There are very few persons in India, I suppose, whether they are Indians or Englishmen, who have for years past so consistently raised their voices against Fascism and Nazism as I have done. My whole nature rebelled against them , and on many an occasion I vehemently criticised the pro-Fascist and appeasement policy of the British government. Ever since the invasion of Manchuria, and subsequently in Abyssinia, Central Europe, Spain and China, I saw with pain and anguish how country after country was betrayed in the name of this appeasement and how the lamps of liberty were being put out. I realized that imperialism could function only in this way; it had to appease its rival imperialism or else its own ideological foundations were weakened. It had to choose between this and liquidating itself in favour of democratic freedom.There was no middle way. So long as appeasement applied to Manchuria, Abyssinia, Chechosloavia, Spain and Albania, to `far away countries about which few people had ever heard, as the then P M of Britain put it, it did not matter much and was faithfully pursued. But when it came nearer home and threatened the British empire itself, the clash came and the war began. In India we have had over a year of war government. The peoples elected legislatures have been suspended and ignored, and a greater and more widesp[read autocracy prevails here than anywhere else in the world. Recent measures have suppressed completely such limited freedom as the Press possessed to give facts and opinions. If this is the prelude to the freedom that is promised us, or to the `New Order about which so much is said, then we can well imagine what the later stages will be when England emerges as a full-blooded fascist state. I am convinced that the large majority of people in England are weary of Empire and hunger for a real new order. But, we have to deal, not with them, but with their government, and we have no doubt in our minds as to what that government aims at. With that we have nothing in common, and we shall resist to the uttermost. We have therefore decided to be no party to this imposed war and to declare this to the world. - J Nehru, Statement at his trial in Oct. 1940, when Congress launched a civil disobedience campaign
Posted on: Thu, 14 Nov 2013 08:47:15 +0000
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