UNREST IN INDIA

Evening Star, Issue 20572, 26 August 1930, Page 12

UNREST IN INDIA

THE GOVERNMENT'S REPORT SITUATION SOMEWHAT EASIER (British Official Wireless.) ; RUGBV, August 25. (Received August 26, at noon.) In the weekly appreciation by tho Government of India of the situation in India, it is stated that by August 19 the Afridi lashkar bad dispersed, although a few small parties still remained in tho district. Congress emissaries from British territory are, however, reported to have passed up tho Bara Valley to urge tho Afridis to renew hostilities. About .‘5,000 Afridis wero present at the usual Friday jirga at Bagh on the 22nd, and an aeroplane doing reconnaissance there was fired upon. On the northern border of the Peshawar distriettho Ha.ji of Turangzai and his. emissaries have, remained active among the upper Molnnands, and tho Utman Khel. The latter tribe interviewed the deputy commissioner on the 16th. They undertook' to commit no more offences against the Government, to refrain from joining any hostile lashkar, and to refuse a passage to a hostile lashkar of other tribes. , In view of this undertaking their eleven prisoners captured at Palla i were released. It is clear, however, that the Haji has met with a good deal of success among the upper Mohmands and possibly some part of tho Utman Khel tribe, and still has great hopes of raising a lashkar to attack the Peshawar district by way of Gandao on the Kurram border. An intensive bombing of' tho Massozzais and Para Chamkannis had a very good effect. Tho Massozais have come into Parachiuar to make overtures for a settlement. The agitation, however, lias spread to other tribes. On August 19 tho Abmadzai Gliilzai collected a lashkar on Peiwar Kotal in the neighbourhood of Utsar and Bargawisar. Reconnaissance aeroplanes were heavily fired upon from these two points, and militia pickets in upper Kurram were fired on from Utsar. Thanks to the excellent defensive measures adopted by the Kurram militia, together witli the successful measures adopted by tho local Afghan authorities to restrain tho tribes on their side of the border, tho hostile tribes dispersed after a few days without further committing themselves. The provincial reports for the first fortnight of August continue to show a marked.improvement in most 1 provinces. In Madras the number of breaches of the lixw, and the consequent prosecutions, continues to fall. In Bengal the improvement has been so marked that it is possible to discern a tendency to yoturn to normal conditions. There has been less picketing, particularly in Calcutta, and the movement generally has much weakened.

A good sign in several districts is the increased attendance at school, and the boycott of educational institutions seems to he falling.' Iu the United Provinces the chief feature of the fortnight was the attack on the Deducational institutions, from which the Mohammedans, howover, kept aloof. There has been very serious interference with the studies at all the Allahabad, Benares, and Lucknow universities, hut a recent report in the Press states that the students have revolted at the first mentioned university against this interference with their’ future careers. Punjab records a definite and practically universal decline iu Congress activities and tho movement is moribund. The situation in,Bombay city is more stable, so far as law and order are concerned, but tho economic conditions tend to deteriorate and more mills have been closed down. The boycott of foreign goods is still effective in many towns, and picketing, although on the decline, is still practised to a considerable extent. Although tlio situation. in most of tho provinces is distinctly easier, there is no province in which conditions are normal, or in which it can he safely said that some activities of the civil disobedience movement may not assume fresh vigour. There has fortunately been a marked improvement in Sind, where tlio communal situation was reported last week to bo serious. The position is now under control.

An attempt was made to-day to kill Sir Charles Tegart, Police Commissioner for Calcutta. Two bombs were Hung at his car, as he was motoring to his office. They exploded iu the road, wounding tho chauffeur and damaging the , car. Sir Charles Tegart himself was unhurt. Leaping from the car he drew his revolver and shot one of his assailants dead, then ho chased another of his assailants, who was captured by a police sergeant. A third assailant was wounded by the explosion. Sir Charles Tegart, who is fortyniuo years of age, has been in the India police since 1901.