1 MISGOVERNMENT IN KASHMIR. 6238
2 As pointed out by Sir J. Gorst in the British Parliament, there was no |
3 desire on the part ofthe Government to interfere with the rights of the
4 chiefs of India; “ but there was one right,” said the Honourable Member, “ more
5 sacred than even the rights of oriental despots, and that was the right of
6 the people living under the protection of the military power of Great
7 Britain to a just and upright government.” Nor would it be just to attri-
8 tube the action of the Government of India to a desire to possess Kdshmir
9 as a good frontier, for the mighty mountains of the Himalayas have placed
10 an insuperable barrier between India and the countries beyond them. What
11 has been done was determined on simply because a reform urgently needed
12 in the interests of the people could not otherwise be carried out.*
13 It should be remembered that the present era of British administration
14 in India is one of material advancement and development, not only from a
15 social, but also from a political point of view. An age of darkness, the
16 outcome of despotism, intoleration and cruelty, has been succeeded by an
17 age of enlightenment, justice, toleration and liberty. The paramount power
18 considers it its bounden duty to see that the subjects committed by Provi-
19 dence to its care, are contented and happy, that justice is brought to the
20 door of the meanest of them, and that all, of whatever creed or nationality,
21 are equally benefited by its wise institutions and sheltered by its just
22 laws. To see the subjects of the Crown happy and contented, the chiefs
23 and Princes of India prosperous and their country and people flourishing,
24 is the highest aim of the British rulers of India.
25 Experience has fully taught us how readily our rulers show their ap-
26 preciation of whatever is really good, how heartily true loyalty to the
27 Crown is acknowledged, and how munificently it is rewarded, though, in
28 showing loyalty to the Government which has protected us from oppression,
29 and given us the valued gift of freedom, we have in truth, done no more
30 than our duty to ourselves and to our countrymen.
31 But it must not be forgotten, that while the Government have thus
32 shown by their acts the genuine interest they take in everything that tends
33 to our material advancement, and how warmly they acknowledge whatever
34 they deem worthy of approbation, their keen sense of honour, dignity,
35 duty and justice, qualities inherent in all Englishmen, impels them, also
36 to take serious notice of any wilful disregard of what is the plain duty
37 of those who seek honour at their hands, in their individual capacity, or as
38 representatives of sections of the community, and who, despite the knowledge
39 of their position and responsibility, and in the face of repeated warning,
40 allow themselves to be led away, either by their own whims and caprices,
41 or by the pernicious councils of their subordinates. On all occasions of such
42 emergency, the Government would fail in their duty if they did not at
43 once stretch out a helping hand for the relief of the suffering millions
44 whose lives, as the paramount Power, they are bound to protect, and whose
45 interests it is their duty to preserve. -
46 Under the Council of Regency, with the advantage of the advice of a
47 British Resident, the administration of Kdshmir has already shown un-
48 mistakeable ‘signs of improvement. Schemes for water-supply, roads and
49 railways, have been successfully introduced ; and, while every department
50 of State is thriving, it is gratifying to see that the annual Budget shows
51 ”
52 *Speeches of Sir Richard Temple and Mr. W. H. Smith in Parliament. Sir Richard
53 Temple observed, with reference to the question raised by Mr. Bradlaugh, that he was well
54 acquainted with Kashmir, and had enjoyed the acquaintance of the father and grandfather
55 of the deposed Maharaja, and that he repudiated the idea that England had looked with greedy
56 eye upon this territory,
57 Debates in Parlia-
58 ent.
59 “e
60 Policy of the Govern-
61 ment towards its sub-+
62 jects,
63 The liberal views of
64 the Government ;
65 Nevertheless, it takes
66 serious notice of wil-
67 ful disregard of duty
68 on the part of native
69 chiefs.
70 Improvements under
71 the Council of Regency
72 in K4shmir.
73 Sri Satguru J agjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@ gmail.com