Madhusudan_Das

His Life and Achievements 155
John Morley. the Secretary of State for India. Madhusudan describes his
discussions with Morley in the following words:
I told Mr. Morley that if he wants to have despotic government in
India, he should train the members of the I.C.S, accordingly, so
that they can serve as better instruments of despotism. The British
young men are trained as free men in the schools and colleges of
England. They learn to hate despotism. They see in England
popular institutions managed by the people. They are educated
to rule over free people but when they go to the Indian Provinces
to carry on administration, they are told that India is not a free
country, so they should run a despotic administration. Every
young officer is given instructions to exercise unfettered powers.
These young officers try to be despots but they ultimately fail:
for they are not trained in the art of despotic government.
The despot tries to study human character from a special
angle. The despot knows where to be kind, so that he can carry
on oppression later. If the Czar of Russia rules over England, he
will be hanged within forty-eight hours. On the other hand, had
Queen Victoria ruled over Russia, she would have abdicated
within forty-eight hours.
This indicates the intensity of patriotism of Das.
Commenting on the Mont-Ford Reforms, Madhusudan said in his
address to the Utkal Union Conference on September 21, 1918 :
The present government in India is comparable to a pyramid and
it rests on its top. A foreign bureaucracy carries the burden of the
British Empire in India. This force of political gravity will remain
intact, arrangements are only being made to spread the pressure
of the Empire over a wider field. This is a very complicated
problem. Those who will try to solve the problem, can alone
measure its importance.
The people will be punished, because government wants
it. The Ministers will be punished if they do not act according to
the whims of their employer, the Governor. The powers to be
transferred to the people's representatives will go back to the
government. By this, both the people and the Ministers will be
punished. According to these reforms, the officers will lead the
people to their goal of responsible government. This will mean,
blind men leading the blind. How can these officers who run an