A Present to Kings — Page 12
( 12 ) temples are still existing which formerly were mosques. In my own village of Qadian there is a Gurdawara which was formerly the mosque attached to our house. But when the Sikhs raided the place by night and compelled my great grandfather to fly from the town, it was then, during the period of their rule, that the mosque was con verted into a Gurdawara. Even now the traces of the. Mehrab can be seen and the Sakawas are still standing. . Thus we can well realise to what extremes a tyrannical government may go, and this is why we feel besides ourselves when we see the benefits conferred by the British Government, and find ourselves unequal to express our sense of gratitude for the freedom it allows in matters of religion. May God grant this beneficent government ever brilliant success. Black must he be of heart who does not recognise the benefits of this government and entertains a feeling of hostility towards it. in spite of the amount of freedom it allows. But on the other hand it is the goodness of the government again that causes us to feel the most acute pang when we see that the Mussalmans have derived no advantage from its just rule and have not properly appreciated the religious freedom granted by it. What was proper was that the Mussalmans should have taken advantage of these times of peace and made progress in religious matters. . But as a matter of fact they are daily sinking the other way and in proof of this the prisons of the country furnish sufficient evidence. How heartbreaking is the scene that meets a Mus salman as he takes a round through the jails when he finds all of them full of his co-religionists! Their morals, instead of being superior, are much inferior to those of the other communities and their number in the jail is largely in excess of their proportion in the general population. Nor are their offences of a light nature. They are undergoing punishment for the foulest and worst of crimes. Theft, dacoity, rape, adultery, murder, rebeliion, criminal breach of trust, cheating, thuggee, forgery, etc. , what offence is there of which the Mussalmans do not stand guilty? But these are only such offences of which the state can take cognisance. Besides them, there are many others the mere mention of which would make one stagger, but they are