767 164 Vol. XI.III No. 32 of 1930. BOMBAY PRESIDENCY POLICE ABSTRACT OF INTELLIGENCE Poona, August 9, 1930. POLITICAL, POLITICO-RELIGIOUS AND RACIAL MOVEMENT 1329. Civil Disobedience Movement, General Summary. S. B., Bombay Presidency, Poona, August 2.—Agitation appears to be still strong in the following districts as indicated by the number of meetings held : Nasik, Satara, etc. Attendances at meetings are generally smaller and this appears to be mainly due to the absence of leaders with an inflammatory turn of speech. The arrest of Vallabhbhai J. Patel took place at Bombay in the early morning of August 2 along with other important members of the Working Committee of the Congress, should these arrests lead to substantial convictions it should have a calming effect on the general situation in the presidency. * * * Forest satyagraha continues to develop in the Ahmednagar, Nasik and Satara districts, but the local action taken should prove effective. No special developments are reported in this connection from West Khandesh and Kolaba. Liquor shop picketing continues in most districts in a peaceful manner. Brief details of the state of agitation in the different districts are as under:— (1)Thana.—Week ending July 19. 6 meetings, largest attendance 2,000 persons at Kalwan on July 13. R. S. Ruikar and Bhalchandra Atmaram Dandekar have been prominent speakers. (2)Nasik.—33 meetings. The following talukas have been affected by the forest satyagraha movement :—Satara, Kalwan, Niphad, Malegaon North, Nandgaon and Yeola. (3)West Khandesh.—27 meetings, none however of much importance. (4)East Khandesh.—17 meetings. Attendances over 1,000 were at Faijpur. July 16, Bhusawal. July 17, Jalgaon. July 17 and 19. Student activities are noticed and Congress flag agitation by the Local School Boards. (5)Poona.—Week ending July 26. Local speakers continue to hold meetings but audiences have fallen off. S. B. Mehendale. Dictator and K. N. Phadke, Secretary of the Poona Youth League, have been busy organising boycott week and in agitation among college students. Abdul Razak, the railway agitator was sentenced under Section 3 of the India Act 22 of 1922 for inciting police to disaffection. Some incidents of forest satyagraha are reported. 768 (6)Sholapur.—3 meetings. One at Sangola, Kurduwadi. July 19 and Kurti, July 21. The most prominent mischief maker of the district Dr. K B. Antrolikar, who had been out of the district since Martial Law commenced, was arrested on July 25 under Section 117, I. P. C. (7)Satara.—Week ending July 19. Rise in the number of meeting from 50 to 80. Breach of the forest laws and non-payment of grazing fees is widely preached by volunteers. Some of the speeches have been very violent. (8)Ratnagiri.—18 meetings. Six of these were in celebration of the death of Tilak, attendances were below 400. (9)Kolaba.—Alibag is the main centre of the movement. The agitation is being spread throughout the district. Forest satyagraha is being preached. Picketing of liquor shops was fairly general. 1330. Agitation. (1) Bombay Suburban District.—Prabhat feris took place as usual at the more important places in the district. They were taken out daily at Ghatkopar, Parle, Chembur, Bandra, Kurla, Pahadi, Malad and Versowa. The number of processions varied from 9 to 60. The majority in them were women and children. In Ghatkopar itself there were 21 such processions during the week. On July 26, about 200 workers of the Swadeshi Factory of Ghatkopar proceeded for about an hour and a half with the usual songs and slogans. There was no hartal during the week Except at Chembur, there was no picketing of liquor shops. Meetings held include the following :— Date Place Audience Remarks (1) (2) (3) (4) Nil Ville Parle 300 Meeting, held on the occasion of the visit of Kumari Krishnabai, daughter of Pandit Motilal Nehru. Speeches were on the usual lines. Krishnabai asked all not to put faith in the neace negotiations as her father did not agree with them. 21st July Ghatkopar 2,500 Vallabhbhai came to Ghatkopar from Bombay accompained by Hansabai Mehta and one Manibai. He was garlanded with a wreath of handmade yarn. Chandulal Vrajlal Desai of Ghatkopar gave a report of the work done by the Ghatkopar Congress Committee, and then urged civil disobedience, disloyalty to Government, they should not be afraid to meet death. Kamlaben has undergone imprisonment, the women, should produce hundreds of Kamlaben amongst them. He then advocated the wearing of khaddar. Women should compel their husbands and brothers to take part in the movement, when everyone was prepared to die then only would swaraj be obtained, not only by the shouting of "Boycott British Goods." 769 Date Place Attendance Subjects (1) (2) (3) (4) 20th July Bandra 500 Presided over by Thomas Almeida, a Municipal Councilfor of Bandra. The President and all the speakers urged the audience to use swadeshi goods and boycott foreign cloth and liquor, to spin on the takli and to become members of Congress. All should help by subscribing towards the fund for supporting families of volunteers who have gone to jail. (2) Thana, July 26.—17 meetings were held during the week. The chief subjects were boycott of foreign goods, prohibition and boycott of Government servants. As a result of the arrest of Anant Krishnaji Kashikar boycott of the Police commenced on July 26 and provisions have to be brought from Bhivandi. (3) Nasik, July 26.—Meetings held include the following :— Date Place Audience Subject 20th July Nasik 1,200 To protest against the suggested address by the municipality to His Execllency the Governor on the occasion of his expected visit to Nasik in August. 21st Do. 4 similar meetings with attendance from 125 to 600. to 23rd July 22nd July Trimbak 500 To congratulate Sub-Inspector Caaudhari of the Police on his resignation. 20th July Nandgaon 2,000 The use of Swadeshi articles and the giving up of liquor drinking. 27th July Do. 1,000 In connection with the hoisting of the national flag on the Local Board Office. 21st July Manmad 1,000 The present movement. 22nd July Do. 1,000 Do. 25 July Do. 500 to 600 Progress of the Vanjari community and abstiance from liquor. (4)West Khandesh, July 26.—36 meetings are reported in the district and 16 hartals. These for no special mention. (5)East Khandesh, July 26.—Laxman Ramchandra Tanksali of Puntamba arrived at Raver during the week and delivered lecture on July 25 on Civil Disobedience Movement. S. R. Rajawade of Poona arrived at Chalisgaon during the week. He has been delivering lectures on Sanatan Vaidic Dharma there. Naravan Namdeo Patil of Wiware and Dharmaji Bhiku Teli of Mhaiswadi, both of taluka Malkapur, district Buldhana, Central Provinces arrived in Edlabad petha and delivered a lecture at Parambi on July 22. Prabhat feris with national flags and songs continue to be taken out at Jalgaon, Ranjangaon, Karajgaon, Chalisgaon, Bodwad, Amalner, Shend-urni and Bhadgaon. 770 The school boys of Bhusawal took out a procession with Congress flag, on July 24, on hearing of the conviction of S. V. Bapat. Congress flag processions were taken out at Baroda, Nimkhede, Ichhapur, Borkhedi, Rajure Parumbe and Khurhe under Edlabad Police Station, Edlabad itself has been particularly quiet. Shankar Motiram Kabre and Bhimrao Trimbak Deshpande have been released from prison, after serving their sentences and while passing through Parola were taken out in procession. On their arrival at Erandol, their home town, they were again similarly honoured. This was on July 21. Chandrasingh Mahipatsingh was released on July 25 and on arrival at Chalisgaon was taken round riding a horse. Hartals were observed on July 22 at Amalner on account of the arrest of Shenfadu Sayaji Gite and at Erandol on account of the arrest of Rama Pandu Mahajan. (6) Ahmednagar July 19.—There is very little general support except in Akola and Sangamner talukas where some of the local people are supporting the volunteers in their forest satyagraha propaganda. Elsewhere in Kopargaon taluka a fair amount if propaganda is going on in sympathy with the forest satyagraha movement. Forest satyagraha has been arranged for July 22, the intention being to graze cattle and pluck grass without paying grazing fees. No damage to forests is anticipated. The association of the demonstration with Ekadashi is designed to lend religious significance. An order having recently been passed for the collection of grazing fees by village officers, extension is thus given up to the 13th August. Local Police Officers are experiencing some difficulty on account of boycott. Ibid, July 26.—The forest satyagraha in Sangamner and Akola talukas received considerable support from locals, particularly in the neighbourhood of Pemgiri where the main demonstration occurred. A great majority of the crowd was present through curiosity and hopes of free food. Kolis are reported to be not much interested in the movement. Altogether, the demonstration was rather a disappointment to the organisers. In Ahmednagar the leaders are trying to revive interest in the movement by restarting prabhat feris, but with indifferent success. Intimation is being given and responsibility accepted, but passes are not being taken. The principal meetings were as below:— Audience 21st July Belapur 500 21st July Rahuri 700 to 800 22nd July Bhingar 400 to 500 25th July Rahata 700 to 800 25th July Kharda 400 to 500 26th July Kharda 300 to 400 26th July Deolali 300 26th July Tharabad (Rahuri) 300 to 400 26th July Rahuri 500 to 600 27th July Shevgaon 300 771 The national flag was hoisted on July 19 at Savalavihir (Rahata Police Station) on Maruti's temple; at Samvatsar on the chavdi (Kopargaon), and at Taklimiya on the school (Rahuri), after a procession attended by 300 people.