Chapter I: Introduction: Page

Summary of recent events—Lord Curzon appointed Viceroy, 1898—The
currency—Calcutta Municipality—Famine of 1900—Punjab
Land Alienation Act—Commission on Expenditure—Lord
Kitchener as Commander-in-Chief—Delhi Durbar—Reduction
of Salt Tax—Official Secrets Act—Universities
Act—Alleged exclusion of Indians from office—National
Congress in Bombay, 1904—Lord Curzon’s Convocation
Speech—Partition of Bengal, October 16, 1905—Swadeshi
movement—Lord Curzon’s resignation—Lord Minto appointed
Viceroy—Mr. John Morley appointed Secretary of
State for India—Trouble in Eastern Bengal—Sir Bampfylde
Fuller resigns—“Coronation” of Mr. Banerjea—Disturbances
in Eastern Bengal and the Punjab—Prosecution
of Indian papers—Riot at Rawal Pindi—Arrest of six lawyers—Deportation
of Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh—Public Meetings
Ordinance—The Risley Circular—Appointment of two
Indians to Indian Council—Proposed scheme of Reforms—Opium
Agreement with China—Anglo-Russian Agreement—Seditious
Meetings Act—Mr. Morley’s speech at Arbroath—Cases
of supposed failure of justice—Mr. Dadabhai Naoroji
retires to India 1

CHAPTER I

A SERVANT OF INDIA

Festival of Diwali at Poona—The plague—Mr. Gokhale’s Society
of “Servants of India”—His past history—Member of the
Viceroy’s Legislative Council—Rules of the Society—Social
and political aims—The British connection—Indians and
Anglo-Indians—Criticism of proposed reforms—Mr.
Gokhale’s suggestions—A Society dinner 31

CHAPTER II

RATS AND MEN

Plague and rats—Previous attempts to check plague—The rat-flea—War
on rats—Plague mortality—A plague hospital—Symptoms
of plague—Course of the sickness—Descriptions
of former plagues—Inoculation—A Government inoculator 48

CHAPTER III

THE EXTREMIST

The custom of garlanding—The fortress of Singarh—Mr. Tilak—Religion
and scholarship—Theory of the Vedas—His past
history—Breach at Nagpur—His statement of his party’s
aims and methods—“Self-reliance, not mendicancy”—The
boycott—Growth of Indian unity—Quotations from Mr.
Tilak’s speeches—His arrest and sentence in 1908 62

CHAPTER IV

THE RYOT’S BURDEN

Mr. Junshi on family worship—His passion for statistics—“Statistical
abstract”—Finance and population—Expenditure
on Army, Education, and official Christianity—The Land
Settlement—Its origin and proportion—Is it tax or rent?—Lord
Salisbury’s opinion—How the amount is fixed—Mr.
Vaughan Nash on the Settlement—The cultivator’s income—How
he clings to the land, even without profit—The
money-lender and the Government—Collection of assessment—Ryots
and zemindars—Permanent Settlement of Bengal—Suburbs
of Poona—Character of the Ryot—Government as
protector of the poor—Forest Department—Grazing and
timber—Arms Act and wild beasts—The tiger as scarecrow—A
village petition—A sacrifice to education 78

CHAPTER V

THE SOUTHERN CITY

The pride of Madras—Municipal labours—Decentralization Commission—A
student of philosophy—The religion of the
grave—The religion of healing—A temple of Vishnu—A
family ceremony—Missionaries in Madras—The benefit of
missions—Memory of good Governors—Sir Thomas Munro—Decline
of Anglo-Indian manners—Causes of this—Distrust
of British justice—Proposed separation of functions—Police—Drink
question and revenue—Forms of Swadeshi 103

CHAPTER VI

ON THE BEACH

Meeting on Madras sands—Release of Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh—Song
of “Bande Mataram”—Parody of Mr. Morley—Speeches—Audience—Absence
of sedition—A Sanyasi’s
speech 125

CHAPTER VII

THE FLOODS OF ORISSA

The country and government—Mountains, rivers, and plains—The
great flood of 1907—Brown skeletons—Officials and
figures—Settlement revision—Scene of flood and famine—Deposit
of sand—Price of food—Chief sufferers—Village
houses—Tax-collectors—Government action—Madhu Sudan
Das—A call on an official—An official order—A Rajah’s
breakfast 134

CHAPTER VIII

“LORD OF THE WORLD”

Pilgrims at Puri—Shrine of Juggernath—Legend of the car—Possible
origin of the god’s fame—Benefit of equality—Brother
and sister—Inequality in India—Its consequences on
Indian and English manners—Possible growth of equality 152

CHAPTER IX

THE DIVIDED LAND

Eastern Bengal—Its rivers—Its fertility—Ancient weaving
industry—Modern hand-looms—Growth of jute—Variable
prices—Jute or rice?—Settlement and zemindars—Boycott
on cotton and salt—Lord Curzon and the Partition—Alternative
scheme—Useless protests against Partition—The
Fast of Commemoration—Part cause of unrest—So-called
sentimental objections—Separation from Calcutta—Sorrows
of landlords—Conjunction with Assam—Fears of separation
from Calcutta High Court 160

CHAPTER X

SWADESHI AND THE VOLUNTEERS

Earlier forms of Swadeshi—The Swadeshi Oath—Effect of
the movement—Encouraged by women—Various Swadeshi
manufactures—Official encouragement—Congress resolutions—Boycott
and picketing—The Volunteers—Origin in early
Congresses—“Little Brothers of the Poor”—Protection to
women pilgrims—Encouragement of athletes—Sufferers
from boycott 178

CHAPTER XI

THE NAWAB

Dacca—City anchorite—Nawab Salimulla—His history and
position—Government loan—Support of Partition—Mohammedan
against Hindu—Nawab’s palace—His conversation—Views
on cooking, jewellery, women, and politics—His
happiness and confidence in Providence—Belief in
English education—Influence over Mohammedans—Characteristics
of Mohammedans—A letter to Layard—Favour
to Mohammedans—Petty persecution of Hindus—Espionage—How
far amusing, how far mean—Memories of Eastern
Bengal 189