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

CHAPTER XIV DEFEAT AND SURRENDER (1933-34) WITH the dawn of the new year, Congressmen who were more politically-minded, began to realise that the civil-disobedience movement was in danger of fizzling out. The Independence Day celebrations on January 26th, 1933, were therefore organised with much enthusiasm with a view to rousing the people again. The response everywhere was encouraging. In Calcutta alone, the police had to make 300 arrests besides using force to break up the demonstrations. In Badanganj in Arambagh Sub-division of Hooghly District in Bengal, the police resorted to shooting for dispersing the Congress procession. 'Following the Independence Day celebrations, Mrs. Gandhi was arrested at Borsad in Gujerat and sentenced to six months' imprisonment on February 7th, for leading a procession of women. As soon as the White Paper embodying the Government proposals regarding the Indian Con- stitutional Reforms was announced on March 17th, the annual session of the India National Congress was convened at Calcutta with Pandit Madan Mohon Malaviya as the President- elect. The Congress session was at once banned like the Delhi session of 1932—nevertheless, delegates and leaders assembled in Calcutta from all parts of the country on April 11th, for the occasion. The important leaders who could be easily spotted out were all arrested—including Pandit Mala- viya, Mrs. Motilal Nehru, Mr. M. S. Aney (Central Pro- vinces), Dr. Alam (Punjab), Dr. Syed Mahmud (Bihar), all of them being members of the Congress Working Committee with the exception of Mrs. Nehru. Thereafter, Mrs. J. M. Sengupta proceeded to the appointed place at the head of 2,500 Congressmen for holding the meeting and under her presidentship the meeting was held. Resolutions were passed reaffirming (1) the goal of independence; (2) the efficacy of the method of civil disobedience for attaining that goal, and 291