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

THE FIGHT RESUMED 273
among whom were included 5,325 women and many children,
have been arrested, imprisoned and humiliated. This could
not possibly include arrests in the far-off villages in the
interior of the country and, therefore, the Congress
estimates the total arrests to be over 80,000 up to that date.
The jails are overcrowded and ordinary prisoners are being
released before their time to make room for political
prisoners. To this has to be added the number of arrests
made during the last ten days, including those of the
delegates to the Delhi Congress. According to the reports
in the Press, firing has been resorted to in at least 29
cases with considerable loss of life. There have been lathi
charges on unarmed crowds at 325 places. There have been
633 cases of house searches and 102 cases of confiscation
of property. A general policy has been pursued of imposing
extraordinarily heavy fines on persons who have been con-
victed in connection with the movement and property far
in excess of what was necessary for realising the amount of
the fines has been attached and sold. The Press has been
gagged as it has never been gagged before. 163 cases have
been reported where the newspapers and public presses
have been regulated by orders for confiscation, demands
for security and consequent closing down of the presses,
warnings, searches and arrests of editors, printers or
keepers. Numerous public meetings and processions of
non-violent men and women have been dispersed by lathi
charges, and sometimes by firing.' (Indian Recorder,
Calcutta, p. 271.)
In connection with the above report, it may be noted, that
during the period under review, political prisoners in Karachi
Jail and in Haripur Jail in the Frontier Province were subjected
to whipping. In Rajshahi Jail in Bengal, political prisoners
were subjected to numerous humiliating punishments like
bar-fetters, night handcuffs, gunny clothing, etc. In Suri Jail
in Bengal, women prisoners went on hunger-strike as a protest
against ill-treatment.¹
¹ In many other prisons similar incidents took place. In Rajmundhry
Jail, a prisoner belonging to the Lahore Conspiracy Case was flogged.
In Bellary Jail, political prisoners were attacked by warders with sticks
(lathis). In the Deoli Detention Camp for Bengal state-prisoners near
Ajmer, the state-prisoners were assaulted by the guards and seriously
injured. In all such cases the usual charge against the prisoners was one
of insubordination.
S