Nehru's View on Communist as Terrorist - Dampened Efforts to Save Ganapathy

We have seen in the previous postings that many leaders of Dravida Federation expressed their frustrations for the failure of Indian Government to act promptly in Ganapathy's case. 

If we dwell further into history of leftist oppression in India, we will find the validity in the federation's claim. We shall notice that India was baffling with leftist especially the Communist Party of India and other socialist fronts which were critical of Nehru's administration. 

The communist and socialist fronts continue to remain critical of exploited labour force which were used to serve the British's interest in India. British were still holding huge economic interests in India just like other newly "liberated" British colonies - liberation in the sense that British economy highly depending on these colonies.  Malaya too was serving the British for so many years after independence until Tun Dr. Mahathir called a shot to end this interest with his campaign - Buy British Last. Eventually the nation wide campaign crippled the British's economy. 

Going back to our discussion, Nehru was reported criticizing the CPI in Indian Parliament on the 1st March 1949 - the day Ganapathy was arrested.  Nehru said the CPI "has the past year had adopted an attitude not only of open hostile to the Government but one which can be described as bordering an open revolt."

The House also was made aware of the communist revolts that have taken place in neighbouring countries bordering India. 

"It was presumably in the furtherance of the same policy that attempts were made in India to incite the people to active revolts. 

Nehru's statement which revealed further that Government has taken against those who revolt, clearly show the Congress Government treated CPI as the British would treat the CPI.  

Nehru with Queen 

Malayan Tribune - 1st March 1949

On the 22nd April 1949 (when Ganapathy's appeal against his death sentence was dismissed), Nehru commented on CCP communist victory in China. He said that the victory not only a threat to India but to the whole world. He made this comment in Cairo when on his way to London for the Commonwealth Prime Minister Conference. 

(Note : It is believed that Nehru was still in London attending the conference when Ganapathy was hanged on the 4th May 1949. Yet. we do not see reports of any personal attempts taken by Nehru to meet Lord Listowel or PM Atlee)

Asked whether the Indian Government was fighting the Communism, Nehru replied : "We do not fight Communist, but we fight sabotage and terrorism" 

(Note: We note the similar term Communist Terrorist (CT) was used widely against the communist in Malaya by the British Government in Malaya). 

The Indian Daily News reported the Indian Prime Minister who was a key-man of London conference told correspondence : "We are friendly to everybody. We want to cooperate."

Interesting to note that this conference will determine the fate of India as the member of the Commonwealth Nation. India being a Republic did not fit into the criteria of the member of the Commonwealth Nation. The conference was paramount to determine the fate of India. 

Queen Elizabeth II and Commonwealth leaders, taken at the 1960 Commonwealth Conference, Windsor Castle.

Further reading : https://scroll.in/article/876483/history-revisited-why-did-nehru-give-up-his-bitter-opposition-to-the-commonwealth-and-join-in-1947

Indian Daily News - 22 April 1949

Banish Me to India - Sambasivam

Sambasivam requesting the Malayan Government to sent him to Malaya even though he was not born in India. According to Sambasivam's family, he was born in South Africa in 1923. His father, Narayasamy married a South African Tamil and brought his family - wife and with two children to India in 1925/26. Later due to some misunderstandings, Sambasivam's wife left her husband and migrated to Malaya with her children. Sambasivam would have been around 2 or 3 year old and had an older sister. They migrated and settled down in Sitiawan, Perak.

Sambasivam Narayanasamy 

The Malaya Tribune dated 3rd April reported that Sambasivam a 27 year old Tamil trade unionist, who escaped the gallows when he has set free by the Privy Council in London on the 30th March 1950.
The Officer-In-Charge of CID Johore C.K.S. Bovell said Sambasivam was arrested under the Emergency Regulations and will remain under detained. The police yet to applied for warrant for banishment. He added the future of Sambasivam will be decided by the Federal Government.

3rd April 1950

Sambasivan Rearrested - "The Hindu" Wanted Repatriation

Sambasivam was found innocent and was released by the Privy Council. Yet, he was rearrested without any warrant. The idea was to force repatriation of Sambasivam to India, so that Malaya could get rid of "the trouble makers." This had been a sheer violation of human rights. But, many including Indians in India, felt that repatriation was only to save Sambasivam.

Sambasivam Narayanasamy 

The Indian Daily Mail published a news based on Hindu editorial published in India on the 16th April 1950, with regards to Sambasivam's rearrest after release.

The Hindu hoped that the Representative of Indian Government to Malaya, Thivy will successfully 

repatriate Sambasivam to India. 

"It is gratifying to find that Mr. Thivy is continuing to find good work in the case of Sambasivam" and recall how Mr. Thivy's strenuous efforts had won a last minute reprieve when the labour leader was about to be executed for alleged offence against Emergency Regulation. 

"Sambasivam had consistently maintained that he was only a trade union worker and not connected with the Communist terrorist. On top of that there was the fact that he had been in 

prison for the last two years and could not possibly have had any contact with lawless elements. But Malayan authorities' object in re-arresting him is presuming to prevent the possibility of his associations with terrorist once he is free. 

We can see no warrant for this assumption. Anyhow if they think it would involve too great a risk to allow Sambasivam to go about freely in Malaya, they should have no objection to his reparation which has been in case of certain other Indians." 

The Indian Daily - 17th April 1950

Nehru Sold the Nation by Joining the Commonwealth - CPI

Questions raise why India kept her efforts not focused and intense in Ganapathy's case. But we see the efforts intensified in the case of Sambasivam. For the first time after Ganapathy was hanged, Privy Counsel was engaged to save Sambasivam from death. In Sambasivam's case, not only the voices of opposition were heard in India but in Malaya the local newspaper and reporters were very critical on how the British used force to get rid of trade unionists.

All though the voices of opposition raised in India against outcome of Ganapathy's appeal, the Indian Congress Leaders such as Nehru and Patel were not very concern as they have their own problem to dealt with, especially the communist and socialist movement in India. The communist and socialist parties were against of India's view to join Commonwealth. India in other hand needed commonwealth support to help in their Kashmir issues. The Commonwealth seen as huge association which India needed to get rid of their communist "trouble-makers."

The Indian Daily Mail reported on the 12th May 1949, on view raised by Communist Party of India (CPI) condemning the Prime Minister Nehru for "signing on the dotted line" of the latest Commonwealth declaration.
The statement claimed that Nehru had sold the interest of the Indian people and the independence and the sovereignty of the country to Anglo-American imperialists"
Another  opposition voice in India the All India Forward Block, which once was lead by Subhas Chandra Bose, had also criticized the London accord on India's new link with Commonwealth.
Its General Secretary K.N Joglekar appealed to leftist forces to form "United Committee of Action" to express disapproval of the "Nehru Deal."

K.N Joglekar

Why the leftist was concern of the deal that Nehru forged with Commonwealth? We will discuss this in future postings.


Note on Joglekar
K.N. Joglekar was born at Uttarpradesh. He was involved in the Meerut Conspiracy Case - controversial court case, in which several trade unionists, including three Englishmen were arrested for organizing Indian Rail strike. The Sessions Court in Meerut awarded stringent sentences to the accused in January 1933. Out of the accused, 27 persons were convicted with various duration of ‘transportation’. Joglekar and his comrades were each awarded transportation for a period of 12 years.