845.00/1814: Telegram
Mr. William Phillips, Personal Representative of President Roosevelt in India, to the Secretary of State
[Received February 22—2:13 p.m.]
170. Rajagopalachari called this morning and discussed with me the following suggestion:
A communication has just been received from some of Gandhi’s friends at Poona including his own son to the affect that the Viceroy should offer to send an official emissary to Poona to submit to Gandhi the evidence now in the possession of the Government of Congressmen’s responsibilities in last summer’s disturbances. In that case Gandhi might be persuaded to stop his fast and await the receipt of the evidence for which he has been asking. If he is in no condition to examine the evidence, he would request the release from prison of certain members of the working committee to come to Poona to assist him. All would still be technically under arrest.
Rajagopalachari thought the suggestion of sufficient importance to ask me to convey it to the Viceroy. I said that it would be best for [Page 201] me not to do so as matters were now being dealt with by high officials of the American and British Governments and I had no instructions. But I urged him to convey the message himself to the Viceroy’s secretary, as it seemed a possible way out of the present deadlock and should at least be made known to the Viceroy. Rajagopalachari promised to do so at once.