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GREAT BRITAIN.
CANADA AND INDIA
THE KING AND HIS INDIAN OFFICERS.
His Majesty the King, accompanied by the Queen, received on February 11th, at Buckingham Palace, a loyal address pre- sented by twenty-six ludian officers, who were about to return invalided to India.
In his reply His Majesty the King-Emperor said:-
I welcome your presence as a symbol of the unity of the Empire and aa setting a sea! upon the beroic efforts and sacrifices in which my Indian soldiers, yourselves among them, have borno a common part with all my Forees from Overseas and from the Mother Country.
1 am deeply touched by your declaration of loyalty and gratitude to myself; but not less by the generous recognition which you pay to the kindliness and brotherly feeling which you have met at the hands of all your fellow subjects, the inhabitants of these islands. They are conscious, as I am, that the loyal devotion of India to the common heritage for which we are fighting-a devotion to which we have never looked in vain has been consecrated afresh by the blood of India's sons, shed far from their homes and in a quarrel which, whilst the might of the Empire protects India's shores, does not come near to the lives and fortunes of their kith and kin. But the liberties of the Empire were put into the scale and with them the liberties which India has enjoyed under our rule, and which, please Goil, she will enjoy in increasing measure as she advances in the path of social improvement and political experience.
I welcome the expression of your thanks for the rareful and scrupulous regard which all my officers under my direc tions have paid to the requirements of your religious usages. I honour the concern which you tell me you felt lest the cir cumstances of your life in a strange country might imperil the due observance of the rites which are sanctified for you by the dictates of your religions and the immemorial customs of your forefathers. I recall to mind the words in which my revered predecessor, the Queen-Empress Victoria, declared to her Indian subjects of whatever creed on assuming away over their lives her will that "none be any wise favored, none molested or disquited by reason of their religious faith or observances; but that all shall alike enjoy the equal and in- partial protection of the law; and We do strictly charge and enjoin all those who may be in authority under L's that they abstain from all interference with the Religious Belief or Worship of any of Our Subjects, on pain of Our highest Dia pleasure."
It will ever be the cherished duty of my House and Throne to guard the sacred promise then given in the letter and in the spirit.
THE HINDU UNIVERSITY.
On February 4th there took place in Benares an event of unique importance in the history of India- the laying of the foundation stone of the Hindu Uni- versity by the Viceroy. This impressive function was the culmination of twelve years of effort. The scheme of an All-India Hindu University was first projected at a meeting held under the presidency of the Maharajah of Benares in 1904. In 1911 the Hindu University Society was formed for its further development. In 1912 it received the approval of the Secretary of State for India, and in 1915 the bill for the establishment of Benares Ilindu University was passed into law. The main features of this Univer- sity, which distinguish it from the existing Uni- versities, are, first, that it will be a teaching and residential University; secondly, that while it will be open to all castes and creeds, it will insist upon religious instruction for Hindus; and thirdly, that it will be conducted and managed by the Hindu com- munity and almost entirely by non-officials.
The idea of an All-India Hindu University has appealed to all classes of the Indian people, and con- tributions, large and small, have poured in. A long list of Maharajabs and other prominent men have donated a lakh of rupees ($33,000) each to the funds. Large amounts have been collected at meetings held in different parts of India. At a recent meeting in Madras 60,000 rupees ($20,000) were collected. The Government of India also has given a grant of one lakh of rupees a year. So that the university will begin its career with a substantial financial backing. The site chosen extends over 1,200 acres, and was
March, 1915
selected as affording especial facilities for the pro- gressive development of a great University.
Lord Hardinge, in his reply to the address read by the Maharajah of Darbhanga, said :—-
This foundation stone will mark a definite step in the advance towards an ideal that has stirred to its very depths the imagination of India. The demand for enlightenment and educational progress grows ever stronger, and the cere- mony we are gathered eher to perform offers no small response to that demand, and may perhaps pave the way for its more rapid fulfilment.
ITS HIGH AIMS.
Here, at any rate, in this city is a cause where we can all stand together upon a common platform, for no one can dis pute that the Benares Hindu University will add to the facilities for higher education and to some extent lighten the pressure of the existing institutions, while it is the proud boast of at least one of those who have so successfully engi- neered this movement, that the degree of the Benares lindu University shall be not only not lower, but higher in stand. ar than those of the existing Universities. It has even been claimed that this University will only justify ita existence when the education given within its precincts shall make it unnecessary for Indian students to go to foreign countries for their studies and when such expeditions will be limited to advanced scholars and professors, who will travel abroad to exchange ideas with the doctors and learned men of other rontinents in order to make the latest researches in all branches of knowledge available to them. That is a great and noble aim which I hope may be fulfilled in this Univer sity, and think all will admit that the Government have not been backward to give their co-operation and assistance to a scheme so full of promise..
REVIVAL OF ANCIENT IDEAL.
Perhaps I was wrong to say that these principles are new to India. Though in ancient time there was nothing quite like a modern University, its prototype may be dimly dis cerned in the far distant past, and the tradition that bas come down to us is one of thousands of students gathered round the great teachers as Vasishtha and Gautama, and indeed the whole Indian idea of education is wrapped up in the conception of a group of pupils surrounding their Guru in loving rovarokee and not only imhibing the words of wis- dom that fall from his lips, but also looking up to him for guidance in religion and morality and moulding their char- acters in accordance with his precept and example,
You hope in the not far distant future to see preserved and fostered all that is best in Hindu ideas of life and thought, all that is noblest of Hindu religion and tradition, culture and civilization, and grafted upon that tree, healthy and strong in its own natural soil, you hope to see growing in it and of it all that is good and great of Western science, industry and art so that your young men may go forth not only inspired with pure and noble ideale, but also equipped for the development of their mother country along the more material lines of progress and prosperity.
On the two days following the stone-laying ceremony, lec. tures were given by distinguished Indians, among others the world-famed scientists, Dr. J. C. Bose and Dr. P. C. Roy.
In the course of his address on "Invoiced Life" Dr. Bose spoke as follows:-
To be organie and vital, our new University must stand primarily for self-expression, and for winning for India a place she has lost. Knowledge is never the exclusive posses- sion of any particular race, nor does it recognize geographical limitations. The whole world is interdependent, and a con- stant stream of thought had been carried out throughout the ages, enriching the common heritage of mankind. Al though science was neither of the East nor of the West, but international in its universality, certain aspects of it gained richness by reason of their place of origin. Has India then any great contribution to offer for the advance of human knowledget.
In the West there has been no check or limit to the com- petition for personal gain and lust for power in exploiting the application of knowledge, nor so much for staying as for causing destruction.
POWER OF DETACHMENT.
This gives us a new look at the innate restraining power that governs Indian life and culture. We may call it the force of detachment, or, for want of a better phrase, the impulse of spirituality. Let us see how this common heritage resets on the Indian mind.
THE EXAMPLE OF ASOKA,
As an extreme case let us see how one of the greatest of warrior kings became suddenly changed under its dominating influence even at the moment of his greatest victory. In the ninth year of his reign his arms were successful, and the extensive territories of Kalinga were incorporated with his Empire. This is what the Emperor Asoka writes on the im-
March, 1916
CANADA AND INDIA
perishable stone as the record of his triumph: "His Majesty feels remorse on account of the conquest of the Kalingas. Although a man should do bim injury, he holds that it must be patiently borne. His Majesty desires for all security, peace of mind and joyousness, and the chiefest conquest is through righteousness."
MAN DEDICATED TO KNOWLEDGE.
So much about the man of the world; as regards the other man who truly dedicates his life for the quest of knowledge in our country, any longing for personal gain or misuse of his knowledge would be worse than sacrilege. Poised as he is between the infinity of the past and the infinity of the fturė, between the universes of the worlds and the universes of atoms, can anything be worth his while, for so sorry a price can his mind be satisfied with anything less sublime than to be merged in the rhythmic sweep of the world-spirit itself! The excessive specialization in the West has led to the danger of our losing sight of the fundamental truth that there are not sciences, but a single science that includes all.
WIDER SYNTHESIS POSSIBLE TO INDIA. India is perhaps through her habit of mind better ättel to realize a wider synthesis. One of the greatest contribu- tions in the realm of science would undoubtedly be the estab lishment of a great generalization, not merely speculative, but based on an actual demonstration of an underlying unity, amidst bewildering diversity. Shall this great glory be for India to win↑
EDUCATION IN INDORE MADE COMPULSORY. Following the good example set by Their High- nesses the Gaekwar of Baroda and the Maharaja of Mysore, His Highness the Maharaja Holkar of In- dore has made elementary education compulsory throughout his State, and thus has earned the grati tude of his people. Ilis Highness has made adequate provision for building and maintaining additional schools for the fulfilment of his object, and as soon as these schools are ready this order will take effect.
New India."
EXPERIMENT IN BARODA.
An interesting experiment in the progressive State of Baroda in the matter of providing free refresh- ments for school children has proved a splendid suc- cess.
His Highness the Gaekwar appointed a com- mission some time ago to suggest changes in the sys tem of education in Baroda. The commission, among other things, pointed out the growing physical degen- eracy of the youth, and thought that the reason was that the boys attending school at ten in the morning had to stay in school till the evening without refresh- ments in the interval. The system of providing free refreshments to boys was introduced in a model school and tried for the last four months, with the result that there has been a marked improvement in the condition of the boys.
WAR AND EDUCATION. Unfortunately the movement to curtail educational grants is now in full swing, and it is growing apace without the slightest opposition from the people. One by one all the Local Governments have an nounced curtailments of expenditure. There will be no State-aided buildings for existing or new schools, there will be no grants for improving laboratories or libraries, and possibly the newly-started schools may not receive even teaching grants. The total educa- tional grants in the country had been smaller this year than last year, and owing to the new decision for further retrenchment, there will be a further fall, so that I should not be surprised if the total State assistance for 1915-16 should be less than in 1913-14, or than what it was when Lord Hardinge announced his first large instalment of grants. This is by far the heaviest blow of the war so far as this country is concerned.
The first question for consideration is whether retrenchment is necessary. In England they have fought it, so far as education is concerned, and they have succeeded to no small extent. Why should we not follow their example?-The Commonweal.”
INDIAN DRAMA.
A NEW PLAY AND A NEW MOVEMENT.
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In January there was performed at Calcutta by the pupils of the Bolpur Brahmacharya Ashram a new play by Sir Rabindranath Tagore, called "The Cycle of Spring," which promises to be epoch-mak- ing. Concerning this dramatic venture, New In- dia" writes as follows:-
It is a notable feature of intellectual activity that no renaissance is ever limited to one phase. A political up- heaval is sure to be accompanied by some revival in the Arts; a dramatic renaissance will find itself reflected in a quickened National perception. It was so in Ireland, fifteen years ago. It is in process of being so in India, to-day. Thoro in a new India in politics, a new India in painting, and a new India is beginning to express itself on the stage. To-day at Calcutta, in a secluded ancestral square off a busy street, a number of schoolboys will enact a new play written for them by their Guru. That Guru is Rabindranath Tagore, and he himself will play one of the parts.
Such is the simple fact; but the significance of the matter is that the world-famed poet has taken over the work of the evolution of the drama, which the sword of Mars has struck from the band of Europe. From the dull artificiality of the late Victorian cup-and-saucer drama, the stage was saved ou the side of its subject-matter by Bernard Shaw. The Irish movement added a soul to Shaw's brain. India will, we believe, bring the Spirit into the drama.
Such a development of dramatic consciousness must neces- sarily bring about changes in method. When the drama was lealing simipy with the outer world of desire, which is tue circumference of the mental world, its craft was on a single plane. The adding of soul to the brain put another story to play construction. The coming of the Spirit calls for a more responsive medium of expression, a medium that will not obscure but reveal "the more than man" and woman that has been seeking entrance to all the Arts.
We see such an instrument in the delicate and luminous method which Sir Rabindranath has adopted, and we rejoice that it is being developed in his own native Bengali. From such a centre of vivid life a sincere art will be carried for. ward and will react profoundly on the entire dramatic world. The four scenes of the play are entitled Outburst, Search, Doubt, and Discovery. The final chorus is as follows: Come and rejoice!
For April is awake.
Fling yourselves into the food of being bursting the
bondage of the past.
April is awake.
Life's shoreless sea is heaving in the sun before you; All the losses are lost and death is drowned in its waves. Plunge into the deep without fear with the gladness of April
in your blood.
For those who want to know more about India, we call attention to the following books, which, as well as copies of Canada and India, can be obtained from McAnish & Co., Ltd, publishers, 4 College Street, Toronto, "The Web of Indian Life," and "Footfalls in Indian History," by Siater Nive- dita (Margaret Noble): "Religion of the Sikhs." by Dorothy Field.
Just published: "True Story of the Hindu Caso in Can- ana.* Price 7c., postpail, Address: Canada India Commit Lee, 158 Bay Street, Toronto, Canada.
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