Page:Labour in Madras.djvu/162

was. You might ask what is the cause of this. There are many reasons, political, social, moral, the usual fight between Capital and Labour, the facts of supply and demand in this country, the gradual rise of new industries, the change in the outlook that has been permeating the masses of this country. That last point brings me to the second factor which is very important. It is the moral factor which affects not only this city, not only this province but the entire country. We have heard a great deal of THE CHANGE OF THE ANGLE OF VISION of our political rulers in England. There has been a little change in the angle of vision of the labourers in India too. They are not prepared any more to take lying down, as they have taken in years gone by, all that is told to them. Language, harsh and rough, treatment unkind and often cruel; they are not prepared to take these things quietly. A new spirit is animating them and for every wrong action the labourer is now not only willing, but finds himself compelled to get up and answer back. You might say that is a wrong spirit for the poor labourer to display in the presence of the man who employs him and pays him his monthly, weekly or daily wages. It may be so, but take into account the new spirit that is abroad, not only in this country but in the world. The War has changed many things in the world. The great Russian Revolution has not only changed things in Russia but in London, in Paris, even in Berlin ; that same spirit has manifested itself, that same force has been working in India and has touched the masses of the Motherland may be unconsciously and indirectly.