Back to the Hangman (Opinions of leading American jour- nals on the deportation of Hindu political prisoners and _ refugees.) FRIENDS of FREEDOM for INDIA Room 601, 7 East 15TH STREET EB 2 41 NEW YORK CITY RESOLUTIONS Adopted by mass meeting of Friends of Freedom for India, at Central Opera House, New York City, April 10, 1919. WHEREAS intolerable conditions in India, both political and economic, have driven Hindus to challenge the continuation of British rule and ex- ploitation; and WHEREAS many of these Hindus have been forced to seek refuge in America, where they have continued to carry on their activities in behalf of the independence of their native land, and have been convicted in Ameri- can courts and sentenced to imprisonment for violation of war statutes, and WHEREAS these Hindus are now being held for deportation, or are facing deportation to India, an action which is tantamount to turning them over to their executioners; an action which would mean the violation of the American principle of political asylum, granted by the United States since its beginning as a nation; therefore BE IT RESOLVED That we, the Friends of Freedom for India, in mass meeting assembled, at the Central Opera House, New York City, on April 10, 1919, do hereby protest against the continued prosecution of Hin- dus by this government, and do hereby demand that all proceedings against them, individually and collectively, be dismissed; and further- more, that general political amnesty be granted to all political and industrial prisoners, and that all Hindus now in prison or out on bail on political charges be included in that category. AND BE IT ALSO RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to President Wilson, in Paris, to the Department of Labor, and to the Department of State for the information of Congress. GOPAL SINGH Young Hindu held for deportation. | A MESSAGE Dear Frienps :— Remembering the traditions and principles for which the American people have stood, I came to this country to present the case of India. At the hands of British imperialism India is undergoing unprecedented and unparalled suffer- ing, misery and oppression. My aim has been to arouse the consciousness of America to this important question. In doing so, I have been trapped through the machinations of British propaganda in this country. I have served one year and one day in the Federal prison at McNeil’s Island, Washington. I am now held in bail of $1,000, for deportation. If I am deported I will meet the same fate as some of my co-workers for the cause of India’s independence. May I not éxpress my hearty thanks with a sense of gratefulness for all that you are doing for me and my country? I do not fear suffering, because I know that many must suffér that suffering may be removed. GOPAL SINGH. GOPAL SINGH FACES DEPORTATION From the New Republic, Feb. 22, 1919. Gopal’ Singh, Hindu revolutionary, was convicted of violation of the neutrality laws of the United States, and sentenced to one year in 3 prison. On February 23rd his sentence expires, and, according to our present methods of dealing with undesirable aliens, he will be deported to India, there to suffer whatever penalties may be imposed for participation in revolutionary activity. Thus, in effect, we shall extradite a political prisoner, although we pretend to accord the right of asylum as any other free nation does. Suppose that we had a revo- lutionary party in the Philippines and that some of its members escaped to England; would there be any method by which our Philippine gov- ernment could make England surrender them for punishment? None whatever; the British have too keen a sense for the meaning of liberty to permit it to be whittled away by administrative devices. If Philip- pine revolutionists in England violated the British neutrality laws, they would be arrested and sent to jail. If their continued presence in the country were regarded as undesirable, they would be ordered to leave, and find asylum elsewhere if they could. That is as far as we can go, ourselves, as a freedom loving people. We ought not to per- mit plotting here against friendly governments. But neither ought we to help foreign governments in hunting down men charged with polit- ical offenses. That is to set precedents we shall have occasion to regret. WASHINGTON AND THE HINDU. On the 22nd of February countless thousands of heads were bared in memory of our valiant and venerable hero—George Wash- ington. It was he who raised his voice, who used his pen and who wielded his sword in the overthrow of the yoke of Great Britain. In our public schools, in colleges, in churches and in the assemblies the multitudes gathered to pay homage to the man who was “ first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” As his name was uttered hearts throbbed faster and beat warmer. A feeling of awe and reverence swept the whole nation. And all bowed to do homage to America’s foremost revolutionist. This, on the 22nd of February, 1919. A few days ago a Hindu incarcerated behind the prison walls of America was notified that when his term expired he would be deported to India. The accusation against him was none other than that he tried to do for the Hindus precisely that which Washington did for the ~ Americans. Such is the irony of fate!—The Commonwealth, March, 1919, DEPORTED TO DEATH. Oakland World, (California), March 28, 1919 When any nation assumes to be “its brother’s keeper” it takes unto itself the responsibility of life and liberty of the people in its care. When that nation fails in its assumed guardianship and the “kept brothers” fall victims of greed and vicious exploitation, then is it 1 a humané act for America to deport men and women who have comé to our shores seeking refuge from the master’ nation ? India along with Ireland has had its plea before the world for liberty for many years. It has reared sons up from among its op- pressed people to demand this liberty and the iron heel of despotism has trampled them into the dirt. Some escaped to our shores and here sought. to organize others into a society:for the advancement of the cause of India. Just as hun- dreds of societies are organized for the advancement of the cause of Treland. But there seems to be a difference between an Irish-American and an India-American. The Irish can have great parades, their speakers can denounce “ The Mother Country” as only Irishmen can do, and even our Congress can pass resolutions by large majorities demanding the freedom and self-determination of Ireland. India, on her knees, pleading for mercy, finds nothing but con- tempt and dungeons for her rebel sons and daughters. Walt Whitman, America’s greatest singer, said of America, “I am the friend of every dauntless rebel.” So how can we “proudly boast of our haven of refuge,” when the following can happen to those who came to us for protection and help ? This list of names is those of Indians who returned to India and who were executed on their return after a trial by a commission of three appointed by the English government: / The men who were executed after their return from the U. S.: Only crime—membership in Pacific-Hindustan Asso- ciation, Treason: Gurdit Singh, Balwant Singh, Kartar Singh, Dhian Singh, Kanshi Ram, Rahmat Ali Khan, Lal Singh, Bakhshish Singh, Jeun Singh, Jagat Singh, Sajan Singh, Iswar Singh, Mihan Singh, Kala Singh, Atma Singh, Buta Singh, Banta Singh, Chanan Singh, Bishnu Ganesh Pin- gle, Kanga Singh, Bir Singh, Uttam Singh, Rur Singh and Narain Singh. And this is a list who are now in the terrible prisons and prison camps of India for life: Bhai Parmanand, Ram Saran, Rala Singh, Surain Singh, Wasawa Singh, Parma Nand, Kala Singh, Udham Singh, Indar Singh, Gurdit Singh, Chuhr Singh, Jeun Singh, Kala Singh, Kharak Singh, Inder Singh, Shib Singh, Kirpal Singh, Chattar Singh, Harnam Singh, Surain Singh, Jagat Singh, Bakhshish Singh, Nidhan Singh, Surain Singh, Sher Singh, Kehr Singh, Dirdi Singh, Lal Singh, Harnam Singh, Jagat Ram, Khushhak Singh, Pirthi Singh, Nand Singh, Bhan Singh, Chuhr Singh, Gurkul Singh, Bishan Singh, Madan ) Singh, Indar Singh Garanhi, Jawala Singh, Mangal Singh, Piara Singh, Rur Singh, Sher Singh, Basakha Singh, Kishan Das, Baja Singh, Jamana Das and Hari Singh. Commission of three appointed by English Government. They were tried and condemned at Lahore, Punjab, India. No jury of Hindus passed on their guilt or innoconce. It was execution and prison by British “Commission.” And now another is to be deported. Gopal Singh was tried and convicted and sentenced for one year and a day for carrying on propaganda work for the liberation of India, which is said to be against the neutrality laws of this country. He acknowledged that he did aid in this propaganda and that he be- longed to the association that was organized for that purpose. He has served his erm and now after a brief hearing he is ordered deported and that means death or imprisonment on his return to “the country from which he came.” Why send this man back to be killed? Why not do that ourselves if he is so bad a man that he is dangerous to human society? Did we deport Mrs. Skefington, are we deporting the Irish presi- dent who is now in this country urging all Irishmen to back up the New Irish Republic ? Are we deporting the retainers of the Czar who are plotting every moment for the overthrow of the Soviet Government of Russia and the re-establishment of the old order there? NO! Don’t think that I am advocating the deportation of any of these. I am for Ireland, [ am for the Soviet. I would not have friend. or foe deported, but in comparison, why the discrimination ? If the law is winked at for one or two groups, then why the strict letter of it for the Hindu? It is answered perhaps in one word:—POWER. The Irish have a balance of voting and industrial power in America. The cause of India looks as just to us as the cause of Ireland, and we think that the cause of the Russian Czar propagandists is absolutely without any sense of justice whatever. Again we say why the discrimination ? And the brother Hindu mentioned above is not the only one slated for deportation. Three more are to go if “the law’ is carried out, for we are not disputing that it is “the law.’ Bhagwan Singh’s term ends at McNeal’s Island the 29th of July, 1919; Santokh Singh, October 2nd, 1919, and Taraknath Das, Novem- ber 2nd, 1919. They were also convicted for “propaganda” in this country and for sending it to their own country. The only question that arises is: Should these men be sent to India to be shot or to lie in prison for life for propaganda? For LIBERTY PROPAGANDA ? 6 Wm. Jennings Bryan and La Follette put out the same kind of propaganda in behalf of India that these men put out. In fact part of their propaganda was what they wrote and circulated. Such men as Frank Walsh, Paul U. Kellogg and others of equal note are now pleading for these men to be saved from the English firing squad. Socialists have, of course, never hesitated to stand for India and freedom. So in behalf of India we appeal to you, our Comrades and fellow workers, to demand a halt on these deportations, and that the Hindu be given as square a deal as Ireland is getting at least, and the Lord knows that isn’t nearly equal to our boast of being the refuge of “every dauntless rebel.” To show you that protest does some good you will recall that fifty- four radicals were picked up in Seattle and vicinity and deported as far as Ellis Island, New York. The Congressman from that district boasted that all agitators are to be served that way. Caroline A. Lowe and others, including the editor of The Survey Magazine, got busy and demanded a hearing for these men and one woman, the re- sult is that only seventeen are to be deported, and if our information is correct they are not adverse to being deported. A number of them are already released and others will be. Even the seventeen, if given a public hearing, will be allowed to go free, for some real Americans are on he job and autocracy sneaks into its lair when the light of pub- licity is thrown on its dark deeds. We have no brief, except the brief of humanity, for these Hindus. We have the right of an American Citizen to appeal to you, who love justice and who do not want the blood of innocent men on your hands, to save these men from deportation. Murder is murder, and America must not be a partner in the crimes of other nations against the men and women who battle for liberty. Let us make good our poet’s boast that America “ is the friend of every dauntless rebel.” THE CASE AGAINST DEPORTATION. From the Dial, March 8, 1919 Weise ave The amendment to the Immigration act goes much further. It specifically states that advocacy of the overthrow by force of any government whatsoever shall be considered grounds for the deporta- tion of any alien. Now, to include this provision within the scope of the amendment, is manifestly to make the law ridiculous, or, as is more plausibly the case, to make it just an instrument of indiscriminate €oercion. .. ce gee Who of us cannot today arise in a public meeting and denounce the British government in Ireland to his heart’s content and end by advocating its overthrow by force? It would be a violation of 7 the law, but it would be a violation very unlikely to be brought to a grand jury’s attention—unless, of course, we were a “ dangerous ” labor agitator. And even then the local District Attorney would be likely to be easy. Why? Well, the Irish have a big vote in this coun- try; they have the sympathy of a large and powerful section of Ameri- can organized labor. In other words, so long as an agitator against a foreign government is respectable, so long as he has any political back- ing in this couitry, so long as he is not mixed up with any radical wing of the labor movement, he can agitate against a foreign government as vigorously as he pleases. It is only the weak and the unprotected who have to fear deportation. If, for example, the Hindus recently scheduled for deportation had an influence on American political life commensurate with the Irish, who of us would be so naive as to imagine that they would now be awaiting the pleasure of the immigration au- thorities? We cite these pitiful cases last, for not only do they illus- trate the manifest hypocrisy of the law, but also how far we have wan- dered from our former proud estate of political asylum. We stand ready today to deport Hindus who advocate the overthrow of the British government in India by force-—indeed, we have already actually de- ported some of them, blind or indifferent to the fact that such deporta- tion for a Hindu nationalist usually means execution by the British authorities. As long as any government, however corrupt or tyranni- cal, or vicious, is formally recognized, refugees have not the right in the United States to advocate the overthrow by force of that govern- ment. We do not, of course, say, or even mean to imply, that the government of India, under British rule, is either corrupt or ane nical, or vicious. But we do say that even 10 years ago it never would have occurred to us to deny a Hindu refugee the right to say exactly that, if he thought it was true. OUR IMMIGRATION BUREAU WOULD HAVE DEPORTED GARIBALDI! World Tomorrow, March, 1919. One of the proudest traditions of Anglo-Saxon law is the right of asylum for political refugees. Under it, Mazzini, Kossuth, Garibaldi, Marx, Kropotkin and a host of others of all nations have lived, written and preached their cause in England or in America free men and un- disturbed. Our American immigration laws have always expressly excluded alien political offenders from the category of inadmissable criminals. Yet at the present time in violation of this spirit of free asylum, if not of the letter of our laws, a number of Hindus are serving prison terms for activities the aim of which has been to secure a dif- ferent political regime for their country, and a number of others are under indictment, awaiting trial for similar charges. This latter group includes Taraknath Das, now serving a two-year sentence in Leaven- 8 worth Prison, Bhagwan Singh, serving eighteen months at McNeil Island, Washington; Sailendranath Ghose, under bail in New York, and an American woman, Agnes Smedley, also under bail in New York City. The main charge in the indictments in these cases states that the defendants acted as representatives of a “foreign government ”—mean- ing the Indian Nationalist Party—without prior notification of the Secretary of State. It is needless to state that the Indian Nationalist Party is not a foreign government. Another charge is that the defend- ants published a book entitled “Isolation of Japan in World Politics,” containing “false statements and reports.” This book, among other things, states that it is Japan’s duty to Asia, in case of a revolution in India, to repudiate the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, and support the Indian revolutionists. An attempt was made in November to take the defendants to San Francisco for trial. An appeal, which is now pend- ing, was made to the Supreme Court to resist this removal. Another case was started on December 3d in San Francisco against Mr. Das, one of the defendants, to revoke his citizenship, which was acquired by naturalization a few years ago. This step is believed to be but a preliminary to deportation. Deportation for an Indian Nationalist has generally meant execution at the hands of the British authorities in India. It is this fate which threatens Mr. Singh who was released from prison on February 22nd and is now being held for deportation. Though the charge against every one of the defendants is based upon a violation of the Espionage Act, the Hindus and the American sympathizers assert that the real power behind the prosecution is the British Indian government which, in the recent San Francisco trial, openly to extraordinary lengths to secure a conviction. These cases are sufficiently similar to those of other revolutionists —Puren, Rudovich and Kossuth—who in the past have found refuge in America, and who have openly urged their cause and secured finan- cial and moral support for it, to have aroused the interest of large groups of radical and liberal Americans, “DEPORTATION MEANS DEATH FOR A HINDU.” Professor Richard Gottheil, of Columbia University, sent a letter to the New York Times on April 10th, in which he declared that a mass meeting, held by the Friends of Freedom for India, an American organization, was an effort to drive a cleft between England and America. He also declared to be absolutely untrue the statement that Hindu revolutionaries, deported to India, met death at the hands of the British. He made other similar charges, and denounced the mass meeting held to protest against the deportation of Hindu refugees and _ political prisoners, particularly Gopal Singh, a young Hindu held for deportation in Seattle. Professor Robert Morss Lovett, Editor of the Dial Magazine, and Temporary President of the Friends of Freedom for India, answered Professor Gottheil’s letter. The Times failed to publish it, while at the same time it had given promi- nent space to the letter of Professor Gottheil. Professor Lovett’s answer follows: Editor of the New York Times Sir: My attention has been called to Professor Gottheil’s letter in your issue of April 10th declaring that the statement “Deportation for a Hindu Nationalist ordinarily means execution by the British authorities in India,” is an “audacious untruth” which should be “gibbeted at once.” Professor Gottheil will recognize that the penalty for treason is death, and that Hindu Nationalists are regarded by the British as guilty of treason, and will be tried under that charge. Under the Defense of India Act, put into effect at the beginning of the war, jury trial and the right of appeal are suspended. It is hardly necessary to cite cases in which the extreme penalty has been visited on Hindu Nationalists. The Government report on Revolutionary Conspiracies, page 66, paragraph 143, gives an account of the Lahore Conspiracy case of 1916; of 61 tried, 23 were hanged, 27 acquitted, and the rest sentenced to imprisonment for life in the Andaman Islands. The same report gives an account of the Mandalay Conspiracy of 1916, resulting in the hanging of 12. A case which is closely parallel to that of Gopal Singh, now under sentence of deportation, and for whose release petitions are being ad- dressed to the Department of Labor, is that of G. V. Savarkar, who was accused of aiding in the shipping of arms to India. He was ex- tradited from France, and deported to India, where he was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Andaman Islands, where he now is. A case which illustrates the activity of the British Secret Service is that of Dr. Mathura Singh, who was kidnapped by British agents 10 in Tashkend, Russian Turkestan, in defiance of the law of nations, and on arrival in Kashmir was shot without trial. Of the 400 Hindus who sought to enter Canada in 1914, 60 were shot after their deportation to India. Whether or not we believe that British rule of India is better than any alternative, we cannot withhold sympathy from the young Hindu patriots whose love of their country takes the form of desire for in- dependence, self-determination, self-government, and who dare im- prisonment, torture, death in that cause. Their only crime is one which Adams, Franklin and Jefferson committed, for whose asylum in France we are grateful. The refuge which we granted so liberally to revolutionists from Hungary, Ireland, Russia and Cuba should not he withdrawn from the Hindus. Professor Gottheil’s assumption that the whole matter is part of a plan to “drive a cleft between America and Great Britain” is absurd. On the contrary, while the United States and Great Britain will never quarrel over India, it is certain that a measure of ill feeling between these nations will result from the continuation of such atrocities as are noted above. It is in the interest of Anglo-American understanding that Hindus who have escaped to this country be accorded the right of asylum and that the activities of the British Secret Service be crushed. Above all, American public opinion may render the greatest possible service to England in the case of India, as it has already in the case of Ireland, by showing itself unmistakably against oppression and cruelty. Rosert Morss Lovett. April 14, 1919 ACT NOW! Send a message to Secretary of Labor Wilson, protesting against deportation of Hindus. Demand that the continued prosecution of Hindus cease at once and that America maintain a shred of her decency toward the oppressed of other lands. Join the Friends of Freedom for India, an organization which aims to maintain the right of political asylum, and to present the truth about India to the world. 11 The Inquisition Revived The Inquisition and the Star Chamber proceedings are a reality in India today. The Rowlatt Bills, passed by the British Indian Government, and now in full force, provide for: Search without warrant; arrest upon suspicion, without warrant, of any Indian, detention for indefinite duration of time, without trial. Accused not confronted with accusors or witnesses, and kept ignor- ant of their names; accused has only the right to written account of offenses attributed to him, Accused denied help of lawyers; no witnesses allowed in his defense. Secret trial, before Commission. Trial by jury denied. Right of appeal denied. Prosecution not bound “to observe rules of the law of evidence.” Prosecution given power to use “any and every means in enforcing bills and in obtaining confessions.” In other words, TORTURE is legalized. Internment to certain specified areas of ex-political prisoners; bonds for good behavior for period of years. Arrest of associates of ex-political prisoners. Arrest and imprisonment of persons possessing documents intended for publication or circulation—a portion of which might be considered seditious. “Seditious” meaning absence of affection for the Government. Indians in India are granted the same status as dogs with the rabies. Are we, in America, going to send back to the Inquisition men who have come to us seeking refuge? Join us. Protest against the deportation of Hindus. FRIENDS OF FREEDOM FOR INDIA Room 601, 7 East 15th Streer, New York City Rosert Morss Lovert, Temporary President FRANK P. WAtsH, Vice President AGNES SMEDLEY, Secretary DupLry Fretp MAtoner, Vice President Lours P. Locuner, Treasurer Contributions and monthly pledges requested.