every day.
When he came home every evening, his master,
of course, appropriated all his earnings. And, in
this manner, after a couple of months, the Brahmin
found a good many rupees in his box.

One day he had some private talk with
his servant. " Rama," said he, " you must go
home to my wife. I must make a remittance
to her, for, she must be in want. I am sorry
I can't send her much, for, you bring in a
very small amount daily. And to tell you the
truth, you are a very stupid servant. Indeed,
I had intended to dismiss you, but I was loath to
throw you adrift in the world. However, carry
all this money that I have been able to scrape to
xny native village to-morrow. But stop. When
you go, what will become of me ? Besides, as I
am sending home every pice I have, you must do
one thing. Stop two days more, and do you beg
from morn to midnight, so that you can leave me

83

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

provision for the few days that you will be
absent.'

This was settled, and when Rama was going,
he begged of his master his passage expenses.
The master looked angrily at him. "Rama, you
are getting to be a very expensive luxury, you
heartless rogue. Do you mean that I should starve
myself to proviJe you with passage expenses ? A
fine servant he who wants his passage expenses !
You ass, beg your way to my home, and don't
trouble me with your odious selfishness again.
Don't forget that I am your ma bap, and had I
not puc you in the way, and had I not rented this
house f )r you, you would have starved in the
streets-' '

Aiier providing the Brahmin with expenses
for several days, Rama left Calcutta, and begged
his way to the native village of the Brahmin. He
found out the house of his master, and handed
over to his master's wife the money that he had
brought.

After providing Rama.with some refreshment,
the excellent wife of the Brahmin asked him,
" What is the nature of the service that your
master has been able to secure so soon ? " Rama
sail in reply : "Mother, no service in particular.
I, as his servant, beg in the streets, from the
proceeds of which this amount of money has been
sent to vou." The lady paused for a moment, and

84

DU
COI

BRAHMIN AND A PLEBIAN

said : "Then, I suppose, you go alone, and your
master does not accompany you.'' " No, he does
not " said Rama. " Then I suppose, when you
come back, he takes of you an account of the
number of houses you resorted to and the amount
you received from each?" "No, that he does nor,"
said Rama in reply. "Is it so?— said the lady
in reply, "I always knew him to be a foolish,
worthless careless and generous sort of man. He
takes no account ? I can guess, the generous fool
will never prosper. It never strikes him that it is
in your power to forget your obligations to him
and conceal a portion of the day's earnings from
him. His generosity will ruin him. But you,
Rama, don't take advantage of it. You must
never forget that you can never repay the debt
you owe to your master."

It may be objected that the story is not quite
appropriate, for, a large amount of capital came
to the country from England. That is quite true,
but the story is there ; and it is too good to be
lost and is hence put on record.

AN ORTHODOX GHOST STORY

IT was bitter cold, for the month was January,
and the weather very foul. The wife of a poor
Brahmin was shivering in her hut, for she had no
clothes to cover herself. She advised her husband
who was sitting by her, that he should take up a
piece of cord and hang himself, since he could not
provide his wife with sufficient clothing to cover
her body. The Brahmin took this remark of his
wife very much to heart, made a deep resolve in
his mind, and left home immediately, although it
was a dark night and raining, and he had no
clothing to protect himself against the biting cold.
His wife thought that he left her in a huff and
would soon return ; but he did not.

The Brahmin left the village, and entered a
vast plain, in the middle of which there was a beet
or marsh. He found that it was colder there than
in the village, and that his limbs were getting
benumbed. Indeed, he felt that he was losing all
his strength, and had scarcely any to come back
to his hut. In short, he felt that he would die in a
few minutes, if he did not return.

At this critical moment he saw a blazing fire,
which seemed to be burning on the brink of the
bee J referred to above. The sight revived his

86

AN ORTHODOX GHOST STORY

courage, and he gave up his determination of
seeking home again. He then dragged himself
there with difficulty, and found that some men, as
it were, were warming themselves before a large
fire. The fire was in the centre, and the men sat
around. It never occurred to him that S fire in a
place like that, in spite of the rain that was falling,
would be a strange affair. And stranger still
would it be for men to be warming themselves in
a place, and at a time, like that. But in the
condition in which the Brahmin was, all these
ideas never occurred to him. He saw that there
was no place for him to sit by the fireside, so he
gave a slight push to one of those who were
warming themselves, with a request to move a
little and make room for him ; and then he let
himself drop there. What he said when he gave
the push was in colloquial Bengalee,— for he was
a Bengalee and had to express himself in a few
short words, as he had no strength for a long
speech. What he said was only — sar re bhai
tapai. By tapai the Brahmin meant, "let me warm
myself." Now, sar means "movest," re means
"thou," bhai means "brother," tapai means "let
me warm myself." In other words what the
Brahmin meant was this,— "movest thou, brother,
let me warm myself.''

The Brahmin thus seated himself before the
fire, although he was in such a wretched plight

87

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIP

that he had not life enough to take note of his new
acquaintances. But the heat of the blazing fire
soon revived him. He also found just then that
his new acquaintances were talking in whispers,
and that about himself. The Brahmin now raised
his head to take stock of the company in which
circumstances had thrown him. To his horror he
found that all his acquaintances had their feet
turned backwards !

Now, in Europe, ghosts have hoofs instead of
feet, but in India they have their feet no doubt,
but with this difference that while human beings
have their toes and feet in the front, the g
have theirs behind. Why European ghosts should
have hoofs and their Indian brethren feet turned
backwards, — is a problem which is not easy of
solution. It has been established beyond doubt
that the Europeans must pass through a few
hundreds of births more before they could be as
perfect specimens of humanity as the Indians are.
In the same manner, it may be urged, that the
ghosts of Europe belong to an undeveloped species,
and that if they have hoofs now, in time, after a
few hundred births more, they may get in their
place human feet, though turned backwards, as
the Indian ghosts have.

But to proceed with the story. When the
Brahmin saw that all his acquaintances were a
company of ghosts, every hair of his body stood

88

AN ORTHODOX GHOST STORY

erect. He thought that he was lost ; and a feeling
of faintness very naturally came over him. In
his terror he began to invoke all the gods in the
heavens to protect him from his dreadful
companions; though, of course, for fear of offending
them he was doing so in his heart, without their
knowledge. Just then, he was roused by a
question from one of the ghosts.

But here some preliminary explanations are
necessary. When the Brahmin had given a push
to a ghost to make room for himself, our readers
would remember that, to give emphasis to his
motion, he had uttered some words, one of which
was tapai. Now, the ghost to whom he had given
the push, unluckily or luckily, bore the name of
"Tapai.'' The matter then stood thus : What the
Brahmin meant was "movest, thou, brother, let me
warm myself ; " but what the ghosts understood
was that the Brahmin knew "Tapai", and hence
he had called him by name, and asked him to
move to make room for him (the Brahmin). In
short, they understood that the Brahmin had only
addressed an old acquaintance saying, " Movest
thou, brother Tapai."

The ghosts wondered how the Brahmin
could know the name of Tapai, who was a
ghost and the Brahmin only a man ; so they
held a conference in whispers. One wanted
to know of Tapai himself, whether he and

89

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

the Brahmin were previously known to each
other. But Tapai denied all knowledge of the
Brahmin. They then all came t » an agreement
on this point, which was to ask the Brahmin
himself direct, to explain how he had come to
know the name of Tapai. S >, while the Brahmin
was at the point of falling down in a swoon from
bight, he was a ! It i rapai himself. I

said, '•'/v,' Brahmin) how could you kn<>w

that my name was Tapai I "

The question roused tl min to a fall

conscious oess 'this is p dm. In tin.

of i r the mind vi h rapidity. He v

then in desperate circumstance an 1 he found that
he must act \vith promptitu le t<> save himself. An
idea entered his head an 1 he wanted to put it
into action. He did nut give any direct reply
the question put to him, but he rose and caught
hold of the hair of Tapai, an 1 threateningly
addressed him thus : — " Don't I know you, Tapai,
you rascal ? If you have forgotten me, I have not
forgotten you. Where is my three hun ire 1 rupees
which you owed me ? I demand instant payment.
And if you do it not, I will make you longer by
two cubits by a profuse beating of the shoe." Of
course, the Brahmin had no shoes on, nor had he
ever known what shoe-wearing was, but he used
that expression, "shoe-beating", in order to fright-
en the ghosts.

90

AN ORTHODOX GHOST STORY

Tapai, taken aback by this sudden attack,,
stammered out a reply to the effect that he never
knew anything about the debt. "But, Thakoor"r
said he, "when did I borrow money from you?"
The Brahmin had already framed the reply. He
said: "Of course, it was not you who borrowed the
money but your father, and if I can get hold of
him I will teach him a lesson which he will never
forget." The fact was, all the ghosts that were
sitting there were young, and the Brahmin could
see that Tapai's father was not among them.

When the Brahmin said that it was Tapai's
father who had borrowed the money, they all said
that Tapai's father was dead. This was another
piece of good luck which the Brahmin thought of
utilizing at once. He said, "And because your
father is dead, am I, therefore, to lose my money?
Is this the sense of justice of ghosts? Take that as
an earnest," and down came the fist of the
Brahmin upon the devoted back of poor Tapai.
The Brahmin was strong, — desperation had made
him stronger, and the blow fell upon the back of
Tapai like a sledge hammer.

Now, if the ghosts had so minded, anyone of
them could have trampled five hundred Brahmins
like him under foot. But it must be borne in mind
that ghosts are a stupid race; besides, everyone of
them was quite young, none being older than 10
or 12. The real fact, however, was that the

9i

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

attitude of the Brahmin confounded them and took
away the little sense they possessed. The Brahmin
was a great bully; everyone knows that in the
Kali-yug, a bully, generally speaking, is always;
the master in every situation. When the Brahmin
looked threateningly at the friends of Tapai, they
feared.be might let go his victim and fall upon
them. The oldest among them, however, muttered
that there was no law that one should be murder-
ed for his debts, far less for those that were con-
tracted by his father.

The Brahmin smiled. He said, "Do you call
this gentle touch of mine, murder? IfTapai's father
had been here, you would have seen what a blow
I always carry for my defaulting debtor. I am by
nature a merciful man and, therefore, I am show-
ing great consideration to Tapai, you ungrateful
creatures. I am willing still to show some more
favours to him. 1 will relinquish all my interest.
Let him only pay the principal. But it must be
paid cash down."

With this the Brahmin raised his hand, as if
to inflict another blow for the purpose of giving
emphasis to his proposition. The blow did not
come, though Tapai shrieked in apprehension.
The Brahmin was a lucky individual. Tapai was
an orphan, and had no one but his maternal
uncle, by name Banroo, who had exactly three
hundred rupees, which he had kept concealed

92

AN ORTHODOX GHOST STORY

Underneath the roots of a palm tree. This fact
'was known to all the ghosts ; yet nobody dared to
'meddle with that sum. For Banroo was the most
terrible and cruel of all the ghosts in the neighbour-
'hood .

The ghosts held a secret consultation, and
one of them proposed that Banroo's three huudred
rupees should be paid to the Brahmin. To this
proposal Tapai did not agree; he said that he
would rather incur the wrath of the Brahmin
than that of his uncle. But all the ghosts assured
Tapai that as he was Banroo's nephew, and that
as he was going to meddle with the amount only
to save his life, they would all combine to protect
him from the wrath of his uncle. The money was
dug up, counted one by one, and paid to the
Brahmin.

Here was, however, another difficult ; the
Brahmin did not venture to let go the hold I e had
upon Tapai. His idea was that it would be dan-
gerous to release Tapai, and then carry the wuiey
home, leaving the ghosts behind him to do the
mischief they could. So he said in an an^ me:
"Am I to carry all this money home? Ta] ou

must go with me with this bag." But T • as

afraid to .go alone, and so a few otru >re

induce 1 to accompany him. Thus the min

with the lock of Tapai's hair in his hands. rhe

money bag on the latter's shoulders, accc.i | led

93

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

by half-a-dozen ghosts, returned to the village.
The Brahmin thought that it would not be safe to
show his house to the ghosts ; besides, his poor
hut would go very much against his pretension of
being a money-lender. So, he pointed out the
house of another Brahmin instead of his own — of
one who was comparatively in better circumstan-
ces,— took the bag in his hands and dismissed the
ghosts; and they fled precipitately without look-
ing behind. The Brahmin entered his hut, threw
the bag of money before his wife and declare I.
"See, you wretch, whether your husband is worth
anything or not.''

Banroo, who had gone on an errand to the
South Pole, came home a few days after the inci-
dent described above. The first thing he did on
his arrival was to take a peep at his buried trea-
sure. Seeing his mony gone, he flew into a fit of
ungovernable passion, and uprooted the palm tree
in his fury, with his pair of horns, for he had two
of them, — short and well-pointed.

Here parenthetically let us remark, that all
ghosts have not horns. A few have, but the majo-
rity are without them. In this manner some have
their tails, others three legs, and some, though
they have legs, do not walk with them but on their
heads. It is also said that some have
the shape of a dome, while others eat with their
eyes, having no mouth. But it is a herculean

94

AN ORTHODOX GHOST STORY

task to describe the peculiarities of the race of
ghosts.

Banroo then went straight to kill his nephew.
But others came to the latter's rescue. In short,
everything was fully explained to him. When
Banroo had heard everything he burst into a loud
fit of laughter, which sounded like the howl of a
hyena. People in the nearest village thought that
it was a hyena that was laughing, but it was
Banroo. Said he, "I have heard that laughter
sometimes follows great misery. I cannot help
laughing at my own misery. And fools, did it
never occur to you that the Brahmin was only a
man that ghosts never borrow money of men, and
that you could have killed him then and there ?"

The oldest amongst them replied, " We know
that you have great courage, but it would have
oozed out before the blows of the Brahmin. If you
were there, you would have, of your own accord,
paid the money to appease his wrath. If we are
ghosts, he is an — arch-ghost."

Banroo said, "Stop fools I must recover the
money and also teach the Brahmin a lesson.
He must know what it is to meddle with us
ghosts. But you must point out to me the house."

All the ghosts, however, declined ; they
apprehended another attack from the Brahmin.
Banroo then caught his nephew by the neck, and
told him that he must either pay him the money,

95

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

or point out to him the house of the Brahmin.
Tapai found that he must go ; so he accompanied
his uncle, pointed out to him the house of the
Brahmin from a distance, and fled. Of course,
it need not be explained here that the house he
pointed out was not that of the hero of this tale,
but of the other and wealthier Brahmin of the
village.

It was at about 9 o'clock at night when Banroo
reached the house of the Brahmin. There was big,
bushy tamarind tree by the wall which surrounded
the house, and he took his seat upon a projecting
branch thereof, watching his opportunity and the
course of events. The owner of the house was an
old Brahmin, who had a young son. He had a
cow which was missing and which was name 1
"Benre." because it had somehow I i tail.

Brahmin junior, after dinner, came out of the
house to wash himself. He had no no that a

terrible ghost was sitting close by, an I fiercely
and threateningly looking at him from the pi
jecting branch of the tamarind tree, on which he
was perched. While washing himself, the you
Brahmin saw before him the missing cow 'Benre.''
In the delight of his heart he called aloud to his
father. "Papa," said he, "Banroo is come." Now,
it must be borne in mind that the name of the c
w -as "Benre" and not Banroo; but it was called
"Banroo'' in a tone of banter. Benre, the cow, was

96

AN ORTHODOX GHOST STORY

called Banroo to express indignation at her truant
conduct.

The young Brahmin said, "Papa, Banroo is
at last come." No sooner had he uttered it than
Banroo, the ghost, started. He muttered to him-
self, "How could he know that I am here ?" But
the young Brahmin continued, — "Banroo, I was
expecting you. So you are come just in time.''
Banroo in the tree felt very uncomfortable. He
thought that this was very queer, and the strange-
ness of his position gave him a good deal of
uneasiness. But the young Brahmin continued,
"Banroo, I have this time provided myself with a
strong piece of cord for the benefit of your fine
horns." Banroo began to move backward slowly,
to make his presence still more unknown if possi-
ble. But the young Brahmin went on to say,
"Papa, Banroo is restless and he means flight.
Fetch me that new piece of cord so that I can
secure him at once." Banroo felt his horns with
his two hands, and he thought that he would never
permit the cord to be put round them. He now
began to retreat rather rapidly. Just then the cow
was leaving the place. So the young Brahmin
said, "Papa, be quick with the cord, Banro< > is
escaping my hands." The old Brahmin thereupon
threw a piece of cord from the house an i r'ie
young Brahmin ran to fetch it. But Banroo the
ghost vas not to lose this opportunity ; he c< >uld

97
S-7

PICTUR1 5 01 INDIAN l.N l

bear it no longer. By a big ghostly jump he
reached the ground from the high branch wh<
he had been perching, and fU-<l with a loud shriek
towards his haunt The villagers thought that it
was only the howl of a jackal ; but no, it was <>f
Banroo.

THE STORY OF A LUNATIC

ONE-HALF of the world thinks the other half
mad ; but there is no harm in this argument, for
the halves are equally matched. If the man of the
world laughs at a pious man, the pious man also
weeps over the wretched condition of the worldly
man. If what pious men say be true that there is
an after world and men there will have to give an
account of their wicked deeds, then most of the
greatest men of the human species are mad men
no doubt.

But the matter assumes a quite different aspect
when a so-called mad man is in a minority in a
combat with another so-called lunatic ; for, the
other party, who thinks him mad, being the
stronger, overpowers his opponent, and puts him
into a lunatic asylum. Kristo Sarkar, whose story
we were just going to relate, was thus over-
powered by a stronger party, and kept in the
Dullanda Lunatic Asylum for eight months, and
is being sent there again as a lunatic.

Kristo Sarkar is now on bail ; and, on the
expiry of its term, he will, under the orders of the
Bengal Government, be again put into the Lunatic
Asylum at Dullanda. Fancy the arrangement of
setting a lunatic at liberty on bail ! He has only a

99

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

few clays of liberty before him, and after that he
will be incarcerated during the term of his life.
And Kristo Sarkar takes advantage of the few
davs he has before him to run clown to Calcutta
and see what he can do to escape from his
doom.

Kristo Sarkar, who will be sent to the lunatic
asylum on the ground of his being a dangerous
maniac, however, sits before us, and relates his
own story. Of course, he has given bail and he
cannot offer any violence upon us without forfeit-
ing his bond. The authorities, who let loose this
dangerous lunatic in societv, know verv well that
he being bound hand and foot by his bond, would
not be able to do harm, and so he is allowed to
come out of the asylum only for some weeks. But
to proceed with his story, he says that he was
accused of having killed an old woman by biting
her cheek. He was hauled up on a charge of
culpable homicide ; but the Civil Surgeon gave
him a certificate that he was a dangerous lunatic,
and, on that ground, he v.- as acquitted. The
Magistrate who tried the case reported the matter
to Go.ernment, and the Government have ordered
the authorities to send him up to the lunatic
asylum.

Kristo Sarkar has all the papers of his case
with him, and he shows us the judgment of the
Magistrate which runs as follows : —

ioo

THE STORY OF A LUNATIC

"The evidence for the prosecution leaves no-
oubt that Kristo Sarkar bit the sick and bed-
dden old woman Bidhu Dassi, in the cheek, and
lereby accelerated her death. The act was done
1 a fit of insanity and would have amounted to
rievous hurt if Kristo Sarkar had been sane,
kristo Sarkar is acquitted on the ground of
isanity. The case will be reported for orders of
le Government in due course."

The dangerous maniac then shows to us the
;port of the Surgeon who made the post mortem
xamination, on the body of the old woman, and
re extract the following from it: —

"The probable cause of death was extensive
emorrhage of the skin in various parts of the
ody, effusion in the brain, discharge of blood from
le lacerated wound in the lip coupled with a bad
:ate of health. I did not see any 'mark of teeth in
le lacerated wound. The deceased must have
iceived blows on the ribs and on her head. The
lird and fourth ribs of the left side, and the 2nd,
rd, -Lth, and 5th ribs of the right side broken."

Kristo Sarkar draws our attention to the
bove, and tells us, "Now see, sir, who is the mad
lan, I or the Magistrate ? I am accused of having
itten the woman with my teeth, the result of
rhich was that there were no marks of teeth on
le person of the dead woman, but her ribs were
roken ! Now, sir, you have a world-wide celebrity

101

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

for being an impartial, just, frank, out-spoken
man. Tell me, sir. I repeat, whether I or the
Magistrate is the mad man."

Now, this was a most difficult and delicate
question to answer. It appeared to us that reason
was on the side of th ealleged lunatic, but he was
in the minority. To side with him would be
altogether a risky business, so what we did was
not to give any reply to his question, but we
asked him to proceed with his story. He then
said : " Perhaps, sir, you are not decided, but
I shall at once settle the question for you," and
he opened his mouth ami showed us that his
lower jaw was devoid of nearly half-a-dozen teeth!
• Now, sir," continued he, "how could a man
manage to bite with one set of teeth ? The %
Magistrate, however, adjudges that I did perform
that impossible feat. Now, give me, sir, I entreat
you, your frank opinion, who Is the really mad
man — he or I ? "

We told him, "Do not, please, press us for an
answer. Either you or the Hakim who tried you
must be mad, and in going to decide the
question, — who is really the mad man, — we ma\
ourselves lose the balance of our head. You are
leading us to dangerous ground, so, please, go on
with your story." Thereupon he stopped, and
handed over to us a copy of the deposition of
Dr. Henry Purves, the Civil Surgeon of Burdwan,

102

THE STORY OF A LUNATIC

entreating us to read it carefully. We did it, and
for the edification of our readers, we insert it
below : —

" I have examined the man, Kristo Sarkar,
now in the Burdwan Jail, on a charge of culpable
homicide. It appears to me, from what I have
learned of his history and what I have seen of
him, that he is a dangerous lunatic and that he is
unfit at present to stand his trial. Though he
apparently gives rational answers to questions
put to him, I believe, he is incapable of entering
on his defence. He shows a good deal of cunning
when being questioned and that makes him more
dangerous. I think he ought to be detained in a
Lunatic Asylum for observation and safe custody/

When we had finished reading the deposition
of the Civil Surgeon, Kristo Sarkar said, "The
Doctor Saheb put me down for a mad man
because I gave rational answers. It seems the
Doctor Saheb's idea of a sane man is that he
must talk incoherently. Then I am, according
to him, not only mad, but 'dangerous'; dangerous
because I showed some ' cunning,' in giving my
answers. The fact is, when I was put upon my
examination, I tried my best to give intelligent
answers, because I felt that it was within the
power of the Doctor either to procure my release, t
or to send me to the Lunatic Asylum. The resul
is, that my sanity convinced the Doctor of my

103

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

insanity, and now I am to pass my days in the
Lunatic Asylum because I gave rational and
cunning answers ! ''

For ourselves we must tell what we felt on
the occasion. We have hear J of sane men feigning
insanity, successfully rarely, unsuccessfully gener-
ally, but we have never heard of a lunatic
feigning sanity and so successfully. Kristo Sarkar
is feigning sanity, he is doing it with complete
success, and he is a psychological phenomenon,
the possibility of which was never admitted before.

Kristo Sarkar thus related how he fared in
the Lunatic Asylum. He said that the life he led
there was horrible indeed, and he wonders that
he did not turn mad though he was eight months
t ere. He said, "I prefer a hundred deaths
to the life I led in the Lunatic Asylum.
Now just conceive my position. I was
sourrounded on all sides by mad men. Though
a perfectly sane man, more sane perhaps than the
Civil Surgeon of Burdwan and the Magistrate who
tried me, yet I was doomed to pass my time with
companions who were most of them raving
maniacs. I had nobody to talk to but these men
bereft of sense. Some of them took a delight in
thrashing me. One day a violent lunatic had
nearly killed me. Almost not a day passed without
my receiving* some sort of ill-treatment at their
hands. In short, I was constantly in dread of

104

THE STORY OF A LUNATIC

them, and my life was completely at their
mercy.

"At night I had to sleep in the same room
with these lunatics. Fortunately, my night com-
panions were not of a violent temper. But yet
their strange hallucinations produced an indes-
cribable feeling in me. I really began to be affec-
ted by them, and sometimes doubts arose in my
mind whether I was really a mad man or not.
Then my thoughts ran to my persecutors, to the
Zemindar, the Civil Surgeon and the Magistrate
who had been the cause of my incarceration, and
I called upon Heaven to forgive them for the
miseries which lowed to them. Indeed, sir, can
you tell me, why these man should combine
against me, and subject me to the sufferings of
hell on earth ? I do not remember to have done
any the least harm to them." The man was
evidently a very pious Vaishnava.

Here the poor man turned serious, his eyes
moistening with tears, ^and the sight of his woe-
begone face would have perhaps melted a hard
stone. He then said he was made to work from
morning till 5-30 P.M., in the evening, constantly,
getting only one hour's respite for dinner. He
saw how the lunatics were thrashed by their
guards for refusing to do work, and he therefore
never neglected the task allotted to "him. But it
was too much for him, he said, to work for 11 or

105

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

12 hours daily. "A heart of burden," remarked
he, "breaks down if thus worked." He was fed
upon unhusked rice and a little vegetable, cooked
in the most abominable fashion imaginable. The
other lunatics had mutton every other day, but
being a Vaishnava, unused to take meat, he
never touched it. What pained him the most
was the fact that he was compelled to eat his f >od
often polluted by the touch cf lunatics, who were
either low caste men, or Mahometans.

But it would not have matters much if Kr
Sarkar s sufferings were at an end, but as we said
he is again going to be put into the asylum. This
time it is not the Magistrate or Dr. Purves, who
sends him there, but the Government of Bengal.
Indeed, the Magistrate, in his report to the Gov-
ernment, acknowledges that, since Kristo Sarkar's
return from the asylum he is " apparently per-
fectly sane", and "he ought not to be detained in
an asylum.'' The Civil Surgeon of Burdwan does
not see "the wild stare" which he used to mark in
him whilst he was in the Burdwan jail. The wife
of Kristo Sarkar also petitioned the Lieutenant-
Governor, alleging that her husband was never a
lunatic, and that it was through the machinations
of his enemies that he had been place 1 in
the unfortunate position he was. But all these
appear to have gone for nothing, and the order
comes from the Lieutenant-Governor that

1 06

THE STORY OF A LUNATIC

he should be again locked up in the Lunatic
Asylum !

We do not blame the Lieutenant-Governor:
he is not acquainted with the circumstances of the
case, and has been guided by routine merely. But
he ought to have taken into consideration the
remarks of the Magistrate who considers Kristo
Sarkar to be now apparently sane, and that of the
Civil Surgeon who says that he has no longer
that mad stare. Indeed, with these facts and
recommendations before His Honour, Kristo
Sarkar should not be sent to the Lunatic Asylum
again without a previous medical examination
by thoroughly competent persons, by persons who
will not put him down for a mad man by reason
of giving rational answers.*

* Let it be noted here that agitation in the press had its
effect and the alleged lunatic was released.

THE RAILWAY PLATFORM

BHAWANEE Babu was attentively turning
over the pages of the Gazette when he suddenly
came cross a most important Notification, announc-
ing the date and hour of the departure of Lord
Lytton from Calcutta. Bhawanee Babu, being a
little nervous, was deeply moved, and it took him
some time to recover from the shock the announce-
ment had given him. When his perturbed spirit
was a little calmed, he hastily summoned his
Dew an, who had his office downstairs. The
Dewan heard the summons, and hurriedly present-
ed himself before his lord, with a pen stuck in his
ear and a bunch of keys in his left hand. "Well,
Dewanjee," says Bhawanee Babu, "the Burra Lat
Shaheb goes away from Calcutta seven days
hence, you know I must bid him farewell at the
Rationalist way."

Dewan. — Certainlv, that vou must do, Huzoor.
Has the Burra Shaheb written to you about it?

Bhawanee Babu. — Well, yes and no. It is
true he has not written to me direct, but he has
intimated it in such a manner as 1 may know it.
E>on't you see it would be invidious to write to me
direct ?

Dewan. — Certainly, Huzoor. Directly or indir-

108

THE RAILWAY PLATFORM

ectly, it matters not. It is clear that it is His
Excellency's wish that you should be present.

B. Babu. — Of course. If I don't go, what will
the Burra Shaheb think ? What will other Shahebs
think? What will the public think? I, who have
never failed in the performance of this sacred and
solemn duty for the last twelve years, cannot stay
in my parlour, when the Burra Shaheb himself is
going away. Ask the family priest to make horn
every day and to offer some thousands of toolsee
leaves to the Thakur for my success on that day.
I will not forget the date and the hour ; yet let it
be recorded, and do remind me of it every day
twice. Let the horses be well fed and taken care
of and the big phaeton kept clean. What are
these horses and phaetons for, if not to carry, me
to the Railway platform on such great occasions?
I hope, Ramanee Babu will get no intimation. I
say this from a pure feeling of friendship for him;
the last time, on a similar occasion, he made
himself the laughing stock of all present by his
awkward manner.

The Dewan carried out the orders of his
master, and the eventful day arrived at last. The
phaeton was in attendance, Bhawanee Babu was
richly and gaudily dressed, his dependants all
stood beside him, and the family priest came with
his offerings. The priest blessed him, bells were
rung, conches blown, and the ladies filled the house-

109

PICTURES OK INDIAN LIFE

with the joyful peal of ulu. Solemnly and sedately,
Bhavvanee Babu advanced towards his carriage,
there was another joyful and louder peal of ulu,
and the big phaeton rattled along the narrow
street towards the How rah Railway Station.

Bhawanee Babu was punctual, that is to say,
he arrived only two hours before the time. He
alighted from his carriage, but his dismay knew
no bounds when he saw that Ramanee Babu was
already there, as richly dressed as himself. There
was a cloud in the face of both, and they savagely
glared at each other for a moment ; but, by super-
human effort they mastered their feelings and
cordially grasped each other's hands. " What
brings you so early, Ramanee Babu ?" — Asks
Bhawanee Babu, still hoping against hope that
his friend perhaps knew nothing about the depar-
ture affair, but was only going to Chandernagar
or Burdwan. But Ramanee Babu was equal to
the occasion, and replied to the query by a speci-
men of his wit. "What brings you here, Bhawanee
Babu?" They laughed, and Bhawanee Babu was
meditating another attack when uthers arrived.
Some came alone, some in pairs, but each with a
peculiar head-dress. The Railway platform was
soon filled with a sea of turbans of various shapes
and hues. And Bhawanee Babu was lost in the
crowd.

Burra Shaheb comes at last and there is a rush

no

THE RAILWAY PLATFORM

towards his carriage; one, whose head is too small
for his turban, finds it under the feet of half-a-
dozen of eager farewell-givers and trampled and
for ever damaged. Another finds his trail suddenly
caught from behind as if by a vice ; he looks
behind and finds that his neighbour behind him
was standing upon it. It is not on record that
anybody was trampled to death on that occasion,
but it is on record that many lost their valuable
turbans and damaged their valuable dresses, and
all received pushes, lateral and horizontal, from
behind and from before, during those eventful
moments, when the crowd rushed towards the
carriage of the big man.

The Burra Shaheb alighted from his carriage,
and that event was followed by numberless
salaams from the assembled guests or hosts, call
them whichever you like. The big man pro-
ceeded on straight without looking to the right or
left, and a passage was immediately made for
him. On the platform he accosted one or two
men who stood close by, though there were
hundreds before him ready to accost him and to
be accosted in return. But the big man had only
come three minutes before time, and he had,
therefore, no time, even if he had the inclination,
of addressing and receiving the salute of each.
The assembly stood before him with their hearts
beating, anxious to catch one glance of the big

in

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

man. But no response came from him, and the
assembled guests were not even sure whether the
big- man was at all aware of their presence.

Bhawanee Babu was standing- behind. There
was a thick phalanx before him, and he was trying
every posture to have a peep at the Viceroy. It
so happened, however, that just before entering
the car, the big man took a survey of the throng
from one end to the other. His glance gradually,
though with the rapidity of the lightning, came
towards the spot where Bhawanee Babu was
standing. That was the proudest moment in the
life of Bhawanee Babu. He was not slow to take
advantage of it. Like the pendulum of a clock
from which the ball had been removed, or more
appropriately, like the wing of the humming bee,
the hands of Bhawanee Babu began to move
rapidly, so that he managed twenty-five salaams
in a second. But, alas ! for Bhawanee Babu, he
could not detain that big man's glance even for a
second ; and long before he had finished his
salaams, the glance had left him far behind and
encountered others, who were doing precisely
what he had begun a little before. Readers, have
you ever seen an oolloo field ? Well, when a
strong gale passes over it, the grass, as the wind
touches it, bends down, and continues to move
for a time even when the gale has left it. Thus
the Railway platform was like a oolloo field, and

112

THE RAILWAY PLATFORM

the guests were like oolloos, and the glance like a
strong" gale, and the metaphor complete.

The Viceroy proceeded towards Simla, and
Bhawanee Babu came home. His servants and
dependants had already assembled at the gate to
receive him; and the ladies, his wife and daughters,
were peeping through the lattice, eager to learn
his success. Bhawanee Babu alighted from his
carriage, and his servants almost carried him
upstairs, where he was undressed, fanned, sham-
pooed, and tended as a delicate infant. The
Dewan, after the lapse of half-an-hour, at last
ventured to enquire about the result of his meet-
ing with the Lord Shaheb. Now, Bhawanee Babu
was a tender-hearted soul, incapable of giving
pain to any one. He knew, if he told the bare
truth, it would deeply disappoint his friends.
He had, therefore, to tell them some lies. He had
been building airy castles while proceeding to-
wards the Railway platform, how the Viceroy
would receive him, talk to him without taking
any notice of Ramanee Babu. etc., etc., Now,
poor soul ! his airy castles had been all dashed to
the ground. " I had a hot time of it, Dewanjee,"
said the Babu, with a bold face. "There was an
exchange of sharp words between myself and His
Excellency.''

Dewan. — Sharp words ! I hope, His Excel-
lency was not offended.

113
S— 8

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

B. Babu. — Ah ! no. He was in a gay humour,
so was I. His Excellency saw me, and said to
me, "I am much obliged to. you, Bhawanee Babu,
for this attention," while shaking hands with me.
I told him in reply, "My Lord, I am the most
loyalest subject of Her Most August, September,
November and Gracious Majesty. It is my most
serious, and solemn, and sacred duty to be present
on such occasions." You know, when my tongue
is once unloosened, I can make a very good
speech. His Excellency was mightily pleased.

Dewan. — But what about sharp words ?

B. Babu. — Oh, I forget. I told his Lordship
that "the British Government with its Zulu War,
Bengal Bank, and Post Office was a very good
Government, but it was not particularly discrimi-
nate in offering titles of honour. People who were
nobodies were honoured, while men of ancient
families were neglected. You see, Dewanjee, I
gave him a hint, a broad hint. But, poor Rama-
nee was standing aloof alone, unnoticed, in the
crowd. I don't know who wanted him there.

But while Bhawanee Babu was relating his
adventures to his friends and relations, Ramanee
Babu was doing the same to his, not forgetting his
particular friend Bhawanee Babu, in the relation
of his adventures.

BEHARI SARDAR.

CHAPTER I

BEHARI Sardar was the leader of a band
of dacoits in the village of Palua, north of Magura
{Amritabazar), in the district of Jessore. It was at
a time when practically there was no Government
in the country. The English had taken possession
of Bengal, but they had not been able to bring the
affairs of the country under control. They had
destroyed the influence and privileges of the
Zemindars, who exercised both judicial and ex-
ecutive powers, but had not been able to supply
their place. The English rulers, few in number,
resided in towns, the villagers had everything in
their own way, and thus dacoits sprang up on all
sides. Behari Sardar was one of them.

Not that Behari Sardar < was a dacoit in the
proper sense of the term, for he rarely committed
midnight robberies. He was a dacoit in the same
sense as Tipu, Sivaji, Alexander the Great, not to
mention the name of Clive, were dacoits. Indeed,
he rarely committed what is properly called rob-
beries. What he did was to punish recusant sub-
jects, for he claimed a tract of land for his territory,
and the people inhabiting that tract for his subjects.
What his subjects thought of his arrangement,

115

PICTURES <>l INDIAN LIFE
Behari did not take int i, so long

that he was able to < nice.

in this matter, m not blame Behari

>r he only adopted a common pn

i A ■ orld, in tir- \\ s well

in the East, [t is quite tm i i^h: upon his s

called territory was n.>t founded up m ;m moral

sis. But what of that ? What is the basis of 1
Poi rights in Africa, and th« : thai

ra! nation, tl jlish, in that

itinent ? We hilly admit tha - r had

hi to the territory he owned. But there

i> mi d 'iibt that liis right w inded upon a

better moral basis than that ol big nations, as for

stance, of the Russians, wh m soven

in fort § .tries.

Behari Sardar owned a territory, which was
14 r 28 miles in length, and 8 or 16 mi

in breadth. He was m . ithin this tract.

There were other irho ruled Other tracts

in the same way as Beh ;i Sardar di ! his own.
He impose Qtributions, but only upon the

wealtheir portion of his subjects. In this, his ex-
ample might be folic by the enlightened
rnment of India, which imp dl its taxes,
except the Income-tax, upon the poor. Sometimes
his subjects ^ehe,. his authority and refused contri-
butions. An J then followed speedy punishment,
ixmetimes \i.<a^eis ombined to resist his

1.

BEHARI SARDAR

authority, and then there was a regular fight.
Some were killed and a good many wounded. The
dacoit band, if worsted, fled; and if victorious
they pillaged the villages and subjected the
wealthy villagers to horrible cruelties.

We remember an instance in which eighteen
dacoits were killed in a village, (the name of
which we just now forget) in the Nuddea district.
We had the account from a fisherman who took
part in the affray. He was about 105 years oid
when he told us the story, and though he was
almost blind and deaf, the remembrance of the
event sent a glow of enthusiasm to his cheeks.

He said that his village had resisted the
demand of the dacoit leader, and prepared itself
for fight. The fact must not be forgotten, that in
those days all men trained themselves to the use
of arms. Every village had a gymnasium ; and
every man, rich or poor, had his arms. Some few
had match-locks, but the weapons in general use
were bows and arrows, swords, spears, and lathies.

The fisherman said that his village was full of
people of his caste, and it had also a wealthy
fisherman who was at the head of the village.
The village had about 75 to 80 combatants, and all
these kept watch day and night. Information at
last came that the dacoits were coming to the
village, and immediately the females were remov-
ed to a secure place, and the house of the wealthy

IT7

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

fisherman was deserted. The old man said that
he had 15 gold mohurs which he concealed in his
waist-belt, and then joined the defenders with a
fisherman's spear. The dacoits numbering about
a hundred, rushed with the war — whoop of "Jay
Kalee,'' and entered the court-yard (now deserted)
of the wealthy fisherman.

But the fisherman had devised a novel way of
defence. They had big fishing-nets which had
been joined together, and they enclosed the
dacoits with them. The enemy was thus easily
over-powered, and flei in all directions, but yet
eighteen of them, who had been hopelessly en-
tangled in the meshes of the net, were killed.

One instance will shew how Behari selected
his recruits. One morning, Behari Sardar was
sitting on a stool in front of his house, and smok-
ing. There was a sword by his side, and a mug
of water before him. A young man presented
himself and made his salam. The Sardar asked
the visitor his business. The young man said that
his name was Selim ; that he had come to be
enlisted under his banner ; that he was 22, was
not married, and had only his mother and no
father.

The Sardar gazed at the powerful physique
of the recruit with admiration, and then asked
him to come near and sit by him. Selim sat
before the stool. The Sardar took hold of the

118

BEHARI SARDAR

right arm of Selim, and began to examine his
muscles. He then examined his chest, neck, waist
and thighs. The examination over, he murmured
his approval. He then looked full into the face
of Selim, and his brow darkened.

"You will not do, Selim,'' said the Sardar.
"And whv, Huzoor ? " asked Selim.
The Sardar said : "You have an effiminate
look. Ours is a hard life and we need more
determination than you seem to possess."

Selim was disappointed, he persisted that he
had it, and would willingly give proofs of it.

"Would you ?" asked the Sardar ; and seeing
a bull grazing close by he asked Selim to take
the sword which was lying by, and cut off its
head. " Go, Selim," said he. "Take this sword,
cut off the head of the bull with one blow, and
let us see the prowess of your arms/

Selim demurred. He said, he thought he could
sever the neck of the bull with one blow, but then
he would prefer to show the power of his muscles
in other ways. He thought, it would not only be
cruel but unmanly to kill an animal which had
done him no harm.

The Sardar smiled. The Sardar saw one of
his men, by name Kalu, within hail, and made
a sign to him to approach. Kalu, who had not
heard the conversation between the Sardar and
Selim, approached and salamed his leader. The

119

PICTU1 i S OF INDIAN LI1

^ kid to Kalu : ' ; • - sword and cut

the head of yon bull bjr one blow, it >le,

and brinu: it here."

klu urn-re 1 not I, bul the sword,

and in the coun mpliahe l

all that he « 'er.

The S.i lim, go home and

marry. You will m jfoo 1 hu^

cannot admit into <>ur Bien oj

■

The writer heard the above s< from his
grandfather ithen about and

who ha ! se< ■' S

ehari, I h he h • ith pea<

: J in
.. The circumsi h ma

him a it, so led the villagers t

means I >r ,; ;i' pr ;es were then

m than I ji famine

the last century had desolate 1 the , and

entant Nature had . up for the

dep she had committed in her hiry.

The country, which - ■ ^on

after 1 grain, an 1 cattle. Peas-

ants, the famine was if'r>

year after year, bumper har dis-

appeared from the land : and people continue dm
multiply fast. In these - it is difficult t i find

a family of eight brothers : but it \\ a - a

120

BEHARI SARDAR

occurrence then. Some had seven, some ten,
some a dozen, and there was scarcely any who
had not at least four brothers. Children never
died then as they do now, and the number of
widows was very small.

This increasing population was maintained by
the paddy that the villagers grew, and the numer-
ous herds of cattle that they kept. Every village
grew its own paddy, its sugar-cane or date, and
its cotton, and preserved a wide extent of pasture
land for its cattle. In those days, there was no
urgent necessity to dispose of the surplus grain
for silver, at whatever cost. If they had paddy,
they cared not whether they had silver or not.
They had their weavers, smiths, potters, carpen-
ters, washermen, &c. They had no business to go
elsewhere for their needs. It was salt which gave
them some trouble, but they managed it somehow
or other. At least, it has never been alleged that
the people had ever suffered from a salt-
famine.

It was the landlords who controlled the foreign
affairs of the villages' the villagers generally
managing the domestic affairs themselves. For
instance, when two villages quarrelled over the
boundary of pasture or paddy lands, the zemindar
was asked to intervene and settle the dispute.
The landlords exercised executive and judicial
powers, whenever they were required to do it.

121

PICTURES OK INDIAN LIFE
But they had very little tO <1>> in these directions.

The villagers themselves defended the village
and adjusted their differences. They only sought
the protection of the landlords when they could
not help thema For instance, the vi 11

generally defended themselves tr<>m th<- depre-
dations of da imetimes the lati

proved tOO powerful, and then the landlord had
to send his to help his subjects. The

dacoits could never cope with the village
strengthened by Buch allii

Then was the time when the I >vei nment of

the British ha 1 n luce 1 the laa llor eat

iSj but had not yet supply their

place. Hence dacotty flourishe Previously!
the villagers kept the dacoit ban Is in check with
the help of the landlords. But now they found,
that they would henceforth be required to rely
upon their own resoun the defence of their

hearth and home.

Thus, the aceful vill found it

necessary to learn to fight, 1 their j

perty and per- rom the tS. The' had

very few guns, and those they had were ma
locks, short-barrelled, ma^: things
to kill an elephant or a buff U ., but n
the purpose of fighting with an active I Th

weapons in general use were, therefore, bows and
arrows, swords, S] and bamboo clubs. The

122

BEHARI SARDAR

best archer was considered stronger than a good
many swordsmen.

The dacoits, however, had one advantage
over the villagers. Being always the attacking
party, they could choose the time of attack. Thus
strongly armed villagers would find that the
dacoits were too agile for them. The dacoits
would swoop with the rapidity of lightning, loot a
few houses, and fly before the villagers had time
to assemble for the purposes of defence. The
villagers had thus to maintain watch day and
night, which kept them constantly in a state of
alarm.

All this had the effect of making the villagers
hardy, bold and enterprising. Indeed, in those
days, the Bengalees had to fight constantly in
defence of their hearth and home. One can
understand the effect of such a mode of life upon
their muscles and nerves. But yet the villagers
were domestic folk. They had to maintain their
old parents, wives, widowed relations, younger
brothers and sisters, and little children. The
dacoits, on the contrary, had nothing to restrain
them. Before enlistment, they had to give up,
under the rules which guided them, their religion
and caste, father and mother, and cut off every
other tie. Mussalman and Hindu dacoits had to
eat together, and every one had to bow before their
presiding deity, the Goddess Kalee. The domestic

123

PICTURES OF INDIAN I.I i

villagers had thus to yield at last to the m il<l ban
ofdacohs. In this manner, Behari S had

acquin territory.

The villagers, I ostant watching and

Dt the - they sustaine 1 from the robi

which they could not i ither put a stop
Sound it to their interest t orl "t

terms with the dacoits. 1- ery vill to

pay a monthly contribution to the srho held

•way <»ver it, and who. in their turn, protected the
village Erom t and robberies, and outside

foes.

ehari Sardar was a superior personam
While a young man, he had served under the
banner of Mullook M V village had deh'd

the authority of the latter Sa lar, and made ex-
tensive preparaii' the pur| of del
They had prepared a bamboo fort, which they
considered impregnable. Of course, it was not
strong enough to resist artillery, but the dacoit>
were only armed with swords and spears. There
was one door leading to this tort, and in ca-
alarm the villagers t< ok si lure.

The village was, howe> • withstanding its

impregnable fort, attacked by Mullook Maidan
one night. For he had been defie 1, and he had
either to bring it under subjugation or to lose his
prestige. The villagers, who kept watch day and
night, got intimation of his approach and fled into

124

BEHARI SARDAR

the strong bamboo enclosure, with their women
and children. The defenders, armed to the teeth,
stood to defend the bamboo ramparts, with courage
and determination. The fort was inaccessible from
other points — it could be only reached through
the one gate which was, therefore, the main object
of attack to the dacoits. The door could be reach-
ed through a narrow lane made of bamboo walls.
The villagers stood with spears to defend this lane.

The dacoits made several attempts for an
entry into this lane, but in vain. Bristling spears
from both sides of this narrow lane defended the
passage. It would be sure death to the man who
ventured to enter ; indeed, he would be pierced
by the spears from both sides of the lane. The
dacoits, after sustaining many casualties, had to
give up the attempt, when Behari Sardar com-
demned such pusilanimous conduct, and promised
to go himself! He was asked by the leader to
desist from the mad attempt, but he did not listen
to such counsel. The dacoits had, most of them,
a thick piece of cloth wrapped round their bodies
to protect themselves from spears and arrows.
Behari, with this protection only, and a couple of
swords rushed forward with the war-whoop of jay
Kalee !

Whether it was the herculean figure of the
man, or his unearthly war-whoop, or his (reckless-
ness, certain it is that the villagers could not touch

125

PICTURJ INDIAN I.IM-.

him, though he was Bought to be pierced
hundredi of men from both sides of the lane. And
thus Behari became Sardar.

One day, at ah<>ut tight i>< luck fa the morn-
ing, Behari Sardai came to the village, nay, to the
bouse of the writi grandfather^ The village is
Magma fAmritabazar) which adjoins Pah
whcic Behari had established his head-quarters
The grandfather oi the writer of this was then

quite a young boy. Behari Came with about

two dozens oi his followers, all of powerful

make and fully armed. They had the usual
thick cloth wrapped round their bodies, swords
which dangled by their bfl and lon-

lances in their right hauls. Behari Sardar w
received with great honour . a mat was spread for
his follow i he was given a big stool for a

seat. Villagers all assembled to make their *<il
and ladies a so tried to have a peep at the gr<
Sardar from their hiding places, — that Sardar, the
mention of whose dreaded name had the effect
throw tag them into hysteric fits. Behari returnc 1
the salutes with great cordiality. "Come, Bhai
Saheb," said he to one. "Chacha, have you for-
gotton me. to another. Indeed, he was well
known to the village, and the villagers lcn<
him well. Alter a good smoke, Behari began
explain the object of his visit

He sai ; "I do not know reading and writin

126

BEHARI SARDAR

I am a dunce. But I have sense enough to know
that it is my interest to live in peace with my
co-villagers. For, I consider Palua and Magura to
be one village. For my subsistence, it is true, I
take something from you. But have I or my men
even molested you ? Have 1 not protected your
village from dacoits and thieves ? The other day
I recovered the cow which had been stolen from
this village, and carried to near Kotechandpur,
20 miles hence. What have you to complain
against me that the lad Ameer Sheikh should
quarrel with me ? I appeal to you, Bhadraloge*
(gentlemen), to bring him to his senses. For, if
he persists in his opposition, he will come to know,
to-day or to-morrow, that Behari Sardar's sword
is four cubits long."

A little explanation is here necessary. The
lad Ameer Sheikh was a young man of about
twenty-two, inhabiting the northern part of
Magura. He had defied the authority of the
Sardar. His strength lay in his bow and arrows,
for he was reputed to be the best archer in the
worid !

The village was inhabited by Hindus and
Mussalmans. The most respected of the villagers,
a Hindu, replied that Ameer Sheikh was not
amenable to reason, as he was an independent
man. He had his landed property and his tenants.
" But,'' said he, "Ameer is a dunce and a boor.

127

PICTURl INDIAN 1.1!

\ thing but punishment, I fear, will bring him to
hi- *> Lf lai S iheb I he,

• yon think th.it ire have anythin do

with it. \Y ruite happy under your strength

is. We sleep with our and

as for the contribution, it is a trifli unpared
with the advantages we enjoy under your
protectioi

Said Behari : — " 1 kn i >r

1 would not have com I tmeer,

however, that h ! I shall s ton mi et, i:i s;>ite

of his charmed bow and rrows.'"

The Fact was, this \ 9 a thorn in the

f the Sir lar. He was a too contemptible
:th his slim figure, ; nt following, and

the burden of a family. But hi :ts m

midable. The belief had obtained firm in

the minds of the Sardar^s follow. a 1 perhaps

:he Sardar himself , though he di 1 not like to
acknowledge it, that he had brought under his
subjugation an evil spirit which sat at tlv
his arrows. B iw an 1 arrow in hand. Ameer was
unapproachable even by Behari Sardar. Ameer
resi ling within two miles of the camp of the
- : lar, thus continued to defy his authority. How

llld the Sar ar brook such an insult ? An i h
could he rule his territory with such a rebellious
subject, making fun of his four-cubit long sword ?
He felt something like what was done by Lord

128

BEHARI SARDAR

Lytton when the "wasps" of the Bengalee papers
began to torment him.

Ameer was the eldest of the three brothers in

the Sheikh family who lived jointly, in the same

house. Ameer, not-withstanding his youth and

his " charmed " bow, knew very well that he

had committed an extremely rash act by

courting the animosity of the great Sardar. Any

man now would think that it was extremely

foolish on the part of the villagers to defy the

authority of the dacoits, and excite their wrath

But people of this generation, with a ceaseless

struggle for existence which civilization has

imported ; with a passion for Government service

which corrodes the system ; with their efforts to

master a foreign tongue and pass examinations

in that language ; with interminable litigation ;

with spleen and dyspepsia ; and with being

surrounded on all sides by police constables and

spiteful neighbours, will never be able to

appreciate the feelings which move healthy, free

and strong men, with a full stomach, with no

cares, and with no courts, to control their actions.

How could Ameer help throwing down the gauntlet

to the Sardar? The exuberant and bouyant spirit

within him urged him to do so ; his followers

urged him ; and public opinion pushed him

forward.

Ameer knew that it would be extremely

129

S-9

PICTUR1 IMDIAN LIFE

imprudent to provoke the ire ofth< - r, bol

there was no h«-lp for it now. His pri le would n>>\
permit htm to stoop and sue i"r | i. So what

be lid was to keep watch day and night, as ha
ha l do desire to act on 1

his tenants an l he Irneu that it was n it possible
tor the Sardar to take him by surprise. It only he
could get timely informationi he felt quite com-
petent to deal with the Sardar and hi >us

band.

The villagers oj slagura requ< the Sardar

"bathe," which meant that they invited the

Sardar and his men to stay there atvi dine. The

Sardar demurred. Hut the villagers pressed again,
and he yielded. The 1 i otributions which

tlie dacohs imposed upon village itly

levied in kind. In those days, '■ ' ; rupee) v
a rare si^ht. Gold mohurs were more plentiful.
The people carrie 1 on their purchases with
(shells), and they had very little need topurchi
anything at all. The dacoits themselves lived a
merry life. They had neither wives and children
to maintain, nor any desire to hoard up mon<
Whatever they got, they spent in eating and drink-
ing , in big feasts, where people were invited from
neighbouring villages;in Poojas, where priests w
brought by sheer force to perfrom the ceremonies
and then dismissed with liberal presents ; in
(operas), habit (songs), and military t.aimamei

130

BEHARI SARDAR

In these latter exercises, all noted men were
invited to display their strength and mastery over
the weapons they carried. The hosts oftheSardar,
we mean the inhabitants of Magura or Amrita-
bazar, thought that a feast to him would save them
from contribution for some time to come. The
Sardar and his followers expected a very good
dinner, and they at last agreed to stop and dine.

A young man proposed some out-door games,
and the proposal was received with acclamation
by all present. It was the month of Baisakh. The
time was about 9 A. M., and people were perspir-
ing from heat. But out-door exercises were the
most coveted of all amusements indulged in by
the people of Bengal at that period. Badyakars or
drummers were immediately sent for ; and all
resorted to the locality, where the village gymna-
sium was. Every village had such a place where
the people assembled in the morning and the
evening to practise themselves in the use of their
weapons, to wrestle or to go through other
exercises calculated to strengthen the muscle and
the nerve.

It would be news to the degenerated species
that inhabit Bengal now, that in those days all
the palwans (wrestlers), khaloimrs (fencers) etc,etc,
assembled in the most important village of the
quarter, at least five days in the year, for a trial
of strength and skill. First, on the Charak Sank-

131

PICTURES OF IN: »IAN l.Il I

'in!, on tl day ; third,

the B% lay ; fourth, on the last day of

Kii ind fifth, on the Sripanehami day.

When proceeding to the gymnasium, it *
eived that Behari Sardar hri I kept sentim
to give him information of the approach of any
opponent 1 fa its never stopped at

any place without securing the ghattii »or i

p sting sentinels. While Behari sitting

1 talking, some haif-a his men w <

\v i- « the i and whenthey all went

the gymnasium, the Sardar adji the position

of his jentinels) an( The fact w

;e was im absolute trust between the people
i the dacoit <"hi(

O, stling match between some

\ illag"t ml the dacoits. He jocularly

pealed to the Sardar to give s<>me lesson to the
anda brothers, who had become inflated with
iceit, and who fancied that they were as strong
as Bheem was in days of yore. Now, oftht
Chan la brothers some five or six were noted
. rv.tel throughout the district for their
strength, courage and skill. But the Sardar said
he would never permit that. It would be an
u iwise step and might lead to serious consequen-
ces. So the dacoits shewed some of their feats of
strength and skill in the use of arms to the
\illagers. A good dinner was provided. A big

'32

BEHARI SARDAR

goat was killed ; besides, there were fish, ddhee
and goor, but no liquor. The dacoits feasted, and
left for their native village Palua.

CHAPTER II.

We said before, that Ameer trusted his
tenants, but there was one whom he had injured.
He had wounded this tenant in the tenderest part.
In short, Ameer had, at a moment of thoughtless
passion, sullied the family honour of this man.
The man had brought home a beautiful bride
aged about 13. Ameer was smitten. He caused
a divorce between the man and his wife, and then
married the girl himself. The injured husband,
though a tenant, vowed deep vengeance, and
opened communications with the Sardar. Through
him, Behari kept himself informed of the move-
ments of Ameer, even to the minutest detail.

The first ruse of the Sardar was to create false
alarms in the village. This obliged Ameer to
remain in a state of constant preparedness. On
^very occasion, however, he found that the alarm
was a false one. This naturally made him slacken
his vigilance a little. He had sent his wife,
mentioned above, to her father's house, about
four miles from his native village. He sent a
doolie and three bearers to fetch her. The
conveyance, however, was returned, the relations
sending him word that she would be sent back
next month.

133

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

N'-'u this was terrible news to the love-sick
Ameer. He himself must go to fetch her. But
how to provide against the surprises of the Sardar?
He might come in the meantime. Yes, but his
father-in-law's house lav only at a distance of four
miles. Of course, he would be able to bring his
wife home before the Sardar could know that he
had left it. Thus thought Ameer. Of an impet-
uous disposition, he could wait no longer. He
assembled his principal tenants, and told them
of his intentions, and actually ran towards the
village where his wife was.

Among the assembled tenants was the one
whose wife Ameer had married. This man had
concealed his feelings against Ameer very
successfully and secured his complete confidence.
While Ameer left home for his father-in-lav
house, this man left the village to give information
to Behari Sardar that Ameer's house was now
absolutely at his disposal.

Behari Sardar had no reason to distrust his
informant, but yet he subjected the man to a
searching cross-examination. The spy gave
satisfactory answer which convinced the Sardar
that he had not come to lead him into a trap, but
to satisfy his private grudge against the man who
had robbed him of his wife.

The Sardar formed his plans after a short
reflection. He asked his lieutenants to prepare

134

BEHARI SARDAR

themselves for an immediate march. His orders
were obeyed promptly, and about seventyfive of
the dacoit band stood fully armed before him.
This was the usual number he kept with him,
while others he stationed at different centres.

It was between eight or nine in the morning.
The armed'dacoits presented a picturesque appea-
rance. I have already said how they protected
their chests from arrows, spears, and swords by
wrapping tightly, layer after layer, a thick piece of
cloth by which also they protected their faces and
heads. This piece covered the face entirely, leaving
only the nose and the eyes open. They stood armed
with lathis, swords and spears to do their leader's
bidding. They were all hardy, brave, strong and
active, and would not have hesitated a moment
to accomplish the plans of their leader, or go
through any enterprise, however hazardous.

Behari selected six out of these men to stand
guard and prevent the entry of Ameer into the
village from that of his father-in-law. A beel or
marsh intervened between the two villages. The
Sardar directed these six men to disrobe, dress
themselves as ordinary rustics, and stand guard
on this side of the marsh to prevent Ameer, if he
should get the information, from coming back to
protect his house.

The great point of the Sardar was to secure
the weapons of the villagers. They kept their

135

PICTURES OK INDIAN LIFE

weapons, swords of various shapes, spears of all
kinds, and lathies, — in the outer house of Ameer.
The plan of the Sardar was to pounce upon the
village, and at once take j >ion of the outer-

house containing the weapons. His real object
was net. however, so much the possession of the
village weapons, for he regarded them with
contempt, as the "charmed" bow and arrows oi
Ameer, the whereabouts of which no body knew,
not even the spy.

We must here give an account of Ameer.
Being a Sheikh and having landed property, he
found himself, on the death of his father, when he
was about I5,inthe position of a leader. He had
a well-built, though not a very strong physique.
He saw that as a lathial, a swordsman, or a lancer,
he would have no chance with others. He then-
fore, determine 1 to maintain his position by
archerv. He feit that if he could master the art, he
would yet be ab.'e to leal his following with
credit.

He soon found that he had an eye and a pair
of arms for good archery. He rarely missed his
aim., even in the begining of his self-education.
He listened to accounts of the exploits of good
archers with a leaping heart, and felt an ambition
to imitate or perhaps to excel them. The best
archer then was a Rajput in Krishnagore, and t"
him Ameer went for instruction. There he learnt

136

BEHARI SARDAR

much of what he was in need and ignorance of
before. He came back home ; he improved what
he had learnt ; and then prepared for himself his
"charmed'' bow and arrows.

Ameer prepared his own arrows. Those
prepared by others were not so obedient, so
powerful, as those prepared by himself. He
prepared his own bow: and without that particular
bow he was almost helpless. After repeated
experiments, he found out how a good bow should
be prepared. The Jaon bamboo is the best for
the purpose. But a fully-developed and perfectly
shaped bamboo of the necessary sort was rarely
to be found. He found a piece, however, and
prepared his bow with the toil of several months.
This he painted. It was as long as himself, and
at first glance, would appear to be a delicate
weapon. But it was not so. The string he prepared
of the flax beaten out of the aloe.

The arrows too he himself prepared from reeds
which grew in low-lying marshes. He alone knew
how to prepare arrows. For they flew like
lightning, and seemed to defy the laws of Conic
Sections. One of his daily duties was to keep his
bow and arrows before him and salaam them three
times, while some charms or prayers were uttered*
The public believed, both Hindus and Mussalmans,
that Ameer had became a Siddha (adept) in arch-
ery, and that he could do anything with his bow.

137

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

Ameer had one weak point. He was irresistible
with the bow and arrows manufactured by him.
He was weak, nervous, irresolute without them,
even though in possession of a good bow and
arrows manufactured by others. The great object
of Behari was to possess himself ol the bow and
arrows of Ameer.

Ameer, on the other hand, was very particular
about his weapons. He generally carried them in
his hand when in the shade. Exposure to the sun
would spoil his bow and arrows; and he never
exposed them, when he could help it, to the blaze
of that luminary. During the middle of the day,
he always kept his weapons in a hiding-place
which no body knew. So when Ameer started
from home in the morning for his father-in-law's
he left his bow and arrows behind, though where,
it was not known to any. When Ameer's enemy
gave information of Ameer's departure from his
village to the Sardar, the first question he asked
was, whether Ameer had taken his bow and
arrows with him. Being assured that Ameer had
left them behind, the Sardar thought that his game
was safe ; and that if he could get possession of
the bow and arrows, Ameer would be absolutely
at his disposal.

The order was given, " Run and surround
Ameer's house;" and seventy men ran furiously
towards it without uttering a sound. An open

138

BEHARI SARDAR

space, about half-a-mile in length, intervened
between Palua and Magma. Some of Ameer's
tenants were weeding their paddy plants. They
saw from a distance the furious rush of the dacoits.
They knew that Ameer was not at home, and they
at once divined the object of the rush. They held
a hasty consultation amongst themselves, and
devised means to give speedy information to
Ameer, and to the village too.

The dacoits came at double quick, but yet
they found Ameer's house deserted. They, however
immediately surrounded it, and stationed sentinels
to guard the approaches. Behari stood in the
court-yard, more than six feet high, giving direc-
tions to his followers, his four-cubit sword in his
hand. He posted an additional set of sentinels to-
guard the outer-house alluded to above. This
outer-house contained the weapons of the villagers
and perhaps the bow and arrows of Ameer.

The villagers had time only to remove the
ladies from Ameer's house, but property and
weapons were left behind. The dacoits surrounded
the house with a rush and a loud warwhoop of
Jay Kalee, though no one had any notion as to
what the Sardar was aiming at. Some youthful
villagers proposed resistance, but the elders pooh-
poohed the idea. How could they fight without
weapons ? "Let us send an old man to parley/'
said the wisest amongst the villagers. And a

139

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

very old Mussalman, with a white flowing beard,
called Nana, was sent to the Sardar.

He approached unarmed, bent double by age,
and he was led to the Sardar. "Ameer is not
here," said the old man. "If you want to loot his
house it is at your disposal. If you want to loot
the village you are welcome to do it. We have
no arms.

The Sardar reflected for a moment, and then
assumed a jocular tone. "Nana Saheb," said he,
"is it meet that when I come hungry you do not
give me and my people food ?"

Said Nana : "Yes, we were thinking of that.
But it seemed you came angry. The attitude of
your men is not like that of guests. Quiet your
men, sit down, and we shall do our best to give a
little gosta (meat) and rootee(rice or bread) to you
and your men."

To make a long story short, we next find
the dacoit band sitting in rows, under half-a-dozen
gigantic mango trees, in front of the outer-house
of Ameer, taking their dinner. To the sentinels,
dinners were sent at their posts. Dinners were
also sent to the sentinels guarding against the
approach of Ameer to the village. The dacoits
had copiously partaken of liquor. Behari sat in
the middle, squatting upon a broad plantain leaf.
Every one of the dacoits had partially undressed
himself, though they kept their respective weapons

140

BEHARI SARDAR

by their side. Talking1 of weapons those belong-
ing to the villagers, kept in the outer-house, had
been brought from there for their better protec-
tion, and were seen lying in heaps under the
mango trees, within the sight and reach of the
dacoits. Even after a most diligent search, the
bow and arrows of Ameer had not been
found !

The disarmed villagers were freely permitted
to see the State dinner, at their expense. And
the warriors of the village, old and young, and
children too, were there to witness the great feast.
The dacoits had almost done with their dinner;
indeed, they had gone as far as the dish of claheey
when the mirth of the dacoits, who were so long
eating silently out of respect to their Sardar,
could not be restrained. One cried "Ameer
Sheikh ki fateh", or, in other words, "victory to
Ameer Sheik", when fifty voices echoed the words
in a loud shout. The Sardar himself, a little
elated by the drink, was led to join in the mirth,
and exclaimed in a loud voice : "Ameer, where
art thou, our exellent host?" This was repeated
by fifty throats, and the sound made the earth to
tremble as it were.

But before this sound had ceased, the Sardar
heard a whiz and felt something touch his head.
He quickly turned round to see what it was. He
saw that his cap had heen carried off from his

141

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

head, and pinned t<>the earth about a yard an<l-
a-half from him, by an arrow !

But he was allowed no time to make anv
close examination of the arrow, or think over the
affair. Just then some »>ne appeared on the scene
from behind a mango tree and said : "Here is
Golam Ameer Sheik hazeer", which means, "here
is your slave Ameer Sheik present." "What d
huzoor demand of me?" The Sardar saw Ameer
Sheik leaning, as if carelessly, against a mango
tree in his front, his stringed bow hanging on hi>
right shoulder, and the quiver of his arrows <>n
his left, with a smile in his face, as if mocking at
his majesty !

We have now to explain how Ameer succeed-
ed in eluding the vigilance of the ghatties or
sentries appointed by the Sardar to prevent his
entry into the village. The fact was, the Sardar
knew very well that it would be impossible to
stop Ameer, in that way. For to guard a b
village in that manner would require hundreds of
men. The main object the Sardar tiad in view
was to stop the passage of Ameer as long as it
was possible to do so.

Besides, as I said before, Ameer was power-
less without his "charmed'' bow and arrows.
The Sardar was convinced that they had
been left behind by Ameer. He'had no doubt that
the bow and arrows were either in Ameers house

142

BEHARI SARDAR

or somewhere near it. He closely guarded
Ameer's house and its surroundings; and he
felt sure that if he could do that, he and his
party would be absolutely safe from any outside
attack by the latter.

It has been already stated that the villagers,
who were weeding paddy, (it was the end of
Jaishta i. e. May and June) had sent information
to Ameer as soon as they saw the approach of
the dacoit band. Ameer had made arrangements
to bring his wife after breakfast, and he had sat
to it. Ameer was enjoying his breakfast, when
the breathless messenger disturbed his enjoyment
with the terrible news, that the dacoits, fully
armed, were marching towards his house.

Now, this was dreadful news to Ameer. The
dacoits were like ordinary men, under ordinary
circumstances ; but they wreaked fearful venge-
ance upon those who defied their authority. His
mother, his aunts, his sister-in-law were in the
house. His house was thatched with straw, though
the outer-apartment had brick walls. How could
he know that the dacoits did not mean insult to
the ladies ? And would they not burn the house
down ?

In a state of terrible anguish of mind, Ameer
left his breakfast and ran towards his native
village. His practised eye, however, saw at once
that ghatties had been placed on the opposite

H3

PICTURES OF INDIAN Ll!

le <>f the bee), and his passage barred. II-
could, indeed, reach his house by a circuitous
route, but it woul 1 take hours to The roads,

lea ling t<> his house, were two, — one lyinpto the
north, and the other to 1 uth, of the beel. Two
fully-armed men guarded the two ]
more guarded the beel, while two more
blocked the other two p es by which he could

vet reach his house, though by very circuitous

-

route.

Fortunately, at that time, a good many men
were < fed in fishing in the beel. They us<
palm caii nrthe purpose. Each canoe had one

or two occupants, and the man in the front stood
with a fishing spear to strike at the fishes which
might give an indication of their presence bel
the surface of the water. Ameer joined this fishing
party, change 1 his good clothes for the piece of
rag which one of the party had round' ins,

and thus disguised himself as a rustic. In short,
he at last succeeded in deceiving the sen ho

were guarding the beel ; and as we sail before,
this was not altogether a difficult feat. TheSar lar
never seriously expected that he would be able to
prevent the approach of Ameer.

Ameer reached his village, and was very
much relieved to find that the dacoits were in an
amiable mood. Thev had not onlv not used one
word of insult, or touched one item of property,

H4

BEHARI SARDAR

but had agreed to dine and make a gala-day of it.
He sat thinking, surrounded by the elders of the
village, in the house of a tenant, a good many
hundred yards off from his own.

But yet there was no knowing how the dacoits
would act in the end. They were drinking, and
it would be only in keeping with their character
to change their peaceful intentions, and become
violent. Ameer thought that the best thing for
him would be to tender his submission. But would
that mollify Behari? What would then prevent
the latter from hacking to pieces his old enemy ?
The pride of Ameer also revolted against sub-
mission. He must first make a determined effort
to rescue his means of attack and defence.

He had left his bow and his leather quiver,
concealed in the thatch of the outer-house. That
was one of the places where he hid them now and
then. In the morning, he had left them there,
and he was almost absolutely sure that they had
not been removed. He determined to reach his
own house, disguised as a rustic, to see if he
could get hold of them.

Ameer formed his plan. The rustics of the
village, one by one, i approached the dacoit camp.
The young and the old, the children, and even
some old women were there. The dacoits were
cooking ; some were bathing in the tank close by,
(the tank still exists.) The ghatties were guarding

145
S— 10

1'ICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

the passages, and Behari was talking to some
respectable villagers. Among the villagers, who
\\ niched the doings of the dacoits, was Ameer,
unperceived and unrecognized by the dacoits.
Ameer was not known by sight to most of them;
he was dressed as an ordinary dirty rustic ; and
the dacoits had, besides, partaken much of paddy
rum. Thus Ameer succeeded in keeping himself
unrecognized among the crowd.

Now, with all their efforts, the Indians have
never been able to acclimatize drink in the country.
Drink will never suit the stomach of an Indian.
He can never drink without being affected. See,
how a European will swallow a bottle of strong
drink and remain unaffected. But a veteran Indian
drinker will often get drunk at the sight of liquor.
This is the case now ; the case in those days was
worse. The sentinels were reeling under the
influence of Dhanyeswari (paddy liquor.)

Gradually the crowd of rustics thickened in
that part of the outer-house where Ameer had
hid his bow and leather arrow-bag. Ameer stood
close to the place, — his breast heaved with excite-
ment. He brought the bow and the leather-bag
out of the thatch unperceived, and he left the
place hurriedly, unperceived too.

Ameer now felt that he was master of the
situation. But he had no desire to present
himself before the dacoits as a rustic. He entered

146

BEHARI SARDAR

the house of a neighbour, secured a clean piece of
cotton cloth, and tightly wrapped it round his
narrow waist. He also procured a piece of
leather by which he covered his left arm to protect
it from the string of his bow. The iron ring on
.his right thumb he never parted with ; so he had
not to borrow it. In explanation, we may
mention, that the iron ring is wanted for the
purpose of drawing the bow when discharging
an arrow ; the string will hurt the left arm and so
archers protect it by wrapping round it a piece of
leather.

Ameer stood behind a mango tree. The
dacoits were then eating, and it was within the
power of Ameer to shoot Behari Sardar dead in a
twinkle. But the idea was revolting to him. He
surely was no dacoit. How could he shoot at a
man from behind a cover? How could he shoot
.at one who was dining.

But it was another feeling which powerfully
moved Ameer. Had not the Sardar treated him
generously? He had everything belonging to
Ameer at his absolute disposal, and yet he had
not uttered one insulting word. This feeling of
gratitude so completely overpowered Ameer that
he felt something like affection for the Sardar.
Indeed, he knew that if his presence were known,
it would spoil the feast ; so he would have
patiently waited till the Sardar had finished his

H7

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

dinner. But the Sardar and his men brought
matters to a crisis. When the band cried Fate
(victim) to Ameer, he bore it patiently. But
when the Sardar himself joined in the mirth and
demanded to know where his host Ameer was,
he could bear it no longer. He aimed at the cap
of the Sardar, and the obedient arrow gently
carried it off the Sardar's head, and pinned it on
the ground behind !

Alter discharging the arrow, Ameer flung the
bow on his left shoulder, advanced a step
from behind his cover, and declared, "Golam
Ameer Sheikh is hazeer (present). What would
you have of me?''

The dacoit band sat petrified, but Behari rose
with sword in hand !

He and Ameer gazed at each other !

A good swordsman can cut an arrow to
pieces. But a swordsman, however expert and
vigilant, was yet at the mercy of a swift-shooter or
good shot. He could cut the first arrow, but he
would have no time to defend himself from the
second, at least from the third. Rage, disappoint-
ment and fear alternately played on the features
of the Sardar. But Ameer leaned against the
mango tree, and only looked triumphantly at the
Sard at.

At last the Sardar found words. Said he;
<( Young man ! you took me unawares."

148

BEHARI SARDAR

"So did you!" replied Ameer. And the Sardar
bit his lip.

"Why delay? Send your shafts. I am ready,"
said the Sardar.

Ameer. — "I bear you no resentment. Finish
your dinner."

Behari replied: "Then come; let us dine
together," and the Sardar threw away his five —
foot sword ! "Come now."

Ameer.— "I cannot go into your midst, for
though I can trust you, I cannot trust your men.
Besides, I have taken a vow. You have respected
my honour and property ; and, in return, I have
respected your life. We are thus quits. lean, how-
ever, never make friends with you unless you tell
me the name of the spy who betrayed me to you."

Ameer, having got no immediate reply from
the Sardar, continued, and this time with a little
vehemence : "If you and I must be friends, let us
have no secrets between us. Tell me who is the
base spy that betrayed me?"

The countenance of the leader betrayed a
slight frown, but he immediately assumed a cordial
tone and said : "Sheik Ameer! You know our
creed. We do not betray our agents ; we cannot
do that without trampling upon honour and break-
ing a most sacred oath. Dacoits though we are,
you know we cannot break an oath, or commit a
mean act."

'49

TICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

Ameer replied, and though he tried to be
calm, there was some bitterness in his tone. "This
is unreasonable, Sardar Saheb. You and I are to
be friends, and yet you will protect my deadliest
enemy. We cannot meet breast to breast, with
such an obstacle between us."

The Sardar then assumed a lofty tone, and
id : "To secure your friendship I will not commit
a dishonourable act, — I will not doso even to save
my life. I cannot do so what ever may happen.
Now, this is my last word ; and, young- man, you
can take your choice and do what you think best.
Let not m< n say that Behari Sardar committed
a dishonourable act to appease a wrathful
opponent."'

Fellu Gazee was the name of the man whose
wife Ameer had married, and who, in revenge,
had betrayed him to the Sardar. He was there,
and so were all the others of Ameers men. The
attitude of Ameer and the Sardar created a pro-
found sensation among the two hundred men pre-
sent, dacoits and villagers. They all apprehended
a split, and got very much excited, though none
ventured to utter a word.

When the Sardar threw the gauntlet to Ameer
and while Ameer was making up his mind, Fellu
approached and stood before him. Said he,
amidst breathless silence, "Sheikjee My land-lord!
I cannot permit further mischief. It was I who

150

BEHARI SARDAR

betrayed you. You deprived me of my wife, and
I, in revenge, betrayed you. Here I am. Now,
shoot me dead."

All eyes were turned towards Fellu. Ameer's
brow darkened. He was seized by a fierce passion
and he took in his left hand, the bow which was
hanging on his shoulders. He remembered how
he had trusted Fellu, favoured him and loved him
too ; and how Fellu had, with consummate hypo-
crisy, returned the affection and won his confi-
dence. He remembered too, how Fellu had
brought in the dacoits and placed the property
and honour of all the villagers at their disposal.
He remembered all these, and lost all control over
himself.

'-' And so, Nimakharam" (traitor), said Ameer
* 'for the wrong that I did, you wanted to deliver
the entire village, your own village, over to the
enemy?"

He was interrupted by Fellu with these words
"I do not justify my conduct. Here is my breast,
send a shaft through it, and have your revenge."
Fellu stood before Ameer and the crowd., and he
looked like a passionless statue. His countenance
betrayed no fear — it was calm, and so noble and
beautiful! Ameer gazed at him in v/onder.
Whence did Fellu get this sudden beauty?—
thought every one.

Ameer's face betrayed a fierce struggle within

151

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

his breast. At last, he ended by hanging down
his head, — in contrition.

"Fellu," said he. "Forgive me, if you can."

But surely, we are not going to write a novel ;
we must, however, relate the story as we heard it.
The Sardar came forward and embraced Ameer
and said : " Thou art a noble fellow."

They all sat under the mango trees surroun-
ding the courtyard of Ameers house. Said
Behari : "Thy fame as an archer has spread far
and wide. It is said that there is no one in the
world who can rival thee in archery. Show us a
little of thy skill, so that my eyes may go from
here delighted, as my stomach surely does."

Ameer craved leave for a few minutes for a
change of dress. He came back dressed in a
moment. There was, however, nothing to protect
his person from his enemies. But he had dressed
tightly which displayed his well-built figure to
great advantage. He stood before the assembled
crowd with some of his pupils. He placed his bow
and arrows upon the ground and salaamed them
thrice, and then he began the exhibition.

The first thing that Ameer showed was the
strength of his arrows. There was a betel-nut tree
close by. Ameer let an arrow fly at it with force,
and it pierced the trunk through and stuck there.
The dacoits remarked that no shield, not even one
of rhinoceros hide, would protect a man from

152

BEHARI SARDAR

a shaft, shot with so much force. The arrow
stuck there, and was left in that position for
several years for people to come and see, till a
big gale or cyclone uprooted the betel-nut tree.

One of his pupils stood at a distance of one
hundred cubits from Ameer, with a betelnut on
his right palm. Ameer steadied his aim and let
fly his arrow with some care. The arrow carried
the nut on its head a few yards from its resting
place. The feat elicited tremendous applause.

Another feat which Ameer showed was with
a gonra lemon. Now, this is a degenerated species
of the orange, even smaller than narangee. Ameer
stood ten cubits in advance of his pupil, who sent
the lemon with great force rolling in the courtyard.
Ameer aimed at the rolling lemon and pinned it
with his arrow to the great delight of the
spectators.

Mango plucking was the next feat shown,
which was still more wonderful. Ameer pierced
an unripe mango with his arrow which stuck in
the fruit. This gave a swinging motion to the
mango, the arrow sticking to it. When the mango
became still, Ameer again aimed, and this time
the shaft stuck to the tail of the first arrow ! There
was again a swinging motion, and again Ameer
waited until the mango became still. A third
arrow was then shot which stuck to the tail of the
second arrow. At the third shot the mango fell to

153

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

the ground, with three arrows sticking to it in a
line i

His pupils then urged Ameer to perform the
dig bazee (the somersault). But Ameer declined.
The Sardar then pleaded, and all the dacoits
pressed. A good many of them were then
weeping in joy at the display of the wonderful
feats of Ameer. A good many felt an irresistible
impulse to come and embrace and kiss him, but
the presence of the Sardar checked their ardour.

Ameer said : "My ostad (preceptor) command-
ed me never to attempt such a feat when there
was the least breath of wind. I do not, as a rule
make the attempt unless I am alone. Besides
success is uncertain, so please excuse me."

" But," said the Sardar, "are not your arrows
under the control of a gin (evil spirit)? Why
then deprive us of the pleasure ? " Ameer smiled.
He said he did not know the gin who was said
to be so friendly; he was certain also that a success-
ful dig bajee was beyond its control. "However,"
continued he, "as I do not feel much wind now,
I will try ; but success I do not guarantee.1' With
this, he salammed his bow and arrows again, and
prepared himself for his gigantic and last effort.
He first examined his bow carefully, and selected
tfcree of his best arrows. He stood in the middle
of the court-yard, then slowly and silently drew
the string and let go an arrow, not with great

154

BEHARI SARDAR

force, though yet sufficiently high to make it
almost invisible.

The arrow fell a few paces in front of him with
its head downwards, penetrating the earth an
inch or so. The arrow stood perfectly erect ! Ameer
took a second arrow, and sent it up with great
deliberation. The spectators watched its progress
with intense excitement. When the arrow took a
downward direction, the excitement increased.
Down the arrow came amidst breathless silence
and indescribable excitement, and it fell exactly
upon the tail of the first arrow,— perfectly erect!
A second or two after this occurrence, the Mussal-
mans raised the cry of Allah, Allah, and the
dacoits that of Kalee, Kalee, and the demonstra-
tion of joy continued for some time. Such a feat
was never before heard of. Ameer declined to
discharge his third arrow; for he felt then that
the wind had risen a little.

Here we end our story. The dacoit rule in
Bengal was supplanted by the planter and zemin-
dar rule. The dacoits were subsequently extermi-
nated with the help of the zemindars and the
indigo-planters. In the place of the dacoits, the
latter began to rule the country. The Magistrates
of that period did and could do nothing. The
police only hampered them, and the people never
resorted to courts for the adjustment of their
differences.

155

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

Poor Behari Sardar died a most unromantic
death. He was apprehended in his old age, with
the help of a treacherous comrade. When Behari
found himself surrounded in the hut, where he
was concealing himself and that there was no
way of escape, he took a spear and caused a
deep gash in his abdomen, laying his intestines
open. In an insensible condition, he was taken to
the Jessore hospital, where, wonder of wonders !
he recovered, his strong constitution helping him
no doubt. Behari was sent across the Kalapanee,
where he died after a very short residence. It is
now peace in Bengal, nay, in every part of India.
The country has been disarmed, and the result of
that measure is that not only has all chivalry fled
from the country but all martial spirit. Nay, we
fear, the people are day by day losing their manli-
ness. So, you see, even peace has its disadvan-
tages. The people have become now so helpless
that they find it difficult to encounter a mad jackal.
The British Government might have strengthened
its position by utilizing this martial spirit of the
people.

THE PERPETUAL SLAVERY
OF INDIA

We quoted some months ago a paragraph
from Max Muller, in which the learned Professor
declared that the contemplation, that the Hindus,
so gentle, gifted and innocent, should be made
subject to other nations, for no fault of their own
but simply because they had not cultivated the
art of war, filled him with profound sorrow.. Yes,
the history of the Hindus is a history of continued
humiliation ; but we must bear up with that. It
is also a history of massacres of their men, women
and children ; of outrages upon their women and
sacred objects ; and of the plunder and burning of
their cities which they had built with the toil of
ages. We shall describe, in a few short sentences,
how Hindus began their national life, and how
they have been treated by their fellow-beings.

Hindus lived innocent lives and respected the
lives of the meanest creatures; they cultivated
learning and philosophy ; they preached and
practised spirituality, neither wishing ill to their
fellow-beings nor apprehending ill from others.
While thus passing their lives, they found them-
selves suddenly confronted by an overwhelming
force of marauders. They saw that resistance

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PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

would be useless ; and they found also that the
pitiless fiends who had invaded their country, had
no human sentiments in them. So, what Hindus
did, was to kill their women and to fall, with
swords in hand, in the midst of the attacking
hordes. There they were cut tp pieces ; their
country was looted and subsequently burnt to
ashes; and an important town and an important
clan were for ever extinguished.

The above is the epitome of the history of
India. In our schools and colleges, History of
India is taught. Of course, students must go
through that teaching, and there is no help for it.
But grown-up Hindus never, if they can help it,
touch the History of India. It is not pleasant
reading to them. It was thus that history was
not written in India.

Neither, we think, is the study of Hindu
History a profitable one, for, it teaches infidelity.
The outrages committed upon India by barbarians
in their greed for material gains, are calculated
to lead the Hindus to the idea that they are not
in keeping with the character of the good God of
the universe. That a nation so innocent, so
gentle — a nation which has taught His worship to
mankind — should be subjected to so gross outrages
for no fault of their own, is no proof to the
ordinary mind that God is good and just.

Max Muller was profoundly affected at seeing

158

\

THE PERPETUAL SLAVERY OF INDIA

the condition of innocent India, because he came
somewhat in touch with the people through their
literature. But do Englishmen, who are in direct
touch with the people of this country — who are, in
fact, in the position of their "Ma Bap'' — feel a
similarly profound sympathy for the abject condi-
tion of an ancient people ? Is not India, in many
respects, the noblest and most interesting country,
and the only country in the world which has no
national liberty? And who are its masters now ?
The English ! But how can this be? Englishmen
cannot bear injustice or oppression. They paid
from their own pockets for the liberation of slaves
in America, and for them formed a Republic,
called Liberia. How is it that Englishmen, who
-are also ready to go to war with the Sultan
because his Bulgarian subjects have no political
liberty, have kept India in political bondage ?
"How is it that the only subject nation in the world
is under the sway of the most liberty loving
nation in the world?

When Hindus recovered from the shock of the
Greek invasion the Mahomedans came. It took
the Mussalmans three hundred years to obtain
possession of the country. To ascertain how India
fared under them, we have only to examine the
most sacred temples of the Hindus. The Image
•of Bishweshwar was — well, everybody knows
what was done with the Image. The greatest

159

PICTURES OF INDIAN* I.I IT.

temple in the world, that of Gobincla Deva, was
dismantle:! by Aurungzeb, on the plea that the
act would be pleasing- to his God.

Hindus never cared for political power. If
they had done so, the Khsetriyas, who supplie 1
the country with Kings, statesmen, and soldiers,
would have been put in the first and not in the
second rank. The Brahmins, who forme 1 the
first class, as a rule, never mediled with politics,
nor served the State. Those who did, were
considered outcastes. Chanakya, the celebrated
Hindu statesman and minister of Chandra Gupta
gave up the world and spent the last days of his
life in wilderness, in order to wipe out his sins
which he had accumulated by his contact with
politics.

It was not, as urged by Max Muller, that
Hindus lost their independence because they had
not cultivated the art of war. They lost their
independence, because they did not put much
value upon it.

It was of no moment to the Hindus, who
governed them, if they were governed well. The
lot of Kings, ministers and generals was not
envied by the higher classes. Fighting- and all
political work were left to inferior classes, the
Brahmins avoiding them as beneath their dignitv.
Here, then we enter upon an important phase of
this question, viz, the present abject condition of

160

THE PERPETUAL SLAVERY OF INDIA

India. What led to this subiect condition of
India? It was not that the Hindus did not know
how to fight — it was because their instincts
were opposed to those of other nations. When
the Mussalman general invaded Bengal, the
King and his , advisers yielded without a
struggle. The King was old, and he had
no thought for the world. His advisers and
his people did not also much care as to who ruled
them, provided they were let alone with the culti-
vation of their learning and religion. One can
see that the best energies of the Western nations
are devoted to the cultivation of the art of war,
the invention of infernal and destructive machines
and manageable war-balloons, and the raising
and equipment of gigantic armies. Their national
energies are fccussed in conquests, in diplomacy,
in arts and commerce, and so forth.

But in India, Kings abdicated their thrones
when they found that they were growing old, and
statesmen did so, to wipe out their sins. Every
man under fifty was required to lead the life of a
religious man ; and he who did not, was consider-
ed something like a leper. The intellectual classes
devoted all their energies to the cultivation of the
arts, sciences and their spiritual faculties. As for
fighting, the shedding of blood was considered an
inhuman practice. Surely, men were not dogs !
Those, who killed fellow-beings, were Ghouls,

161
S— n

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

Rakhasas, and so forth. Indeed, the Hindus
avoided the cares of the State, an$J they would
have thankfully given up everything- to the Musal-
mans if they had not committed oppressions. The
Mussalmans fell because of their oppressions.

The East has been called "sensuous/' because
of the stories contained in the book, called " The
Arabian Nights' Entertainments.'' The descrip
tion of " black-eyed houries" and " sparkling gob-
lets of gold " in that book, created the impression
that the people of the East were devoted to
" women and wine.'' But if Persia or Baghdad
was sensuous, it would be manifestly unjust to
call India so. Notwithstanding all the efforts of
the Abkari Department, the people of India
have not yet been induced to take largely to
intoxicating liquors. It would be no exaggeration
to say, that drinking is even now almost unknown
in India.

In the same manner, it may be said that the
custom of eating meat does not obtain in this
country. The higher classes are almost all
vegetarians ; and even the lower classes, though
they are permitted to taste almost only the flesh
of goats and sheep, rarely have recourse to it. We
have thus a rare use of meat and drink in India,
which would never have been the case if the
country were sensuous.

Of course, polygamy is permitted under the

162

THE PERPETUAL SLAVERY OF INDIA

national law of the land, in order to keep the
balance of men and women equal in the marriage
market ; but the custom of marrying more wives
than one, is likewise almost unknown. On the
other hand, widows are not permitted to re-marry.
It has often been alleged that this is a cruel custom.
This must seem so to those who cannot go beyond
the flesh. It was introduced only to give every
woman a chance of marriage ; for, re-marriage of
widows would create an equal number of maids
in the country.

But it must, at the same time, be borne in
mind, that if widows are not permitted to re-
marry here, in India alone men also are seen
voluntarily to give up the world and its pleasures
for the sake of a better future. If the custom of
prohibiting the re-marriage of widows prevailed,
along with it also prevailed the custom, amongst
males, of adopting the life of an ascetic. So great
an effect had the precepts and preachings of the
Hindu saints produced upon the people, that they
came vividly to realize, in their minds, the worth-
lessness of all worldly pleasures. It was thus that
men turned ascetics in large numbers. Indeed, it
was in India alone that people were divided into
r/rihastas (family men) and udasins (ascetics).
During the days of Sree Chaitanya, the Prophet of
Nuddea, — that is, about four hundred years ago, —
the number of ascetics, it was estimated, formed

163

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

about one-sixteenth of the entire male population.

It would, therefore, be manifestly unjust to
call a people sensuous who, as a rule, never
touched liquor or meat, and a large number of
whom, male and female, lived the lives of ascetics.

The matter would be made more plain when
we come to consider the social constitution of the
people. Here people were divided into four
classes: (i) the spiritual and intellectual ; (2)
warriors, statesmen, and political characters ; (3)
merchants and trades-people; (4) mechanics, agri-
culturists and labourers. In other words, people
were divided into Brahmins, Kshetriyas, Vaishyas
andSu.iras. The Brahmins as forming the spiritual
and intellectual classes, obtained the first place.
They had precedence over Kings, who belonged
to the second class. Kings had to leave their
thrones and fall at the feet of Brahmins. The
Kshetrivas, who formed the second class, furnished
the country with Kings, statesmen and warriors.
The Vaishyas, who represented the wealth of the
country, belonged to the third class only. The
spiritual and intellectual classes, who formed the
first class, were forbidden to meddle with property
altogether. The Vaishyas, who forme 1 the third
class, accumulated wealth, and were thus the
wealthy men in the country. They had, however,
an inferior place in society.

In the West, however, there is a different

164

THE PERPETUAL SLAVERY OF INDIA

arrangement. The Archbishop of Canterbury does
not enjoy the same rank and respect as Mr. Prime
Minister Gladstone. And the King himself is not
only the head of the country, but also the head of
the Church. Thus in the West, those who had
power, that is to say, brute force and wealth,
obtained the first place. In India, those who had
brute force like the Kshetrivas, and wealth like the
Vaisyas occupied only subordinate places.

Now, if sensuousness had been the character-
istic of India, the people would have considered
the acquirement of wealth and brute force as the
first objects in life; for, the gratification of the sen-
ses can be secured only by the possession of brute
force and wealth. The first object in life in the
West is material prosperity; in India, it is spiritua-
lity and learning. The allegation that India is sensu-
ous is, therefore, absolutely without a foundation.

When the Western hordes crossed the Indus
and came into the country, they found themselves
in contact with a race from whom they differed
considerably in instincts and modes of life. India
was not prepared for the rush of such a horde;
and the pitiless invaders carried everything before
them. When Porus declared that he expected, as
a matter of course, a kingly treatment from
Alexander the Great, the "hero" was surprised.
He was a Western, and he knew the people
fought only for "greed of material gain."

165

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

Greeks were followed by Persians and
Afghans. Hindus fought bravely for their religion,
home and hearth; but the hordes were too many
for them. The present masters of India claim
that they are a superior and enlightened, and the
Indians a half-civilized and inferior, race. Their
chief ground for this claim is, they are masters
here and the Indians are slaves. But the argu-
ment is not conclusive. The M irs ruled Spain,
France and Austria. That fact does not prove
that they were a more enlightened, or that thev
ciime of a superior, race than the French. It was
the barbarians who conquered Rome ; and the
Romans had ruled the Greeks, Spartans, Athenia-
ns, etc. The argument, therefore, that the
English are a superior race because they hold
sway over the Indians, is not thus conclusive.
Nobody ventured to urge that the Mussalmans
were a superior race to the Hindus; yet, the
former held absolute saw ay over the latter for
several hundred years.

Of course, the English come of a superior race,
and they have eminent qualities, or else they could
never have acquired so much ascendency in the
world. But they have yet serious defects in their
national character. To be a really superior race,
they must give up the practice of levelling guns
at fellow-beings and killing them ; of seizing lands
belonging to others ; of mowing down men who

166

THE PERPETUAL SLAVERY OF INDIA

are defending their home, hearth, religion and
national existence, by cannon shot or hanging
them on a charge of disloyalty ; and, of taking
away the political liberties of weaker nations. The
above practices England must give up ; for, they
are opposed to Christian religion, and are not in
keeping with the teachings of their sweet Lord,
on whom they depend for everlasting welfare, nor
with those of their own instincts which are
proverbially generous.

The natives of India and their English rulers
do not agree in their views about public affairs
regarding the country. Let us see, \ however,
where they agree and where they do not. The
great ambition of Englishmen, at least, of most of
them, is to hold sway over India for ever and
ever. Of course, there are some who do not go so
far and who think that the functions of England
are only to prepare India for a free existence in
future. But the number of Englishmen holding
the latter view, is very small; and, if they venture
to give utterance to their sentiments, they are
persecuted by all other classes of their countrymen,
and are called traitors to their country. Because
somebody was supposed to have used the expres-
sion "Perish India,"— though as a matter of fact,
nobody had ever actually done it, — very few
Englishmen can utter his name and sentiments
without giving vent to a feeling of indignation.

167

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

It is, however, a settled thing with most
Englishmen, that the greatest object of their lives
is to see that this Empire of India be never per-
mitted to slip out of their hands.

Strange as it may appear, it is a fact that
in this view there is no difference between the
natives of India and their rulers. If the prospect
of a separation between India and England gives
most Englishmen a shudder, it affects Indians
also in a similar manner. Indians themselves
consider that a separation, for the present, at least,
would be a very great calamity to them.

We shall explain why. First, there is not a
centre for Hindus to rally round, nor a centre for
Mussalmans in India to do so. Secondly, a perfect
union between Hindus and Mussalmans is im-
possible ; and, therefore, the idea of a Hindu-
Mussalman Government is Utopian. Thirdly, all
that man really needs, is only good rule, no matter
from whatever source it comes. It is only vanity
which thirsts after what is called a national
existence. It is quite possible for England to
give India a good rule. Fourthly, the national
feeling is not as strong among Hindus as
among other nations in the world. This, because
Hindus have been moulded by their religion to the
thought that everything pertaining to this world
is transitory that India is not their permanent
home, and that the chief object of human existence

:68

THE PERPETUAL SLAVERY OF INDIA

is to secure a good place in the permanent home,
which is in other world. Patriotism is considered
to be the highest virtue in the world by other
nations ; and they wdll sacrifice everything, even
their souls, for the cause of their country. In India,
love of country has not that all-controlling in-
fluence. Love of country has a third place in the
heart of a Hindu, the love of religion occupying
the first.

It is this peculiarity of the Hindu character,
which led them to lose their national independence.
It is this feeling which led the higher classes in
India to stand aloof from public affairs of the
country. Politics was considered beneath the
notice of man with an immortal existence
hereafter, because it dealt with purely worldly
affairs. Thus the Brahmins refused to be Prime
Ministers of Hindu Kings, and thus those Brahmins
who agreed to serve, were considered as fallen
beings who had to regain their previous position
by a rigorous penance.

Well, we see here a perfect accord between
the natives of India and their English rulers in
regard to English supremacy in India. If the
English people are resolved to hold India at any
cost, the Indians too consider British supremacy
essential for peace, in this land of Hindus and
Muss aim ans.

Yet, Indians and the English people will not

169

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

agree, and are engaged in an irreconcilable feud.
We shall try to explain why. It is because most
Englishmen will not only have British supremacy,
but something more.

What they will have is, as expressed by
Colonel Parnell, "a perpetual military despotism
for India/ Please mind the word "perpetual.''
They will not only have despotism, but one that
must be perpetual. They will not even make a
beginning of an eventual relaxation of their iron
grip; and, if they were led, during the past, for
reasons which need not be enumerated here, to
make any provision for a future relaxation of this
hold, they would repent, and do their utmost to
see that such provisions were rendered a dead
letter.

In the above, we have laid down, we suppose,
in clear language, why Indians and their English
masters differ in their views about public affairs.
What Indians expected, was British supremacy
in the beginning, and British citizenship eventual-
ly. What Colonel Parnell and all other English-
men holding his views, would reserve for the
Indians, is absolute subjection, which must be
perpetual. But, what is absolute subjection?
Well, it can be explained by the manner in which
India is governed now, — that is to say, byofficials
imported from Europe and armed with irresistible
powers. Indians offered to provide better material

170

THE PERPETUAL SLAVERY OF INDIA

than these imported officials at a cheaper cost
but, the proposal of Simultaneous Examinations
gave Englishmen here a shudder. You can offer
the present rulers better materials at a cheaper
cost ; but they would not accept such offers,
because such an arrangement would run counter
to their paramount idea of keeping India in
perpetual despotic subjection. It is not that
Englishmen do not know and feel the justice and
expediency of utilising native talent, which is
cheap, in a poor country which ought to be kept
contented under an alien rule. But, what of that?
A Simultaneous Examination is not compatible
with their great idea of keeping India under abso-
lute and perpetual sway.

Thus it is that Indians and their rulers do not
agree. The rulers are always for measures which
would secure to England the perpetual and absolute
sovereignty of India. Indians object to such
measures, and would have seeds sown for the
eventual attainment of British citizenship. Hence
this perpetual feud. It is not that the rulers do
not appreciate the advantages of cheap and
indigenous labour, or those of economy, or the
needless cruelty of keeping on the Statue book
such a measure as the Age of Consent Act but
their policy requires that officials must be imported
from England, that oftentimes expenses are better
than economy, \ and that it is essential that officials

171

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

should have such weapons as the measure of the
Age of Consent Act, to be able to keep people
under control.

We have now to see what this perpetual
subjection of India means for Englishmen. To
secure the absolute mastership of India, England
has to induce a large number of its best men to
come out here to rule. If these men refuse to
come, the great idea of Englishmen, to hold, India
in perpetual subjection, falls to the ground. Those
Englishmen have, therefore, to be persuaded to
come out here, with offers of divers advantages,
namely, princely salaries, princely pensions,
generous leave rules, absolute sway over the
people, immunity from punishment for misdeeds,
and so forth. Those who come out here, know
their position of advantage. They naturally take
advantage of their position and tyrannize over
their countrymen at home. The Exchange
difficulty having reduced their incomes, they
plainly told their countrymen at home, that they
would not come out unless their pay was increas-
ed. Englishmen at home had to yield to this
threat and dictation, for the purpose of carrying out
their idea of holding India in perpetual sway.
They further demanded that the Parliamentary
Vote about the Simultaneous Examination should
be set at nought ; and it was done, though it
meant a blow at their own glorious constitution.

172

THE PERPETUAL SLAVERY OF INDIA

At the present moment, it is exceedingly doubtful
which is the subordinate authority — the Indian
Government or the British Parliament.

The authorities will thus only inaugurate such
measures as will, in their opinion, secure to
Englishmen this absolute and perpetual sovereign-
ty. To this the natives of the soil object. The
latter demand that the authorities should make a
beginning for the eventual absorption of the peo-
ple into the British Empire. This the authorities
refuse to do. Hence this eternal and irreconcil-
able feud. Englishmen should, however, take note
of what this desire for perpetual sovereignty of
India costs them. We fancy they lose much more
than they gain by this desire.

HAVE Englishmen taken stock of the losses
that they have to sustain for the purpose of secur-
ing the absolute and perpetual sovereignty of India?
It is only proper that they should doit. All reason-
able and practical men do, now and then, see
whether they are making any profit or not in their
occupations. We have already taken a moral
view of the question. Englishmen, as the leading
nation in the world, are naturally objects of imita-
tion to others. The example, shown by England
by extending her conquests, has demoralized
the whole of Europe. It may be easily shown that
the reduction of civilised Europe to the condition,
of an armei camp; the employment of the best

173

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

energies of the enlightened inhabitants of that
continent to fighting ; the invention and construc-
tion of deadly weapons ; the conversion of the
best men in a country to something like righting
materials, — all this is mainly due to the immoral
example set before Europe by the leading nation
of the world, the English. It is true that the
Spaniards, the Portugese, and the Dutch first
pointed out the way ; it is true also that if England
had been worsted in its encounter with France
the latter country would like England have con-
quered the worll. But the stern fact remains that
these conquests mean disruption of society, con-
tempt for moral laws, disregard of human lives
and rights of nations ; and are thus putting up an
insuperable barrier to the progress of humane
principles, which alone mark out true civilization
from false, and the human species from the brute
creation.

So long the Indians are not blessed with the
privileges of the colonials, their country will re-
main in the condition of " a valuable property. "
This policy of keeping the country deprived of the
rights of self-government has created the necessity
of guarding In 'ia against foreign invasion and in-
ternal rebellion. We have now to see what Eng-
land has to pay for these two possible necessities
referred to above. It is impossible to give an ex-
haustive account on this head; but, we can give

174

THE PERPETUAL SLAVERY OF INDIA

-some idea to-day of the sacrifices of England for
this purpose.

First of all, Englishmen have to keep some
$ixty or seventy thousands of their best men con-
fined in this country. It may be said that there
is no harm in that. On the other hand, it may be
urged that these seventy thousand men, though
imported into India and paid for by the Indians,
could be used for the purposes of the whole
Empire. This is true. That is, no doubt, an
advantage, though it is one which is founded
upon an immoral arrangement.

But have Englishmen taken note of the miser-
able condition of these seventy thousands of their
countrymen ? Englishmen have the reputation of
being very much attached to one another. Colonel
Olcott once told us that, one great virtue of the
English people was that they would sacrifice
everything for the sake of a countryman. If a
countryman of theirs were oppressed in the remo-
test corner of the world, they would go there to
avenge the wrong done to him, at any cost. This
being the English instinct, how is it, then, that
they are so callous to the miseries of their country-
men in India?

It is because there is no help for it. For the
purpose of securing the absolute and perpetual
sovereignty of India, the people of England have
to shut their eyes to the true condition of British

175

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

soldiers in this country. These soldiers are brought
from their homes to a distant and foreign land, the
climate of which does not, of course, suit them;
housed in barracks like horses in a stable, and
treated as prisoners, never being permitted to go
out of the precincts of the house without permis-
sion. Their only happiness consists in meat, drink,
and the like, and in shooting birds; and even the
latter pastime they are forbidden to indulge in,
because of the danger to villagers which this pas-
time has been found to give rise to.

At a Railwav station, two vears ago. a few
soldiers rested for a day. At about 4 P. M., some
of them surrounded the clerk in charge of the Sta-
tion, and insisted that they must have "three
issues;'' but, the clerk in reply said not " three ''but
"two." Of course, we could not understand what
was the subject-matter of the dispute. On enquiry,
however, we learnt that the "issues" meant issues
of rum. We inquired whether Government paid
for them; and we were told, the soldiers themsel-
ves had to pay for the drink. We again wanted
to know what objection Government could have if
they drank rum thrice, since they had to pay for
the pleasure. In reply, we were told, that if they
were given a free hand, they would drink away
their earnings in a week, and would remain drunk
day and night.

And it is not their fault that they seek to while

176

THE PERPETUAL SLAVERY OF INDIA

away time in drink. They have nothing to do,
day and night. Ten thousand miles away from re-
lations, friends and home; living as semi-prisoners
in an uncongenial climate, under strict discipline,
anv breach of which means imprisonment and hard
labour, there is no joy in the life of a British soldier.
Other Englishmen who come to India may have
their comforts for they can live an independent
life and enjoy opportunities of making their pile.
But the British soldier, we presume, gets only a
shilling per day.

When the Purity party objected to a disgust-
ing dutv, which Government had taken upon
itself, of supplying the animal requirements of the
soldier, we did not, as a matter of fact, join in the
cry with as much heart as it was our desire to do.
For, we saw that the conditions of the existence of
British soldiers in India required that they should
be supplied with their animal wants. There was
absolutely no help for it. Either the soldiers
should be sent home, or none but married men
should be brought here with their wives, or
Government must take upon itself the disgusting
duty of supplying them with "goodlooking" and

"healthy" females.

The task which Government took upon itself,
however, was such a dirty one that the Purity
party easily gained the day ; for, there was none
who had the courage of openly supporting it.

177
S— 12

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

Thus the Purity party gained; but the local
authorities in India saw so much danger in the
reform that they tried to evade the vote of
Parliament by throwing dust in the eyes of the
missionaries.

How that matter stands now we do not know;
but, Anglo-Indian papers tell us that a large
number of young Englishmen have for life been
disabled by disease and have to be sent home
invalided. Have Englishmen, who lose temper
when they are told that they should asso-
ciate with the natives of India for the government
of the country, taken note as to how many of their
own countrymen are killed in battle and by divers
diseases, and invalided for life, simply because
they shudder at the prospect of ever loosening,
even slightly, the tight grip with which they now
hold Hindustan?*

We said that Englishmen, generally speaking,
are prepared to sacrifice everything "for their
Empire of India and the Indians approve of this
determination, There are, however. Englishmen
who by this "Empire of India" mean the perpetual
and absolute sovereignty of this country. Mere
supremacy in India will not satisfy them ; what
they want is absolute sway, and that for ever and
ever. The arrangement which Indians propose,

* As the articles with the above headings appeared in the
Amrita Bazar Patrika the reader will excase repetition here
and there.

I78

THE PERPETUAL SLAVERY OF INDIA

viz, supremacy for Englishmen in India and British
citizenship for Indians, will not suit them ; hence
this perpetual and irreconcilable feud between the
ruled and the rulers, is unfortunately getting more
bitter day by day. The rulers will scarcely inau-
gurate a measure which has not for its object
perpetual and absolute sovereignty for them ; and,
the natives of the soil naturally view every such
measure with alarm and sometimes with indigna-
tion.

We have already seen what this desire for
perpetual and absolute sovereignty has cost
England and India. India at present is not
the country of a nation, but the property of
England. This Englishmen admit by calling
it the brightest "jewel'' in the British diadem,
for a jewel is only a property. But so long
India is regarded as a property, other nations will
not cease to hanker after it. An English lord who
had a beautiful mistress to whom he was devotedly
attached, knew no peace on account of jealousy. He
kept her strongly guarded, and never permitted
her to go out of sight. He had no faith in the
virtue of the woman ; and, then, he saw that many
other candidates for her favour were trying to win
her affections. All these circumstances made the
bewitched nobleman very miserable. Seeing the
misery of her master, the lady told him that he
•could never hope to put any trust in her or to get

179

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

rid of his troublesome rivals until he had married
her. " My dear," said she, addressing her lover,
" marrv me and then you will learn to put faith in
me, and your rivals will consider my person sacred,
and they will never venture to cast wistful glances
at me."

In the same manner, unless India be granted
something like a national existence, other strong
Powers will never cease to covet her possession.
And until that is done, Englishmen will never
learn to put any faith in the children of the soil.
But, now, Englishmen do not trust the natives of
India at all, and are constantly afraid of foreign
aggression. Every movement of the natives of the
soil, every movement of a foreign Power, creates
a suspicion in their minds, which sometimes not
only makes the great British nation look absurd,
but also leads them to many suicidal and costly
undertakings. This is only because India is re-
garded as a property. But, if India be raised to
the status of the country of a nation, she will not
only cling to England with affection, as her best
friend, but others will also consider it a sacrilege
to try to take possession of the country. There are
innumerable small republics in the world, and, no
one ever thinks of taking possession of any one of
them; it is because they have each of them a
national existence.

It is because India is regarded as a property

180

THE PERPETUAL SLAVERY OF INDIA

that its rulers have to guard it against foreign
aggressors, as also against the natives of the
country. Make India the country of a nation, give
it a national existence, and the Russian bug-bear
will cease to give any trouble, — India will become
sacred in the eyes of even all aggressive nations.

The example shown by England and Russia
have utterly demoralized Europe. In America, they
do not know what it is to hold people under sub-
jection. But, in Europe, every nation is after
foreign conquests. In Europe, they have now all,
generally speaking, practically become lawless.
Lord Beaconsfield complacently remarked, " We
have all of us room enough in Asia !" They 'are
just now dividing Africa " as we divide a cake,"
said the American Ambassador in Paris. France
is just now desolating Madagascar, and other
European Powers look on unconcerned, or rather
with envy. They are rather sorry that they them-
selves are not in the place of France! Of course,
amongst themselves they have laws to protect pro-
perty and person, but they have no regard for the
lives or rights of human beings outside Europe.
They will seize any body's country whenever they
can, regardless of the fact that every nation has a
natural right to a national existence. They will
massacre weaker nations defending their hearth
and home.

The piteous appeal of the Queen of Madagas-

181

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

car is calculated to move every heart which has a
spark of humanity in it. But what of that? Earth-
hunger has almost uprooted the sense of justice
and the feeling of humanity from the European
heart. Yet they, Europe, profess to believe in a
God and a Redeemer. They have innumerable
churches where the}7 sit to pray for forgiveness for
their sins. But, what forgiveness can there be for
those who mow down patriots with their deadly
weapons, as the French are now doing in
Madagascar, — patriots who are righting in defence
nf the honour of their families, for their corn-fields,
their cattle, their children, and their national
existence ? Mind, in Europe, they are so just to
themselves that they hang a man who takes the
life of another. But, when others are concerned,
they will not scruple to slay thousands and
thousands, to rob them of their country and gold !

We are, however, only concerned with
Englishmen who are decidedly the most moral
and humane nation in Europe. The other day, a
smart discussion was held by Englishmen in
Calcutta, whether it was cruelty to cut the tail of a
pigeon. But not a word was uttered by them
when, say, about a thousand of the Swatis were
killed in battle, while opposing the passage of our
irresistible troops.

Now, we fancy, every man killed beyond our
borders, was, according to all right-thinking

182

THE PERPETUAL SLAVERY OF INDIA

Englishmen, a man unjustly massacred. It must
have given a great shock to most Englishmen that
a cruel necessity had led them to the massacre of
brave patriots defending their home and hearth
with stones, by means of their weapons made under
scientific principles. These Englishmen mourned
in silence, though they could not venture to utter a
word. It must have occured to most of the
Englishmen, that such deeds could not be regarded
by God with pleasure, and they are opposed to the
teachings inculcated by Jesus Christ.

A little consideration will show that it is this
passionate desire for a perpetual and absolute
sovereignty of India, that led to this act and others
similar in nature. It is thus under the provision of
God, one immoral act is followed by many

other.

Europe is now an armed camp. Twenty-two
millions of its best men have been reduced to the
condition of bull-dogs. Europeans really do not
trust one another ; they never believe one another.
The declarations of the highest men of a country
will not be believed by the people of another
country. As a matter of fact, they are all bent on
deceiving one another. And how is this possible
in nations, so well-blessed as Europeans are, with
intelligence, education and the finest sentiments
which mark out man from brutes? It is because
earth-hunger has blunted their sentiments, and

183

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

they can scarcely perceive the unjustifiable
character of their acts.

For a better appreciation of the subject we
shall summarise the observations we have already
made. We said that the people of India and
their English rulers are now engaged in a cease-
less feud. They are not on cordial terms, and the
estrangement is getting wider day by day. The
rulers are day by day losing their sympathy for
the people, and the people on the other hand, are
losing their respect for, and confidence in, their
English masters.

For an explanation of this condition of things,
we said that this feud was solely due to a desire,
on the part of the rulers, to hold an absolute and
perpetual sway over this, what they call, "our
Empire of India." The people, on the other hand,
though they feel the absolute need of British
sovereignty, also demand, along with it, British
citizenship. Here we see a perfect accord on one
point, viz., as to the necessity for British supre-
macy. But there is a difference on the other point,
viz., that of British citizenship. The rulers will
retain British supremacy but will not grant British
citizenship, hence this difference.

The people of India revolted when they were
asked to use cartridges which they believed con-
tained the fat of the swine and the cow. The British
people were led to come to the conclusion by that

184

THE PERPETUAL SLAVERY OF INDIA

Mutiny, that the best course for them would be
to grant British citizenship to Indians. And, as
a matter of fact, it was granted to the people of
India by a Royal Charter in 1858. But, there is
now no longer a disposition on the part of the
rulers of the land to abide by the Queen's Procla-
mation. It has become now quite apparent to the
meanest intellect, that the Proclamation is consi-
dered, by Englishmen in general, as a mistake,
and such as should not be given effect to.

At the present moment, the natives of India
do not enjoy the privileges of British citizens.
They are not permitted to make laws, nay, not
even to administer the laws made by their English
masters. The laws are made by Englishmen and
are administered by Englishmen. The people are
taxed by Englishmen and the revenues are spent
by Englishmen, The natives of the soil have not
even the privilege of managing their own petty
village affairs, or of being tried by their peers
-even in the pettiest of cases.

The Indians expected the great boon of British
citizenship to come upon them in time. They
were not in a hurry about it. They wanted a
be-ginning. But that beginning never came. They
formed themselves into a National Congress when,
they saw that there was no prospect of getting
anything without agitation. They thought that
the organization would prove conclusively, that

185

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

the natives of India were earnest in their demands;
that they stuck to British rule and did not want a
severance; and that they were competent to take
upon themselves some share of the work of
administration.

The Indians in this effort expected help from
their English masters. They had the firm con-
viction that Englishmen who always loved fair
play — who, in spite of a rough exterior, were
generous at heart, and always on the side of
struggling humanity trying to get out of their
difficulties — would come forward to lend them a
helping hand in their efforts. But some petty,
immediate and fanciful advantages led them to
range against this national movement. Instead of
helping the disorganized Indians, — disorganised
because of foreign rule — Englishmen here took
upon themselves to throw obstacles in their way.
They considered it a triumph if the Congress failed
in any point. The rulers, in short, are not dispos-
ed to lend the Indians any help in their efforts to
learn some sort of self-government.

Have Indians any prospect of getting any-
thing twenty-five years hence? — Fifty years
hence? — A hundred years hence? There is no such
indication, however, on the part of the rulers to
inspire the hope that Indians will have, at any
future period, the prospect of enjoying any one of
the privileges of British citizenship. No measure

1 86

THE PERPETUAL SLAVERY OF INDIA

of Government now-a-days indicates any relaxa-
tion of hold on tHfe people. On the other hand, al-
most every measure of Government now a days
shows a desire for a firmer hold, if that is possible
upon the people.

It is this disposition on the part of the rulers,
that leads Indians to grumble, and it is this com-
plaint, on the part of the Indians, which leads the
English rulers to feel unsympathetically towards
the people of this country.

There are kind-hearted Englishmen who try
to soothe the Indians by a vague assurance that
they would be blessed with political privileges
when they showed their fitness for them. But this
assurance does not now carry conviction. If the
rulers had any serious intention of gradually in-
corporating the Indians in the ranks of British
citizens, they would have given the latter a
chance. They would have given them chances,
and regarded their first failures with a lenient eye.
When Lord Ripon inaugurated his scheme of
local self-government, he remarked that failures on
the part of the Indians were expected and that the
Government should make ample allowances for
such shortcomings in the beginning. This measure
of local self-government,by the bye, was the last act
of^the Government of India which showed any sym-
pathy for the people. Lord Ripon was hissed out of
India for his " pro-native " tendencies, and this

187

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

suicidal act, by the Anglo-Indian rulers here, was
a signal for the inauguration of % policy of repres-
sion all along the line, — repression in every
direction.

As we said before, no chances are given now;
on the other hand, we see an attempt everywhere
to cry down everything done by an Indian. Mr.
— .Commissioner of the Presidency Division, had
to deal with two Indian Civilians when writing
his Annual Report ; and both of them were put
down by him as worthless.

The hope, however, once held out that Indians
would be treated more and more as
fellow subjects as they advanced in the
knowledge of European methods, was
annihilated by the attitude of the rulers of the
land towards the National Congress. Here was
an honest attempt on the part of Indians to extri-
cate themselves from an abject condition. Here
was an honest attempt on the part of the leaders
to throw in their lot with the British nation and
stick to them for ever. But were these honest and
laudable efforts hailed with joy by their rulers?
No ! Every effort was made by the irresistible
rulers of the land to see that Indians never suc-
ceeded. Dissension was sown in their ranks;
the leaders were sought to be won over by offers
of reward and threats of punishment. Everyone
knows that now-a-days no man of property

188

THE PERPETUAL SLAVERY OF INDIA

ventures to show any active sympathy for the
Congress.

What the rulers of the land have reserved for
the Indians is not only British sovereignty but an
absolute rule, and not only an absolute rule but a
perpetual one. This absolute and perpetual rule
must endure for ever and ever; and, this is what
the present policy of the Government clearly
indicates.

We have asked several Englishmen of a
liberal mind, both here and in England, to explain
what their real intentions are as regards India.
We have got, however, different replies from
different parties. One said that he could not
justify, on moral grounds, the ostracism of the
natives of the soil from all share in the govern-
ment of the country; but he is only one out of
thirty millions of Englishmen who rule India, and
he is obliged to take his share of the responsibility
of the moral wrong. In short, he had no hopes to
offer us. Another said that such a state of things
could never continue for ever, and that relief was
bound to come in course of time. His reply also
did not contain anything definite; he left every-
thing to chance. Another pious Christian, a
philanthropist, told us, in reply to our question,
that Indians had no right to complain ; for, they
had now a better rule than they had ever enjoyed

before.

189

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

Now, this is exactly what we are told often, —
not only by very good men in England but also by
a large number of Englishmen here. We are thus
asked to accept that we are now far better off
than we ever were before. But, do the authorities,
who rule India, believe it? Let them first believe
it themselves and then it will be time for them to
ask us to accept the view that India is better off
now than it was ever before.

But do they believe the statement themselves?
Why do they, then, entertain such a profound
distrust for the Indians? Their actions show that
they have no faith in Indian good-will, and that they
entertain the notion that Indians are in a state of
deep disaffection, and are only biding their time
for a shaking-off of the foreign rule. Every action
of theirs proves this suspicion of the Indians. Why
did they disarm Indians if they had any faith in
the good-will of the people ? Can the annals of the
world show another instance of two hundred and
fifty millions of people disarmed and practically
emasculated for ever? Why this terrible and
unparalleled punishment? Englishmen are too
intelligent not to know that, by this universal
disarmament, they have done immense mischief to
themselves. Indians could furnish ten millions of
soldiers to the rulers of the land, — soldeirs, efficient
and cheap. With such a horde, and with their
unparalleled generalship and inexhaustible re-

190

THE PERPETUAL SLAVERY OF [NDIA

sources, Englishmen could have defied the world.
But why are they emasculating their own people
and thus undermining their own strength ?

They are fully aware of the mischief that thev
are doing to themselves by this emasculating
process. But, their unconquerable suspicion leads
them to it. This suspicion could never have got
such a strong hold of their minds, if they had any
faith in their own contention that, Indians have
got now a better rule than they ever had before,
or a very good rule, or anything like a good rule.

This distrust of the Indians has led the rulers
of the land to undergo many such immense
sacrifices. For the disarmament of the natives of
the soil is a sacrifice, both to the ruled and rulers.
Everyone knows that it is the forward policy of
the Government which has almost ruined India.
It has brought upon India an additional burden
of twenty thousand British soldiers. To this
forward policy we owe all our inglorious and costly
border wars. To it we owe roads and railways
through inaccessible regions, and forts and for-
tresses, maintained at immense cost, in distant
countries. This forward policy has added some-
thing like ten millions per annum to the burdens
of a famished people. It has been the cause of the
loss of lives of innumerable men, Indian and
European, and cattle, the chief wealth of the

Indians.

191

PICTURES OK INDIAN LIFE

And do you know to what mainly we owe
this forward policy? We quote the following- sen-
tences from the comments of an English newspaper
on a recent paper of Col. Hanna : —

''Colonel Hanna recommit* Is, as a line of
defence, Jacobabad, Multan, Peshawar. As the
writerin The United Service Magazine points out,
'with Russia established in Afghanistan, we should
be leaving constant intrigues and plots going on
against us in India,' and retreat or defeat outside
our border would raise a horde in our rear of every
discontented man in India. Civil and Military
Gazette recently shown 1 how necessary it is to keep
the actual fighting away from India itself. This is
also the view of " An officer of the Indian staff
corps,' and, we heartily endorse it."

So we owe this forward policy to the necessity
of "keeping the actual fighting away from India."
Is not this ridiculous? Is it not calculated to
produce shrieks of laughter amongst Indians ? By
marching forward to meet the enemy, we take
upon ourselves all the difficulties which an
invading army will have to overcome. By sustain-
ing a defeat far away from our base of operations,
we risk the animosity of the fierce and barbarous
people in our rear through whose country we had
marched. But, all these dangers are nothing
compared with the other. And, what is it ? The
danger is, as the Civil and Military Gazette has it,

192

THE PERPETUAL SLAVERY OF INDIA

"if the English sustain a defeat on the border, the
whole of India will rise against them ! " So the
animosity of the blood-thirsty barbarians is
J nothing compared to the animosity of the gentle
I Indians, who are alleged to be enjoying a
rule the like of which was never done before! Does
not such 'a state of the mind show that suspicion
has made sober and intelligent Englishmen lose
their senses ?

A belief, in the innate goodness of the rule
given to India, is incompatibie with such uncon-
querable and profound distrust of the people. It
is not mere suspicion that the authorities feel for
the people of India ; it is something like a mania.
Mr. Balfour, in his speech at Glasgow, said, speak-
ing in regard to Chitral, that "the day we lose our
prestige will be the fore-runner of the loss of the
Empire." Mr. Balfour, a master of the Empire,
echoes but a generally-accepted sentiment. The
belief is entertained almost universally, and it is
oftentimes openly declared too, that, the British
Government in India has no other basis to stand
upon than its prestige. Such a view does not con-
firm the statement that Indians have got a better
rule now than they ever enjoyed before. On the
other hand, the unusual importance given to what
is called prestige, goes to suggest that British
Government has no hold whatsoever upon the
people on account of its intrinsic merits. So, it

193
S— 13

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

owes its strength and existence to decep-
tions !

What does this ostracism of the natives of the
soil from the military service prove, except that
the rulers have no faith in them? Mussalman
Emperors trusted Hindu Generals, and the
Russians trust Mussalman Generals selected from
among their Mussalman subjects; but, the English
rulers of India will not trust an Indian in the
military service, though they declare that they
have given a better rule to India than the Russians
ever gave to their Mussalman subjects, or Mussal-
man Emperors did to their Hindu subjects. This
does not show that they have any sincere faith in
the excellence of their own rule. Jealous husbands
oftentimes act in a ludicrous manner; but, the
persecuted wife does not find anything pleasant in
the mad pranks of her lord. The steps taken by
the authorities to guard the Empire from their
own people, have a ridiculous aspect ; only they
are too serious for the people to derive any enjoy-
ment from them. For every two Sepoys, one
British soldier is imported to keep guard ! The
Sepoys are wanted to keep the people under
control, and the British soldiers are wanted to
keep the Sepoys under control !

Here we have a complicated machinery,
wheels within wheels, which not only make the
whole thing cumbrous and costly, but almost

194

THE PERPETUAL SLAVERY OF INDIA

worthless for the purposes of any substantial work.
India cannot show tangible progress, because of
this complicated machinery which leads it on.

We said that England could raise ten millions
of soldiers from India ; but, then there is this diffi-
culty. Would not these ten millions require also
the services of five millions of British soldiers?
But, where are these five millions to be got? And
so England cannot utilize the forces that it is
capable of raising in India.

Thus, what we see is suspicion everywhere,
and that this suspicion is eating into the vitality
of the nation. It is emasculating the Indians, — it
is undermining the real basis of this gigantic
Empire.

And, do they not watch with a jealous eye the
sale of sulphur? And, why? It is because sulphur
forms a component part of gun-powder ! How is
it that even their own Indian soldier is not trusted
with artillery ? Are not these ridiculous precau-
tions due to an unconquerable suspicion owing
to an unalterable conviction that, Indians do not
now enjoy as good a rule as they deserve ?

We then come to the larger question of the
importation of seventy-five thousand British «.
soldiers. We implore every Englishman to think
over the actual condition of these brave English
soldiers, kept confined in barracks. John Brown
relates in the Asian a story that he had heard

195'

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

from an Indian coachman. This is what the coach-
man, an Indian, told him : —

" The most curious incident during- my service
occurred when I was on the Umballa-Kalka Road.
It was in the hot weather and in broad day-light,
when I took up a passenger at the Umballa
Station ; he threw away an empty bottle. Presently
he produced another from his portmanteau, and
finished half of it at a draught. A few miles
further, he emptied it and commenced a third
bottle. He then attacked the syce with his sword
and the man jumped off the tonga, a:.d bolted. I
felt inclined to run away myself. At the next
stage, which was half way to Kalka, he left the
tonga and went shrieking into the jungle. As he
did not return for a long time, we went to look
for him and found him gasping for breath under a
tree. We gave him water ; but, he died before
we could reach the tonga. I then drove the
corpse back to Umballa to the Police Station ; and
the Judge Sahib, who held the enquiry, was very
severe with me. God knows why ; for, 1 had
done my duty according to my lights.

"What was he drinking?'' — asked the Judge
of me.

"Khodavvand," I said, "lam a Brahmin, and
don't drink spirits, I don't know."

"Was it sweet?"

"Was it bitter?"

196

THE PERPETUAL SLAVERY OF INDIA

"I am a Brahmin, and don't know."

"Was it sour ?"

"I am a Brahmin, and don't know.''

"Then he said I was a fool ; and when asked
why didn't I take away the bottles, I said I was a
coachman, small of stature, and the Sahib was a
big man with a drawn sword. Then they said
iau. and I went. Your Honour will see that we
are already at Kalka, and in good time for
the train. When your Honour comes again,
if you will ask for Sarda Ram, it will give me
great pleasure to drive you ; there is no one I
would rather drive than your Honour, not even
Lat Brassfoot himself whom your Honour much
resembles. Khudda huzur ho Lat Karel"

And said the coachman : " How can I tell
what he was drinking? lam a Brahmin." What
a commentary this upon the superior enlighten-
ment of the Christians ! But, it is not the fault of
the officer that he died of drinking. In India,
British soldiers, — even officers, — have to drink, in
order to make their existence bearable.

Let us view this question from another stand-
point. There are 42,000 soldiers in Bengal, who
are unmarried and only 1,300 who are married.
There are 14,000 in Madras and 12,000 in Bombay
who are unmarried, and 650 in Madras, and 360
in Bombay who are married. The percentage
of married to the actual strength in the three

197

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

Presidencies of Bengal, Madras and Bombay, is
thus a little more or less than 3. 4 and 2 respec-
tively. So, here we have a total of 68,000 un-
married British soldiers in India. It is a pity
that the significance of this fact is ignored,
nay, sought to be concealed. And, does not
this perpetual political disability of Indians
need the practical banishment of seventy-five
thousand of Englishmen to a foreign country in an
uncongenial climate? We see here seventy-five
thousand Englishmen, who are young and un-
married, kept confined in barracks in the deadly
climate of India. The best course for Englishmen,
who are so great patriots and who possess such
strong humanitarian principles, is to send these
men home at once.

It may, however, be urged that if these
seventy-five thousand Englishmen were sent
home, there would be none to guard the Empire.
Why, Indians will do it ! Why will Indians not
do it when, by the admission of the rulers
of the Empire themselves, the people of this
country have now got such a good rule as
they never enjoyed before? If Indians, under
such circumstances, rise against British autho-
rity,— if Hindus and Mussalmans can forget
their mutual differences, which is an impossible
supposition ; if they can find a centre to rally
round, which is another impossible supposition,

198

THE PERPETUAL SLAVERY OF INDIA

why should not they govern the country them-
selves ? The only justification for the occupation of
the country by the English is that the natives of
the country win cut one another's throats, if left
to themselves. But if the Indians can organize
themselves into a power capable of governing
themselves, surely England would have no excuse
to remain in the country at all. But let not the
big-Englander have any fear on this score; there is
no chance whatever for Indians for an existence
separate from the English.

We have now to give some account of the
people of the country, for whom the rulers of the
land would vote eternal disability. Now, Indians
are not barbarians, nor are they worse than the
Chinese, Japanese, Egyptians, or Persians. It is
altogether an absurd contention that Indians are
not competent even to be entrusted with a small
share in the management of their own affairs. The
Daily News of London says :

" After His Highness Ranjitsinhji, no triumph
of oriental genius in a novel field can be really
surprising. If a Rajpoot is our master at cricket,
a Baboo may beat us in the less difficult art of
Romance. And this is exactly what has occurred.
According to Miss Miriam Singleton Knight, who
expresses herself in The Indian Magazine and
Review, the once-admired author of the
Waverley Novels must strike his flag to ' Babu

199

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, now, alas! no

more. "

Who knew before that a Hindu would excite
the admiration of the English people for his
triumph in cricket,— the national game of the
English? Luckily, Ranjitsinhji had a chance. It
is manifestly unjust to vote incompetence without
giving a fair trial.

For thousands of years Hindus had managed
their own affairs and ruled their own Empires.
Alexander found that Hindus could fight, and he
had to give up his attempt to penetrate into the
country. The Hindu power was brokeu by the
Mussalman hordes from the West. For this they
have no need to be ashamed. If the Hindus failed
to resist the advance of the Mussalman inroad,
so did the Christians also in Europe. It is true that
Christians regained what they had lost ; but, so
also did the Hindus. When the English came into
this country, the Hindus were supreme. They
succeeded in regaining what they had lost ; and
just when they were founding their Empire on a
permanent basis they were disturbed in their
arrangements by the appearance of Europeans in
the field. The English had to fight for the Empire
of India with the Hindus and not with the Mussal-
mans.

"Pahari" thus wrote in the columns of the
London Spectator in 1893 :

200

THE PERPETUAL SLAVERY OF INDIA

Nominally, we took over the Empire of Hindoostan from
the Mahomedaus ; but as a fact, our most important and hard-
won conquests were from Hindus, such as the Mahrattas,
Goorkhas, Rajpoots, and Sikhs. The Mahomedan empire was
effete and a mere name when we began to advance far inland,
and all over India the Hindus had got the upper hand. If we
had not stepped in, it is very doubtful whether the Mahometans
would have ever regained power ; they would certainly not
have done so without the aid of a large Mahomedan invasion
from beyond the Indus, and the chance which such an invasion
would have had of success, would have been small. The old
invasions stzcceeded because undisciplined hordes fought against
undisciplined hordes of poorer material •, but the Mahrattas
and Sikhs had learnt to some extent, how to drill and
manceuver troops according to the European military system:
The Sikhs conquered and held all the Afghan country outside
the mountains.

It is not, therefore, quite correct to say that
but for the English the Mussalmans would have
cut the Hindus to pieces!

The English came when Hindus had not been
able to recover completely from the shock of the
destructive Mussalman occupation. This second
shock broke them down completely. To ascer-
tain what Hindus were like in the early days,
we have to see whether there is yet any State
in India which had not been bled and weakened
by the Mussalman onslaught. The only State
which escaped this destructive flood of Mussal-
man occupation, was Nepal. So when the
English went to fight with the Nepalese, they
found what the Hindus were like in early days,

201

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

not demoralized by defeat and disaster. We shall
here describe that first brush of the English with
a handful of Nepalese, some three hundred in
number, badly armed, badly protected, and
weighted with the disadvantage of the presence of
women and children.

War was declared against Nepal on the ist
November, 1814. A little before this declaration, it
was resolved to make a grand military demonstra-
tion for the purpose of over-awing the enemy. For
this, four separate regiments had been ordered to
march simultaneously from four different military
stations. Major-General Gillespi commanded one
of them.

On the 24th October, Gillespie's regiment
reached Dehra Dun. Gillespie was not with his
force. Colonel Mouli had the command.

About three miles and a half from Dehra Dun
was the little fortress of Kulunga, situated in a
nook of the hills of Nalapani. It was something
like a stone-henge, — a small table-land surroun-
ded by large blocks of stone which acted as the
fort- wall, — which again was protected by a thick
range of sal trees.

Finding the British force at his doors, Bala-
bhadra Singh, nephew of Amar Singh, the Chief
of Nahan, had taken refuge in this fortress of
Nature with a few chosen followers, not exceeding
three hundred. This was unbearable to Colonel

202

THE PERPETUAL SLAVERY OF INDIA

Mouli, — the hill-fortress being within four miles of
the great military station of Dehra Dun. Colonel
Mouli had reached Dehra Dun on the 24th. On
that very night, he had written to Balabhadra to.
surrender, and had received a proud reply of
meeting him on the battle-field. Next morning,
the active British General was marching up hill.
He reached the base of the Nalapani Hills, and
fixed his battery there ; but, wrhen he saw that,
with all his efforts, he could make no impression
upon the enemy, he sent news to Gillespie at
Saharanpur, and the Major-General made his
appearance^ on the scene the next day, the 26th
October. In two or three days he completed his
preparations for the siege. Four detachments,
under Colonel Carpenter, Captain Faust, Major
Kelly and Captain Campbell, surrounded the
place from four sides ; and a regiment under
Major Ludlow was kept in reserve.

The siege began. The discharge from the
British battery was returned by volleys of musketry,
which wrought immense havoc amongst British
forces. Though the British cannons did much
harm amongst the brave three hundred, they
showed no sign whatever of giving way. The
determined manner in which the post was defended
by a small number of men against tremendous
odds, guided by the best Generals of the age, crea-
ted a mingled feeling of surprise and indignation

203

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

in the minds of the besiegers. The leaders of the
siege forgot themselves ; and, in attempting to
scale the walls, Lieutenant Ellis and Major-General
Gillespie lost their lives !

The command then devolved on Colonel
Mouli as the senior officer. He found that it would
be rashness to proceed further in the siege, and
that his prudent course would be to make a hasty
retreat. This he did, and asked for reinforce-
ments and a battering train from Delhi. It took a
month's time for the train to arrive; but, there was
no help for it. The expected re-inforcements and
battering train reaching him on the 24th Novem-
ber, a second attack was made the next day, and
it was repulsed for a second time.

Meantime, the water-supply of the besieged
had fallen short. The only supply was from the
water-falls outside the fortress near the British
encampment at Nalapani, and this had virtually
been cut off. In the midst of the shots which
were rapidly decimating their numbers, the
groans of the wounded, the cries of the women and
children for water, the besieged had to defend their
apology of a fort in which breeches had been
made on all sides, from an overwhelming force,
thirsting for their blood. They, however, did not
•mind the shots of the besiegers as the burning
thirst which overcame them and all their depen-
dants. From three hundred the number had been

204

THE PERPETUAL SLAVERY OF INDIA

reduced to seventy. They might have then
surrendered ; and, their generous enemy, filled
with admiration at their noble conduct, would
have warmly accepted it. But the besieged
heroes disdained to yield, and admit de-
feat!

On the last day of the month, when the
batteries of the British troops were hurrying on
their work, and volleys after volleys from the
Gurkha musketry responded to them, there was a
pause of a few minutes in the ranks of the besieged.
Suddenly, the iron gates were flung open, and
out came the immortal seventy " with drawn
swords in their hands, guns on their arms, the
kukri or hhojali hanging from their belts, and
the chakra or wheel resplendent on their head-
dress, led by their chief, Balabhadra, — bravej erect,
cheerful, and in his measured military gait:" and,
before the astounded British force had time to
reflect, they had cut right through the line, drank
to their hearts' content from the springs of Nala-
pani, and in no time disappeared without anyone
of them being hurt !

The English razed Kulunga to the ground.
The English historian 01 Dehra Dun, R. C.
Williams, B. A., C. S., thus remarks on the in-
cident: "Such was the conclusion of the defence
of Kulunga, — a feat of arms worthy of the best of
chivalry, conducted with a heroism almost suffici-

205

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

entto palliate the disgrace of our own reverses."
And in the silent forests at Dehra Dun, on the
banks of the river Riechpana, stands a small
monument, "as a tribute of respect for our gallant
Adversary Balabhadra Singh."

The heroism of Balabhadra could safely be
likened to that of the English in Crimea. And, is
it generous and worthy of the leading nation of the
world to reserve for this unfortunate race perpetual
disability ?

Dr. Hunter, in his "Rural Bengal," says that
" the conception of the Vedas regarding the
immortality of the soul, is beautiful and sublime."
The Vedas were written many thousands of years
ago when the races, who would put down Hindus
for hewers of wood and drawers of water, had no
existence whatever. There are many eminent
philosophers in Europe who are of opinion that
the author of the Geeta is the greatest philosopher
that the world has ever seen. The six schools of
philosophy, developed in India, are so subtle and
so deep that they are, according to Professor
Cowell, calculated to make "the European head
dizzy." There is no doubt of it that Hindus gave
religion to the vast majority of mankind. It is
known to all that they civilised China and Japan,
the latter of which is now considered equal to any
great Power in Europe in all those resources
which make a nation great.

206

THE PERPETUAL SLAVERY OF INDIA

Let us see how our forefathers left us, and
how we have changed by contact with the Western
people. This is what that eminent philosopher,
Professor Max Muller, says in his "Psychological
Religion " : —

So far as we can judge, a large class of people in India, not
only the priestly class but the nobility also, not only men bnt
women also, never looked upon their life on earth as something
real. What was real to them, was the invisible, ---the life to
come. What formed the theme of their conversations, what
formed the subject of their meditations, was the real, that alone
lent some kiud of reality to this unreal phenomenal world.
Whoever was supposed to have caught a new ray of truth, was
visited by young and old, was honoured by princes and peasants,
nay, was looked upon as holding a position much above that of
kings and princes.

In the above, Professor Max Muller describes
the Hindus. Let us see how he describes the rest
of the world : —

Our idea of life on earth has always been that of struggle
for existence, a struggle for power and dominion, for wealth
and enjoyment. These are the ideas which dominate the history
of all nations whose history is known to us. Our own sympa-
thies also are almost entirely on that side.

Below the philosopher compares the Hindus
with the rest of the world : —

Was it so very unnatural for the Hindus, endowed as they
were with a transcedental intellect, to look upon this life not
as an arena for gladiatorial strife and combat, or as a market
for cheating and huckstering, but as a resting-place, a mere
waiting room at a station or a journey leading them from the
known to the unknown, but exciting, for that very reason
their utmost curiosity as to whence they come and whither
they were going ?

207

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

It was, we believe, Sir Charles Elliott who
was pleased to confess that, "he could understand
the Mussalmans but he could not understand the
Hindus.'' In the same manner, the Hindus cannot -
understand their fellows in other parts of the world.
The reason is that the instincts of the Hindus are
quite different from those of other nations.

The Hindus, however, suffered for being better
than their neighbours. We quote the same philo-
sopher : —

I confess it has always seemed to me one of the saddest
chapters in the history of the world to see the early inhabit-
ants of India, who knew nothing of the rest of the world,
of the mighty Empires of Egypt and Babylon, and of their
wars and conquests, — who wanted nothing from the outside
world and were happy and content in their own earthly para-
dise,— to see these happy people suddenly overrun by foreign
warriors, whether Persians, Greeks or Macedonians, or, at a
later time, Scythians, Mahomedans, Mongolians and Christians,
and conquered for no fault of theirs, except that they had
neglected to cultivate the art of killing their neighbours.

Why did the Hindus suffer when they harmed
none? Says Professor Max Muller : —

They themselves never wished for conquests, — they simply
•wished to be left alone and to be allowed to work out their
view of life which was contemplative and joyful, thougli
deficient in one point, namely, the art of self-defence and
destruction.

From the above it will be made plain why
Porus was surprised when Alexander asked
him how he should be treated. Porus had no

208

THE PERPETUAL SLAVERY OF INDIA

idea that kings fought for material greed like
common robbers. The Hindus learnt from sad
experience that it would not do to grow philosop-
hers alone, and that they must nourish brute
force for the purpose of their very existence. How
they succeeded in this attempt, will appear from
the letter of an Englishman who called him-
self "a Pahari," which appeared in the London
Spectator, and which is quoted in page 201.

As a matter of fact, when the present rulers
appeared on the scene, the Hindus were the
paramount power in India. So, if the Hindu
could speculate, they also subsequently learnt to
fight.

Now we must say that the Hindus were quite
right in their contention that, to quote Professor
Max Muller, "this life is not an arena for gladia-
torial strife and combat, or a market for cheating
and huckstering, but a resting-place, a mere wait-
ing room at a station.on a journey" to the perman-
ent home.

When the vote for Simultaneous Examina-
tions in England and India was rescinded, it
was done under the openly-declared apprehension
that, if Hindus and Englishmen were given equal
chance, the former would defeat the latter all
along the line.

Would it not be a great pity to put such a
nation under everlasting disability? WhatEnglish-

209

S— 14

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

man can contemplate, without a shudder, the idea
of reducing hundreds of millions of human beings,
fullv his peers in nobler qualities of man, to eternal
political slavery ? The act would be a stupendous
wrong and a piece of unparalleled immorality.
An act like that would never be pleasing to the
Father of all nations, whose active interference
in the affairs of nations is proved by the punish-
ment which inevitably follows, sooner or later,
everv act of national immorality.

MILITARY EXAMINATION

[The Civilian officials are said to belong to species
sub-janta. Which means that they are conceitedy
and they believe that they are not only competent
to perform any act, from casting accounts to casting
cannons, but they can do it better than even those
who are trained in the particular business. Sir
Ashley Eden, a Civilian, began life as an Assistant
in Bengal but for some time he was put in charge of
the salt operations in Orissa. Latterly he was raised
to the position of the hieutenant-G- over nor of the
province. And when an army commission was appoin-
ted, Sir A. Eden was selected as its President and
Captain Collen as its Secretary. It ivas to ridicule
this arrangement that the following skit teas written
at the time, that is, in the year 1879.^

Sir Ashley Eden had studied all night and
was yet poring over a big folio, when he was
interrupted by Captain Collen who arrived un-
announced. The Captain had interviewed His
Honor the day before. It is now universally
known that an army Commission has been appoin-
ted to inquire into the military charges of the
Empire and to suggest means for the curtailment
of expenditure. Sir Ashley Eden has been ap-
pointed President, and Captain Collen, Secretary

211

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

to the Commission. The Captain has come down
from Simla to arrange matters with His Honor,
the President.

"Collen, I am glad you have come,'' says His
Honor. "You know very well, as I told you yester-
day, that I am not familiar with your military
matters." Collen silent. His Honor continues :
"I have sent for you to teach me. I know my
duties won't require much technical knowledge of
the military science, but yet 1 must not appear
before my colleagues as an ignorant man, do you
see. 1 have also no mind to be bullied by the
witnesses I may have to examine." Collen is still
silent. His Honor continues : "I have already
learnt much, and, I think, I am now quite com-
petent to undertake my duties. But 1 must first
pass an examination before a military man clever
like yourself."

Secretary. — Shall I commence just now?

President. — No, not yet — give me another
night. Let me refresh my memory. Come early
to-morrow, and you shall find me ready to receive
you.

Secretary. — Shall I come with a written set
of questions?

President. — No, no, don't do that. Let the
examination be viva voce. You need not go deep
into the matter. Ask me die meanings of terms,
etc., etc., and that will do for my purpose.

212

MILITARY EXAMINATION

Collen withdrew with a bow, and Sir Ashey
Eden opened Dumbleton's military spelling- book-
The subject-matter of the book was extremely dry,
and His Honor found it a hard task to go through
it. But Sir Ashley Eden was a man of resolution,
and he summoned all his patience to aid him in
his task. Time flew rapidly. The clock struck
midnight, and he fancied that Dumbleton himself
was standing before him with a cane in his hand.
But suddenly his fancy took another turn. He
fancied that he was surrounded by military
officers, with colossal figures and angry faces,
demanding his passport. At another time he
fancied that a witness was laughing at his
ignorance. In short, the matter was that,
though His Honor fancied he was awake all
along, he was in fact sleeping, though not
profoundly, and dreaming upon a subject nearest
to his heart.

Just as the clock struck six, His Honor awoke
with a start. He found Dumbleton lying before
him open at page 3. He was rubbing his eyes to
collect his scattered senses, when Collen suddenly
appeared before him. There was confusion and
anxiety visible in the face of His Honor, though he
tried to conceal them. Collen himself was silent.
"Go on, Collen, I am ready," said His Honor
rather nervously. Collen, who said nothing, imme-
diately put the 1st question.

21?

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

Question. — What is the number of officers in a
regiment?

President. — This question shews, Collen, that
you have come deliberately with the intention of
confusing me. What have I to do with the num-
ber of officers? Ask me the meanings of terms.

Q. — State the relative ranks and duties of the
officers.

A. — As for the duties of officers I have nothing
to do with them. As for the relative ranks, first
comes the Commander-in-Chief who stands in the
position of Governor-General, at the head of all.
The second in rank is the Lieutenant-General,
who like myself, is the Lieutenant-Governor
of the army. The third is the Colonel. The
fourth is the Captain who sails ships like
yourself.

The fact is, whenever Sir Ashley Eden came
to India in ships, he found them managed by an
officer, who was called Captain. He, therefore,
fancied that as Collen was a Captain, he was
necessarily in charge of a ship.

Q. — What position does a Major hold ?

A. — You mean Surgeon Major? He ampu-
tates arms, and extracts bullets.

Q. — What is a regiment ?

A. — Regimen is a grammatical term. It also
means the systematic use of food and drugs.

Q. — What is an adjutant ?

214

MILITARY EXAMINATION

A. — The gigantic crane. We have plenty of
them in Calcutta.

Q. — What do you understand by a company?

A. — When friends assemble together I call it
a company, let others say whatever they like;
and when there is good liquor I call it boon
company.

Q. — What do you understand by staff corps ?

A. — Staff means a stick, and corps who carry
sticks on their shoulders.

Q. — What is a battalion ?

A. — A male mare.

Collen is a silent man, and very respectful.
Hitherto he had heard his master's answers without
any comment or even the movement of muscle.
But when his master described a battalion to be
only a male mare he could contain himself no
longer. He said meekly : — "Hitherto I have at
least understood what Your Honor said, but I do
not understand what Your Honor means by a male
mare, a mare being always female."

President. — Quite true. I mean a male horse,
though the adjective male is unnecessary, a horse
being always male. But stop, what is the term ?

Secretary. — Battalion.

President. — Battalion? Well I was confound-
ing it with the term "Stallion!" Well, I shall re-
member the word and see if Dumbleton helps me.

Q. — What is a brigade ?

215

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

A. — You mean a brigand, he is a robber like
Arabi Pasha.

Q. — May I ask Your Honor's idea of a mess?
A. — A mess is a confusion or an embarrass-
ment.

Q. — Of course, Your Honor knows the differ-
ence between a sharpnell and a shell, a muzzle-
loader and a breech-loader.

A. — Wait, let me see. A shell, of course, I
know. I have seen plenty on the sea-shore. What
a sharpnell is I don't think I can make out. I shall
consult Dumbleton. A breach-loader and muzzle-
loader must be contradictory terms. For while
the Bengalees talked of breach of faith, we muzzled
their press.

Q. — What are the sappers and miners?

A. — What suppers are I shall show you this
evening if you come hungry. As for minors, well,
I can't make out what connection there is between
suppers and young men who have yet to attain
majority.

Q. — What does Your Honor understand by a
cadet ?

A. — A younger brother, of a younger son.

Q— Brevet?

A. — I fancy it is a musical term used in mar-
tial music.

Q. — Who are the Field-Officers ?

A. — I think this is a question which has no

216

MILITARY EXAMINATION

bearing- upon the subject. A magistrate is a field
officer when he is on tour, so is the Divisional
Commissioner, and so is myself. And so are also
other heads of departments who have to do the
duty of inspection in the Muffasil. But a Field-
Officer properly so-called, is a Surveyor or a
District Engineer.

President. — Have you any more questions to
ask?

Secretary. — No, I have done.

President. — But, Collen, you did not make
any remarks upon my answers. I think I shall
do. What do you say ?

But Collen was silent.

ASIA, THE CHOSEN PLACE
OF GOD.

ONE grand idea occupies the minds of
Western nations, namely, how to kill the largest
number of men in the safest manner, and in the
shortest time. Spencer, the great English aeronaut,
has, it is said, beaten his Mexican rival, Santos
Dumont, and given evidence of his perfect control
over his air-machine. When interviewed, he said
that "while I was proceeding in my balloon, I
was throwing balls ; and I was convinced
that I could thus throw bombs in a city and
destroy it." So his success led him not to think
of the goodness of God, who has given so many
valuable privileges to man, but to the central idea
round which the Western minds rotate. Ordinary
men in Eastern countries think that aerial naviga-
tion, when it becomes an accomplished fact, would
mean the progress of humanity. In the west they
are, however, perfecting the air-machine for the
purpose of destroying cities by throwing bombs
into them from a safe distance !

"Where would you like to go," asks the pious
priest of a thoroughly worldly-minded and hard-
hearted layman, whom he was trying to lead to
God, — "to heaven or to hell ?''

218

ASIA, THE CHOSEN PLACE OF GOD

Layman : I can't answer your question until
you answer mine : Where did our late king go, —
heaven or hell?

Priest : Certainly to hell, for he was a tyrant.

Layman : Where did the late A. B., (a very
rich and powerful nobleman,) go?

Priest : He was a bad man, certainly he also
went to hell.

Layman : Where have Alexander, Napoleon
and other heroes, who deluged the earth with
human gore, gone ?

Priest : I am sorry to say that they must have
gone to hell, for God commands men never to kill,
and this command is unconditional.

Layman : And where did that great Spanish
patriot go, who, by his bold feat, wrested Cuba
from its native chief? He was received as a friend
by the chief to whom he had gone to pay a visit
on horseback. He presented a pair of bracelets
which he kindly put on the wrists of his host, the
chief. They were not, however, bracelets but
hand-cuffs. He then forced the chief to mount a
horse and thus carried him a prisoner ; and in this
manner Cuba was won. Did he not go to Heaven
for this eminent service to his country, for he won
an empire for his people by this bold act ?

Priest : No, he must have gone to hell.

Layman : (Pondering) It seems that hell, like
America, is the most flourishing place in God's

219

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

creation. Since every one has gone there, surely
I too should like to go there, and Join the great
men of the country.

Hell is no doubt a flourishing place now.
And who are they that are now increasing its
population ? They are men who, when they have
learnt to control their air-machines, would, with-
out humbly thanking God for His mercy to puny
man, utilize the discovery for the destruction of
His creatures. It is Europe mainly which is send-
ing colony after colony to the internal region.

In the above, we only echo the voice of one of
the greatest of Englishmen, Beaconsfield, who is
now no more. Eva is a Jewess and Tancred an
English youth, a Duke's son. These are the
two principal characters in Lord Beaconsfield's
"Tancred"'. The Jewess and the Duke's son
complain of their respective lots. The Jewess
considers the lot of Asia unhappy ; the young
Englishman considers that of Europe unhappy,
and hence the following dialogue ensues :

"Unhappy Asia!" said Tancred, "Do you
call it unhappy Asia? This land of divine deeds
and divine thoughts ! Its slumber is more vital
than the waking life of the rest of the globe, as
the dream of the genius is more precious than the
vigils of ordinary men. Unhappy Asia, do you
call it ? It is the unhappiness of Europe over
which I mourn."

220

ASIA, THE CHOSEN PLACE OF GOD

"Europe, that has conquered Hindustan,
protects Persia and Asia Minor, affects to have
saved Syria,' said Eva, with some bitterness, —
4,oh ! what can we do against Europe?"

"Save it," said Tancred.

'* We cannot save ourselves. What means
have we to save others ? " Said Eva.

"The same," replied Tancred, "you have
ever exercised, Divine Truth. Send forth a great
thought, as you have done before from Mount
Senai, from the villages of Gaillee, from the
deserts of Arabia, and you may again remodel
all their institution, change their principles of
action, and breathe a new spirit into the whole
scope of their existence.''

"I have sometimes dreamed such dreams,"
murmured Eva looking down. "No, no," she ex-
claimed, raising her head, after a moment's pause,
" it is impossible. Europe is too proud, with its
new command over nature, to listen even to
prophets. Levelling mountains, riding without
horse, sailing without winds. How can these men
believe that there is any power, human or divine,
superior to themselves ? "

"As for their command over nature," said
Tancred, "let us see how it will operate in a second
deluge. Command over nature ! Why the humblest
root that serves for the food of man has mysteri-
ously withered throughout Europe, and they are

221

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

already pale at the possible consequences. This
slight eccentricity of that nature, which they boast
they can command, has already shaken empires
and may decide the fate of nations. No, gentle
lady, Europe is not happy. Amid its false ex-
citement, its bustling invention, and its endless
toil, a profound melancholy broods over its spirit
and gnaws at its heart. In vain they baptize their
tumult by the name of progress; the whisper of a
demon is ever asking them, 'progress, from whence
and to what?' Excepting those who still cling to
your Araban creeds, Europe, that quarter of the
globe to which God has never spoken, — Europe is
without consolation.''

Europe is powerful, but it is unhappy. The
soul of a European is like that of a tiger in a
cage, always trying to escape through unsuccess-
fully— always after something, what he does not
know. At present European nations think that
it is the conquest and maintenance of foreign
territories which are and ought to be the sole aim
and object of man ; while the individual thinks
that it is money-making which is the work of his
life. And in the pursuit of something which they
do not know, the Europeans have forgotten that
they have a soul and a higher destiny. Unhappy
Europe !

Europe is an armed camp. Thirty millions
of its strongest men are trained like blood-hounds

222

ASIA, THE CHOSEN PLACE OF GOD

to kill their fellow-beings. The greatest statesman
is he who can outwit his neighbour by fraud. The
greatest hero is he who can commit the greatest
slaughter. The greatest man is he who has the
largest income.

In India we have Europeans. See the lot of
the British soldiers. Would any native of India
like to go to a foreign country, in an uncongenial
climate, under conditions under which European
soldiers agree to live in India ? We have, then,
Europeans who administer the affairs of the
country. They have absolute power and the
prospect of a generous pension, and it is for these
that they have sacrificed everyting that makes life
tolerable or enjoyable. They toil and moil till
their heart and health are broken, and they leave
the country with a handsome pension (if they live
till then) at a time when they can no longer enjoy
its fruits, sighing over their days of past glory.

In India they are banished, far away from old
and dear associations. The climate overpowers
them ; and in May and June, they are roasted
every year under a scorching sun. They live
without society, nay, even without the society
of their wives and children : for the latter have to
be sent home for the sake respectively of their
health and education. Again, their life is one
round of incessant toil and responsibility. Yes
they have no time even to read.

223

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

Thus according to Lord Beaconsfield, Europe
is a continent forsaken by God, for neither God
nor His Son nor His Servant ever spoke to a
European. Europe is, therefore, under the protec-
tion of the other, His enemy, who, though next
to him in power and importance, is yet not a
friend of man but his devourer.

THE LESSONS TO BE LEARNED
FROM WILD DOGS.

THE other day, we were talking of dogs which
hunt in packs. These dogs are to be found in
the jungles of the Central Provinces and the
Himalayas. In the latter place they are called
dholes and are of a reddish colour. They are not
big animals nor fierce in look, but yet it is said
they are very fond of tigers' flesh. It is not known
whether they have ever succeeded in hunting
down elephants, but they have been seen in chas-
ing buffaloes with success. The hungry wolves
in Eastern and Central Europe attack their prey
without method ; and when the quarry is big and
powerful some of them are killed. But there is so
much method in the way the dogs alluded to
above proceed in their business that even in their
rights with tigers they manage to despatch their
victims without a scratch on their bodies. This is
because they are led by an irresistible master, a
despot, who is followed implicitly.

The wild dogs are subjected to a severe coarse
of training during their early age. A kind-hearted
hunter suddenly found himself in possession of
litter of wild dogs, seven in number, whose mother
he had shot. He had to bring these helpless

225

S-15

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

creatures home. He sought suckling bitches and
spent some money to procure them. But the
bitches failed ; the little ones emited such intoler-
able stench that no tame dog could bear it. He
at last found a bitch to serve his purpose. When
these young dogs grew up they began to fight
among themselves, constantly without intermission.
Why were they fighting ? They were fighting to
determine which was to be the leader? One by
one, however, they gave up the struggle, and
eventually the fight was continued between two
only — brothers. Neither of them was willing to
yield. When they fought they did not spare the
opponent ; indeed, they fought with great ferocity.
Their bite was so severe that sometimes the
master said that if he lifted one the other six
would be found lifted with it. The fact is, their
tenacity was such that they did not know to let go
their hold.

As he said the two fought for mastery for a
long time and at last one was vanquished and
thus the victor became the leader of the seven.
The six followed him implicitly and certainly there
was no longer any quarrel among them. These
dogs never barked and never attacked men, but
they killed all the dogs in the neighbourhood.
They, however, died one after the other of
dysentery.

Let us now describe how they hunt in packs.

226

THE LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FROM WILD DOGS

What they do is to pursue, say, a tiger, which
never shews fight, if it encounters a pack of these
dogs, and then to try to catch it by the ear. If
one succeeds in jumping up and getting at one of
the ears of the tiger, the latter is done for. The
persistent enemy will hang by the ear and never
let go its hold. The tiger may run ten miles, but
the dog will yet be seen hanging by its ear. Of
course, the victim makes every effort to extricate
itself from its obstinate and implacable foe, but in
vain.

When one ear of the tiger has been secured
by a bold members of the pack, the other ear is
soon after seized by another. So the tiger has
now to run with two dogs hanging by its two
ears. Others then get hold of its tail, and though
these are dragged for miles they never relax
their grip. Fancy the condition of the poor tiger.
It is fleeing with two dogs hanging by itrUwo ears
and half a dozen sticking to its tail. Others then
jump on its back. In this manner the tiger is
never given an opportunity of using its claws or
teeth, and is soon after hunted down.

Our Congress leaders should follow the
methods of the wild dogs in hunting down their
disabilities? The National Congress will be a suc-
cess only when it has been able to develop a leader.

The patriots, who are opposed to Police rule
as it prevails here, may also learn from the strate-

227

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

gy of these wild dog's, when hunting a quarry too
strong for them, how to effect their purpose. Ii
the pack find the tiger too strong for them they
proceed in a more cautious way: in short, they
try to starve it. Night and day they form a cordon
round the unfortunate beast, and allow it no
chance of obtaining food or rest, while every time
the tiger essays to break through the cordon this
is widened as the pack flees before it, only to be
relentlessly narrowed again when the doomed
animal is exhausted ; till at last it is easily des-
patched.

In the same manner, the patriots, who are
opposed to Police rule, can manage to starve the
Police. To starve the Police is not to permit it to
get its prey. If men, who run, at the slightest
provocation, to the Police, knew their own inter-
ests and stayed at home to be cooled down, the
Police would soon be starved to submission. So,
what the patriots should do is to prevent people
from going to the Police when they quarrel among
themselves, but to persuade them to settle their
differences by mutual forbearance.

The finest story of dogs hunting in packs and
in a methodical way came from an Englishman,
though in this case the pack consisted of only two
hounds. Those who have seen an American black
bear know that it is a terrible fellow, possessing
vast strength and an unlimited amount of pluck. It

228

THE LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FROM WILD DOGS

was his formidable animal that they fought. But
let the Englishman relate his story : —

I was staying at a farm in Virginia, and I was soon
introduced to the "pets" of the settlements. They were two
boar-hounds named Romeo and Juliet, splendid specimens of
their race. These gentle creatures could only be controlled
by their keepers, so fierce and ungovernable were they.

One morning a Negro rushed into the house with the
information that a bear had killed a calf and had escaped
towards the mountains.

Instantly every body was on the alert, and messengers were
sent to all the neighbours round about to give the news and
direct them to the meeting place. By the time we have
despatched a hasty breakfast the yard was full of men and
dogs, but the "pets" were conspicuously absent. On enquiring
for them, I was told not to worry about it that "they would
be on hand when wanted."

The trail was clear and we pursued it hotly. In little more
than half an hour the loud barking and snarling of the dogs
told us that Bruin was at bay.

I was the first at the spot. At the foot of an oak sat a
magnificent black bear, his open mouth and heaving chest
denoting his excitement. About him were lying the bodies of
eight dogs that he had killed ; the rest of the pack had drawn
off. They had had quite enough.

In five minutes more most of the hunters had come up and
formed in a semicircle abont the bear, which made no further
effort to escape, but sat on his haunches, slowl}' swaying his
body to and fro, and eyeing us intently.

Suddenly there was a cry of " Here they come! " and
pushing their way through the thickets were seen the forms
of the two great boar hounds. I had fully expected the dogs to
spring upon their enemy as soon as they were unleashed, but
to my surprise they remained quiet, uttering no sound and
showing no excitement. They looked at each other, then

229

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

I to the left anil right, they walked some distance from
each other. After this they quietly advanced towards Bruin
and stood on either side of him about 20 feet away.

The dogs now flattened themselves to the earth and slowly
v their groat bodies forward until within about 8 feet Of
their prey, when again rising to their full height, and trombling
with suppressed excitement, they looked past the bear and
npon each other. Aprain they crouched, but this time for a
leap and in an instant they liurlol themselves on their

Bravo old Bntin ! He fought for exactly :? minutes, and
then died. It was not a sight T should care to witness again.
A rifle-shot is speedier and more mercifal.

We said above that it is not on record that an
elephant was ever hunted down by wild dogs.
Hut we had yet the pleasure of witnessing an
elephant-and-dog fight. The elephant, however,
was a tame one, and the dog an ordinary pariah
which was called Soda. An elephant was passing
by guided by its mahoot, when the master of the
dog set it upon the huge animal. The dog at
first could not believe that its master was
serious in urging it to such a hazardous enter-
prise, but it felt to its dismay that there was
no mistaking about the intention of its food
giver. So girding up its loins, as it were, it
attacked the elephant from behind. Now, the
latter had never been followed by such an enemy
in its life, and, therefore, not taking any notice of
its puny tormentor, was proceeding on its way in
its usual calm and sedate way. But the intention
of Sada became quite clear. It not only barked

230

THE LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FROM WILD DOGS

from behind but touched the hind legs of the ele-
phant with its teeth. This impertinence from such
a quarter was too much for the proud animal, and,
in disgust, it actually turned round to meet its
foe. And they stood face to face ! Sada's strength
lay in its legs, and that of the elephant in its trunk
which it stretched out to catch hold of the enemy.
But Sada was on guard and gave such a run with
a defiant bark that the elephant realized the
hopeless task of pursuing it, and thus retreated in
good order. It was a sight to see the elephant
trembling with rage when encountering the tiny
foe, especially when the latter insulted it with bite
and bark. Sada yet pursued the elephant for
sometime, but the latter had no help in the matter,
and had to suffer the insult.

THE GREAT INVENTOR OF A
NATION.

Sri Krishna is the God of Love. He is the
Supreme Deity and does not interfere with the
administration of mundane affairs of the universe.
He leaves that task to some inferior deities. He
first evolved Brahma out of Himself, and command-
ed him to create the material world. Brahma
began the work in right earnest, and when he had
proceeded so far as to create the animal kingdom,
his two sons, Rup and Sanatan, prayed to their
father to allow them the privilege of helping him
in the business, and Brahma agreed. As soon as
the two brothers had created some animals,
Brahma wanted to see the result of their labours,
whereupon they first brought forward the elephant
before him for inspection.

Brahma could not help smiling at the sight of
this huge mass of flesh. "What is this trunk toff*
he enquired. The sons replied, that they had
created the animal in haste, and afterwards dis-
covered that the neck of the animal had been
made so stiff and short as to incapacitate it from
putting its food in its mouth ; they had, therefore,
given it a trunk to enable it to do so. Brahma
said : "My children, this is the result of hasty work.

232

THE GREAT INVENTOR OF A NATION

Before you had constructed his body, you should
have thought how he was to secure his food and
preserve his life/

The giraffe was brought in next. Its four
legs of unequal length made Brahma smile
again : "How did this happen my children ?'
he asked. They gave him the same reply :
"This too is the result of haste, father. We
first constructed its two hind legs, but came to
find that if we made its two front legs but of the
same length, the animal would not be able to
reach the branches, the leaves of which are to
nourish it, and keep it alive." "My children," said
Brahma, "you should have thought of this when
you took up the construction of the hind legs."

The kangaroo, when exhibited, created equal
surprise. The children explained that they had
made the front legs of the giraffe longer than the
hind ones. To make up for this defect, they had
made the hind legs of the kangaroo longer than
the front ones. "We have only sought harmony
and equilibrium," said Rup and Sanatan.

The sight of the ass, with its two long ears,
made Brahma laugh out-right. Said the god to
his sons : "You would, I see, make me an object
of laughter to the world.'' The explanation of the
children was that it was the result of the joint
efforts of the two brothers — that one had made the
body, the other the head, and when the latter was

233

HCTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

stuck to the former it was found to have been
made too ridiculous!

It was, in this manner, the came], the monkey
etc., were brought before Brahma and criticized
by him. He said: "Before creating- the animals
you ought to have carefully thought whether the
parts would harmoniously agree with each other,
and suit the whole.'' In order to humour his
children Brahma had to accept what they had
done, and hence we have these unseemly and
laughter-producing animals noted above. We
are informed that the duck-billed quadruped of
Australia is one of the creations of the children of
Brahma.

Brahma had not then created man, but he had
already concieved the idea. He told his sons that
they had made their creations clumsy and ugly.
As, for instance, they had no reason to give the
animals four legs. Saying this the god shewed
them the sketch of a man as he had conceived
him. "You see", said Brahma, "he will have only
two legs."

Rup and Sanatan. — "But the elephant is very
heavy, while your man is very light."

Brahma. — "Why have you given four legs to
the mouse which is lighter than man? You have,
besides, made the ostrich, which is heavier than
man, a two-legged creature and one of the fleetest
creatures on earth?

234

THE GREAT INVENTOR OF A NATION

"The fact is, father," said they, "we found it
very irksome to form a full conception of the
whole in the beginning-. We began with the parts.
When we found the body of the elephant too
heavy, we had to give it thick, column-like legs;
when two legs were found not sufficient we gave
four ; we should have given five if necessary.
In the same manner, we gave it a trunk
when we found that otherwise it would die of
hunger."

Lord Curzon, the supreme ruler of India,
loves the Indians, as every one knows. He has
left the administration of the country to his
subordinates. One of his subordinates, Mr Risley,
wanted permission to evolve a new country with
a new nation, and obtained it.

The country was easily evolved. He kept a
map before him ; he had compasses and pencils,
and the country was marked out. He then
followed exactly the way Rup and Sanatan had
adopted to do their work. The cost of the
administration was too heavy for Assam alone,
and hence he would add Chittagong, Dacca and
Mymensing to it. Rup and Sanatan might have
reduced the bulk of the elephant as. Mr. Risley
might have lightened the cost of the administration
so as to make Assam bear it easily. Thus, if the
brothers had given two more legs to the elephant,
Mr. Risley added the two districts of Dacca and

235

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

Mymensing to Assam, besides the three districts of
the Chittagong Division.

In the same manner, if the brothers made the
kangaroo as it is, to remove the defect they made
the giraffe. Mr. Risley also amalgamated the
Bengalee-speaking peoples with those who speak
the Assamese, and fastened two Uriyaspeaking
districts of other provinces upon Orissa, in order
to secure equilibrium. Besides, did not the brothers
bring forth the creature which was a quadruped
but had the bill of a duck? Under the same prin-
ciple, Mr. Risley thought he was justified in
fastening a Bengalee-speaking people upon an
Assamese-speaking province. The brothers created
the parts first without taking into consideration
whether, when stuck together, they would look
hideous or beautiful. Similarly Mr. Risley con-
ceived the parts first, without considering whether,
when put together, they would form a harmonious
or an incongruous whole.

As for evolving a new nation, Mr. Risley has
yet something more to do. The people of Assam
have a distinct trace of the flat nose of the Mongo-
lian race. The nose of the Bengalee is of a
Caucasian type. For the purposes of harmony,
Mr. Risley will have to flatten it a little ; or, if he
chooses, he can correct the nasal defect of the
Assamese. Here parenthetically we can suggest
a way how this can be done. Let the noses of the

236

THE GREAT INVENTOR OF A NATION

Assamese be held by pincers firmly, and in this
manner they can be lengthened. If the Assamese
make wry faces under the process, he can console
them with the remark that his great idea necessi-
tated it.

Then there is the language difficulty. Mr
Risley will have to create a language which will
suit both the Assamese and the Bengalees. We
could here "make some suggestions, but as Mr.
Risley possibly does not know the Assamese, we
think it would be difficult for us to be intelligible
to him.

PELTING OF STONES BY-GHOSTS.

Popular notion in India is that ghosts pelt
stones and I had an ocular demonstration of the
fact. It was in the month of December, eight years
ago, that I witnessed a scene which proved that
there are many things in earth and heaven that
are not dreamt of in our philosophy. I was in the
town of Deoghur in my own house situated in an
open place. Close to my house was that of one
Gonori Mahato which also was situated in an open
place. It came to my notice that ghosts had appear-
ed in his house. Shortly after I had heard this, I
saw Gonori himself. I asked him about the ghost
and he said, "Yes, sir, it is a 'pichash'" which
means a ghost of very low degree. I was a little
surprised to hear this from him. For Gonori had
become a Christian, and was not likely to put faith
in the existence of ghosts, lower or higher. I asked
him what the ghost was doing in his house, but he
was not communicative and went his way. I forgot
all about it, when a strange incident brought the
pranks of this ghost again to my notice. Gonori,
being a milk-man, supplied me with milk, and an
Ooria servant of mine wTent to fetch it. He was
brought back almost in an unconscious state by a
friend of Gonori just before evening. I asked*

238

PELTING OF STONES BY — GHOSTS

Shiva, the servant, to explain the reason of the
sorrowful plight. He said, after great effort, for he
could scarcely utter a word, that hearing that
ghosts were playing mad pranks in the house
of Gonori he had gone to fetch milk a little
before the usual time he used to bring it, that is,
before the sun had gone down. Evening was just
setting in, and he was coming with the milk when,
no sooner had he left Gonori's house, than a
black and hideous "thing" pounced upon him
and inflicted a blow upon his breast, so that
he fell senseless with a groan. Gonori had
invited a few friends to his house to pass the night
with him to protect him from the "pichash," and
thus, when they heard his groan, they came to
his rescue and brought him home.

On the following morning, I went to Gonori's
house, which was about two minutes' walk from
mine, accompanied by two friends, both of them
highly educated and intensely intellectual. His
house, as I said before, was situated in an open
space only on one side of which there was a
cluster of bamboo trees where the ghost might
conceal himself, but even this would be impossible
in day time if he was a fraud. On entering the
house we found a girl of about twelve sweeping
the yard with a broom-stick, the yard being sur-
rounded with huts and walls. The other inmates
of the house, Gonori himself, his mother about

239

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

seventy, his wife about forty-five, were all absent.
Seeing- that the girl was the only inmate of the
house doing household work, we went outside
chatting at random, nearly forgetting all about the
ghost. My friends were a few yards from me
talking together, and I took this opportunity of
addressing the ghost in these words : "Sir Ghost,
if you are here, please shew yourself to us, for we
are highly respectable gentlemen and you should
behave properly with us.'' No sooner had I said
this than a clod of earth came rolling down the
slope of the hut near which I was standing! This
amused me greatly, for I could not believe that it
was actually a ghost that had responded to my
call. So I asked my friends to note the politeness
of the ghost which had actually listened to my
request. They had heard the sound of the fall of
the clod, but had not seen it coming down. So
they came close to me to examine the clod. I
again addressed the ghost, I said : " Sir Ghost,
this is highly improper, you should be impartial
in the treatment of your guests. You have
satisfied me but not my friends. Please shew
yourself to them also." No sooner had I said
this, than there rolled down another clod, and
this time we all three saw it. Let me confess, this
time we were all surprised. But was that girl
doing it? No, we could see from our position
that she was busy doing her work of sweeping.

240

PELTING OF STONES BY — GHOSTS

I again addressed the ghost, "Sir Ghost, re-
move all our doubts and do favour us again." No
sooner said than done. Another clod of earth
came down rolling, following the other two. We
were petrified with astonishment. It was about
9 in the morning, the sun was up in the skies, and
there was not a speck of cloud. And we three
saw this before our eyes in an open field where
there were none besides the girl who was sweep-
ing the yard. But no time was allowed us by
the good ghost to speculate upon what we had
witnessed, for the merry thing now began to roll
down stones of its own accord, one after another,
in rapid succession. Then clods and stones began
to f all in the y a: d which the giri was sweeping.
We ran there, and then commenced as it were a
perfect rain of stones, pieces of burnt brick and
clods of earth. Where did they come from? From
the skies? Perhaps, Perhaps not; for, some of
them struck the mud-walls of the huts horizontally.
Of course, we were afraid .of being struck by these
missiles but luckily we escaped unhurt, but some
were hurt subsequently though slightly. For, the
fact of this strange occurrence had gone abroad,
and people were running to the house from all
sides, even from the town, which was about half-
a-mile distant from the place. The house was
thus filled by hundreds of men in a short time.
As I said, it was broad daylight and though

241
S— 16

PICTURES OK INDIAN LIFE

there were hundreds present, none could tell
whence the stones came. The inmates of the hou
had come back and they were kept in one place
hud ( I led together so that they might play no tricks.
Rut the scene that presented itself (it was literally
hailing stones) convinced every one that there
could be no trick at the bottom. The yard was
soon filled with these clods, stones, &c, and they
became almost knee-deep in a short time.

But the most wonderful feats, performed by
the ghost, yet remain to be told. A big piece of
stone, weighing over a hundred pounds (more
than amaund) — which it would be difficult for one
strong man to carry, was brought out from the
bottom of the well which stood on one side of the
yard and thrown in the yard. A little before this
we had heard a splashing of water in the well, and
the big stone was brought out and made to fall
in the yard with a thud. This so terrified the sight-
seers, that while some fled others took shelter in
the huts.

I had a notion that the girl was a medium and
it was through her that the ghost was playing his
pranks. This notion I gathered by observing one
fact. It was this. The clods fell most where the
girl stood. So, 1 led her and Gonori's wife to the
Eastern side of the house in a field where mustard
had been grown, but gathered. It was an open
field, filled with clods of earth among which, no

242

PELTING OF STONES BY— GHOSTS

doubt the ghost had found some of his missiles. I
made the girl and the woman sit in the field.
There they sat, and wonder of wonders, the clods
round them began, as it were, to dance ! Thus a
clod would rise, say, four or five feet from the
earth and fall down. At times more than one
clod would thus rise up and fall down. Here then
we had the scene of clods of earth in the midst of
the field dancing, as if they were imbued with life,
and this at about eleven in the day and in the
presence of hundreds. It seemed to me that in the
field the ghost had not power enough to be able
to throw the clods to any distance.

The intellectual critic, after he has read so
far, might exclaim, aui bono ? "What do you
prove by the incident ?" Well we have not done
yet, we have yet to record more wonderful doings
of this ghost. Indeed, I succeeded eventually in
making it talk to me in its ghostly way, but of
this in our next. Yet does not the incident, so far
as described above, prove anything ? Does it not
prove that there are more things in earth and
heaven than are ever dreamt of in our philosophy,
and that the scientists have yet much to learn? It
proves that a thing which lias no material body can
pelt stones and can also possess gleams of reason.
Did not the thing, by listening to our request in
the beginning, shew that it could hear and under-
stand us? Does not the incident of bringing the

243

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

big stone from the bottom of the well prove that it
had method in its mad pranks? So the incident,
so Ear as has been described, proves that there is
no impossibility in a man losing his body yet
retaining his physical powers and reasoning
faculties. But wait till you have heard the end.

In the midst of this scene, the thought
troubled me that it was my duty to make the
most of the occasion, for such experiences do not
fall to the lot of every man. But I was be-wilder-
ed, I could not think of a plan how to utilise the
occasion, or how to experiment with the ghost
who was playing the mad pranks. He was no
doubt, we thought, one of a low degree, that is, an
earth-bound and gross soul. Was he dense enough
to be visible to the naked eye? I tried and tried
a^ain to see him but I could see nothing. I then
came to the o inclusion that I must take time to
think over the matter and should commence my
experiments on the next day. Yet I could not
leave the spi t — I was so enthralled that I had to
wait to see the end.

Suck enly a thought struck me that I might as
well take the giri to a closed room, and see what
the result would be. So I took her and Gonori's
v ite to a roo.n, which had walls on all sides but no
\ ows -\ haiever and only a small door to enter
b \\ i. sai all three together and kept the door
open. Those who stiil remained— it was then

244

PELTING OF STONES BY— GHOSTS

about 2 p. m. and most having left the place —
stood outside, bewildered. For five hours the
ghost had been pelting stones, and when I took
the woman and the girl in, I saw that its power
had got a little weakened.

Well, we three sat, facing one another. There
was almost as clear a light in the room as there
was outside. I then addressed the ghost, and
requested him that now was the time for him to
shew wonders. Saying this we remained quiet.
Of course, our people know what a shikd is — it is
a contrivance made of jute, like a sling to hang
pots and cups on. A shika was hanging behind
me, on which was placed a cup made of sal leaves,
containing a small quantity of a sort: of coarse
pulse grown in those parts, called Kutthi. I heard
a rustling sound behind me, and on turning my
eyes I saw that the leaf cup, was trying, as it were,
to leave its place. After some slight efforts it
succeeded in raising itself and pouring its contents
(the Kurthi) upon my "devoted" head. Of course,
I was amused a little at this prank though 1 was
also frightened a bit. So the ghost was a wag.
1 told him "You have soiled my head." But the
ghost, of course, could not speak, and so I got no
answer. A minute or so later, I heard a noise
proceeding again from the same spot. This time
I saw it was a wooden bowl which produced it.
The bowl, which had also been put on the shUc <,

245

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

shewed signs of life, and it seemed that it was also
trying to come out of its place of confinement.
After some efforts it succeeded in realeasing itself
and coming towards me. And the bowl now
poured its contents upon my head !

All this while the girl and the woman were
sitting before me in bread daylight. And what
did this bowl cuntain ? It was salt ! So Mr. Ghost
poured all the salt that the bowl contained upon
my head !

This ' was joke number two' And we all three
laughed. "Can you speak, even in whispers?" —
I asked the ghost. No answer. There was a bam-
boo stick — a lathi, in short, a bamboo club about
5 ft. in length — in the room, leaning against
a corner. This was the third object which was
seen to shew signs of life. It trembled a little,
as if some one was shaking it ; then it stood
« rect. Next it began to move and approach
me by short jumps as seme birds would do, when
hopping ! And then it seemed to me as if somebody
had grasped it with both hands and was, in that
manner, carrying it towards me ; then it struck
the earth with great force. My head escaped by
few inches only! If the club had fallen upon my
head, it would have received a serious hurt. It
seemed to me that the ghost was giving me a hint
to depart and thus escape worse treatment. I had,
indeed, to put an end to my experiment imme-

246

PELTING OF STONES BY— GHOSTS

diately, and come out. It was then about half past
two the ghost had begun its manifestations a little
before 9 a. m. I came home exhausted in body and'
mind, though with a deep determination to con-
tinue the experiments the following day. On the
following morning, I went to the place and
found that the girl had fled with her husband.
They were Gonori's relations, and were staying
with him as guests. They were told by some
mischievous people, that the police would punish
them ; and this frightened them so much that they
fled. I searched for them and at last found their
whereabout.but could not induce them — rather the
husband — to come back.

We thus witnessed what may be called an
occult phenomenon. We saw it along with many
hundred others in broad daylight. Any tricks,
under the circumstances, would be impossible.
Now the reader is left to draw his own con-
clusions.

We saw an invisible thing giving proofs that
it possesse 1 enormous physical powers; that it
had conscious' less, nay, that it understood a joke.
Was it the sou! of a dead man that was acting
in that way ? Of course, the evidence is not con-
clusive that it was a dead man who was doing it.
For to prove this conclusively the "thing" ought
to have declared that it had been a man before,
and then proved his identity by other unimpeach-

247

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

able evidence. But yet the incident carries with-
it a moral conviction which is irresistible, that it
was done by a man who had lived on this earth
before.

.

■
*

(
L

THE AGRICULTURAL

SCHOLARSHIPS.

[In Three Acts.]
ACT I.

(The Secretary of State receiving a deputation
from Manchester Merchants.)

Deputation. — The true interests of India are
thus neglected. It is the duty of the Govern-
ment of India to make India rich and contented.

Secretary of State. — We are always very
glad to receive practical suggestions from you.

Deputation. — We are all practical men, my
Lord. We shall prove to your lordship how the
resources of India have been frittered away. First,
then, India is an agricultural country. Do you
admit that, my Lord ?

Secretary. — Certainly.

Deputation. — Your lordship will also admit
that cotton is indigenous in India.

Secretary. — Yes, there cannot be any manner
of doubt in that.

Deputation.— That being soa is it not clear
that India should grow cotton, only cotton, and
nothing but cotton?

Secretary. — I am all attention.

Deputation. — Our second proposition is that,

249

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

England is a manufacturing country. Can there
be any doubt, therefore, that India should grow
cotton and England should weave ? Is not this
a providential arrangement ?

Secretary. — I am hearing you with absorbing
interest.

Deputation. — A fish must not run, nor a dog
fly ; Nature does not permit it. You must not,
therefore, permit India to weave. India has a
destiny of its own — a great destiny. We have
conquered India for benevolent purposes. We
must, therefore, grant her the inestimable privilege
of growing as much cotton as we want. We
must also grant her the additional privilege of
purchasing the clothes manufactured in our mills.
How is it that our manufactures are not more
largely consumed in that country !

Secretary. — The men there are poor.

Deputation. — So you must first of all make
them rich by developing the resources of the
country. A thorough agricultural education
must be given. India should grow cotton, only
cotton, and nothing but cotton, and that will
make India rich.

Secretary. — You forget the second part on
your proposition, that India should use cotton
manufactured by you only, use nothing but
cotton, and use more cotton.

Deputation. — Just so.

250

THE AGRICULTURAL SCHOLARSHIPS

Secretary. — We shall issue instructions to
India and we hope they will prove satisfactory
to you.

ACT II.
(Present two Indian rulers.)

Ruler ist. — We must do something to please
Manchester, at least so we are ordered to do.

Ruler 2nd- — It is not a hard task, for with
all their wisdom, nothing is easier than to be foot
them.

Ruler ist — But the difficulty is to please them
without creating- a howl here in India.

Ruler 2nd. — That can be done easily enough.
We can spend a few thousands upon some agri-
cultural scholarships. It will help nobody ; but
it will cost little, please Manchester and enligh-
tened native public opinion in India.

Ruler ist. — What do you mean by enlighten-
ed native public opinion?

Ruler 2nd. — The leading men in chief cities,
who have never seen a blade of grass in their lives-

Ruler 2nd. — Let it be done then.
ACT III.
(An England-returned Agricultural Professor and

his pupils.)

Pupil ist. — Sir, is it time that we should sow
paddy ?

Professor. — Don't ask me that, you can inquire
about it of a common cultivator. That is not a

251

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFJ

scientific question. I did not go to England,
interview Mr. Gladstone, and study chemistry to
be pestered with such petty matters. Bring soils
and I shall analyse them for you.

Pupil 2nd. — 1 gave some the other day, for the
purpose of analysis.

Professor. — Yes, I found in them silica,
allumina, vegetable and animal matter. Ask the
cultivators of the country to come to me with
specimens of soil, and 1 shall analyse them, — for
a reasonable consideration.

Pupil 2. — What will they gain by your
analysis, Sir?

Professor. — That, is again, a foolish question.
They will gain knowledge. What is more valua-
ble than knowledge itself?

Pupil 2. — You have analysed the soils that I
brought ; what are they fit for ?

Professor. — Well, 1 have thrown them away
after analysis.

Pupil 2. — I don't mean that. You have
analysed the soil. What crops will grow best in
them ?

Professor. — That, of course, you must learn
by experiments. First, you sow the lands with,
say, paddy. If paddy fails, sow wheat. If it fails,
sow sugar-cane. And in this manner within the
course of twenty to twenty-five years you shall be
able to know, of course, if you conduct your,

252

THE AGRICULTURAL SCHOLARSHIPS

experiments with care, what your lands are fit for.

P. 3. — Sir, we have come here to learn.
Some of us would like to learn how to cure
tobacco, some to learn how to grow long-stapled
cotton, and good tea. Some are for improving
jute, and some sugar-cane. There are others who
are for the improvement of silk, and some are for
tussar, lac and rhea.

P. 4. — My ambition does not go so far. I
would like to learn how to make my lands yield
more paddy, wheat pulses, etc., than it does now.

Prof. — Well, you mention crops which I have
never seen in England, and some of them I have
never heard of in my life. Neither the savants in
England, nor men like Bright and Gladstone
could give me any hint as to the existence of the
crops you mention. I cannot call, therefore, all
these crops respectable. If you want to learn
from me how to grow any respectable crop, I
can teach you how to grow scotch beans and
oats. I saw them grown in Scotland.

P. 4. — Will you then let us know what you
will teach us, besides the process by which soils
are analysed ?

Prof. — Well, if you want to know how to
grow jute, and such other things, you can go and
ask a common cultivator. But I shall teach you
the curious process how the plant draws its mois-
ture from the soil, and how the sap is beautiful ;y

253

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

carried through meandering veins. I shall explain
to you how the leaves and flowers get their colour.
I shall—

P. 5. — (Suddenly appearing).-The new plough
that you gave me does not work.

Prof.— What, that splendid plough constructed
on scientific principles designed after the model
of the latest inventions in America !

P. 5 — They are too heavy for the cattle to
<lrag.

Prof. — Is that all ? Then indent for a pair of
bullocks from Ayrshire or Kentucky, and the
plough will work beautifully.

P. 6. — My father, Sir, has asked me to return
you the harrowing machine. He says that he
prefers his 4-anna harrow to yours which, you say,
is worth Rs. 25. The 4-anna implement works
less effectually, but then it costs only 4 annas.
We cannot afford to pay Rs 25 for a harrow.

P. 7. — Talking of implements, Sir the
winnowing machine is broken.

Prof. — Then have it repaired.

P. 7. — They cannot repair it here.

Prof. — Well, then, in that case you must send
it to England.

P. 7. — My father says very hard things of
you.

Prof. — What does he say "t

P. 7. — He says that you are a — humbug.

254

THE AGRICULTURAL SCHOLARSHIPS

Prof. — (Solus) I feel that I have yet something
more to learn. I am extremely doubtful whether
my pupils will stick to me to learn only vegetable
physiology, and the analysis of soils.

THE DETERIORATION OF THE
INDIANS.

ONE of the most painful and absorbing topics
of conversation, amongst the Indians, is the

physical deterioration of the races in this country.
The following startling telegram came from Madr
some years ago :

Madras, March 21.

'The Hon'ble Genston, presiding at the annual
meeting" of the Physical Training Association,
alluded to the startling fact that, out of 22 native
candidates for Entrance to the Civil Service
recently, 70 per cent, were rejected as physically
unfit.'

Thus 70 per cent, are unfit for civil employ ;
how many more must be unfit for military employ?
It is a fact that the races are deteriorating all
along the line. The Government has been obliged
to a mit this fact partially. It is now i ely
nvtted that fighting materials are disappearing
fast from the land. Said the Pi some years

ag":—

The long reign of internal peace has directly
ai< ed the character of the population; the
tr;. usui military supremacy among the Shikhs
arc ^ ing out ; the Punjabi Mohamedans are more

256

THE DETERIORATION OF THE INDIANS

intent on the cultivating of their lands, secure in
the possession of such property as they can
accumulate ; while the once restless, Pathan
tribes within the border are not allowed to follow
the example t'hus set them.

The same paper continued : " Officers of long
experience in Punjab have noticed the change
with regret, for they cannot now choose and
pick their men." And then it is very properly
argued that if this be the case with people,
"who were at the height of military strength, fifty
years ago, how much more must be with others ''
whose powers were broken long before !" It comes
to this that in the whole of India, in a population
of 250 millions, it has been found difficult to find
men who are capable of fighting. Is this not a
serious matter, both for the people and
the Government? Does not this mean the
practical emasculation of the vast majority of
entire nation ?

That the people are now utterly helpless, is a
patent fact to all. A dacoit, with half-a-dozen
following, may commit depredations for years
together, and the people will find themselves
unable to defend their homes and persons. A tiger
makes the inhabitants desert their villages, and a
leopard will compel them to go in-doors every
evening, before the sun sets. Nay the Indian
newspapers contain appeals to Government and

257
S-17

OF IN MI AN Ui

to sh sportsmen t" protect the people Erorri

m:: 1 i ja< k lis.

But only less than a hundred years ago,
the {-• pie of India were as strong as an-
other race in the world. It is said that the
Bengalee e the weakest race in India, and

the Pun jabees the strongest, except the Gurkhas.
But that is not it. The Bengalees were as strong
as any in India ; only being secure from external
inv.. . which the Punjabee was not, the inhabi-
tants oi Bengal had not been able to develop their
material instincts to the same extent as the
border tribes had.

Only forty years ago we have seen plenty of
fighting materials in Bengal, twenty-five in a
hundred ; but it is now impossible to find half-a-
dozen in a million !

The Bengalees have proved themselves to be
an intellectual race and in this intellectual prog-
ress they are indebted vastly to British rule.
Intellectual they had always been even before
the British came. But then, in 'pre-British
days, learning was confined almost to the Brah-
mins, and the other castes had no opportunity
of improving themselves to the utmost of their
capacity- But under British Rule, the Bengalees
have now obtained this privilege ; and if the
Brahmins yet continue to hold the first place, they
have found formidable competitors in other castes,

258

THE DETERIORATION OF THE INDIANS

such" as Kayesthas and Yaidyas. This intellectual
superiority of the Bengalees has created for them
enemies amongst Europeans who call them
cowardly, effeminate, and so forth.

We shall now show that even the Bengalees
were a powerful race only less than a hundred
years ago.

The Mussalman invaders and conquerors of
India found it to their advantage to leave the
administration in the hands of Hindus. In Bengal,
the country was divided and put into the charge
of Zemindars who were sovereign Princes. And
thus, at one time, Bengal was under twelve such
Zemindars.

The Moghul Sovereign exacted military
service from these Zemindars. Thus says the
Ayeen Ahbary : —

" The soubah of Bengal consists of 24 Sircars
and 487 mahals. The revenue is 14,961,482 Sicca
rupees, and the zemindars (who are mostly
Kayesthas) furnish 23,330: cavalry, 801,158 infantry,
170 elephants 4,260 cannons and 4,400 boats ''

Thus the Moghul Emperors could raise lakhs
of men from Bengal to light for them, but the
present rulers have not one single Bengalee
soldier !

The Mussalman rule, being barbarous and
oppressive, did not meet with the approval of the
country ; and Protap and Shankar, two Bengalee

259

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIKE

tilths, formed the plan of expelling- the Maho-
medans from India. Protap was the son of a
wealthy Zemindar, residing- in the Sunderbans
near Takee ; and Shankar was a Brahmin youth,
his friend. They both proceeded to Delhi to study
the Moghul army and their mode of warfare-
They found that the superiorty of the Moghuls lay
in their artillery.

The Feringhees (Portuguese) also infested
India, and they were invincible because of their
fleet and cannons. Protap enlisted the services of
a Portuguese General, who is called Ruda
in Sanskrit books and Bengalee legends. Batteries
of artillery and a fleet were thus constructed in the
Sunderbans. Protap then declared his indepen-
dence.

Now it was a most foolhardy thing for Protap
to do it, for the Moghuls then were in the hey-
day of their glory. He declared his independence
while yet the great Akbar ruled !

In the beginning, Protap and Shankar carried
on a guerilla warfare. They offered no direct
resistance to the Moghuls but fled before them,
only to expel them, when the rainy season had
set in.

But gradually Protap became bolder. He
took Gaur, the then capital city of Bengal, and
became the absolute master of Bengal and Behar.
Then he gave up gueri la warfare altogether, and

260

THE DETERIORATION OF THE INDIANS

began to wage pitched battles with the Moghuls.
And in every one of them, he defeated and
sometimes exterminated the invaders of his
country. This is what we find in the proceedings
of the Asiatic Society of Bengal for December
1868 with regard to the brave doings of Protap: —
"The first general sent was Abram Khan whose
army was nearly annihilated near the fort Mutlar
(Mutlah, now Port Canning). Twenty-five other
generals are stated to have been defeated in
succession."

Now mind, these were not skirmishes but
regular battles, between huge armies, made up of
infantry, artillery and cavalry.

Protap's commanders were mostly Bengalees,
and some of them have their descendants, but
they are now scarcelv over five feet in height and
are doing the business of either village school-
masters or clerks.

Short accounts of their battles are found in
Sanskrit History. There, we read that, in a battle
the Moghul General, Azim, with twenty thousand
of his men, was killed. In another battle, ten
thousand men of the Moghuls were destroyed.
These details will give one an idea of the severe
nature of the battles fought. :;

Of the twelve Zemindars, referred to above

* See Satya Charan Shastri'a "Life of Protapaditya." The
author is a descendant of the great Shankara himself.

26l

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

who ruled Bengal, one had his capital city in
Bishnupore, now in the district of Bancoora. In
going there, one can see even now traces of exten-
sive fortifications and a huge cannon, perhaps the
biggest in the world. This country was visited by
a French traveller, and this is what he says of
what he saw :

" This fortunate spot, which extends about a
hundred and sixty miles, is called Bissenpoore. It
has been governed time immemorial by a Bramin.
family of the tribe of Rajahputs. Here the purity
and equal of the ancient political svstem of the
Indians is found unadulterated. This singular
Government, the first and most striking monu-
ment in the world has, till now been beheld with
too much indifference. We have no remains of
ancient nations but brass and marble, which speak
only to imagination and conjecture, those un-
certain interpreters of manners and customs that
no longer exist. Were a philosopher transported
to Bissenpore, he would immediately be a witness
of the life led by the first inhabitants of India many
thousand years ago; he would converse with them

would trace the progress of this nation
relebrated, as it were, from its very infancy ; he
would see the rise of a Government, which being
founded in happy prejudices, in a simplicity and
purity of manners, in the mild temper of the people
and the integrity of the chieftains, has survived

262

THE DETERIORATION OF THE INDIANS

those innumerable systems of legislation, which
have made only a transitory appearance upon the
stage of the world with the generations they were
destined to torment. More solid and durable
than those political structures, which, raised
by imposture and enthusiasm, are the scourge
of human kind, and are doomed, to perish
with the foolish opinions that gave them birth, the
Government of Bissenpore, the offspring off a just
attention to order and the laws of nature, has been
established and maintained upon unchangeable
principles, and has undergone no more alteration
than those principles themselves. The singular
situation of this country has preserved to the
inhabitants their primitive happiness and the
gentleness of their character, by securing them
from the danger of being conquered, or imbruing
their hands in the blood of their fellow-creatures.
Nature has surrounded them with water; and they
need only open the sluices of their rivers to over-
flow the whole country. The armies sent to
subdue them have so frequently been drowne d
that the plan of enslaving them has been laid
aside ; and the projectors of it have thought proper
to content themselves with an appearance of
submission.

Liberty and property are sacred in Bissenpore
Robbery, either public or private, is never heard
of. As soon as any stranger enters the territory he

263

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

comes under the protection of the laws, which
provide for his security. He is furnished with
guides at free cost, who conduct him from place to
place, and are answerable for his person and
eflects. When he changes his conductors, the new
ones deliver to those they relieve an attestation of
their conduct, which is registered and afterwards
sent to the Raja. All the time he remains in the
country he is maintained and conveyed with his
merchandise, at the expense of the State, unless
he desires leave to stay longer than three days in
the same place. In that case he is obliged to
defray his own expenses, unless he is detained by
any disorder, or other unavoidable accident. This
beneficence to strangers is the consequence of the
warmth with which the citizens enter into each
others' interests. They are so far from being
guilty of an injury to each other, that whoever
fin' K a purse or other thing of value, hangs it upon
the first tree he meets with, and informs the
nearest guard, who gives notice of it to the public
by beat of drum. These maxims of probity are so
generally received, that they direct even the opera-
tions of Government. Out of between seven and
eight millions (about 430,000?. on an average) it
annually receives, without injury to agriculture or
trade,what is not wanted to supply the unavoidable
expenses of the State, is laid out in improvements-
The Raja is enabled to engage in these humane

264

THE DETERIORATION OF THE INDIANS

employments, as he pays the Moguls only what
tribute, and at what times, he thinks proper.*

But a still greater authority, Mr. Holwell, who
was governor of Calcutta, speaks in the same way
of Bishnupore in his " Interesting Historical
Events," which was printed in 1765: —

"To the west of Burdwan, something northerly
lie the lands belonging to the family of Raja Gopal
Singh, of the Rajpoot Bramin tribe ; they posses
an extent of sixteen days' travel, this district
produces an annual revenue of between thirty and
forty lacs; but fromthe happiness of his situation he
is perhaps the most independent Raja of Indostan,
having it always in his power to overflow his
country, and drown any enemy that comes against
him; as happened at the beginning of Sujah Khan's
Government, who sent a strong body of horse to
reduce him, these he suffered to advance far into
his country, then opening the dams of the rivers
destroyed them to a man; this action deterred any
subsequent attempts to reduce him ; but if the
frontiers of the district were so invested, as to
prevent the exit of die merchandise of his
country, which might easily be done, he iwould
be presently brought to obedience, and glad to
compound for a tribute of twenty lacs per annum;
as it is, he can hardly be said to acknowledge

*Abbe Eajnal on East and West Indies. Translated from the
French by J. Justamond, M. A.— 1777, Vol. L, pp. 405 to 406.

265

PICTURES OF INDIAN LIFE

any allegiance to the Moghul or Sabah, he some
years deigns to send to the Subah an acknow-
ledgment by way of salaamy (or present) of 15,000
rupees, sometimes 20,000, and some years not
anything at all, as he happens to be disposed.

But in truth, it would be almost cruelty to
molest these happy people, for in this district, are
the only vestiges of the beauty, purity, piety,
regularity, equitv and strictness of the ancient
Indostan Government. Here the propertv as well
as the liberty of the people are inviolate, here no
robberies are heard of, either private or public ;
the traveller, either with, or without merchandise,
on his entering this district, becomes the immediate
care of Government which allots him guards
without any expense, to conduct him from stage to
stage, and these are accountable for the safety and
accommodation of his person and effects. At the
end of the first stage he is delivered over with
certain benevolent formalities to the guards of the
next, who after interrogating- the traveller, as to
the usage he had received in his journey, dismisses
the first guard with a written certificate of their
behaviour, and a receipt for the traveller and his
effects, which certificate and receipt are returnable
to the commanding officer of the first stage, who
registers the same, and regularly reports it to the
Rajah.

i n this form the traveller is passed through

266

THE DETERIORATION OF THE INDIANS

the country, and if he only passes, he is not suffered
to be at any expense for food, accommodation, or
carriage for his merchandise or jpaggage; but it is
otherwise, if he is permitted to make any residence
in one place above three days, unless occasioned
by sickness, or any unavoidable accident. If any*
thing is lost in this district, for instance, a bag of
money or other valuable, the person who finds it
hangs it upon the next tree, and gives notice to
the nearest chowkey or place of guard, the officer
of which orders immediate publication of the same
by beat of tomtom or drum. ■*

There are in this precinct, no less than three
hundred and sixty considerable Pagodas, or
place of public worship, errected by this Raja, and
his ancestors. The worship, of the cow is here
carried to so great an extreme, that, if that
animal meets with a violent death, the city
or village to which it belonged, go to a general
mourning and fast, for three days, and are obliged
from the Rajah to the meanest of the people, to
remain on the spot, where they first heard the
publication of the accident ; and are employed
during that space in performing various expiations
as directed in the Shastra ; but more of this under
a subsequent general head.

Bishunpore, the capital, and chief residence
of the Rajah, and which gives a name to the whole
district, is also the chief seat of trade ; the produce

267

PICTURES OK INDIAN LIFE

of the country consists of Sal timbers (a wood
equal in quality to the best of our oak), dammer
laccas, an inferior sortment of raw silk, and coposs,
and grain safficient only for their consumption;
it is from this district that the East India companies
are chiefly supplied with the article of shell
lacco. — Pages 197 to 200, Part I"

When the English came here, they found the
country inhabited by a strong race. So they en-
listed Bengalees as soldiers and put them under
Bengalee officers. With this army of Bengalees
and with a sprinkling of British soldiers, the
British conquered Bengal and Behar. They then
enlisted the Beharees and conquered the North-
West. They next availed of the Pandays of the
North-West and conquered the Punjab. The
Punjabees were enlisted and Afghanistan was in-
vaded. It was thus India was conquered for
England by the Indians themselves and originally
with the help of the Bengalees. Mr. Hohvell says,
" It would be almost cruelty to molest these happy
people." We are further told that Bishnupore
gives evidence of ,;the beauty, piety, regularity,
and equity of ancient India.'' All have been des-
troyed, of course, with the best of motives, by the
present rulers in their zeal for reform.

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INDIA FOR INDIANS

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THIS IS A COLLECTION OF THE
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The Book contains tb< last Poems the author

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CONTEN T5

PART T: WKST

The Higher Stoicism.

Plight.

-\ one-sided Conversation vfith

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Castles In Spain,
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421 Pictures of Indian life

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