TODAY THAT DAY : 23 MARCH 1931

APPEAL FAILS

Sentence of Death

INDIAN MURDER

Calcutta, March 23,

The Lahore High Court rejected the appeal of Bhagat Singh and Rajguru and Sukhdev against the sentence of death in connection with the murder of Mr. Curtis, the police officer, at Lahore, last year.

It is likely that the men will be executed to-morrow morning.

The failure of the efforts to obtain commutation of the sentence created a tense feeling in Congress circles throughout India, and the Bombay Provincial Congress Committee passed a resolution urging a restart of the civil disobedience campaign if the men are executed.

A Karachi report states that if the sentence is carried out one of the principal leaders, who till now, favoured Congress co-operation in the forthcoming Round Table Conference, will refuse to participate in it.

Mahatma Gandhi has asked that all demonstrations cease if the men are executed.

TODAY THAT DAY : 08 MARCH 1930

VICEROY WARNS MR. GANDHI

"Campaign Bound to Involve Violation of Law."

GAOL FOR CHIEF ADVISOR

Civil Disobedience March May Begin To-day.

The Viceroy has replied as follows to Mr. Gandhi's threat to start a civil disobedience campaign in India on March 12 : -

Dear Mr. Gandhi,

His Excellency the Viceroy desires me to acknowledge your letter of March 2.

He regrets to learn that you contemplate a course of action which is clearly bound to involve a violation of the law and a danger to public peace.

Yours very truly,

G. Cunningham - Private Secretary.

Mr. V. Patel, Gandhi's principal lieutenant, was imprisoned yesterday (07-03-1930) for disobeying the order prohibiting public speech. Mr. Gandhi says now that he may give the orders to begin the "Civil disobedience" march to-day or tomorrow. Mr. Gandhi also calls for a "HARTAL" (complete cessation of work) today.

In the Legislative Assembly yesterday a motion of censure on the Government was defeated by 50 votes to 31. During the debate Sir James Crerar (the Home Member) repeated the Government's warning that every means would be used to preserve law and order.

The opposition leader, the Pandit Malaviya, said that if the Government would agree to give Dominion status to India as the result of any conference, he would induce Mr. Gandhi to stop civil disobedience campaign.

GANDHI's PLANS

Appeal for Peaceful "HARTAL" Today.

A message from Borsad states that Mr. Vallabhai Patel, one of the Gandhi's most prominent lieutenants, and a brother of Mr. Patel, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, was arrested today at Ras, in the Borsad Taluk.

He was charged with disobeying the order prohibiting public speech. He was convicted and sentenced to three months simple imprisonment and to pay a fine of 500 rupees, or in default to a further three week's imprisonment. He has been taken to the gaol at Sabarmati.

Mr. Vallabhbhai Patel is one of the leaders in the civil disobedience campaign, and played the most prominent part in the Bardoli agitations.

On receipt of a telegraph informing him of the arrest and imprisonment of Mr. Patel, Mr. Gandhi said that the news should be heartily welcomed. He added that he might have to revise his plans for marching with the first batch of volunteers, as he might give the marching orders for tomorrow or Sunday.

Mr. Gandhi has issued a public appeal to the mill-owners, mill workers, shopkeepers and all citizens, to observe a peaceful hartal (complete cessation of work) tomorrow, "in celebration of the incarceration of the uncrowned King of Gujarat." --Reuter

TODAY THAT DAY : 01 MARCH 1930

AN UNPRECEDENTED WAR.

Starts in a Few Days.

WHAT MR.V. PATEL PROMISES FOR INDIA

Ahmedabad, Saturday Reuters --

A war unprecedented in the history of the world will begin in a few days, and a beginning will be made in Gujarat.

said Mr. Vallabhbhai Patel, Mr. Gandhi's chief Lieutenant, and leader of the no-tax fiasco in Bardoli last year, in an address at a public meeting held at Broach today, on the eve of the launching of the civil disobedience campaign.

Those who are afraid of death, he added, should go on pilgrimage, and those possessed of riches should go to foreign countries.

VACHAN

આ દેશમાં વચનનો મહિમા અનાદિકાળથી ચાલ્યો આવે છે. વચન ખાતર રાજા રામે રાજપાટ છોડ્યાં. એવા લોકો જ્યાં રહે છે ત્યાં જ ભગવાનનો વાસ હોય છે. એવી વિભૂતિની તપશ્ચર્યા જ આપણી શક્તિ વધારે છે.

THE SARDAR'S ARREST AT RAS

After the Congress had approved the Complete Independence Resolution, at its Lahore Session, the Working Committee directed that the 26th of January, 1930 should be celebrated throughout the country as Independence Day. Accordingly, in every city, and in thousands of villages, meetings were held and at those gatherings large numbers of people formally took the pledge of Complete Independence. Thus ran the concluding part of the pledge :

We hold it to be a crime against man and God to submit any longer to a rule that has caused this four-fold (economic, political, cultural and spiritual) disaster to our country. We recognize, however, that the most effective way of gaining our freedom is not through violence. We will, therefore, prepare ourselves by withdrawing, so far as we can, all voluntary association from the British Government and will prepare for civil disobedience, including non-payment of taxes. We are convinced that if we can but withdraw our voluntary help and stop payment of taxes without doing violence, even under provocation, the end of this inhuman rule is assured. We, therefore, hereby solemnly resolve to carry out the Congress instructions issued from time to time for the purpose of establishing Poorna Swaraj.

To be continued...

TODAY THAT DAY : 24 FEBRUARY 1949

PURITAN CAMPAIGN IN INDIA

DIFFICULTIES IN PUNJAB

East Punjab also has an under-25 rule extended to cover students, who may be over 25, But in the Punjab it will be difficult to enforce total teetotalism; the Sikhs, since the British Army trained them, have not been squeamish about drinking and the Punjab is a Sikh stronghold.

Sardar Patel, the Deputy Prime Minister told me not long ago that prohibition would certainly be enforced throughout India in accordance with Gandhian doctrine. He said there could be no comparison between India and the United States: in America prohibition was thrust on a nation of drinkers, whereas in India alcohol had never been a national habit but was a foreign importation.

Opponents of prohibition (and there are many), however, assert that the country people of southern India from time immemorial have drunk liquor made from coconuts or palm juices and that this is part of their life.

Industrial workers in Bombay and Calcutta spend as much as one-third of their tine incomes in the toddy shop; drink and drugs like bhang, are their sole relaxation. That is why both the Governor-General, whose personal asceticism does not diminish his humanity, and Pandit Nehru, who is intolerant of narrow-mindedness, have urge the Provincial governments to go easy about taking away the poor man’s drink before giving him something in its place.

Congress puritanism does not stop at drink. Madras has made smoking illegal for adolescents; there are some who want to make it illegal for everybody. The Bombay Government has started a rigorous censorship of films, eliminating anything which might mar the people’s innocence.

SWABHAV

Gulaami Ane Maut

જ્યાં સુધી દુનિયાનો એક પણ મુલક ગુલામીમાં હશે, ત્યાં સુધી જગતમાં ચેન પણ નથી અને શાંતિ પણ નથી.

મરણ તો ઈશ્વરનિર્મિત છે. કોઈ કોઈને પ્રાણ આપી શકતું નથી, કે લઈ શકતું નથી, પ્રજાના રક્ષણ માટે આપણા પ્રાણ ખિસ્સામાં લઈને ફરીએ તો જ આપણે સ્વતંત્રતાનો પહેલો પાઠ શીખ્યા કહેવાઈએ.

TODAY THAT DAY : 20 FEBRUARY 1931

GANDHI SEES THE VICEROY

EMERGENCY MEETING WITH CONGRESS LEADERS

The Viceroy granted a further interview to Gandhi yesterday at New Delhi. After leaving the Viceroy's house Gandhi drove to the residence of the Pandit Malavaya, where he held a  consultation with various leaders of commerce. He subsequently returned to the house of Dr. Ansari and had a discussion with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Mr. Vallabhbhai Patel, and other members of the Working Committee.

Political circles consider that the temporary interruption of pourparlers will continue till February 24, when the talks between the Viceroy and Gandhi will be resumed after Lord Irwin has ascertained the opinion of the British Government.

Congress circles, though sceptical, do not reveal any marked pessimism regarding the final outcome of the conversations.

Gandhi proposes to fulfill a number of local engagements, which have been successively cancelled owing to the Viceregal talks. He is to address a public meeting in the Queen's Gardens to-day, but owing to fears of a crowd admission to the meeting will be by ticket only, this being the first time in Delhi that Gandhi will deliver a lecture with such precautions.