WARNING AGAINST VIOLENCE
Moulana Abdul Bari’s Manifesto
We do not at all desire to inflict any insult or bodily harm on the Prince of Wales. We only wish to save him from being deceived by official prestige and to show him the real feelings of India and its people. The means we have adopted is to declare a hartal from which all violence should be excluded. We have adopted the doctrine of non-violence after great deliberation. We believe that it is the only way of success. Unfortunately there is a party which does not believe in this and is apparently working with us. We request this party to adopt our principles while it works with us or to wait till our methods have proved futile before it puts its own principles into practice. I was very much grieved to hear the troubles in Bombay. The only result was to mitigate the effect of calm and self-control, displayed by the people on the arrest of our renowned leaders. We consider the Bombay Riots to be opposed not only to our political creed but also to our Sharah. By our religious law a Muslim is forbidden to destroy the wine of a Non-Muslim, is bound to compensate the party aggrieved. If the Sharah is so stringent with regard to wine we can well imagine what its orders are with regard to other property. At the present moment we have a quarrel with British Bureaucracy and with no one else in India. Under such conditions the honour and property of all, be they Muslims, Hindus, Parisis, Jews or Christians should be safe in our hands. We should remain firm to our religious commands. I fear that if such disturbances are not prevented in future, the minorities will no longer have faith in the Indian democracy and they will be forced to rely on a foreigner for their defence. Then it will be very difficult for us to attain our object. At the same time, I request these minorities not to be deceived by this interested help of the Bureaucracy. They should bear in mind the deplorable results which may arise by a too heated desire of retaliation and should, therefore, bring themselves under control.
MAULANA ABDUL BARI’S MESSAGE
(From a Correspondent.)
“God has at last blessed us with the cherished desire of mine and Ali Brothers that Almighty has chosen a man from Faranghi Mahal for the sacrifice in the cause of Islam Maulana Salamatullah has topped the list. Convey congratulations to his relations and the members of Faranghi Mahal family. I hope they will feel as happy as I do. I am painfully feeling my absence at this juncture, but God destined so. Tell my brothers to rely on God and to strictly adhere to the creed of Non-violence. I am Starting at the earliest opporttunity.