Heavy Bloodshed

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1043, 6 August 1930, Page 9

Heavy Bloodshed

RIVAL FACTIONS AT GRIPS Serious Riots in India POLICE RIFLES ADD TO DEATH LIST HEAVY bloodshed followed fierce clashes between warring Moslem and Hindu factions in India, where many lives were lost—some of them when the police opened fire on the fighting mob. Axes, knives and sticks were freely used by the defiant crowds, which carried out organised looting and attacks.

United P.A.—By Telegraph — Copyrigh* DELHI, Tuesday. Further fatal rioting has occurred in two districts of India. Seven people were killed and more than 150 were injured in a fierce clash between Hindus and Moslems at Sukkur. a town in the Sind, which at present is overcrowded with refugees from the flooded areas. Hindus stoned a Moslem mosque, whereupon a crowd of infuriated Moslems, armed with axes, knives and bamboo poles, attacked Hindu mer chants and looted shops. The combatants eventually were separated by the police, who fired on the mob. Five more people were killed and many were injured when the police fired to quell a riot between Hindus and Moslems at Ballia, a town in the United Provinces. A procession of several thousand Hindus passed a Moslem mosque in defiance of a police ban, and was attacked oy hundreds of angry Moslems armed with bamboos. > The Baluchi landowners of Dera Ghazi Khan, in the Punjab, have offered the Punjab Government 2,000 men, including 500 horsemen, for use in view of the disturbed conditions throughout the country. The landowners state that the Baluchis’s faith in British justice and loyalty to the Crown is steadfast and unshaken. CHARGES AGAINST PRINCE RESULT OF CONSPIRACY Reed. 9.5 a.m. DELHI, Tuesday. A committee appointed by the Gov ernment of India to inquire into charges of maladministration against Maharaja Patiala, leader of the Sikhi and one of the richest Indian Princes, has reported that the evidence failed to substantiate the charges, which were shown to be the outcome of a conspiracy between certain individu als and public bodies with the object of vilifying the Maharaja and disgracing him in the eyes of his subjects and of the Government. TRADE SUFFERS MANY MILLS CLOSED INTERNAL STRIFE REACTIONS British Official Wireless Reed. Noon. RUGBY, Tuesday. The Government of India’s appreciation of the situation in India up to last Saturday states that subject to the comments given below there has been no change during the week, and the

improvement shown during the past few weeks was maintained. In Wasiristan a settlement with the various Mahsud sections is proceeding very satisfactorily. On the northern border of the Peshawar district, the situation remained somewhat obscure throughout the week, but there has been no overt act of hostility. There is no change in the situation in Bannu City. In the North-west Frontier Province The process of disarming the disaffected portions of the rural area was continued throughout the week. It has been necessary to apply the Prevention of Intimidation Ordinance to the Central Provinces, where picketing has become more intensive and methods more forcible. The Ordinance, which makes a penal offence the instigation to the nonpayment of land revenue and other dues, has been applied to the United Provinces, where the Congress propaganda has been carried on. In some villages the breach of the forest laws appears to be extending in the Central Provinces and in the Bombay Presidency, and in some places it has been accompanied by wilful damage to standing trees. PRODUCTION IMPEDED The picketing of schools and colleges continues in some towns, and in Calcutta it has necessitated the successive postponement of certain law examinations. Generally, however, this part of the Congress programme does not appear to be achieving any considerable success. The position in Guperat continues to improve. More village officers have withdrawn their resignations and in several districts the collection of land revenue is proceeding better than was expected. The economic position in Bombay City is deteriorating. On August 1 six mills closed down involving 13,000 operatives. It is anticipated that other mills will close in the early future owing to the inability to finance further production. The economic effects of the civil disobedience movement are not confined to Bombay, although they are perhaps most pronounced in that city. In Amritsar, which is an important centre, the piece-goods trade ban on foreign goods resulted in locking up a very large amount of capital, with the inevitable consequence that trade and finance are seriously affected, and that the movement of Indian-made goods is impeded. It is reported that the sales of piecegoods dropped in the month of June from an average of 25 to 2 lakhs. The Madras Government reports that in several places large numbers of weavers have been thrown out of employment owing to the civil disobedience movement. The operation of the economic forces may be expected to encourage increasing the opposition to a continuance of the move ment. Subject to these remarks the position in the various provinces is as stated in last week's appreciation.