354 100 CONFIDENTIAL HEAD POLICE OFFICE No. 3846/H/3717. Bombay, 1st August 1930. Dear Mr. Collins, In continuation of my D. O. No. 3829/H/3717, dated the 31st July 1930. I attach a copy of the Bombay Congress Bulletin1 of the 31st for your information. 1 Enclosure not reproduced. 355 On the 31st picketing of liquor shops was continued as detailed below:— No. of shops Male pickets Female pickets A ward 6 6 -- B ward 13 13 -- C and D 26 32 35 Ewards ward 28 25 15 F ward 49 59 -- G ward 32 33 -- All toddy shops in the city have been closed today as the licenses expired yesterday. The following are the figures of arrests and convictions in connection with the picketing of foreign cloth shops in the Fort :— Date of No. of pending No. of convictions arrest cases on 31-7-30 30-7-30 9 9 to 4 months" R.I. Date of No. of arrests No. of convictions on Pending for arrest 31-7-30 1-8-30 31-7-30 19 15 to 4 months' R. I. 4 With a view to preventing the transport by rail of foreign cloth1, Congress volunteers were sent out yesterday to picket at the gates of the B. B. & C. 1. Railway goods shed at Carnac Bunder and the G. I. P. Railway goods shed at Wadi Bunder. About 12 volunteers were posted at the former place and about 15 at the latter. They prevented the carts containing foreign cloth bales from going into the sheds. About 15 of them were arrested. Six of them were convicted and sentenced to 4 months' rigorous imprisonment and the cases of the rest are pending. At Carnac Bunder about 10 volunteers were seen in the morning but they left the place on being assured by the coolies that they would not unload the carts. Picketing was also carried on all day yesterday at Crawford Market, Holi Chakla, Bunder Gate, Bohra Bazaar, Masjid Bunder Road, Chakla Street, Katha Bazaar, Bhajipala Lane, Kalbadevi Road, Girgaon Road, Sheikh Memon Street, Lamington Road, Falkland Road. Haines Road, Mazagaon, Poibavdi, Reay Road and Dadar. The Working Committee of the Congress met again yesterday and resumed their discussions. Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru and Abul Kalam Azad, who came yesterday morning, also participated in the discussions. Strict secreqy is maintained. It is learnt that the discussions was centred on the following points :— (1) Stiffening of the boycott of foreign cloth. (2) No-tax campaign. (3) Observance of an All-India Prisoners' Day. (4) Boycott of colleges. (5) Confirming all the resolutions passed by the last meeting of the Working Committee. with regard to the first point the Working Committee intends to intensify 1 The Congress Working Committee received instructions to intensify picketing of foreign cloth all over India. 356 the picketing of foreign cloth all over India. Regarding the No-Tax Campaign1 it is understood that all the members are in favour of launching the No-Tax Campaign in Gujarat and other places where there is an atmosphere of complete non-violence. As regards the third point, it is said that the 10th of August has been fixed for observing the All-India Prisoners' Day. The Working Committee did not pass any resolutions. A statement is to be issued in the evening. I attach a translation of a Marathi leaflet2 issued to the millworkers by Professor Dharmanand Kosambi who has been placed in charge of the branch of the Bombay Provincial Congress Committee recently opened for labour work in the mill area at Wahedina Building, Poibavdi. Out of the various demands of the millworkers the Congress Committee has accepted only the four mentioned in the leaflet. Dharmanand Kosambi is assisted in the labour work by a few college students who have left their studies. Under the auspices of the Parsi Rajkiya Sabha a public meeting of the Parsis was held in the Rialto Cinema at Lamington Road on the evening of the 31st. About 3,000 people attended. Mr. Goshap Captain presided. Lala Dhunichand, Vallabhbhai J. Patel, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, T. A. K. Sherwani and the president made speeches. Lala Dhunichand said that the Punjab had so far supplied soldiers for the British empire, but now it was giving its services to the national cause and he himself was a soldier of the national army from the Punjab. Vallabhbhai Patel said that they were only doing what the late Dr. Dadabhai Naoroji had taught them to do and appealed to the Parsis to follow his example. He did not understand how the people could co-operate with a government which had no hesitation in carrying on ruthless repression and had incarcerated patriots like Gandhi and Nehru. He criticised the attitude of the Liberals and asked the people not to be misled by the so-called peace negotiations. He then refuted the charge made against the Working Committee by the press that the members were not unanimous on the question of the boycott of the legislatures. Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya said that after his long experience of the legislatures he was the most disillusioned man in the country today he repented having wasted his time. He said that it was a national crime to enter the legislatures where no reason or argument had any effect. He said that if the people carried out the movement as they had been doing so far, he was sure that Swaraj would be achieved within a few months. The proceedings terminated after passing a resolution condemning the attitude of the management of the Sir Cowsji Jehangir Hall in refusing to give the hall for the meeting. Under the auspices of the Congress Muslim Party a public meeting Was held on the Dongri Maidan last night. Dr. Rajab Ali Patel presided. About 5,000 people, including 2,000 Mussalmans, were present. Vallabh-bhai Patel. Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, T. A. K. Sherwani and Haji Noor Mahomed Ahmed made speeches appealing to the audience to pre- 1 No-tax campaign launched in Gujarat was symbolic of involvement of rural masses in the freedom struggle, 2 Enclosure not reproduced. 357 serve Hindu-Muslim unity and make the Congress programme a success. Vallabhbhai Patel regretted the absence of Abul Kalam Azad owing to indisposition. He said that he did not make any distinction between a Hindu and Muhammadan. Abbas Tyebji and imam Saheb Ba-Wazir were his great friends in the political world. He said that the Working Committee had resolved to boycott the legislatures to avoid any split between the Hindus and the Mussalmans in the future. Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya made a lengthy speech in Urdu describing the various ways, in which India was being exploited by the present system ot Government and pointed out that the ruler of no country in the world was invested with so much autocratic and unlimited power as the Viceroy of India. He cited the various ordinances passed by him (Viceroy) in support of his argument. The people of India, he said, would enjoy prosperity only when they had political power in their own hands. He then explained the degradation they had suffered in the present regime ; their national flag was pulled down; their Gandhi caps were banned and the elementary rights of the people were trampled under foot. He appealed to the people to sink their differences and remember only that they were Indians first and Indians last, bound to carry out the Congress programme, particularly that of the boycott of foreign cloth. T. A. K. Sherwani said that Islam's basic principles were liberty, fraternity and equality and no one could be a true Mussalman if he was opposed to the movement for freedom. He said, he could not understand the attitude of the Ali Brothers and other opponents of the Congress who advised the Muslims not to join the Congress1 in the hope that they would be invited to the Round Table Conference. He pointed out that if the Mussalmans did not join the present movement and if the movement failed, the Mussalmans would have to bear the condemnation not only of their Hindu brethren but of ali the Islamic countries for betraying the cause of the country at a critical stage. He warned the Khilafat Daily against imputing motives to and attacking the conscience of the Nationalist Muslim leaders and appealed to the Mussalmans to be with the Hindus in the fight for freedom. The Bombay Municipal Corporation passed yesterday a resolution requesting the Municipal Councillors and employees to use only Swadeshi cloth. It also passed a resolution sanctioning a grant of Rs. 2,500 to the Congress Hospital whenever it needed the amount. Out of the 10 mills which gave notice that they would close down from today : (1) Asur Virji Mill, (2) Jamshed Mill, (3) Manekji Petit Mill and (4) Bomanji Petit Mill have actually closed today. The rest have extended the period of their notice by one month and they are working. Six other mills, namely, (1) Gold Mohur Mill, (2) Kohinoor Mills, (3) Satya Mills, (4) Raghu Vanshi Mill, (5) Finlay Mill and (6) Swan Mill have put up notices today informing the workers that owing to depression in trade the mills would be closed from 1st September 1930. 1 Despite the opposition of Maulana Shaukat Ali and Maulana Mohemmed Ali to the Civil Disobedience Movement, a sizeable section among Muslims did participate in the Movement. The considerable section of Muslims under the leadership of Yusuf Meherali Mahamed Abdul Ibrahim, Rahman sulaiman, Mohammed Ali Kasuri, Kuruban Husain, Abidali Jafferbhai and Cassum Mitha, gave support to the movement.