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

184 THE INDIAN STRUGGLE
he was personally unprepared to launch a fight in the imme-
diate future. As a matter of fact, even at the Lahore Congress
in December 1929, the Mahatma had no plans for launching
an anti-Government campaign of any sort—though he
moved the resolution on independence, which was un-
animously adopted by the Congress. Not till February 1930,
after much searching of heart, did he make up his mind to
start a civil-disobedience movement in the country, beginning
with the campaign for the manufacture of salt. But though
the Congress did not give a bold and intelligent lead to the
country during the whole of 1929, the unrest did not abate
in any way. On the contrary, the forces making for revolution
began to grow stronger and stronger, while owing to lack of
co-ordination, much dissipation of energy resulted. Besides
the main current of the Congress movement, three other lines
of activity were clearly visible at this time. There was an
undercurrent of revolutionary activity with a certain amount
of following in northern India—an unrest in the labour world
which extended to every part of the country and an awakening
among the middle-class youths which was manifest everywhere.
The visible expression of the revolutionary movement was
afforded by two incidents which occurred at Lahore and at
Delhi. At Lahore an Inspector of Police, Mr. Saunders, a
Britisher, was assassinated. It was reported that the revolu-
tionaries believed that Mr. Saunders was responsible for the
attack on Lala Lajpat Rai at the time of the anti-Simon
demonstration in Lahore in 1928, which ultimately resulted
in his death and that his assassination was an act of reprisal.
The other incident was the throwing of a bomb in the
Assembly at Delhi during a sitting and two young men,
Sardar Bhagat Singh and Mr. Batukeshwar Dutt, were
arrested in connection therewith. After these overt acts,
there was a round-up of a large number of young men from
all over the country and an All-India conspiracy case was
started at Lahore about the middle of 1929. For some reason
or other, the Lahore conspiracy case excited not only public
interest but public sympathy as well. The reasons probably
were that prior to his arrest, Sardar Bhagat Singh was known
to be the leader of the youth movement (called the Naujawan