fostered by the Communist Party, the Trade Union Congress and the Kisan Sabhas (Peasant Unions), together Has Britain with the progressive rank-and-file movement within the Congress Party and the Moslem League, presented the gravest threat to British rule. At the same time, however, the role Treed India? played by Congress and League lead­ ers became evident when they declared their opposition to the naval uprising A discussion of whaf liappens when fhe Crown and the subsequent general strike. Jewel of Empire is split info many segments. These leaders did not show any of that unity which their followers had proved to be the most essential weapon By CHARLES WISLEY in the fight against the British. 'T'HE British Cabinet 'Mission sent H'i> 1I M^H E choice is division or Bal­ entire country for the release of the "^ by Prime Minister Attlee to see kanization. . . . We had to captured Indian National Army sol­ what could be salvaged from the In­ choose the former," said Sar- diers, whom they had put into concen­ dian' Ernpire was quick to take ad­ dar iVallabhbha; i Patel, "boss" of the tration camps on treason charges. The vantage of this situation. Its task plainly Indian National Congress, recently, huge demonstrations that took place was to halt the movement of the as he urged his followers to accept the in Calcutta under the leadership of masses with the aid of the bourgeois British proposals for the partition of Communist students and workers, leaders and to undermine the unity of India. This epitomizes the change in joined by Congress and Moslem the Hindu and Moslerh fighters. It the course steered by India's bourgeois League followers, finally forced the did so in a series of back-stairs in­ nationalist leadership. They have re­ British commander-in-chief to accede trigues, setting leader against leader, sorted to semantic tricks to avoid fac­ to the popular demand. party against party. The fact that it ing the only real and valid alternatives: The discontent did not stop, how­ Was a Labor Party cabinet mission freedom or colonial slavery. ' ever, but spread to the Royal Indian helped to mask its work. The Indian The nature of this change is even Navy and Air Force. Demanding leaders played into its hands by failing' better illustrated by the strange ac­ equality of treatment with their Brit­ to formulate joint demands. Each ne­ ceptance and hearty endorsement of ish counterparts, the men Undertook a gotiated separately with the British in Prime Minister Attlee's statement on series of work stoppages and hunger an effort to curry favor for his par­ India (June 3, 1947) by such dissim­ strikes. The most famous oi these, the ticular point of view. ilar characters as Winston Churchill, Royal Indian Navy mutiny, began on The conduct of the Congress and an outright imperialist, and Pandit Feb. 18, 1946, and lasted for five days, League high commands paved the way Jawaharlal Nehru, until now consid­ involving 20,000 men in Bombay and for the announcement of the award by ered a militant opponent of imperial­ Karachi. The working class of these the three leaders of the mission: they ism. and other cities fully supported the were going to solve the Hindu-Moslem What has been happening indicates sailors and engaged in the largest sym­ problem, they said, since the Indian that the present situation in India is pathy strike and hartal (general shut­ leaders were apparently unable to solve due to a crisis of British imperialism down of factories, transport, commu­ it themselves. It was not surprising as well as of that Section of the Indian nications, stores, etc.) India had ever that, with the best iriterests of the national movement led by the bour­ seen. It was a united movement of British imperialists in mind, they geoisie. India's big-business and land­ Hindus and^ Moslems in the face of thought that the division of India could owning classes, fearing that their posi­ British brutality, which, at the height do the trick. tion is threatened by popular forces, of the uprising, caused 250 deaths. Knowing that an immediate parti­ have readily acquiesced in a scheme The joint Hindd'-Moslem freedom tion would meet with a violent re­ whereby Britain hopes to retain a large front which was being fashioned by action, the British proceeded in easy measure of control and delay the day these events and which was further stages. The Cabinet Mission's plan of of .independeace. The Anglo-Indian May 16, 1946, laid the foundations by agreement is thus based not on free­ projecting an All-India Union com­ dom and on a genuine solution of the posed of one Hindu-rnajority region, THE EVOLUTION OF Hindu-Moslem problem; it is a class two Moslem-majority regions and 562 MR. ATTLEE alliance in preparation for a class war. «Princely States. The subsequent Brit­ The necessity for such an alliance Not even Darwin's fertile brain ish statements of Dec. 6, 1946, Feb. arose at the end of World War II, Would now successfully explain 20, 1947, and the recent declaration when the imperialist overlords in In­ How a Fabian soul and scholar of June 3, 1947, were supplementary dia, as elsewhere in Asia, were chal­ Became a slave to the Yankee dollar, wedges to widen, the split. The design lenged by the vast revolutionary up­ And dipped the scripture of a has been completed successfully; India surge of the people. The British felt Fabian fs today divided into Hindustan, the their hold slipping in 1945 as they In Jewish blood, and oil Arabian. 'northwestern and northeastern sections grappled with the campaign of the SADIE KLEIN. into Pakistan, and a yet undetermined

nm August 12, 1947 15 PRODUCED BY UNZ.ORG ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED number of "independent" and "semi- stitute military bulwarks for the de­ surrounded and intersected by terri­ independent" Princely States and Fed­ fense of British interests. It: is signifi­ tories reinaining under British hegem­ erations. cant that Hyderabad has not demobi­ ony. Should its leaders cut any capers There are just two criteria which lized its wartime army of 100,000 displeasing to imperialist eyes, suitable need be applied to this scheme to test men trained by British officers. Tra­ pressure can easily be ajjplied from a its value: Does it give promise of inde­ vancore has appointed its owif Trade dozen quarters. pendence, and does it offer a solution Commissioner in London and has sold ToMisguise the impotence conferred of the Hindu-Moslem problem? The to the British all rights to the develop­ on India by this plan, the British call answer in both cases is no. ment of its rich thorium deposits. it "dominion status." What this means A glance at the position of the vari­ These are just two items from the may be seen by examining the case of ous sections into which India has been accumulating evidence regarding mili­ Ceylon, which is also to receive the dismembered shows that the British tary and economic preparations by the honor. In the vyords of the New York plan, if adhered to, would effectively Princely States. Times of June 18, "th.e new British prevent the attainment of true inde­ 2. Two other splinters of India, the dominion will differ from other com­ pendence. Moslem-majority areas known as monwealth countries in not being al­ 1. The Princely States, scattered Pakistan, have been whittled down in lowed to secede from the Empire or over two-fifth of India's territory, have area by the partition of_ Bengal and be independent of Britain in defense for the last-one hundred years, been the Punjab so that they will be un­ matters." It should be remembered recognized as "royal instruments" able to exist without close economic that Trincomah, the huge British and "breakwaters" against possible in­ ties to British financial and industrial naval base on Ceylon, covers the ap­ surrection. The British Crown will interests. In the event of any internal proaches to both the east and the west relinquish its paramountcy over the disturbance, the government of Pakis­ coast of India. States on Aug. 15, 1947, according tan has been placed in a position where to Prime Minister Attlee's declara­ it will have to request British military "r\OES the division of India, then, tions, but it will not pass its superior assistance as well. There is also the ^^^ offer a solution to the Hindu- powers on to any government in In­ likelihood that such a government, Moslem" problem.? On the contrary. dia. This means that the rulers of composed predominantly of large land­ Hardly had P. C. Joshi, general, secre­ these feudal anachronisms are free to owners, would agree to the retention tary of the Indian Comrhunist Party, do whatever they like. Already two of British bases in the strategic north­ declared that "the British partition of the largest and most powerful states western section nearest to the borders plan will not mean peace but an im­ —^Hyderabad and Travancore—^have of the Soviet Union. mediate increase in communal war­ declared their "independence." Others 3. Hindustan, the largest single fare" when it became known that in are likely to follow. They will con­ component in the new India, will be the period from March 3 to June 23 over three thousand persons had been killed in the Punjab alone and that one-sixth of Lahore, its capital, had ports! dC PdttCr By BILL RICHARDS been destroyed. Partition and reparti­ tion will add fuel to the fires. It is reported that Americans are who means "yea" when it comes out The acceptance of the British plan drinking less but smoking more. This "neigh." . ^ by'Congress and the Moslem League comes as good news to the prohibition­ is thus an indication of how deeply the ists who, rather than have us drink, A Netherlands official indicates that leaders of the Indian National move­ the inhabitants of the East Indies would see us inhale first. ment have fallen into the pitfalls pre­ brought the present trouble upon them­ • pared by the imperialists. These lead- selves. To him an Indonesian with a *ers have failed to take advantage of The Army indicates that the US is rifle and bayonet is just out to get in the evident British weakness by launch­ short of scientists. To make matters Dutch. ' ing an all-out struggle for inde­ .considerably worse, many of the avml- pendence, just as they have failed to ahle scientists have exfressed a -prefer­ The movie industry has pledged to find a basis of unity among themselves ence for lengthening the life ex­ clean house, mostly with a view as well as a solution to the Hindu- pectancy of Tnan. toward sex and liquor. With a view Moslem problem — a political, eco­ like that house cleaning could be al­ nomic and social problem, rather than The Chicago Tribune claims that most a pleasure. a religious one. As a result, they are the UN irritates • every sore spot in O embroiled in the execution of an un­ the world. These include, of course. Drastic reductions have been made workable plan. Colonel McCormick. in the State Department "Voice of Under the pressure of Indian indus­ America" organization. The GOP trialists and landholders, the leaders of Senator Bricker, after declaring was, the pain in the neck that reduced Congress and League answer. the de­ himself out as a presidential candidate, the voice to a vjhisper. mands of the workers and peasants has endorsed Senator Taft. He should fighting for freedom with the w6i;dsj have left well enough alone. Answering Stassen's- charges, a "Don't bother us, we are negotiating 9 Dewey spokesman says that the Gov­ with the British." Bricker managed to leave the way ernor will speak out when ready. After The uneasiness of the Indian bour­ open for his selection as a "dark horse." all, the little tyke is just starting to run geoisie is manifested by its bickering The dark horse in this case is the one and can't be expected to talk so soon. and bargaining. Indicative of their

16 August 12, 1947 nm PRODUCED BY UNZ.ORG ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED troubled position are the contradictory erty, famine and disease. They insist prosperity; These leaders have been statements of the Congress and League upon agrarian reform through the sucked into a scheme which denies leaderships in reply to the various Brit­ abohtion of landlordism and industrial independence, which perpetuates Hin­ ish White Papers issued during the past reconstruction through nationalization. du-Moslem conflict, and which will year. The Moslem League Council, The persecuted people of the Princely embroil India in the Anglo-American for example, accepted Prime Minister States demand help to cast of? the yoke bloc directed against the Soviet Union. Attlee's June 3 declaration "as a com­ of their tyrannical rulers. The Pathans Their fear of mass action has led the promise." While endorsing the plan in the northwest, the Bengalis in the leaders to rely on British imperialists as a whole, the Council rejected the East and the Keralas on the southern and Indian capitalists. vital section dealing with the partition tip of the sub-continent—'and all In­ But this is a makeshift alliance be­ of Bengal and the Punjab, which has dia's eighteen nations—^want democ­ tween weak partners. The fu,ture of nevertheless been carried out. Similarly racy and self-determination in order to India lies with the people gathered in the Congress Working Committee ac­ develop their languages and cultures. the Trade Union Congress, the Peas­ cepted the scheme, reiterating at the And the workers subsisting in over­ ant Unions, the Communist Party, the same time its faith in the unity of crowded cities on starvation wages are peoples' movement in the Princely India and opposing violently any dec­ engaged in a strike movement of un­ States, and the progressive rank-and- larations of "independence" by Princely precedented proportions to gain better file in Congress and Moslem League. States. living conditions. They have already forced the British But the working' class and peasan­ The followers of Nehru and Mo­ to offer dominion status, and they try are expecting the nationalist lead­ hammed Ali Jinnah expect their lead­ won't stop until they have gained free­ ers to take action now to banish pov­ ers to point the way to peace and dom.

THE IVY CVRTam

s NM has shown in recent articles, overcrowding gation of university presidents descending on Congress on the campus has reached undreamed-of pro- to insist on the federal aid that would be necessary for A^ portions since the war. Last year many short­ the drastic, expa:nsion which is called for—^the doubling sighted educators, instead of welcoming this great surge of our college plant. Instead the trustees of the colleges, toward higher learning and fighting to enlarge their hoping to cut down enrollments and avoid real expan­ facilities, sat tight and hoped the flood would pass over, sion, have sought to raise funds only by further taxing leaving them with interesting memories and pre-war the students. Average tuition has risen above the $500 enrollments. But now alarming figures have been re­ allowed under the GI Bill to cover all expenses—books, leased which indicate that the universities are going to lab fees, etc., as well as tuition. Dormitory rates steadily do possibly an even less adequate job this coming school climb. year than last. A survey of seventeen leading colleges in Students, parents, teachers and all who are concerned New England shows that at least 60,000 applicants for about the colleges' failure to meet the crisis must look entry next fall have been rejected, as compared with forward to a real campaign this fall to make drastic 10,815 admitted. changes in the thinking of our educators and legislators. For instance: Harvard has turned down three out A ceiling must be put on tuition fees and dormitory of four seeking admission. MIT accepted 900 out of rents. Veterans', subsistence allowances must be raised 4,200; Dartmouth 650 out of 6,000; Holy Cross 300 so ex-GI's are not forced to spend more time working out of 4,800; Brown 600 out of 4,200; Williams 282 than studying. Several states have no state colleges, in­ out of .1,800. Figures are similar for all the colleges ' cluding New York: campaigns for these must be presged. cited. True, these Eastern colleges are the most popu­ The fight for a free city college in Chicago must be lar, both for scholastic and social reasons; and the re­ intensified. jected 60,000 undtoiibtedly include a number of dupli­ These are a few of the jobs that call out for our cations. But the figures indicate the trend and under­ attention. Some day, we are confident, Americans will line what John W. Snyder, director of the Office of not fear to learn from other countries in education as War Mobilization and Reconversion, had to say in his well as in other fields. We could, with the overwhelming report to the President in May, 1946: that in the approbation of our students, adopt the method used in 1950's the colleges would have to find room for the Soviet Union of providing free higher education 3,000,000 students, as against the pre-war high of and living costs to the university youth, so that they 1,500,000 (in 1940) and the present 2,000,000 or so. might devote themselves fully to study, unencumbered Of course, some educators have made sincere efforts by the need to make ends meet. It's something our edu­ to expand within' the present limits of their physical cators—and the people generally—should think about. facilities. But we have yet to read of an indignant dele­ BETTY MILLARD.

nm ^"i"^* ^2, 1947 17 PRODUCED BY UNZ.ORG ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED