The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1930-05-06
BRITA|N'S RULE
IN INDIA REELS
BEFORE GANDHI
Dramatic Arrest of Hindu
Emperor PrecipitateS
Crisis in Nation.
CHOICE OF TWO EVILS
England Can Starve Cap
tive or Free Him and
Admit Her Weakness.
BY WILLIAM PHILIP SIMMS
Scripps- Howard Foreign Editor

WASHINGTON, May 6-The be-
ginning of the end of British rule
over midas 320,0O0,00O feverisn
souls was ushered in by the sud-
den and dramatic arrest of
Manatma Gandhi, uncrowned en-
peror and idol of the masses.
Held without trial in a jail under
the guns of the British military
stronghold of Poona, near Bombay
Gandhi, already revered by his fol-
lowers, now will become a popular
deity.
If the Mahatma decides to go on
hunger strike, as he likely will, his
act will whip all India into a sort
of fanatical frenzy, increasing as
the days go by and the frail little
man dies by inches.
The British then would have to
do one Of two things. They either
would have to turn him loose or
let him die. No matter which al
tentative they adopt, it likely will
play havoc with their authority.
To set him free would be taken as
a sign of weakness, while to let
him die would almost surely pre-
cipitate the country into a situa-
ton dangerous in the extreme.
Mourning Days Instituted
Already Marital" days of mourn
ing-are being observed in various
national centerS, days when not a
wheel turns and the country stands
as if paralyzed. These, in the past,
have had a way of degenerating
into riots, bloody clashes, and the
firing of houses.
Gandhi'S imprisonment, therefore,
may loose forces, which may be
hard to control, however much the
Mahatma himself opposes violence.
The British authorities are keen
ly aware of their danger. They
knew of it months ago, as was evl-
dent at the time.
Gandhi began his march to the
sea two months ago, his much-her-
aided intention being to make salt
of sea water, break the salt law,
and thus begin midas campaign
of civil disobedience, which was to
end in midas independence, he
hoped, without bloodshed.
A month ago the Mahatma and
his band reached Dandhi, a lonely
village on the shore of the Arabian
sea, and there, under the watchtul
eyes of the British police. they
waded into the water, filled their
pots with brine and from it made
illegal salt. The monopoly thus
formally and openly was broken,
and yet nothing happened to
Gandhi.
Pledges War to Death
"This war" cried the emaciated
leader dramatically as he stood on
the beach at Dandhi, must go on
until India is free. We will wiz"
he added, significantly, cor my dead
body will float out upon this same
sea-"
Gandhi's two sons we're arrested
for doing exactly the same thing
their father had done and are serv-
ing prison terms at hard labor.
JawaharlaI Nehru, next to Gandhl
the country's most powerful leader,
has suffered a similar fate. Son
Cupta, mayor of Calcutta, arrested
for repeating the teachings OF
Gandhi, now is in prison on q
charge of treason.
AS now organized, only a miracle
can save British rule in India. Do
minion status or complete indie
pendence seems merely a question
of time, for the Indians are pre-
pared to go on with this sort Of
thing five, ten, twenty or hundred
years. And there is some doubt as
to whether even dominion status
would bring peace.