Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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EIGHTY-EIGHT of India's 389 million people are Moslems, like these shown here before the Great Mosque in Delhi. ) DEFENSE of India's area is commanded by Gen. Sir Archibald Wavell (left). Sir Stafford Cripps (right) went to India to renew the offer of post-war Dominion status. INDIA'S one million soldiers are nil volunteers, serve mostly under their own, partly under British officers. They now use shells (below) and guns manufactured in India. ? * rrit"",i+ "" " jaaawaHPT' ?f'?* 12 THREE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-NINE million people ?-one-sixth of the human race?live in a triangular v area two-thirds the size of the United States* bordered on the North by the Himalayas; on the other two sides by the Indian Ocean. This area is India* more of a continent than a homogeneous country, where some 45 races speak 225 different languages. Divided by religious and political convictions, 250 million of her people are Hindus (40 million "untouchables?' or outcast Hindus), 88 million are Moslems and about 7 million are Sikhs. Associated with Great Britain for over 200 years, India is on the way to Dominion Status within the British Commonwealth?the Government of India Act of 1935 gave selfgovernment to the 11 provinces of British India. Today the Congress Party, predominantly Hindu, demands independence. On the other hand, Moslems and other minorities object to any constitution which would place them under a permanent Hindu majority. The visit of Sir Stafford Cripps was the latest of. a series of British efforts to solve the problems of India's future. India today has* over one million volunteers under arms, and her human and industrial resources are making a great contribution to the cause of the United Nations. REPRESENTATIVES of the main political influence among India's 256,000,000 Hindus are Jawahurlal Nehru (left) and Mohandas Gandhi (right), leaders of India's Congress Party. tw ?.i i' *.*>w:ow?mm*w.?vw>?? ... ? ? _ __ ANOTHER FACTOR in India's political make-up are hundreds of independent Princes like these, who rule 60 million people. They claim a voice in India's future government. ?NDIA'S GREAT WEALTH and her greatest potential contribution to the cause of the United Nations are her hundreds of millions of people, including some of the world's toughest fighters, who have proven themselves on a dozen battlefields in this and other wars. Until recently, however, India's fighting men depended almost entirely on arms and equipment imported from Britain and other industrial countries. Too, her civilians, who had not seen a major war in their own country for generations, were generally unprepared to face the shock of a modern "blitz" of tanks and bombers. ? - ii iiiiiimi?t. ? im si':j* hnmbbmni In the last few years, much of this has changed, and India new has more than the mere beginnings of great industries. About 1,500,000 tons of finished steel are turned out annually from Indian ore; and rifles, machine guns, cannon, armored cars, trucks, ammunition and trench mortars are manufactured in increasing quantities. Not only India's army, but part of Britain's as well, now walks on Indian shoes and wears Indianmade uniforms. And India's civilians, especially in the cities, are rapidly learning to cope with air raids, and helping to reinforce the defenses of their vast country. snaai nir " irivn'iTiTTiT 1?rimr- i n i?? rii?in n m?i ,. ...... . r. ... ? , ??i GUN PLATFORMS arc manufactured In converted railway shops (above) by Indians who now make three-quarters of the 60,000 articles needed for war. India's soldiers fight not only in India and Burma, but also in Africa and the Middle East (below). BESIDES the struggle for India, far the Allies the Battle of India also a battle for supply lines to Russia (left) and .China (righf) 1 nam n ll l nil THREE-QUARTERS of India's population are rurai peasants living in 700,000 villages. India exports wheat, barley, hides, tea, rice, cotton, jute, and rubber which now go to Allies, would help Japs if lost, i OTHER INDIAN resources which now aid Allies but are wanted by Japan are world's largest iron deposits, lead, manganese, tungsten, tin, coal, oil, zinc and gold. These resources ate India s traditional wealth, y i 'JU. INDIA'S rising industries are creating ^ ing class of intelligent workers (above) snd ^ educated civic minded city people (below). _