New-York tribune., 1922-03-19

d'tion. The grievance which agitates
the Mahonetan population Of India to-
day Is Of just this nature. They blame
the British government for the mia.
fortunes which have befallen the head
Of their faith. The expression of their
resentment is bound to be warlike.
Thus Gandhi's operative moves
ment, grown to unprecedented propor-
tions because Of the events Of the last
few months and then slipping from
under the control Of the prophet Of non
violence, is now breaking into scorching
flames Of open rebellion. In the Hindu
portions Of the country these flames pro-
ceed from the exuberant enthusiasm Of
the more extremist Of Gandhi's follow
ers In the northwest. that proverbial
seat Of trouble for the British gov
ernment in India, they spring from tho
religious zeal Of the Mahometans. In
either case they are accompanied By
ominous rumbings that are nov heard
but too plainly.
Breaking into violence, the Hindu
nationalist movement is bound to go to
extremes which would be Of colossal
consequence. Uprisings which spring
from religious fanaticism are not the
easiest thing in the world to handle.
But when to this is added a strong ad-
mixture Of fierce race feeling the situs
alton really becomes serious.
In the case of India, juat az every
where else in Asia, there is also a con-
stant fear OF the influence of commu-
nism, the hand Of which extends eli
over the continent. 1t is true that in
India communism has 90 far made less
actual progress than in any other coun-
try in Asia; there is not even COM
munist party in India But there ara
other channels through which commu-
nism may work its will OF these chan
nels there happen to be two important
ones in India.
The first channel through which COM
munism is penetrating into India is tho
trade union movement. The industrial
proletariat OF India is very small
numerically; it is estimated at 100000
in a population Of over 300 100000. The
leaders of the trade union movement
claim that during the past FIVE years
they have succeeded in banding nearly
a million and half OF these workmen
into trade unions. To seize control OF
these unions and to utilize them for
their own purposes is now the imme-
diate aim of communism in India As
in other countries in which they are
working, the comm unists propose TO do
this by displacing the present-day lead
ership OF the trade unions, which is
mostly socialistic of the faint Fabian
quality, by active communist elements
Communism Enters india
On Trade Union Movement
At the last Congress of Indian Trade
Unions, held in December, 1921. the
feeling was already swinging def
initely toward a sympathetic relation
ship with Moscow. Resolutions wers
adopted announcing solidarity with
Russia. 1t is expected by the COM
munist leaders that the growth of the
extremist tendencies in the ranks Of the
Gandhi movement viii give them an
opportunity for control and influence.
Then by combining the trade union
organizations with these extremist ma
tionalist elements, communism would
have a really tangible force with which
to operate in India.
Tho e -
Auence in India is throuh its support
Of the Pan-Islamic movement. The
communist leaders realized long ago
that their trump card against Greas
Britain is their support of Pam
Islamism. In accordance with this,
they gave all possible support to Ke-
mails movement Sin Anatolia In ac-
cordance with this, also, they concea+
trated their attention some time ago
upon their work in Afghanistan.
The communist leaders expected to
use Afghanistan as base of opera
tions in India. BY stimulating tbs
Pan -Islamic feelings Of the Afghans at
the same time that similar feeling
was agitating millions of Mahom-
etans in India. living just across tha
boundary from Afghanistan, the COM
munists had hopes Of rousing a for
midable Moslem movement in the heart
ct Asia and hurting its forces against
the British power there.
The correctness of this reasoning
NAV be seen from the fact that one of
GandhYs trusted Mahometan lieu
tenants, Mohammed Ali, declared in q
public speech that if the Amir Of AZ
ghanistan were TO invade India FOR the
purpose of freeing the Mahometan
population of the country from the rule
of the infidel masters who are now in
control all the Mahometans would
consider it their duty to come to his
assistance.
There is no wonder, in view Of this,
that the British became definitely
frightened when the Soviet governs
ment, in making its alliance with Af-
ghanistan in 1920, insisted on right
to place its consuls near the Indian
frontier. 1t was too apparent that
those consuls would be the agents OF
the Third Internationale charged with
very specific tasks. For the time be-
ing, the British have succeeded in