India and England

A year ago this week President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill met at sea to formulate and sign the Atlantic Charter. It is ironic that this anniversary should be marked by the first, and quite possibly the crucial, challenge to the Four Freedoms embodied in that declaration. The question of whether those doctrines are to apply universally, as Mr. Churchill declared that they should, or whether they are to exclude the "backward" nations of the world may well be answered by the outcome of the current struggle in India.

Britain's past inability to deal adequately with the Indian problem has become glaringly evident today. But to take time out for a rehash of those errors would now be a waste of incalculably valuable time. The crying need is, instead, for an immediately applicable solution of the problem--one which will free England's hands for the far greater battle against democracy's foes in Asia. As long as unrest and dissension continue in India, British troops and war materials will of necessity be diverted away from the vital battlefields of that area in order to combat a nation which is our natural ally.

Before the war began, the Marquess of Linlithglow, a shining example of Britain's Empire minded ruling class, was Viceroy of India; he still holds that office. And during this interval the people of India have had on indication that the vague promises of independence given to them were destined to become anything but unattainable visions. Sir stafford Cripp's widely acclaimed mission involved nothing more than a reiteration of previously discussed propositions, differing from its predecessors simply by virtue of the status and reputation of Cripps himself.

In short, England has cried "Wolf" once too often; this time her promises are not received with trust and confidence by the Indians. Whether they are right or wrong in this instance, they have ample cause to doubt the sincerity of a nation which made similar promises in the last war--to the Arabs, the Jews, the Persians--and then kept none of them faithfully.

We are pledged to fight at Britain's side for the winning of this war. India is a vital sector in that war. If our pledge is not to lead to our ultimate destruction, it becomes our obligation to make sure that every obstacle in the way of final victory is cleared away. Such an obstacle is the apparent inability of the British and Indians to come to terms soon enough to prevent disaster for everyone concerned.

Complete independence for India may not be the solution to the basic problem. But whatever the solution, it is obvious that, left to themselves, the British and Indians will never find it in time. American intervention is a vital necessity if anything is to be done to avert the now apparently inevitable disaster--American intervention not as a stooge to Britain's aims, but as an impartial arbiter, treating India as an equal, and assuring the conquered peoples of the world that the Four Freedoms are more than hollow phrases.