TUE T A B L E T , Augtut 19th, 1950.

THE TABLET

A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER AND REVIEW

PRO ECCLESIA DEI, PRO REGE ET PATRIA

VOL. 196, No. 5752

FOUNDED IN 1 8 4 0

LONDON, AUGUST 19th, 1950

SIXPENCE

PUBLISHED AS A NEWSPAPER

THE BENES OF ASIA The Dangerous Role Proffered to Pandit Nehru

RELIGION UNDER TITO Impressions o f a Visit in July, 1950 : II. By Auberon Herbert

EUROPE AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR The Opening Sessions o f the Council o f Europe at Strasbourg

AN UNEXPECTED APOLOGIST Honoré de Balzac : 1850-1950. By Bela Menczer. THE ASSUMPTION OF OUR LADY

The Impending Proclamation o f the Dogma

BARGAINING FOR SURVIVAL I NDIA completed her third year as an independent Republic last Tuesday, for it was on August 15th, 1947, that the last o f the Viceroys handed over to the new rulers the sovereignty and power which the British had wielded for nearly two hundred years, so that what is in Christendom the feast of the Assumption has there become Independence Day, and a time for looking at the balance sheet o f the business which Mr. Gandhi floated. Neither rulers nor subjects regard it with any great enthusiasm today. Not only the dissentients, but the supporters of the movement that gave India its new rulers are looking with a critical eye on the results, not of independence, for independence brought about only a change o f rulers, but o f the new Government of India, by Indians, for Indians.

pacify the divided country. These are not the realities, or the proper terms in which they should be described ; but Asiatic politicians new to their high offices are easily tempted to imagine that they are in the presence o f the older international realities a t which they used to gaze. The China We Recognise

Those who still hope that Mao Tse might one day become another Tito and reverse the position in Asia must admit that, so far, Communist China is no less of a satellite than Communist Manchuria or Communist North Korea. Communist broadcasts from Peking speak of the “American aggression,” and a recent rally in Peking, where the Chinese speaker affirmed China’s determination to liberate all her territory, and where the Korean Ambassador brought the greetings of his people, provided an occasion for violent anti-Western propaganda. A telegram was sent to Mao Tse, stressing that the Chinese people must

Among the Asiatic nations, however, it is nevertheless India that today enjoys the highest prestige, and her endorsement o f the United Nations resolution on Korea was a severe blow to the Russians and their agents throughout Asia. Now the Indian Government, answering Mr. Trygve Lie’s appeal, are sending an ambulance unit to South Korea, and this gesture, too, has some importance. Yet Indian policy with regard to possible future developments still remains rather nebulous, and is no less so as a result of the suggestions made, perhaps partly from a rather ingenuous desire to take important initiatives, by the Indian delegate in the Security Council on Monday. Pandit Nehru’s original attempt to mediate did more harm than good, and only a few days ago the Indian Government felt bound to deny reports, published in an American weekly newspaper, suggesting that there were secret negotiations between India and Russia, and that the Russians were offering India a seat on the Security Council in return for India’s help in the Korean affair. It is symptomatic, too, that Mr. Nehru, speaking recently at Benares University, complained that “ a sense of isolation was growing in India” and warned that such a tendency would mean that India would become static and stagnant. He said that, “ although India had decided against aligning herself with any groups o f Powers, this did not mean that she had no sympathy with them.” He reiterated, however, that India would preserve an independent line o f policy ; and the same resolution was stressed by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the Indian President, in his Parliamentary address the other day.

“ continue to consolidate and strengthen the armed forces of the people, build up a zealous fighting spirit, resolutely liberate Taiwan and Tibet, determinedly fight against American imperialist aggression, firmly suppress the counter revolutionaries and complete the great task of liberating the whole of China, building a new China and defending the peace of the world.” Another telegram was sent to Stalin, greeting him as the great leader of the working people throughout the world :

“The politically awakened Chinese people understood that their victory had been inseparable from Stalin’s leadership and the friendly assistance of the Soviet Union.” Does this sound like the voice of a free people or a free regime ?

The Russians have every reason to wish that the present character of the Chinese Communist Government should remain concealed, and, unfortunately, they have found many people to believe, quite honestly, that as it is in China’s interest not to become involved in a war with the United States, Mao Tse and his Government keep on defending their neutrality, and, therefore, that they should be placated. The same, however, could have been said of North Korea, and yet Korea’s Communists did not hesitate to decimate their nation when the order was given by the Kremlin.

The Russians will certainly try to exploit the possibilities offered by this policy o f “ independence a t any price.” In fact there are strong indications that the Chinese Communists have already approached Mr. Pannikar, India’s ambassador in Peking, with a plan for “Asiatic mediation” in the Korean conflict. According to this plan the Security Council would declare a cease-fire and non-Asiatic forces would be ordered to retire from Korea, while some o f the Asiatic nations would be empowered to try to reunite it and

The Americans, whose task it is to provide the bulk of the United Nations police force in Korea, and who have to carry the brunt of the actual fighting, understand much better the world-wide character of the present conflict than do, for instance, the Governments of the European countries, especially those who, like the Labour Government, are caught in the network of the legalistic implications of their ill-advised recognition of the Chinese Communist Government. This