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

94 THE INDIAN STRUGGLE
of cases in one afternoon. In the case of Deshbandhu Das,
however, the trial dragged on for two months and since Mr.
Sasmal and I had been made his co-accused in the same case,
we had to suffer the agony of a uselessly long trial. It was
freely talked about at the time that in view of the prestige and
influence commanded by the Deshbandhu, the magistrate
was unwilling to convict him without some show of legality.
Time was therefore given again and again to the prosecution
to collect evidence to prepare their case against him. The
prosecution case rested on certain notices, alleged to have
been signed by him, which were in violation of the Govern-
ment proclamation, banning as illegal all volunteer organi-
sations. Those who worked in the office of the Bengal Con-
gress Committee knew as a matter of fact, that these notices
had not been signed by him. Nevertheless, the official expert
in handwriting gave evidence on oath that the signatures were
genuinely of the Deshbandhu and on the strength of this
so-called expert evidence, he was convicted and sentenced to
six months' imprisonment. These as well as other illegalities
relating to his arrest were pointed out in a statement made
by him before the court towards the end of his trial, in the
course of which he sought to prove that the Government
never hesitate to break the law when it suits their own
purpose. Before sentence was passed, a message was sent on
behalf of the prosecution saying that if he accepted the
Bardoli resolution, regarding the suspension of civil dis-
obedience, the Government would set him free at once, but
he refused to entertain any such proposal.
Soon after our conviction we were transferred to another
prison in Calcutta, the Alipore Central Jail, where we had an
opportunity of meeting representatives from all the districts
in Bengal. Except among the orthodox followers of the
Mahatma who were in a minority, the general feeling was one
of resentment at the Bardoli decision. This feeling was
directed more against the Mahatma, since he was the Dictator
of the All-India Congress Committee and the Bardoli resolu-
tion had been passed at his instance. Accepting the Bardoli
retreat as an accomplished fact, the Deshbandu tried to devise
means for rousing public enthusiasm once again by a change