Show india s army fore force for unifying country common language and habits tend to break down former prejudices troops take leadership in communal affairs by news analyst and commentator service 1616 eye street NW washington D C one heartening postwar picture rose arose out of the welter of hope fear and nd expectation which held washington I 1 in its grip through the news of the atomic bombs the entrance 0 of f russia into the war and then the welting flash from japan that kept us on tenter hooks so long when there seemed little to contemplate about but the lush growth of evil which had sprung from the planting ot of the dragons teeth of war I 1 found strang strangely ely enough in the office of the representative of india in washington the belief belie f that the war would turn out to be in one respect a blessing to that perturbed country india ha has furnished an army of 2 million m men n the largest volunteer force in the world in the prosecution of this war and that army has turned out to be the greatest school of adult education in the world what the indians proudly call it true soldiers in other armies have been taught while they fought but few have ever been able to add to so much to the total knowl edge of their nation I 1 am told that after the last war when en an indian village was found especially in the punjab which was a little better run with more progressive gres sive ideas and a more active social consciousness it would also be discovered that its moving spirit was wag an ex soldier an indian hindu or moslem or sikh no 11 matter ll iter who had brought home I 1 ideas deas on sanitation and hygiene cooperation and understanding absorbed during his period of service at home or abroad but now the potentialities of this military mission are immensely greater not merely because the indian army is so much bigger but because already it has served as a great melting pot breaking down ancient prejudices and taboos which heretofore have made indian unity impossible generals spirit hopeful sign it if tall lean and eager general carcappa Car Cari lappa appa with whom I 1 talked at length when he was here on a mission sion connected with the founding of a new military academy in india is typical the army is indeed a force his 1119 ent enthusiasm husla am his optimism and his energy are hopeful signs to in themselves I 1 enjoyed that interview seated in the office of the agent general for india where I 1 heard this earnest man speak with an apparent sincerity and conviction which could not help but impress anyone who heard him general carcappa Cari appa was one of the first indian cadets cabets to be commissioned in the indian army in 1920 As a young man he had not yet attained his majority he has been in the army ever since and was the first indian officer to command a bat battalion tallon he raised a ma chine gun outfit himself and as lieutenant colonel led his men through the bitter days of the burma campaign now he Is a general staff officer one of indias andias tour four brigadiers and also a member of the army reorganization committee it was in the latter capacity that he has just completed a tour of inspection of the british military n schools at woolwich and sandhurst then the canadian school at kingston and finally west point and some of our specialist schools he hopes hope to take acceptable features these schools anti melne them in the new indian military academy the site of which has not yet been determined ter mined but the plans for which are well under way the committee on reorganization also hopes to revise indian preliminary education to that it will develop leadership when I 1 saw general carcappa Cari Car lappa appa he be was politely but none the less deeply pained over some of the reports in the american press which belittled indias andias participation in the war he explained which we to in washington knew that there were two indian soldiers to every one british soldier in the burma fight ing general carcappa Cari Car lappa appa is working to prepare a completely independent indian army it is also I 1 dare to suggest tor for an independent india As a soldier the general refused to discuss politics but he said that naturally every loyal indian looks forward to the independence of his pravda russian newspaper reminds us stalin called japan an aggressor in 1938 1936 large bodies like the efficient red bed army moir moie slowly did you hear that one on the air the other day wife in the year 1960 aty are you so late dear husband I 1 had bad to go round the world three times to find a park ing place country something he said which every one of our soldiers who has been fighting tor for the ideals of the united nations expects like his tellow fellow countrymen and the british officers with whom I 1 have talked general carcappa Car lappa is proud of the of unity which have been sown in the army in the first place the army speak a and also reads and writes one language most of the soldiers when they enlist are of the peasant class and are illiterate when their training commences they are immediately taught to read and write in roman urdu which is a slin simplified ed hindustani written with english roman noman letters aside from the value of eradicating illiteracy the knowledge and u use se of a common language a removes one of the chief obstacles to harmony and understanding among the people there are 12 principal languages and dialects spoken in india many prejudices go when the language barrier is broken down when the war Is over at least 2 million indians will have the bond of at a common tongue but bat more than that they will have lived together eaten together in the field at least lived in close companionship panion ship in barracks and developed teamwork and tolerance there has been some suggestion that basle basic english be made the official language of the army in india and while tor for the present hindustani appears more moie practical the for mer has been taught on a large scale general Car lappa has a sense of humor and a perfect command of english basic colloquial and classic Is le in which to express it he went to school in england as a boy he to told id me the following story to illustrate the ramifications of the language problem in the indian army A young british officer remarked to his native sergeant that it was really remarkable that in his co corn m ively small unit of only 3 oo 00 men six different languages were spoken 11 0 oh h more than that sir air the sergeant g bant answered nine different languages I 1 are spoken here there are the six provincial languages then there is english which you an and d I 1 speak then there Is hindustani which we all must speak then there Is YOUR hindustani army with a language problem it is true that most of the indian army has remained within the continental tin limits of the country but that is not really strange general gen eral carcappa Car lappa explained since it t takes ak es 18 men in the tall tail as he put it to keep one fighting man going many foreigners seeing so many uniforms in india received the impression that the whole army was sitting down these men ot of course are not combat troops hell held back for political or other reasons the general said but are largely the tha work troops the great service of supply required to keep the armies in the field going the general claims that indian soldiers are second to none as fighting men the greater proportion oi of them are madras Alad rasi not at all the traditional fighting tribes who in the tha past have constituted what waa called the martial race that thai term long outmoded has long since been dropped the excuse for itt its use disappeared much earl earlier er in the past there may ha have v e been some basis for this concept fight ing begets fighters As the british conquest of india moved slowly northward it left peace behind it but ignited war ahead of it so the northerners were the last whose vocation or at least avocation was wa mortal combat the southerners returned to the gentler arts butto but to return to the general he quoted that truism which all military men know Is sound there are no bad soldiers there are only bad of fibers let me end this column as I 1 i be gan it if general carcappa Car lappa is cyp leal ical of indias andias officers there is hope not only tor for a powerful indian army which 1 I with the rest of you pray india will never need but hope that here among these 2 million men who have found a common tongue and a common purpose has been planted the leaven of tolerance that may bring about the unity of a tree free india BARBS I 1 by baukhage so many dutch citizens were arrested by the germans that it is expected that all questionnaires in that country hereafter will ask 1 were you ever in jail ca Q it if not state why they say well be getting roasted eggs out of slot ma machines chloes before long it sounds Us like a thell hi game ann to me |