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to India were first indicated, there was uproar

@) N February 20, when the lines of Britain’s ‘award’

among the Tories.

The Tory press raged, Winston

Churchill and the Conservatives were apoplectic . . . but,
now that the partition plan has been put into effect and
India has been divided into the Moslem Dominion of Paki-
stan and the Hindu Dominion of India, the Tory tune is

strangely changed.

“Cordial support” for the pro-
ject was expressed by Chur-
chill in the House of Commons.
The Opposition benches applaud-
ed his well-turned compliments
to Prime Minister Attlee.

One might overlook the Lib-
eral colmunist, A. J. Cummings’,
description of the plan as the
“greatest and most splendid act
of its kind in history,” but when
L. S. Amery tells the Royal Em-
pire Society (June 18) that it is
“a sheer stroke of genius
opening up a new and fruit-
ful chapter in the relations of
East and West;” one becomes
a little suspicious. For it was
Amery, onetime Tory secretary
of state for India, who told
parliament that British policy
in India and Japanese policy
in China were very similar—and
used that scandalous truth as
an adequate justification of Ja-
pan’s attack on Manchuria.

These sudden paeans of praise
from the Tory leaders are omi-
nous enough, but even more
significant are the reactions of
the London Stock Exchange.

Almost all Indian shares rose:
Calcutta Electric, Delhi Electric,

Cawnpore Electric, Calcutta
Trams, Indian Iron, Indian
Banks The Daily Herald

smugly reports: “The City gave
its blessing to the plan for
handing over. India to the In-
dians,” sending cold _ shivers
down the backs of its staunch-
est readers. :

_ What is this wonder-plan?
British India has been divided
into two Dominions—Hindustan
and Pakistan.

Hindustan embraces Madras,
Bombay, the United Provinces,

Bihar, the Central Provinces,’
Delhi, Ajmer-Merwara and
Coorg.

-.Pakistan includes part of As-
sam, and such other Moslem
districts as decide (by plebis-
cite) to join. Referendums are
being held in Bengal and the
Punjab, the North-West Fron-

FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 1947

tier Province, Sind, British Bal-
uchistan and Sylhet, Assam.

Both remain as dominions
within the British Common-
wealth until June 30, 1948, when
they will decide whether to leave
the Commonwealth or continue
within it. ;

The Princes’ States are not in-
cluded in the two Dominions,
but are invited to join either.
They are, presumably, free to set
up as independent kingdoms, or
to form a third, monarchist,
federation, Rajistan.

A century ago, Sir Henry
Lawrence reluctantly admitted:
“We can’t hold India forever.”
‘The truth of that dictum has
now become apparent. Lord
Pethwick-Lawrence told the
House of Lords that “responsible
authorities in India” agreed that
“British rule could not be
maintained on its present basis
after 1948.” This bitter fact ex-
plains the ‘hand over.’ Britain,
no longer able to rule on the
old basis, is trying td find a
new and more tenable one.

“IT would be wrong,” declar-

ed C. A. Dange, president of
the All-India Trade Union Con-
gress and executive member of
the World Federation of Trade
Unions, “to regard this as a
mere maneuver on the part of
imperialism.” It undoubtedly
represents a serious defeat for
the British Raj. But it cer-

“There are

tainly does not mean the end-
ing of British rule.

The plan aims to provide Bri-
tish rule with new foundations.
three main tactics
through which this continued
domination is to be achieved.

@ Economic domination. British
investments in India are im-
mense, and they are still in-
creasing. The ‘evacuation’ of
India has not interrupted the
plans of the Austin Motor
Company to form a new $10,-
000,000 corporation which will
be operating in India by the
end of this year. The war-
time negotiations between
Morris and Tata have borne
fruit in the $12,000,000 ‘Hin-
dustan Motors’ Company al-
ready in production.

These are just two examples
from one restricted field; auto-
mobile production. They could
be matched in almost every
sphere of finance and industry.
A country which is economically
dominated by another can, at
best, enjoy only a very attenuat-
ed form of freedom.

@ The continued maintenance in
India of large numbers. of
British or  British-controlled
troops. Speaking for the Att-
lee government in the House
‘of Lords, Lord Listowel de-
clared in February: “There is
not going to be an evacuation
of India, but a transfer of
political power .. . this is not
a military but a political op-
eration.

A day later, the Labor Party’s
Daily Herald wrote editorially:
“Britain is’ vitally concerned in
the defence of India and is
ready to arrange a treaty with
the new government for this
purpose as soon as_ possible.”

New Republic.

Loyalty test

7 government employee with a long and excellent
record of service antedating New Deal days has
been fired. He was told that investigators found
nothing ‘subversive’ in his record, but neither could
they find—and for this he was discharged—any record
of his having criticized the Soviet Union.

—Henry Wallace, writing on civil liberties in the

military authorities them-
selves, however, saw no need
to wait for such formalities. In
March 1946—a fortnight before
the cabinet mission sailed for
India—a conference of empire
staffs, held in Britain, noted in
a political report, that the gov-
ernment “intends to move in
India towards a kind of inde-
pendence of the Egyptian or
Transjordan variety.”

In June, 1946, after the cabin-
et mission’s plan had been an-
nounced, the British general
staff tabled plans for the sta-
tioning in India of a “strategic
air reserve” of 18 squadrons, in-
cluding long-range bombers, by
1950.

British military missions are
operating in almost every one of
the Prince’s States; paratroop
exercises have taken place in
Kashmir in the far north of In-
dia. The Maharaja’s private air-
field at Srinagar has been
converted for military uses.
Hyderabad’s army of 100,000 (the
total population is only 16,000,-
000) has been presented with a
Bren-gun factory by the British
Command.»

British troops have been hold-
ing the North-West Frontier.
(All British defense plans in In-
dia anticipate attack from the
North-West — presumably from
the Soviet Union—though it is
clear that the real threat to
India is far more likely to come
from the United States. The
Poona blimps seem to have
learned nothing from the war-
time debacle. “Then, as now,
India was ready only for attack
from the North-West—while the
Japs invaded, most inconsider-
ately, from the South-East and
North-East. '

*

Bx following a policy of divide

and rule Britain was able to
conquer India. The same policy
enabled her to maintain her grip
on a sub-continent of nearly 400
million people for 200 years. It
is still her policy.

@ The ‘Balkanisation’ of India.
The Princes’ States, so care-
fully excluded from the plan,
are scattered widely over the
length and breadth of the In-
dian sub-continent. The big-
gest and richest, Hyderabad,

strategically placed in the
centre of the country, has
already asserted its ‘indepem-

dence.’ Travancore; com-
manding an important section
of the extreme southwest

coast, and rich in materials
suitable for atomic fissiom
has made a similar declara
tion.

A number of the States will,
no doubt, attach themselves 1
one or other of the two Domin-
ions. Baroda, Patiala, Jodhupu!
and Cochin have already 4°
nounced their intention of 4
ing so; but they will insist 0
retaining all their powers exceP!
defense, foreign affairs 2”
communications (according fp
the Chamber of Princes’ dec
sion) and. will resist any 2

tempts to introduce democracy

to their peoples.

cr existence of large areas
with Moslem or Hindu mil
orities will intensify the co™™
munal question. It’ should We
noted that this problem is ?
longer a_ religious one. wher
the Moslems demand—for exa@¥
ple—Calcutta, it is not pecause
of their fears for the religiov
liberties of the Moslem peoPl
of that city. It is because
the political and economic i”
portance it represents to the 2

Moslem Dominion. f

This point cannot be over

stressed. In August last yer)
46,000,000 Hindus and Mosle”.
celebrated numerous religio¥
festivals without a_ single a
of communal disorder. T°’

re
when the religious festivals MES
over, there were, on Septemt™

2, terrible outbreaks of on
munal violence — with poll

objectives.

enctive?
The’ same _ political object
underlie the present rioting
disorders in many cities.

‘ : a
The partition plan involve ta
furious wrangle over Cale

Ss
a)
and the Punjab, and ra
over e

intensified by the
shortcomings of the
moth-eaten Pakistan”
they have been offered:

Wherever the boundaries a
drawn, neither side will ac
them as final—and BritaiP ist
hope to secure the est?”
ment of a few. ‘free citie® tne
Calcutta perhaps?—out of ef
melee. Obviously, all te ging
fects at partition, s0 ae by
to India, can be exploite’
Britain to strengthen he?
tion.

the
The partition pian 15 not it
marvel of generosity that 5us"
ish publicity attempts * ” jn
gest. It is on the C0 ie
every respect an unsatist well
one. In operation it ™4Y jpe
prove as_ unpalatable
British as to the Indians. ‘0

4% ‘ pg
- PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAG

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