Evening star., 1952-11-30
By EorI n. Voss

when the world is worked up by
passion and prejudice" India's
Jawaharlal Nehru told his country's
Legislature last summer, II am dead
certain Of one thing: You do not
put an end to it by yourself joining
that crowd of passionate and excited
people shouting at the top Of their
voice. That does not help. You have
to be a little quiet and go about
speaking to smaller voices so that
you can be heard by more people.
You have to try somehow to make
the people less excited. You have
to see about winning them over even
though they are in the wrong, not
by going and telling them that they
are bad, very bad, and that they
should be punished and crushed.
do not mean to say that we should
not condemn wrong. We should. But
have not been taught that it is
civilized behavior among individuals.
much less among nations. to go about
condemning people,"
A fortnight ago the world learned
that Pandit Nehru had been testing
his plan to win nations over in the
quiet way. His representative in the
United Nations, v. K. Krishna
Menon. proposed compromise which
India thought could bring halt to
the shooting in Korea. The United
States was the first to scowl at the
compromise. Russia's Vishinsky took
his turn few days later. Red China
followed. After amendments to sat
iSfy the United States, the United
Nations seemed ready to approve the
compromise. But both Russia and
China remained adamant in their
opposition. The prospects for peace
in Korea were g1oomier than ever.
India Disturbed
There is no nation more disturbed
about this than India. Nor are there
many countries whose interest In
Korea is SO much misunderstood.
Mr.. Nehru would probably be the
first to admit that he has an un-
orthodox approach to world problems.
Possibly this is because India Is q
large but weak nation. in contrast
to the two principal world powers,
which are both large and strong.
The basic fact of life for India
is that another world war would spell
her ruination-even if she herself
were not drawn into the conflict.
Here is 5-year-old eager country
of 800 million people, the vast ma
jority Of them wretchedly poor and
determined above all else to make
their lives more worth living. Simple,
attainable things could give them
this. More food, for instance. More
houses to live in. for another. More
clothes. India is now more than
a year along on an impressive FIVE
year plan. which is to make the
country self-sufhc Client in food by 1856.
Modest beginnings also are being
made on providing the other basic
comforts.
Eogerness for Peace
India's passion to live like the
Joneses, a legitimate aspiration shared
by all other countries, leaves her in
mood to pay higher price for
peace. Nehru is less prone to insist
on diplomatic nicetieS, for instance,
and on the fine points of ethics,
which the West pays more attention
to. Nehru is so fearful of the dis
aster of another world war that he
told his people, "Our policy should
be, firstly. to prevent that disaster;
secondly, to avoid it, and thirdly,
even if it comes, to retain a position
in which we are able to stop it even
after it has started"
He went even further: "I should
like an overwhelming area in this
world, an overwhelming area of
countries in Asia, which decide that
they will not enter the war what
ever happens"
Back in 1888, when Britain still