The Government and India The two figures most prominent in
the public eye in regard to the Indian scene at the moment are Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Gandhi, the latter by reason of his declared intention to begin a three weeks' fast, which, if carried out, might well prove fatal, in order to draw further attention to the problem of Untouchability. The Mahatma becomes progressively more inscrutable and no comprehensible reason for his latest decision has so fur been forthcoming. He has announced and abandoned fasts before, and it will be unfortunate on every ground if he persists in his intention this time. But he claims divine inspiration for his resolve, and there is no arguing with that. Mr. Baldwin's speech of last Saturday was a complete and convincing answer to Mr. Churchill's .criticisms. When the Lord President is able to quote, as he is, the present Viceroy and his only two surviving predecessors, the provincial governors and the European community in support of the White Paper proposals, the ordinary man will feel that he can safely lay most of his misgivings by. Such news as there is from India itself is satisfactory. The number of persons in prison for civil disobedience is less than - half what it was a year ago, and the non-co-operation movement is plainly .dwindling even within the Congress itself. But it is 'never safe to take India for granted, and there is every ;reason for the Select Committee to press on with its work, * *
