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“Government House, Simla,
June 19th, 1875.
“My dear Dr. Wilson—Lord Northbrook has desired me to ask you whether
you would be so kind as to let him know your impressions as to the
effect of recent Baroda events on the minds of the Natives. During the
progress of the trial and subsequent proceedings, there was naturally a
good deal of excitement, and not a few erroneous impressions as to
matters of fact got abroad. By this time things have begun to settle
down. The truth must be pretty generally known, and opinion is probably
beginning to assume its ultimate form. The present, therefore, seems a
fitting time to enquire what effect, for good or evil, the general
policy of Government has produced on the Native mind.
“The only two main sources of information in our possession are of
course official reports and the utterances of the Press. The former are,
I have every reason to believe, good and trustworthy as far as they go,
but it is obvious that there are many sources of information which are
more or less closed to those who occupy an official position. As to the
latter—the Press—it is very difficult to judge of the degree of
importance which is to be attached to the opinions of any particular
journal, European or Native.
"The opinion of one occupying your position, with large experience of
the country and peculiar opportunities of mixing with all classes,
would, I need hardly say, be very valuable, and Lord Northbrook hopes
that you will be willing to express your views to him with complete
freedom.—Believe me, yours very truly,
"Evelyn Baring.”
“Malabar Hill, Bombay, 3d August 1875.
“Dear Sir—I very readily reply to the inquiries which you confidentially
addressed to me some time ago ; but before doing this I find it
necessary to advert to certain peculiarities in the Baroda State, and
its rulers, which it is needful to bear in mind for the right
understanding of the position of affairs in the West of India, as I
shall to the best of my information and judgment represent them.
“Among the natives of Goojarat the Maratha Government at Baroda has been
unpopular from its very commencement to the present day. By these it is
viewed very much as a foreign Government, differing to a very
considerable extent in language and customs, and exercising authority
without offering the advantages of quiet, security, education,
enlightened legislation, and protection of labour and commerce as are
presented by the British Government, and without even generally, even in
a subordinate capacity, employing the natives of the province. The fact
to which I allude I have ascertained from varied and unexceptionable
testimony, and from complaints thrust upon me during my journeyings
through much of the Gaikwar’s territories, by many respectable natives
of Goojarat. Baroda (in which is to be found much of the refuse of the
Maratha country, both Brahmanical and non-Brahmanical) is considered a
cesspool of moral corruption. Notwithstanding the productiveness of much
of its soil, and the extent of its land revenue, and transit and other
duties, it has seldom, if ever, been free from pecuniary embarrassments.
No jiroper adjustment, as far as I am aware, has been made between the
claims of the State and those of the ruling family. Much caprice has
been shown in the exactions made from the agricultural population. The
treatment of the wild tribes was barbarous in the extreme, till the
management of them, by mutual agreement, passed into the hands of the
British Government in connection with the Mahee-Kanta agency. The
administration of justice through the Gaikwar’s dominions has been most
imperfect and partial, leading frequently, I am persuaded, to the injury
and cruel treatment both of the innocent and guilty. I can never forget
the shock which I got the first day of my entrance into the Gaikwar’s
territory, now upwards of forty years ago, when the ashes of a fire
(under a tree) were pointed out to me by a friend high in the Medical
Service of the East India Company, over the blazing flames of which four
humble Bheels, suspended by the feet from the branch of a tree, with
their heads nearly reaching the flames, had been executed. My
journeyings among jungle tribes, five years afterwards, led to
revelations equally painful. Through these (in 1840) I learnt, from Mr.
James Sutherland, C.S., that he had succeeded in inducing Sayajee Kao,
Gailcwar, to abolish Suttee. I think it right, however, in justice to
the Baroda Government, to mention that it has readily concurred with the
British Government in the measures proposed by it for the abolition of
infanticide among the tributaries of both Governments in Kathiawar,
leaving the British authorities free to adopt what action they might
please in the exigencies of the case. It is to the credit of the Baroda
Government, I also mention, that it has allowed the British Government
to collect and pay over to it its share of the Kathiawar tribute, thus
avoiding such unhappy collisions as occurred between the Gaik war and
the Pesliwa of Poona, whom we succeeded in Kathiawar.
“The Baroda Government has for long received much kindness from the
British Government. This, however, it has not sufficiently appreciated
and improved. A notable instance of this appeared in the unwillingness
of Sayajee Rao to fulfil his engagement to pay, for the support of the
cavalry troops he was bound to maintain, the capital and interest of the
large sums of money which he had borrowed from Soukars and bankers, on
the pledge of the British Government that it should see to the ultimate
rectification of the accounts. For this he nearly lost his throne in
1832, when Lord Clare visited Baroda on his way to confer with Lord
William Bentinck at Ajmer about this and other exigencies which had
arisen. It was only after repeated entreaties, almost tearful, that he
ultimately accepted the advice proffered to him by the Resident at his
Court, Mr. James Williams, C.S., as I find in a private letter addressed
to the brother of Mr. Williams, in my possession. Sayajee Rao, it is
admitted, had long had bad native advisers in his employment ; while the
British Residents at his Court, in general able and honourable men, too
much shrank from interfering with him even by friendly advice, except
when the British interests were directly concerned. It is to be
regretted that he did not, more frequently than he did, solicit their
advice. He bore them no good will ; and his memory is associated with
suspicions in connection with the lives of two of them. He did nothing
to encourage education among his people, though he took approbatory
cognisance on one occasion of two small vernacular schools supported by
the officers of the British camp. At a late period of his age he got a
qualified teacher for his elder sons from one of the industrial classes
of the Marathas, who, if they made but little progress in learning, was
not to be blamed on that account. Gunput Rao, who succeeded him on his
death, was certainly personally the better of the instructions which he
received, though he did not succeed in remedying the grievances of his
subjects, or in curtailing the extravagant expenses of his palace. He
gave away large sums of money in furnishing and filling the garden
palace at the Motee Bagh with expensive gewgaws and toys. . He viewed
the British Government with respect, and came down to Bombay in 1850 to
meet Lord Dalhousie. He died on the 19th November 1856.
“Gimput Bao was succeeded by his brother Khunde Bao, but little fitted
to hold the reins of government or to follow good advice when proffered
to him. He spoke of his predecessor as a fool, but he had remarkable
vagaries of his own. He is said to have spent a lakh and a quarter of
rupees (£12,500) on one occasion in reward for a successful wrestler. He
was fond of pashuguddha as well as of mcillaguddha—of fighting brutes as
well as of men, and spent large sums of money in promoting these
oriental sports, happily now not very common. When the Mutiny broke out
and extended to serious dimensions, he was greatly afraid, as he well
might ; but the sight of the brawny legs and arms of the 92d Highlanders
mitigated his fears, and called forth imitations of defence for himself
in the formation of a still existent regiment with highlandish
habiliments, though without the cor or the corpus of the valiant Gael.
In consideration of his fidelity and friendship to the British, there
was remitted to him the payment of the sum of three lakhs of rupees per
annum for the payment of the Goojarat Irregular Horse, and the
acknowledgment of the right of adoption on the failure of natural heirs.
Trusting to the toleration of “the Sirkar,” as he denominated the
British Government, he had serious thoughts of becoming a Muhammadan,
and frequently sat on the bare ground to receive instructions in the
doctrines of the Koran from a Brahman convert to Muhammadanism seated
before him on a stool. He prepared at an immense expense a pall studded
with precious stones and jewels for the tomb of Muhammad at Medina, or
failing there, for the tomb of Hassan or Hussein at Kerbela in
Mesopotamia, and which, there having been no prospect of acceptance by
the Muhammadans, is still at Baroda. At the close of 1859 I had an
interview with his Highness in the presence of the Besident, Colonel
Wallace; when, after commending him for the erection of a hospital, I
almost succeeded in getting him to found a high school at Baroda for the
benefit of his subjects. He came to believe, from suspicious
circumstances brought to his notice, and from information which he
received, that his brother, Mulhar Bao, had intended to attempt to
murder him for his throne ; and he put him into restraint and
confinement under this belief. On no account would he suffer him to be
set at liberty, even under surveillance. From peculiarities in the
temperament and actings of Khunde Rao, at which I have above only gently
hinted, considerable sympathy was for a time felt for Mulhar Bao,
especially throughout the Maratha country. Nevertheless, it was a
mistake to set Mulhar Eao on the throne without an investigation of the
charge of attempted fratricide which had been brought against him, more
especially as Mulhar Eao had been more than an object of suspicion
during the Mutiny, and reckoned from his early days to be altogether
untrustworthy and injurious.
“The remarks which I have now to make bear directly on the inquiries
which you have confidentially addressed to me. For convenience they will
still be made mainly in a narrative form.
“The inefficient and devious administration of Mulhar Eao, and his bad
choice of agents, were thought by many both in the Goojarat and Maratha
country to be such as would likely bring on a crisis. The appointment of
Colonel Phayre, a gentleman well known to possess the highest moral
character with very extensive knowledge of the different provinces of
Western India, to the Eesidency of Baroda, rendered the crisis, in the
judgment of many, almost certain. The Commission headed by Sir Eichard
Meade, and its finding, hastened its advent. It was intensified by the
marriage of Mulhar Eao of Lukshmibai (illegal in a Hindoo point of view
in this kali yuga, or iron age), and by the suffering peasantry, sirdars,
officers, etc., who, more urgently than ever, sought relief from their
grievances and payment of their dues. The Gaikwar, failing in his
attempt to corrupt the British officers by bribery, resolved to adopt
the desperate measure of destroying Colonel Phayre by poison—a
catastrophe which the good providence of God averted.
“The vigorous measures which were adopted by the Government of India to
bring the Gaikwar to trial for the heinous crime of which he was
suspected, had, notwithstanding the circumstances above alluded to, a
stunning effect upon the Marathas, many of them throughout the country
fearing that he would be found guilty. I have the strongest belief that
the Gaikwar had his agents -soon at work on this emergency. The tone of
many of the native papers was at once changed for the worse, and many of
the educated natives, particularly at Poona, held defiant meetings, at
which it was alleged that the British Government had no right to put on
his trial an independent prince, as they termed the Gaikwar (forgetful
of the subordinate position of his ancestors even in the Maratha
empire). The appointment of two princes of high status in India, and a
famous administrator, to sit in commission for taking and recording
evidence, formed for the time being a quietus to some proud spirits ;
but anon the flame of discontent again burst forth, and indignation was
felt that any Maratha princes should sanction the principle of sitting
in a quasi-court for the trial of their peers. The last ‘ dodge ’ was
that of getting up a loud protestation of the actual innocence of the
Gaikwar, while he and his case were sub judice.
Never since I came to this country, upwards of forty-six years ago, have
I felt so ashamed and grieved because of our educational proteges, for
whom a parental Government has done and is doing so much, devoting their
talents) and energies, in a spirit of marked ingratitude, to the worst
of purposes.
“And yet the affair is to my mind perfectly intelligible. It has long
been the ambition of the Maratha Brahmans to assume the direction of the
Maratha power. This is perfectly obvious from the usurpation of the
Brahman Peshicas, who with the Putwurdhans and Rastias, and other
Brahmanical warriors, made state prisoners and ciphers of the Rajas of
Satara and their Maratha nobles, as so well brought out in Grant Duff's
History, and the condensed notices of it by Mr. Elphinstone, Sir John
Malcolm, Sir Bartle Frere, and others. The young men to whom I now
refer, and the partisans whom they have succeeded in acquiring, do not
intend rebellion at present, but their object is to depreciate the
Paramount Power by plausible misrepresentations, to promote a spirit of
discontent among the people, which may employ them at present and
eventually turn the course of events in the direction of their final
aspirations. Their consciousness of the depravities of Baroda made them
reaUy fear the absorption of that State. Its preservation, under happily
devised arrangements, I verily believe is to many of them in a certain
sense a disappointment ! Their business of grievance-mongering has had a
termination sooner than they expected. They form the same party who go
about the country poisoning the minds of the peasantry, and -who make
them dissatisfied with the terms of their holdings, notwithstanding
their visible progress in social prosperity, in the extension of their
fields, in the improvement of their dwellings, utensils, and clothing.
Many of them I know to be a disappointment and a grief to their aged
connections. A worthy old Brahman when speaking of them to me lately
said, with tears running down his cheeks, £ They have become ashamed of
their parents and abandon them, betaking themselves to vicious courses;
what they may erelong do no man can tell.’ In connection with them I
would observe, in passing, that we have a portion of educated youth of a
very different spirit from theirs. At the same time we must have a
thorough revision of the educational system. We must give useful
instruction to the masses, that they may not be the dupes of the
designing ; and leave particular classes, hitherto too highly favoured,
to work their way upwards by their own merits. It has been rightly said
of Scotland that there is a pathway to the Universities from every
parish in the land; but the youth going to these Universities have
generally to pay for their own education.
“In conclusion, keeping your queries in view, I may truthfully say that,
after much observation ancl inquiry, I am convinced that Goojarat has
all along had faith in the righteousness and wisdom of the proceedings
of the British Government, and that the Maharashtra, exclusive of a band
of self-conceited and mischievous youth (worthy of a term or two in the
house of correction), now sees that the Government, though
misrepresented for some time as to its motives and endeavours, is really
deserving of confidence and praise. The late occurrences at Baroda will
occupy a chapter in the history of India of a most instructive
character; and the blessing of God will rest on those who have taught
the Princes of India that they have duties to their subjects to
discharge, which cannot be overlooked 'without the endangerment of their
own position even with that benign Government which is faithful to the
spirit of all its engagements.
“I am, my dear Major Baring, with the greatest respect for His
Excellency the Viceroy, yours truly,
“John Wilson.”
“Government House, Simla, August 7, 1875.
“Dear Dr. Wilson—I am very much obliged to you for your most interesting
letter on the subject of the effect of the action taken at Baroda upon
native opinions in the Bombay Presidency. It is the more valuable as you
have so long an experience, and many means of forming a sound judgment
which officers of Government do not possess, or at least do not so fully
possess.
“There are two subjects which are raised by the experience we have
lately acquired upon which, at your leisure, I should much like to know
what you think :—First, Is it desirable to impose any check upon the
Native Press, or to endeavour to counteract the effect of the disloyal
native papers by supporting papers which will put forward correct views?
Second, Has the time arrived for making those who receive a high English
education pay the whole cost of it, limiting the aid of the State to
those youths who, by distinguishing themselves in the lower schools,
show that they deserve assistance in completing their education, thereby
bringing fully into operation the principles expounded in the
Educational Despatch of 1854?
“Yours very sincerely,
“Northbrook.” |
