Puss in the Corner

Almost as cantankerous as Mohamed Ali Jinnah was Mohandas K. Gandhi. When he reached Simla, Gandhi was exhausted. Huge crowds had surrounded his third-class railway coach at almost every stop from Bombay. Then he was closeted for nearly two hours with Lord Wavell.

On his way out of the Viceregal Lodge, Gandhi was mobbed by uncontrollable crowds. A bearded Sikh photographer pointed a camera at him. The non-violent Gandhi grabbed the camera, tried to smash it, failed. The astonished Sikh resorted to passive resistance, made no effort to recover his camera.

Later Gandhi, who for years has been playing political puss in the corner, startled newsmen by announcing that he would not attend the conference. He explained that he would act as adviser but, since he was not a four-anna-party member, he would not be a delegate. Four annas a year (about 8-c-) are the dues paid by rank-&-file Congress party members. Gandhi, the Congress party's spiritual adviser, resigned from the Congress party in 1934.

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