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

STORMY 1930 211
Faced by a non-violent rebellion, the Government first
proceeded to make arrests. But that was of no avail. Accord-
ing to official figures,¹ more than sixty thousand civil resisters
were cast in prison. Special prisons had to be improvised at
short notice but these were filled up in no time. Besides the
activities described above, which were more or less common
to the whole of India, there were special activities in certain
provinces. For instance, in the Central Provinces and a
part of the Bombay Presidency, disobedience of forest
laws was started and people began to cut down timber at
will. In Gujerat, the United Provinces and certain districts
of Bengal, particularly Midnapore District, non-payment of
taxes and of land revenue was launched. In the North-West
Frontier Province, thanks to the efforts of Khan Abdul
Ghaffar Khan, better known as the Frontier Gandhi, an
intensive anti-Government movement was on foot, including
the non-payment of taxes. In spite of the warlike traditions
of the people there, the movement was entirely non-violent.
The Frontier Gandhi had organised a corps of volunteers
dressed in red uniform who were called 'Khodai-Khidmad-
gar' or 'Servants of God.' The red-shirt volunteers were an
eye-sore to the Government, because their campaign was
affecting the loyalty of the people who had formerly contri-
buted some of the finest regiments to the Indian Army.
Moreover, because of the strategic position of the Frontier
Province, a political movement in that part of the country
was exceedingly unwelcome to the Government.
As soon as the Government realised the serious proportions
which the campaign had assumed, they became entirely
ruthless and brutal in their attempts at suppression. It is
not possible to describe the atrocities committed by the forces
of the Crown—including both the police and the military—in
this connection. It is difficult to say which province suffered
most, for each province had its tale of woe. In Bengal, the
¹ The official figures are an underestimate. The writer knows from
personal experience that many people were sentenced on charges like
stealing, exercising intimidation, rioting, etc., though they were. full-
fledged Satyagrahis. As the Satyagrahis did not take any part in the Court
proceedings, these charges were never challenged. The official figures
are based on the returns for purely political offences.