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

STORMY 1930 207
tered is doubly iniquitous. It prohibits the people from
utilising the salt which has been given by nature and forces
them to import it from abroad. Moreover, the imposition
of the Salt Tax serves to enhance the price of the salt which
even the poorest of the poor has to buy. Explaining this
point to the Viceroy in a letter dated March 2nd, he wrote:
‘If you cannot see your way to deal with these evils and
my letter makes no appeal to your heart, then on the twelfth
day of this month I shall proceed with such co-workers of the
Ashrama as I can take, to disregard the provisions of the Salt
Laws. I regard this (Salt) Tax to be the most iniquitous of
all from the poor man’s standpoint. As the independence
movement is essentially for the poorest in the land, the
beginning will be made with this evil. The wonder is that we
have submitted to the cruel (salt) monopoly for so long.’
In the same letter which was a lengthy document, the
Mahatma tried to explain to the Viceroy, why he was being
forced to resort to civil disobedience. Making it clear that
‘the letter was not intended as a threat but was a simple and
sacred duty peremptory on a civil-resister, the Mahatma
wrote: ‘In common with many of my countrymen I had
hugged the fond hope that the proposed Round Table
Conference might furnish a solution. But when you said
plainly that you could not give any assurance that you or the
British Cabinet would pledge yourselves to support a scheme
of full dominion status, the Round Table Conference could
not possibly furnish the solution for which vocal India is
consciously, and the dumb millions are unconsciously, thirsting.
Needless to say there never was any question of Parliament’s
verdict being anticipated. Instances are not wanting, of the
British Cabinet, in anticipation of the Parliamentary verdict,
having pledged itself to a particular policy. ‘The Delhi
interview having miscarried, there was no option for Pandit
Motilal Nehru and myself but to take steps to carry out the
solemn resolution of the Congress arrived at in Calcutta at
its session in 1928.’ In order to keep the door open for a
compromise, in spite of the launching of the civil-disobedience
campaign, the Mahatma continued: ‘But the resolution of
independence should cause no alarm if the word Dominion