Shikasta

"Europe, mostly Britain, but other countries too, had seen India, as Europe always did, as a place to be conquered, exploited, used. For two and a half centuries India had been drained of its wealth." Here followed twenty minutes of statistics. This was not altogether successful: material and delivery appropriate to a seminar were used in this vast setting where it was necessary to strain the ears to hear anything. Before this part of her contribution was done, her audience was restless, if sympathetic. "India had been occupied 'for her own good,' of course, in the usual hypocritical mode of Europe, by armies and by police, and the continent's inhabitants, with their intricate ancient history, their many complementary religions, their diverse cultures, were treated by the white invaders as inferior. The rule of Britain over India had been accomplished and maintained by arms, and by the whip. The people who did this were the barbarians. They were..." and here came the familiar indictment: "They were arrogant. Their exploitation of India was done in the name of progress and of their own superiority. Superior! Those ugly clumsy people with their thick minds and bodies! Yet these superior people were incapable of learning even the languages of the people they subjugated. They were ignorant of our customs, our history, our ways of thought. They were never anything but stupid people, stupid, ignorant, and self-satisfied."

These two contributions took until eight.

The late sleepers had to hear about the first two "indictments" from those returning to look for their breakfast. "Well, yes, but we know all that" was the frequent comment. As if they were expecting more, or something different. But what? For this was a consistent emotion from the begi

Throughout that day, until five and the evening session, it was hot, uncomfortable, and difficult in the camp. Everyone understood that this indeed was going to be no easy time. There were too many of them. There was not enough water. Already sorties were being made in search of new supplies of food and water. The dust was on everything. This was the time they should be sleeping, but where? And the local people had already arrived, were arriving more and more, and stood about, watching the thousands of young people who milled around looking for more food, a little shade, places to sleep. What they did, in a resigned enough spirit, was to settle down in groups, perhaps playing instruments and singing, or talking, or discussing conditions in their respective countries. Such meeting times of the youth have always been - I have consistently maintained - not far-off legislative sessions! In effect, at least. And George Sherban and his brother and the other "stars" were everywhere, taking part in discussions and music making. The old white was there, too, received well enough by everyone, and indeed often finding himself the centre of interested groups.

The generality of the white delegates - about seven hundred of them, stayed in their enclave of tents that day, and when they emerged for a meal or other purposes, behaved quietly, avoiding eye confrontation, and if challenged, smiled, and were bland and polite. They behaved, in fact, as so many of their subject peoples have always had to do: they were trying to be invisible.

This day, and after that night's session, and next day, the whites were in real danger, but after that, the emotions lost force.

Our agents were assiduous. It is clear that all were misled to some extent by their very proper enthusiasm for justice. They talked of "a total victory" over the white races. But what could they mean? They seemed to imagine not only a "verdict in their favour," but even summary justice of some kind. But to be carried out how, and on whom? The person of John Brent-Oxford? On their fellow delegates? I can only conclude from these fevered (but of course entirely understandable) reports, that the atmosphere and feelings in the camp must have been ru

I was struck then, and am struck again, by the difference in tone between the early reports of our agents and the later ones. Because of what can only be judged by us as their wrong assessment of situations, must we now assume that their assessment of other matters is sometimes faulty?

For the second evening session, guards escorted the whites, in a body, to the amphitheatre. The guards were appointed by the organisers, and included both Sherbans, Sharma Patel, and other "stars." The white delegates sat together, during that session, and were positioned opposite to the place reserved for our people, the Chinese. This gave the impression of a confrontation, for as I said, no other delegates sat according to national or racial origin.

It is clear that the confrontation, whites vs. Chinese (which is how it looked) was disapproved of by our delegates, who had felt that an honour (a proper, justified, and appreciated honour offered to our Beneficial Rule) was being denigrated and even mocked, because the hated and despised whites were now being similarly set apart, and immediately opposite themselves. Even if for very different reasons.

Once again there was the opposition between the "accusers" led by the - silent - George Sherban, and his group, and the "accused," the old white, and his group.

Once again, the late afternoon fading into dusk, the lighting of the torches, the attractive children, the constant coming and going between floor of arena and tiers and between camp and amphitheatre, which was crammed, packed, jammed with people.

All of the second night's session was taken up by representatives from South America, young men and women from the Indian tribes. Thirty of them. Several were wasted with disease. It is hard to imagine how some made the journey at all.

I will not go into detail.

This indictment was even more powerful than that of the Indian from the United States, because the events described were more recent. Some of the victims stood before us...

The incursion of Europe into South America. The conquest of brilliant civilisations

through rapacity, greed, guile, trickery. The savagery of Christianity. The subjection of the Indians. The introduction of black people from Africa, the slave trade.

The devastation of the continent, its resources, its beauty, its wealth.

The casual, or deliberate, murder of the Indian tribes for their land, by introduced diseases, by starvation, by depredation - crimes that have not even now been completed, since there are still pockets of exploitable forest left - and everyone knows that where there is something that is capable of giving profit, then exploited it will be. The destruction of the animals, the forests, the waters, the soil.

One after another, the Indians stood forward and spoke - or, rather, shouted, or called up their accusing phrases, so that all the intent and listening thousands could hear. The white people, particularly the Spaniards, in their place on the tiers, surrounded by their guards, sat directly accused, culpable, guilty - reaping the hatred of those massed young people, representatives in more than one sense, for now they were, for that time, the murdering destroyers whom - as themselves and as individuals - they certainly had never done anything but condemn. But now they might very easily be lynched... and the old white man was forgotten, for all eyes were elsewhere. And again there sounded the deep, hissing, blood-chilling groan.

Immediately opposite the Spaniards stood the small crowd -of Indians, some of them being held up, because of their weakness and disease - these groups stood there with the lights of the flaring torches on them, while the thousands kept up their hissing groan. And then, at a signal from the prosecuting side, the children began to extinguish their torches. Soon the great amphitheatre was dark, shined on by the stars and the strengthening moon. And the crowd began heaving itself up and clattering away.