DOMINION STATUS Dr. A. Bramivell Cook

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 99, 24 October 1939, Page 8

DOMINION STATUS

Dr. A. Bramivell Cook

STRUGGLE IN INDIA

"TREMENDOUS QUESTION"

THE ROLE OF GANDHI

The significance of recent cabled news from India and the part still played in Indian politics by Mahatma Gandhi, were commented upon in an interview today by Dr. A. Bramwell Cook, formerly of Hastings, and now chief medical officer of the Emery Hospital, conducted by the Salvation Army at Annand, in the Bombay Presidency. Dr. Cook is visiting New Zealand on six months' furlough, and both he and his wife, who is with him, hold the rank of captain in the Salvation Army.

Dr. Cook was educated at Waitaki Boys' High School, and later at Auckland and Otago Universities. He holds

the degrees of F.R.C.S. (Edin.), and M.R.C.P. (Lond.). For his work he was awarded the Kaiser-i-Hind Medal in 1935 by the Government of India. "Of the eleven Ministries of India, seven are controlled by the Congress Party," said Dr. Cook. "The policies of all the Congress Ministries are conducted by a working committee of the Congress, so that the policy of all seven Governments is a uniform one. "The prime mover behind this policy is Mahatma Gandhi, who, although not actually a member of the Congress Party, is a marvellous man and maintains his grip on the policy. He is the final reference in every matter. "The Congress Party is agitating for complete Dominion status, although the country has; at present, partial responsible government, with reservations, the chief of which.is the army. i Several million pounds a year are: spent on the army. The Indian temperament is not inclined to war. "NON-VIOLENCE." "Gandhi's principle is 'Ahisma,' t>r 'non-violence,'" said Dr. Cook, "and so followers of Gandhi cannot conscientiously engage in war. It is a question on which all India feels strongly. The ' position now is that they want to bargain' to get a promise of full Dominion status if they cooperate in the.war. Because the Viceroy and the Secretary for India,have not made a definite promise of full Dominion status, they are holding out the threat of resigning. If the Ministries resigned, it would mean that they would be thrown into disorder, the Viceroy would have to resort to minority rule, and the Ministries would have to be drawn from minority sections. It is a big question." The princes were wholeheartedly in support of the British Empire, said Dr. Cook, because their authority was maintained by the British Government. The unrest was almost entirely confined to British India, and . did not greatly affect the States. "Mahatma Gandhi, on the other hand," he continued, "is not an extremist, as many people -think. He, fortunately, favours a moderate policy, and holds the extremists in India in check. Chandrah Bose is one of the leaders of the extremists,, and he is going through India asking his supporters to issue an ultimatum to Britain on the question of Dominion status. Gandhi, however, is agitating for what he wants by constitutional means." Dr. Cook has been absent from New Zealand for about seven and a half years, and as medical officer he has seen some intensive development. When he took charge in 1931 the hospital he controlled had 60 beds, and today the number if 175. Operations total 4000 annually, . and the hospital deals with some 65,000 cases a year. It is'one of six hospitals maintained by the Salvation Army in India. Tropical diseases, said Dr. Cook, were a big problem. A large proportion of the cases arose from cholera and malaria. Because of the financial burdens connected with the hospital the authorities were unable to undertake research, but the Government was active in that direction.