Nowhere

The Prime Minister of India has been doing a lot of talking lately through that Gandhi cap he wears.

At the Commonwealth Conference in Ceylon last month, Jawaharlal Nehru told fellow delegates that there had been a "need for a change in China." Then, referring to India's recognition of the Chinese Communist government, he added: "There is not much purpose in recognizing somebody and holding them under."

He is harder on his own Reds. Last week he summoned his countrymen to combat "Communist lawlessness." India's Reds, he said, were "lunatics or utter idiots" if they thought that "throwing a bomb here or burning a tramcar there could influence millions of people."

Next day, Nehru heard his sister, Ambassador to the U.S. Mrs. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, report to Parliament that many Americans were irked by what they considered the Prime Minister's inconsistency on the Communist question. Nehru interrupted. "I am not prepared to be anti-this or anti-that," he cried angrily. "I may be soft to some, hard to others at times, but I dislike being pushed about or bullied . . . Some on the Anglo-American side call me a Communist, while some on the other side call me an imperialist . . . People ask me: 'Are you this or are you that?' But I say: 'This is where I intend to be. Nowhere else.'

This week, Nehru gave his hat another workout. He announced that India will adopt a "wait and see" attitude toward Communist designs on Indo-China and Tibet. Neither Indo-Chinese regime--that of Communist Ho Chi Minh or French-backed Bao Dai--would be recognized by New Delhi. Then the Prime Minister turned to President Truman's decision to make the hydrogen bomb. "If you have come to the conclusion that the world is a pretty bad show," he said, "then let the hydrogen bomb put an end to it. If you want to carry on the world with decency, obviously you will have to put an end to the hydrogen bomb."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.