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In

India’s 300 M
Become Our

The Problem of India—By R. Palme Dutt—International

Active

illions Must

Publishers—Popular editio

Alllies

IS almost a year now since the crisis in India was deadlocked with the arrest of tens of

thousands of All-India National Congress members,

the Indian people.

For nearly 12 months, the most critica
this crisis: it continues and has become deey

One of the merits of R. Palmeity is more powerful in this work

Dutt’s latest book is that it focus-
es attention on India once again.
Written as it was in the last
months of 1942, it is nevertheless
a fresh and serious reminder that
more than three hundred million
people are forcibly being de-
prived of their rightful place in
the war.

It is a wholly new book and
ought not be confused with Dult's
elder, epochal work on Indian
published by the Left Book Club
several years ago. It is addressed
to the British people first of
all. But a special preface, writ-
ten last April, to the American
edition of The Problem of India
makes it as real a challenge to us
as to Englishmen.

it is also a somewhat more sim-
plified, more popular approach
to the problem, without in any
way sacrificing those high aca-
demic and analytical standards
that have made Dutt'’s writing
such an inspiration to the Marxist
movements of ali the English-
speaking countries.

@
HAT stands out first, is the
author's complete mastery

of his material He knows every
historical work on India, in fact,
every reference to it in the litera-
ture of several centuries. And his
use Of quotations, facts, admis-
sions from all the official sources
ity, but the merciless way in
which he destroys misconceptions
by his appeal to official author-

than ever.

All the questions that come up
at any meeting or discussion are
answered here fully. with rich
documentation and withering
logic. The net result of British
rule—what is it for India? Is In-
dia a nation—and why do British
imperialist apologists deny that?
What is the development and
role of the All-India National
Congress? What is the truth of
last year’s crisis. the aftermath
of the Cripps mission? What must
be done. from now on? ;

All this, tightly, economically
written with a power a
Dutt’s own. Last year, Kate Mit-
chell’s volume on India helped
fill a great need; it came at a
psychological moment. Without
making invidious comparisons,
Dutt’s work will be found esseéen-
tial for an understanding of the
continued deadlock, and what
our own country, a prime leader
among United Nations must do
about it. eat

It is not a “headline mentality”
production. It is not something
for the archives either. Ten, 20,
30 thousand eopies sold, read, and
studied in this ceuntry in 1943
might save hundreds of thousands
of American lives in the Far
Eastern campaigns of next sum-
mer.

For whe knows what may yet
happen unless a basic change
takes place in policy toward the
people of India, a change that
Americans like Englishmen must
help bring about. Ts.

among them the ranking leaders of

1 of the war, India has been virtually paralyzed by
yer even though we see less of it in the headlines.

that is ail

Valaknad baked welded BS

Stanley Ryerson

National director of educa-
tion for the Labor-Progres-
sive Party, whose new book,

French Canada—A Study in
Canadian Democracy — has
just been published by Pro-
gress Books and is now being
distributed.

New Pamphlet About Women
Suffers From Academic Approach

Marxism and the Woman Ques-
tion—by A. Landy—Progress
Books—Toronto—20 cents.

T IS unfortunate that the au-

thor chose to commence this
pamphlet with an academic dis-
eussion of a series of un-Marxian
articles on woman power which
appeared sometime ago in the
San Francisco People’s World.

While Landy undoubtedly han-
dies the whole subject of wom-
an’s place in modern society in
a sound theoretical manner, he
has nevertheless made it very
dry reading. Consequently this
is, once again, not the popular
pamphlet needed so badly on how
women can make their fullest
contribution in the present strug-
gle against fascism.

The pamphlet is, however, a
must for all these dealing with
organization among women, al-
though the opening chapters are
enough to discourage anyone
without. any knowledge of Marx-
ism. I would particularly recom-
mend it to all trade unionists.

Part Two, a reprint from The
Communist for September, 1941,
is must better than the first half.
In it, Landy does some straight
talking about the necessity of
overcoming “the traditional un-

derestimation of work among the
housewives.”

He points out, undeniably, that
the only way to achieve emanci-
nation of women is to free them
from the unproductive work of
individual households and allow
them to contribute to the pro-
them to contribute to the produc-
tive work of society as a whole.
To do this, we must first “ap-
proach the women in the home,
raising the demands connected
with the problems of the home.”
This involves interest in such
problems as better housing, child
care, cheaper rents, high cost of
living, day nurseries, child delin-
quency, school lunches, all seem-
ingly removed from the war, but

all doorways through which
women may be freed for more
socially necessary work.
€
QUOTATION from Earl

Browder’s speech in 1940
should be firmly taken to heart
by every trade unionist:

2 . As long as the mass of
women are not drawn in so that
their interests and activities are
directed into the same stream
as their men, just that long also
are the masses of men not pull-
ing their own full weight in the
movement, but are torn between

two influences which should be
directed harmoniously to the
same end but which are need-
lessly and harmfully antagonis-
tie and at cross purposes ...
The problem is therefore first
of all a problem for the men.”

This pamphlet, in its round-
about way, brings home the les-
sons already learned in other
countries, that before a woman
can or will contribute her best
in industry or elsewhere, home
difficulties must be solved on a
community or city-wide scale.

It is too bad that a pamphlet
on such a sore subject should
have been opened in a dry man-
ner and that matters have not
been improved by labelling it
“Marxism and the Woman Ques-
tion,’ calculated to scare the
average housewife from ever
Gpening its covers. Women are
not a rare species of animal, re-
quiring to be studied microscop-
ically, but hard working human
beings, hating fascism particu-
larly because of what it means
to their sex, able to contribute
as much to society as their fel-
lowman if given a chance, and a
pamphlet such as this does very
littie to aid the ayerage women
in the home to understand her
individual role in society —K-G,.

Merchant Marine -
an Heralded In New Boe

He’s In the Merchant Marines Now—by John Scott Dou;
and Albert Salz—McBride—$2.50.

EN “who deliver the goods”, who do their job with

fanfare, without glory and who go back after repe

sinkings, bombing and hellish conditions, are the men of |

Merchant Marine, on whom depend the lifelines of the Al

Wations.

While many books have so far appeared about the

force, navy, army and marines,
very little has yet been said about
the merchant seamen. Yet read-
ers of this book will realize what
heroism goes unheralded and un-
sung among ordinary seamen on
convoy duty.

Primarily the story of a mer-
chantman’s training, the book is
intensely interesting. It carries
the reader with a young cadet,
right through from his first sign-
ing up through the National Mar-
itime Union, to his first action at
sea, interspersed by flashbacks
of men who have been torpedoed
or bombed on conyoy duty.

These stories ilustrate vividly
why the most important part of
their training is designed to save
their own and comrades’ lives.
Knowledge of underwater swim-
ming, for instance, made easier
by the simple procedure of “over-
breathing—deep inhalation and
then over-exaggerated exhalation
to drive oxygen into the blood—
was responsible for one man Say-
ing his own life and six of his
buddies through a sea of flam-
ing oil.

Trainees are taught how to
make use of anything available
in the event of disaster. Ordinary
pants or a seéaman’s hat, soaked
and inflated with air from time
to time, will hold up a man for
many hours until he can be
picked up.

e

HE story of one man in par-
ticular gives an idea of the
ordeals these men go through in
ordinary line of duty. McMan-
non first sailed as ordinary sea-

man on a tanker after Pearl J
bor. It was torpedoed nortk
the Florida coast, and a
swimming away from the bi
ing oil, looking in vain for
shipmates, he swam for #@-
hours to the Florida be
There were no other survivol

Then he shipped out in asi
freighter. In a conyoy on ifs
to Britain, it was attacked
left with decks awash. Meck
non’s poat got away, but
men died of exposure befor
was picked up. McMannon
pneumonia, and while in hos}
he was moved three times d
into an air raid shelter bec: ¥
of bombs. Then he sailed
America again. Four times
Was in convoys attacked by
marines, and another time
ship was set afire by en
shells. He is now “resting
prior to shipping out again.

These men, when they rr
a friendly port, need maini
clean, comfortable room, ¢ .
iced and fun. Until lately
much has been done on this -
tinent to provide these thi
but now, through the coopers’
cf maritime unions and cor
nies, the United Seamen’s
vice has been established wi
provides recreational ciubs,
ing quarters ashore, rest ho
and camps for seamen suffe |
from war nerves.

Albert Salz, cne of the
authors, is a member of the
tional Maritime Union, and.
a delegate to its July con: ,
tion, while John Douglas,
other, is a well-known free l:*
writer on the West Coast—t |

HERE SOON , , ,

FRENCH

| Paper Cover
$1.00

119 West Pender

by Stanley Ryerson

A Book that Every Canadian Will Want to Read
| Place Your Order Now.

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