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

· 266 THE INDIAN STRUGGLE In November a new ordinance was promulgated by the Government which introduced a veiled form of martial law in the District of Chittagong. Under this ordinance, hardship and penalty were imposed on the people as one would expect under martial law. The curfew order was introduced, people were ordered to carry identification cards, young men were prohibited to use bicycles, political suspects were ordered to remain indoors for weeks at a stretch, collective fines were imposed on villages which were suspected to be frequented by revolutionaries. Moreover, soldiers were made to march through the villages as a display and people were ordered on pain of penalty, to come out and receive them. Many of these orders were issued subsequently in Midnapore and Dacca Districts. While this double dose of repression was being administered, no steps were taken to punish the officials responsible for the happenings at Chittagong, Hijli and Dacca, nor was any compensation or relief given to the sufferers. To add to the unrest, during the period of truce, some revolutionary prisoners were condemned to death and hanged. The vicious circle of official repression—revolutionary terrorism¹—official counter-terrorism—thus went on. A further complication arose when the Calcutta Municipal Corporation passed a resolution² expressing grief at the execution of one of the revolutionary prisoners, Dinesh Chandra Gupta. In the midst of this turmoil, the position of the Congress in Bengal was unenviable. Theoretically, there was peace between the Government and the people, but in reality the relations were strained and there were 'hostilities' on both sides. To consider the situation, a special session of the Bengal Provincial Conference was held at Berhampore in December. The Conference resolved that the Government had virtually violated the Delhi Pact and the Congress should therefore formally give notice to the Government and revive the civil-disobedience campaign, emphasis being laid on the boycott of British goods. It was hoped that the revival of the civil-disobedience movement would divert the energy of ¹ In December 1931, two schoolgirls named Shanti and Suniti, shot dead the Magistrate of Comilla. ² This resolution was resented by the Government as well as by all Britishers.