Page:Masani - Gandhi's story.pdf/53

Rh an idea came to him. Why not ask Indians all over the country to have a general strike on a chosen day? On this day every shop; office, factory and mill should be closed. The workers should refuse to work and normal life should cease. The people should collect in public places and declare their displeasure at the law peacefully and without violence. The strike would be called a Hartel.

On the day that Gandhiji chose for this strike, however, something terrible happened in a town in the north of India called Amritsar. Responding to Gandhiji's instructions, thousands of people had gathered in a park surrounded by a high wall. British soldiers fired on these defenseless people who could not escape, for the only way out was blocked by a firing squad of soldiers. Large numbers of innocent people were mowed down by British guns. Then a wave of terror spread over the Punjab which was now under martial law. The news of what had happened made Indians want their freedom more than ever. Hindus and Mohammedans rallied round Gandhiji.

When Gandhiji heard of the terrible happenings in the Punjab and of the cruel way in which the agitation was being suppressed there, he felt that he must go immediately and explain to those who had suffered that all their sacrifices had not been in vain, even though the future looked dark. When the government