INDIAN PROBLEMS.

Waikato Times, Volume 114, Issue 19012, 1 August 1933, Page 8

INDIAN PROBLEMS.

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE CHECKED. POLICE OFFICER’S VIEWS. Recent steps taken by the Indian Government to put down all forms of civil disobedience were outlined in an interview with the Wellington Dominion by Mr C. V. McCarthy Atkinson, who has retired from the Indian police and is making a visit to New Zealand. Until early this year Mr Atkinson was district superintendent of the Madras police, and he has had 30 years’ service in India.

Civil disobedience was now being held well in hand by special Government ordinances, which were passed from year to year, he said. These ordinances made illegal any form of disturbance whatever, imposing severe penalties. In 1930-31 80,000 persons were in gaol for these disturbances, but now there were not more than 10,000, whicji showed the effect of the new laws.

“As long as these ordinances stand it will be all right,” he said. “But the. moment they are withdrawn we will have the same conditions as before. Under the old laws the penalties imposed on disturbers were a maximum of six months’ ordinary imprisonment and a fine of 2000 rupees, but now the Ones can be much greater, with rigorous imprisonment into the bargain, In the past delinquents were given six months of easy prison conditions, and when they came out they were hailed as martyrs. As a deterrent the new ordinances have had a very much better effect. In the old days if a man refused to pay his taxes his offence was regarded as a civil one, but now all flagrant, cases are put straight into gaol.”

Influence Begun to Wane. Since Mr Gandhi had actively taken the part of the untguchables his influence had begun to wane, Mr Atkinson said. It had meant that he had lost the support of caste Hindus, and the whole feeling now was divided between the touchables and the untouchables. On the whole it was a good thing to educate the masses, but very often this had many difficulties. Soon there would be compulsory primary education among the Indian children —the local governments bad been given authority to put this into efTect —but caste troubles would be certain to occur in the schools themselves through the children’s parents. The case of the untouchables was still being contested by almost every caste Indian.

Anti-British political leaders like Annie Bessant had tried in the past to lead the natives to think that the English were In the country merely to exploit it, and had said that the Indians should be allowed to look after their own house in their own way, Mr Atkinson continued. But control by the Indians had been tried out in local bodies, in most cases with bad results. The officials had fought among themselves as to who should have the highest positions, and did not care in the least about the good of the public. The White Paper put before the British Parliament had been received In India with very mixed feelings. It meant that it would give control to Indians Who were not yet fit for it. “ You have a country where 70 languages are spoken, where the Mohammedans are divided among themselves, and the Hindus very much so,” he said. “One Slice of the Cake.” Unless the princes came into the Government they would never get federation, Mr Atkinson said. After his long experience in the country he would think that before handing over the country to the Indians they should he asked to try lo govern one province to see what they could do with it, but did not think they would have any great success. Still, it would be better to give them one slice or the cake than the whole lot at once, although it remained to be seen whether the slice would he properly digested. Complete self-government was premature, and should not be considered for a long time yet. Individually there was no lack of capable Indians, but they were certainly not capable of proper co-operation. The interests of their families and their caste scruples were considered too much. Self would come first, the interests of the country nowhere.