eroded. One of the statements which thus came up was that the
ignorance and illiteracy in India was caused by British rule; and,
conversely, that at the beginning of British political dominance,
India had had extensive education, learning and literacy. By
1930, much had been written on this point in the same manner
as had been written on the deliberate destruction of Indian crafts
and industry, and the impoverishment of the Indian countryside.
However, to many within the expanding strata of westernised
Indians—whether Marxists, Fabians, or capitalist-roaders, their
views on India and their contempt for it almost equalled that of
William Wilberforce, James Mill, or Karl Marx—such charges
seemed farfetched, and even if true, irrelevant.
It is against this background that, during his visit in 1931
to attend the British-sponsored conference on India (known as
the Round Table Conference), Mahatma Gandhi was invited to
address the Royal Institute of International Affairs, London. In
this address Gandhiji also briefly dwelt on the causes of illiteracy
in India. What he said seemed to have made sparks fly.
The meeting held on 20 October 1931, under the auspices
of the Institute, is reported to have been attended by influential
English men and women drawn from all parts of England, and
was presided over by Lord Lothian.^68 The subject on which
Gandhiji spoke was ‘The Future of India’. Before describing this
future, however, he dealt with several issues, like: (i) the Hindu-
Muslim-Sikh problem, (ii) the problem of untouchability, and (iii)
‘the deep and ever deepening poverty’ of the 85% of the Indian
people who lived in the villages. From this he moved on to the
problems which required urgent attention and how ‘if the
Congress had its way’ they would be dealt with. Amongst the
foremost, he placed ‘the economic welfare of the masses’ as well
as the provision of adequate occupations for those requiring
them. He also addressed possible solutions to the problems of
sanitation and hygiene, and of medical assistance which he felt
not only needed packets of quinine, etc., but more so milk and
fruit. Next, he turned his attention to education; and, from that,
to the neglect of irrigation and the need for using long-known
indigenous methods and techniques to achieve it. In conclusion,
he stated that while he had told them ‘what we would do
constructively’, yet ‘we should have to do something destructive
also.’ As illustrative of the required destruction, he mentioned
‘the insupportable weight of military and civil expenditure’ which
India