Evening star., 1942-04-05
WaveII Enters Talks,
BoIstering Hopes for
Cripps' India Plan
Major Political Groups
Giving Second Thought
To Their Decisions
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
NEW DELHI, India, April A.
The chances of favorable re-
ception to Britain's freedom pro-
posals were kept alive TO-DAY by
the entry of Gen. Sir Archibald
P. Wavell into the negotiations,
and by evidences that the two
major political elements, the
Moslem League and Congress
Party, were giving careful Sec
ond thought to their decisions
Weighing heavily with dominant
Congress Party leaders, informed
sources believed, was the realization
that it would be catastrophe if Sir
Stafford Cripps, the British special
envoy, left India without solution
and the country we're left to face
possible religious war at a time when
Japanese invasion is threatened.
Some evidence that the powerful
Congress Party was giving renewed
consideration to the British plan,
already rejected conditionally, was
seen in the statement of Maulana
Abul Kalan Azad, party president,
that the Working Committee at a
two-hour session had considered the
situation in Bengal and Assam in
view of the warfare approaching
from Burma.
WaveTl Sees Leaders.
Mohandas K. Gandhi, inspirer Of
the nationalist movement, who had
delayed his departure to give the
committee his advice, told newspa-
per correspondents that he still was
observing strict silence" but when
asked if he would advise Bengal to
follow his policy of non-violence.
replied:
IT would advise the whole world
TO do so-not only Bengal"
Gen. Wavell, commander in chief
In India, conferred with Cripps, then
received Azad and Pandit Nawahar-
lal Nehru, past president of the
Congress Party.
Gen. Wavell is expected to see
Mohammed Ali Jinnah, president of
the Moslem League. next week.
1t was presumed that Gen. Wavell
told the Indian leaders how far
Britain was prepared to 60 in COM
promising on the all-important issue
of defense, the direction of which
Britain originally insisted should be
left splely to her.
If the British were willing to ap-
point an Indian to the executive
council to take charge of recruiting
and morale, leaving direction of
strategy to Gen. Wavell, informed
quarters believed the chance of
agreement was fairly good.
A memorandum presented by Sir
Tel Bahadar Sapru and DR.. Mukund
Ramrao Jayakar, non-party spoyes-
man, outlined such a compromise
formula and said it should not be
difficult to define the sphere of the
Indian representative ana that of
Gen. Waven e.
1t was understood that alterna-
tive proposals explored by Gen.
Wavell and the Indian leaders will
be considered by the Congress Work
ing Committee tomorrow.
Jinnah's truculent speech at Al
lahabad today, where he declared
India's 100000 Moslem minority
never would accept British plan
that would prevent their achieve
ment of sparate state, was be-
lieved in informed quarters to be a
bargaining effort.
Moslem League Not Committed.
Britain's proposal of self-deter-
H1ination for the individual states
at least partially guaranteed the
leagues great demand-freedom
from Hindu electoral domination
but Jinnah said it would keep
MoSlems tied to the chariot wheels
of Hindudom."
However, the league has not for
mally committee itself.
Although Congress party leaders
do not like it, they find it difficult
to oppose the clause allowing provin-
clal secession since it gives the
Moslems the same right of self-de-
termination which the party so long
has demanded for India as a whole.
Few intelligent Congressman deny,
moreover, that since 1887, when
their party took Office in seven of
the II provinces of British India,
antagonism between the 24O 900 900
Hindus and the Moslems has been
widespread.
U. S. Press Denounced.
Jinnah's ardent reception yester-
day when he arrived at lAllahabad
to shape the final answer 20 Cripps
appeared to be a symptom of Mos
lem determination not to submit to
Hindu domination.
A factor strongly influencing the
Congress party deliberations was
the conviction that if the Congress
party finally rejected the plan, jim
nah would be in position to tell
his followers that the Congress thus
had shown itself unwilling to al
low 1ndias Moslems to decide their
future.
Congress leaders realize such
situation opened the grave possibil-
ity of internal religious war.
The statement of Sapru and Jaya-
kar said failure to include an Indian
defense member on the Executive
Council would cause the British plan
whatever its other merits may be"
to fail of its object and expressed
considerable doubt and anxiety
about the wisdom" of permitting
provinces to remain out of the pro-
posed Indian Dominion.
The Indian nationalist press con-
tinued to denounce American news