Evening star., 1951-08-27
Nehru's Gift to the KremIin

NehFu Gift TO the kfen7lIn
Prime Minister Nehru and his government,
whether Willingly or not, have given aid and
comfort to the Kremlin in deciding that India
will not take part in next weeks San Francisco
conference on the japanese peace treaty Andrei
Gromyko and his monkey-wrench Soviet delega-
ton could hardly have asked for a nicer gift.
Propagandistically and otherwise, it should be
of considerable help to them in their expected
effort to play hob with the meeting and divide
its participants as much as possible.
Mr.. Nehru's decision, of course, does not
come as complete surprise, though that fact
does not make it any the less discouraging or
irritating The possibility Of his boycotting the
conference was intimated some weeks ago in
notes expressing to our Government his strong
dissatisfaction with number Of the projected
treatys provisions, and he has now made clear
that that dissatisfaction still stands Our attempt
to dissuade him from it has failed and India
will therefore hold itself entirely aloof from the
San Francisco proceedings.
The chief Of Mr. Nehrus objections may be
summed up as follows: First, he is against the
fact that the treaty does not specifically pro-
vide for Formosa'S return to China, and the
transfer Of South Sakhalin and the sKuriles to
Russia; second he holds that the Ryukyu and
Bonin Islands, instead of being placed under an
American administered United Nations trustee
ship, should be restored to the Japanese; third,
although not ruling out the idea OF separate
mutual security agreements, he is opposed to
having the peace settlement include the article
calling for the continued presence of foreign
armed defensive forces-meaning particularly
United States fotces-in and about Japan after
the formal occupation ends and finally, fourth,
he considers it wrong that the Chinese Commu-
mist regime at Peiping has not been invited to
participate in the San Francisco conference.
All OF these objections coincide with those
raised by the Kremlin. Mr. Nehru prideS himself
on following policy that he regards as abso-
lutely imperative for India. The policy, besides
emphasizing the doctrine of "Asia for the
Asians" is supposed to be of strict neutrality
Ia kind Of tightrope actin the power contest
between the Soviet empire on one hand, and
the United States and most of the rest of the
free world, on the other. But somehow, as he
tries to do his fence-sitting, Mr. Nehru-again
perhaps unwittingly-se to lean rather no
ticeably toward the Russian position. At any
rate, even though his government has voted
with certain reservations-against the Red ag-
gression in Korea, he has appeared quite anxious
to be pleasing to Moscow and Peiping.
Maybe India's geographical location and its
domestic political situation make Mr.. Nehru feel
that he can follow no other course. STILL his
actions-climaxed now by the decision to stay
away from San Francisco-have tended to be
less than realistic or even-handed. Why, for
example, II he insists that the Ryukyus and the
Bonins should be restored to Japan, does he not
also insist that Japan get back Southern Sakha-
lin from Russia? And how can he seriously
suggest that the Peiping aggressors ought to
have been invited to next weeks conference?
And on what common-sense basis, given the
dangerous world we have, can he justify his
objection to special Japanese-A American defensive
arrangements against the Red threat in Asia?
These questions speak pretty much for
themselves. In all probability despite Mr..
Nehru's arguments and Soviet propaganda bar
rages-the overwhelming majority of govern
ments represented at San Francisco viii sign
the Japanese treaty. Nevertheless, because it is
a country Of special significance in Asia, India
will be sorely missed at the conference IT'S
absence will cast shadow on all the proceed
ings-the kind Of shadow that the Kremlin
wants Mr.. Nehru may have felt compelled to
make the decision he has made, but in doing so
he has definitely hurt himself in the United
States and other free nations. More than that,
to the world at large, where his mental and
leadership qualities have been highly regarded,
he has demonstrated surprising degree Of
muddleheadedneSS.