The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1945-09-06
Michigan in
Washington
By ESTHER V. w. TUFTY

One nice thing about Washing.
ton Is you meet people from all
over the world who can give you
the low.dewn on complicated prob
lens which only grow more compli-
Gated from your spotty reading.
A reporter from India, d. F.
Karaka, OF the Bombay Chronicle.
gave me a clear idea OF what all
the conflict is about in midas de-
mand for independence.
Mr.. Karaka is a good source. be-
cause he isn't selling" anything.
He is not a diplomat. q government
Official, or a propagandist. except
in the sence that every man likes
TO make his native land better
understood.
The American public screams.
Give India her independence"
Knowing little about what is In
volved, the American reverts to
his basic belief that nothing but
good can come from freedom"
overlooking that good timing might
avert a civil war or avoid an unds-
sired anti-British feeling.
The writer from India, Karaka.
tells me he likes Americans less
now that he meets them for the
first time in great numbers. Back
in India, the Americans he met
seemed to understand the move
ment In India emerging from its
medieval trappings" towards In
dependence, but here. the Oxford
educated Indian finds the Amerl-
can people laboring under many
misconceptions.
This unbearded. unturbanned, I'M
married Indian.who says he is not
"a prince, pauper, or pundit," main
tains the question is not, rs India
entitled TO her Independence"
That is already accepted both IN
England and in India. But rather
what to do about "Pakistan" (Which
would separate Moslem India from
Hindu India quite as the United
States was divided North" from
South" in Civil War days.
To Mr.. Karaka, who still wears
his war correspondents uniform.
the "damnyankees" are the Mos
lens with their leader, Jinnah. VINO
has slowly risen to become a
"Frankenstein created out OF Brit
ish policy and the mistakes OF the
Indian congress" Jinnah would
combine Moslems everywhere since
within India the Moslems would be
the minority party go million) TO
the Hindus (270 million).
The question Indians are asking
themselves is, SHOULD Jinnahs
movement be obliterated?" The
British imperialists found him q
useful foil to Offset the national de-
mand for independence.
Meanwhile there exists a dead
lock which the Viceroy. Lord Wav-
ell, is trying to break right now
with the new Labor powers-that-be
in London.
Another misconception concerns
Gandhi. America does not under
stand his resistance TO our war,
vet he is still recognized as the
symbol of midas struggle for free
dom. Gandhi is the absolute paci'
fist. He has said, "Non-violence is
the breath Of my life"
Gandhi is India. When Gandhi
dies there will be no disciple with
such a mass following. Nehru Is
often mentioned as his logical sue
cessor, but Nehru. OF Harrow anu
Cambridge. comes from a family
and OF convictions sweated out In
the jails OF India and would at
tract only intellectuals. Leader.
ship would divide itself into re-
gions. Gandhi is also THE Con-
gress", which must not be confused
with the American connotation OF
the word "congress"-it is a po-
litical party. not legislative body.
The third misconception is that
the caste system in India will never
break. Yet Gandhi has "untouch'
ables" in his household. He never
uses the word. Moreover, he has
opened the temples to the untouch'
ables. A more progressive step
than we, with our open door
churches, can comprehend. He has
lifted them until there is an aware
ness OF a national conscience TO-
ward their plight.
This Indian writer. who is "a
years old and has been called "a
disturbance OF the right sort" "a
not anti-British (all his family wers