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

CHAPTER II
THE STORM BREAKS (1921)
THE defection of the Moderates from the Congress was res-
ponsible for lowering to some extent the intellectual level of
that body. But this loss was more than compensated by the
rallying of the masses round the Congress banner. Moreover,
Mahatma Gandhi did get as his trusted colleagues some
veteran Congressmen whose reputation stood high in the
country and who now renounced their professional work in
order to give their whole time to the Congress. Mr. C. R.
Das,¹ the leader of the Calcutta Bar, who had already made a
name in Indian politics as also in Bengali literature, gave up
his princely income and plunged into the Non-co-operation
Campaign. From Allahabad came Pandit Motilal Nehru, the
leader of the Allahabad Bar, who also gave up his professional
work. He was joined by his son—Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru—
also an advocate by profession, who was destined to make a
name for himself in the days to come. From the Punjab,
Lala Lajpat Rai, the uncrowned king of that province who
had been a lawyer in his earlier life, came forward to join
the Mahatma. From the Bombay Presidency, the Mahatma
got the support of the Patel brothers, Mr. Vithalbhai and
Mr. Vallabhbhai, both advocates by profession—and also
Mr. N. C. Kelkar of Poona, who was the successor of the
late Lokamanya Tilak in Maharashtra (the southern and
eastern portion of Bombay Presidency). The leaders of the
Central Provinces who joined the Mahatma were Dr. Moonje,
an eye-physician and Mr. Abhyankar, an advocate. The leader
of Bihar was Mr. Rajendra Prasad, who renounced a fat
income and a most promising career at the Patna Bar in
order to work for the Congress. From the Tamil-speaking
¹ So great was the popularity of Mr. C. R. Das at the time that he was
spontaneously given the title of ‘Deshbandhu’ by the people. ‘Deshbandhu’
means literally ‘friend of the country’.
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