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

102 THE INDIAN STRUGGLE
addressed ourselves to our task. One of the tactics we fol-
lowed at the time, consisted in summoning frequent meetings
of Congress organisations throughout the country and
asking for a reversal of the resolutions passed at the Gaya
Congress. At first our party used to be defeated at such
meetings but we gradually made headway and when our
party was able to secure a majority in one place, the news
would encourage our fellow-workers in other places.
After preliminary propaganda had been done all over
India, the first Swarajist Conference was held in March at
Allahabad at the house of Pandit Motilal Nehru. The
constitution and plan of campaign of the Swaraj Party was
drawn up at the Conference. When the constitution was
being discussed, a controversy arose with regard to the
ultimate aim of the Swaraj Party. Was Dominion Status to
be the goal of the Party or Complete Independence? On this
point the constitution of the Congress was not clear. It
merely stated that Swaraj was our goal but did not define
what was meant by Swaraj. As the Swaraj Party was more
practical, it wanted to define clearly what Swaraj meant, but
a complete agreement was not possible on the question,
because there were two groups among the Swarajists. It was
therefore decided, as a compromise, to declare in the con-
stitution that the 'immediate' objective of the Party was the
attainment of Dominion Status. Thus was the conflict
between the young and the old settled for the time being.
The Swarajist Conference over, Mr. Das set out on a long
tour in South India. It was a tremendously uphill work.
The Madras Presidency was at the time one of the strong-
holds of Gandhiism and Mr. Das deliberately undertook to
storm that citadel first. In spite of the grilling heat of a
South Indian summer he had a very successful tour. His
success there had repercussions in other parts of the country.
On his return to Calcutta he undertook the direction of the
propaganda in Bengal with very good results. About this
time the party decided to requisition frequent meetings of the
All-India Congress Committee. At each successive meeting
it was found that the votes of the Swarajists were increasing.
By the middle of the year 1923, such progress was made