17 OCTOBER 1931, Page 30

Those who would appraise the Indian ferment in its true

dimensions cannot do better than read a little book which sets forth the conclusions of Christa Seva Sangha, a com- munity of Englishmen and Indians wedded to Indian customs and an Indian way of life. The Dawn of Indian Freedom, by Jack C. Winslow and Verrier Elwin (with a Foreword by the Archbishop of York) (Allen and Unwin, 4s. 6d.), examines the religious and cultural basis of Swaraj, makes clear that Satyagraha has its own elaborate rules and discipline, and suggests that in the doctrine and process of which Mahatma Gandhi is the embodiment may be found the moral equivalent for war that is being sought by a well-nigh desperate humanity. In its political context the question finds treatment still unmatched in Edward Thompson's The Reconstruction of India, of which a revised and cheap edition (Faber and Faber, 7s. 6d.) has now appeared. A supplementary chapter, After the Round Table Conference," is so informing and illuminating that no one should presume to express an opinion about or at the present Round Table until he (or she) can be shown to have read it.