INDIAN OUTLOOK REVIEWED.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, 17 July 1930, Page 5

INDIAN OUTLOOK REVIEWED.

Tribal Conflicts Recur. BRIGHTER OUTLOOK IN PROVINCES. British Official Wireless RUGBY. July 14. The Government of India’s appreciation of the situation up to Saturday last was circulated to members of the House of Commons to-day. In the North-West Frontier Province a recrudescence of hostile activity is recorded in South Waziristan, in the upper Shaktu area, beginning on July 6, when several hostile leaders joined forces in attacks on scout posts around Bararogha. On the evening of the Bth, a concerted attack failed and a gun belonging to Sadde Khan, one of the hostile leaders, was put out of action. An attack on the 9th was repulsed with considerable loss. The retiring rebels captured certain Khasadar posts, but on the advent of the Razmuk column on the 10th withdrew towards Haidan. A noticeable feature of the operation has been the co-operation on the part of friendly sections and the loyalty of the Khasadars. Continuous air action has been maintained against the native Lashkars, and the areas which supplied them. The statement, summarising the incidents, records that on the Bth a slight explosion occurred in Peshawar City, outside the house of the Honorary Magistrate, but very little damage was done. In other parts of India the civil disobedience movement pursues its course with increased activity in some places and a lull in others. On the whole, the recent indications of a decline have been maintained. It is reported that in Bengal as a whole the civil disobedience movement is on the decrease, but the tendency towards violence is increasing and there are signs that the terrorist party may become more active. The Madras Presidency also reports a definite slackening in movement due, however, more to the vigorous action by the authorities than to voluntary abandonment by its adherents. A similar improvement is manifested in other Provinces, except in Bombay and the Central Provinces. Conflicts have occurred between the authorities and the public, the most serious of which occurred on the 11th in Bombay, when Congress volunteers persisted in attempts to hold a procession and a meeting in honour of the Garhwali soldiers, who have been convicted of mutiny, and the police had to make several charges before this intention was abandoned. There was a collision during the week between the police and a crowd in Poona and. owing to its aggressive attitude, the crowd had to be dispersed by force. In Gujerat, on the other hand, there are signs of an improvement and in several districts the village officers, who have been persuaded, or coerced, to resign their offices, are withdrawing their resignations in considerable numbers. In the Central Provinces' an organised movement has been started to defy the forest laws. While the movement remains in principle non-violent, incidents continually occurring show that the rank and file, especially in the rural areas, cannot be restrained from acts of violence, commonly taking the form of attacks on small parties of police.