‘I don’t want to see your face.’
‘Then you write to the Congress Committee. We have been ordered by them to stand guard here.’
One constable came forward and said, ‘What is it, Sethji? What is this lad croaking about?’
Chandumal said, ‘I am telling him to move away from my shop, but he is saying that he will not. Such impertinence!’
The constable threatened the volunteers, ‘Are you two going from here or should I use force?’
‘We are standing on the road and not in the shop.’
The constable wanted to display his sense of duty. He wanted to please the seth so he could be rewarded. He abused the volunteers, but when they ignored him, he pushed one of them so hard that he fell on his face. A few volunteers from here and there gathered around the place. Some sipahis too came in. Onlookers usually enjoy such incidents. They crowded around as well. Somebody shouted, ‘Mahatma Gandhi ki jai!’ Others joined in the sloganeering, and in no time, the place was filled with a sea of people.
One onlooker said, ‘What is it, Lala Chandumal? You are getting this poor fellow harassed in front of your shop and you have no shame. Are you not afraid of God at all?’
Chandumal said, ‘I swear I have not asked these sipahis to do anything. They just went after those poor fellows. I always get a bad name in the locality for no reason.’
One constable countered him, ‘Lalaji, you told us that these two volunteers were teasing your customers. Now you are brushing everything aside.’
‘Lie! An utter lie! A total lie! In trying to demonstrate how dutiful you are, you guys just became insensible. These fellows were standing way beyond the shop. They were neither speaking to anyone nor causing any trouble. You started shoving them around for no reason. I need to sell my wares, not fight with people.’
The other constable said, ‘Lalaji, you are very shrewd. You are the one who incited me, and now you have stepped away. If you had not spoken then was there any reason for me to push them around? Darogaji instructed me to keep an eye over your shop. No volunteers should come there, he said. That is why we came. If you had not complained, why would Darogaji give us this instruction?’
‘Darogaji had to show off how dutiful he was. Why should I take any complaint to him? Everybody is becoming an enemy of the Congress. Those in the police station seethe in resentment against them. Is it because of my complaint that he gave you such instructions?’
By then someone had informed the police station that there was a scuffle between the volunteers and the constables in front of Chandumal’s shop. News reached the Congress office too. Shortly, a whole lot of armed police arrived with the station house officer and the inspector. The Congress activists, too, arrived quickly in large numbers. The size of the gathering increased further. Slogans rent the air repeatedly. Congress leaders and the police were locked in heated exchanges. The result was that the police arrested the two volunteers and marched them to the lock-up.
After the police officers left the place, Sethji told the seniormost Congress leader, their pradhan, ‘Today I have come to learn how cruel these people are towards the volunteers of the Congress.’
‘Then those two volunteers were not arrested in vain. Do you have any further suspicion regarding this matter now? Do you now realize whether we’re really violent and disruptive of peace?’
‘Yes, sir, I do.’
‘Your evidence in our favour is now ensured.’
‘I am going to make it clear, no matter what the consequences. The high-handedness of the police cannot be tolerated any more. I have been under an illusion so far.’
‘The police will not go easy on you,’ the Congress secretary said.
Chandumal said, ‘I will withstand a hundred pressures, but I will not lie. The administration may not support my appeal.’
‘Now our honour lies in your hands,’ said the secretary.
Chandumal asserted, ‘You will not find me a traitor to the country.’
While the office-bearers were leaving the place, the secretary said to the pradhan, ‘It seems the man is genuine.’
The pradhan was not convinced. ‘By tomorrow, everything will be clear.’3
In the evening, Chandumal was called to the police station. The inspector said, ‘You have to give evidence. We are counting on your support.’
Chandumal said, ‘I am ready.’
‘Did the volunteers abuse the constables?’ the inspector asked.
Chandumal replied, ‘I did not hear anything.’
‘Whether you have heard or not does not matter. You have to say that they were pushing the customers around in the shop, starting a scuffle, and then threatening to beat them up. You have to say all this. Darogaji, please get the evidence I have written out for Sethji.’
‘I can’t lie in an open court. Thousands who know me will be present there. Who all can I hide my face from? I need a way out of this somehow.’
‘All this is fine as far as personal dealings are concerned. In political dealings, lies, truth, shame and modesty . . . nothing matters.’
‘But my reputation is at stake.’
‘But in the eyes of the administration, you will earn four times the respect you already have.’
‘No, sir, I can’t testify. Get some other witness.’
‘Do remember that the respect you have now will be shattered.’
‘Let it all go; I have my compulsions.’
‘You will lose the post of treasurer in the Peace Committee.’
‘Does one get one’s bread and butter out of it?’
‘The licence of your gun too will be taken away.’
‘Let it be taken; I don’t care!’
‘There will be an income tax investigation too.’
‘Of course, go ahead and do it. This is what I too had in mind.’
‘You will not even get a chair to sit on.’
‘What good is a chair? I am going to be bankrupt anyway.’
‘Fine, you can go now. Sooner or later we’ll catch up with you.’4
The next day, at the same time, in the Congress office, the following day’s activities were being planned.
