द इण्डियन स्ट्रगल / भारतीय स्वाधीनता संग्राम (नेताजी सुभाष चन्द्र बोस - ऐतिहासिक विश्लेषण)

348 THE INDIAN STRUGGLE aspects. For instance, so far as the monetary problem is concerned, Communism has made no new contribution, but has merely followed traditional economics. Recent ex- periences, however, indicate that the monetary problem of the world is still far from being satisfactorily solved. While, therefore, it would be safe to predict that India will not become a new edition of Soviet Russia, one may say with equal strength that all the modern socio-political movements and experiments in Europe and in America will have con- siderable influence on India's development. Of late, India has been taking and in future will continue to take, more and more interest in what goes on in the outside world. To come back to the Congress. The present controversy between Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Madan Mohon Mala- viya is of passing interest as the issue is a very minor one. Neither the Congress Nationalist Party nor the official Con- gress Parliamentary Party has a rôle to play in future, because both of them are heterogeneous parties without any clear ideology or programme. It only remains to consider the future of Gandhiism in India. It has been urged sometimes that Gandhiism is an alternative to Communism. This idea is, in the opinion of the writer, erroneous. Mahatma Gandhi has given the country—(and may be, the world) a new method —the method of passive-resistance or Satygraha or non-violent non-co-operation. He has not given his country or humanity a new programme of social reconstruction as Communism has —and the alternative to Communism can be only another theory of social reconstruction. No doubt, the Mahatma has condemned the ‘machine civilisation’ of the modern world and has eulogised the good old days when men were content with their cottage industries and their wants were few. But that is a personal belief or idiosyncrasy. Whenever he has expounded the contents of Swaraj, he has spoken in the language of Mid-Victorian Parliamentarian Democracy and of traditional capitalist economics. The ‘Eleven Points’ which he enunciated in 1930 as connoting his ‘substance of independence,’ will be unreservedly accepted by any Indian industrial magnate. One could therefore say that the Mahatma does not intend pulling down the modern industrial structure

A GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE 349 if he were to get political mastery over his country, nor does he desire to completely industrialise the country. His pro- gramme is one of reform—he is fundamentally a reformist and not a revolutionary. He would leave the existing social and economic structure much as it is to-day (he would not even abolish the army altogether) and would content himself with removing the glaring injustices and inequalities against which his moral sense revolts. There are millions of his countrymen who accept his method owing to the pressure of circum- stances, but not his programme of reconstruction, and who would like to build up quite a different India if they had the power. As has been already indicated, the future of India ultimately lies with a party with a clear ideology, programme and plan of action—a party that will not only fight for and win freedom, but will put into effect the entire programme of post-War reconstruction—a party that will break the isolation that has been India's curse and bring her into the comity of nations—firm in the belief that the fate of India is indis- solubly linked up with the fate of humanity.

APPENDIX Since the above was written, three events deserving of notice have taken place. The plenary session of the Congress met in Bombay on October 26th, 1934. The elections to the Indian Legislative Assembly, in which the Congress Party has . been participating, began in November. And the Report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Indian Constitutional Reforms was published on November 2nd, 1934. The two important resolutions passed by the Bombay Congress refer (1) to a change of the Congress Constitution and (2) Constitution of an all-India Village Industries Asso- ciation. The second resolution connotes an extension of the existing Khadi (spinning and weaving) programme of the Congress and indicates that the Congress desires to emphasise non-political work. The first resolution has two principle parts. (1) Reduction in the numerical strength of the Congress delegates and of the all-India Congress Committee and (2) provision of a rule that one must habitually wear Khadi for six months in order to be elected a member of a Congress Executive. Both the above resolutions may be regarded as the Mahatma’s handiwork. According to the Congress Constitution in vogue for thirteen years, the number of delegates to be elected to a Plenary Session of the Congress was 6000, while the strength of the All-India Congress Committee was about 350. At the Lahore Congress in December 1929, an attempt was made by Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru and others to reduce the stand of the former to 1000 and of the latter to 100. But the attempt was defeated. The Bombay Congress has now reduced the former to 2000 and the latter to 155. The signifi- cance of this move in very great. When in 1920, the Mahatma seized the Congress machinery and turned out the older leaders, the forces of democracy were on his side and the Nagpur Congress of 1920 was attended by no less than 14,000 delegates. To-day, the Mahatma is afraid of the forces of democracy which he has helped to stir up, hence his attempt to 350

APPENDIX 351 reduce the stand not only of the Congress delegates, but also of the All-India and Provincial Congress Committees. Verily, the Mahatma has ceased to be a dynamic force. May be, it is the effect of age. But why did the Congress swallow the constitutional amendment? The reason is not far to seek. In May 1933, the Mahatma was able to suspend the civil-disobedience move- ment under cover of his three weeks' fast. In November 1934, he was able to alter the constitution under cover of his retirement from the Congress. On both occasions, so great was the sympathy roused for the Mahatma that emotional and unthinking people accepted everything that the Mahatma proposed, if only that would please him. The question here arises—'has the Mahatma retired? If so, why?' He has retired in the sense that his name does not appear in the list of members of the Supreme Executive of the Congress. But the executive—the Working Committee— has been backed by his blind supporters. The present Work- ing Committee is more submissive to the Mahatma than even the Working Committee of last year, of which the Mahatma was himself a member. Among the personnel of the present Working Committee, the Swarajists or Parliamentarians are conspicuous by their absence. Even, Mr. M. S. Anay who dared to differ from the Mahatma on the question of the Communal Award, is not there, despite his loyalty and sub- missiveness in the past. And poor Mr. Nariman who ventured to think independently, has been virtually kicked out of the Committee. In 1924, the Mahatma had really retired from Congress Politics together with his Party, as the Congress machinery had been seized by his opponents, the Swarajists. To-day, the person of the Mahatma may not be in the Com- mittee—but his Party is there, stronger than ever. Moreover, he has a direct control over the most important department of future Congress activity—the Village Industries Association. The so-called retirement of the Mahatma will not, accordingly, diminish his hold over the Congress machinery in anyway— but will enable him to disown all responsibility for the failures of the official Congress Party during the next few years. His retirement, therefore, is only one of his strategic retreats to

352 THE INDIAN STRUGGLE which he is in the habit of resorting, whenever there is a political slump in the country. With regard to the elections to the Indian Legislative Assembly, the latest report (dated November 24th, 1934) goes to show that the official Congress Party has captured 43 seats, the Congress Nationalist Party 8 seats and others ap- proximately 46. Among the 46 non-descripts, at least 10 are expected to be close upon sixty in a house of approximately 145 members. The Report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Indian Constitutional Reforms contains no surprises for one who is familiar with the contents of the White Paper. The Report is approved by a large majority of 31 members of the Committee. The Labour members of the Committee have submitted an alternative scheme which is much more liberal than the majority report. On the other hand, Lord Salisbury and four other members have submitted, and the report concedes only provincial autonomy and opposes responsible Government at the centre. The majority report has whittled down still further the already inadequate proposals of the White Paper with a view to placating the Die-hard opposition in Parliament. In view of the whittling down, it is widely believed that when the Government of India Bill is introduced on the basis of the report of the Joint Committee, it will have the support of an overwhelming majority in the House of Commons. The following are some of the important points on which the Joint Committee modify the White Paper proposals :- I. Additional provisions are recommended in relation to 'Law and Order' as follows :- (i) The consent of the Governor, given in his dis- cretion, should be required to any legislation affecting Police Acts and to any rules made there- under affecting the organisation or discipline of the Police. (ii) Records of the Intelligence Department relating to terrorism should not be disclosed outside the Police Force except to such public officers as the Governor may direct.

APPENDIX 353 (iii) For the purpose of combating terrorism, the Governor should have the power to take under his own control any branch of Government which it is necessary to use for that purpose. 2. Ministers and Secretaries to Government would be required to bring to the notice of the Governor anything that is likely to involve his 'special respon- sibilities.' 3. Upper Chambers should be established in Madras and Bombay as well as in Bengal, United Provinces and Bihar. 4. Election to the Federal Lower House should be indirect, by the members of the Provincial Lower Houses, instead of direct by voters in territorial constituencies. 5. If less than 90 per cent. of the State adhere to the Federation, additional States representatives should be appointed to the Federal Legislature to the extent of half the difference between the seats to which the Federating States would ordinarily be entitled and the full State's representation if all the States acceded. 6. The High Courts should have control over the pro- motions and postings of subordinate Judges, and the Governor should have the final word in the appoint- ment of District Judges. 7. The Governor-General should have a special responsi- bility to prevent the imposition of penal tariffs on goods imported from the United Kingdom. 8. The Legislatures in India, should after ten years, have the constitutional right to present Addresses, for the consideration of His Majesty's Government and Parliament, recommending amendment of the Con- stitution on certain specified matters such as compo- sition of the Legislatures and franchise. 9. The separation of Burma from India should be accom- panied by a Trade Agreement between the two countries binding for a specified time. As far as it can be ascertained, public opinion in India is exceedingly hostile to the Joint Committee's Report. Never- theless, the Bill, based on the Report, is expected to be put through the British Parliament before the end of 1935.