Page:Sketch of the Non-cooperation Movement by Babu Rajendra Prasad.pdf/39

 and began to molest visitors to the reception. From small beginnings the riots assumed large proportions; mobs burnt tramcars, smashed liquor shops and even molested some Parsi ladies. Mahatma Gandhi who happened to be in Bombay holding a meeting in another part of the town rushed to the scene of occurrence to quieten the mob. He was deeply affected by the events and he determined to fast till the riots ceased. The riots lasted for several days and several persons were wounded and killed. The Mahatma declared that he had come deliberately to the conclusion that mass Civil Disobedience could not be started then as the atmosphere for it was absent and the cult of Non-violence had not been sufficiently imbibed by the masses. The hartal however in all the other cities and even in villages was not marred by any such incidents. No shops were opened, no vehicles for hire plied and even some public offices had to be closed on account of the inability of the officers to attend for want of conveyance.

Its Success and Results.—The success of the hartal produced great panic among all classes of Europeans and the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and the European Association of Calcutta pressed the Government to take immediate action. The Government of Lord Reading which had brought out the Prince in spite of the protests and warnings of the people felt sorely disappointed at the turn events had taken and decided to secure a welcome for the Prince at the point of the bayonet. On 19th November, the Government of Bengal declared the Khilafat and Congress Volunteer Corps and other similar bodies unlawful under sec. 16 of the Indian Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1908, which had been passed to suppress anarchical bodies and secret societies. The Non-co-operation leaders, on the other hand,