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Friends. But Gandhi had not lost his wits. He handed U.S. correspondents a "letter to American friends" urging that the U.S. intercede for Indian independence. "You have made common cause with Great Britain," he said. "You cannot therefore disown responsibility for anything that her representatives do in India." He contended that "false propaganda had poisoned American ears," ended his letter with the salutation: "I am your friend."
At the Pandal microphone Gandhi also professed his friendship for the British: "I know that they are on the brink of the ditch, and are about to fall into it. Therefore, even if they want to cut off my hands, my friendship demands that I should try to pull them out of the ditch." Sadly, as if the British were tired little children, Gandhi explained that the British position in India could be saved only by granting the Indians freedom. "We can show our real grit and valor," said he, "only when it becomes our right to fight. My democracy means that everyone is his own master. . . . We do not want to remain frogs in a well. We are aiming at world federation. It can come only through nonviolence. Disarmament is possible only if you use the matchless weapon of nonviolence."
Nehru. From such lofty thoughts in the midst of a ruthless world war, Gandhi turned to Pandit Nehru, gave him credit as "my guru" (teacher) in international affairs. Said Gandhi: "I do not want to be the instrument of Russia's defeat, nor China's. If that happens, I would hate myself." The voice was Gandhi's, but the sentiments were those of Nehru, torn between his knowledge of the world and his love for the Mahatma. Grave and drawn was Nehru's face when he rose to speak. There was finality in his words. He spoke of a British "defeatist attitude," urged that "valiant fighters" replace the "creaking, squeaking and shaking machinery of the Government of India." He urged that Hindus "give up that attitude of mind which welcomes the Japanese." He drew the session's loudest cheers when he suggested participation of a free India in the ranks of the United Nations.
When the session closed, Gandhi had authorization to call for a satyagraha (civil disobedience campaign) which had been recommended by the Congress working committee on Aug. 7. It was a powerful weapon in his hands, a weapon the British called blackmail. To Gandhi, a crusader with a one-track mind, it was a weapon with which to bludgeon immediate independence from the British. He said he hoped President Roosevelt would intercede and announced he would make a last-minute appeal to the Viceroy before leading his followers into action. But there was no time: the next morning the Indian Government cracked down.
Claims. In the British House of Commons, Indian Secretary Leopold Stennett Amery admitted that "Gandhi has his own idiosyncrasies." But Amery thundered that Gandhi's action in calling for civil disobedience was "a stab in the back to all who are fighting in India, or for India, in the cause of the United Nations, whether they be Indian, American or Chinese."