India Today

LT. COL. HOGG: Our speaker today was born in Dartmouth, N.S. He was educated here in Toronto, where his father was the Rector of St. Peter's Church on Carlton Street. He attended the University Schools, obtained both his B.A. and M.A. from University College and his L.Th. from Wycliffe College.

He spent a great deal of his student ministry days in the Yukon.

It is interesting to know that in 1926 he married Miss Rowena Stringer, a daughter of Bishop Stringer of the Yukon.

In 1926 he went to India, as Principal of the High School in Palumpur. In 1930 he became Secretary-Treasurer of Kangra Mission, Diocese of Lahore. In 1942 he became Canon of the Cathedral of Lahore, and in the same year was awarded the Kaiser-i-Hind Award by the Government of India for outstanding services.

In 1949 he was given the Doctor of Divinity Degree by Wycliffe College, in Toronto, and in the same year he became Archdeacon of Lahore.

On October 18, 1950, on St. Luke's Day, he was consecrated Assistant Bishop of Lahore. In 1953 he became Bishop of the newly constituted Diocese of Amritsar.

He received awards for service to the Empire and India
The Jubilee Medal by George V;
The Coronation Medal by George VI; and
The Kaiser-i-Hind Award by the Government of India.

Not only is he a great missionary, but also a benefactor of mankind and a builder of Empire.

It gives me a great deal of pleasure to introduce to you today, Rev. C. R. H. Wilkinson, M.A., D.D., Bishop of Amritsar, India, whose subject is "India Today".

BISHOP WILKINSON: I am very glad indeed to have this opportunity of being present with you today and of speaking to you about the great land of India.

India is the leading nation of the Orient, and a great deal depends upon the leadership which India gives to other eastern countries. With the coming of independence in the year 1947, India has embarked upon a new era in its history and is a new democratic nation, growing in a sense of responsibility and leadership. There is a great future before the country, on account of its own ancient culture and learning, its natural resources and the gifts of its people, and if India receives the right help and the right leadership, there is no doubt in the years to come it will be one of the countries of the world to uphold all that is best in the interests of the peace and welfare of mankind.

The granting of independence has given to the people of the country an entirely new sense of dignity and national pride. No doubt in the beginning there was a spirit of exuberant adventure, but there is also a very earnest desire on part of the people of India to make their contribution to the welfare of the country and to the welfare of the world.

One of the indications of this is the fact that in their general elections, which took place recently 170 million people exercised their vote, the largest number cast in a democratic country in modern times. It was expected there would be a great deal of difficulty, in fact some people thought it would be impossible to carry on an election with an electorate that was so largely uneducated, but this one passed off very peacefully, and in spite of the fact that many people could not exercise their vote intelligently, nevertheless the results were far better than anyone had dared to hope.

I would like to pay a tribute to the rule of the British in India. I have been in the country for twenty-seven years and have seen a great deal take place. There is no doubt that the training that was given in the administration of government and the administration of justice, has been one of the bulwarks of the country at this present time. I have been present at a District Board meeting conducted by a comparatively young I. C. S. Englishman. He had to know the language and know it well. He had to guide and direct the discussion. He could have decided the matter in a few minutes, but he was training the people in self-government with infinitive patience, skill, wisdom and understanding. Such training is bearing fruits at the present time and the reasonable-minded people of the country acknowledge it.

It was a magnanimous gesture on part of the British Government that they granted independence in 1947, and as a result of it, there is now a greater feeling of good will to Britain than ever before. We have none but the most cordial relationships with all those with whom we have to deal.

There are many great problems facing the government of India today. Foremost among them is the question of food supplies. In recent years imports have amounted to approximately 5 million tons per year, that is to say, two grain ships per day (of 6500 tons each) would have to arrive at Indian ports in order to make up the deficiency in food supplies. One could imagine what the conditions might be during wartime when that food is not available or when monsoons occur in some areas and the people in that particular part of the country are faced with famine. The government has to make every effort to solve this problem through foreign aid, and also through their own effort.

The countries that are more fortunate than India are giving help and aid in the most acceptable form and are sharing with others the good things in life which they have. Would that there could be much more of that spirit of goodwill to bring the best of everything in life to the people of the more underprivileged countries, so that there might be a true fellowship amongst the nations of the world!

India is trying to meet the food shortage by its own efforts as well. There will be thousands of acres brought under cultivation through irrigation schemes. There are 102 projects under consideration and not less than 68 that are under construction at the present time. Three of these are major schemes. In my own Province of the Punjab, there is a huge dam being built on the Sutlei River, as it issues from the foot hills of the Himalayan Mountain range. The water will be directed in canals and irrigation channels to land that is now quite waste. In a few years time the results will be seen. The Punjab is the breadbasket of India, and the canal system that was put in by the British has made much of the Punjab most fertile. In some areas you see magnificent fields of wheat and grain, and now other districts will become productive.

One of the most encouraging features is that the local village people are themselves giving voluntary labor, especially in the construction of small irrigation channels that will carry water to their own fields. They are doing it with a sense of national pride in taking part in a national development. The problem will be met with the good will of the people of other countries, and with the energy and patriotism of the people of India; but it will take much time and effort.

Then of course there is the great question of trade and industry. There are many new industries growing in India. It has a great deal of potential wealth that has not been explored, and it is hoped the geological surveys to take place in the Himalayan Mountains will reveal natural resources not yet known.

If you visit the cities you will find immense housing projects taking place. In the area in which I live in the City of Amritsar, industries served with hydro-electric power have spread eight to ten miles outside of the city where rail and road transport is available. Indian capital has very largely been locked up in personal wealth and treasures, and now it is beginning to come forth in the open market, and with its help some of these new industries are coming into being.

Under the Colombo Plan, with which Canada is associated, they are sending young men abroad for training as technicians and engineers, and the Western nations are also sending them technicians and engineers.

Another problem in the Punjab has been the resettlement of refugees. You remember in the year 1947, when the division of India took place, there were approximately 4 million Muslims who moved from India to Pakistan and 4 million Sikhs and Hindus who moved to India from Pakistan. It was a time fraught with much tragedy, sorrow, disaster and death. You can imagine what the problem would be here in Canada if 4 million people from the United States were suddenly to cross the border bringing with them only the possessions which they could carry in their hands, or in their vehicles and having to be fed, housed and absorbed in a new country. It was a staggering problem, and yet the government of India addressed itself to it with great energy and foresight. After five years the result is that out of 4 million refugees who came from Pakistan to the Punjab, (India) approximately 400,000 remain unsettled. It has been a notable achievement on the part of the government. They had to exchange records between India and Pakistan and they had to receive the property claims registered by the refugees. Naturally many of the claims were false and some were avaricious. Some people did not get what they might have deserved, but on the whole the scheme has been a success. Efforts are still being made to complete the resettlement of the remaining numbers who are still unsettled.

The Church had its part to play in this too. During the great migration huge refugee camps were set up. Teams of Christian medical and relief workers went into the refugee camps to administer aid in every way to the unfortunate sufferers. Their efforts were greatly appreciated and were a practical demonstration of Christian service. The President of India wrote a letter to the Bishop of Delhi thanking him for the great part played by Christians.

Now those days are passing away, and whereas the people who suffered and who lost their relatives are not likely to forget it, nevertheless the vast majority of the population desires that there should be the resumption of normal relationships between the people of the two countries. Terrible as the tragedy was, it directly affected only 8 million people out of a total of 360 million. We look forward to the time when there will be a resumption of trade and commerce and intercourse between the peoples of the two countries. Recently the leaders have met together to discuss these great questions, and there have been hopeful signs of a solution.

Another problem facing the government of India is the health of the people. Many suffer from malnutrition and epidemic diseases break and spread rapidly. One time some years ago cholera was prevalent in a district adjoining our home. It was a time when drastic measures had to be taken. Sometimes the village people did not like to be inoculated or vaccinated on account of religious principles. I happened to be "Mayor" of a small town, and so we took rather drastic action, with the result that there was not a single death in the town, whereas 5,000 people died some few miles away. That impressed upon the people the fact that modern methods of prevention of disease are beneficial.

The Government now is making great strides in preventive medicine in the villages. There has been no major epidemic in India in the last five years. This is a rather wonderful achievement. Yet are far too few doctors and nurses for the great multitudes of people with whom they have to deal. You can not go on filling the hospitals with cases that are almost impossible to treat when one can go out in the villages and there through rural clinics established, teach the people health habits, and help them improve their sanitation and living conditions.

And again the Church is taking its part. Some people have the queer idea that missionaries are a good sort of people who go out to preach to the heathen and perhaps they can not do the people any harm. I would like to impress upon you the fact that the missionaries that go forth, at least from the Anglican Church in Canada, are highly qualified and consecrated to their task and are making a great contribution to the well-being of the people. They are imbued with the spirit of the Master whom they are trying humbly to serve. They have put aside all the ambition that they might have had for wordly prospects and have given it all up without counting the cost, to bring to the people that "ambundant life" which our Saviour told us about. I would like those of you who are members of Churches and members of Missionary Societies, to realize that the missionaries who go forth from Canada are worthy of all the support you can give them. One of our missionaries was called upon for advice by the Government of India. He was very gifted both as an agriculturist and engineer, and he made some inventions for rural uplift work and agricultural work that were of great benefit to the people. The great need in the villages of India was a pump that could be operated by bullock power and be used to pump up water from a depth of 200 feet in non-irrigated areas. Electricity has not reached rural areas and the villager still has to use oxen as motive power. They go round and round in circles turning a big wheel, attached to which there is a chain of buckets which go down into the well and bring the water up, spilling it into a little trough. It is a very laborious method. But the missionary invented a pump with a special valve and a compensating balance which could be operated by bullock power and lift water 200 ft. This was a Godsend to villagers living in rural areas.

The same missionary was called in consultation by the Commander-in-Chief on matters concerning rehabilitation of Indian soldiers.

The people who are with me are making a contribution in a unique way, and they need all the support you can give them.

There is endless help that can be given to the village people of India. We are there to teach the Gospel, but we are also there to live the Gospel first of all and enter into the lives of the people, to help them find "abundant life". We hear a great deal of talk about what should be done for underprivileged people in Eastern lands. The missionaries of the Church are doing it and not talking about it.

Then when one comes to the question of Education. 85% of the people of India are illiterate, and there are not nearly sufficient schools or trained teachers if compulsory education were to be introduced. With great foresight a plan that extends over the next fifty years has been made which will bring about a gradual increase in educational facilities and trained personnel.

This great scheme is one that has been wisely planned, and given good will, time and opportunity, the necessary progress, will be made.

There is a great effort to remove illiteracy through teaching village people by the Laubach method. Dr. Frank Laubach who devised the method is one of the great benefactors of the human race. By this simple method of teaching, even an ignorant village man may learn in a few months how to read and write. We have used it among our village people with good results. As soon as they have learned to read and write, they are exhorted to teach some one else.

The Church is doing its part to produce simple literature which the men and women can read after they have become literate, and it is amazing the progress some of them make.

In the field of Agriculture, there are several fine training colleges in India today where new agricultural methods are being tested and new kinds of seed are being produced. Villagers are having demonstrations given to them, and given aid in breeding cattle and improving crops. In our own Kangra mission we started to produce teazel, which is that spiky plant used in woolen mills for "teazing" woolen cloth. They have not yet been able to find any mechanical substitute. The plant has just enough resiliency to give the nap to the cloth without tearing it. We advised the villagers to grow it and we demonstrated it first in one of our demonstration plots. Naturally the poor villager was hesitant because his holding is very small, and as he is dependent upon six months of wheat and six months of rice he did not like to take the risk of the unknown. We would urge him to take a waste piece of land and plant the teazel plant in it. Some did but paid no more attention. Fortunately teazel is a hardy plant and grows without much care. After the crop came, we would market the teazel for them and they would be greatly surprised at the sum it would fetch and become enthusiastic about growing more.

When you travel in India you find communications are greatly improved. Trains run on time and the rolling stock has been improved. On the main lines in India you can travel in comfortable air-conditioned coaches.

Roads are being maintained at a very high standard, and you find bus services extending into remote parts of the country.

One of the great difficulties of course is the language of the country. There are 222 different vernaculars and about 24 main languages. When they meet together in the Legislature in Delhi, the men from the South can not understand the men from the North, so they have to conduct their proceedings in English, and they still cannot find any language that will be common for the whole country. They are dealing with that problem but we still do not know the answer.

There has been great developments in Art and Drama, that has added to the general culture of the people and their pride in their own country in the past.

I think I have probably spoken long enough, but before I close there is one thing I would like to say further. In this present day our land of Canada is probably one of the most prosperous nations of the earth, with still further prosperity before us, and those of us who have any religious convictions or faith according to the Christian faith, know that the greatest joy and happiness in life can come from sharing with others, and above all, sharing the Gospel of Christ.

What is it we want in the world today? So many people want security, prosperity, comfort and ease. Is that the chief aim of life? Does that bring to any man true satisfaction?

Surely we have a false sense of values in this modern day, for the things that are eternal are the things of the spirit, and no man is ever going to find the true meaning of life until he has entered into the spiritual side of life until he finds communion with God and salvation in Jesus Christ. There is no other answer to the problems of the world. Communism is coming into India. The people of India do not take to it naturally. But are we going to sit back, or are the Christian countries of the world and particularly the Christian church going to be there in the forefront with its desire to share? It is the only thing that in the end will bring the peace and goodwill amongst men that we all desire and which we believe to be God's will for us.

If we are going to sit back because it looks hopeless, then we might as well give up and not care for the future of the world. It is men of faith who create: it is the cynics who destroy. In taking part in the great Christian crusade you will find a direction and purpose in life which nothing else can give.

THANKS OF THE MEETING were expressed by the Rev. C. E. Riley, Dean of Toronto.