Let us take the case to which reference had been made before in this
Council, the serious riots which occurred at Giridih, and which ended in
an attack upon the sub-jail and the thana and the burning of the
records. From what did that originate? It is a simple story. A sold B a
cow and said that she would yield 1-1/2 seers of milk. B took the cow
away and found that he did not get the guaranteed amount of milk.
Lawyers here know that the law of warranty is a somewhat difficult and
intricate matter. However the local self constituted Panches decided
that, A should take back the cow and refund the money. He declined to do
so; and then as sanction to enforce the orders of this local court
applied that cruel engine of oppression, social boycott. In all
civilised communities the black-mailer is regarded with disgust and
condemned. It has been for the non-co-operation party to use social
blackmail as the basis of sanction to its ideals. The inevitable result
of such a sanction is violence.
What are the "volunteers" doing? They are fishing in troubled waters.
They tried--let us once again come back to Patna--to get the domestic
servants to strike: they succeeded in persuading some of the motor-car
drivers to desert their masters when their services were most required.
What are the "volunteer's" doing? They are persuading raiyats to
withhold rent. I know the case of a wealthy zamindar who had to borrow
money from the bank to pay his Government revenue. I maintain, sir, that
though honest men amongst the non-co-operators speak of non-violence the
movement must inevitably lead to violence.
Take an instance from private life--let us again quote from Patna. A
gentleman returning from Calcutta, a man well acquainted with the law of
the land, found that his servant had, at the bidding of one gentleman
who is an active recruiting officer of "volunteers," decided to break
the contract made with his master. I have the best authority for saying
this breach of contract resulted in righteous indignation which took the
form of personal violence. What are these "volunteers" doing? They are
provoking violence; they are picketing; they are intimidating; they are
interfering between the master and servant, between landlord and tenant,
between the railway and its employees.
"Volunteers" Recruited from Criminal Classes
I know it will be said that efforts have been made to purify the ranks.
It was found, for example, in Chapra, that _doms_, registered as
criminal tribes, were enlisted in the ranks of the national
"volunteers." From the other districts, too, came reports of ex-convicts
and persons of the "C" class register not only being enrolled but being
welcomed. The efforts to remove these members and to purify the movement
does not seem likely to be successful if we may judge from a leader's
experience in the Bhagalpur Division, at Banka, in the district of
Bhagalpur. There I am informed, when he visited some villages with a
view to expelling the undesirables, he was himself expelled and told to
mind his own business. I submit, sir, for the earnest consideration of
this Council that you can not separate principles from methods or the
ideals from the agents who are employed. Lastly, we have had an appeal
that this Council should share the responsibility for maintenance of law
and order. We have been solemnly advised by some of the speakers that
Government should abdicate from the duty imposed by Statute of
maintaining law and order in favour of these "volunteers" who were, so
we are asked to believe, inaugurated solely to prevent a recurrence of
the scenes that occurred in Bombay--to stop women being stripped of
their clothes in the streets, to stop murder and loot. Can Government
for a moment, in view of the activities I have related, contemplate
handing over the duty, the primary and essential duty of the police, to
the Kanmi Sevak Dal? The question has only to be asked to show its
absurdity.