Nehru Opposed To Any Crusade Against Communism

Wanganui Chronicle, 21 August 1950, Page 5

Nehru Opposed To Any Crusade Against Communism

"Intellectual Reaction Not Against Socialistic Doctrine Of Communism"

NEW YORK, Aug. 19 (Reed. 6 p.m.)—Mr. Nehru, in an interview with the New Delhi correspondent of the New York “Times” today, asked the West 'to support Asia’s nationalism, but said he was opposed to a crusade against Communism

Mr. Nehru said: “In the West there is a lot of talk of Communism and the Communist danger, and there is a great deal in it. However, the average Asian cannot be swept away by the cry of a Communist danger, because he has not so much to lose. “Intellectual reaction is not opposed to the Socialistic doctrine of Communism. There is an idealistic appeal in the fact that it stands 1 for the underdog. So, when the cry is raised against Communism, it has not much effect except with certain individuMr. Nehru said the West should abandon condemnation of Communism as such, and take up political and economic freedom as a more effective rallying cry. He urged a compromise with the opposing ideologies, because it was impossible and unwise to attempt to exterminate them. The West must give due importance to the spirit of nationalism in Asia,

which was passing through a revolutionary period. “Asia has been tied to various countries, mostly European, in the past, so there is a tendency to break loose in many ways and directions," he said. “Breaking away in the political field has left many economic problems piled up. There has been no time for economic development. Step by step these economic problems must either be solved peacefully in time, or other forces will come and try to solve them in a violent manner.” Mr. Nehru said nothing must be done to upset the political objective m Korea as a whole. “We cannot think of Korea as a colony of future Koreans,” he said. “The future depends a great deal upon what the people of Korea want to be.” « Mr. Nehru added: “To leave Korea under a large army of occcupation, or to leave the Koreans to their own resources, will only bring us back to where we started after all the trouble we have taken.”