India and Pakistan
The appointment of Sir Chakravanty Rajagopalachari, more com- pendiously known as " C.R.," to succeed Lord Mountbatten as Governor-General of India is a good one. At 68 " C.R." probably commands a wider measure of respect and confidence in India than any of his compatriots. A Brahmin of austere habits, he has the personal reputation of being selfless and incorruptible ; and ever since he became the first Congress Party Premier of Madras in 1937 his political career has been marked by a fearless and unswerving adherence to principles. This has inevitably involved him in tactical reverses, but has left him with the strategic advantage of being deservedly regarded as a statesman. His capabilities as such will be severely tested, for the essentially volcanic nature of the situation in the Indian peninsula has yet to be modified by any radical improvement. The inter-Dominion conferences which began in New Delhi this week may, if they are sensibly conducted, settle some of the minor but important administrative issues—irrigation, finance, and the delivery of military stores—which contribute to the tension between India and Pakistan. But its fundamental causes, among which must be included irresponsibility among the leaders on both sides, are almost as far as they ever were from being adjusted. Kashmir and Hyderabad remain the worst of the current danger- spots. The formula unanimously recommended by the Security Council for settling the Kashmir dispute has been badly received by both the interested parties, neither of whom can forgive the Council for its strenuous and on the whole successful efforts to be impartial. There is however some hope to be derived from Pandit Nehru's relatively conciliatory references last Sunday to both the Kashmir and the Hyderabad problems. At the moment it looks as if the former contained fewer explosive elements than the latter. Neither side can afford to reject the Security Council's scheme.
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