India and the Security Council
SIR.—It is a good thing that an Indian national should put forth his country's claim to be a permanent member of the Security Council. It shows how keen and watchful independence makes a people who were only a short while ago a subject nation. I agree with Mr. Tahmankar that India has a better claim than China to be a permanent member, as the voice of the former is likely to be on the side of liberal democracy and economic stability, as opposed to the side of reaction and chaos. I have been observing the onward march of India since she became self- governing and before, as Chairman of the India League in London.
In spite of the enormous difficulties India has had to face in the first two years of her independence, her Government has managed to establish the most orderly, stable and democratic administration in the East. She can be truly described as the sheet-anchor of freedom in Asia. Surely such a nation would give a new moral lead to jaded Western diplomacy, and nothing could be more appropriate than that our Foreign Office should pursue the line suggested by Mr. Tahmankar and support India's claim to be a permanent member of the Security Council.—Yours truly,
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