UNREST IN INDIA

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 86, Issue 227, 26 September 1942, Page 5

UNREST IN INDIA

INFLUENCE OF KING MIGHT BE SECURED FOR SETTLEMENT New York, Sept. 24. The Maharaja Rena of Dhelpur, in an interview with the New York lime.,’ correspondent in India, said he believed the monarch was Divinely chosen, and the Indian people recognised such a relationship, therefore if Britain wanted to settle the Indian question within a few months, the King should take direct command, make his own appointments and take a personal interest in India. Indians would understand that, and the various factions would soon compose their differences. He added: “There is no feeling for democracy in India, but there is a complete understanding and a desire for a personal ruler. Religion is the core of the Indian.” A resolution demanding an inquiry into alleged excesses by the military and the police during the recent disturbances in India was moved by K. C. Neogy in the Central Assembly today, says a New Delhi message. The resolution suggested a committee of enquiry of the House, with a majority of non-ofiicial members. Sir Sultan Ahmed, the law member, replying to the debate, said: “From reports received it appears the police and the military have done remarkably well in most trying and perilous conditions. In some instances force may have been used and innocent persons may have suffered. If such instances are authenticated, the attention of the Army Department and the Police Department should be drawn to them and those guilty of such excesses should be punished, but a general enquiry would affect the morale of the services concerned.”

BRITISH OFFICERS KILLED MASSACRED BY MOB IN INDIA New Delhi, Sept. 24. It was disclosed in the Legislative Assembly that a mob massacred the surviving members of a crew of a military plane which crashed on August 2 west of Narayanpur, in the Bihar Province. The pilot was the only man killed as a result of the crash. One British officer and four other ranks, part of a protective detachment, were ambushed at Marhowrah, Bihar Province, and were speared or beaten to death. Two R.A.F. officers, who were ordinary pasengers on a train, and who were not identified with the disturbances, were hacked to death by a mob which stoned and later burned a train. The bodies of the officers were paraded through the town on a cart and then thrown into a river. Two persons were killed and two injured when a bomb exploded at .the Aligarth (United Provinces) station. A passenger left the bomb in a box. The police thought the box was lost property and were removing it when it exploded. SECRET PRESS FOUND CONGRESS ACTIVITIES (Recd. 10 p.m.) New Delhi, Sept. 2L The police in Bombay are claimed to have unearthed a secret press where the Congress Party bulletins were being printed in four languages. Eleven persons, including the owner of the press, a paper merchant and a local professor, were arrested. The Congress Party is continuing efforts to intimidate Indian policemen and members of the Public Service. The latest issue of a cyclostyled newsletter, which is appearing every two or three clays despite efforts to discover Its source, threatens policemen and Indians, who constitute a large proportion of the staff of the Government secretariat.

The newsletter, after describing Congressmen’s arrest by a policeman “who behaved like a British barbarian,” states in plain words: “We tell thees men that this is not safe for them. For every hurt a Congressman received there will be retribution.”

RADIO SETS CONTROLLED (Reed. 11 p.m.) Nagpur, Sept. 24. The Central Provinces Government decided to control possession of radio sets to prevent the dissemination or exaggerated news and rumours picked up from enemy broadcasts, and also to prevent the enemy broadcasting instructions in connection with the civil disobedience movement.