THE H.B. TRIBUNE MONDAY, MARCH 10, 1930 “CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE” AND ITS CONSEQUENCES

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XX, Issue 73, 10 March 1930, Page 4

THE H.B. TRIBUNE MONDAY, MARCH 10, 1930 “CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE” AND ITS CONSEQUENCES

Coincidently with what was said in this column on Saturday last with regard to the problem of India, we had cable messages giving us some outline of Ghandi’s

extravagant accusations against British rule, and also an indication of the nature of the Viceroy’s reply to the Mahatma’s ultimatum. One of our overnight messages suggests to-day that the threatened campaign of “civil disobedience” will come into operation forthwith. What new features the plan of this revived campaign may embody we have yet to learn, but looking back to previous movements of the kind there are certain factors that will almost assuredly make their appearance. In the first place, there will be a continued endeavour to stultify the measure of self-government already conferred on the Indian people by a complete abstinence from taking part either in elections or in sittings of the legislative and administrative bodies that have been set up. In the next place, it is a virtual certainty that there will be a widespread refusal to pay any of the taxes that have been imposed. No doubt, too, industrial trouble will be stirred up, with consequent strikes and stoppages. There will also be refusals to appear before civil tribunals, as well as efforts to avoid criminal jurisdictions. Finally, there will be a further boycott of all goods of British manufacture.

It is easy enough to imagine the chaotic developments that are likely to follow when all these elements of “passive resistance” are put into operation at the one time by the millions of devoted disciples Gandhi is said to have converted to his doctrines. It is, too, almost impossible that they should be brought into practice without provoking scenes of violence, in all likelihood accompanied by the bloodshed predicted in the messages. Gandhi himself professes abhorrence of any such recourses, and has expressly forbidden resort to them by his immediate followers, By them he may perhaps be obeyed, but there will probably be nearly as many

camp followers who will not come under his moral control and to whom the occasion will furnish unlimited opportunity for the commitment of crime of every kind in the sacred name of patriotism. Beyond this, there are thousands of hot heads, particularly among the Moslem population, who arc

very decidedly hostile to Gandhi and jealous of the domination he is seeking to exercise. Among these there will be many whom it will be difficult for even the British authorities to restrain. These are all possible results should it be found impracticable to bring the Indian mystic to any sense of reason.

Even as things have been, scarcely a month passes without an outbreak of sectarian disorder in some or other part of India. In one place the slaughter of cows for food by Mohammedans will rouse their Hindu neighbours to hysterical demonstrations of violence. Or Hindus arrange a procession which bitterly offends Mohammedan prejudice by interfering with worship in their mosques. Or accusations of kidnapping rouse the bazaars against Pathans and Sikhs. No matter how glibly a few seditionists on political platforms may declare the unanimity of Hindu and Mohammedan aspirations, the vast bulk of the people of India knows nothing of such unity. These populations live in a state of perpetual hostility, the manifestations of which are, and can only be, suppressed by the firm action of the British authorities. The terrible incidents of the comparatively recent Mopla outbreak on the Malabar coast prove how high religious passion can rise between Hindu and Mohammedan, even in that sheltered portion of the peninsula. While the Hindus outnumber the Mohammedans by three to one, the latter are decidedly more effective in arms. The only time in history, prior to British rule, when India could even by a severe stretch of the imagination be regarded as a nation was when the Mogul emperors ruled at Delhi, and the Hindus were subjugated to them. British rule alone now stands between the Hindus and a Mopla rising on a continental scale, while the savage countries which lie about the North-West frontier are peopled by Mohammedan tribesmen who regard a raid into India as a pleasant, profitable, and safe form of activity. It will thus be seen how absolutely essential it may De that, failing success in further efforts at conciliation, firm repressive measures should be taken in the interests as much of the native population as a whole as of the maintenance of British control.