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

THE GANDHI-IRWIN PACT AND AFTER 239
developments because they knew that nothing substantial
would be offered to the Congress. But the Congress guided
by the honest and straightforward policy of the Mahatma,
made no preparations for the coming fight. In fact, before
he left for London, the Mahatma assured Lord Irwin that
he would try his level best for a settlement there and when he
left London, he assured the Premier, Mr. Ramsay Macdonald,
that he would endeavour till the last to avoid a resumption of
hostilities and if that was impossible, he would at least strive
to avoid bitterness as far as possible.¹ Further, the day before
Mahatma Gandhi landed in Bombay, he sent by radio an
exceedingly conciliatory message which was immediately
published in all the papers. But that had no effect on the new
Viceroy, Lord Willingdon, who had already perfected his
arrangements and was spoiling for a fight in order to avenge
himself for the slight humiliation which the Government
had to face in agreeing to an armistice with the Congress.
In spite of the inadequate provisions of the Pact, if it had
provided for an inquiry into the alleged atrocities, it would
have had a very healthy check on such misdeeds in future.
During the preceding twelve months there had been excesses
committed by the police and the military in Peshawar,
Gujerat, the United Provinces and the Midnapore District in
Bengal, in connection with which the public had demanded
redress. We have already referred to the shooting in Pesha-
war. In Gujerat, the United Provinces and Midnapore,
excesses had been committed by the forces of the Crown in
trying to suppress the no-tax campaign and in the United
Provinces there had been allegations of assault on women of
a revolting description. In addition to these, a recent incident
which was still fresh in the public mind was the assault by
the police on a peaceful procession in Calcutta on Independence
Day (January 26th, 1931). This procession which was being
led by the writer who was then the Mayor of Calcutta, was
suddenly attacked without warning by British mounted
police armed with lathis (powerful sticks covered with leather)
¹ True to his assurance, on the eve of his arrest under Regulation 25
of 1827 on January 4th, 1932, the Mahatma issued an appeal in which
he said, 'Discard every trace of violence from your heart; give abso-
lute protection to every English man, woman and child.'