Evening star., 1943-05-18
By PRESTON GROVER,

NEW DELHI.-More than a year
has passed since Sir Stafford Cripps,
British envoy. proposed independ-
ence for India-after the war-and
was promptly rebuffed. Today the
country appears no nearer harmony
than 1t was then.
Like rigid triangle. the Congress
Party, the Moslem League and the
government hold doggedly to their
sharply divergent positions and
none is willing to make a single con-
cession.
Added to this brew is a new, sharp
condiment-Communism. AS a sop
to fighting Russia, Britain legalized
the Communist Party, liberated
long-imprisoned party members and
now has a new problem child.
Meanwhile, the execution of the
spiritual head of fanatical Mos
lem sect in Western India for lead
ing an uprising against the crown
contributes but another sharp pain
to the national headache. The exc
cuted leader was Pr Pagaro, whose
rebellious Hur followers have ter
rorized Sind Province for years.
Gandhi Still An Enigma.
Over it all looms the great In
dian enigma, Mohandas Gandhi
disciple Of passive resistance who
was imprisoned by the British after
the collapse of the Cripps mission.
Since Mr.. Gandhi ended his most
recent fast March 3, two situations
have been brought into the lime
light, neither of which promises to
contribute in the slightest to bet
tement of relations between the
Indians and the British.
First is the disclosure of resistant
attitude on the part of Indian buAi-
nessmen.
The second lies in the growing Sc
verify of Moslem League censure
OF the British and their demand
for re-orientation of Congress Party
policy as a prelude to cooperation
on united front for independence.
On the business front, specula-
tors in Bombay have lacked up the
price of cotton to such a degree that
the government has openly threat
ened-though it has not yet acted
to crack down. Recently the finance
minister told the assembly that cot
ton operators were "sabotaging"
government efforts to provide ade-
quate food. and cheap cloth to the
Indian population. He said boost
ing the cotton price not only in
creased the cost of cloth but made
it difficult to persuade farmers to
convert cotton acreage to food crops.
Moslems Complain.
On the political front the Mos
lem League complains increasingly
against the British for permitting
the deadlock to continue. For a
time the league, dominated by the
wealthy Bombay lawyer, Mohammed
Ali Jlnnah, concentrated its bitterest
attacks on Mr.. Gandhi and the In
dian Congress.
But now the league speakers and
the league press. while continuing
to snipe at the congress, are direct
Ing their briskest fire at the Brit
lsh. The league secretary, Nawab-
zada Liaqat Ali Khan, expressed
the new viewpoint this way in re-
cent debate on finance bill:
The present government of In
dia is completely divorced from pub
lie opinion. and the present govern
ment Of India does not enjoy the
confidence of the people. Nothing
will satisfy the Indian people unless
there is a transfer of real power
and nothing will be able to fully
mobilize the resources of this coun-
try unless there are real representa-
tive people in that government"
He made it clear, however. that
the Moslem League would have no
part In cooperation with the gov
ernment until a guarantee was given
that the Mohammedan sections of
India would be given the right to
form a nation apart from Hindu
India. This, neither the govern
ment nor the Congress has ever
indicated disposition to grant.
Many British are sincerely dis
tressed at what they believe to- be
a growing hopelessness of ever find
ing a solution. However. one thing
Is clearly evident, India, although
sulky, is quiet under British control
Communists say there are only
about 25,000 real party members"
among India's millions, but there
are evidences that the movement
is making headway. The British
themselves are becoming bit wary
of it.
Last April the Communists
reached out into the rich grain
growing section of Northwest India
and grabbed almost complete con-
troll of the active peasants organi-
zation (Kisan) meeting in national
convention at Amritsar. It was a
fantastic sight to see Indian Com