A Victory for Mr. Gandhi
The situation in India is modified to some extent by the election of Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad as president of the Congress Party, by 185( votes as against 183 given to his opponent Mr. M. N. Roy. The significance of this lies in the fact, not that the new president comes from the small Moslem section of the party—his election indicates no relaxation of the communal tension—but that he is essen- tially a moderate, of Mr. Gandhi's school, while Mr. Roy, whom be so decisively defeated, is an extremist of the Left. The Left minority is restive, and a breakaway under the leadership of Mr. Subhas Bose is talked of. But the mass of the party is clearly against extreme measures and pre- pared to support Mr. Gandhi as loyally as ever. Unfor- tunately Mr. Gandhi's position is by no means clear. He welcomed the conciliatory speech by the Viceroy at Bombay, and on the strength of it accepted his invitation to a personal conversation. After hearing what seemed to be most reasonable proposals by Lord Linlithgow the Mahatma surprisingly decided to break off the discussion--for an indefinite period, though not, it appeared, finally. Then what, again, appeared a most reasonable statement by Lcrd Zetland in London alarmed him, and he declared that the Secretary of State had banged the door against agreement. That is apparently his mood at the present moment. He will presumably reveal himself more clearly at the Congress Party congress next month.
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