Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1942-07-09
NOn-ViOlent Nom
Cooperation i'm India
(W. I. L. Letter.

wv. i. l.. Letter)
The crucial situation in India, our
deep concern and anxiety about her
fate justifies indeed again devoting
part of our letter to India's problems
In March we gave brief summary
of events which had led up to the
situation as it presented itself at that
time. Meanwhile Britain's represen-
tative has gone back to England. His
mission has failed. The proposal
he brought to the Indian people did
not make it possible to agree upon
those features acceptable to the In
dian people while rejecting other
features. The proposal had to be
accepted in toto or to be rejected
in toto. Its rejection was, therefore,
complete.
We all know how India reacted
We know the course the Indian Ma
tional Congress adopted: Non-Vio-
lent Non-Cooperation. But not all of
us are aware of the full significance
of the Congress Resolution. We,
therefore, quote excerpts from arti-
cles in the May issue of India To-
Day. which will clarity the issues in
question: Congress rejected il
(Cripps' proposaD, because in its
view the constitution making body
envisaged in the proposal, at the end
of the war, was so composed as to
vitiate the peoples right of self
determination by the introduction OF
non-representative elements. Ninety
million subjects of India's princes
were treated as chattels and COM
modities to be disposed of by their
autocratic rulers. Congress looked
upon the provision permitting non
accession to the contemplated union
as severe blow to the conception
of India's unity" Over defense
India was not to have any substan-
tial control. Congress was willing
to have a British Commander-in-
Chief in full charge of the military
operations during the war, with an
Indian civilian head of the defense
provided full control of the military
be turned over Immediately at the
end of the war to the then func-
tioning Provisional Indian National
government. The British turned
down this demand.
Britain's unwillingness to relax her
hold on the Indian military even al
the end of the war confirmed the
suspicion that she was Vancouver
ing to perpetuate her hold on India
p. "To call upon millions in
India's villages now to meet the
japanese with sticks and bare fists
is to invite mass murder. And il
will not stop the invaders. Non
Violent Non-Cooperation offers a
much better prospect Z. It is an
organized and dynamic mass resist
ance =. 1t is the Non-Coopera-
ton that harnesses and battles the op-
pressor. He must either resort to a
cold-blooded mass murder or lock up
the entire population. And in either
case he utterly fails to secure even
the enforced help of the people, with
out which his regime cannot func-
ton >. :. The invader will have to
draw entirely upon his own home pop
ulation to exploit India's resources
India's non-cooperators would die on
the spot rather than do any bit OF
work for the invaders. They will
neither draw water nor hew wood
nor work in field or factory for the
invaders. They will offer far more
resistance than is being offered al
this moment by many in Europe
lying PROSTATE under the Nazi heel
The japanese will never succeed ir
reducing the Non-Violent Non-Co-
operators of India to utter helpless
ness"
It is repeated over and over agar
in the Indian leaders speeches thai
India is today definitely on the side
of the United Nations-definitely
against japanese invasion, definitely
against aggression. In a recent state.
ment Jawaharlal Nehru made thi!
very clear.
81 cannot tolerate the idea," h.
said, "that I should sit idle, or tina
the people should sit idle in theil
houses, while the battle for Indi;
is being fought between foreign
armies while the Japanese are in
vading the country. I am not goini
to give in to Britain if she want
to exploit or rule India. Much les
do I want the Indian people to Civ
in or be passive towards the Japan
csc. / want them to resist them t.
the utmost-resist them in the Con
gress way.
"Our policy in regard to the Jap
anese invasion is that we are on