Some Indian Congresses by Geo. F. Enoch

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · Jul 15, 1908

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 34, No. 29.

Some Indian Congresses.

By Geo. F. Enoch

By Geo. F. Enoch.

INDIA is a country of many peoples and tongues. There is really no one thing that can unite them all, inspiring them with one common purpose. The Aryan and the Dravidian, the Hindu and the Mohammedan, besides a multitude of smaller subdivisions, which are still further estranged from each other by the caste system, present a very poor field for the preacher of unity. Nevertheless there are men in the field who have a dream of united India, tho that seems very chimerical to the ordinary observer.

The Indian National Congress.

One of the most prominent of these attempts in recent years is the so-called Indian National Congress. It is a Hindu organization, and has been in the field a number of years. For a time in its early experience it sailed in smooth waters. But the early efforts to gain what was wanted by constitutional methods not meeting with the success anticipated, there developed an influential party that was in favor of taking the most extreme measures to rid India of British rule.

In 1903 the first serious effort was made to swing the Congress into the attitude of an uncompromising foe of British control of India. But the Constitutionalists carried the day, and for a time the extreme party was heard of but little. But soon after this time, some of the acts of Lord Curzon placed material into the hands of these Extremists that they were not slow to make use of. This led the Bengal leaders of that wing of the Congress to a public declaration of a boycott of all foreign goods. The partition of Bengal by the British government added fuel to the flame, and the boycott cry made much progress. This has been taken up quite largely by agitators in all parts of India, and what is known as Swaraj, or universal boycott of all things foreign, has become quite a popular cry. If the work only stopped with the cry of the name it would not matter much. But as in all cases of boycott, those who willingly abstain from the use of things that are interdicted soon try to force others to join them. This leads to trouble and serious disorder.

But there was a large representation of earnest thinkers connected with the congress who tried to save the situation. For a time they used every endeavor to pacify the most violent by compromise. But this was not satisfactory. So two factions rapidly developed, known as the Extremists and the Moderates. For several years now the annual sessions of the congress have degenerated into a wrangle between these two wings.

The Extremists have apparently been headed by some Bengali Babus who have been very outspoken in all their statements. Certain vernacular newspapers have exhausted their vocabulary in vilifying the British representatives and all who have opposed them. One of the most prominent, Mr. Bepin Chandra Pal, was sentenced to a term of imprisonment for sedition. But in the recent developments it appears that the Bengalis were only the ones that were beating the drum, making the most noise. The real power, intellectually, of the Extreme movement has come from the west of India. The Poona Brahmins, the subtlest brains of India, were the power behind the movement. These are headed by one M. Tilak.

In the sessions of the congress the Moderates have succeeded in holding things fairly well in their own hand. But at the session called at Nagpur in September of last year, M. Tilak had things so organized that there were some disgraceful scenes enacted on the floor of the open session resulting in a transfer of the session to another place to meet this spring.

When the congress met in Surat this spring, the Moderates had great hopes of carrying everything their way, and turning everything for the good of their propaganda. But M. Tilak and the other Extremists were there in force; and when the Moderates carried by vote their side of the controversy, M. Tilak appeared on the platform, and the confusion that ensued was the signal for a general uproar that soon developed into a free fight. Sticks, chairs, and even shoes were used in the melee. So ended the Indian National Congress.

What the future of the movement will be no one can tell. The Moderates are rejoicing that they are rid of the violent apostles of disorder, but still hardly know what move to make next. In the meantime the Extremists have carried on a propaganda that is rapidly debauching the minds of the youth of the land, and preparing them to take their part in the violent scenes that will close this world's history. This instruction has already resulted in violent measures. One promising young man went to Paris to learn from the anarchists the secrets of bomb-making. Upon his return he organized a school in which the nefarious business was taught. Nothing was known of this until two English ladies, mother and daughter, and the native syce, were killed by the bomb that was intended for the magistrate who had been sentencing some of the agitators for sedition. So this struggle in the ranks of the Indian National Congress is but the struggle between the forces of anarchy and constitutionalism. We shall watch the outcome with interest.

The All-India Muslim League.

Another congress along similar lines, but apparently avoiding the anarchical teachings of some in the congress mentioned previously, is the All-India Muslim League. Karachi, a rising city at the mouth of the Indus River, was chosen as the place for the assembling of 300 delegates from the remotest parts of India. This large gathering of Mohammedans was for the purpose of devising means and ways for the promotion of the educational and political interests of that large community. In some ways it is fortunate for England that the two communities represented by these two congresses are here in India. They are avowed enemies, and it is easier to hold the balance of power under such circumstances. So much is this felt that the Hindus recently have made very loud protests, saying that the Mohammedans are now the favorites of the government. Considering the past attitude of the Mohammedans, both politically and educationally, this congress is a remarkable step. One of the most remarkable actions was a resolution passed, unanimously, asking the English government to tax the Sindhi Mohammedan three pies in the rupee (one fourth of a cent in thirty-one cents) to be spent on their education.

There were not any stormy scenes at this one, but the meeting of the political section was held in camera, packed by the strongest of the two factions represented.

The National Missionary Society of India.

It is a pleasure to turn from these two congresses, which are evidently an outcome of the unrest of the times, in which some timid people see the gaunt specter of another mutiny, to a congress organized solely by natives of India for India's spiritual good.

The National Missionary Society of India was organized on Christmas day, 1905, at Serampore, by a conference of native Christians, called together at the invitation of Rajah Sir Harnam Sing and other Christian native gentlemen. It has two objects:

"1. It seeks to lay on Indian Christians the burden of responsibility for the evangelization of India, so as to awaken far and wide in the Indian church a growing missionary spirit, which will lead to lives of deep spirituality, fearless witness, and aggressive activity on behalf of the Lord.

"2. It organizes evangelical work in such parts of India that are not yet occupied by foreign mission societies. It conducts its work with Indian men, Indian money, under Indian management. Thus it affords an opportunity to all Indian Christians and churches to take a real and direct share in the evangelization of their own country."

Out of the 300,000,000 people of India, only 3,000,000 have come to the knowledge of the Gospel, and we get these figures by counting everybody of all creeds. Two thirds of these are in South India. It is further stated that it is estimated that there are 100,000,000 people in India who have not yet heard of the existence of the Christian religion. There are about 130,000,000 outcastes and inferior Sudras, the lowest of all the castes, whose condition spiritually and morally is the very worst. It is to these that this native society, organized from among the members of all the different Protestant organizations, desires to carry the Gospel. It is surely a large field. It is also encouraging to see that the questions that have divided the Protestant world in the Occident do not meet with favor in the native Christian community. I have had intelligent men from among the Christians deplore the divided state of Protestants, and say that it is almost impossible for them to see the reason for such divisions.

This native Christian Society publishes regularly one monthly periodical in English and two in Urdu.

Satara, India.