INDIA'S AIMS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 173, 24 July 1922, Page 7

INDIA'S AIMS.

EXPLAINED BY DELEGATE. ME. SASTKI'S MISSION. CORBIAT, CIVIC WELCOME. The Rt. Hon. Srinivasa Sastri, V.C., is a remarkable speaker: eloquent, nice in his choice of words and expressions, idiomatic beyond whait you would espei't in one not speaking his native tongue, and tellingly logical. Oddly enough, now and again he is reminiscent of the people of another nation in which Home Rule is also the favourite topic. He is more careful of the letter "r" than the average Englishman, and now and again there is also a suggestion of the Irishman's transposition of the "i" for the "c" which is not altogether unattractive. GUT. Sastri made a striking figure at the great reception aerorded to him in the Town Hall on Saturday night by the Mayor (Mr. J. H. Gunso'n), on behalf of the city. The guest, who is a hiffb caste Brahmin, wore a plain close fitting robe of dark stuff and a white turban of peculiar make. His secretary. Mr. G. S. Bajpai, had a touch of red about his uniform, with brass buttons and a red turban. Also on the platform were Mr. J. Hislop, Under-Sccretarv of Internal Affairs, wlio is acting as Government host to the distinguished Indian, and the Mayor was supported by a number of the city councillors.

In a few graceful phrases the "Mayor extended a most, cordial we'eome to "one ■whom our own Prime Minister had already welcomed to the Dominion as our 'fellow citizen.'" The settlement of problems such as that now confronting India, said the Mayor, would remove any question of the British Empire's place or influence in Far Eastern events. Mr. Snstri told how when Queen Victoria took over from the East Tndia Company the Indians were assured by a solemn pledge that they would lie treated exactly as other citizens of the Queen. That pledge had been renewed countess times. India w.an-ted for her people the I ricrht of full citizenship, that was to Bβ.?, the right of free movement within the I Empire and the right of full =elf development within tlie Empire. Mr. Sastri emphasised the '-'within the Empire.'" This led him on to the resolution passed at the Imperial Conference recommending "in the interests of the solidarity of the British Commonwealth," that it was desirable that Indians domiciled in

such Dominions should he KTttnted rights of eitizpnsh'D. It was his duty, said Mr. Pastri, to persuade the overseas governments to follow the conference recommendation. Tn Australia lie had been told that IT Indians got such riphts the Chinese and .Japanese would hp demanding tlie same thing. Mr. Sastri considered it was only fair that Tndian follow subjects of thp P.ritisli should be distinguished from other Asiatics. Moreover, a Chinaman could get naturalised, but the Indian being already a British citizen wns dcriipd that right. lie was actually penalised because he was a British subject. Among other objections dealt with by Mr. Sastri was that voiced by people who said that as it was impossible to grant the Indians full rights in a place like .Xatal, where they outnumbered the wliites, it would not be right to grant full rights in other parts of the Empire. The question of Ifndians in Africa was |a.diuittedly a difficult one. and had been left out of the Imperial Conference recommendation in order that it might be the subject of separate negotiation. Rut it was no argument why iustico should be denied the Indians in Dominions where it was perfectly safe to do so. Tn conclusion Mr. Sastri pointed out that if the Indians were denied the rights of citizenship, if they found that every door was phut to them, they misfht draw conclusions which would seriously interfere with "the solidarity of the British Commonwealth." On tlie basis of Imperial unity he appealed for bare justice for the Indians, and though the British were not perhaps constitutionally rjiven to consider ab-tr.!rt questions, he had no hesitation in appealing on the abstract grounds of truth and justice.