The Indian .Outlook
The prospects for an agreed settlement in India are con- siderably improved by the approval of the Viceroy's recent Bombay speech expressed by Mr. Gandhi. What Lord Linlithgow said was that the British Government's chief concern was to reduce to a minimum the time needed for the attainment by India of full Dominion status, and he added that what he meant by that was precisely the status enjoyed by the existing self-governing Dominions under the Statute of Westminster. There is, as the Viceroy had to insist, one pre-condition. There must be agreement in India itself. Self-government cannot be conferred on a divided country. If the necessary unity is to be achieved considerable restraint and breadth of vision will be called for on the part of the Indian National Congress and the Moslem League. Mr. Gandhi is certainly capable of that. It is not clear that some other prominent personalities in both organisations are. Much, moreover, remains to be agreed in the matter of procedure. The wise plan would be to proceed with federation on the basis of the Government of India Act, but the demand for a constituent assembly may still be pressed. The next development to hope for is a conversation, or series of conversations, between the Viceroy and Mr. Gandhi. It is a pity the Mahatma is insisting so strongly on recognition of the right of secession, but in fact no self-governing Dominion could be restrained from seces- sion by force. The issue therefore is less real than it seems.
Previous page
