Evil of Begar and Mahatma Gandhi

[Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav]

Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav

Senior Gandhian Scholar, Professor, Editor and Linguist

Gandhi International Study and Research Institute, Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India

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Evil of Begar and Mahatma Gandhi

 

 

If proof were wanted that the movement of non-co-operation is neither anti-British nor anti-Christian, we have the instance of Mr. Stokes, a nationalized British subject and staunch Christian, devoting his all to the eradication of the evil of Begar. Mr. Stokes is a convinced non-co-operator and Congressman. I think I am right in saying that he has come to it by slow degrees. No Indian is giving such battle to the Government as Mr. Stokes. He has veritably become the guide, philosopher and friend of the hill-men. The reader should know that Begar is going on under the shadow of Simla, under the Viceroy’s nose as it were. And yet Lord Reading is powerless to remedy the mischief. I have no doubt that he is willing enough. But he cannot carry the district officers and others with him. And some of the officials are so unscrupulous that if they cannot have their way in the territories directly administered, they do so through the native States.

Now, on the hills near Simla there are small native States in which the British officer is all-powerful, more so in his own jurisdiction than the Viceroy. He can make the states do as he wills, and yet profess to be unconnected with their doings. There is one such state under the Court of Wards. And it is here that, through the influence of the Deputy Commissioner of Simla, repression is going on in order to suppress the Begar movement. The chosen way, which, as a Parsi friend corrected me, dates not from British days but from Adam’s, is to lop off tall poppies. The axe must be laid at the root. And so the most efficient and cultured of the poor hillmen named Kapur Singh has been under lock and key.

Here is a graphic description of the way evidence was collected: People were subjected to a reign of terror. The Simla police were brought, a number of them arrested all the people scared by threats of machine-guns and Kala-pani. It was in such an atmosphere that the evidence for the prosecution was collected. This reminds one of the Punjab martial law days. Naturally, the hillmen feel sore about this persecution of their trusted leader. I hope that under Mr. Stokes’ inspiration, they will resolutely refuse to do any Begar at all even for full value until their leader is discharged. They must not weaken, but must invite upon their devoted heads the wrath of the authorities and face imprisonment even as he did. Why this persistence in exacting Begar? For the authority, the influence and the comfort of the officials and officers depend upon the continuance of Begar. Without it, they cannot sport and kill wild beasts in the forests of the Himalayas. The Duke could not have been taken for shikar to the mountain fastnesses, if Begar had gone out of use. For the doubtful pleasure of shooting tigers and innocent ‘game’, a way had to be cut by impressing the labours of thousands of unwilling villagers. If the beasts had intelligent speech at their command, they would state a case against man that ‘would stagger humanity’. I can understand the shooting of wild beasts which come to annoy us. But I have found no cogent reasons advanced for wasting treasures upon organizing parties for satisfying man’s thirst for blood. And yet, if there was no Begar, there would be no ‘sport’ for the officers or the globetrotters. I need not have the practice of Indian princes and precedents from the Mahabharata flung in my face. I decline to be slave to precedents or practice I cannot understand or defend on a moral basis. 1 

Munshi Kapur Singh and his associates are undergoing trouble for your sake in order to rid you of the injustices of which you are the victims for a long time past. Are you going to give them up without efforts? I am sure in this matter you would not incur the displeasure of the whole country. I hope that so long as your friends and helpers are in jail you will, in pursuance of Mr. Stokes’ advice, refuse to give Begar to the British Government and the State. Do not allow any excess on your part; remove anger from your minds during the time your brothers are under custody. It is much better for you to undergo hardships and be ready to fill jails for the sake of your faith (dharma) than to give Begar to any official. Remember that, if on this occasion you prove unworthy, you will perpetuate your slavery and for all time to come you shall continue to be treated as slaves. In your efforts I am with you with all my heart and soul. 2

I know that the coolie or Begar system came to an end in 1921 and I hope you will stop being afraid of anyone whosoever he may be… a high officer or an Englishman. If we follow our own path, why should we be afraid? Fear is a barrier in the way of swaraj. There is no more time. But I will ask for some time to bargain with you. I was asked not to auction these things. But I hope there are people here who can afford to pay and buy them. There are two more points I ought not to omit. The Nayaka Community here commits adharma in the name of dharma. They get their women to lead an evil life. I would request them respectfully to refrain from this adharma. It can only cause harm to them and the country. Their girls ought to get married and be educated. No woman in this world was born to lead the life of vice. Each woman ought to become as pure as Sita. Likewise, untouchability is a stain on us. It is our duty as Hindus to wipe it off. I am thankful that Hindus, Muslims, Christians and other communities here live in amity. 3

We may not consider anybody low. I observed that you had provided for the night journey a heavy kerosene burner mounted on a stool which a poor labourer carried on his head. This was a humiliating sight. This man was being goaded to walk fast. I could not bear the sight. I therefore put on speed and outraced the whole company. But it was no use. The man was made to run after me. The humiliation was complete. If the weight had to be carried, I should have loved to see someone among ourselves carrying it. We would then soon dispense both with the stool and the burner. No labourer would carry such a load on his head. We rightly object to Begar (forced labour). But what was this if it was not Begar? Remember that in swaraj we would expect one drawn from the so-called lower class to preside over India’s destiny. If then we do not quickly mend our ways, there is no swaraj such as you and I have put before the people. 4

The newspapers have given publicity to the threat of certain Harijans in certain villages to transfer their allegiance to the Christian Missions seeking to wean them from Hinduism under promise of better treatment, and especially freedom from Begar to which they are subjected by savarna Hindus. It seems that representatives of the Hindu Mission and of the Harijan Sevak Sangh visited the aggrieved Harijans and got the savarna Hindus to promise better treatment. The storm has abated for the time being. I do not know what would have been the gain to the Missions concerned if the Harijans had gone over to their fold and how far the Harijans could have been claimed as bona fide converts. This I know that such proselytizing efforts demoralize society, create suspicions and bitterness and retard the all-round progress of society. If, instead of wanting the so-called conversion as the price of better treatment, Christian Missions cooperated with Harijan sevak in their effort to ease the burdens of Harijans, their help would be welcomed and the evolution of society would be hastened. But I write this more to awaken savarna conscience than to criticize the Mission methods brought to light.

The system of forced labour exacted by petty land-owners from Harijans and other classes called backward is almost universal in India. The petty landlords are mostly Hindus. Harijans and others can legally resist forced labour. They are slowly but surely being awakened to a sense of their rights. They are numerous enough to enforce them. But all grace will be gone when savarna Hindus impotently resign themselves to their merited fate. Better surely by far if they will recognize their duty of regarding Harijans as blood-brothers, entitled to the respect that belongs to man and to receive due payment for services voluntarily performed. It is the privilege of Harijan saves, no matter to what organization they belong, to befriend Harijans to study their condition in detail, to approach savarna Hindus and show them as gently as possible what their duty is towards those whom they have treated as outcastes of society and deprived even of legal rights. From the papers before me I further find that in Ode and some other villages in Gujarat the savarna Hindus take from Harijans who dispose of their dead cattle half the hide. This is unlike the usual practice of allowing the Harijans to own the dead cattle they remove. In some cases Harijans not only retain the dead cattle they remove, but receive a payment for the labour of removing carcasses. The matter demands more investigation and fair adjustment. If Harijans were better treated and if savarna Hindus had no horror of dead cattle and had no superstitious laws of pollution, they would learn the art of flaying the dead cattle and turning every part of the carcasses into wealth, both to the benefit of themselves and the Harijans whom they may invite to help them in the process of disposing of their dead cattle. 5 

I want to touch upon only one question here. Suppose for a moment that for one reason or the other India does not have or cannot run textile mills, also suppose that no cloth can be imported from abroad, can we then provide sufficient khadi to all the Indians? We should not be satisfied with meeting the demand somehow. The East India Company did this and to some extent this was done even earlier. In those days people were forced to spin and to weave on minimum wages. This custom was called Begar. We have to confess with regret that Begar is an ancient custom. It was not introduced by the British. We may perhaps be able to produce enough khadi through Begar. But khadi workers cannot be trained to undertake such inhuman work. Our intention is to help the spinners earn such wages as would ensure, after eight hours’ hard labour, wholesome and nutritious food, necessary clothing, comfortable houses and other amenities necessary for a happy home. If it is proved that khadi cannot succeed under these terms and conditions, we should modestly accept the limitations of khadi and also restrict our activity. 6

 

References:

 

1. Young India, 21-7-1921
2. The Leader, 18-8-1921
3. Aaj, 4-7-1929 
4. Young India, 3-4-1930
5. Harijan, 1-5-1937 
6. Khadi Jagat, August 1941