The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-06-28
BY EVELYN ROY.

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autocracE is backed up by the
strength andspower of the Labor Gov
eminent in Britain, which thru Par
lament and the Secretary of State for
India, exercises ultimate control over
the destinies Of 10000, 900 politically
disabled subjects Of His Majesty, the
King Emperor. The latest example
of governmental persecution in India,
always excepting the chronic ar
rests, convictions and Imprisonment
or imprisonment without conviction
which have become a matter Of
course in the daily governance of the
country is the trial now proceeding
at Cawnpore against eight persons
under Section 121A of the Indian pen
al code, which reads as follows:
121. Whoever wages war against
the Queen or attempts to wage such
war or abets the waging of such war
shall be punished with death or trans
portation for life and shall forfeit all
his property.
Z lila. Whoever, within or without
British India, conspires to commit
any o.. the offenses punishable by Sec
ton 121, or to deprive the Queen of
the sovereignty of British India or of
any part thereof, or coRspires to over
awe, by means of criminal force or
show Of criminal force the Govern
ment or any local government, shall
be punished with transportation for
life or any shorter term, or with i'm.
prisonment of either description
which may extend to ten years.
The charge, as may be seen, is
serious one, usually reserved for Of
tenders of the first rank who have
been implicated in acts of terrorism
or concrete attempts to overthrow the
government by force Of arms. In the
case of the eight persons now under
trial in Cawnpore, the application of
this charge is little unusual, in that
it is based, NOT UPON AANY TER
RORISTIC ACT NOR PLOT OF
ARMED FORCE, BUT UPON TIE
ATTEMPTS OF CERTAIN INDIvID-
UALS TO ORGANIZE THE INDIAN
WORKERS AND PEASANTS INTO
A POLITICAL PARTY OF THEIR
OWN TO BRING ABOUT A CHANGE
OF GOVERNMENT WHICH WILL
IMPROVE THEIR PRESENT ECO
NOMIC CONDITION. In other words,
the charge of conspiracy against the
sovereignty of the King Emperor" is
brought against eight people pro-
Tossing to be socialists or commun-
lists, who have advanced the program
of socialism for the projected enamel
patton Of the Indian working class.
It is as tho Magistrates Court in
Great Britain were to descend upon
the leading members of the Labor
Party, the, l. L. p. and the CQmmun-
list Party, and summarily imprison
them, pending trial, for conspiracy to
bring about the Social Revolution
which all include in their programs.
FOR THE EIGHT ACCUSED AT
CAWNPORE HAVE DONE MOTH
ING WHICH LAYS THEM OPEN TO
CONVICTION EXCEPT TO ADVO-
CATE THE ORGANIZATION OF A
POLITICAL MASS PARTY OF THE
INDIAN WORKING CLASS UNDER
AN ECONOMIC PROGRAM CALL
ING FOR THE ECONOMIC. SOCIAL
AND POLITICAL EMANCIPATION
OF THE INDIAN PROLETARIAT
AND PEASANTRY.
The preliminary hearings have been
concluded and the accused committed
for trial at the Sessions on April o.
In this preliminary hearing the fol-
lowing accusations were lodged on be-
half Of the Crown, with the Director
of the Intelligence Department as
Chief Witness:
"The accused are charged under
Section 121A with conspiracy to es-
tablish a branch organization Of the
Communist international turnout Brit
ish India with object to deprive the
King Emperor of the sovereignty OF
British India. It is alleged on behalf
OF the prosecution that they decided
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