India interested in freedom of Asian people (2)

By Jai Singh Yadav

This is the second of two articles on the Asian Relations Conference held in New Delhi in 1947.

YOGYAKARTA (JP): When news of the Asian Relations Conference traveled abroad, the western media, ever ready to pollute the minds of the international community, started its misrepresentation campaign.

Jawaharlal Nehru said in his address that the conference "is in no way aggressive or against any other continent or country."

Prime Minister Sutan Sjahrir could not reach New Delhi in time for the first plenary session of the Conference. Hence Dr. Abu Hanifah, leader of the Indonesian delegation addressed the first plenary session and also read out a message from Sjahrir.

In his address, Dr. Hanifah drove home the point about the struggles, trials and tribulations of the Indonesian people in their freedom struggle and called upon other states for recognition of Indonesia's independence.

Leaders of the other delegations also addressed the first plenary and there was a striking similarity in their views on the various topics to be discussed in the ensuing Round Table Groups.

The Round Table Group A of the conference discussed the subject of National Movements for Freedom. Sutan Sjahrir, who had arrived in New Delhi on March 31 on a special plane sent by Nehru also participate in the discussion. It was the consensus view that Asian countries as a whole should develop an attitude that imperialism could not effectively continue to dominate any part of Asia for any length of time and, therefore, action to stem the imperialistic forces should be modulated accordingly. Also, in all Asian countries, national freedom movements should move in the directions of social, political, economic and cultural democracy for all the people.

The Round Table Group B of the conference discussed Racial Problems and Inter-Asian Migration. The group arrived at a consensus view on complete legal equality for all citizens, complete religious freedom, and no public social disqualification of any racial group. All these are applicable to those foreign citizens who had chosen their countries of immigration as their permanent homes, and identified themselves with their adopted countries.

The Round Table Group C of the conference discussed Transition from Colonial to National Economy, Agricultural Reconstruction and Industrial Development, and Labor Problems and Social Services. Similarly the Round Table Groups D and E concentrated on cultural dimensions and women's problems in the Asian Region.

What was significant in all these Round Table Group discussions was the fact that there was an atmosphere of friendship, cordiality and togetherness in the approaches to the various problems. Never was there an occasion for acrimonious debates and all the delegates had been able to exchange their views and gain lot of exposure to the perceptions of the different countries.

The dynamic and eloquent Mrs. Sarojini Naidu, Chairperson of the Conference, introduced PM Sutan Sjahrir to the audience at the final Plenary Session on April 2, 1947 as the "bomb of Asia" to thunderous applause and a rousing ovation. The conference had already generated so much enthusiasm and publicity that the Delhities thronged the venue, which was overflowing with thousands of people, estimated at 20,000.

Sjahrir had already become the cynosure of all eyes. The news of his arrival, and the fact that Mahatma Gandhi himself was going to address the final Plenary Session had spread far and wide, hence the unprecedented gathering of people as described.

Mrs. Sarojini Naidu introduced Mahatma Gandhi as "the father of the nation and the apostle of truth and non-violence". Mahatma Gandhi scorned at the offer of a chair on the rostrum, and instead chose to remain seated, cross-legged, on a mattress.

The Mahatma spoke in a soft and mellow tone and said, "If you want to see the real India, you should see a few villages in India -- those 'dung heaps' inhabited by 'miserable specimens of humanity' who, nevertheless possessed nothing less than 'the concentrated essence of wisdom'."

The west is, today, pining for wisdom. It is despairing of multiplication of atom bombs; and Asia must not imitate the west, "its gun powder and atom bomb". Rather, Asia must conquer the west through love; and this it could do because its greatness was in the teaching of its prophets, including Zoroaster, Buddha, Moses, Jesus and Mohammed.

The fact that Indonesia had proclaimed its independence on Aug. 17, 1945, immediately after the Japanese surrender -- the fledging Republic was required to muster up its meager resources and wage war against Dutch imperialists bent upon reestablishing the past colonial regime and many battles against the Dutch, by the Indonesian people, had taken place in different theaters -- lent an accelerated interest in the Indonesian National Revolution among the conference circles. "Indian public opinion was on the side of the Indonesian cause for freedom and so, indeed, was the whole conference."

The Plenary Session of Group A of the Round Table Groups -- on National Movements for Freedom -- met on April 1, 1947, which provided, as it were, a springboard for Sjahrir to take stock of the deliberation on the proceeding eight days and to attune himself for delivering the speech at the Final Plenary of the conference on April 2.

Nehru welcomed Sjahrir to the plenary of Group A of the Round Table, saying, "Indonesia has been playing such an important part in Asian and world events in recent years, and the coming of Sjahrir is considerable significance for our Conference and for us in India." Suitably responding, Sjahrir said, "Our being here in such great numbers is in fact due not only to immense interest in what is happening here but also to the fact that we have been isolated for so many years."

Sjahrir said, "May I remind you that we must exercise the greatest care to see that the Asian sentiment ('this was a compelling sentiment, a forceful sentiment which insistently sought expression in this Conference') is preserved as a holy flame, which will spur us on to greater endeavors to justice, truth, idealism and humanitarianism? We have cultivated that Asian sentiment with such fervor that it is now a powerful force -- and a powerful force for good, I believe -- which, wisely used, should help us realize not only the vision of the "one world" we have been striving for, but also the dream of the oneness of mankind."

Needless to reiterate here that Sjahrir's words added another impetus to the growing Asian sentiment among the Asian nations, united by their common interests, to seek friendship with other nations, for the realization of the one world, through peaceful coexistence. The presence in these words, in embryonic form, form the basic tenets of the later-to-be-formulated Indonesian "active and independent" foreign policy, wedded to the principles of non- alignment and a positive search for peace.

Nehru, in his address to the Plenary, said, "I do believe that the message, the age-long message of Asia, has something of enormous value for humanity, ... that this conference has been such a landmark in the history of Asia, ... that the center of events is shifting from Europe, that on one side it has shifted to America and on the other to Asia."

The Asian Relations Conference of 1947 in New Delhi, retrospectively speaking, almost turned out to be a fulfillment of shared dreams of many leaders of struggling Asia. It was the first major Asian conference held at a time when triumphant liberation movements coalesced together at a common meeting point; common in perspective, struggles, ideals and goals.

The writer is Visiting Associate Professor at the Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta.