Evening star., 1942-02-23
Events Over Week End
Buoy India S Hopes
For Independence
Churchill PIuns to Send
Cabinet Representative
To Work on Problem
Nv the Associated Press.

~ the Associated Press.
LONDON, Feb. 23.-At least par
tial realization of India's long and
often bloody demands for independ-
ence was predicted by British sources
today after a rapid sequence OF
weekend events which portended a
radical change in Britain's attitude
toward her 400, 0,000, 900 subjects there.
Two developments particularly
buoyed India's hopes:
I. The farewell of Chinese Gen.
erahssimo Chang Kai-shek, who has
been visiting in India. Speaking
presumably with the consent Of
Britain and the United States and
apparently addressing himself to the
British, he declared dramatically
Saturday:
1.-THE vast majority of the worlds
opinion is in full sympathy with
India's aspiration for freedom"
2. Informed British sources as
serted yesterday that Prime Min
lister Churchill planned to enlarge
1ndia's powers of self-government
and send a cabinet representative
there to try to put the India prob
lem on a more satisfactory footing"
Nehru May Get Post.
There was as yet no precise indi-
cations of how far Britain would go
toward granting autonomy, but the
government was said to be planning
tentatively for an Indian national
administration headed by ,Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru, former president
of the National Congress party in
which Mohandas K. Gandhi has
been the guiding spirit.
Neither the Congress Party nor
the All-India Moslem League, which
represent the bulk of the politically
iterate in India's population, have
formulated a stand on Gen. Chiang's
message of hope to its masses.
The AIl-India Moslem Leagues
Working Committee was called to a
special meeting today, however. and
q conference of Indian leaders out
side the two great political parties
yesterday voted support for Gen.
Chang.
Meeting under the noted liberal,
Sir Tel Bahadur Sapru, they re-
solved to advocate immediate Brit
ish measures to give India rank
with other self-governing units OF
the commonwealth and reconstruc-
ton of the governor generals execu-
tive council as national govern
ment during the war.
Nom Official Representatives.
They asked also that India's rep
resentatiyes in the British war cab
met and on the Pacific war council
be non-oficial and representative
of the people India was invited
on February II to send representa-
tives to those bodies.
"I hope and believe that Britain,
without waiting for any demand on
the part of the Indian people will,
as speedily as possible, give them
real political power" Gen. Chlang
said in his farewell.
The Indian press adopted show
me attitude. exemplifled by the edl-
torial comment of the Bombay
Chronicle: will Britain Respond?
True settlement with the people of
India is impossible unless, as Chang
Kai-shek points out, Britain gives
them real political power"
Newspaper Confident
The Calcutta Statesman asserted
that the generalissimo, having
spoken so plainly to India" now
~has not only the right but the
urgent duty to speak plainly to the
British" 1t expressed confidence
that his advice would be taken,
adding there is no alternative"
The India issue has been a barrier
to realization of the country's full
war potential and British sources
described Mr.. Churchills reported
intentions as an effort to consolidate
the empire front in Asia.
One source said Sir Stafford
Cripps had made an agreement on
India policy condition for ac-
cepting a seat in the war cabinet
and forecast that Sir Archibald Sim
clair, secretary of state for air, would
be sent there as Britain's repre-
eaVfo five