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

THE SLUMP 137
the leadership of the Swaraj Party, differences broke out
between him and his Maharashtrian followers. The breach
gradually widened until in an unlucky moment the Pandit
lost his patience with them and in a fit of temper, charac-
teristic of him, declared that 'the diseased limb (viz., the
Maharashtrian group) of the Swaraj Party should be ampu-
tated.' This statement so offended the Maharashtrians that
they resolved to sever all connection with the Pandit and the
Swaraj Party and to start the Responsivist Party. Other
dissensions also appeared within the Swaraj Party later on.
These developments indicated that while Pandit Motilal
Nehru had superior intellectual qualities and a personality
that could draw admiration and respect, he lacked that
emotional appeal which alone can keep a party together
through fair weather and foul.
In the domain of Hindu-Moslem relations, too, the Desh-
bandhu was a unifying force. His 'Bengal Pact' which had
been rejected by the Coconada Congress in December 1923,
but had been ratified by the Provincial Conference in May
1924, had served to convince all Moslems that he was their
real friend. That such a man was at the head of the Swaraj
Party helped to rally Moslem support for that Party and as a
matter of fact, the Swaraj Party in the Bengal Legislative
Council had a large number of Moslem members who had
been elected on a basis of separate electorate. With the death
of the Deshbandhu, the Moslem community no longer
retained their former confidence in the Swaraj Party. More-
over, the political tension created by the Swaraj Party which
had served to hold back the rising tide of communalism,
subsided after his death and the country was then plunged in
inter-communal strife which usurped the field for about two
years. There was another unfortunate development following
the death of the Deshbandhu—namely the weakening of the
extremist attitude of the Party. When the Swaraj Party first
came into existence, it had drawn elements both from the
Right and from the Left. During the lifetime of the leader
the Left elements had the upper hand because he himself
belonged to the Left. But in his absence the Right elements
were able to raise their head. The emergence of inter-