‘Synthetic sedition’

UNDER the heading ‘Synthetic Sedition’, the Hindu of Madras brings to light a most extraordinary case of dismissal of a government servant on the grounds that he was in active sympathy with the non-cooperation movement. The individual concerned is one Mr Subba Rao, a telegraphist working at the government telegraph office at Bezwada until the 20th of April last, on which date he was dismissed from service. The official was drawing a salary of Rs 175 a month and had served the department for 17 years, during which time he had apparently given no occasion for complaint of any kind against him in his official work. The charges against him in brief are that he subscribed to the Tilak Swarajya Fund; that he encouraged subscribing to the Hindu, the Bombay Chronicle and the Andhra Patrika by discontinuing Justice, a loyalist paper; and that he wore khaddar. Mr CH Malan, the Postmaster-General who issued the order of dismissal, mentioned the acts of the official that formed the grounds of dismissal. The first is that Rao contributed Rs 5 to the Tilak Swarajya Fund in the name of his minor daughter, which, Malan says, is a violation of Rule 22 of the Government Servants’ Conduct Rules. The second is that he “associated with non-cooperators” because he was a member of the Bezwada Town Hall and ‘associated’ with the local Congress authorities, which was objectionable. The third complaint is that he subscribed to the papers in question by discontinuing a loyalist paper to the Telegraph Club.

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