CHEPTER 5
A special session of the Indian National Congress was held in Calcutta in September 1920 to take stock of the situation following the massacre in Amritsar. The nation was seething with anger, and the Congress was expected to channelize this anger into a political programme that would finally rid the country of British rule. The stakes were high and the congress meeting aroused great expectations. It was then the rule that any citizen of India could become a member of the Congress party by paying a nominal fee of a few annas. (This rule still remains.) As a result, many young men, deeply disturbed by the events in Amritsar, become members and attended the special session. Among the hundreds of delegates who crowded the hall was Mann Singh, travelling incognito and hoping to avoid the Special Branch men by adopting the guise of a Sikh youth. Of course, all the leading Congress luminaries were also present.
Foremost among them was Mohandas Gandhi, already a household name in India and beginning to be revered as the mahatma. But Gandhi had not yet attained the towering eminence of his late years. He was the first among equals, but there were other titans, older than him and of longer standing as congress leaders. One man whose absence was keenly felt was bal Gangadhar Tilak, who had died only a month ago. But his friend Bipin Chandra Pal, the firebrand Bengali was there, Lala Lajpat Rai the lion of Punjab was there too, as was Motilal Nehru, the great lawyer who had given up his anglophile ways and turned a nationalist. Vallabh Bhai Patel, not yet turned into a Gandhi acolyte, was there as was Rajgopalachari, the erudite South Indian Brahmin. In truth, it was an all India assembly, but dominated by men from Maharashtra and Bengal.
The proceeding commenced with a long rambling speech by the Congress president.
“Let me begin this session by paying homage to a great figure. Mr Bal Gangadhar Tilak who passed away last month. He was a tireless fighter for India’s freedom and though one may not always agree with the methods that he advocated, there is no doubt that he was a great patriot. His contributions to the national struggle will always be remembered. I propose that we observe two minutes’ silence to honour his memory.”
The whole gathering rose and stood in absolute silence. Tilak had been one of the towering figures in the Congress and people remembered that he had spent long years in prison in Mandalay in the cause of freedom.
“Thank you gentleman. You may now sit down. As you know this is a special session called to take stock of a special situation. Let me begin by saying that today our country stands at the crossroads. The government, through its repressive measures, has roused the whole nation against itself. You know that the Congress has been carrying out its struggle by constitutional means. We do not believe in random violence. But policy of constructive cooperation has fallen on deaf years. As the massacre in Amritsar showed-and it was nothing but a massacre of the innocents-the government is not interested in conceding our legitimate demands. Therefore the time has come to change our policies and our methods. This session will discuss how this is to be done. The speakers that I shall call upon today are Mr. Motilal Nehru, Mr. Bipin Chandra Pal and Mr. Gandhi. (A cheer went up at this) May I first call upon Mahtama Gandhi to take the floor.
A slight man in a homespun dhoti rose and went up to the podium. His figure was already familiar to most of the country and a hush fell over the gathering as he began to speak.
“My friends, there are many things that agitate me, and I wish to speak of them today. I agree with the Congress President that the country stands at the crossroads. It is true that the government has increased its repression many times, yet I do not feel despondent. To tell you the truth I feel quite hopeful. It seems to me that Swaraj is now within our reach, for I believe that when a ruler gets tyrannical, his fall is imminent. The lathis of the police and the bullets of the soldiers will not break our spirit. Rather they will harden our resolve and make our vision more clear.
I agree with the president that the time has come to change our strategy and therefore I propose to you that our goal should henceforth be the attainment of Swaraj by all peaceful and legitimate means. I want to lay stress on the word peaceful. We cannot answer the government’s violence with our own violence. We cannot stoop to the level of the government. Our struggle is just and therefore our means cannot be unjust. We have truth on our side and therefore have no need of violence. It is of the greatest importance that our struggle remain peaceful and non-violent.
But then, what must we do, you will ask, in the face of this all pervasive repression. My answer is boycott. Perhaps non-cooperation will be a better word. Henceforth we must boycott all official institutions. If you are a lawyer, you should boycott the courts, If you are a lawyer, you should boycott the courts, if you are a student you should stop attending school are college, if you work for the government, you must stop going to office. If you have been given a title by the government you should return this title. There is no honour in being called a Rai Bahadur if the rest of your countrymen are treated like slaves. All this is not going to be easy, but then no struggle is ever easy. You must remember that we are fighting a mighty empire, and we are fighting it with the only weapons that we have, truth and non-violence.”
A voice from the audience shouted, “does it mean we have to boycott the legislative councils as well?”
Mahatama Gandhi Continued, “yes my friend, it means above all that we refuse to take part in the elections to means above all that we refuse to take part in the elections to the councils, I know many of you will not agree with this. But I consider it importance that we should let the government know that we do not agree with what it offers in the name of reform. We have asked for self-rule, within the empire if possible, but this is not self-rule, It is a travesty of it therefore I say, boycott the councils.
But even this is not sufficient. We must ultimately strike at the government by refusing to pay taxes, they may put us into jail for this, they may confiscate our property, but this is a price that we shall have to pay and I am sure most of you would be willing to pay.
If we do this, then I assure you, Swaraj cannot be far off. We can even attain it in a year. Yes, as early as that. But one thing you must remember. You must not allow the government to pursue its old policy of divide and rule. Therefore Hindu-Muslim unity is of paramount importance and we must support our Muslim brothers in their struggle against British imperialism in Trukey, we must support the Khilafat struggle with all our might.”
Mahatma Gandhi took off his spectacles and looked at the audience before walking backto his seat. It was Motilal Nehru who was called upon next, and there was a big cheer for him as well. He was an impressive looking man with a leonine head that might have belonged to a Roman senator. He took the microphone and started speaking:
“Mr. President and my friends, this is indeed a momentous occasion.”
His voice like, his personality, was impressive-the smooth baritone of a lawyer trained in a hundred courtroom battles, “It is true that the country stands at the crossroads. It is also true that the repression let lose by the government is unprecedented. Nonetheless, I do not find it in my heart to agree fully with the policy that is advocated by Mahatma Gandhi, What he says sounds well in theory but will it work in practice? Will it shake the government and weaken its resolve to crush our legitimate struggle? I doubt it. I do not see how boycotting the courts will help anyone. It will only work against the poor litigants who will neither be able to plead their cases effectively nor defend themselves from criminal charges brought against them by an arbitrary government. By abdicating our duties as lawyers, we well only allow the government to rule at its sweet will and how well this help our struggle. The same argument can be brought against the boycott of schools and colleges. It is the dharma of a student to study. If he neglects his studies he neglects his dharma. It is not for those of tender years to forsake their studies-it is for veterans like us to bear the burden of the struggle.
But my greatest objection is to the boycott of the councils. I agree that what the government has offered us in the name of reform is insufficient. It falls far short of our expectations. Still the legislative councils-however ineffectual they may be-offer us a means of raising our voice against the government. We can carry our struggle forward more effectively by putting the government in the dock on the floor of the house rather than on the street. To give up this opportunity will be to play in the hands of the government. They will pack the councils with their own henchmen and toadies, and run the show as they like. And all the hard work that we have done, all the goodwill built up over the years, will be lost. Therefore I say let us take part in the council elections. Let us take control of the councils and then-and then my friends, we can really challenge the government on its own ground. Because then we will have access to official papers. We will have control over government departments. Civil servants-event the high and mighty ICS officers-will have to listen to us. Oh, I know all the most important departments will remain with the government and even in those that come to us, the governor will have veto powers. Still, I look upon this only as a beginning. Gradually, as time passes and we prove our ability to rule over ourselves, more and more will come to us-until we finally have self-rule. This is my vision of Swaraj, and to attain it, we must carry on the struggle, not indeed my violent means, nor yet by boycotting the government, but by constitutional agitation carried out by appropriating every inch of the space given to us by the government. This is my view of the matter and I urge you to support it.”
Motilal Nehru’s vision obviously enjoyed a good measure of support, because his speech was greeted by a good round of applause. A section of the crowed appeared to be solidly behind him, for they kept applauding till he sat down.
The next speaker was Bipin Chandra Pal, well known in congress circles as the champion of uncompromising resistance to British rule. He was a part of the triumvirate of Lal-Bal-Pal, the other two being Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai and together they symbolised the hardline element in the Congress. The crowd knew that Pal would oppose that Mahatama’s proposals and an expectant hush feel on the hall as her rose to take the microphone.
Pal had a reedy, sing-song voice, which rose in pitch to a shrill scream when he got excited, but today he spoke with obvious restraint. “My Friends, you are all familiar with my views and I do not want to belabour you with a restatement of what you already know. I am well aware of the fact that I am credited with being, along with the late Mr. Tilak, as the representative of the hot-heads in the Congress. I think this charge is unjust, not only to me, but to the memory of Mr. Tilak, who was, to my mind, the greatest leader thrown up by the congress till date. Nobody will accuse Mr Tilak of being a violent man. He was a learned man, a savant, deeply versed in the ancient wisdom of this country. He based his policy on the dictates of reason, not on revolutionary passion. And what does reason, not on revolutionary passion. And what does reason say. My friends, reason says that the British will never leave India, until they are forced to do so.
Is it not a fact that British rule in India would not survive even for a day without the help of natives. It is Indians who run the British Empire. It is Indians who supply the soldiers who fight for the British. It is Indians who supply the thousands of tumble functionaries who run the machinery of the government. It is Indians who sit on the bench as judges and send their own countrymen to the gallows. British rule rests on the more or less willing submission of the Indians and this is a fact that you cannot deny. Now if somebody expects that we will destroy this mighty fabric simply by soul force, simply by truth and non-violence, well then he deludes himself. If somebody thinks that all these soldiers will simply lay down their arms and the babus refuse to work simply by an appeal to their patriotic feelings, well then, I think that we will destroy this mighty fabric simply by soul force, simply by truth and non-violence, well then he deludes himself. If somebody thinks that all these soldiers will simply lay down their arms and the babus refuse to work simply by an appeal to their patriotic feelings, well then, I think that person is a living in a fool’s paradise. I say to you, the British Empire in India will not be overthrown unless and until all these soldiers and clerks the millions of Indians who groan under the yoke of slavery decide to overthrow it by whatever it by whatever means that come to hand. (Prolonged cheering.)
So what course of action should we follow? Well for reasons of prudence I cannot spell out in detail what I have in relentlessly. We must stand up its violence, even if it means the sacrifice of our own lives. We must be uncompromising in our opposition to the government. And we must accept help from whatever quarter it comes. In brief, mere boycott will not do, we must create conditions such that the governments is not able to function. Then and only then can we hope for Swaraj.” (It must be admitted that this deliberate vagueness diluted the force of his speech and placed him at a disadvantage vis a vis Mahatma Gandhi, who had at least put forward a clear cut programme of actions.)
As the meeting broke up and crowd trickled out of the hall four young men could be seen coming out. They were deep I discussion. One of the young men was a Sikh, as was apparent from his beard and turban.Two others seemed to be Bengalis for they wore the Bengali dhoti and silk kurta and the fourth was a tall young man with a stalwart figure, who seemed to be the leader of the group, for the others were listening to him with rapt attention as he spoke. He also looked like a Sikh.
“Well, what do you think dada?”
“What do I think, I think the Congress will lead us nowhere. I have heard these arguments before, Old wine in old bottles, that is what I think.”
“But the Mahatma’s call for boycott. Surely that is something new. I can see that most of the delegates are with him.”
“Boycott, non- coperation. It’s the silliest thing I ever heard. The government will be delighted to know that all that it has to contend with are a bunch of peaceful satyagrahis who will calmly offer it the other cheek After Amritsar they would have expected a national uprising, not a national collapse like this, yes I can see the Burra Sahibs in the Writers’ Building chuckling into their gin and tonic at this turn of events. They couldn’t asked for anything better.”
“But dada, do you have a better plan? Does anyone have a better plan?”
“Yes I do.”
“Tell us about it,” asked one of the Bengali youth, with obvious excitement.
“Not here. Too many Special Branch men snooping around. Let us go somewhere where we can talk without fear of being overheard,” said the tall young man, lowering his voice.
They walked, hand in hand, to a coffee house in College Street. This was a large dimly lit hall, with scores of tables where young men sat, drinking coffee and chatting. The din of a hundred voices raised in animated discussion filled the hall. They took a table in one corner, secure in the knowledge that no one could overhear their discussion without actually coming to their table.
After their coffee had been brought and the waiter had left the four young men started talking again.
“So what is the plan dada?”
“Let me ask you a question. Who do you think the British fear most?” It was meant to be a rhetorical question, for the young man continued without waiting for an answer. “They certainly do not fear the Congress, for they know that its agitation will fizzle out in a matter of months in not weeks. Nor do they fear the revolutionaries, Killing a few officers and soldiers, they know, will only be a pinprick for the mighty British Raj. Even tossing a bomb at the Viceroy, supposing such a thing could be done successfully, would have little effect. Another Lat Sahib would come and it would soon be business as usual. The government knows the revolutionaries are brave but their idealism is ultimately self-defeating and has no support among the masses. No sir, the only thing that the British fear is the Indian soldier. Yes the Indian soldier, the lowly sepoy, who is the backbone of the empire, and who was behind the first and only effective challenge to their rule. It was the Indian soldier who was behind the Mutiny and what the Britishdread above all is another mutiny-like uprising. Look at the precautions they have taken to prevent another uprising. They have divided the army into caste-based regiments so that they can use one against the other should the need arise. They have kept control of the artillery with British officers and they have doubled the number of the tummies in every regiment. They have done everything in their power to ensure that the army never makes common cause on ta national issue. Yet they fear the Indian soldier.”
“Why do they fear the soldier dada, if they have taken all these steps.”
“Because the soldier is the only one who sees the British without their high hats, as it were. He fights alongside his British officers, he sleeps with them, eats with them and even defecates with them. when they are in the field of battle. He knows that they are men like himself. In fact, in endurance, in courage and in tenacity, he knows he is the equal of any Britisher and he knows and feels their dependence on himself. He is trained in their methods of fighting, he has fought with them in foreign lands, and knows them well. He is the only one who can see through the myth of the white man’s invincibility because he has seen the British being beaten by the Pathans in Kabul and Jalalabad, by the Germans in the Flanders and by the Turks in Gallipoli, He knows that the Brithish Empire rests on a colossal bluff-the bluff that the Englishman can never be defeated by natives. He knows that this is a bluff. That is why the British fear the Indian soldier more than anything.
“All that may well be true, but how does it help us. The Indian Army is quartered in cantonments scattered across the country form Quetta to Calcutta. They are divided into hundreds of regiments based on caste and region. How on earth are we going to use them for our cause.”
“You are right. In the normal course of things, the native sepoy cannot be roused against his masters. But there is one circumstance in which he can rise en masse.”
“And what is that. Another round of greased cartridge.”
“Even that wouldn’t work now. They would use Gurkhas, Sikhs, sun worshippers, animists, tribals, there is no shortage of people who are neither Hindus nor Muslims and care nothing for the old taboos. No there is one event in which the soldier could be reused to rebellion. He could be made to believe that the end of the British Empire was nigh, all ate pent up resentments and animosities would come to the fore and they would rise up like a tidal wave. The British Empire wouldn’t last long if that were to happen.”
“That is all very well, but such a thing will never happen,” said the Sikh.
“The trouble with you, sardar, is that you have no patience. I brought you here to tell you how it can be done. Listen carefully now…”
The bearded young man spoke for ten minutes and the others listened with rapt attention. When he had finished there was silence for a while, then the Bengali spoke:
“Daruun dada!The whole government taken hostage. This will certainly convince everyone that the game is up. This is genius, pure genius.”
“Oye, tu to chuppa rustam nikla, but when do we carry out this plan.”
“27” May, the fourth day of the Pachmarhi Week. But until then not a word to anyone. We will meet in the last week of May in the jungles of Sohagpur. Let us lie low until then and steer clear of the police, Goodbye.”
