“A SPECTRE IS HAUNTING ASIA

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25550, 19 July 1948, Page 6

“A SPECTRE IS HAUNTING ASIA

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[By Sir PERCIVAL GRIFFITHS in the “Sunday (Reprinted by exclusive arrangement)

When power was transferred by Britain to India and her three neighbours, few realised,.how soon and how gravely in some of these countries the newly-acquired freedom would be threatened by the growth of Communism. To-day, with a slight modification of the opening words of the centuryold Communist Manifesto, it might almost be said that “a spectre is haunting Asia—the spectre of Communism. In India, though it is rare to find even an economics student who has read “Das Kapital,” Communism is no new thing. Soon after the 1914-18 war a Communist movement, inspired and financed by Russia, was set on * oot - Its success was very limited, partly on account of the vigilance of the authorities, but mainly because it preached a doctrine not suited to the psychology of a religious and property-loving people. By 1939. its organisers had evolved a creed less at variance with Hindu thought, but still based upon the old Marxian exploitation of jealousy and class hatred. Communism in India In the years between the wars the educated youth of India was first and foremost nationalist and therefore antiBritish; this in turn induced a general hostility to authority and the established order. The resulting predisposition towards Communism among the young intelligentsia ensured an adequate supply of leaders for the party. During the recent war important sections of the Communist Party in India, in contrast to the Congress Party, gave wholehearted support to the war effort, and so obtained an excellent opportunity of consolidating their organisation. The 1943 famine and the subsq4 uen t shortages of essential goods, the failure of the Government to check profiteering and control inflation, the general loosening of the bonds of authority, the new ferment of ideas which the war had produced—all these prepared the way for the apostles of Communism. As a result the Communist Party of India is now strong, perhaps not so much in numbers as in influence. In every industrial area it makes its presence felt through strikes with no apparent cause and through “go-slow” movements; while even in remote teagarden areas it is not uncommon to see lorry-loads of party • workers going their roupds and making great play with the emblem of hammer and sickle. The movement is particularly strong in a belt stretching from the West coast to Madras. There the Communists have made a dead set at capturing the imagination of the villager, and have not scrupled to exploit communal strife for the purpose. Responsible officials speak gravely of areas in the South jn which “the writ of Government does not run.” In Bombay, though active in industrial areas, the movement has not yet been very successful in the villages, while in Bengal it has concentrated mainly on urban labour, with a subsidiary campaign in the tea districts.

The real test of strength will come at the first elections on the basis of

adult suffrage, and it is whaspered.te, Delhi that some of those coneemta now wish they had not so emphatically demanded universal franchise in the past. In the meanwhile, the Government of India has rightly set out to crush the Communist Party, and the main burden of doing so falls upon Sardar Patel, who is unfortunately a sick man. It is believed that Pandit Nehru is not altogether happy about the campaign; for, although he can have no illusions left about Russia, he seems anxious to avoid the accusation of lining up with an anti-Communist international block. Recent events however, have left him and his Government no choice. Ceylon, too, has for some time been a centre of Red activity. In the southwest of the island the depression in the coir industry has facilitated the work of the Communists, while in Colombo high prices have had a similar result. Fortunately, personal quarrels and jealousies have divided the movement into three rival faction!, and except among semi-skilled labour little real harm has been done. In Pakistan, though the evil has not yet assumed serious proportions, the I>resence of a large number of homeess and penniless refugees provides a golden opportunity for the Marxian propagandist. The Government, however, is aware of the danger and it ig unlikely to give Communist agents much rope. Burma: Threat of Chaos In Burma, on the other hand, the situation is so serious that the most sober account of it seems fanciful or alarmist. A period of British guidance and control was needed to restore normality after the Japanese occupation. In the event, however, power was put into the hands of a few leaders who have proved themselves completely unable to establish order, and central Burma to-day is a happy hunting ground for unruly elements of such diverse characters that it is impossible to distinguish between genuine Communists and plain hooligans. The attempt of the Burmese Government to retrieve the situation by putting arms into the possession of the villagers has proved a godsend to the Communists. Thakin Nu, the Prime Minister of Burma, perhaps conscious of his inability to control the situation, is about to resign, and has founded a new party to be known as the United Party of the Left. “Propagation of Marxist ideology” and establishment of close relations with Russia are the most significant planks in the new party plalmiF 1 ?’. Alarmed at world reactions, Thakin Nu tried to explain away his previous statement; nevertheless, it is difficult to resist the belief that Burma is moving rapidly towards chaos. For centuries the North-West has been the gateway to India, through which military marauders have entered to plunder or conquer. Today it stands open to the more dangerous invasion of Communist doctrine and it will take all the strength and vigilance of India and her neighbours to resist the onslaught.