ality, we have noted that the
new national name _Indian_ now heard upon political platforms, is not a
native term, but an importation from Britain along with the English
language. How, indeed, could the educated Indian employ any other term
with the desired comprehensiveness? If he speak of _Hindus_, he excludes
Mahomedans and followers of other religions; if he use a Sanscrit term
for _Indians_, he still fails to touch the hearts of Mahomedans and
others who identify Sanscrit with Hindus. There is no course left but to
use the English language, even while criticising the British rulers. The
English language has been a prime factor in evoking the new national
consciousness, and in the English language the Indian must speak to his
new found fellow Indians.[38] Even a considerable portion of the
literature of the attempted Revival of Hinduism is in English, strange
as the conjunction sounds.

How the thought of Indian unity over against the sovereignty of Britain
may reach down even to the humblest, the writer once observed in a
humble street in Calcutta. A working man was receiving his farthing's
worth of entertainment from a peep-show. His eyes were glued to the
peepholes, to secure his money's worth, for the farthing was no small
sum to him; and the showman was standing by describing the successive
scenes in a loud voice, with intent both to serve his customer and to
stimulate the bystanders' curiosity. Three of the scenes were: "This is
the house of the great Queen near London city," "This is one of the
great Queen's lords writing an order to the Viceroy of Calcutta," "This
is the great committee that sits in London city." He actually used the
English word _committee_, the picture probably showing the House of
Commons or the House of Lords. Thus the political constitution of India
and its unity under Britain are inculcated among the humblest. In the
minds of the educated, one need not then be surprised at the growth of a
sense of Indian unity over against British supremacy.

[Sidenote: The Indian National Congress.]

[Sidenote: English, the _lingua franca_ of the Congress.]

The Indian National Congress, or All-India political association, is the
embodiment of this new national consciousness of educated Indians, the
only embodiment possible while India is so divided in social and
religious matters. Were there only ten or twelve million Mahomedans in
India instead of sixty, the new national consciousness would undou