TALKS ON INDIA

Evening Star, Issue 22363, 12 June 1936, Page 5

TALKS ON INDIA

THE REV. C. F. ANDREWS ADDRESSES TO STUDENTS The Rev. C. F. Andrews, wfio is touring New Zealand under the auspices of the Student Christian Movement, addressed the students of the Home Science School yesterday afternoon. ~ Professor Strong introduced the speaker and said that for many years they had been interested in Mr Ani drews’s work and they_ had been specially interested in India. . Mr Andrews said that he desired to paint for them, a picture of India which would make them love it more than, ever. India was a very lovable place and the Indian people were a very lovable race. He had lived in India for 33 years, and had perhaps been brought' into closer contact with the people than possibly anybody in the ■ Empire. Mr Andrews then proceeded to tell the story of the settlement, or religious home, founded by the father of the famous poet, Tagore. He said that he had been impressed with the beauty of the Dominion. It seemed very close to India, in certain aspects. They should be able ,to live in the open air, with God’s sky above them, ns they did in India. At their settlement they had a family of nearly 400, including the children, of the school,' the girls of the , college, and the teachers, and they had a big agricultural farm on which they grew rice, etc., for their wants. It was a wonderfully peaceful life. In New Zealand there were still many open spaces. That day he had seen He had*seen the clearness of the atmosphere. It was marvellous. He had never seen such a wonderfully clear atmosphere anywhere in the world, except in the Himalayas, where one could easily see for 145 miles. Mr Andrews then told of how the wonderful Indian- settlement had been chosen. How Tagore’s father had at last come to Bengal and had said that this was the place that God had chosen for him. It was given the beautiful name in India of “ The Abode of Peace.” An outline was given of the daily life of' the children ami the people. ‘ The early hours of the day were devoted to meditation, and Tagore himself, the youngest son of the old founder, took part. Mr Andrews said that he had seen Tagore, sitting in meditation from 3 o’clock til! 7 o’clock in the . morning. For four hours he Would never . move—just remain en- ; tranced with the beauty of God. They had not that rush of life which prevailed in the West; and America was - far, far more hurried than Europe. ;In America it was one .continual rush, The people in “ The Abode of Peace ” had their intellectual activities in the morning, and then manual work in the afternoon. The finest beauty in the world was done by the human hand, and the finest music in the world came from the human voice. Though they could not possibly in the West go back to the old life, they might, nevertheless, learn many things from the East, and the work of their hands was one of these. They should do something every day with their hands. The speaker spoke of the beauties of Indian moonlight nights and of the dark nights, with the sky spangled with stars, and Concluded by saying that it whs a great joy to be with them that afternoon and to learn that they were trying to keep in touch with India and in a way to keep . the Indian people. (Applause.) A vote of thanks to the lecturer was carrie'd by acclamation. AT THE UNIVERSITY « INDIA'S POLITICAL SITUATION ;Last night Mr Andrews spoke at,the , University under the auspices of the Student. Christian Movement and the Public Questions Union on various aspects of the Indian political situation. ‘Mr Andrews said that he was a revolutionary, but a moral revolutionary. He stressed the value of Mr Gandhi’s . teaching of.” Satja ” and “ Ahimsa ” —“truth” and “non-violence.”. In reference to this he criticised the present capitalistic system ,as having violence and untruth behind it. On the other band, the Communism which now stood opposed to (this system showed no clear and distinct reference to the ideals of truth and non-violence. Mr Gandhi’s practice of these two principles' had shown their value and should teach , all Christians a lesson*. Nehru, the younger Indian leader who was now coming to the fore, was a Socialist entirely wrapped up in the new idealism of the Communist movement, but still adhered' to Mr Gandhi’s two principles. V Dr Andrews thought that the goal of Socialism in India seemed very far' aheadJbecause of the backwardness and lingering medievalism of the country. Much, however, of what was being worked out.in Europe, and especially in Russia, would be of supreme value to the masses of India, who were the poorest people in the world. < ln • connection with India’s aspirations for freedom, Dr .Andrews was in entire sympathy with these, though he by no means agreed with the contention that Britain’s interest in India was purely selfish. India should he allowed to choose for herself whether or not she would remain in the British Commonwealth of Nations. The new Constitution worked out for India was condemned even by moderate Indian elements. because under it 80 per cent, of the Budget was not under the control of rotes. It meant some advance in the provinces, blit the centre especially was more hedged in with vested interests than ever under the old Constitution. When asked what would happen if Britain were to withdraw her frontier forces in India, Dr Andrews advocated an immediate reduction of these forces by at least half. He dismissed the supposed danger from Russia on the grounds that that country was preoccupied with the danger which threatened from Japan and Germanv. He mentioned that one of the Afghan leaders had adopted Mr Gandhi’s principles of truth and non-violence. : In answer to a question about the veracity of Katherine MaVo’s ‘ Mother India,’ Dr Andrews said that this book was false almost from beginning to end, particularly in its references to Rabindranath Tagore.