द इण्डियन स्ट्रगल / भारतीय स्वाधीनता संग्राम (नेताजी सुभाष चन्द्र बोस - ऐतिहासिक विश्लेषण)

DESHBANDHU C. R. DAS IN POWER 119 and public opinion in India. It is to be regretted, therefore, that this understanding was not followed up by appropriate action. Not content with his activities in the legislature, the Municipality and in other directions, the Deshbandhu launched another important movement at this time—the Tarakeswar Satyagraha movement. Not far from Calcutta, at a place called Tarakeswar, there is an old temple of 'Baba Taraknath' or 'Shiva.' As in the case of other holy shrines, there was considerable property attached to the temple, which had been endowed in order to provide for its upkeep. Fol- lowing the Hindu custom, there was a trustee, called the Mohunt, in charge of the temple and the attached property. Though the Mohunts are expected to live a chaste and abstemious life, there were allegations against the Mohunt of Tarakeswar with regard to his personal character and to his administration of the endowed property. As Tarakeswar happens to be one of the most holy places of pilgrimage in Bengal and is visited every year by people from all parts of the province, the allegations made against the Mohunt were widely known. After the success of the Akali movement in the Punjab, pressure was brought to bear on the Bengal Congress Committee for starting a similar movement at Tarakeswar. Notices were served on the Mohunt calling upon him to mend his ways but as these attempts were of no avail, in April 1924, the Deshbandhu launched a movement for taking peaceful possession of the temple and the attached property, with a view to placing them under the administra- tion of a public committee. The Mohunt appealed to the Government for help and as soon as volunteers began to move towards the temple and the palace of the Mohunt—the police appeared on the scene. The usual Satyagraha scenes were re-enacted at Tarakeswar—peaceful volunteers moving up from one side and the police attacking them mercilessly on the other and occasionally making arrests. Owing to the intervention of the Government, the issue became a political one. Once again, in order to set an example to the people, the Deshbandhu sent his son to prison at the head of the volunteers. Within a short time, the movement became