170 POLICY FOE WESTEEN INDIA 



many years ago : " So long as the raiyat has sufficient 

 to eat, and is in a position to borrow for weddings, 

 funerals and other festivals, he is perfectly contented 

 and does not want to be improved. Perhaps it is 

 wise of the raiyat, in one sense, to be happy and 

 contented, because it is well known that western 

 civilisation does not necessarily bring with it a spirit 

 of content." There are others who protest passion- 

 ately against any attempt to interfere with the exist- 

 ing social system and organisation of the Hindus, 

 or to excite new desires and ambitions calculated 

 to interfere with the spirit of placid contentment 

 amongst the cultivators. This attitude is admirably 

 set forth by Sir G. Birdwood in the collection of some 

 of his last writings, published in 1915, under the title 

 of " Sva " . They are the views of a fervent admirer 

 of Hindu institutions, and probably voice a large 

 body of opinion in India. He says : " The social 

 aspects of a Deccan village are as of a large family, 

 living together that united life of contentment in 

 moderation which is the perfection of human felicity. 

 What we call prosperity exists only in figures, and 

 has no place in the personal experience of the vast 

 masses making up the population of the so-called 

 progressive nations of the west." " Happy India, 

 where all men may still possess themselves in natural 

 sufficiency and contentment." Eef erring to attempts 

 to improve Indian agriculture by scientific means, he 

 states : "We are answerable for the happiness of the 

 people of India, as distinguished from the ' progress 



