“RED SHIRTS” IN INDIA

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 June 1932, Page 11

“RED SHIRTS” IN INDIA

' THE “HOLY WAR.” The state of affairs in the .Northwest -Frontier /province by the middle of last /December, before Abdul Ghaffar Khan’s .arrest, -had become frankly impossible (says the London “Observer”). This man had been violently antiBritish for many years. He was imprisoned for his seditious activities in 1930, but subsequently released under the Irwin-Gandhi ’Delhi pact. ’ The Red -Shirt organisation was -first started by ? him as a purely Mo-j hammedan “uplift” movement, but in 1930 he joined the Hindu CongressParty, and has since identified himself; with' all their aims. His ‘Red Shirt' force was now organised in military formations, each with its cadre of ■Officers, and, in fact, was really a‘ potential revolutionary arm-y. Abdul -Ghaffar Khan toured the .pro-/; wince'preaching open rebellion, and-he and his emissaries were doing their utmost to raise the tribes across the! border against the British Govern-’ ment. In spite 1 of the-promise of creat-s ing the N.W;F;P. -into a Governor’s Province, qnd.-thus bringing it within! close reach of full and responsible; -self-government, Abdul Ghaffar -Khan: and his lieutenants were not appeased,! anil continued in their seditious and: rebellious efforts. . The consequence was the long-de-j •ferre'd arrest of Abdul Ghaffar Kham and most of his chief adherents.

But several of these Ried Shirts: managed to eva.de arrest, and have been'busy assisting the agitators across the border. There is ample 'proof, too, that -certain Congress •leaders in the Peshawar district have all along been in the closest touch with these agitators, who are : bent on •inciting -the tribes to open rebellion. The chief agitators, to whose activities tlie present unrest of the,-last few weeks is due, are the Haji of Turang-zai, his son, Badshah Gul, and the Faqir of Alingar. The Haji was •formerly a -resident in British -India, but migrated to ; the Mdhmund country some years ago; he has always been strongly anti-British, and is in sympathy with Abdul Ghaffar Khan, to whom ?he ’is related by marriage. •His son follows in -his footsteps, and the‘Faqir of Alingar, commonly known jis Mad Faqir,’ is a well-known •firebrand. The agitation is -being aroused to support 'the aims of the -Red Shirts, whose avowed policy has always been nothing less than the overthrow of the British -Government, and its replacement by self-government, with, presumably, Abdul Ghaffr Khan at its -head.

Early in February there was a rebellion in the territory of our ally, the Nawab .qf Dir, when the safety of the road to •'Chitral was endangered, and many military and police posts burnt. This -was -instigated and fostered by Red Shirts and their sympathisers in this -State. (However, the Nawaib was able -to suppress -the movement without the -active intervention of the. British Government. The efforts of the agitators still continued, and -at the beginning of March the -situation on the frontier had become really serious. A “lashkar” (army) of Bajaur tribesmen .had entered Mohmund country and -had reached the Danishkol area,, only-twelve miles from the British administrative -border. -The Haji of Turangzai was doing his utmost by preaching a “-jehad” (holy war) to persuade the large and important Mohmund -tribes to raise a “lashkar”. and join the Bajauris with the intention of moving down -to the British border. •Further north another Bajaur “lashkar,” including some contingents of the Utman .Khel -tribe, had assembled to the -west of the -PanjkoraRiver, on the border of ; Dir State, and was threatening to cross the river and get astride the Chitral road. These “lashkars” and the inhabitants of the villages from which they came, fired persistently at aeroplanes carrying out reconnaissances, and showed their hostility in every -possible way. Action on the -part of Government was delayed in the hope that the agitation would subside, -but .repeated Warnings were found to be of no avail. There was great danger of a further deterioration in the position and a possible conflagration along the whole border, as also serious in Peshawar district, 'where -these hostile activities were already having an unsettling effect. ■Finally, ,the authorities were forced into taking action, and, on March 5, warnings were given the tribesmen concerned that, if the “laskhars” were not dispersed and the leading agitators arrested, -an action would commence against specified villages on the evening of March 7. These warnings are always given so as to enable the villagers to evacuate all women and children, etc. The “lashkars” not dispersing air action started on March 8, when the villages of the Mamunds and the Shamozai were bombed morning -and evening. Further -action on -the 9th was .impossible owing to torrential rain. ' The -10th also -was a very wet and stormy day, but in spite of this the-Risal-pur Squadron, R.A.F., bombed three villages of the Shamozai, obtaining about four tons of direct hits. On the 11th bombing of the Mamund and Shamozai villages continued. On the 12th, the Haji of Turangzai’s house was bombed and badly damaged. By the evening all the “lashkars” were reported to have dispersed, and in consequence bombing at once ceased. The bombing has had a great moral effect on the Bajaur and Shamozai tribesmen, and the situation is now very greatly improved, and the road to Chitral open. There is still a certain amount of unrest amongst the Upper Mohmands, due to the continued agitation of the Hapi of Turangzai, but so far the .response of the -tribesmen has been poor and no “lashkars”. have collected.

THE PILOT’S ORDERS. An account of how the R.A.F. carry out these bombing operations is of interest. The pilots of the bombers each carry an aerial photograph of the country with the specified targets clearly marked on them. These photographs are about Sin square, are very clear, and the target is marked with a circle. The bombing machines carry 301 b and 1121 b bombs-, and the fuses are arranged according to the nature of the target, so that they penetrate before bursting. Twenty-pound bombs are also carried, and are used as ‘sighters’.” Raids are carried out by squadrons in a series of flights. These flights,; I Which -consist of three planes each,

leave the base at half-hour intervals, so that not only is the bombing continuous, but the enemy cannot tell from which direction to expect the bombing nor the particular planes which are going to bomb next. Dur-; ing’dne day ;(the 11th) the ‘R.A;F. ’from: Koliat carried’ out -'more than two complete squadron raids, and the planes from Risalgur completed three squadron raids, obtaining over seven tons of direct hits. It is interesting to note that some of these planes are tlld Hawker-Hart type, with which some of the 'squadrons of the R.AE. are now being equipped. The aeroplanes carrying oiit these, raids 'bombed their targets from a height of 3,000 ft, and, the very good results obtained have once again proved the value of .this arm of the service. Their employment has averted a serious situation Which in former days would have .necessitated -the use of large bodies of troops and the consequent loss of life and expenditure of considerable .sums of money.