Page:The Life of Lokamanya Tilak.djvu/295

 Sir Valentine Chirol had been deputed in 1910 by the *' Times (London) " to study whether *' The lull in the storm of Indian Unrest *' indicated ** a gradual and steady return to more normal and peaceful conditions " or whether "as in other cyclonic disturbances in tropical climes it merely presaged fiercer outbursts yet to come "; whether " the blended policy of repression and concession (had) really cowed down the forces of criminal disorder and rallied the representatives of Moderate t)pinion to the cause of sober and constitutional progress or whether it had come too late, either permanently to arrest the former or to restore confidence and courage to the latter*.'* This was a problem which Sir. Valentine Chirol set himself to study; and after a long and careful investigation he came to the conclusion that it was almost a misnomer to speak of Indian unrest, that it was confined only to Hindus living in the Urban areas of Mahratta Deccan, the Cental Provinces, Bengal and the Punjab and that with respect to such " repression meant nothing more cruel than the application of surgery to diseased growths j" " and as " it is impossible that we should ever concede to India the rights of Self-Go vemment, § " Sir Valentine suggested some minor changes of poUcy for the permanence of the British Rule and the well-being of India.

Compare the wealth and abundance of Sir Valentine Chirol's materials with the poverty and littleness of his conclusions. The truth is that he saw things through the medium of prejudice. His method of investigation was entirely faulty and unhistorical. He has collected

♦ Indian Unrest ; Page i. t

Indian Unrest ; Page 325. ■

§ Indian Unrest ; Page 332. *