Oral Answers to Questions — India. – in the House of Commons at on 28 July 1924.
Viscount Turnour
, Horsham and Worthing
asked the Undersecretary of State for India if normal conditions of public order have now been restored in Delhi; it British troops have been relieved from street duty; and what was the total number of such troops on such ditty during the riots?
Mr Robert Richards
, Wrexham
The answer to the first two parts of the question is in the affirmative. The Chief Commissioner reports that troops were intermittently employed from the 11th to the 17th July. The maximum number employed was 75 British infantry, with six armoured cars, and 100 Indian cavalry. The troops did not fire.
Mr John Simpson
, Taunton
Have these disturbances ceased all over India, or are they still continuing in other parts?
Mr Robert Richards
, Wrexham
I have no recent information which leads me to believe that disturbances are going on elsewhere.
Viscount Turnour
, Horsham and Worthing
asked the Under-Secretary of State for India how many persons were killed and injured in the recent disturbances in Delhi; and how many of such casualties were attributable to clashes between the rival Hindu and Mohammedan mobs and how many to action by the police and military?
Mr Robert Richards
, Wrexham
16 Hindus and one Mohammedan were killed. 96 Hindus, 50 Mohammedans and four police were injured. These figures do not include casualties treated privately. No casualties are reported to have been caused by the troops, who did not fire. As stated last week, two persons were killed by the police, who opened fire with buckshot.
Viscount Turnour
, Horsham and Worthing
Are we to understand from the hon. Gentleman's answer that the vast Majority of the casualties are caused by the clash between rival parties, and not by the police or military bodies?
Mr Robert Richards
, Wrexham
That is so. Only two were caused by the police.
Colonel Charles Yate
, Melton
In what other places have similar disturbances occurred?
Mr Robert Richards
, Wrexham
I have just said that I have no recent information.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.