Fresh Start?

Mahatma Gandhi, 72, last week resigned the leadership of his Indian National Congress 'party. With the roar of Axis guns growing louder in their ears, many of Gandhi's sub-leaders could no longer follow his ways of non-violent resistance. Most of them are babus (educated men) who want political careers in an independent (or dominion-status) India and cannot imagine getting them from Adolf Hitler or Emperor Hirohito. The Mahatma would no longer try to lead men who would not follow. Rather than step from his principles, the ascetic little lawyer stepped from his leadership.

Superficially, this made it appear as if a great galvanization of India's already promising war effort might be coming nearer. The Congress, with some 3,600,000 dues-paying members, is the most potent political body among India's 240,000,000 Hindus. The Moslem League, strongest party among India's 80,000,000 Moslems, came out for full support to Britain a year ago. But the Congress has long insisted on some British guarantee of increased self-government for India as a condition of all-out war effort. This week, a group of Indian moderate leaders appealed to Winston Churchill for "some bold stroke of farsighted statesmanship" providing that henceforth India's "position and powers will be identical with those of other units in the British Commonwealth."

While Mahatma Gandhi continued along the road of pacifism, his Congress comrade, Jawaharlal Nehru, declared: "Unlike Gandhi, most of us are not pacifists, but this war has convinced us of the futility of armed states trying to destroy each other . . . periodically. . . . We want no great powers--great in armed might--but free nations. . . . How can I fight for freedom when that very thing is denied to me?"

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