It does not appear likely that either Lord Linlithgow's appeal to Indian leaders to join the proposed Advisory War Committee, nor the promise given by Mr. Leopold S. Amery, Secretary of State for India, that India would bbe given her freedom at the end of the European war, will have much effect upon those Indians who demand immediate independence. 'There was-a bitterly adverse reaction' to the Viceroy's appeal for ce-operation by' the All-India National Congress, and if Mr. Amery hoped to offset that by his speech at Blackpool it is possible that he will be disappointed. It is plainly in the interests of the whole of India that it should not receive independence at the present moment, for that country is in no condition to defend herself against any other Power who may have designs upon her, and it is known that certain nations in fact do have them. Britain in this war is fighting for those very things which have made the settlement of the Indian problem in the past so difficult. The Nazi creed, exalting cruelty, and brutality, which despises mercy, tolerance, fair dealing, and justice, is just'as much opposed to the religious outlook of the Hindu as it Is to that of the Christian. In fighting the Nazis Britain is fighting for all that which is held dear by the Indians themselves, and it is just as well that they should be reminded of that fact.
Were the British Empire to go down under the German onslaught it is not to be believed for one moment that India would be allowed to survive unmolested by any other Power, and it may safely be contended that the] future of India is as closely involved in al victory for the Empire over the Germans as the fate of any other of the Dominions. The future of 350,000,000 Indians, their civil~ ization, their religions, and their democratic freedom depend entirely upon a British victory. In the unlikely event of that not] coming about the fate which awaits any na~ tion unfortunate enough to fall beneath the Nazi boot would equally be that of India. Further she would be possessed of no means to avoid it, It is not to be thought that in a world where violence still reigns, the doctrine of non-violence advocated by' cer~ tain of the Indian leaders would save the nation from aggression. Rather would it be more likely to invite it, and the end would mean the passing of India into an infinitely' worse bondage than that of which only cer~ tain types of Indians so bitterly complain, There has been considerable criticism to the effect that Great Britain has not been able to solve the Indian problem long before: this, but it is quite plain that the rivalries amongst the various classes and religions of India make solution exceeding difficult. The people of India have rendered the task no) easier by the intransigeance of their leaders, ud it is still their paramount duty to seck solutions of their own domestic issues in such fashion as to make independence under a fully representative government at all feasible. That can best be achieved by all round ce-operation such as Lord Linlithgow, and Mr. Amery have appealed for. Without ft the settlement of Indian difficulties will still be a long and laborious process. It is, idle for the All-India Congress, which is not fully representative of the whole population, to think that the solution is so simple that by a mere flourish of the pen their ambitions can be satisfied. There can be no independence unless India is prepared to defend herself, which she obviously is not, or Great Brilain is prepared to protect her against the envy of other nations. The destruction of the British Empire, at which Hitler declares himself to be aiming, would mean the destruction of all hope of the Indians for freedom. They too would suffer the tyrannies of the Nazi system. They too would be subject to the merciless exploitation of which Germany is guilty in the occupied territories. Indian salvation, no matter how distasteful the fact may be to Congress leaders, depends wholly and solely upon the victory of the British Empire and the Indians who refuse to ce-operate in what is after all a common struggle, may, except for the efforts of the remainder of the Empire, be assisting some other nation to put the shackles around their own necks,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.