27 SEPTEMBER 1935, Page 19

THE INDIA ACT AND CONGRESS

[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] Sia,—Now that the India Act is on the Statute Book there is inevitably much speculation in India as to Congress's future

tactics. Rightly or wrongly, the impression most people have gathered from the proceedings of the last meeting of

the Congress Working Committee at Wardha is that the Congress leaders are hopelessly divided. Some of them frankly want to take office under the new Constitution if they get a chance, others believe it would be most expedient to take office but arc not personally very keen, others again prefer the old intractable attitude, and there is the ever- growing Socialist wing which wants an uncompromising

revolutionary programme put forward. An Indian corre- spondent in the Statesman very properly Pointed out recently : " Congress, if it is not careful, may suffer a similar fate as the ]British Labour Party in 1924. It ire not an homogeneous body, but represents a large variety of tendencies ranging from pure reaction to whole-hearted Communism bound together only by a vague and incohen3nt Nationalism, just as the British Labour Party in 1924 represented a large variety of tendencies ranging from a genteel Progressive-ism to a passionate desire at any cost to kick over the apple-cart and bound together only by a muddled championship of the have-nots_ I should not be at all surprised to find in a few Years' time a largo number of Congress Leaders very much in the Position of Mr. MacDonald and Mr. Thomas and with the same meagre following that they have, remnants of the other leaders in opposition in the Legislatures and the bulk of the rank and file, having moved steadily more and more to the Left, clamouring for public ownership of the land and means of production."

Precisely, however, because Congress's fortunes depend on fostering a spirit of nationalism it will always seize eagerly

on any issue calculated to achieve this and as eagerly side- track any issue calculated to disperse enthusiasm into economic or sobial or communal channels. The Criminal Law Amendment Act is now before the Assembly and this inay provide such an issue ; the Congress members of the

Assembly are likely, in any case, to do their best to make it one, and having done so, to exploit it for all they are

Worth. Thus present divisions amongst Congress leaders and the sorry plight of the organisation as a whole do not at all mean that the session is likely to be less quiet than the last ; on the contrary it is because Congress is in such

a poor way that its representatives in the Assembly will do everything in their power to use the Criminal Law Ainend-

ment Act as a means of presenting themselves in their favourite and most profitable role of exquisite Davi& standing up bravely against the vile Goliath of British Imperialism.

Whether, even if they succeed in doing this to their own

satisfaction, they will manage thereby to reanimate any of the enthusiasm that has been lost in the last year or so, is doubtful. The Statesman's correspondent pertinently tells HS : "It is obvious that for the moment their stock has fallen very low indeed. They have lost their hold on the bulk of their sup- porters. What used to be a crusade has become the recording, mostly out of habit, of a more vote. Let them appeal for funds to relieve victims of the Quetta earthquake and where once they got lakhs of rupees they now get a few thousands only ; let a Congress newspaper have its deposit forfeited and for want of twenty thousand rupees it is left to founder. Even the figure of Mr. Gandhi has lost all its magic. He wanders from one village to another without anyone getting noticeably excited. Congress's fortunes must revive just as the English Labour party's must, because both are based on an emotion widely if not uniformly felt—in the one ease indignation against foreign domination, in the other indignation against an unjust and incompetent economic system. Such movements proceed in waves, their atnhdeacielhdetrimleeadethresy. fall into a trough they leave behind a few of while climbing up to a new crest they broaden and intensify their part ofofo their Conservative party, or for instance, the steady ----y, aspirations. Their ultimate triumph is assured, whether it comes about by means of concessions Boat eioisnattiholel

pr tho doling out by the British Parliament of Indian Constitutional reform—or of their own establishment in power."

. The present depression in the fortunes of the English Labour Party and the Indian National Congress is reflected in, perhaps partly caused by, their lack of strong competent leadership. Mr. Lansbury and Mr. Satyamurthi, however admirable they may be as persons in their different ways. are not the sort to thrill the multitude. Nor are Major Attlee and Mr. Bhabu bhai Desai—the Congress Leader in the Assembly. Both movements require some vivid pic- turesque personality as a figurehead. Congress, of course, had it, of course, in Mr. Gandhi, but he will never fill that role again. Will Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru ? a good many people are wondering. He alone of all the Congress leaders is vested with the sort of respect necessary to inspire a really popular campaign on a national scale ; but in view of his past record it is doubtful if he would be prepared to lend himself with much enthusiasm or conviction to vote-catching. Moreover he is the natural leader of the Congress Extreme Socialists, and might, by lending them his support, enable them to capture the Congress organisation, or, as most people believe, precipitate a serious split in it. In any case, if he remains in India, and he manages to avoid getting arrested again (which is doubtful) his influence is likely to be a crucial factor in shaping future COngress policy—a fact that is recognised by the present Congress leaders and that causes them a vast amount of trepidation.—I am, Sir, yours, &c., Poona.