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

170 THE INDIAN STRUGGLE
mittee could accordingly be appointed by the Assembly to
co-operate with the Simon Commission. Of the Provincial
Legislatures, the Central Provinces Legislative Council alone
was able to resist the appointment of a committee. In spite
of the opposition of the Congress and Liberal Parties, all the
other Provincial Legislatures, however, appointed com-
mittees to co-operate with the Commission.
The arrival of the Simon Seven in India in February 1928,
was greeted with an All-India 'hartal' or boycott-demonstra-
tion, organised under the direction of the Congress Working
Committee. Enthusiasm all over the country and particularly
in Bengal was very great. The public expected a positive
lead from the Congress leaders, which could bring the
boycott home to those against whom it was directed. But no
such directions came from the Congress headquarters. Only
in Bengal, the Provincial Congress Committee on its own
responsibility launched an intensive campaign for the boycott
of British goods, the day the Commission landed in Bombay.
There is absolutely no doubt that if the Congress Working
Committee had taken courage in both hands, they could
have anticipated the movement of 1930 by two years and the
appointment of the Simon Commission could have been
made the starting point of such a movement. When the
writer visited the Mahatma in May 1928, at his Ashrama at
Sabarmati, he reported to him the public enthusiasm which
he had met with in many provinces and begged him to come
out of his retirement and give a lead to the country. At
that time the reply of the Mahatma was that he did not see
any light, though before his very eyes the peasantry of
Bardoli were demonstrating through a no-tax campaign that
they were ready for a struggle. During the whole of 1928
and 1929, there was so much unrest in the labour world that
if a political campaign had been started at that time, it would
have been well-timed. Moreover, in 1928 and 1929, there
was more enthusiasm and excitement in provinces like Punjab
and Bengal than in 1930. In 1930, when the movement was
launched by the Mahatma, the labour unrest had subsided to
a large extent and the situation in some provinces was much
quieter than before. After starting the movement in 1930, the