This is the formula that Eire has adopted. I fail to see why a similar formula could not have been evolved for India as well without our being a full member of the Commonwealth, and as such a party, though not directly, but indirectly to all that is going on within this Commonwealth. Pandit Nehru referred to the bad things, evil things, many undesirable distasteful things that are going on in this Commonwealth. He said, we are all concerned about this; we are all anxious; we are exercised about these matters; but we will fight them in another way. Sir, was it not possible for us, as Eire has done, to enter into a specially close relationship, without continuing as a full member of the Commonwealth subject to all the limitations and restrictions and various commitments that may be made within the Commonwealth amongst its members? In this connection, Sir, I should like to bring to your notice of the House one significant development that took place in the London Commonwealth Premiers Conference of October. We were told, at least in the Press and in other ways, that there were no defence commitments of any sort, neither tacit nor explicit. I would like to place before the House for its consideration an important paragraph in the communique issued at the close of the London Conference. I am reading from an American Paper which published the full text of the communique issued on October 22 at the close at the London Conference which Pandit Nehru attended as the Prime Minister of India. I do not know if this appeared in the Indian papers; I am quoting from an American paper which published the whole of the communique. The relevant paragraph reads thus:
“The United Kingdom Government outlined the nature of its association with other Western European nations under the Brussels treaty as a regional association within the terms of the United Nations Charter. There was general agreement,“–mark the words “there was general agreement“–I do not know if the words “general agreement” mean unanimous or whether our Prime Minister differed on this point–“that this association of the United Kingdom with her European defence neighbours was in accordance with the interests of the other members of the Commonwealth, the United Nations and the promotion of world peace.”