or later, will do it.” He paused and invited questions with a “Now?”
I said that when I hear a suggestion about some arrangement for the future I try to imagine how it would look if it were actually adopted. “I am sure you have done the same in connection with your proposal that the British withdraw. Then how do you see that withdrawal, step by step?”
“First,” he replied with deliberation, “there are the Princes who have their own armies. They might make trouble. I am not sure that there will be order when the British go. There could be chaos. I have said, ‘Let the British go in an orderly fashion and leave India to God.’ You may not like such unrealistic language. Then call it anarchy. That is the worst that can happen. But we will seek to prevent it. There may not be anarchy.”
“Could not the Indians immediately organize a government?” I suggested.
“Yes,” he responded quickly. “There are three elements in the political situation here: the Princes, the Moslems, and Congress. They could all form a provisional government.”
“In what proportion,” I asked, “would power and the posts be divided?”
“I do not know,” he replied. “Congress being the most powerful unit might claim the largest share. But that could be determined amicably.”
“It seems to me,” I said, “that the British cannot
