What Chance Success? The Viceroy of India last week
admitted at Calcutta that "some concessions" will have to be
made to the Indian Nationalism, which for twelve months he has
been trying to stamp out. Meantime, in London, before adjourning
for the holidays, the Indian Round Table Conference decided "in
principle" that the upper and lower houses of the new Indian
Legislature which they are trying to create, shall be called the
"Senate" and the "House of Representatives."
The Irishmen, asked independence but were content with the
"Irish Free State," which has a "President" and a "Senate." If
Indians would be content with so little, it is still not likely
that Britons would grant it. Up to last week the Round Table
Conference had not touched the red-hot question of India's
status.
The Conference had touched, and showed signs of splitting
on the question of Hindu-Moslem representation in the new
legislature. India's 70,000,000 Moslems are "the largest
minority in the world." When the Aga Khan, No. I Indian Moslem,
left London for Paris (he has a home in Paris) last week, it was
rumored and denied that he was not gone "for the holidays" but
to India for momentous consultations.
Stock reasons why Britain must hold India: 1) "she cannot
relinquish her trust"; 2) deprived of the Pax Britannica, India
would be torn with Hindu-Moslem civil war; 3) "Britain is the
only sure defense of the Untouchables," some 45,000,000 souls;
4) politically Indians are too "childish" to rule themselves.
In India Last Week:
-- The Viceroy re-imposed his decree gagging the press
which he lifted when criticism became keen.
-- A newspaper straw vote among the occidental community in
Bombay brought 1,000 ballots, 830 of them for granting India
"dominion status."
