Hopeful Signs in India The situation in India itself is
steadily improving, as a result first of all (chronologically, at any rate) of the continued release of political prisoners by the provincial governments, and secondly of the response of the Govern- ment of India to the proposals of Mr. Gandhi and-the Congress Conference for the abandonment of civil dis- obedience. The result of the former policy is that, according to a statement made by Sir Samuel Hoare in the House on Monday, the number of prisoners, which stood in April, 1932, at about 32,500,- had fallen by the end of last month to about 1,450. (In many cases, no doubt, the full sentence had been served.) At Delhi the Government have announced that all facilities will be given for a meeting of Congress or its Working Com- mittee for the purpose of calling off- civil disobedience, and if it is called off the whole attitude of the Govern- ment towards Congress would be reviewed. These are encouraging developments, and their effect ought to be to diminish opposition to the White Paper here.
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