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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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