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

· 266 THE INDIAN STRUGGLE
In November a new ordinance was promulgated by the
Government which introduced a veiled form of martial law
in the District of Chittagong. Under this ordinance, hardship
and penalty were imposed on the people as one would expect
under martial law. The curfew order was introduced, people
were ordered to carry identification cards, young men were
prohibited to use bicycles, political suspects were ordered to
remain indoors for weeks at a stretch, collective fines were
imposed on villages which were suspected to be frequented
by revolutionaries. Moreover, soldiers were made to march
through the villages as a display and people were ordered on
pain of penalty, to come out and receive them. Many of these
orders were issued subsequently in Midnapore and Dacca
Districts. While this double dose of repression was being
administered, no steps were taken to punish the officials
responsible for the happenings at Chittagong, Hijli and
Dacca, nor was any compensation or relief given to the
sufferers. To add to the unrest, during the period of truce,
some revolutionary prisoners were condemned to death and
hanged. The vicious circle of official repression—revolutionary
terrorism¹—official counter-terrorism—thus went on. A
further complication arose when the Calcutta Municipal
Corporation passed a resolution² expressing grief at the
execution of one of the revolutionary prisoners, Dinesh
Chandra Gupta. In the midst of this turmoil, the position of
the Congress in Bengal was unenviable. Theoretically, there
was peace between the Government and the people, but in
reality the relations were strained and there were 'hostilities'
on both sides. To consider the situation, a special session of
the Bengal Provincial Conference was held at Berhampore in
December. The Conference resolved that the Government
had virtually violated the Delhi Pact and the Congress should
therefore formally give notice to the Government and revive
the civil-disobedience campaign, emphasis being laid on the
boycott of British goods. It was hoped that the revival of
the civil-disobedience movement would divert the energy of
¹ In December 1931, two schoolgirls named Shanti and Suniti, shot
dead the Magistrate of Comilla.
² This resolution was resented by the Government as well as by all
Britishers.