A STRANGE PLAN

[Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav]

Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav

Gandhian Scholar

Gandhi Research Foundation, Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India

Contact No. – 09415777229, 094055338

E-mail- [e-mail];[e-mail]

 

 

A STRANGE PLAN

 

As expected, the Congress Working Committee agreed at its meeting in Bombay to hand over the direction of Congress policy to Mr. Gandhi. The three cardinal points emerging from the Working Committee’s resolution are that the Congress has no desire to embarrass the British Government in the conduct of the war, that there is to be no mass civil disobedience, but that the Congress must insist “on the fullest freedom to pursue its policy on the basis of non-violence”. On the first two points there will be widespread agreement. “Congressmen”, so runs the resolution, “cannot withhold their admiration for the bravery and endurance shown by the British nation in the face of danger and peril. They can have no ill will against them, and the spirit of Satyagraha forbids the Congress from doing anything with a view to embarrass them.” This tribute and assurance are opportune, and will be widely welcomed. There will also be relief among all classes of the people that whatever action Mr. Gandhi, as dictator of Congress policy, may take, it will not involve mass lawlessness. But there are other features of the resolution and of Mr. Gandhi’s exposition of it on Sunday which will arouse misgivings. In the first place the resolution makes it clear that the offer of conditional Congress co-operation with the British Government in the war has lapsed. Moreover, Mr. Gandhi explained very fully what Congress insistence “on the fullest freedom to pursue its policy based on non-violence” really means.

He announced his intention of again seeing His Excellency the Viceroy and seeking from him a declaration that the Congress “can go on preaching anti-war propaganda and non-co-operation with Government in their war effort”. If this declaration is given, there will be no civil disobedience; if it is not given, Mr. Gandhi will have to consider what action he should take, but he will do his best to avoid Satyagraha. This amazing proposal is both impracticable and completely illogical. Mr. Gandhi professes his desire not to embarrass the British Government in any way, yet in the same breath he suggests that he should be allowed to do something which will hamper India’s war effort and thus aid the enemy. Even Congress papers have already pointed out the impossibility of reconciling the two ideas. Anything which hinders India’s war effort must be an embarrassment to the British Government; it cannot be anything else. This attitude clearly arises from a grievous misunderstanding of the European struggle. In his speech, Mr. Gandhi made two extraordinary statements. The first was that the peoples of Europe do not know what they are fighting for; the second that the Government of India should give expression to India’s freedom by permitting the Congress to conduct an anti-war campaign in the name of liberty. We can assure Mr. Gandhi that the British people know full well what they are fighting for.

It is far too late in the day for anyone who does not deliberately shut his eyes to hard facts to pretend that the war is merely a struggle between rival systems of so-called “imperialism”. Mr. Gandhi should read Main Kamp; he should also study the speeches of those who expound Nazi aims, and he should note what Hitler had done to neutral countries in Europe. He should also pursue the report of Mr. Patel, the former Indian Trade Commissioner in Hamburg, who throws a flood of light on Nazi methods inside Germany in peace time. These things reveal with remarkable clarity the menace which Britain and her Allies are fighting a menace realized no more keenly than in the United States of America. If Mr. Gandhi is right, the British people are wrong; so are the vast majority of Americans and all free Frenchmen, Dutchmen, Belgians, Norwegians, Poles and Danes who are struggling to rescue their country from Hitler’s tyranny.

The fundamental difference between democracy and totalitarianism is evident to the merest child. The one system constitutes the greatest amount of individual freedom consistent with good government; the other regards humanity as a mob of automatons to be directed by the chosen few. There is not a single Congressman from Mr. Gandhi downwards who does not profess himself to be revolted by the totalitarian system and the mass slavery which it connotes; it is, therefore, almost incredible to find Mr. Gandhi calmly announcing that the British people, among others, have no idea what they are fighting for. Mr. Gandhi must also know that to preach anti-war propaganda and non-co-operation with the war effort in India is to advocate support for the enemy. His plan would create in this country an army of fifth columnists, which is exactly what Hitler desires. Surely Mr. Gandhi knows that Hitler has achieved his success hitherto in destroying democracy by the simple expedient of using the freedom which democracy bestows to encompass its downfall. If Mr. Gandhi seriously believes in democracy, he cannot pretend that this war is of no consequence to India, or that the people of India should be allowed to take no part in it. We sincerely trust that he will reconsider his position before approaching the Viceroy.