Page:Gandhi and Saklatvala - Is India different.pdf/10

 are identical with the most obvious marks of " yellow" unions or company unions organised by employers in capital ist Europe and America. As Saklatvala declared in his letter, " your idea of a policy for labour would in reality put you outside even those who are regarded as 'friends of labour' .... I have heard Tory and Liberal capitalists use almost identical words and phrases."

Gandhism as a political force has proved itself bankrupt and impotent. As a social philosophy it is opposed to the needs of the growing working class in India, and in proportion as the latter develops in strength and class-consciousness it is compelled to come out more and more decisively against it. The issue before the working class movement in India now is not whether it shall follow Gandhi or not. The central issue now lies between labour, imperialism and the revolutionary international working class movement. At present, the bulk of the leaders of labour in India do not come from the ranks of the workers and, even when they do reject the open anti- working class policy of Gandhi, they are inclined to take as their model the imperialist leaders of the British Labour movement and endeavour to restrict the objects of labour organisation in India to petty economic demands which do not threaten the imperialist basis of exploitation. They are opposed to the political class struggle of the Indian masses.

Of late, Gandhi, like Mrs. Besant, although condemned for appearance sake by the popular English and Anglo- Indian press, is in reality looked upon quite favourably, if contemptuously, by the imperialists.

An instance of this is shown in the fact that some of the Indian railways have now placed at his disposal a specially constructed, luxurious saloon coach for use when travelling the country for propaganda purposes, a privilege hitherto confined to ruling princes and the Viceroy.

Alongside of this attitude towards Labour one finds a growing inclination to translate the term " Swaraj" into meaning merely a form of Dominion Home Rule within the Empire, a point of view which whilst highly popular amongst the ruling princes, who desire, in many instances, British bayonets to uphold their rule, is certainly not considered sufficient by the masses, to whom Saklatvala's message came as a revelation.

The British I.L.P. however, appears to think that the demand for Dominion status is all sufficient, despite the horrible example of the so-called Irish Free State before their