As India Works Towards The Future

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 86, 12 April 1941, Page 17 (Supplement)

As India Works Towards The Future

WHEN it was announced some " weeks ago that the giant Project to give India her independence had Jaeen shelved until «o the.war a storm of protest ®>ein Congress, with the result tot one or two of the leaders **'e arrested, among them the '■year-old ex-president, JawaW Nehru.

is the Indian Congress ? What functions T

' »as founded 65 years ago by an Salman, Allan Hume, tinder the f^ oce a ld blessing of the Viceroy, Dufferin, for the purpose of raising ® wcial standard of the native populaMfe all guch bodies it found that ..... Wor k was inseparable from . > and Congress has gradually de--88 the "spokesman" of the National Movement. During the ' | litip« r ' Gandhi discovered its potenI, ' became the power behind L. towards independence. structure of Congress is Western mind But to *0 it is quite in the order of

things. About three and a half million men and women belong to the organisation, and anyone may join who pays the annual fee of four annas (about five pence). This number is less than 1 per cent of India's 350,000,000 people, but it must be borne in mind that only a very small fraction of the people can afford this sum, since the vast bulk of the population live in India's 700,000 poor villages. Even so, this three and a half million is about one in ten of the total electorate, who number under forty million. It includes Moslems, Hindus, rich men and poor, brilliant minds and peasants — a wonderful cross-section of Indian life. The members band themselves into constituencies of 250, who appoint three delegates to the provincial Congress committee, who, in turn, choose the all-India Congress Committee —a sort of Parliament. A president is chosen for the year, and he appoints the fourteen members of the working committee —the vital point of Congress.

Seven out of the eleven provinces in British India have elected Congress majorities in the provincial "committees," the provincial automony set up in 1937, and probably the most important advance towards Dominion status. There are several other parties in India, which might, if they were successful, hold their own "congress," just as the political parties hold their annual meetings. The burden of guiding the whole Congrees, provincial and national, falls on the Working committee, who receive absolutely no salaries. They appoint the Prime Ministers or heads of local Governments, settle questions of policy, industry and so on. Important members of this committee include Nehru, Chandra Bose, Pant and Patel, who is r». nea. - approach to a British party Whip.

By John Hammond

Gandhi Is Rtal Ruler Behind Congress, though not a memiber of it, and the real ruler of national India is, of course, the incredible Mr. Gandhi, the greatest Indian «nee Buddha. Mr. Gandhi is 71, wh»c> » old in a country where the expectation of

life is only 25 years. But he is still a tremendous power for good in this land of paradox. He it is who soothes the fiery adventurousness of the young Socialists; who gingers the more cautious statesmen into activity; who solves problems which seem impossible to solve. It goes without saying that British authorities would like Mr. Gandhi to live for another 50 years. More progress towards mutual' fellowship has been made in the last 20 years than in the previous century. A foolish mistake many make is to imagine that these new Indian leaders are "upstarts." Some of them have been poor peasants on the land, but a great many have given up brilliant careers and fortunes to take part in the new order. Nehru, for example, had an English tutor when lie was four years old; and studied at Harrow and Cambridge. His father was a brilliant lawyer and one of the richest men in India. Not six men in Britain could surpass Nehrii in learning or culture. Someone said "not a dozen men alive write English as well as Nehru." Beiaj, former Congress treasurer, is a very rich and successful 'business .man. Brinda is a Calcutta industrialist and millionaire. Mi*. Xaidu, sinre the death of Ta"-ore, the foremost Indian poet, is another member. She speaks several languages, and lives in a spacious suite in the Taj Mahal hotel.

Attitude To War When war was declared officials in Britain and India held their breath, wondering what India would do. Would Congress declare a national uprising, or some such move. Nobody knew. Nobody, except Mr. Gandhi. That great saint of India knew what the fate of Indian independence would be under Nazi rule. But he could not openly declare tall support for the war, he, who for years had preached the gospel of passive resistance.

Left members of the Congress thought Mr. Gandhi should have taken a stronger line against war, consequently have nade speeches against the war effort. Vfr. Nehru is the leader of the Leftists ind is now in prison. This is no new hing for him, however, for he has been n and out of gaol since 1921. But, on the whole, while Congress haffs at the hit it will wait until after he -war for the long-looked-for freedom vhich would make this wonderful eounry a partner in the British Commonvealth of Nations.

Meanwhile CongTess has -work to do, and it is only realising just how much. , It must settle the centuries-old distrust between Moslem and Hindu; it will have to do 6omething about the education of the masses, 85 per cent of the men, and 95 per cent of the women are illiterate, i Conditions in the factories, both British and Indian owned, are 'bad, and must be , quickly remedied. There are a host of tasks awaiting l them, but British officials think Congress - will succeed. If they can get Congress - and the princes to accept Federation, the future of India will be a rosy one.