The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1921-06-17
PARTICIPANT IN GhNDHl
MOVEMENT SENTENCED
Accused of Inciting Riots by
Picketing Excise Shops to
Dissuade Buyers
MAKES TELLING REPLY
Says Government Is More Inter-
ested in Revenue Than in the
Welfare of the People

The arrest q Dr. Moreshwar RAM
Alexandra Cholkar private medical
practitioner and vice-prcsident OF the
Nagpur Municipality. while attending
the hearing OF DR.. l. Y. Paranjpye
has directed attention to the Gand-
HAN policy Of preventing sale Of ex-
else shops and other temperance
propaganda involved in the scli-pur-
ifcation program.
Those active III the non-co-opers-
ton movement in India. under =
leader by the name Of Gahdhi, have
been pieletine the liquor selling shops
with view to dissuadins people IRON
entering and patronizing these shops
The government takes the position
that this is done for the purpose Of
depriving the government Of revenue.
Ii appears that Or. Paranipye was
served with summons by subdivis-
ion magistrate charging him with be-
ing active in the pielsetiug OF excise
shops in Nagpur. "of melting and or
eanizing students and others to OBJ
struct persons going to excise shops,
thereby setting up condition likely
to cause riot and disturbance Of pub
lie tranquility" Tie doctor was or
dered 70 dcsist IRON any further ae-
tiyity or to appear before the court
ard show why the rule should not 30
made absolute. The government fur-
ther sets ont III the summons that tie
real purpose OF the pioketing was not
TO iurtier the cause OF temperance
but to embarrass the government by
causing sales of liquor TO drop with
The resultant loss OF revenue. DR..
paranjpyc made the following reply
To the summons:
DR.. faranjpye's Reply
THE movement really and not o.
tensibly III favor OF abstinence from
drink, has been started i'll Nagpur in
accordance with tho general pro-
gram OF self-purihcatiou, W OBJECT
OF this movement is to disstiade pee
pie iron the ruinous vice OF drink TO
which they arc addicted Is a mat
ter OF fact, it is The duty OF every civ
ilizcd government TO stop even by
legislation the evil OF drink and
feel that il is matter OF great regret
that the Indian government is not
alive to its duty and is not taking
active steps IN that respect.
II fail to understand why the gov
ernment is trying 10 stop people from
doing their duty which primarily be
longs 10 itself
"The loss OF excise revenue 10 the
government is absolutely necessary
for hold that The Indian govern
mcnt ought TO forego it when il is
derived from tic moral depravity OF
the vast masses OF the people OF India.
II is pity that the government
should care more for its revenue than
for the weil-being of the people as it
appears 10 me from the wording of
the order.
Moreover. the question OF loss of
revenue to the government IS abso-
lutely irrelevant so far as section IL
oil the Criminal Procedure Code ui1-
der which the order has been issued
is concerned.
~ deny that ! am at the bottom of
the whole movement as stated in the
order Although am an humble
worker in the cause OF seli-purihea-
ton ! emphatically deny that l have
been melting and organizing students
and others to obstruct persons pro-
ceeding to liquor shops and thus
drawing crowds to places and Cats
ing TO shop-kecpers and customers
obstruction and annoyance, and I
strongly repudiatc all such allegations.
~ have been working on quiet un-
Objectionable lines as a non-vioient
non-co-operator. There never was
that rule against me should be dis
turbanee of public tranquility or any
chance of riot and I think that the
government is unnecessarily showing
feeling of nervousness on this score
simply because it apprehends loss
OF revenue. | therefore submit that
that rule against me should be dis
charged
The hearing was held the 10Th OF
February and DR.. Paranjpye WAS
given two-months' sentence