HC Deb 22 July 1935 vol 304 cc1460-1
5. Mr. D. GRENFELL

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India why the passport issued by the Foreign Office to Mr. M. R. Masani, No. 219,993, 1930, has been impounded, although Mr. Masani is a British subject; and whether he will take steps to restore to Mr. Masani full facilities and the use of a British passport for travel purposes on the same terms as other British subjects?

Mr. BUTLER

The passport was impounded and renewal was refused at the request of the Government of India, who considered that Mr. Masani's activities in India were such as to make it undesirable that he should be in possession of a passport for travel abroad. My noble Friend is not prepared to agree that his passport shall be returned to him, but an emergency certificate valid for his return to India will be issued to him when required.

Mr. GRENFELL

Is there any account of any offence committed by this British subject; is Mr. Masani charged with any definite offence against the law of India or of Britain?

Mr. BUTLER

The Government of India inform us that they consider that his activities in connection with Communism make it undesirable that he should travel abroad, and they refuse him a passport.

Mr. GRENFELL

Will the hon. Gentleman inquire, or cause inquiries to be made, to see whether the charge of being a Communist is a true one; and is it not the case that this man is a prominent member of the Indian Socialist Society, a constitutional and legal society, working within the Congress party in India, and is not a member of the Communist party at all?

Mr. BUTLER

I would remind the hon. Gentleman that it is not the policy of the Government to refuse passport facilities to Indian Socialists as such, but we are informed by the Indian Government that owing to Mr. Masani's Communist activities, he does not deserve a passport for travelling abroad, and in these circumstances my Noble Friend is not willing to renew his passport.

Mr. GRENFELL

If on inquiry it is found that even that charge is unfounded, will his passport be returned to him?

Colonel WEDGWOOD

May I ask whether the excellent answer of the Under-Secretary referring to the safety of Socialists travelling abroad applies also to Communists, or is there a distinction between Communists and Socialists?

Mr. T. WILLIAMS

Will the hon. Gentleman have further inquiries made to ascertain the truth or otherwise of the statement with regard to Communism; and is he aware that Mr. Masani himself definitely dissociated himself altogether from any Communist activity, and, in these circumstances, does he not think that the passport ought to be returned?

Mr. BUTLER

The questions which have been put to me by hon. and right hon. Gentlemen will certainly be conveyed to the Government of India, but our definite information from the Government of India is contrary to that which has been prevailing here.

Mr. ATTLEE

Is Communism forbidden in India?