A FREE INDIA AS ACTIVE ALLY

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 265, 7 August 1942, Page 5

A FREE INDIA AS ACTIVE ALLY

Resolution For Congress NEW ULTIMATUM (Received August 6, 7 p.m.) (By Telegraph.—Press Assn. —Copyright.) LONDON, August 5.. A statement which was issued in London today makes it clear that the Government will not consider any claim by the Congress Part)' for an immediate British withdrawal from India. Authoritative circles declared that if the committee endorses the civil disobedience policy the Government of India will not allow the campaign to be organized. The British statement emphasizes that there can be no doubt about the transference of power to India after the war, but there can be no question of immediate cession. In Bombay Mahatma Gandhi addressed the Congress Working Committee for an hour and a half this morning, after which the committee considered the world-wide reaction to his resolution. A new resolution of the Congress Party Working Committee will be placed before the All-India Congress Committee at the weekend “in endorsement of the Wardha resolution of July 14.” The resolution includes the passage:— “A free India will assure the success of freedom and democracy by throwing all her resources into the struggle against the aggression of Nazidom, Fascism, and Imperialism. This will not only affect the fortunes of the war, but will also bring all the subjected and oppressed peoples to the side of the United Nations. “On declaration of India’s independence a provisional Government will be formed and free India will become the ally of the United Nations, sharing their trials and tribulations in the joint enterprise of the struggle for freedom. Its primary function must be to defend India and resist aggression with all the armed and non-violent forces at its command, together with its applied powers. Internal Struggle. “The committee is anxious not to embarrass the defence of China and Russia, whose freedom is precious and must be preserved, or to jeopardize the defensive capacity of the United Nations, lhe Working Committee’s earnest appeal to Britain and the United Nations so fay has met with no response, and the criticism in many foreign quarters has shown ignorance of India’s and the _ world s need and, sometimes, even hostility to India’s freedom, which is significant of the mentality of domination. “The All-India Congress Committee would again, in this last moment, m the interests of world freedom, renew this appeal to Britain and the United Nations. The committee is resolved upon sanctions for the vindication of its inalienable right to freedom and independence, with the starting of mass struggle on nonviolent lines on the widest possible scale. Such struggle must inevitably be under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, and the committee requests him to take the lead and guide the nation in the steps to be taken.” The resolution emphasizes the need for freedom for all the peoples of Asia, and adds: “A free India will be willing to join a world federation, which must first of all, and for the duration of the war, start with the United Nations. The resolution envisages a Federal Government for the whole of India, with maximum autonomy for the provinces. _ After the meeting of the Working Committee,’Gandhi and Pandit Nehru addressed 100 representatives of peoples of Indian States, and emphasized the part the peoples of the State will be called on to play if the struggle is necessary. May Arrest Leaders. The Bombay correspondent of the “Daily Mail” says that Gandhi is believed to have assured the Congress leaders that his proposed campaign would bring victory to the Congress Party within a month. , . The “Daily Telegraph’s” political writer says: “Under no circumstances will the Government of India allow any civil disobedience movement to get out of hand and hamper the prosecution of the war. The Government of India will have the full support of the British Government and all the political parties in Westminster even if it is necessary to arrest the Congres leaders and take other drastic steps.” APPEAL BY CRIPPS Avoid Perilous Chaos . (Received August 6, 9.40 p.m.) LONDON, August 5. Sir Stafford Cripps, in a statement in “The Tinies,” says: "Gandhi asks Britain to walk out of India even if it means chaos and confusion. What does this chaos and confusion actually mean ? . . “AU government based on the existing Constitution would immediately cease; there would be uo Viceroy, ho Executive Council, no Civil Service of any kind; the Provincial Governors and legislatures would cease to function; there would be no authority to collect revenue and nothing with which to pay any Gow ernment service. In this chaos Gandhi proposes to establish a provisional Government, but as there is no electoral machinery and no law concerning representation, it would be at best no more than a Government nominated by himself and such other leaders of Indian opinion as might be willing to work with him. Others might defy Gandhi’s provisional Government. “Chaos in India at present would not only affect India but also the entire war against the Axis. Because of the difficulties inherent in an attempt to change the control in a country as vast as India, we recognize that a complete change-over to a new constitution is impossible during the war, and no practical suggestion has been advanced since I left India. “No one will expect Britain or the Government of India to give way to threats of violence, disorder and chaos. Indeed, the rpresen tn l ives of large sections of Indian opinion have expressly warned us not to do so. We make no threats, but we must assert our duty to India, to the minorities, and to the United Nations to preserve law and order till the end of the war, when we will give,'as promised, full opportunity for the attainment of Indian self-government. “It is not yet 100 late for the Indians to decide upon rapid and ordered progress. The British people are as determined upon Indian self-government as are the Indians themselves. We ask lor patience, not because we want to delay, but because the hard facts of war make the change impossible at present.’