conflict is raging in Malabar: it is a crime against India to spend millions of rupees on a mere show when millions of men are living in a state of chronic starva- tion. Eight lacs of rupees have been voted away by the Bombay Council alone for the pageant.
The visit is being heralded by repression in the land. In Sindh over fifty six non-co-operators are in gaol. Some of the bravest of Musalmans are being tried for holding certain- opinions. Nineteen Bengal workers have been just imprisoned including Mr. Sen Gupta, the leading Barrister of the place. A Musalman Pir and three other selfless workers are already in gaol for a similiar 'crime*. Several leaders of Karnatak are also imprisoned, and now its chief man is on trial for saying what I have said repeatedly in these columns and what Congressmen have been saying all over during the past twelve months. Several leaders of the Central Provinces have been similarly deprived of their liberty. A most popular doctor, Dr Paranjpye, a man universally respected for his selflessness, is suffering rigorous imprisonment like a common felon. I have by no means exhausted the list of imprisonments of non-co-operators. Whether, they are a test of real crime or an answer to growing disaffection, the Prince's visit is, to say the least, most inopportune. There is no doubt that the people do not want His Royal Highness to visit India at the present jijncture. They have expressed their opinion in DO uncertain terms. They have declared that Bombay should observe Hartal on the day of his landing at Bombay. It is a clear imposition upon the people to bring the Prince in the teeth of their opposition.
�� �
