4ParikramaOn the Path of

Odyssey of the Enlightened – 40

On the Path of Parikrama -4

An important responsibility given

Pandit Govind Vallabh Pant was overseeing the activities of Congress in the United Province in those days. He was in Nainital. They could not get the statistics about Agra region. This matter was brought up in the meeting of the group members. They did not have any option other than collecting information from village to village. Rawatji suggested that Shriram be put on this job, since he had in-depth knowledge of the area. The suggestion was welcomed by other congressmen and it was decided that Shriram would take up this job along with 3-4 other companions. Shriram was also present in the meeting and he started on the job right away. The moment the responsibility was given to him, Shriram immediately came out of the party office; his other associates identified for the job also followed suit. He went home, collected his travel bag and started the campaign.

Within four days, a report with the details of all the fields, their owners, tax amount of one hundred twenty eight villages in that region was ready. How was this done? Shriram and his companions contacted the village panchs and patwaris frequently visiting Tehsil offices. They obtained almost eighty percent of the information from them. Then, they went to some large villages and met the key people and found out the details of farmers in their village and about their tax levies. All this was made into a report and submitted to the Congress district headquarters. This way, Pandit Govind Vallabh Pant received the details of Agra district first. He expressed his surprise at how the entire information was collected so quickly. He asked that his congratulations be conveyed to the person responsible for this success.

Martin had written this incident while describing the style of working of Shriram. He also mentioned that this news about collecting such vast information in four days reached the ears of Gandhiji also. Gandhiji had commented, ‘If there was one person like Shriram in each district, then attaining the goal of independence is possible within a month’. During Nainital conference, Gandhiji had called aside Shriram Sharma and enquired about his style of operation and examined it. Later during the meeting of volunteers Gandhiji praised Shriram and said that with such workers, no power on earth could prevent India from winning its independence. Martin had also written that Shriram was a very dedicated and active worker.

Conspiracy of the administration

District administration had taken this comment seriously. Also Shriram’s contribution in the

“God resides most strongly and evidently where science has not yet progressed to go... And if this is true then it follows that God resides everywhere and in everything.” - Terryl L. Givens

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Akhand Jyoti November - December 2014

preparations for Calcutta Session was also being closely watched. It was being speculated that he would be caught even before the conference began. There was however no apparent reason based on which this could be done. Shriram got a scent of the plans of the administration and decided to go underground. He relinquished the attire of a congress worker and began to wear dhoti-kurta. He grew a beard in place of a sparse moustache and began to look like a real farmer’s son.

Until he had grown beard, he worked in the village. He prepared two hundred volunteers. Then, he began to contact people in towns like Agra, Tundla, Baah, Siroli, etc. This work too could not continue for more than twenty days. He could not hide his identity longer than that. Ultimately his style of working revealed his identity. The lane in Freeganj at Agra where he stayed began to be watched. Shriram used to go to that place once in a while. He would remain engaged in mass contact throughout the day; and wherever the sun set, he would stop working and stay with some volunteer in that area.

Shriram suspected that the police might be keeping a watch at the place that he had made his hideout. So, he sent another friend to go and examine the situation. Shriram’s suspicion turned to be true and he immediately decided to quit Agra. Calcutta was nearly 1300 kilometers away. He decided to move slowly from one station to the other contacting people and finally to reach Calcutta. Seeing that his house in Aanwalkheda was also being watched, he refrained from going there. Thus with two pairs of clothes, a few books and a tumbler, he started from Agra in the first week of March itself. The exact date of start of the journey is not known.

Calcutta Conference

British government was determined not to let the session to be held and was arresting Congress volunteers all over the country. Through whichever places the vehicles bound for Calcutta passed, the government had placed watch guards. All the places in the radius of 200 kms around Calcutta were being closely monitored. In far-off stations, only those wearing swarajya attire were being stopped and questioned. But in nearby stations each and every one was being questioned. Naihari, Ranaghat, Durgapur, Asansol, Aara, Ghatshila, Haldia and Kharagpur had been made almost unreachable by the police. By the last week of March itself, a situation was created that no freedom fighter or a person who took the name of Gandhiji was allowed to pass. More than the police, informers in the civil dress ensured that anyone who uttered the name of Congress or the Session was handed over to the police. If anyone said anything in the railway station or outside the station was sure to be interrogated.

Mahamana Malaviyaji was to preside over the Calcutta conference and hence his arrest was also to be ensured. He started from Banaras for Calcutta as planned and was arrested at Asansol. Over the course of next few days, eminent people like Swaroop Rani Nehru (Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru’s mother), Dr. Syed Mehmood, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai and Anna Saheb were all arrested at the same station.

“This sense of wonder leads most scientists to a Superior Being – der Alte, the Old One, as Einstein affectionately called the Deity – a Superior Intelligence, the Lord of all Creation and Natural Law.” – Nobel laureate, Abdus Salam

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On second of April, Shriram and his associates reached Asansol. An inspector of police from Agra named Anantram was deputed at Asansol. Jagan Prasad Rawat recognized him immediately and warned his friends to move away since they had been recognized. Anantram immediately chased the group along with other policemen and alerted the others in the station by blowing a loud whistle. It was difficult to escape and hence Shriram and his friends did not even try to run. They were apprehended by the police.

The Congress workers were all kept in an enclosed space. It belonged to a landlord and he used to keep his animals there. The government had got it vacated so that it could be used as a makeshift prison. Temporary rooms were made by pitching tents. People like Devdas Gandhi (Gandhiji’s son), Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, Kanhaiyalal Khadiwala, Ravi Shankar Shukla, Srimannarayan and other leaders were also held captive there. Malaviyaji, Swaroop Rani Nehru, Dr. Ahmad were also kept in a nearby place. The objective was to disrupt the session, which was not achieved. What happened was that people could not come in large numbers.

“Through the years, choosing to finish strong has provided me with many benefits: reaching goals, winning a race and gaining satisfaction from knowing I gave it my all. By drawing upon my commitment, I have begun learning to enjoy the ride of life.” - Dan Green

Since Malaviyaji was arrested, Smt Neli Sengupta presided over the session. The Presidential address prepared by Malaviyaji was read out in which he had congratulated Gandhiji on the success of his hunger strike and proposed that the pledge of Poorna Swarajya taken at Lahore Congress be reiterated, and resolutions for boycotting British goods and disobedience to rules made by the British be passed. It goes without saying that all of these proposals were unanimously accepted. There was one proposal about the ‘Mutthi Fund’ (handful fund). It said that all volunteers and those who support the movement should daily take out a handful of grains as contributions to the freedom movement. The amount obtained from that should be deposited in Congress office. Even this proposal was unanimously passed. Neli Sengupta said that the government had arrested more than one and a half lakhs people in the past fifteen months. To disrupt this conference, more than twenty thousand people were arrested. The British government had very well understood that this method of oppression could not suppress the people’s resolve nor prevent them from having their say.

After the conclusion of the session, the people who were arrested began to be released. But Neli Sengupta was detained and was sentenced to six months jail. Because of intervention by powerful people, she was released but other participants were kept under detaintion. Couple of days before being released from Asansol jail, Malaviyaji visited that compound where several people were still held captive.

“A scientific discovery is also a religious discovery. There is no conflict between science and religion. Our knowledge of God is made larger with every discovery we make about the world.” – Nobel laureate, Joseph H. Taylor, Jr. 24 Akhand Jyoti November - December 2014

He met the volunteers separately. When it was Shriram’s turn, they began to introduce him by saying, ‘He had been invested with sacred thread by you. His father is Pandit Roop Kishore…’ Before the sentence was completed, Malaviyaji said, ‘Roop Kishore was my close friend. We have done Bhagavat Katha together. He had made significant contributions from his region for the Hindu Vishwa Vidyalaya.’ After completing his observations, he asked Shriram, ‘How was the shikha-diksha (education) done?’ Shriram said, ‘After completing education in the village school and with my father, I am now receiving further education in the school of revolution.’

Malaviyaji’s indication

Malaviya ji smiled on hearing the reply. He patted Shriram’s back and said that he would visit again on the following day. He said that he had lot of things to talk to Shriram and assign him some responsibilities. But owing to his busy schedule, Malaviyaji could not keep his promise. He had however asked Shriram to visit Shantiniketan of Rabinadranath Tagore. He further told, ‘The time spent there will give direction to your work. Everyone should visit Shanti Niketan. One cannot understand India without visiting this place.’

Among the seven thousand representatives arrested during the convention, four hundred were detained. There was a plan to charge them of rebellion against the state. Shriram was also among the people detained. They were taken to the main jail of Asansol. It is a matter of surprise that other associates of Shriram including Jagan Prasad Rawat were released. Jagan Prasad took the message of Shriram’s detention to Paliwalji. From there, the message went to other big leaders but Shriram had to spend two more weeks in jail.

The moment he was released, Shriram was eager to visit Shanti Niketan. It was about two hundred kilometers away from Asansol. He asked the jailer about the route to be taken to reach Calcutta and the train to be taken. He spoke back in sarcasm that nothing was left in Calcutta and all the drama had ended. He further asked him to collect his wages of jail and go home. Jailer placed eight rupees in his hands and laughed sarcastically.

In those days, computers were a relatively new technology. A famous scientist, SatyendraNath Bose, was quite excited about computers. He told his associates that through computers a world of knowledge will be easily available to man. The invention of computers is one of the greatest achievements of the 20 th century. But in the 21 st century, there is dire need for science to turn in a new direction. The need is that man will have to take all the knowledge and information that he has accumulated thus far, and apply them to consciously inculcate inner sensitivities born out of noble human values. Man will have to use spiritual methods to overcome all his limitations. When this is achieved, the 21 st century will herald an era of a bright future and unlimited happiness for all mankind.

“The more I study science, the more I believe in God.” – Albert Einstein

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