INDIANS IF S. AFRICA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18713, 20 May 1924, Page 10

INDIANS IF S. AFRICA.

SEGREGATION IN AREA^. &ff tf27POH)&AI?. PROPOSAL. CRITICISM BY GANDHI. //-* ". • ' — ."• . v . '■■; £SBQH QtTE OWN. COBESSFOKDENT.] ! * Wa. , SL ; The ■' introduction .by . the Union Government of the Class Areas Bill, j ': -' wftereby urban authorities ■■: outside -'ov| • tha - Cap* Province. will have the! power to segregate the Indiana at present- in South Africa, is rapidly - : bringing the "Asiatic question to an acute eiage. >Tha loud prot Pits of the Indians " have 1 been jstisasgihtined recently 7by the • visit of, Mrs; "Ssrojinf: Nfcidu, the wellknown Indian political leader and poet. The enthusiasm o£ thai Asiatic population at Mrs. NaidxCa arrival, ; manifested ; : itself in big demcnstrationp. At Johannes- , burg- she addressed several crowded meetings," and read out a mepfcage > from Mabatma Gandhi, in which he accused Gene- /•/ •' ral Smuts of a breach of faith in. allow- •'■ ing such as enactment as the.Class Areas BS to he introduced into /the Union Par"i liament. Then Mrs. Saroijini Naidu proceeded* to Natalj, t&at £art of Africa where the Indian" problem, is moat acute. She made many fiery speeches in Durban and v Mmtzburg,-. in .which she said her mes- *.;-..• >':? sage front Mahatma Gandhi, i was, briefly:; • "Within the Empire if possible; outside the. Emphw if necessary*' She said that - . she wanted no gifts, no. generosity for her ■people.,- 1 " "We are hot traders. We do not barter, wWe So net celL We want the ;, inalienable right ofyfevery bnJman being to ' a bring a* this «i add. ther in Boli.shsviklluesia or m white Africa. ;:'' ,- I understand no evolution an. the -world :!;,•;.■ : '- that is not based on jrasticEt/" " The Final HuaniuaMonOn. her arrival at Capetown, Mrs. Naidu ; «aid that she bad found, tlie position of , -\ ; Vhe Indians in the Transvaal and Natal ~7 particularly bad, aird the introduction of the Class Areas Bill would be the final - humiliation. v As far aa the Cape was concerned she had no quarrel Tilth the Gov- ' ernment. Indians had the franchise here, and so were on a, basis.of equality with, the white man. She said she* Was not only , -_ fighting the causa ©Ithe: Indian;in South } Africa, but -also the cause, of, the native "-' and aU > the -coloured races, of the Union. '':■ ■■ Tney had '•: an equal rigbt to, a place in ,the country. They were there before the white man bad settled. ,', , ; ■ ■ v.-:- v The Nationalist Party is as strongly anti-Asiatic as the r Government Party, "■ while even the" Labour Patfcy has indulged V-inV some % strong ■ criticism* of Mrs. /'Naidu "■ «nd her methods. Within the past few :-\V: >','■'"• weeks, also, several of the Chambers of - . Commerce in the country bave passed re-, solutions in ; favour of : i Class Areas Bill, for it is legislation, which will de':'K':•.-,■ '■■ finitely limit the sphere,bf: trading open : '.'■•:■ j. "'■■■-. to the Indian. •..■-"'."• :-i : ; NaturSlly this legislation has aroused a, food • deal =of alasOTi among the 160,000 ndians who Alive in South Africa, and \ strong opposition j was quickly ; organised !? and : made «, itself evident in the various ; depute , Reprisal Tax in India. •";- •'• v InAndentaily, Xndia .has:. shown her v • . *denni\e dislike of South African policy to•irarda Jndiaos ': by placing a tax on South; African\coal entering the country. .< Also, Mir. Gi-Vadi, within. a "few ■ days iof a& : ■• issued a statement von the Class • Areas Bill which 'l has attained a wide pub- • lidtyatnon'g Indians in this "country, and / helped to • .tfifien their opposition to '&. . very ■ unpopular measure. I\y '■ :^^~:r^^-: Mr. declares that the bill con- • 'stittrfes' ; a hrei^H- of the compromise be-. : ■ / tween the African; Government; and the Indian com: ittmity arrived at in 1914; and' contends tba t J-the? British Government is bound a,V any cost /to insist upon the observance of'-.the terms of the. compromise. * <-•-., Nevertheless, thtV wh&e population of ~'■"' Sooth Africa' are nmted in their determination, . that .some legislation -Ma ~;>;'-' necessary to prevent the influx, of Asiatics • into country and i their menace; to the white labour atandari V, ' The Minister for ; ,:j; the jlnterior f *pointed.. this out /to the Indian " deputations, and insisted .that ; ~ he - Class. Areas. Bill; xti&. \ merely an «n- ---■<■. ',-'■■■ terpretation/cif the considerable feeling j that . existed among; whites oar the I ' . matter.. >?.That! it was clrteM legislation he admitted, thcugh'-' he ' - that the , f ;* . Indian wmnnußity;^would r ot find the measure so intolerable as- Sj*y thought. ■pclicy'ol'-Eepalr.ViiUoa. : __ Keaily the : main . object elf the measure- :,..■;, is" to encourage a policy ctf repatriation among Indians. At the;sar^6'^ tune there isVevery, evidence.;.that, the., |jovernment ' desires to work the Class-.4j:eas- Bill ; fairly. The Minister for the'lm'-erior said that tlvere are Ito be ' no moi'e. 'hideous ghettos 1 created ,-sucfi *as - have" v disgraced , '~ the Transvaal. commission of three - persons. one of. whom is to'be .£*i officer '. with Indian eacperience 7 Will exar/i ine the area which the * local body propose! to set ' aside* for Indians. , That area, anil the - provisions of the bill, must be, it the '. opinion, of;.the' commission,, fit andl^suitr able■'for its!residential or trading'- purposes ; ■ it ■ mast be/' adequatelyl suiH">Hed. ; .with - light, TCate4/ahd v sanitary serv.foes; •and onlv when Government is :Sed on all these ..points is the XJoveimorGeneral empowered to proclaim' the Jtt'ea a class area; Within the area, Indians mar own or lease* land and premijas, ■ and may be g&nidjl {"licenses -to trad©; -...; l Europeans may not: The drafting di* ■•;,..■ - Indians to any such ayea will be gradual r for existing leases .and options of renewal, i if included in existing leases, will be re- I : -. ~■-:-.■ - spected. Similarly, ?;„ existing v:. trading licenses are safeguarded. .'.,."'■-. . General Smuts' Analj-sis. A further contribution to (this Indian problem is given by the.' sudden publication -of a memorandum Ifer General" Smuts submitted to the recent; Imperial- Con- ■ ference, in London. ' References have been made to this memorandum on several ' '■ '■ '"'■ ■ - : occasions, but 'hitherto ■■ nothingi has V; been : - published. , The memorandum is given ; in a'Blue. Book, entitled "Appendices to . the Summary, of - Proceedings of the Im- ••• r ••'' ; perial Conference." It reads as follows:— -■ ; - "The Indian claraj for equal franchise • ''{•■■ in r the Empire outside .:■ of; India arises, sin i ■' my -opinion* from a misconception/of; the nature of-British citizenship. - This "mis-, ; conception is ' not confined to India, but is fairly general, ! and the conference would oo not only -India, but the whole Empire,' an important service fay its re- ■ moval ; ''The misconception arises, not from the , fact, but from the assumption, that, all ' ; . sublets of i the King are. equal, that in an Empire where there is a common king ; ; • / there, should :s be a common % and equal citizenship, anil that all: differences and .distinctions;in-citizens; rights are wrong 1 :in principle. •ci Hence it is > claimed that, ".' whether a British nubject baa 'or has • not' political rights in his* country of origin, he should,'en migration to another part .'of the Empire where - British subjects enjoy -full political rights, be en-ti'-led sutomatically; to the enjoyment of / these' rights. , It is 'on this basis that ; equal poliical| rights are claimed' for Indians who live '-in the Dominions or colo- ''/.. nie" outside" of India. /'•/'-'"-■/. .■■'t.-? "The common kingship is the binding link between the parts ,of* the Empire; :, it is not a -source from - which / private - citizens ' will' derive ; their ' rijtfats. They will derive thfeir rights rimpfy and solelv /; from the authority ;9£?*pe State in which j} tnev live. Hence,' Indians going to Canada' will not be entitled to claim equal : 'political rights with the other; citizens of /-•. Canada, no more r,than. Canadians 'going ;■-/ to India or Australia cowld claim equal > political rights there. ' The conception &*s&s - the Empire as a League of Nations :./ ought to: do away with these claims, which . ; are so disturbing and unsettling in the :, " ' :E^, P ill| ■ fc,, •' '~'-';'; ' ■■■--.{.