Winston Churchill - The Prime Minister on India, first edition, 1942

Description: The Prime Minister on India Winston S. Churchill London: The India League, 1942 First edition Condition: Very Good plus Normal 0 false false false EN-CA JA X-NONE This exceptionally scarce wartime pamphlet consists of excerpts of British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill’s 10 September 1942 speech in the House of Commons, interspersed with critique. The pamphlet, printed in brown on cheap wartime stock, is 19 pages in length, bound in illustrated, wire-stitched wraps, and measures 7.25 x 4.875 inches (18.4 x 12.4 cm). Condition is very good plus, particularly considering the age and inherent fragility of the item. The wraps remain firmly attached, both original binding staples firm with no rust. The wraps are complete apart from a tiny chip at the lower right front cover corner and show only minor wear, including an angled crease at the upper left rear cover corner. The contents are complete and clean, apart from modest age toning. On 10 September 1942, wartime Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill addressed the house of Commons about “The Situation in India”. In this speech, Churchill detailed at length his position that the Indian Congress Party “does not represent all India.” He accused the Congress Party of abandoning “in many respects the policy of non-violence” and of coming “into the open as a revolutionary movement designed to paralyse the communications by rail and telegraph and generally to promote disorder… the whole having the intention or at any rate the effect of hampering the defence of India against the Japanese invader…” Although the page 19 'Postscript' is written by V. K. Krishna Menon, there is no indication of the name(s) of the author(s) of the comments interspersed between Churchill’s excerpts. Churchill's entire speech in the House of Commons was subsequently collected in The End of the Beginning under the title 'The Situation in India', at pp.178-80 and in Churchill’s Complete Speeches, Vol. VI, at pp. 6675-7, under the same title. More than four decades before he became Britain’s Prime Minister during the Second World War, Winston Churchill spent formative time as a young 19th century cavalry officer fighting on the northwest Indian frontier, about which he would write his first published book. Wartime exigencies aside, Churchill certainly did not adopt an early progressive attitude toward relinquishing control over the crown jewel of Britain's colonial empire. And India was less than five years away from independence when Churchill addressed the House of Commons on 10 September 1942. It is instructive to remember that many of Churchill's dire warnings about Indian independence proved prophetic. Churchill had warned that too swift a British withdrawal from India would lead to bloody civil war and sectarian strife between Hindus and Muslims, Hindu domination, and destabilizing political balkanization of the subcontinent. All these predictions came to pass and, to a considerable extent, persist today. There is no question that relinquishing India was more than simply a matter of policy. Churchill’s faith in the British Empire’s beneficence and destiny could approach obdurate. There was perhaps more than just characteristic wartime defiance in his 10 November 1942 utterance, “We have not entered this war for profit or expansion…Let me, however, make this clear… I have not become the King’s First Minister in order to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire. For that task, if ever it were prescribed, someone else would have to be found.” Someone else was found; Churchill’s wartime premiership fell to the Labour victory in the July 1945 General Election, relegating Churchill to Leader of the Opposition. On 15 August 1947 the Indian Independence Bill took effect, creating the independent nations of India and Pakistan and birthing the world’s most populous democracy in what was arguably the largest single act of political liberation in history. Independence also unfettered religious and communal strife that has lethally festered and flared ever since, claiming Gandhi himself in January 1948. Reference: Cohen A173 Ref #: 008083 CHURCHILL BOOK COLLECTOR We are Churchill Book Collector, a professional bookseller specializing in books and other published works by and about the great twentieth century statesman and acclaimed writer, Sir Winston Churchill. We offer both a singular inventory and approachable expertise. The integrity of our inventory is backed by our membership in the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America (ABAA), the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB), and the Independent Online Booksellers Association (IOBA). Churchill's official biographer, Sir Martin Gilbert, rightly called Churchill's long life "remarkable and versatile". Statesman, soldier, war correspondent, ardent social reformer, combative cold warrior, painter - Churchill was many things, but perhaps above all a master wordsmith. We’re here to help Churchill’s words find your shelves. Our extensive inventory features some of the rarest material offered – including fine first editions and inscribed copies – as well as reading copies and works about Churchill’s life and time. While we specialize in Churchill, our inventory also includes noteworthy first and collectible editions by other authors, ranging from Xenophon to T. E. Lawrence, spanning exploration and empire to twentieth century fiction. We are able to help with anything from finding individual books to assembling full collections, working closely with individual collectors to identify and accommodate their preferences and budget. We are also able to commission preservation cases and fine bindings. Please contact us if you have books to sell. We buy, and in some cases consign, fine and collectible individual items, as well as whole collections.

Price: 420 USD

Location: San Diego, California

End Time: 2024-12-27T05:46:53.000Z

Shipping Cost: 18 USD