Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE FRIDAY, MARCH 11th., 1932. ON THE FRONTIER.

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 March 1932, Page 6

Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE FRIDAY, MARCH 11th., 1932. ON THE FRONTIER.

pOMENTED by emissaries of the Congress, trouble is again brewing on the North-West frontier of India, and the tribesmen, who seem always to be spoiling for a fight, are again in rebellion against the British Government. Stern action has been taken by the Air Force, in an endeavour to subdue the rebels, and many of their villages have been fymibed. Experience has shown clearly that sentiment is wasted, so far as the Congress organisation is concerned, and that determined measures are essential. At its inception, the Congress aimed at, firstly, the fusion into one national whole of all the different and discordant elements which constitute the population of India; secondly, the gradual mental, moral, social, and political regeneration of the nation; thirdly, the consolidation of union between Britain and India, by the modification of unjust or injurious conditions. With these aims in view, the Congress ' pursued ' an uneventful career until 1907, when its policy was narrowed to the attainment of self-government. That circumscription of policy represented the difference of opinion between the moderates and the extremists. The split was never healed, and, in 1920, the Congress passed entirely under the domination of Gandhi. Tn 1927, the Congress adopted com- , plete independence as ifs objective. 1 The following year saw a slight ■ modification, and Congress an- < nounccd its preparedness to accept J Dominion status, if granted before i the end of 1929. There was another ' split when the demands for the im- 1 mediate granting of Dominion j status were made by the extremists, i and in the 1929 session the Con- ] c gress declared unequivocably for 1 complete independence. Through- < out 1930, the Congress, led by ( Gandhi, was engaged in a cam- 4 paign of lawlessness which,' it * hoped, would help India to gain 1 i

that objective. The civil disobedience. non-co-operation, and boycott movements threw India into turmoil, and Gandhi was thrown into gaol. ' Seeking a solution of India’s problems, Britain convened the Round-Table Conference. Although the Congress at first declined to participate, Gandhi eventually took part. He boldly demanded independence, and, through his uncompromising attitude, the Conference was largely abortive. Upon his return to India, Gandhi immediately set about a revival of the disobedience campaign. He was warned by the Viceroy (Lord Willingdon) that, if the campaign were reopened, the Government was fully prepared to meet it. The campaign was reopened, and Gandhi went back to gaol. In opening the Winter session of the Indian Legislative Assembly, in January, Lord Willingdon devoted a large part of his speech to his Government’s adoption of vigorous measures to repress the seditious activities of the Congress. He emphasised, in particular, the patient sincerity of the Government’s efforts to dispel by reasonable appeal the spirit of obstinate hostility and swollen intolerance in which the Congress activities were directed. “To the last,” he declared, “we strove to maintain peace.” Only when the revival of civil disobedience throughout India was definitely threatened, did the Government take up a challenge the success of which would have made all government in India impossible. It is evident that a “kid-glove” policy is of no avail,

against an organisation such as the Congress, and this week’s outbreak on the frontier, inspired by Congress firebrands, provides further evidence of that fact.