INDIA’S PROBLEMS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 March 1941, Page 7

INDIA’S PROBLEMS

PRESENT DAY TRENDS REVIEWED ATTITUDE TOWARDS WAR. ROTARY CLUB ADDRESS. ■’Present day trends in India” was the subject of an interesting address by the Rev M. J. Eade at the weekly luncheon of the Masterton Rotary Club in the Y.M.C.A. rooms today. Mr Eade. who is on the field staff of the New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society. engaged in 'missionary work in Eastern Bengal and North-Eastern India, is spending his furlough in New Zealand. His stationMs situated some 280 miles' north of Calcutta, near the Burma border. “I consider that most Indians do not allow enough credit for what Britain has actually done for India in the way of internal peace," said Mr Eade. He instanced the wiping out of famine with the advent of the railways, by the speedy transportation of food, irrigation works and the impartial judiciary under the present rule. “At the same time, on the other side, England moves too slowly for most of the Indian political leaders in handing over responsible government to Indian hands.” he added. Mr Eade drew attention to the fact that while a comparatively few years ago it used to be thought that India, like other Eastern countries, was too deeply involved in domestic and religious matters to take account of world movements, today India, like Japan, was wide awake, politically, socially and religiously. "In the industrial realm, for example, the Indians are able today to equip an army almost to the last detail.” he said. “India is the world’s number one producer of jute, tobacco and sugar. Poli, tically there is an upsurge of sensitive nationalism. As a result of the India Act, 1935, eleven provincial parliaments were constituted and 35,000,000 voters enfranchised. The Congress Party, the strongest political party, swept the polls in seven out of eleven provinces and then refused to take office because the measure of self-govern-ment given was so ‘hedged about with safeguards’ that it was considered in a sense insulting. Under the leadership of Mr Gandhi and after assurances had been given by provincial governors that they would co-operate as partners and not as dictators; Congress accepted office and set up the usual cabinets. For three years all the eleven provincial parliaments enacted useful legislation for the benefit of the people.” “When war broke out, as the Federal scheme had not come into operation, Britain, legally, quite correctly declared India a belligerent country,” said Mr Eade. “Unfortunately it was done without reference whatever to the provincial parliaments. Congress immediately resigned' as a protest against the dictatorial attitude and today in those seven ‘Congress’ provinces an executive committee appointed by the British Government is now governing the provinces. Mr Gandhi was authorised by the Congress Party at its annual convention 12 months ago to conduct a civil disobedience campaign as a protest against India not being allowed the right to say whether or not she came into the war. Eventually Mr Gandhi announced that he would not embarrass Britain in what he called “her life and death struggle” by a mass campaign. “In this I considei- him a gentleman,” continued the speaker, “because he had it within his power to conduct a campaign which would probably have led to bloodshed, not because Mr Gandhi wants bloodshed —his campaign is of non-violence —but because his followers frequently get out' of hand. He has decided, however, to conduct a restricted civil disobedience campaign, so he is sending out every few days speakers, in pairs, demanding the right of India to choose for herself in relation to the war. Prominent men, such as the Governor for Madras, were now interned together witi} a large number of others who have obeyed Mr Gandhi’s instructions.”

“The great problem in India is to achieve anything like a spirit of unity amongst the three majox- communities, the Hindus, Moslems and Indian princes,” he said. “Even last year, when Mi- Amery asked India to produce a constitution for themselves which he promised to consider- most sympathetically, a conference held broke up after three days because of the lack of agreement. Mr Gandhi holds a tremendous sway and where ever he goes he is greeted by the cheering multitudes,” concluded Mr Eade.