§ Mr. Sorensenasked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he can now make any statement respecting the political position in India?
§ 5 Sir H. O'NeillAs has already been announced in an agreed communiqué issued in India on Monday, a copy of which follows, the conversation between the Governor-General and Mr. Gandhi on that day ended in a decision by mutual consent to defer further discussions for the present.
On the following day the Viceroy saw Mr. Jinnah, the leader of the Moslem League, who urged upon His Excellency the great importance attached by the Moslem and other minorities to safeguarding their position in any settlement or discussion that might take place. An agreed statement on this interview follows:
Mr. Jinnah urged on His Excellency the great importance attached by the Moslem and 440W other minorities to safeguarding their position in any settlement or discussions that might take place.His Excellency assured Mr. Jinnah that His Majesty's Government were fully alive to the necessity for safeguarding the legitimate interests of minorities and that he need be under no apprehension that the importance of those interests would be lost sight of.Following is the communiqué issued by the Governor-General,th February, 1940:
"In response to an invitation from His Excellency Mr. Gandhi to-day came to see the Viceroy. A prolonged and very friendly discussion took place, during which the whole position was exhaustively examined. Mr. Gandhi made it clear from the outset of the conversation that he had no mandate from the Congress Working Committee, that he was not empowered to commit it in any way and that he could speak on behalf of himself only.
His Excellency set out in some detail the intentions and proposals of His Majesty's Government. He emphasised, in the first place, their earnest desire that India should attain Dominion Status at the earliest possible moment and to facilitate the achievement of that status by all means in their power. He drew attention to the complexity and difficulty of certain of the issues that called for disposal in that connection, in particular the issue of defence in the Dominion position. He made it clear that His Majesty's Government were only too willing to examine the whole field in consultation with representatives of all parties and interests in India when the time came. He made clear also the anxiety of His Majesty's Government to shorten the transitional period and bridge it as effectively as possible.
His Excellency drew attention to the fact, as he recently repeated at Baroda, that the Federal Scheme of the Act, while at present in suspense, afforded the swiftest stepping-stone towards Dominion Status and that its adoption with the consent of all concerned would facilitate a solution of many problems that had to be faced in that connection. He added that the offer put forward by him last November of expansion of the Governor-General's Council on the lines of the basis then indicated remained open. His Majesty's Government were prepared to give immediate effect to that offer. Subject to the consent of the parties affected, His Majesty's Government would be prepared also to reopen the Federal Scheme so as to expedite the achievement of Dominion Status and facilitate a settlement after the war of the issues to which it gave rise
Mr. Gandhi expressed his appreciation of the spirit in which these proposals were put forward, but made it clear that in his view they did not at this stage meet the full demand of the Congress party. He suggested, and the Viceroy agreed, that in the circumstances it would be preferable to defer for the present further discussions with the object of a solution of the difficulties which had arisen."