and gratuities to her English servants.... India derives a
pecuniary advantage from her connection with the British Empire. The
answer, then, which I give to the question 'What economic equivalent
does India get for foreign payments?' is this: India gets the equipment
of modern industry, and she gets an administration favourable to
economic evolution cheaper than she could provide it herself."[233] A
comparison with Japan's much more costly defence budgets, inferior
credit, and higher interest charges on both public and private loans is
enlightening on this point.

In fact, some Indians themselves admit the fallacy of Swadeshist
arguments. As one of them remarks: "The so-called economic 'drain' is
nonsense. Most of the misery of late years is due to the rising cost of
living--a world-wide phenomenon." And in proof of this he cites
conditions in other Oriental countries, especially Japan.[234] As warm a
friend of the Indian people as the British labour leader, Ramsay
Macdonald, states: "One thing is quite evident, a tariff will not
re-establish the old hand-industry of India nor help to revive village
handicrafts. Factory and machine production, native to India itself,
will throttle them as effectively as that of Lancashire and Birmingham
has done in the past."[235]

Even more trenchant are the criticisms formulated by the Hindu writer
Pramatha Nath Bose.[236] The "drain," says Mr. Bose, is ruining India.
But would the Home Rule programme, as envisaged by most Swadeshists,
cure India's economic ills? Under Home Rule these people would do the
following things: (1) Substitute Englishmen for Indians in the
Administration; (2) levy protective duties on Indian products; (3) grant
State encouragement to Indian industries; (4) disseminate technical
education. Now, how would these matters work out? The substitution of
Indian for British officials would not lessen the "drain" as much as
most Home Rulers think. The high-placed Indian officials who already
exist have acquired European standards of living, so the new official
corps would cost almost as much as the old. Also, "the influence of the
example set by the well-to-do Indian officials would permeate Indian
society more largely than at present, and the demand for Western
articles would rise in proportion. So commercial exploitation by
foreigners would not only continue almost as if they were Europeans, but
might even increase." As to a protective tariff, it would attract
Eu