| Show Prayers Arrests II allow ollow Gandhi Fast j t PRESTON X GROYER JEW DELHI March 5 UI JI official Iclal India responded to the Ing 1 g of Mohandas I K Gandhi's try y offering prayers of ot thanks thanks- thanks thanks- ing but showing little evidence e enlivened dem demonstrations 0 n t rat ion s the British rule fie papers papers' this morning were j with reports of ot prayers aidy aland aldy al- al dy Mid said and others yet to be from Ceylon off the southern of f India to the northernmost text l Sunday will be a day for its of thank thanksgiving at the thee thees theet es e et of Gandhi's close friends and andS S ney the latter Jatter a resigned fin met tt member f political 13 IS Sire are to re result from the three- three k It c fast there are no advance is is 15 The British are sitting silting 1 They have Gandhi and of ot his followers in con con- ment and they are bottling i more ie day by dayMAn day fA MAn Tried he h Hindustan Times published son Devadas printed I by side on page one a colo Coln col- col o n iyE IY f t prayers offered in various ts is of India and another column 1 searches fines and dis- dis ome of ot those arrested arc are given Others simply arc locked finder rider the defense of India IndiaS sunder is S under which they can be bel I II l I without trial for as long as I government wishes I Jelther the British nor most n observers see much chance arty negotiations between the theer In- In er ment and the outlawed In- In congress looking to any kind settlement rankly the British are hoping Congress will break Into dif dif- 1 political alignments with they en they can deal better than 1 the embittered leaders now SI al TJ fast had one effect i R the British concede It has w the congress a new feeling unity unity which it perhaps had begun to lose during the seven I months it has hu been leaderless I IOne One thing Is certain The long I I confinement of ot active congressional congressional chiefs has hu given the Moslem Mos Mos- i lem lam league leadership a chance to organize along religious lines Ina in ina ina a manner that could not have been done so effectively If Jf the congress' congress workers had been free A certain amount of ot Moslem support which the congress once had now has been weakened by efforts of ot the Moslem league This organization left free to pr press its own ideal of ot a separate state has has made rapid strides both in membership and andIn andIn andin In broadcasting Its ideal of ot dividing dividIng dividing divid divid- ing India into two parts one Hindu Hindu Hindu Hin Hin- du and the other Moslem Every month the leaders of congress remain in Jail permits the rift between Moslems and Hindus Hindus Hindus Hin Hin- dus to grow wider And the BritIsh British British Brit Brit- ish say independence cannot be achieved in India even after the war until such a rift is reconciled The Immediate benefit to the British of ot keeping the leaders jailed is that the status quo can be maintained more easily The British contend the present situation situation situation situa situa- tion is a better basis for conducting conducting conducting conduct conduct- ing war than would be an effort to negotiate with the Indians Deepening Schism But whatever its immediate re results results re- re suits it is clear to foreign observers observers observers ob ob- ob- ob servers that the deepening schism among the Indians themselves will give the British a reason for remaining here after the war for fora a longer period than nationalist leaders currently dream of That the schism really exists exists' was disclosed clearly even during the fast by one of the simplest indications In rich bazaar street in old Delhi many Hindu shops hops closed In protest protest protest pro pro- test against Gandhi's detention Moslem shops remained open This morning before filing this story I made a quick tour of this section The evidence was plain that with the fast ended business business business busi busi- ness was as usual There Is no sign of the hartal tive shop closing that characterized characterized characterized charac charac- the days of ot the fast I |
