Mr. Syed Hasan Imam I believe the Bill will now be amended and passed in the form recommended by the Joint Committee and we have to see that we make the best of what is being given to us. To my mind there is no question of our accepting or rejecting the measure, India's right to Home Rule without the necessary backing leaves that right to the pleasure of England. In England few people understand our feelings and sentiments and I must acknowledge that Mr. Montagu has sincerely worked for us and secured for us as much as he could. Had the question rested entirely with him the reforms would have been much more liberal than they are, but it appears to me that at this stage any discussion of the merits or otherwise of the scheme would be merely academic and not fruitful of any result. The reforms, will, I believe if worked in the spirit in which the Secretary of State intends them give us some opportunity to establish an undisputed claim hereafter to our right to determine our future, and it is in this view of the matter that I should like our people to work for future progress. (Associated Press). Mr. B. C. Chatterjee Swadeshi gave us a new view of life, a new vision of India reconstructed on the lines of her historical development and rescued from the gross mimicry of that false Europeanism into which she had been drifting. As the idea developed people found themselves confronted with three primary necessities, national education, industrial development and sanitation. The 'discontent that arose in the wake of "Swadeshi " grew out of the fact that the people found themselves unable to translate their ideas into reality regarding any single item of this programme on account of an almost inevitable difference in ideal and outlook between themselves and the bureaucracy. The Bill as amended appears to place the reality of power for the first time in the hands of Indians to convert "Swadeshi" into a process of living growth by their own effort and according to their own wishes. Mr. Erfan Ali, Bar.at-Law The report of the Joint Committee is an improvement even on the M, C. Scheme and is a real step forward to work on a definite basis for the realisation of responsible government. I hope our people will utilise this great opportu nity and advantage afforded by the Report. The scheme is now in a workable basis for us at the first stage. Hon. Mr B. N. Sarma The new Councils were not going to be a sham, They must recognise the generosity and the fair mindedness of the Joint Committee and the Parliament. He saw a very great amount of fairness and a large amount of statesmanship displayed. He did quarrel seriously with those gentlemen who looked upon the whole thing as an absolute sham. They would find on an analysis of the report that in the provincial councils Indians would always be in a majority whether in joint government or transfered government. That was an immense improvement on the MontaguChelmsford report and the Government of India Report. It transferred power into the bands of Indians. It was moonshine to say that nothing was given to them. The convention as well as the law was that the Government of India should not interfere with the transferred subjects. If they interfered it was no longer a transferred subject. Even in the Government of India there was power transferred to them substantially. So long as purely direct British interests did not clash, they would have their way in fiscal autonomy. When they interfered with Parliamentary interests, they would be impotent at any rate in the beginning until the new Councils gained strength. The future federation of India would and must correspond to the United States and the federated assembly must hold in its hands the destinies of all the three hundred millions.-(From a speech at the Gokhale Club, Madras). To England BY MR. AKSHAY KUMAR MUKERJI. England, 'tis fair that thou should'st now redeem And Monarchs bowed before thy will supreme. HE Statement issued by the Hon. Pundit Madan Mohan Malaviya and Pundit Motilal Nehru embodies a connected narrative of the events leading to the decision of the Congress Sub-Committee to withdraw its cooperation from Lord Hunter's Committee. The signatories point out that at every step in their inquiry they "realised more than ever that the presence of the principal Panjab leaders (who were in prison) was necessary to guide and help them in collecting some of the most valuable evidence, to hearten those who were still keeping back from fear, and to show to the people generally that the Government wanted the inquiry to be carried on fairly and that they wanted the whole truth to be told to Lord Hunter's Committee." 66 ment even in the matter of the enquiry. But to withhold co-operation from Lord Hunter's Committee-a Committee appointed by a different authority and which has so far performed its task well-is much to be regretted. We regret the decision all the more as the people's cause is just and strong. The astounding revelations made by Gen. Dyer the other day should have been subjected to the most searching cross examination by the counsels of the people. One cannot read the General's statements without a shudder. We can picture the gruesome scene. Five thousand unarmed citizens of all ages are gathered round a popular speaker. A British General marches with an army of European and Indian soldiers fully equipped with guns. Aeroplanes are threateningly hovering overhead. And this gallant officer. without consulting the Police Commissioner, gives order to fire prece The people's representatives rightly pleaded that the release of the prisoners was essential to a proper and fair investigation of the recent events in the Punjab" and the dent of the Solomon Commission in South Africa was cited as an historic instance to follow. Still the Punjab Government would not see the justice of the demand and His Honour the Lieut. Governor made an announcement consenting to release but six of the leaders on parole and even that only for the day or days they had to give evidence. It is unfortunate that the Punjab Government should be obstinate to the demands of equity, for as the Statement urges : No trials can take place in the absence of the accused. Lord Hunter's Committee is in a way trying these leaders as conspirators in a political conspiracy to wage war against the King. * It must be remembered, that the officials are as much upon their trial as the leaders. But not only are they free to appear before Lord Hunter's Committee, but also to instruct Government counsel. While we are at one with the signatories in their demand for the release of the leaders we cannot but regret their decision to withhold their co-operation from Lord Hunter's Committee. There is enough in the evidence already given before Lord Hunter's Committee in Delhi and Lahore to "stagger" even stony hearts and there is no doubt that with the enormous mass of evidence the sub-committee has collected and by skilful cross-examining much can be done to elicit truth and present in their nakedness several revelations despite the obvious handicaps to which the people's representatives are being subjected to. understand the We can sub-committee's reluctance to participate with the Punjab Govern till ammuni tion ran short" And this revolting act was committed when Martial Law had not yet been declared. The General makes up his mind "to shoot straight away" even before he reached the scene of meeting. According to his own calculations, from four to five hundred innocent and defenceless people were shot. He would have continued this "merciful act" "if ammunition had not run short." And what followed the Jllaanwaliah massacre? Question: After firing took place did you take any measures to attend to the wounded? Answer: No, certainly not. It was not my job Hospitals were open and they should have gone there. After this exhibition of savagery even the crawlseem mild ing order and other acts of barbarity indeed. Is it any wonder that the members of the Committee were aghast and some of them "frightfulness" of the were reminded of the German despot in Belgium ? As we read these blood-curdling accounts and picture to our minds the haughty and insolent tone of this British Military Officer our regret is the more keen that a great opportunity has been missed by the Sub-Committee to strengthen the people's case against military atrocities in the Punjab. BY PROF. D. K. KARVE. HERE are many persons who are guided more by their emotions and opinions unconciously formed rather than reasoned out conclusions and I am one of these. I cannot give the why and the wherefore of my opinions, beyond that they are the results of accumulated impressions of every day-life and the experience of work in some of the biggest and foremost Educational Institutions in this part of India during the last thirty-five years. These have been the motive forces of several of my attempts from time to time and I hope to be excused if I put down a few thoughts awakened by the Report of the Calcutta University Commission and criticisms upon it that have been appearing in newspapers and magazines. Of course, I shall only dwell upon points in which I am specially interested, viz.,-Education of Women in India through their Vernaculars. It is a happy augury of the new era that is going to dawn in the near future that the Commission has tackled the most important and the most difficult question of vernaculars as media of instruction and arrived at a conclusion which though not satisfactory, is yet far in advance of positions taken by responsible and influencial individuals or bodies. The Bombay University Senate rejected, after a prolonged discussion at its meetings, the proposal of giving option, to candidates at the Matriculation Examination, to answer their questions in subjects other than English in their own vernaculars, by a majority of 35 against 9. I hope the recommendation of the Commission in the matter will inspire hope in, and redouble the efforts of, the minority and I trust they will bring the question again to the fore-front. In this connection I have very radical views. I am of opinion that unless education in arts up to the ordinary degree is given through the media of vernaculars with English as a compulsory subject, secondary and higher education will not strike a deep root in Indian soil. Let the present Universities continue to do their work according to their own methods but Government should start parallel Universities with vernacular media, and accord recognition to the certificates and degrees that may be awarded by Universities and Institutions conducted by private agencies on these lines. The ordinary degree should be brought within as easy a reach of common people, without any waste of time and energy, as it is in Japan and many other countries where the natural system of educating youths in their own vernaculars prevails. It is a matter of great satisfaction to find that indigenous efforts are being made to introduce vernaculars as media of instruction. The Gurukul Academy of Kangri, Hardwar, is a pioneer Institution in this respect and it deserves the thanks of the whole country for boldly setting up this example and steadily working it out for nearly twenty years. The President of the Commission made very appreciative remarks when he visited the Academy. The second experiment worth mentioning is the Osmania University of the Nizam's Dominions which has made Urdu the medium of instruction. With ample state resources behind it this experiment is bound to show good results. Another attempt in the direction is "The Hindi Vidyapitha" which was inaugurated under the auspices of the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan in November last. The organisers have instituted three examinations named Prathama, Madhyama and Uttama. History, Mathematics and Sciences are included in the curricula, but they have gone to the other extreme, and have excluded English altogether, from the curricula. In the sphere of Women's Education the "Indian Women's University" is the foremost in restoring vernaculars to their natural position in its scheme of studies. I should have expected a good deal in this direction from the National University which has been working for some time past under the auspices of the Society for the Promotion of National Education, but this subjeet does not seem to have attracted much of the attention of the promoters of this movement. They should at least have given the vernaculars their right place in the Institutions for women. I think that the foreign medium has worked as a greater detriment in the case of girls than that of boys. It necessarily takes up more time to attain to a certain standard of knowledge, let alone the mental strain that it imposes, and keeps Secondary Education out of the reach of many a girl to whom time and work are weighty considerations. The Calcutta University Commission has rendered a very great service to the cause of educa tion of girls and women. They have brought to a focus the educated public opinion of Bengal that opinion is in fact representative of the whole of India almost-and have drawn their conclusions therefrom. Whatever use Government may make of the Commission's labours, their conclusions serve as a beacon light to indigenous efforts. I cannot resist the temptation of quoting a number of extracts from that report and my apology for doing so is that I shall thus be able to rivet the pointed attention of the readers to the vital problem of Women's Education. The Commission has first taken a survey of the present state of things and after full realisation of the same has framed recommendations. What is true of Bengal is true of all India with, perhaps, slight modifications. Even educated people are cautious and suspicious about the results of girls' education. Many an educated Bengali has stranded, the report very pertinently observes," upon the uncertainty of aim and the conflict of emotions into which he is drawn by the fact that the world of thought to which he has been introduced by Western education is a thing wholly apart from the tradition, thoughts and the modes of life still cultivated in his home." One has to admit that "women who make the home and shape the thoughts of the rising generation, have as a rule no share in the intellectual 'life of their men, and stand for ideals and modes of thoughts which are often sharply in conflict with those which their men have learned to entertain." However, it cannot be considered desirable "that women in India should continue to labour under the darkness of ignorance and superstition, or cling unreasonably to fossilised remains of the past out of which every semblance of life has vanished, and disagreement with their educated husbands, brothers or sons." That people are quite indifferent to such a state of things is plain from the fact that "in the sphere of girls' education there in no parallel at all to that extraordinary activity of private enterprise which has established hundreds of High Schools for boys." Western Education is distrusted by many because it is feared that it would unsex women and denationalise them. Thinkers of this type find an exponent of their opinion in Mr. Ravindra Moban Dutt, who says: "We do not want that women in India should be steadily anglicised importing into our peaceful houses the evils of suffragetism or the spirit of revolutionary and rationalistic iconoclasm, condemning all our ancient institutions that are the outcome of a long past and are part of our flesh and blood as it wêre." These people have to see that the desire of educating girls is growing in a certain section of the community and if no provision is made for the right sort of education on modern lines, advantage will be taken of whatever sort of education is available. Certain results of new politi cal ideas are inevitable. "Sooner or later in every country which adopts these ideas, the question of the position and rights of women must inevitably be raised; for in every land which has accepted them, these ideas have brought about a gradual and sometimes a sudden and violent social transformation . . . It is not therefore by denying an efficient education to women that great social changes can be averted. They may be delayed by such means, though perhaps only at the cost of a widening gulf between the thoughts and aims of men and women." Men in India have accepted "political theories and methods of the West." This will make a change in the social condition inevitable and a matter of course. The process of change will and must be very painful; but the change must take place. "It cannot be made in one sphere of life, the political without ultimately affecting all the rest; and if it is to be carried out without giving rise to the most tragic of domestic understandings, it can only be by giving the women that degree of education which will enable them, in partnership with their men, gradually and healthily to adjust the conditions of Indian life to the needs of a new age." It is no use" saying to the tide of advancing change, thus far and no further. The only solution must be a resolute attempt to achieve a real synthesis, not in women's education alone, between the ideas and traditions of the West and the ancient and rooted ideas and traditions of India. This reconciliation of Eastern and Western ideas cannot be limited to a single sphere." After examining the actual condition of Secon dary Education, as it obtains at present, the Commission records :- It appears therefore, that this tender plant of Women's Education in Bengal has to struggle against yet another difficulty (besides that of social opinion against it). Like the education of boys it tends to be dominated by an examination standard, and by an examination standard that is not determined in any degree by the needs of the girl pupils. Yet it is natural that the girls should wish to have their work attested in the only way recognised by the public; natural also, perhaps, that their parents should expect them, if they break through convention so far as to aim at a good education, to prove themselves in the only recognised way." It is not that it is impossible to make girls and their guardians appreciate an education, not attested by an approved Government Examination, as is proved by the established repute of the Kanya Maha Vidyalya of Jullunder; but it must be admitted that the Government stamp of approval by examinations and award of certificates would go a great way to popularise new schemes of education and it is desirable that Government should not be tardy in according their sanctions to schemes taken up and steadily worked out by responsible and respectable bodies of people and holding final examinations according to their schemes or recognising the awards of certificates by the authorities of these private bodies. The natural sad result of the hankering, both of girls and their parents, after the Matriculation Examination, is emphatically expressed by the Commission in these striking words :-" If the influence of the matriculation fetish is marked in the case of the humbler type of Girls' Secondary Schools, in other schools its domination is even more complete. The tragic absurdity of this situation will be appreciated if it is remembered that the examination is designed to test the fitness of students, and primarily of boys, to attend University classes. Even in the most progressive Girls' Schools only a small percentage of pupils can stay long enough at school to reach the matriculation stage, and only a small proportion of those who pass the examination proceed to college. That is to say that the character of the education given to the few girls who go to High Schools is dictated by an examination which ignores their ресиliar needs and the kind of life most of them will lead, and omits some of what ought to be the essential elements in their short and precious period of training; an examination which they will probably never attempt, and which, if they were to pass would only admit them to courses that they have no prospect of following.... Finally there is a general consensus among those of our witnesses who have the most direct and intimate experience of the problems of girls' education that the matriculation course, besides being in itself unsuitable for girls, does not fit those who follow it for the work which they will be expected to do when they pass to college classes." In summing up the Commission says:-" Secondary Education for Girls thus labours under exceptional circumstances in Bengal; it is distorted even more unnaturally than the education of boys, by the malign influence of the examination fetich; it provides, as yet, a very insufficient foundation upon which to raise the superstructure of a system of higher and professional education." In bridging over the ever widening gulf between men and women Secondary Education is of the greatest importance and so I have given so many extracts to bring home to the reader the very unsatisfactory condition of that education. I am not going to dwell long upon higher and professional Education of Women. In disposing of the question as to whether women should be given the option of certain subjects in the place of others, such as child psychology as an alternative subject to logic or science, or the inclusion of music among optional subjects, the Commission says:-"These are points upon which, since we are all men, and most of us have no acquaintance with the needs of women in Bengal, we have no right to pronounce an authoritative judgment. But it seems to us manifest that they are points which ought to be seriously considered by a body competent to deal with them. On the face of it, it would appear that a problem so difficult as that of the higher Education of Women cannot be solved merely by applying them a system designed for men and far from satisfactory even for them." In considering the effects of school and college education under the present conditions on the health and physique of the students the Commission says:" they (women) have not yet adapted to the new conditions physical habits which were formed in response to an entirely different environment. And the examination machine of Bengal tells on them with yet worse effects than on the boys." The Commission is against the proposal of a separate University for Women made by some people, because it thinks" the small number of women students would destine such a proposal to failure," and for other reasons also. It is however inclined to favour another proposal:-" But those who have given most thought to the organisation of future work in this field desire, while retaining a close connection with the University, to create a body specially concerned with Women's Education, and to give to it a considerable degree of autonomy." Finally it sums up :-Thus it appears that those among our correspondents who have the most intimate knowledge of and the deepest interest in the Education of Women are convinced that, if the great opportunity and the great need |