INDIAN RIOTING

Grey River Argus, 20 August 1942, Page 5

INDIAN RIOTING

FURTHER SHOOTINGS Compromise Urged j- a , yy • ’phi.r, Assn.) (Rec. 10.15) ’ LONDON Aug A communique issued at - y « rec < states that on’ Monday. police «ed six times on rioters m Bangalore City. There were six ta led ! un thirty-two were injured. The city is now quiet. . ~ , tac . The communique furthei states. The Madras presidency turbed. Two courts R amnad district have been completely bu™ec out. A mob there did not dispeis., despite repeated firing on them. Aimed reserves were then brought p. Six bodies have so far been recovered. Fiftyl-one have been arrested. There were five killed in Govadari, when the police station was attacked. Tlv Premier of Bengal, Abdul Faz lul Huq, has appealed for Bengalese to assist to restore order. The Bengal Provincial Government is reported to have split on Indian Central Governments policy towards the Congress. The Police Chief appealed to Calcutta citizens to detain incendiarists. Many fire alarm boxes have been destroyed, expos’ng 'the inhabitants in crowded areas to the danger of being burned alive. The police and the military are still heavily patrolling Calcutta. Some tram routes in Calcutta are suspended A number of shops are closed in Orissa. The Government is organising a 1 village defence' force to assit'i to maintam order. LONDON. August IS. Sporadic violence continues in Inis now focused on polirb cal activities wherefrom some quarters hope a peaceful settlement might The Trade Union Congress of the Central Provinces resolutioned condemning violence, but advising the workers to carry on a non-violence struggle, and warning the Government that repression would only drive the freedom movement underground. and lead to most undesirabxe conseqeunces. It is understood that the Moslem League Working Committee is debating a resolution which would empower Dr. Jinnah to contact with Mr. Gandhi to find out whether Congress would agree to Moslem autonomy if the majority of Moslems voted for this, and also if Congress, in the meantime, would co-operate with the Moslems in a National Government, concentrating on conducting the war. against the Axis. The President .of the Moslem League (Dr. Jinnah), in an interview with the Bombay correspondent of the “Daily Mail,” said he honed that the cricket match which the Vicerov had been plivving with Mr. Gandhi was now finished. “If I were to give the word, 80.000,000 Moslem followers would cause bigger repercussions than Congress is capable of producing.” said Dr. Jinnah. “If the Viceroy continues to maintain a firm stand,, he can call Mr. Gandhi’s bluff without difficulty.”

■ The President of the Indian National Liberal Federation, Sir Bijov Prosad Singh Roy. supported Sir T. Saoru’s appeal for talks between Indian leaders and a delegation from the House of Commons. He appealed to the Vicerov to take the initiative.

New Congress Line TO HIT TRANSPORT. WHERE DOES MONEY COME FROM. (Rec. 10.50) LONDON, Aug. 19. The “Daily Mail’s” Bombay correspondent says: The disobedience campaign has so far cost the Congress Party very little. But it is estimated that the campaign shortly will cost it one hundred thousand sterling daily. The correspondent said a Congressrr(an informed him that the movement had plenty of money. Finance would b'e no problem. The police, he adds, are particularly anxious to learn the inside story of the Congress’s finances. No bank has an account in the name of the Congress, balance sheets arc never produced. No receipts are given. The police raids have failed 'to uncover any documents revealing financial details.

The correspondent adds: “’There are signs that the movement is likely to take a new line. Hooligans ruined the campaign at the outset, for which reason, it is believed, the members ot the Congress Party are working out a plan designed tp hit India’s communications and essential services. Such a' campaign would cost an enormous sum.

LONDON, August 13 “The Times’s” correspondent at New Delhi says: Accounts of the disorders should not be allowed to create the impression that the whole of India is in an uproar. The loss cf life is insignificant in comparison with the death-rolls during communal riots. Railways continue working as does industry generally. The disorders were spontaneous local outbreaks rather than an organised national movement. There is no’ indication of any widespread mass movement. The countryside is unaffected. There is virtually

no interference with the war effort. Messages from India show the rioting has been restricted to some three or four places during the daytime, and there is no apprehension in London of mass disorders on the scale of the previous outbreak. The campaign, for which there seems no universal enthusiasm, even on the part of the Congress Party supporters is entirely unsupported by anv other sections of parties, whether Hindu or Moslem, and is expressly denounced bv organised labour. The possibility is recognised that ra- | cial and communal disorders, unconnected with the original campaign, mav break out, but the Indian Government is known to be capable of dealing with such trouble. I The fact that distinguished Indians, who form the majority of the Viceroy’s Executive Council, readily shared the responsibility for the action taken is regarded as a valuable sign of a sense of responsibility and recognition bv Indians of the necessity for solidarity’ Responsible opinion in 1 London continues to welcome con- | structive Indian aspirat’oir for mm’e active participation in the war. The attainment of such co-operation was the essential object of Sir S. Crinn"' nlan. which the British Government have just declared remains the basis of their policy. The folly of the Congress Partv leaders is indeed regarded as making even more urgent the need to associate representative lead- ■ ers of India with the defence of their country in its hour of danger On Wednesday night information sent tn London was that though reports fi cm the r-rovh.ces were not. complete, th<> initial measures taken had not had serious res'ilD. Onb r in Delh’, Bombay and the United Prov'ti.ies had serious clashes with the I authorities been potted. Even, there the trouble was localised in a few centres like Bombay. Ahmadabad, Poona, Delhi, Lucknow and Cawnpore. There was no trouble in many centres where disturbances were expected. Even such centres of po-

tential disorder as Eardoli and Sholapur were re ported, to be quiet. It will be seme time before the situation can lie judged definitely, but official information from Delhi was that wherever distuibailees have occurred, the situation is wel* in hand. Public opinion in the Middle Fast unreservedly condemns the Indian Congress Party pol : c-y One Turkish Deputy comments on the incongruous demands that the British leave India, and at the same time defend . India. Comment also was made that in a country under Japanese control. Gandhi and Nehru would not have been allowed to remain alive. The Irquil newspaper states: Axis rule as d"monstrated in the occupied countries should have been a lesson. to India, but Gandhi and his colleagues have evidently not considered what had happened and continued to prevent a solution of the Indian problem, fur their own selfish purpose. A Chungking message reports that tire Korean. Independence Party asked Mr Roosevelt, Mr Churchill, M. Stalin and Kai-shek to mediate in the Anglo-Indian conflict. They requested Mr Roosevelt to recommend rational methods of settlement and implored Mr Churchill to release the Indian leaders They sent identical messages to the other two asking them to use their influence for the release of the leaders. The party believed a settlement of the Indian problem would bring earlier victory for the United Nations.