"I thought of many things. I thought of the fact that the British Empire exploited India. Think about it! A nation with four hundred million people and the British exploited them so much that out of a population of four hundred million, three hundred and fifty million made an annual income of less than fifty dollars a year. Twenty-five of that had to be used for taxes and the other things of life. I thought about dark Africa. And how the people there, if they can make a hundred dollars a year, they are living very well they think. Two shillings a dayāone shilling is fourteen cents, two shillings, twenty-eight centsāthatās a good wage. Thatās because of the domination of the British Empire. All of these things came to my mind, and when I stood there in Westminster Abbey with all of its beauty, and I thought about all of the beautiful hymns and anthems that the people would go in there to sing. And yet the Church of England never took a stand against this system. The Church of England sanctioned it. The Church of England gave it moral stature. All of the exploitation perpetuated by the British Empire was sanctioned by the Church of England. But something else came to my mind. God comes in the picture even when the Church wonāt take a stand. God has injected a principle in this universe. God has said that all men must respect the dignity and worth of all human personality, āAnd if you donāt do that, I will take charge.ā It seems this morning that I can hear God speaking. I can hear Him speaking throughout the universe, saying, āāBe still, and know that I am God.ā And if you donāt stop, if you donāt straighten up, if you donāt stop exploiting people, Iām going to rise up and break the backbone of your power. And your power will be no more!ā And the power of Great Britain is no more. I looked at France. I looked at Britain. And I thought about the Britain that could boast, āThe sun never sets on our great Empire.ā And I say now she had gone to the level that the sun hardly rises on the British Empire. Because it was based on exploitation. Because the God of the universe eventually takes a stand."
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British Raj
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