In a speech delivered on Monday at the opening of the Conference of Ministers and Directors of Agriculture in Simla, Lord Irwin, the Viceroy of India, demonstrated a deep and genuine interest in agricultural problems. Having been in India for only a little over two months, His Excellency showed remarkable knowledge and a confident grasp of the concrete issues facing Indian agriculture, a level of understanding that many officials who have spent most of their careers in the country might envy.
Official Perspective Dominates
However, the viewpoint presented was almost entirely official. There was no mention in the speech of the aspects of the problem that the Government has unwisely excluded from the scope of reference to the Royal Commission on Agriculture. This omission may have been due to the conference's purpose, which, as the Viceroy stated, was to discuss preliminary steps connected with the forthcoming enquiry by the Royal Commission. Nevertheless, since this was the first occasion on which a Viceroy keenly interested in agriculture had the opportunity to make a public pronouncement on the subject, it would have been appropriate for His Excellency to demonstrate a more comprehensive view of the problem and show that he was not entirely unaware of the aspects concerning the relationship between the agriculturist and the State.
India's Economic Role
India has long been a mere producer of food and raw materials for the rest of the world. There is nothing in the present economic conditions that the sensitive and self-respecting Indian nationalist resents more than the policy that has reduced the country to this state. The speech, while informative, failed to address these broader concerns, leaving many to question whether the government's approach to agriculture reform will be sufficiently holistic.
