NEHRU “IMPLACABLE FOE” OF BRITAIN

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27533, 15 December 1954, Page 13

NEHRU “IMPLACABLE FOE” OF BRITAIN

(Rec. 10 p.m.) LONDON, December 14. A sharp attack on Mr Nehru, whom he describes as Britain’s “implacable foe, and a very clever one too,” is made by the columnist “Observer” in the “Financial Times.”

Remarking that the folly of the Socialist Government’s “notorious bargain” with Mr Nehru is only gradually becoming known, the “Observer” continues: “When the Socialists scuttled from India, they agreed that Mr Nehru’s republic should remain ‘of’ the Commonwealth, but not ‘in’ it. Thus Mr Nehru is able to maintain that if what used to be called the British Empire is ever involved in a further war, India will be justified in remaining neutral.

“But while they take no responsibility for the defence of the Commonwealth, Mr Nehru’s Government are pleased to exploit to the utmost the benefits of the Ottawa Imperial Tariff Agreements. Hence, at the present moment, the volume of imports of Indian cotton cloth into Britain is soaring. “By the terms of the Ottawa Agreements, no tariff may be imposed in this country against them. Meanwhile. exports of Lancashire finished cloths to India are subject to duty of between 60 and 80 per cent. Why does the Government not face the fact that in most matters of importance to Britain, Nehru is our implacable foe and a very clever one too? “Mr Nehru and his colleagues were officially entertaining the secretarygeneral of the Kenya African Union at the moment when <its president, Jomo Kenyatta, was given a lengthy prison sentence for his part in provoking the appalling Mau Mau outbreak. And it is well known that the then Indian High Commissioner in Nairobi was a great encourager of disaffected Africans in what they like to describe as their ‘fight against white.’ Indeed, India has created as much trouble as she possibly can in many a British colony. Stand on Cyprus Issue “Now we'learn that the annexer of Kashmir and the bully of Portugal has barged into the Cyprus dispute. Mr Nehru and his colleagues in the Government announce that they are against the continuance of colonial rule in that island and that they cannot regard British-Cypriot relations as merely a ‘domestic issue.’ “We do not know what ties there may. be in common between the Brahmin Nehru and the Orthodox Archbishop of Cyprus, who is striving to emulate the political achievements of the worldly prince bishops of the ’medieval and renaissance church. We can only wonder at Mr Nehru’s catholicity of interests. “Nobody can stop Mr Nehru from doing his best to prove to Moscow

that he is its most persuasive fellowtraveller. But we in the City of London have a duty to try to safeguard the interests of Lancashire and the peace of our colonies. “While India exploits our colonial difficulties arid takes advantage of her partial membership of the British Commonwealth to undersell Lancashire cotton in our Home markets, we find it hard to understand why a number of eminent City firms should be raising money to encourage private enterprise in India, especially since Mr Nehru has always proclaimed himself a Socialist and a believer in nationalisation,” the columnist says.