I.R.S. Running Out of Money, Sending Employees Home

Some bits and pieces from here and there:


From the New York Call:

India Urged to Refuse To Pay Taxes to British

Non-Co-operation Movement and Attack on Financial System Rapidly Growing in East

Plans are under consideration by leaders of the movement for Indian independence to strike at the British Government of India in the surest possible way — to undermine its finances, according to the latest word received by the Friends of Freedom for India, 799 Broadway.

The dispatch states that Mahatma K. Gandhi, leader of the nonco-operation or Swaraj movement, will shortly issue a proclamation calling an the people of India to refuse to pay taxes to the British administration.

Before this step is taken, according to the dispatch, Gandhi will urge every native Indian policeman and soldier to leave the service of the British Government, in order that when the inevitable bloodshed results the responsibility may be placed squarely upon the English police force and soldiery.

Non-Co-operation Movement Spreads.

Meanwhile, the government has taken official cognisance of the rapidly spreading non-co-operation movement by calling upon all citizens and Indian officials to avow their active opposition on the ground that the movement is “frankly anarchical or revolutionary,” according to the same news sources. A United Provinces Government communique, dated , is as follows:

“The position taken by the government is that opposition to the non-co-operation movement is the duty of all citizens, without regard to their political views, as the movement is frankly anarchical or revolutionary. Any existing prohibitions to government officers regarding participation in political movements cannot apply to them when actively opposing non-co-operation, and it is the policy of the government to encourage all officials to declare themselves openly and actively against the movement.”

Taraknath Das, executive secretary of the Friends of Freedom for India, explained that the British Government had always prohibited its officials in India from engaging in the politics of the country, at that this rule had been voided in view of the growing strength of Swaraj.

Government Officials Resign.

The response to the proclamation, the dispatch states, is that many government officials have resigned, including many who were not active participants in the non-co-operation movement, but who refused actively to oppose it. As far as the populace is concerned, the order has been ignored completely.

Promulgation of the order was immediately followed by scores of arrests in the province of Behar. Known followers of Gandhi were subjected to restrictions which forbade them from leaving the province, and in some cases the city, and prohibited their making any public addresses.

Strikes of railwaymen, general strikes, revolts in the agrarian districts, and the winning of support from the loyalist faction mark the progress of India’s struggle far independence, other dispatches state.

A strike of 25,000 railway workers in the province of Bengal was in progress when the Friends of Freedom for India received its last word. Starting from Calcutta, the strike spread rapidly through the province. English engineers, however, refused to join the strikers, and went so far as to equip their trains with machine guns.

Lloyd Comes in — Workers Go Out

When Sir George Lloyd, governor of the province of Bombay, went to the City of Karachi all the workers walked out in a general strike and remained out during the continuation of his stay, which was a week. Karachi is the second largest port in India, according to Mr. Das.

Four persons were killed and 11 injured when the police at Raebarli fired on a crowd of peasants, the dispatches state, For some time previously the peasants of this and other districts had been in a state of revolt against an increase in taxes.

Loyalists, who had previously taken a position analogous to that of the liberals in England, have gone over to the support of Gandhi’s program of complete independence for India, according to the dispatches. An example of their support has been accorded in the legislative council of Gengal, where they forced through a measure cutting down the appropriation for the police force one-third. This has caused apprehension in England, according to Mr. Das, coming as it does at a time when the police and military of India are being strengthened against possible revolt rather than decreased in number.