Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1945-09-07

WNU Service, 1916 Eye Street NV,
Washington, d. G.
One heartening postwar picture
arose out Of the weller of hope, fear
and expectation which held Wash
ington In its grip through the news
Of tho atomic bombs, the entrance
Of Russia into the war and then the
exciting flash from Japan that kept
US on tenter-hooks so long. When
there seemed little to contemplate
about but the lush growth Of evil
which had sprung from the planting
Of the dragons teeth Of war, I found,
strangely enough, In the Office Of the
representative Of India in Washing
ton the belief that the war would
turn out to be, in one respect, a
blessing to that perturbed country.
India has furnished an army Of IA
million men (the largest volunteer
force In the world) in the prosecu-
ton Of this war and that army has
turned out to be "the greatest school
Of adult education" in the world.
That's what the Indians proudly call
It. True, soldiers in other armies
have been taught while they
fought, but few have ever been able
10 add SO much to the total knowl-
edge Of their nation.
I am told that after the last war,
when an Indian village was found,
especially in the Punjab, which was
4 little better run, with more pro-
gressive ideas and more active
social consciousness, it would also
be discovered that its moving spirit
was an ex-soldier-an Indian Hin
du or Moslem, Rajput or Sikh, no
matter) who had brought home
Ideas on sanitation and hygiene, CO.
operation and understanding, abb
sorbed during his period Of service
at home or abroad. But now the po-
tentialities of this military mission
Rryship are immensely greater. Not
merely because the Indian army is
SO much bigger, but because al
ready it has served as a great melt
ing pot, breaking down ancient pref
udices and taboos which heretofore
have made Indian unity impossible.
Generals Spirit
Hopeful Sign
If tall, lean and eager General
Cariappa, with whom I talked at
length when he was here on mis-
sion connected with the founding of
a new military academy in India,
is typical, the army is indeed a
force. His enthusiasm, his op-
timism and his energy are hopeful
signs in themselves. I enjoyed that
interview, seated in the office of
the Agent General for India, where
heard this earnest man speak with
an apparent sincerity and conviction
which could not help but impress
anyone who heard him.
General Cariappa was one of the
first Indian cadets to be COM
missioned in the Indian army in
1920. AS a young man he had not
yet attained his majority. He has
been in the army ever since and
was the first Indian officer to COM
mand a battalion. He raised ma
chine-gun outfit himself and as
lieutenant colonel led his men
through the bitter days of the Bur-
ma campaign. Now he is a general
staff officer, one of midas four brig
adiers, and also a member of the
army reorganization committee. 1t
was in the latter capacity that he
has just completed tour of inspec-
ton of the British military schools at
Woolwich and Sandhurst, then the
Canadian school at Kingston, and
finally West Point and some of
our specialist schools. He hopes to
take acceptable features of all these
schools and combine them in the
new Indian Military academy, the
site Of which has not yet been de-
termined but the plans for which
are well under way. The commit
tee on reorganization also hopes to
revise Indian preliminary education
SO that it will develop leadership.
When I saw General Cariappa he
was politely but none the less deep
ly panied over some of the reports
in the American press which BELT
tied India's participation in the
war. He explained (which we in
Washington knew that there were
two Indian soldiers to every one
British soldier in the Burma fight
ing.
General Cariappa is working to
prepare a completely Independent
Indian army. It is also, I dare to
suggest, for an independent India.
As soldier, the general refused to
discuss politics, but he said that nat
urally every loyal Indian looks for
ward to the independence of his