Monthly Archives: October 2011

Vol. 5, No. 10, January 1945

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“Mrs. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit”

  • Documents Pandit’s engagements from her attendance of the Conference of the Institute of Pacific Relations at Hot Springs, VA from January 6-16, to her reception in New York City Hall by Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia on January 18, to a January 27 White House lunch with Eleanor Roosevelt.

(February commitments in following issue)

Vol. 5, No. 9, December 1944

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“India Leader Arrives in New York”

  • Full, front-page article on Mme. Pandit’s arrival on December 8
  • Quotes extensively from a December 10 press conference held by Mme. Pandit in New York.
  • Pandit believed that “thousands of American lives would be saved” if the Indian political situation were resolved, because, Pandit argued, Indian soldiers could not be fully committed to a government that did not consist of Indians and therefore did not fight to their fullest capacity against the Japanese in Burma.

Vol. 5, No. 8, November 1944

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“India Leader to Visit U.S.”

  • Reports that Mrs. Vijayalakshmi Pandit was about to embark on a 3 month trip to the United States to visit her daughters at Wellesley College and attend the January conference of the Institute of Pacific Relations in January. Describes Pandit’s many political accomplishments.
  • In a footnote, notes that “Pandit” is “both a title and a surname.”

Vol. 5, No. 6, September 1944

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“Ambassador William Phillips”

  • Documents the Drew Pearson’s leak of the report William Phillips wrote for President Roosevelt at the end of his mission to India from July 25 (the original publication) to September 9 (a Pearson column reflecting the views of Far East Expert for the State Department, John P. Davis, Jr.).
  • Analysis: “Anglo-American relations with respect to the Indian political deadlock seemed to be approaching a climax during the last few weeks.  A swift succession of charges and counter-charges in the Press and in Congress culminated in the report that President Roosevelt would confront Prime Minister Churchill at Quebec with a demand for an immediate settlement in India.”

Vol. 5, No. 5, August 1944

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“League Activities”

  • On Sunday, August 6, the Liberty Forum of World Peaceways hosted a radio discussion on station WLIB, entitled: “Is Gandhi retreating?” J.J. Singh responded that Gandhi was progressing rather than regressing in trying to find a political solution that appeals to both Muslims and Hindus. Singh analyzed: “We will no doubt win the war against Japan but unless Great Britain discards her imperialistic garb in Asia, seeds of hatred and animosity will have been sown which will ensure a third and deadlier world war.”

Vol. 5, No. 3, June 1944

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“U.S. Stands For Liberty For All”

India Today, Vol. 5, No. 3, June 1944

  • In an article in a pamphlet issued by the American Council, Institute of Pacific Relations, Vice-President Henry Wallace wrote: “it is to our interest to approve and cooperate with all trend which lead toward our own standard of government of the people, by the people and for the people. The American trend and instinct is marked by our record in the Philippines.”
  • In a June 2 press conference, Secretary of State Cordell Hull stated: “In keeping with the policy of the United States for 150 years, the international organization will be constructed on the principle of sovereign equality of all nations–big and little, weak and strong.”

Vol. 4, No. 5, August 1943

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“Louis Fischer’s Writings Banned in India”

  • The Home Member of the Government of India, Sir Reginald Maxwell, initiated the ban because Fischer’s writings were “prejudicial to the cause of the United Nations.”
  • “The truth of the matter is that Mr. Fischer has incurred the displeasure of His Majesty’s Government in India by exposing the real reasons for the failure of the Cripps Mission, and by suggesting since his return to this country that the Indian deadlock could be broken if only Churchill would meet India half way.”

Vol. 4, No. 4, July 1943

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“President Roosevelt’s Sympathy with India’s Aspirations”

India Today, Vol. 4, No. 4, July 1943

“Over the Radio”

  • Quotes from a WHN radio, round table discussion on “Should the United Nations Enter the India Situation?”. Participants included J.J. Singh, George Sokolsky (New York Sun), George H. Combes, Father Kiernana
  • Singh replied that yes, the UN should become involved in the Indian situation, but then goes on to explain how it is in American interests to enter the India situation for both ideological reasons: taking “an interest in the destiny of four hundred million citizens of the world” and practical reasons: “thousands of American boys are today in India.”