Labour and India

THOUGH the days are long gone by when politically minded Indians relied solely or chiefly on the goodwill and sense of justice of political parties in England or the leaders of those parties for the realisation of their political aspirations, there is no doubt that until recently, a section of Indian opinion had pinned its faith on the declarations made by the Labour Party in England about the right of India to govern itself. The actual administration of India during the regime of Lord Olivier, and especially the Bengal Ordinance and the arrests made under it, proved a great disappointment to this section of opinion which has so warmly welcomed Ramsay MacDonald’s ministry. It is, however, interesting to observe that some, at any rate, of the leaders of the Labour Party have consistently adhered to that party’s old position of treating Indian questions in a broad-minded and liberal spirit. One such Labour leader is George Lansbury, who has always been conspicuous for his independence and breadth of vision. In a remarkable article in his weekly, Lansbury deals with the question of Indian Swaraj in a manner which would have done credit to any Indian politician. Referring to the treatment of Indians in the colonies, Lansbury says: “We may write and talk as we will about Indians being our fellow citizens; these words are meaningless while Indians are treated as undesirable persons when they desire to settle in one or other of the colonies — such as Kenya or in the Dominions.” This is exactly what Indians feel about the matter, and Lansbury has correctly appraised the profession of so many British statesmen that India is a partner in the British Empire.