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

268 · THE INDIAN STRUGGLE should pay up their dues pending negotiations. The peasants demanded, on the contrary, that pending negotiation, the collection should be suspended. At this stage the Provincial Congress Committee approached Sardar V. Patel, the Con- gress President, and Mahatma Gandhi, who was then in Europe, for advice. The Mahatma left it to the Committee to do as they thought best. The Peasants' League (Kishan League) of the United Provinces then took the matter in hand and informed the Congress Committee that if they did not start the no-rent campaign—it would be launched by the Kishan League. Faced with the possibility of losing its hold on the masses, the Provincial Congress Committee decided to commence the no-rent campaign. Immediately this was done, an ordinance was issued for suppressing that campaign. A large number of arrests was made under the ordinance and about the middle of December, when Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Mr. Sherwani were leaving Allahabad for Bombay, to make preparations for the reception of the Mahatma, they were arrested in the train. As has been stated at the beginning of this chapter, on December 28th, 1931, Bombay city was en fête for the reception of India's beloved leader. Never was a king or a victorious general given a warmer welcome. A hostile demonstration was attempted by the followers of Dr. Ambedkar as also by the local Communist Party—but the smallness of it only served to throw into bolder relief the tremendous hold which the Mahatma had over the masses. The next day the Congress Working Committee met and authorised Mahatma Gandhi to apply for an interview¹ with the Viceroy and accordingly he sent the following telegram: 'I was unprepared on landing yesterday to find the Frontier and the U.P. Ordinances, shootings in the Frontier and arrests of valued comrades in both and on the top, the Bengal Ordinance awaiting me. I do not know whether I am to regard these as an indication that friendly relations ¹ The writer, who was one of those invited to attend this meeting of the Working Committee, expressed the opinion that in the circumstances it would be humiliating for the Mahatma to apply for an interview. But all the others present thought differently.