In the competition of life he wins who can do the largest amount of work: in the shortest space of time. That is why men use tools, which make one pair of hands do the work of five or ten. The savage who scratches the earth with his bare hands has to give way to the man who drives the plough. It is not his physical strength but the tools that have enabled man to get the best out of cultivation, transport, and such activities as weaving, extracting oil, and making sugar. Plough, the loom, the bullock cart, the horse – drawn vehicle, and the oil press have all reduced time and increased output. They have made progress possible; otherwise there would have been little to distinguish man from ape.
Man worked with his tools until the advent of machinery driven by steam and electricity. The small tool gave way to the big machine as bare hands had given way to hands equipped with tools.
If this country is to survive, the time has come for our cultivators to be taught these facts. But it will not help to theorize only; the right answer must be found through actual practice. In Europe and America they have moved far in that direction. They plough and reap, bind the sheaves, and store the crops I granaries, all by means of machines. Adopted in this country, the process would have several advantages. Before cultivation can start, one has often to wait for the rains to come. If there is a brief shower one day, a small plot can be lightly scratched with the ploughshare.
If, however, there is no rain in the weeks that follow, the sowing will be late, and the unripe corn may become covered with water in the late monsoon. There may be trouble at harvest, too; extra hands are scarce in the village and men from outside have to be hired. Should there be a heavy downpour when the reaped crop is still lying in the fields, great losses will result. On the other hand, with a mechanical plough and harvester, full advantage could be taken of every favorable turn in the weather; cultivation would be completed and the ripened grain gathered with great speed.
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These machines, it is true, can be put to work only over large tracts of land, and considerable funds are required for their procurement and use. But to deny ourselves their benefit on the ground that our peasantry cannot afford them is simply to invite ruin. Quadrupeds have four feet but no arms, and must do what they can for a subsistence. Man, however, is provided with two hands, which add vastly to his efficiency, and give him mastery over all other living beings.
When he further increased his efficiency with the help of machines, he made another step forward. In this age of mechanization the cultivators as well as the artisans of our country must learn to accept the machine, or we shall give way to countries which are already skilled in its employment, even as the beasts had to give way to man.