LONDON: British Commonwealth leaders in a secret plenary session here today [April 22] began their ... search for a plan to retain the future republican India within the Commonwealth of nations. Statesmen of Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, India and Ceylon grappled with a task which, within a single week, may completely change the shape of future Commonwealth relationships.

Crowds welcomed the visiting leaders ... when, at 11 o’clock this morning, they drove up to No 10, Downing Street, London ... for a first full-dress discussion of the constitutional problem. For more than an hour before … the session, Mr Attlee conferred with leading British Ministers in the Cabinet Room where the historic Commonwealth discussions are now going on. All the statesmen have already had private individual talks with the British Prime Minister, Mr Clement Attlee.

Three months of intensive Commonwealth exchanges have preceded the conference, and leaders of the various countries assembled for today’s crucial round table meeting with an up-to-the-minute appreciation of all the factors involved.

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2024