Evening star., 1942-03-31
Brituin's Offer to India

The closely guarded British offer
which Sir Stafford Cripps bore in his
portfolio and revealed in conference
with Indias diverse spokesmen has
now been made public, together with
radio address by Sir Stafford to the
Indian people. The Indian leaders
are now formulating their respective
replies. Since both sides understand
that the offer must be accepted or
rejected as whole, the momentous
issue ought to be clearly defined, If
not finally settled, within a very brief
period. With the Japanese at the
very gates Of India, the general con-
viction is that there is no time to
waste.
The imminence OF the Japanese
peril is, of course, the best hope that
the British proposal will be accepted
in good faith by all parties, none Of
whom has anything to gain by a
Japanese invasion and subsequent
domination. 1t is hard to see how
the British government could have
offered more than an unequivOcal
promise of full dominion status with
in the British commonwealth Of ma
tions Immediately after the war,
coupled with further promise that
India would have the right to quit
the commonwealth and 60 her own
way, If she chose to do so. The main
tenance OF British authority during
the war appears to be an absolute
necessity from the military point of
view.
Yet that necessity has been i'm
plicitly denied by the Congress party
in its demands for a full and i'm
mediate transfer of authority
presumably to Congress hands. Mo-
handas Gandhi is reported to have
termed the British offer "a post
dated check" which would prevent
India from achieving full political
integrity. Gandhi and his colleagues
have wanted virtual independence
now, with the further assurance that
they could use it to bring about the
strongly unified form of government
they have in mind. Both Of those ex-
treme hopes have been disappointed.
The British government has not been
stampeded into a capitulation to
Congress demands and yelled threats.
The big, militant Moslem minority
is to enjoy the right Of political self
determination. while smaller minori-
ties such as the Sikhs are to be
Safeguarded, and the princes are not
to be summarily coerced. All this
does not sit we'll with many Congress
leaders, and they probably showed
their dissatisfaction deliberately by
the condolences which they sent to
the mother of SubhaS Chandra Bose,
recently killed in an airplane acci-
dent on the way to Japan. Mr.. Bose
fed from India to escape arrest for
seditious activities against the Brit
ish, and has since been conducting
pro-AxiS propaganda, apparently
from Berlin.
Those condolences are hardly
conciliatory gesture. Yet it should
be remembered that, after having
made such sweeping demands, the
Congress leaders may feel the need
Of keeping up their bargaining posi-
ton, saving their faces and holding
their more uncompromising follow
ers in line. 1t is virtually a foregone
conclusion that the Moslems, the
princes and the smaller minorities
will find the British offer satisfac-
tory. Perhaps it is too much to ex-
pect the Congress leaders to fall
automatically in line. But this does
not mean summary refusal. The
hour is too grave for playing obstruc-
tive politics, and the Congress party
is full of moderate men who realize
the stakes involved. AS the Premier
of the Punjab remarks, any party
that rejects the British proposals
will incur a terrible responsibility
and risk, turning both Indian and
world opinion against them for so
doing.