THE RELEASE OF GANDHI

Hokitika Guardian, 12 May 1924, Page 4

THE RELEASE OF GANDHI

BOMBAY, Fob. 9. It may interest Britons to hear the tale of the few hours immediately preceding the release of Ganhdi. Oil Monday morning last the Government of Bombay received information from the Sassoon Hospital authorities at Poona that a feiv months of quiet convalescence in a salubrious climate were absolutely essential to the complete recovery of Gandhi’s health. In view of this assurance, there were two courses open to the Government. They might have chosen a suitable health resort and sent Mr Gandhi there on parole. If he had refused parole he could have been guarded by a special warder. Buies of discipline would have been applied to him and he could not have taken any course of action 'likely to embarrass the Government. 'To this course there were obvious disadvantages. The alternative was to release him. The reason why the Government adopted this alternative was that, having once sent Gandhi away from prison to practical freedom, it Would have been extremely difficult to put him hack again. Further, there were to lie moved during the present week numerous resolutions urging the immediate release of the prisoner. Every single non-official Indian member i;T the Legislature would have voted for these resolutions, llad the Government opposed them they would have been defeated, llad they then decided to release Gandhi it would have looked like a surrender against their own judgment. Mad they not released him they would have incurred the usual unpopularity as having “(hinted the will of the people" and tlie unanimous vote of the elected members of the Assembly. Accordingly a decision to release Gandhi would give them a great tactical advantage. It would bottle up the rhetoric of the Assembly anil would save the Government from the disadvantages inherent in the passage of what would have amounted to a vole of censure.

The question then remained whether the release should he absolute and unconditional or conditional upon a promise on Gandhi’s part to abstain from certain activities.

If they decided on the latter there was always the danger that Gandhi would refuse—the danger was practically a certainty—and so wreck the entire scheme, lip to If) o’clock on Monday night the Governments of India and Bombay had not decided. Eventually they plumped for unconditional release.

The Government think there is not much risk involved. They think that Gandhi is a spent force and that events have moved beyond him.