"In God's Name"

Like many Irishmen, many Hindus believe that Britain's poison is their meat. With German hemlock close to British lips last week, India seemed to have quit talking about dominion status as the price of docility. The London Times's Simla correspondent anxiously reported: "An offer of full freedom within the British Commonwealth no longer meets the [Indian National] Congress case, which . . . asks for complete independence outside the orbit of the British Commonwealth."

Lord Linlithgow responded to the new situation with a crackdown. He ordered the arrest of Subhas Chandra Bose, leader of the Congress Party's violent left wing and fiercest challenger of the war effort for Britain. Long a thorn not only in Britain's but also in Gandhi's side (since his precipitousness upset many patient Gandhi plans), Subhas Bose is used to suppression. He has been interned no less than eleven times. Chubby, sickly, stubborn as an untrained elephant, and India's radical leader, Bose was elected president of the Congress Party in 1939, only to be ousted after a few months because he split it wide open over his opposition to Gandhi. Long ago most of his lieutenants had been interned, but the Government hesitated to touch him for fear of reaction. That Lord Linlithgow no longer cared about consequences indicated that the Viceroy had not much rope left to play out.

As usual, Mahatma Gandhi wedged in the last word. It was an extraordinary appeal "to every Briton wherever he may be: In God's name ... I do not want Britain to be defeated, nor do I want her to be victorious in the trial of brute strength. ... To win the war Britain must adopt with greater thoroughness the same work of destruction as the Germans, which would be an undignified competition. . . . Let Hitler and Mussolini take possession of your beautiful island, your homes, and allow yourselves to be slaughtered, but refuse to owe allegiance to them. . . . Whatever happens my love for Britain will not diminish. This appeal is prompted by that love. ... In God's name."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.