LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
CRISIS IN INDIA
Stn,—Having lately come from India, I find the attempt at clarification in the article Crisis in India in your issue of December 13th misleading. B and C are the Moslem majority sections in the Cabinet Mission's plan ; they cover a small part of the map. The A section is the bulk of India ; Bombay, Delhi, Simla and the Himalayas eastwards to Bengal cannot be called "Southern India." On May 25th the Mission declared that it was not open to either party to accept the long-term plan but not the short, and bluntly said that the interpretation put by the Congress on the Statement of May 16th " to the effect that the provinces can in the first instance make the choice whether or not to belong to the section in which they are placed does not accord with the Delegation's intentions." On June 6th the Muslim League accepted both short- and long-term plans. As the Congress continued to lay down its own conditions, the Viceroy on June 16th nominated a coalition interim Government (the short-term plan) of five Muslim Leaguers, five Congress caste Hindus, one Congressman from the depressed classes, a Parsi and an Indian Christian. On June 25th the Muslim League accepted this. On the same day the Congress refused to join the interim Government, but offered to proceed with the elections for the Constituent Assembly while maintaining its own interpretation of the Mission's plan both in regard to provincial sections and the sovereign nature of the Assembly, which it contends has the right to disregard the plan altogether.
The Mission and the Viceroy, in a joint statement announcing the nominations for the Coalition on June 16th, had said: " In the event of the two major parties, or either of them, proving unwilling to join in the setting up of a Coalition Government on the above lines, it is the intention of the Viceroy to proceed with the formation of an interim Government which will be as representative as possible of those willing to accept the Statement of May t6th " In a letter to Mr. Jinnah, the "Viceroy gave an assurance "on behalf of the Cabinet Delegation" as well as himself, that they would " go ahead with the plan " if either party accepted. The Mission's course for the situation which arose on June 25th had thus been pledged. Instead of following it, they ate their words and announced that they would not now form an interim Govern- ment, but would put in a caretaker Government of officials. This it was—not the parity issue ; the League had accepted the Viceroy's list— which Moslems regarded as betrayal, and this it was that caused them to renounce all official honours, proclaim a policy of direct action and withdraw their acceptance of the plan. When they had thus been jockeyed out, the Viceroy invited Pandit Nehru to form a Government entirely of the latter's choice, and the Pandit assumed the over-all direction of affairs. By October these changes forced the League to join the Government not as coalitionists but as combatants. The Govern- ment now consists of two warring factions, neither willing to resign ; each trying to force the other out. After its quarrel with the Mission, the League participated in the elections for the Constituent Assembly. Later, .all that Mr. Jinnah asked was that its meeting should be post- poned till there is agreement as to its basis.—Yours, &c.,
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