The Balance Sheet of British Rule in India (Hindustan-Gadar broadside)
A one-page Ghadar Party broadside sets out 'some main items' of British rule in India as eleven numbered entries, from an annual rupee 'drain' and the land tax to famine and plague deaths, laid out like a ledger. Every entry is a charge and none is a credit, so the accounting layout, converted dollar figures and the word 'balance' present a selected list as a complete audit.
- Date
- 1917
- Period
- First World War
- Made by
- Hindustan-Gadar Office, San Francisco (Ghadar Party)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Leaflet
- Issuer type
- Party
- Regime
- Wilson Administration
- Leader
- Woodrow Wilson
- Audience
- Diaspora or minority
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Themes
- Empire and colonialism, Economy and finance, Health
- Event
- Ghadar Movement
- Techniques
- Card stacking
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Wikimedia Commons (from South Asian American Digital Archive), retrieved September 29, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (published before 1931; Commons PD tag, Copyrighted=false)
Hindustan-Gadar Office, San Francisco, c. 1917; scan via South Asian American Digital Archive (saadigitalarchive.org, item 20101015-122), on Wikimedia Commons
Text on the object
THE BALANCE SHEET (Bilan, Compte Rendu) OF BRITISH RULE IN INDIA (Translated from the "Hindustan-Gadar") SOME MAIN ITEMS (1). Englishmen drain from India and take to England every year 50 crores of rupees (167 million dollars); consequently the Hindus have become so poor that the daily average income per capita is only 5 pices (2½ cents). (2). The land tax is more than 65 per cent of the net produce. (3). The expenditure on the education of 240 million persons is........... 7¾ crores of rupees ($25,000,000) on sanitation ......................... 2 " " ( 6,000,000) but on the army...................29½ " " ( 97,000,000) (4). Under British rule, the famines are ever on the increase, and in the last ten years twenty million men, women and children have died of starvation. (5). From the plague have occurred, during the sixteen years past, eight million deaths, and the death rate during the last thirty years has steadily increased from 24 per mille up to 34 per mille. (6). Means are employed to spread disunion and disorder in the native states and to increase British influence there. (7). Englishmen are not punished for murdering Hindus and for insulting Hindu women. (8). From money taken from the Hindus aid is given to English Christian priests. (9). Attempt is always made to create enmity between people of different religious denominations. (10). The arts and crafts (industries) of India have been destroyed for England's benefit. (11). Employing India's money, and sacrificing the lives of the Hindus (as soldiers), China, Afghanistan, Burmah, Egypt and Persia have been conquered. PUBLISHED BY THE HINDUSTAN-GADAR OFFICE 1324 Valencia Street San Francisco, Cal., U. S. A.
Dot leaders and the column alignment of item 3 are approximated. The pencilled note on the reverse (not on this image) is not part of the printed text.
