INDIA: Bombs; Peace Talk

Guerrilla warfare between British garrisons on the northwest frontier and bellicose Pathan tribesmen, begun when a band of Afridi ambuscaded a party of Indian cavalry in the orchards outside Peshawar (TIME, Aug. 18), continued last week. Although Royal Air Force bombers peppered the tribesmen with as many as 50 tons of bombs in a single day, Pesha-war continued surrounded by hostile besiegers. Some observers began to doubt the efficacy of the R. A. F.’s aerial attack. One rumor was that the Afridi left their capes and turbans lying on the ground when they heard the planes coming over, retreated to caves, amused themselves watching the British blow up their raiment. Another rumor reported that the invaders were led by a fearless, six-foot girl named Nobahar, daughter of a dead Afridi chieftain. After a week of air-bombing, British official reports had the Afridi in full retreat.

Re-inforcements continued to arrive in the Peshawar area from Lahore, including a battalion of Seaforth highlanders— the old “Rosshire Buffs”—most feared of all British units by frontier tribesmen for having often and soundly whipped them in the past. The R. A. F. removed all white women from Peshawar, and then proceeded to demolish the villages of every tribe that had joined in the insurrection, allowing the occupants 24 hr. to take to the fields. To put the government of the frontier in the hands of the military, Viceroy Lord Irwin declared martial law.

Meantime, disorder continued to bubble down the Indus, whose banks became the scenes of Hindu v. Moslem rioting. At Sukkur casualties were: 13 Hindus killed, 71 wounded; one Moslem killed, 33 wounded. In the revenue districts of Rohri and Ghotki, looting, kidnaping, murder were reported.

At Poona near the southwest coast, however, was a scene of placidity. “Peace negotiations” were entered into between St. Gandhi, Mrs. Sarojini Naidu, Pandits Motilal Nehru and Jawarhalal, Nehru in Yeroda gaol, and the “moderate” leaders—Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru and Mr. Jayakar. Outcome of this meeting, sanctioned by the Viceroy, was a Gandhi peace proposal whose nature was kept secret.

One of the several Nationalist disturbances of last week took place at Ahmedabad, the city from which St. Gandhi set out last March on his salt-making pilgrimage to the sea. At Ahmedabad Gandhites paraded through the streets with a barrowful of salt which they offered for sale. Police confiscated the cart, locked up 74 manifestants.

In New Delhi a hartal (passive strike) was called after the arrest of 71 Nationalists who were picketing a liquor shop, carrying out the Mahatma’s campaign against foreign cloth and spirits.