1938: India

Constitutional Impasse between the Congress Party and Provincial Governors.

In the first days of February, India's slow advance toward responsible self-government was imperiled by a serious setback, when two out of the seven Provincial Cabinets, which had taken office under the new Constitution, threatened to resign because the British Governors of their provinces invoked their 'safeguarding' powers of veto in an acrimonious dispute over the release of political prisoners. The release of these prisoners had been one of the measures pledged by the Nationalist Party; but in the two provinces of Bihar, whose Premier was Gobind Pant, and the United Provinces, whose Premier was Shri Krishna Singh, the Governors had refused to release some forty-two of such prisoners, claiming that their release would be a serious menace to public peace and order.

The fundamental question in this issue, and one which lies at the root of any real progress in the matter of British and Indian cooperation, is the interpretation of the understanding between the British authorities and the Congress Party, whereby the latter accepted office. Before the Congress Ministries accepted office under the new Constitution, they tried to secure a promise from the Governors of the various Provinces that the latter would not use their reserve powers as a check on the new régime. This promise was not given, but a solemn pledge was made by the Governors that they would not interfere 'capriciously' in the routine administration of the provinces. The Congress Party members now claimed that this pledge had been broken.

When the Indian National Congress met at Haripura in its fifty-first Annual Conference, from Feb. 14 to 21, Subhas Chandra Bose, a stormy radical, was elected President, and immediately a violent dispute arose between the right and left wings of the party over the threatened resignation of the two Provincial Cabinets. Mohandas K. Gandhi, still the most powerful single figure in India, who had heretofore made every effort to have the party put its program into effect within the framework of the new Constitution, now advised the two Cabinets to resign, which they did. This decision was loyally supported by the Congress as a whole, but there was wide difference of opinion as to the next steps to be taken. The more radical members of the party, led by the new President, Subhas Chandras Bose, advocated an open break with the British authorities, and the taking of steps to secure the immediate and complete independence of India. He announced that he and Gandhi were planning another mass civil disobedience campaign. The more moderate members, however, were opposed to open defiance of Great Britain at this time and disapproved of the idea of another civil disobedience movement.

Disagreement among the Congress Party members over the crisis reached such serious proportions that the whole structure of government under the new constitution was threatened; and it became clear, as the heated debating continued, that the final outcome of the matter would demonstrate whether or not under the new régime, in view of the powers vested in the Provincial Governors under the Government of India Act, peace and tranquility could be preserved in India. The Congress adjourned without reaching a decision, although the two Ministers who had resigned conferred all through the remainder of February and the first days of March with party leaders on future policy.

Compromise.

On March 5, after several conferences between the British Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow, and Gandhi, a settlement of the constitutional impasse was reached by compromise, and the matter of the release of the political prisoners agreed upon, if, after individual examination of the charges against each prisoner by the Governors, his freedom would not prove a public menace. The Governors had already stated that they would be willing to examine each case separately, but claimed that they would need a longer time than had been set by the ultimatum of the Provincial Ministers. The latter had, in the first place, demanded the release of all the political prisoners in the two provinces, without reference to their previous 'crimes.' Finally, at the urgent suggestion of Gandhi, the Ministers agreed to the separate examinations, and resumed office.

Throughout India the settlement of the matter was hailed with great satisfaction, and both Lord Linlithgow and Gandhi were praised for their patience and reasonableness.

Opposition to the Federal Plan.

A further question before the fifty-first Congress was the matter of the proposed Federal Plan, scheduled for inauguration at the end of the year 1938. This proposed Federation had brought into the general picture the Native States, ruled over by the Indian Princes.

Because the proposed scheme would mean that vice regal control would be retained over such vital functions as army and foreign affairs, and would exclude from the sphere of ministerial responsibility three fourths of the public revenue, it was opposed by the Congress, which condemned it and called upon 'the Provincial and local Congress Committees and Ministries to prevent its inauguration. In the event of an attempt to impose it, despite the declared will of the people, such an attempt must be combated in every way, and the Provincial Governments and Ministries will refuse to cooperate with it.' The Congress also went on record as standing 'for the same political, social, and economic freedom in the [native Indian] States as in the rest of India and considers the States as integral parts of India which cannot be separated. . . . The only kind of federation that can be acceptable to the Congress is one in which the States participate as free units, enjoying the same measure of democratic freedom as the rest of India.'

The Congress, for reasons of political expedience, decided not to carry on a campaign in the Indian Native States, under its own authority, but to extend to the people of these States its moral support and sympathy in their democratic struggles. In this connection, it should be noted that the Maharajahs of several native States, recognizing the amazing growth of the Indian Nationalist Movement, have appointed special committees to inquire into the question of giving their subjects some measure of self-government. This is especially true of Mysore, known as the 'Model State,' whose Maharajah is one of the most enlightened and progressive rulers in India.

Anti-Fascists and Radicals.

The Congress went on record as condemning British foreign policy, which 'has consistently supported the Fascist powers in Germany, Spain, and the Far East' and 'is helping in the drift to imperialist world war.' The Congress also recorded its strong condemnation of imperialist brutality in China, and called upon the people of India to boycott all imports of Japanese goods.

The new and very aggressive Peasant Party, whose membership during the four years since its organization has grown by leaps and bounds, condemned the Congress Party as too conservative. This group is working for a radical agrarian revolution and even more sweeping social and economic reforms than those endorsed by the Congress Party.

Trouble on the Northwest Frontier.

Trouble on India's Northwest Frontier again assumed serious proportions. The territory of the Waziri tribesmen is a wild country between India's Northwest Frontier and the Afghanistan border. In February, in Parliament, General Cassel had stated, in answer to questions concerning the bombing of Indian villages in Waziristan, that in the previous nine months nearly seven hundred had been killed and more than two hundred and fifty seriously wounded as a result of the bombings. Prime Minister Chamberlain stated, after hearing General Cassel's report, that Britain would limit the use of bombing planes as a police measure only in the event of an international agreement on the subject.

In the spring and into the summer, uprisings against British authority were led by the fiery Fakir of Ipi, who had managed to escape the determined efforts of the British forces to capture him. On July 14, a British officer was killed and several soldiers were wounded as British troops tried to penetrate the thick forests of the Northwest Frontier, two miles from the cave headquarters of the Fakir. Several days after this, four British privates and a number of native soldiers were killed in a fight with the Waziri tribesmen near the cave of their leader. Then a combined land and air attack was made on the stronghold of the rebels; but because the advance had to be made through 'steep and difficult country,' it proved too slow to accomplish the capture of the Fakir himself. The British lost a captain in this attempt, besides a number of private soldiers.

Further trouble with these warlike tribesmen occurred later in the summer when a band of them, 300 strong, descended on the town of Bannu, on the northwest border, killing nine persons, wounding twenty-four, and raiding and looting shops in the vicinity. After the raid they retreated to the mountain fastnesses bordering on Afghanistan, and the British were unable to capture and punish them. Throughout the remainder of the year they have continued to give the British authorities much trouble, but their leader still remains free, in spite of every effort to capture him and crush his followers.

Loyalty of Indian Princes to British Empire.

On Sept. 16, the Maharajah of Bakaner, one of the native Indian States, telegraphed to King George, offering his own sword, his troops, and the resources of his country, if they should be needed in view of the menacing international situation. 'I and my subjects,' he said, 'are prepared to shed our blood for his Imperial Majesty; and my army, though small in numbers, is ready to proceed whenever required at a moment's notice, and eagerly solicit the honor of once again fighting for his Imperial Majesty should war break out.' The Maharajah was one of the first of the Indian Princes to offer his services to Great Britain at the outbreak of the World War in 1914.

Within the next few weeks, similar offers of help were received from other of the Indian Princes, among the most prominent being the Nazim of Hyderabad who, besides being one of the richest men in the world, is the 'Premier Moslem of India' and enjoys the title of 'Faithful Ally of the British Empire.' The Aga Khan also offered his support. All in all, more than sixty of India's most powerful Princes came forward with assurances of loyalty and actual military aid in the event of a European war.

Native Clashes; Police Orders.

Clashes between Hindus and Moslems have continued through the year in India, although they were fewer in number than in recent years. The most serious troubles occurred in Bombay in the month of April. On April 4, four persons were killed and eighty-six wounded in rioting between these rival religious sects; and the authorities were forced to issue an order barring the assembling of more than five persons in one crowd, and the carrying of weapons. Curfew also was imposed. Then, on April 26, further serious rioting occurred, in which twenty-one persons were killed and more than one hundred wounded. An official report on the disturbances said trouble had been brewing for a week before it broke into an overt clash. Over two thousand persons were arrested by the authorities as a result of the outbreak. Order was finally restored.

Serious trouble of another sort occurred in the State of Mysore on April 26, when thirty-two persons were killed and forty-eight injured, as police fired into a mob estimated variously at from 500 to 25,000. A religious festival was in progress in the Kilar district, which had attracted large crowds of pilgrims, and the police had issued an order against political meetings during the festival; but the Congress Party leaders, ignoring the ban, attempted to hold a political meeting, and police tried to disburse the crowds with staves. The police, hemmed in by crowds, issued a warning that they would shoot unless the people disbanded; but the crowd, misunderstanding the warning, failed to heed it. Thereupon the police fired ninety rounds of ammunition, causing panic and disaster.

As the year closed in India, the political situation remained outwardly peaceful, with some of the more radical and fiery leaders urging the necessity of immediate independence for India. Gandhi, however, in an interview in the late summer, said he did not foresee the independence of India for two or three years.