How on earth is it possible to imagine that all activities would be
non-violent when those who are carrying them on proclaim themselves
rebels against constitutional authority and are bent upon destroying it;
when they say that they must commit civil disobedience of a character
that would compel the officials to shoot them! when we know that one
large section of it, the Mahomedans, follow a militant religion which
not only sanctions but requires them to use force to vindicate what they
consider to be their religious law. When we consider further the nature
of the activities of those who carry on the Non-co-operation movement
there can be still less room to doubt that riots ending in bloodshed are
bound to follow. In order to carry out the Non-co-operation campaign
India is divided into various Congress provinces. Congress committees
are formed consisting of members who are also pledged to carry out the
Congress principles: there are also volunteer organizations formed. The
function of these bodies is to impress upon the people of the country
the enormity of Government's crime with reference to the Punjab and the
Khilafat and the consequent necessity of Home Rule or Swaraj. For
attaining such Swaraj they advocate progressive non-co-operation by
"peaceful" methods. Such methods consist of various steps which are
described in the speech of Mr. Macpherson, extracted below. Starting,
perhaps, peacefully they soon exhibit a tendency to violence and when
Mahomedan sentiments are involved, when appeals are made to Mahomedan
religious feelings, that tendency becomes almost irresistible in their
case. Opposition to constituted authority inflames them into violence
and instead of submitting to violence at the hands of authorities
according to the dictates of Gandhi--a counsel of perfection--they
retort--and murder is the result. The process is so well put by Mr.
Macpherson in the Behar Legislative Council that I take the liberty of
quoting the following extract from his speech:--
"It is necessary to consider what is the essence of the
non-co-operation movement, what are its ultimate objects and what are
its methods. From the moment Mr. Gandhi first unfolded his plan of
campaign--that was, I think, at a Benares or Allahabad Conference in
1920--there has never been any doubt in my mind that the objects of the
movement were entirely unconstitutional, that its methods were illegal
and that its prosecution to the bitter end is bound to result in
violence, disorder and anarchy, however much non-violence may be
proclaimed as the watchword of its leaders. The movement cannot be
judged by its earlier and comparatively innocuous stages, as if these
stood by themselves. I refer to the resignation of titles, the boycott
of Government schools and colleges, the abandonment of their profession
by legal practitioners and other such manifestations of
non-co-operation, although all these items in the programme have done
an infinite amount of harm, especially to the youth of the country, and
even these earlier stages have been marked by repeated outbursts of
violence, by a concerted system of intimidation and social boycott, and
by the excitement of racial hatred which has had deplorable results in
individual cases. No, the plan of campaign must be taken as a whole,
and judged by its closing stages, the enforcement of civil disobedience
towards the laws of the country, interference with the police and the
judicial administration, the invasion of police stations, picketing of
Courts, the seduction of the troops from their allegiance, and the
refusal to pay taxes or rent or revenue. The movement must indeed be
judged by its ultimate object, which is the paralysis and subversion of
the existing Government and by its inevitable result, general disorder
and bloodshed and widespread misery amongst all classes and
communities. If pursued to the bitter end, it will assuredly have this
result, whether it succeeds or fails, and should it (which God forbid)
succeed, the end can only be a state of chaos which will make India the
prey of the violent tribes that dwell around her borders or the hungry
hordes of Central Asia who, in the course of history, have more than
once invaded India. _The object of the movement being what it is, the
overthrow of the existing Government in India, what is the use of
telling us that either its leaders or its followers have signed a
pledge of non-violence? The pledge is a farce, it has already been
broken a hundred times over, and the longer the movement continues and
the further it advances, the more it will be broken._"
That this has been the case is illustrated by almost all the riots which
have taken place. Malabar stands first in its unenviable notoriety.
There the Congress committees were formed; the Khilafat committees also
were formed; Gandhi and Shaukat Ali visited Malabar, preached their
sermons and the usual result followed. With Mahomedans Swaraj was only
their secondary aim, their principal object being the redress of the
Khalif's wrongs and the establishment of a Khilafat kingdom in the
country. When, therefore, the British Government interfered with the
activities of some of the Khilafat leaders the Mohomedan population as a
whole rose in rebellion and invited the Hindus to join them. The Hindus
as a body remained loyal; and the results were disastrous both to the
Mahomedans and to the Hindus, more than two thousand Mahomedans killed
by troops according to official estimates, thousands more in other ways;
far larger numbers wounded; the number of Hindus butchered in
circumstances of barbarity, flayed alive, made to dig their own graves
before slaughter, running into thousands; women and purdah women too,
raped, not in a fit of passion but systematically for months passed from
hand to hand and with calculated revolting and horrible cruelty for
which I have not been able to find a parallel in history. Thousands were
forcibly converted. All this done in the name of, and to enforce, the
Khilafat movement: all this due directly to the visit of Gandhi and
Shaukat Ali and to the organization of Khilafat associations. They
carried on their activities openly without any obstruction by the
authorities; the Government of Madras was prevented from interfering
with Khilafat agitators by the Government of India who are therefore as
responsible as if they had directly ordered all this frightfulness.
I take the United Provinces next and will refer not only to the
activities of the volunteers but to the entire situation as it developed
itself from the commencement of the year 1921. That will also show the
earnest efforts which were made by the Government to co-operate with the
constitutional party to work the Reform Scheme in a sympathetic spirit.
In welcoming the Legislative Council on the 22nd of January, 1921, Sir
Harcourt Butler drew attention to the great efforts which were being
made by Mr. Gandhi's party to achieve their objects, to their aim, to
their failure till that time to achieve any appreciable success (App.
VII). By March the situation had become worse and he narrated the
circumstances which compelled him to extend the Seditious Meetings Act
to some of the districts (App. VIII). By the end of the year the
situation became intolerable. Sir Harcourt Butler has described the
efforts of the Non-co-operators, and the success they have achieved, in
his speech on the 17th December 1921 (App. IX).
And finally Sir Ludovic Porter, a member of the Government, described
the whole situation, including the various efforts that were being made
by the Non-co-operators on the 23rd of January 1922 (App. X). This will
explain also the nature of the associations of volunteers formed under
the Resolution of the Congress already referred to, their efforts and
their illegal character. And more recently we now hear of far more
serious disturbances in Gorakhpur where a mob of volunteers and
villagers about 2000 in number led by the former killed 21 policemen and
chowkidars (App. XII) and at Rai Bareilly where there was a serious
collision. In order to understand the _modus operandi_ I give an
official narrative of the events at Barabanki (App. XI). About Behar we
have the speech of Mr. Macpherson, a member of Council, in which he
refers to the plans of the non-co-operation party to win Swaraj, gives
the organization of the national volunteers describes how the Government
offices were to be taken possession of, civil disobedience was to be
started, gives the deplorable conditions in various districts brought
about by the non-co-operation campaign and describes the revolutionary
character of the movement in that province (App. XVI). The chief
secretary, Mr. Hammond, in his speech gives various instances of tyranny
practised by the non-co-operation volunteers, a practical speech which
proves his contention (App. XVII). In Bengal, on Nov. 20 Lord Ronaldshay
drew attention to the nature of Gandhi Swaraj and Turkish administration
(App. XIII). In Nov. 1921, he spoke about the intended boycott of the
Prince of Wales (App. XIII). In another speech he pointed out the lies
that were being spread about the bombardment of Mecca (App. XIII). In
Dec. 1921, he described the activities which led to the interference of
Government. A brief extract will be found in (App. XII). Finally, in
Feb. 1922, he made a lengthy reference to the political outlook (App.
XIII). In the Legislative Council Sir Henry Wheeler a member of
Government described the situation (App. XV).
In the Legislative Assembly also the matter was fully discussed in Jan.
1922. Sir William Vincent summed up the situation, various instances of
their activities among which will be found a particularly revolting
statement about the corpse of a diseased person who was loyal to the
Government, and therefore obnoxious to Gandhi's party, being dug out of
the grave (App. XXIII).
This completes my review of the situation. Considerations of space have
compelled me to exclude many speeches which would throw further light on
the situation.
I will, therefore, content myself with giving a list of the disturbances
and riots throughout India, due to Gandhi's movement supplied to me by
the Legislative Department of the Government of India (App. XXII).
In February 1922 Mr. Gandhi issued an ultimatum to the Government of
India that if within a certain period of time his demands formulated in
his ultimatum were not conceded he would start what is called mass civil
disobedience at Bardoli, that is to say, the people of Bardoli would be
asked to refuse to pay taxes etc. The Government of India issued a
communique in reply in which reviewing the situation they pointed out
the grave dangers that would follow such civil disobedience and gave him
a stern warning (App. XIX).
This attitude no doubt surprised him. The Government he thought was on
the run, when they had submitted meekly to his contemptuous refusal for
a conference at Calcutta and he had apparently therefore expected them
to beg for an armistice. There was a remarkable change. He or rather the
working committee of the Congress suspended mass civil disobedience
having found a pretext in the occurrence of a riot about this time at
Gorakhpur. So far as the campaign against the Government is concerned
the following are the important resolutions:--
"The working Committee of the Congress resolves that mass civil
disobedience contemplated at Bardoli and elsewhere be suspended and
instructs the local Congress Committees forthwith to advise the
cultivators to pay the land revenue and other taxes due to the
Government and whose payment might have been suspended in anticipation
of mass civil disobedience and instructs them to suspend every other
preparatory activity of an offensive nature." "The suspension of mass
civil disobedience shall be continued till the atmosphere is so
non-violent as to ensure the non-repetition of popular atrocities such
as at Gorakhpur, or hooliganism such as at Bombay and Madras
respectively on the 17th November, 1921 and 13th January last. In order
to promote a peaceful atmosphere the working Committee advises till
further instruction, all Congress organisations to stop activities
specially designed to court arrest and imprisonment, save normal
Congress activities including voluntary hartals wherever an absolutely
peaceful atmosphere can be assured, and for that end all picketing
shall be stopped save for the bona fide and peaceful purpose of warning
the visitors to liquor shops against the evils of drinking. Such
picketing to be controlled by persons of known good character and
specially selected by the Congress Committee concerned."
"The working Committee advises, till further instructions, the stoppage
of all volunteer processions and public meetings merely for the purpose
of defiance of the notification regarding such meetings. This, however,
shall not interfere with the private meetings of the Congress and other
committees or public meetings which are required for the conduct of the
normal activities of the Congress".
The working Committee advised all Congress organisations to be engaged
in the following activities:--
"To enlist at least one crore of members of the Congress. The workers
should note that no one who does not pay the annual subscription can be
regarded as a qualified congressman."
"To continue the Swaraj fund and to call upon every Congressman or
Congress-sympathiser to pay at least one hundredth part of his annual
income for the year 1921. Every province to send every month 25 per
cent of its income from the Tilak Memorial Swaraj fund to the All-India
Congress Committee."
The above resolutions were directed to be placed before the All-India
Congress Committee for revision if necessary. They were accordingly
brought before the All-India Congress Committee whose Resolution runs
thus.
"The All-India Congress Committee have carefully considered the
resolutions passed by the Working Committee at its meeting held at
Bardoli on the 11th and 12th instant, confirms the said resolutions
with the modifications noted herein and _further resolves that
individual civil disobedience whether of a defensive or aggressive
character, may be commenced in respect of particular places or
particular laws, at the instance of, and upon permission being granted
therefore, by the respective provincial Committee_.
"Provided that such civil disobedience shall not be permitted unless all
the conditions laid down by the Congress or the All-India Congress
Committee or the Working Committee are strictly fulfilled.
"Reports having been received from various quarters that picketing
regarding foreign cloth is as necessary as liquor picketing, the
All-India Congress Committee _authorises such picketing_ of a bona fide
character on the same terms as liquor picketing mentioned in the
Bardoli resolutions.
"The All-India Congress Committee wishes it to be understood that the
resolutions of the Working Committee do not mean an abandonment of the
original Congress programme of non-co-operation or the permanent
abandonment of mass civil disobedience, but considers that an
atmosphere of necessary mass non-violence can be established by the
workers concentrating upon the constructive programme framed by the
Working committee at Bardoli. The All-India Congress Committee holds
civil _disobedience to be the right and duty of the people to be
exercised and performed whenever the State opposed the declared will of
the people_."