LEGISLATION FOR INDIA

Taranaki Daily News, 3 August 1935, Page 9

LEGISLATION FOR INDIA

EFFECTS OF RECENT BILL

RESENTMENT of all factions.

BRITAIN'S IMMENSE PROBLEM.

NEW ZEALANDER’S IMPRESSIONS.

Some indication of the immensity of file political and social problems that ; face the British Government in dealing with the problem of “government for India was given in an interview at New Plymouthlast might by. Mr. H. L. Gray, a New. Zealand Presbyterian missionary Who has lived in India for 14 years and who has had the opportunity of studying native language, customs and psychology intimately. ; His summary of the present situations covered every vital aspect of the Indian problem from the viewpoint of a than familiar with the .country and its " ' ‘ , : ~ Outstanding in his comment on the current,trend of. political events was the opinion’that, the British Government has made a psychological mistake at least in withholding from the India Bill any reference to .the Dominion status so long promised Indian patriots as the ultimate aim Of the Raj. The present provisions of the Bill, said' Mr. Gray, though in effect they provided, for a federation of native States, -An .autonomy in affairs of local' government and. a central, responsible ■government with the Viceroy reserving in. his: hands the power of veto and the control Of the departments of defence, finance and police, were frankly unacceptable to any .shade of Indian political opinion. While these steps were no doubt steps towards selfgovernment the fact remained that a succession of Viceroys had promised Dominion status as the ultimate alm and the India Bill contained no reference to it. For all practical purposes there were three shades of Indian political opinion —the first a minority group of revolutionaries, no doubt largely inspired by subversive outside influences and recruited mainly from disaffected, desperate And unemployed student classes. The Second division was typified by the Indian National Congress, the best organised of nationalist groups, which had Until recently been led by Mr. Gandhi. Congress stood for complete independence .from the British Empire and was highly critical Of Britain and Britons in the belief that India had been exploited by Europeans for their own ends. GANDHI’S DOCTRINE. Until last election Congress had stood by Gandhi’s doctrine of civil disobedi-ence—-refusal to conform to civil laws, Withdrawal from laW courts, colleges and all Government-cofitrolled institutions, refusal to pay land tax or revenue—a campaign calculated to disorganise and eventually paralyse the functions of government as it existed. Thus it had been hoped that British power would be broken down. The measure had, however, proved, merely destructive, imnecesiarily destructive, and it contributed nothing, to the ultimate solution of Indian political. troubles. Gandhi had withdrawn from the arena and the Congress, Said Mr, Gray, now constituted the more or less formal Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, holding over 50 seats. The third party in the field might be termed the Moderates, who stood for Dominion status on the model of other Seif-governing Imperial fiationS. And there COiildbO fib doubt that these Moderates Who had stood' firmly for the ideal ofi co-operation with ■ the British and loyalty to Britain had substantially helped the. Imperial Government through the difficult ’and critical years of the past decade. Vet even this staunchly loyal faction felt that it had been let down by, the omission of the British Government to reiterate its intention of granting India Dominion status within a definite time limit. As early as 1917 the Secretary Of State for India had declared the goal of Dominion status. Successive Viceroys had more or less pledged Downing Street to Action. The failure of repeated attempts to include some definite reference or promise in the terms, of the Bill had caused a reaction of Chagrin and amazement in all those who were really familiar with tire position and feeling of India. It was felt that years of . work had proved fruitless. Even a belated statement by the then Secretary of State for India, Sir Samuel Hoare, had done little to relieve the impression that Britain had let India down.

DIFFICULTY FACING BRITAIN. Whatever the psychological effect of this course of action upon the Iridian people, the difficulties that faced Britain had to be realised. “It is dangerous, very dangerous,” said Mr. Gray, "to'generalise in the case of India. However, it seems to us who have been familirir with shades of political. Opinion and who have lived there for some tiftie that some gesture of faith and generosity wbiild have met a fine respOrise from Indian politicians. What will happen in ths future it is difficult to say. One can only hope for Sufficient support that planned reforms may be made.” Well-informed European opinion in India, commented Mr. Gray, Was inclined to the belief that self-determination was India’s right, eventually. Well-informed opinion, however, did not comprise the class of European who came Out to the country for a few years to make money and then get aWfiy as soon as possible. Whatever, might'be said it Was well to I bear in mind the vastness of the population, 350,000.000— three-quarters Of the population of the entire British Empire—where 500 languages and dialects Were spoken and 87 per cent, of the population was agrarian. In rural areas a conservative estimate of the illiteracy of the people was 00 per cent.—with wOmen as high aS 99.5 per cent. The formula of providing a constitution by which SO immense and ignorant a population could be responsibly self-govern-ed provided perhaps the most amazing and complicated political problem of all time. It might also be remembered, added Mr. Gray, that only 5 or 6 per cent, of the Indian intelligentsia were “vocal.” The vast mass of the nation was dumb. A scarcely less grave problem Was provided by the eternal enmity of Mohammedan and Hindu. Ail incidental but interesting sidelight was thrown by Mr. Gray on the position in the North-West Frontier Province. While realising tha policing was necessary, Mr. Gray held the definite opinion that there was no serious danger of invasion from that quarter. He instanced the road-building policy of the government and the mobility of aeroplanes as the safeguards against raiding, but pointed out that while the hill-tribesman was a &M guerilla fighter and fond of his blood-feuds, he was helpless away from the shelter of his hills. Mr. Gray would not comment on any aspect of foreign interference. The Indian Government, he said, had its own ways of keeping a finger on the pulse > of the nation—a “romantic” way in which really remarkable things were done. The British had their C.I.D. men or Secret Service agents everywhere and very little indeed went on without the authorities knowing it.