violence or had attempted to tamper with the loyalty of the army or the police.” This restriction was, however, not observed in practice and from the beginning of March onwards, the country passed through a tide of repression, culminating in the months of November and December in the suppression of volunteer organisations, the promulgation of the Seditious Meetings Act and the arrest and the incarceration of thousands of Indians. The first acts of repression were in connection with the anti-drink campaign. A large number of volunteers were sent to jail for alleged offences in connection with the picketing of liquor shops. Others were dealt with under secs. 107 and 108 of the Cr. P. C. and on their refusal to furnish security for good behaviour were sent to jail. Sec. 144 Cr. P. C. has been used with great effect, but with very doubtful legality in prohibiting public meetings and gagging individuals. The province of Behar was the first to witness repression on an extensive scale which was inaugurated with a circular, issued by the Government giving local officers a carte blanche in regard to any steps they might think necessary to counteract the movement which was described as revolutionary and anarchical. The Government of the Punjab and the U. P. were not slow to follow in their efforts to combat the movement and the Seditious Meetings Act and the provision of the ordinary law were freely resorted to, even where there was no justification for their use. One notable incident which deserves mention was the prohibition of N. C. O. meetings in the Malabar district and the subsequent arrest and imprisonment of Mr. Yakub Hassan and others, the former one of the most respected among the Mussalman leaders, for disobeying the prohibition order.
The Bezwada Programme.—It was at a time when the
