Mr. Gandhi's Latest Proposals
It is absurd to suggest, as has been suggested in some quarters, that Mr. Gandhi's latest proposals for present co-operation with Moslems, and subsequent independence, come near to an acceptance of the Cripps plan. On the contrary, it virtually pre-supposes that the British Government would hand over control of India forthwith, during the war, to an Indian Provisional Government—a main point on which the Cripps discussions broke down. Mr. Gandhi would allow the Viceroy to retain control of the British and Indian Armies, but otherwise the "National Government" would be in control of everything, including the railways and ports. His present pro- posal is, in effect, for independence, not after the war, but during it ; and he knows perfectly well that the British Government would not accept. That being so, the whole of his offer to the Moslem League, conveyed to Mr. Jinnah indirectly through Mr. Rajago- palachari, rests on thin air, and that is probably one of the reasons why Mr. Jinnah has not jumped at it with any eagerness. In this offer Mr. Gandhi surprised everyone by appearing to concede the principle of Pakistan in return for Moslem support of the demand for Indian independence and Moslem co-operation with the Congress Party in a Provisional Government now. There is reason to suppose that Mr. Jinnah distrusted the proposed method of ascertain- ing the desires of regions, in which the Moslems have a majority, on the issue of separation. Mr. Gandhi has certainly made a gesture in the direction of consultations with the Moslems about the future of India—but on what basis? Scarcely one which has any reality.
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