SITUATION IN INDIA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20563, 14 May 1930, Page 11

SITUATION IN INDIA.

OFFICIAL REVIEWS.

MILITARY IS! CONTROL.

SPIRIT OF LAWLESSNESS.

GANDHI'S BAT) INFLUENCE

r ANTI-r>T? FTTSII BOYCOTT.

Br Telegraph—Proas Association—-Copyright. British Wireless. RUGBY. May 12. The Secretary of State for Tndia, Mr. Wedgwood Renn, has circulated among members of Parliament a despatch from the Indian Government dated yesterday containing a review of the general situation in India. This savs:— In .our review of -April 24 wo said tho jalt. campaign, showed signs of languishing in many places and that it was uncertain whether it would remain the c.nief plank in the programme of tho National Congress much longer. It has now been definitely abandoned in some provinces. Elsewhere it continues—except perhaps in'the Bombay presidency—in a desultory manner. Tho only results of the campaign on the Government's revenues have been negligible. Tho real effect achieved lias been to arouse a spirit of lawlessness and defiance of authority and to give an impetus to the forces of disorder which ,its organisers are not able to restrain. As was anticipated, tho decline of the salt campaign is accompanied by efforts to strengthen a boycott of the liquor shops and of foreign goods, especially cloth. Disturbances Ef!actually Quelled. It must be understood that all theso activities aro incidental to a general movement to. stir up unrest and hostility toward tho Government.. We have previously referred to the ease with which excitement can bo aroused in towns. The' activities of tho Congress have ."succeeded in producing in many large towns I •«n atmosphere which easily leads to outbreaks of violence on such occasions as tho arrest of important leaders. Prompt measures in all cases hiwe been taken to deal with these local disorders. They have been brought rapidly under control and tho local effects usually have been transient.

The arrest of Gandhi, partly in consequence of careful precautions taken by the iocal authorities, has produced less disorder than might have been anticipated, and probably less than would have taken place some weeks earlier. Sporadic riots followed" his arrest, but were serious only at Calcutta, Delhi and Sholapur. In Calcutta they were of short duration, and .the authorities had little difficulty in exercising effective control.

In Delhi the disturbances were more serious, but control of the situation was never lost and conditions are fast returning to normal.

Brutal Murdeis at Sholapur.

It is reported that three policemen were murdorcd at Sholapur in circumstances of extreme brutality. However, the situation was reported to have boen brought under control on the same day. Troops were moved in rapidly from LAhwednagar, and on May 9 the town was quiet. On May 10, however, there were further mob demonstrations and additional troops were despatched to "the scene.

A feature of the demonstrations which followed the arrest of Gandhi was the hostility shown toward the police and Government officers. Iho hollowness of claiming that the movement is nonviolent is becoming increasingly apparent. The military authorities have given most vain ah] o assistance throughout, and the spirit shown by tho troops and the police has been excellent.

In regard to the north-west frontier province no' rioting lias occurred in Peshawar since April 23, and no opposition has been offered to the arrest of persons required by the police, most of whom have been apprehended. Tho conditions in the Bannu and Koliat districts are disturbed and the Seditious Meetings Act, which is already in -force in the Peshawar district, is to be extended to them. Tho Haji of Turanzai still remains near the border of Peshawar. Unrest Amo:ag Tribesmen.

The district tribes generally are watching with interest tho course of events in India, and there are definite signs of unrest among some of the tribesmen of Tochi.- Several tribal chiefs, however, have made loyal olfersi of service. Measures are being taken to- stop tho dissemination of subversive propaganda in tho village. The local administration is prepared to deal fully with tho sis nation.

Tlia civil disobedience movement has obtained little success :in the rural areas, except in Gujarat, where the personal influence of Gandhi is strong. Activities there have been largely directed towaid a boycott of Government servants and tho resignation of village officials. Non-pay-ment of land revenue is also being encouraged.

It is hoped that an improvement in the situation in this area will result from the arrest of Gand':ii. Previous to the issue of the press ordinance a prominent feature of the civil disobedience arid allied rnoveryents was the use of a portion of the press for the vilification of the Government and its officers, incitement to violence and revolutionary crime, and encouragement" to defiance of the law. The ordinance, while placing no restrictions on the jut, liberties of the press, is intended to prevent its abuse fpr the above purposes. Already it has had a salutary effect. Malicious and Alarmist Rumours. Organised attempts are now being made to spread malicious and alarmist rumours, and until the public have learnt by experience thafrthev are totally unworthy ol credence their currency tends to maintain " state of oxciteinertt. in towns. jMany of the reports appear to bo circulated with the definite intention of encouraging violent revolution. Measures are being taken to deal with this development. In spite of the efiorts Wade by deliberate misrepresentations and otherwise to involve Mahommcdans in • £hc movement, the community as a whole fcas refused to join in, and prefers to rely t°r political advance and the protection its own interests on constitutional .. Methods.

The council of tho All-India Moslem Federation has just passed a resolution disapproving of the civil disobedience movement as being detrimental and injurious to the best interests of tho Moslem community and advising Moslems to keep themselves aloof.

Labour as a whole has remained comparatively unaffected and, although sections of it have at times taken part in hartals and demonstrations, there has so far been no strike in sympathy with tho civil disobedience movement, which still draws a great majority of its supporters from Hindus of the towns.

It is not possible to foresee all the possible developments in a situation which naturally has elements of instability, but the general situation at present is weil under control, and the resources of the Government are fully organised to resist the forces of lawlessness and disorder.

Supplementing this general review, Mr, Bonn stated in the House, of Commons today that at Sholapur, the sceno of tho terrible outbreak last week, the situation had somewhat deteriorated since Saturday evening. A crowd had surrounded one of two patrols of troops in lorries which had broken clown and refused to disperse when ordered to do so. No violence, however, was done to tho troops, and eventually tho lorries were towed back.

During tho day tho contents of a city police station were turned out into the road and burned, and the Nationalist flag was hoisted abovo it. Another police station about eight miles from Sholapur, from which the police had been evacuated, was burned by villagers.

Another company of Indian infantry had been sent to supplement tho company already there, and was expected yesterday morning. Further troops were also being hold in readiness.

On Saturday the TTaji of Turanzai and his followers, who some' weeks ago approached within about 20 miles of Peshawar and constituted a serious monaco to public order, were definitely warned to depart. This warning they met by blocking tho high road with felled trees. Accordingly a raid on them was carried out by airmen yesterday. Tho results were not known.

The Minister said that so far as he had heard tho celebrations connected with the Moslem festival of Bakr Id on May 10 had passed off everywhere without disturbance. Tito Commander-in-Chief in India had authorised him to say that he was entirely satisfied the Indian Army was completely loyal. In regard to tho report of the Indian Statutory Commission, Mr. Benn said tho first volume consisted of a general survey of tho problem, and tho second of tho commission's recommendations. It was that tho dates of the publication of tho two volumes would bo respectively June 10 and June 24.

AEEEST OF GANDHI.

THE NEWS ANTICIPATED.

DISCUSSION IN COMMONS

(Rsceived May 13, 5.5 p.m.) LONDON. May 12.

The .Attorney-General, Sir William Jowitt, in the House of Commons to-day said the suggestion that there had been a leakage of information about the impending arrest of Gandhi was not borne out by an inquiry. Three newspapers had given an assurance that the news had not been received from improper sources.

It appeared that tho announcement had been reasonably based on an inference drawn from something the Home Secretary, Mr. .T. It. Clynes, had said. Nobody was to blame. The Prime Minister, Mr. Mac Donald, said his information showed that there had been no leakage in the proper senso of the word. It was an inference or a construction, but in tho circumstances that construction was as bad as it could be and was culpable. Sir L. Worthington-Evans (Conservative) said a journalist had merely made an intelligent anticipation. Sir Kingsley Wood (Conservative) said tho affair was a mere storm in a teacup. Sir William Jowitt said it wa3 not a question of the journalist's guilt or innocence. He was merely asked under the Official Secrets Act to reveal the source of his information.

Mr. J. Kinley, Labour member for Bootle: "Did that take five hours of intense interrogation?" There was no reply.

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE.

ANOTHER INDIAN ARRESTED.

WOMAN LEADS CAMPAIGN.

DELHI, May 12

Abbas Tynbji Agen, tho Nationalist who assumed charge of the civil disobedience volunteers when Gandhi was ariested, was himself arrested this morning with 59 volunteers when they were about to make a raid on the salt works at Dharasana, near Bombay.

Mrs. Sarojini Naidu, a prominent Nationalist, is now leading tho volunteers.

VIRTUAL REBELLION.

FIRM HAND ESSENTIAL. LORD INCHCAPE'S WARNING. LONDON. May 7. Lord Inchcape, shipping magnate, writing to the Daily Mail, describes tho present situation in India as nothing short of a rebellion, and expresses the opinion that nothing similar has existed before. " Sedition, lawbroaking, murder and outrage, are rampant," be says, ' and therefore tho Government must use a linn hand and restore the balance between Indians and Europeans, or anarchy arid bloodshed are bound to ensue, and India will inevitably be lost to the Em-