Page:The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, vol. 1.djvu/293

 ns in India. The Charter of 1833 and the Proclamation of 1858 guarantee the Indians the same rights and privileges as are enjoyed by Her Majesty’s other subjects. And the Indians in this Colony, as well as in other parts of South Africa, would be quite satisfied if they could only enjoy the same rights that they would enjoy under similar circumstances.

In India, whenever the Europeans are allowed to vote, the Indians are not excluded. If the former have votes at the municipal elections, so have the latter. If the former can elect or become elected members of the Legislative Council, so can the latter. If the former can walk about freely after 9 p.m., so can the latter. The latter cannot possess themselves with arms as freely as the former. The Indians in South Africa also have no very great anxiety to arm themselves. There is no poll-tax in India. Will you be good enough to protest against the recent Immigration Act and earn the gratitude of the helpless indentured Indians? It is the same recognized principle of political equality that enabled Mr. Naoroji to enter the House of Commons. If you object to the Indian having the same rights because “British energy and money” have built up this Colony, you should clearly object to the Germans and the French also. On the same principle, the descendants of the pioneers who shed their blood may well object to even those coming from England and pushing them out. Is this not a narrow and selfish view of the matter? At times I read in your leaders expressions of very lofty and humanitarian sentiments. Unfortunately for the poor Indian, these sentiments are set aside when you deal with the Indian question. And yet, whether you like it or not, he is your fellow-subject. England does not want to let go her hold of India, and at the same time she does not want to rule her with an iron rod. Her statesmen say that they want so much to endear the English rule to the Indians that they would not have any other. Would not views such as those expressed by you retard the fulfilment of those wishes?

I know very few Indians who, though they may be earning £1,000, live as if they were earning only £50. The fact is that, perhaps, there is no Indian in the Colony who alone earns £1,000 per year. There are some whose trade would lead others to believe that they must be “making a pile”. The trade of some of them is certainly very large; not so the profit, because it is shared by many. The Indian loves trade, and so long as he can earn a decent living, he does not mind sharing his profit largely with others. He does not insist upon the lion’s share. Just like the