History Of The Panjab(1891)

Latif,syad Muhammad · 1891 · Public domain (published pre-1930) · archive.org ↗

1xiv

2MUNRikCl!.

3reftsoD to tongratul&te tbemeelvea on the WBoiSJd bleaeaz^ of

4’BrltiBh rule.

5Aa you have read in histcny, &voar was, in former times, won by

6those who made the richest presents to the £in^, or who pleased

7ministers and favourites with valuable ^pfbe, which were the spoils

8of districts, and came out of the pocket the poor raiyat. The

9Am£r3 vied with ‘each other who tmould make riimest present. The

10anniversaries of the King’s accession, and the nMusTU^s of the mem*

11bers of the royal hous<^old, afforded recurring pretexts for extor*

12ticm. Under the British Government, the servants of the State

13are forbidden to receive any presents whatever, and the Government

14itself accepts none without giving an equivalent in return. • No

15longer is prostration exacted on the occasion of the visits of princes

16and r&jds to the British rulers, nor is any one of them treated with

17insolence or contempt. For the respect shown by them as vassals

18of the Crown, they are treated with every mark of consideration

19and honour consistent with the dignity of the Imperial Government,

20and their hereditary rights and privileges are maintained intact and

21uninmaired.

22We find the British Government prosperous, and the people

23under it contented and happy, because it acts on the grand motto

24that “ the prosperity of the country is the only true source of

25wealth.” The end and aim of that rule is the welfare of the people,

26not the personal aggrandisement of the rulers.

27Tavernier has said of Shah Jahdn (though, according to our

28notions, Akber had hir better claim to the honour) that “ he reigned

29not so much as a King over his subjects, but rather as a &ther over

30his £imily and children.” Had that distinguished traveller been

31alive to-day, he would have clearly seen that what Shah Jah&n did

32for his subjects was, after all, only as a drop in tbe ocean, compared

33with what British statesmen hove done for the people of this country.

34The architectural remains of his period, in various parts of India,

35will ever stand as brilliant monuments to his fame, but, in the

36eloquent words of the great essayist, De Quincey, in his essay

37on the British rule in India : Higher by far than the Moghal gift

38of limestone or travelling stations or even roads and tanks, are the

39gifts of security, of peace, of law and settled order.” And any one

40who chooseSv^ look impartially around him may at once verify

41what this eminent writer has said. The real fame and strength

42of the British rulers lie in the vast schemes undertaken by them

43for the good of the people. Witness the gigantic railway projects,

44and the roads which have connected together all the great centres of

45* population, and become the means of developing the trade and increas-

46ing the wealth of the country. Witness the vast public works that

47have been carried out. Witness the grand schemes of irrigation

48which have converted thousands of acres of barren land into green

49smiling plains. Witness the great good done to the country by