The two gentlemen had caused the village to be divided into two camps. If the first group smoked its hemp at Chaudhary’s doorstep, the other smoked its weed at Bhagat’s. The women and children, too, had their own camps. The antagonism was such that the two gentlemen held opposing social and religious beliefs. Chaudhary took his meals with his shirt on and declared Bhagat a pretender. Bhagat would not even drink water without undressing and announced that Chaudhary was morally corrupt. When Bhagat styled himself as a Sanatani Hindu, Chaudhary turned himself into an Arya Samaji. For Bhagat, it was a sin to even look towards the drapers, grocers and vendors whom Chaudhary dealt with. And Bhagat’s confectioner’s confectioneries, milkman’s milk, and oilman’s oil were dispensable for Chaudhary. The enmity was such that even their theories concerning health were divergent. Bhagat was an Ayurveda fan, while Chaudhary believed in the Unani tradition. They would not forsake their principles even if they were to die of disease.2
When the buzz of political agitation for Independence started in the country, it reached the village too. Chaudhary supported the movement and Bhagat turned into an opponent. A gentleman arrived in the village to open a peasant forum. While Chaudhary participated in it, Bhagat stayed away. As political awareness increased, there was talk of Swaraj. Chaudhary became a Swaraji, and Bhagat defended loyalty to the Crown. Chaudhary’s house turned into a Swaraji den, and Bhagat’s house into a club of Crown loyalists. Chaudhary began canvassing for Swaraj: ‘Friends! Swaraj means self-rule. Is it better to have self-rule in one’s own country or someone else’s rule?’
The people cheered, ‘Self-rule! That is better.’
Chaudhary said, ‘So how can this Swaraj be achieved? Through self-power, through human effort, through unity. Stop hating each other; resolve your disputes through mutual consultation.’
Someone remarked, ‘You yourself go to court every day.’
Chaudhary replied, ‘Yes, but if I go to court any more, declare me as much a sinner as a cow killer. You should use your hard-earned money to sustain your wives and children, and any spare money should be spent in charity. Why should you enrich lawyers and attorneys, bribe the police and supplicate the government officers? Earlier, when our boys were taught the tenets of our dharma, they grew to be ethical, sacrificing and hard-working. Now they study in English schools and take up jobs, accept bribes, practise vices, ridicule our gods, smoke cigarettes, celebrate the New Year and supplicate themselves before officials. Is it not our duty to educate our boys in accordance with dharma?’
People: ‘We should collect donations and open a school.’
Chaudhary: ‘Earlier, we considered it sinful to even touch alcohol. Now, every street in every village has liquor shops. We blow away crores of our hard-earned money on hemp and liquor.’
People: ‘One who takes hemp and liquor must be penalized.’
Chaudhary: ‘Our forefathers, old and young, all wore handwoven coarse cloth. Our grandmothers spun the charkha. Thus, all the wealth stayed in the country, and our weaver brothers were happy and content. Now, we are almost willing to give up our lives for foreign-made coloured fabric. It is thus that the foreigners are draining our wealth. The poor weavers have become destitute. Is it righteous of us to take away our brothers’ food and give it to others?’
People: ‘But coarse cloth is not available anywhere.’
Chaudhary: ‘Then wear homemade coarse cloth, don’t take your disputes to courts, quit addiction, educate your boys in dharma and righteous action, stay united. That—that is Swaraj. Those saying that blood will flow for Swaraj are mad. Don’t pay any attention to them.’
People listened to this with fervour. The audience grew in size every day. All turned into Chaudhary’s devotees.3
Bhagatji also began preaching about loyalty to the Crown.
‘Brothers! The king’s task is to rule and the subject’s task is to obey his commands. This is what loyalty to the monarch means. And our scriptures, too, tell of the same loyalty. The king is God’s deputy. To disobey him is a great crime. A traitor deserves nothing but hell!’
First interjection: ‘The king, too, ought to practise his dharma.’
Second interjection: ‘Our king is just ceremonial. The British businessmen and bankers are the real rulers.’
Third interjection: ‘Businessmen only know how to earn money. What do they know of governance?’
Bhagat: ‘People tell you not to go to courts and take your disputes to panchayats. But where can you find the panch who can deliver true justice, and separate milk from water? At the panchayat, people talk to please one another. Those who can mount pressure will win, and those who can’t will lose. In the court, all action is based on law. Everybody—high and low—is equal. The hunter and the hunted sip from the same pond.’
Another interjection: ‘Court justice is all empty talk. Only the ones with fake witnesses and experienced lawyers win. Who tests the true and the false? And there is, of course, harassment involved.’
Bhagat: ‘We are told not to use foreign goods. This is gross injustice to the poor. We should buy the cheap and nice goods available in the market, be it Swadeshi or foreign. We don’t get our money for free that we should throw it away for useless Swadeshi goods.’
First interjection: ‘At least the money stays in our country and doesn’t go into foreign hands.’
Second interjection: ‘Not getting a good meal in one’s own kitchen does not mean that we’ll eat from the kitchens of other castes.’
Bhagat: ‘People tell us not to send our boys to government schools. Without an English education, how could our brothers have found such prestigious jobs, how could
