n hardly appreciate the true magnitude of the difficulties we
have to contend with in any attempt to expose sedition. All the social
forces that exist in Hindu society run counter to anti-Brahminical
movements. The influence which the Brahmins exercise on the popular mind
is still considerable. A man who is damned by the village-priest or the
Brahmin kulkarni is doomed for good. Loyalty has been rendered odious to
the ordinary mind by this as well as by many other influences. Loyalty
is flattery. This is a dictum now almost universally recognized in the
Deccan. A supporter of the Government is a "Johukum," a "hireling," or a
"traitor." The Press has of late become sufficiently powerful to make or
mar the reputation of a man so far as the native public is concerned.
Every advocate of Government measures--even of the best of them--is held
up to ridicule by the Press. This is immediately reflected in the most
exaggerated form in what we may call public opinion in the land.
Certainly very great courage is necessary in one who is called upon to
bear calumny such as this from his society and his castemen. But there
are other forces more threatening still. The rowdier section of the
people never fails to hoot the man out on every possible occasion and
even the women of his family may be subjected to indignities. The vakils
are a very powerful class in the Deccan. Many of them do not openly
dabble in politics; but you can hardly find many among them who do not
sympathize with extremist politics. The landholders, traders and
agriculturists in general are always in need of the services or, as they
think, of the favour of the legal profession whose prejudices will never
be wounded by the classes mentioned. The vakils, I may say, are to be
propitiated by every one who wishes to conduct any public movement. But
a loyal movement can never save itself from condemnation at the hands of
this powerful class.

Although reluctantly, I must add that the lower services of the
Government are filled by men who passively help extremism. They form the
bulk of the total constituency of our public Press. That is a fact to
show their political inclinations. Even they do not hesitate to use
their little arts to worry a man known to be "anti-political" whenever
he happens to come in contact with them. An agriculturist friend of mine
who belonged to the caste to which I have the honour to belong once
came to me and asked me why I was taking a particula