SYMPATHY OF INDIA.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 251, 20 September 1940, Page 6

SYMPATHY OF INDIA.

Two notable events have occurred in India this week, one of which must have a gulling effect on the enemies ,of Britain. Foremost is the resolution of sympathy with Britain passed by the AllIndia Congress Committee and, with it, admiration of the bravery being shown by the British nation in the face of danger. This is a quality for which the Indians themselves are noted, as history has often shown, and it causes no surprise that the recognition of it in others rises even to admiration. The second outstanding event is the restoration of Mahatma Gandhi to the leadership of the Congress Party by an almost unanimous vote. This reelection to the chief office of the organisation has long been expected; in fact, it is doubtful if it can be said that the true leadership ever left him. Gandhi has declared that if an agreement is not reached on the constitutional position of India .when he meets the Viceroy, at an early date, he will seek freedom to carry on a strictly nonwiolent campaign against India’s participation in the war. But in the same breath almost he admits that the fall of London or England would not mean the defeat of the British people. These latter -words are full of significance—of hope for the future of India. They are recognition of the fact that while the British Empire lives India will progress constitutionally. Conquest of the British people would put an end to the All-India Congress’s ambitions, for it knows only too well what little chance of attaining its objects it would have under the tyranny that exists in Europe. India’s part in the war effort is being recognised by the conference of Empire statesmen which is to be held at Delhi shortly, and it is an important contribution. Her men in the field have already worthily upheld the finest traditions of Indian troops, as -witness their heroic part in the Somaliland campaign; her small arms and other factories are turning out large quantities of war materials of immense assistance; and her war organisation is growing, under expert guidance, by leaps and bounds. Whatever disruptive forces there are at work to hamper India’s contribution to the Empire’s cause —the cause of all humanity—have received a material setback in the latest developments in India,- even though the major constitutional questions remain unsettled.