Page:Speeches And Writings MKGandhi.djvu/859

 Miscellaneous

A CONFESSION OF FAITH

[The following is an extract from a letter addressed by Mr. Gandhi to a friend in India in 1909 :—]

(1) There is no impassable barrier between East and West.

(2) There is no such thing as Western or European civilization, but there is a modern civilization which is purely material.

(3) The people of Europe, before they were touched by modern civilization, had much in common with the people of the East; anyhow the people of India, and even today Europeans who are not touched by modern civilization, are far better able to mix with Indians than the offspring of that civilization.

(4) It is not the British people who are ruling India, but it is modern civilization, through its railways, telegraph, telephone, and almost every invention which has been claimed to be a triumph of civilization.

(5) Bombay, Calcutta, and the other chief cities of India are the real plague spots.

(6) If British rule were replaced tomorrow by Indian rule based on modern methods, India would be no better, except that she would he able then to retain some of the money that is drained away to England; but then India would only become a second or fifth nation of Europe or America.