Odyssey of the Enlightened — 39: On the Path of Parikrama — 3
Transport Services Disrupted
A young village lad came panting to the policeman who was guarding the railway line seven kilometers away from Tundla station. He told the policeman that some people were trying to dismantle the railway track about three miles away. Saying this, the boy showed the policeman a spanner with which nuts and bolts are removed. The policeman felt convinced. He called two other policemen and followed the boy.
This way one kilometer-long railway line was freed from police observation. At around one o'clock in the afternoon, a passenger train from Agra to Tundla approached at normal speed. Two young men were roaming near the railway track. One of the youth removed a red cloth from his pocket and began to practice running towards the train on the track. The other man said — 'It is okay. Don't try to do too much drama. When it is the time to exhibit your skills, do it then.' Saying this, he smiled. The person who was exhibiting humor even during that critical time of struggle was none other than Shriram — who was in a totally new disguise with a beard on his face, looking like a farmer coming home after a hard day's work in the fields.
He actually held the red cloth and ran on the track waving it like a flag. The train was moving at a speed of 30–35 kmph when the driver saw a man running towards the train waving a red cloth. The driver applied the brakes and the train came to an abrupt halt.
Explosive Destruction
The moment the train stopped on its tracks, 10–12 youngsters came out from their hiding places in the bushes near the train. They went and stood by the bogie in which the guard was present. The guard was made to step down from the train and was encircled by two men. They thrust the towel-covered gun onto the guard and hence he stood upright. They shouted that the first-class passengers should get down from the train because they were going to torch that bogie. The passengers began to get down immediately.
The villagers hiding in the fields came out. The kerosene was sprinkled on the detached bogie and it was set on fire. The bogie was ablaze in a matter of few minutes. After this, Shriram and Ganga Singh signaled the other groups to run away from there and they themselves began to move away. The news of this dare-devil act spread to the nearby towns and villages like wildfire. Police harassed several villagers. They caught some of them and questioned them and beat them, but they could not extract anything from them.
The Years of Revolutionary Activities
One week after setting fire to a compartment of the Tundla bound train, there was another incident near Agra in which a train was derailed because the fish-plate was missing. After disrupting the train services five times, Shriram was asked to take up the job of disrupting communication services by cutting off telephone wires. He worked deftly and also drafted several other young men into the task.
Whenever Shriram explained about the details of the plan, he emphasized that no person should be troubled or hurt during the mission. He said: 'We are trying to pull down the British rule through these activities. We must not end up hurting our own countrymen.'
It was decided to hold the annual Congress Session during the first week of April 1933 at Calcutta. Shriram stopped his revolutionary activities for some time and began to mix with people. He also began to focus on conducting meetings, networking with people and training people so that they could participate in the movement.
The Concluding Ceremony of the Calcutta Session
The enthusiasm among the people increased. There was a spree in which new volunteers were being admitted into Congress. Shriram resolved to prepare 1000 new members of the Congress before the Calcutta Session. He had just two months to meet this goal and hence started off on this activity with his team of four assistants.
Shriram had a fairly good experience with the yagya at Baroda. The experience gained during the recent trip to Govardhan was also to be put to use — the experience in which Sri Krishna had clearly sent out a message not to succumb to terrorism or greed and stand up to challenge the situation. He used the analogy of the Govardhan experience and equated the British Government acting according to their whims and fancies to Indra. He communicated this message through story narration and discourses to people and asked them to stand up against the oppression of the British. He made them take a vow by tying Kalawa (sacred thread) on their wrists as a pledge that they would attend the Calcutta conclave.
A Report of the Dangerous Man
The British spy network became highly active during this period. Shriram's report was prepared by an officer named Inspector Martin. He had written: "This person might prove to be extremely dangerous. Though he is an ordinary volunteer of the Congress, he has influence upto the upper levels in the party hierarchy. His method of working is amazing."
Young people of age group twenty-five to thirty possess a lot of enthusiasm but lack maturity and sophistication. Shriram possessed a unique combination of both of them. It was because of these special characteristics that a senior leader of Congress, Balkrishna Keskar, had made Shriram his associate. Keskar had asked the editor of Sainik, Krishna Dutt Paliwal, that he needed a sincere and able volunteer. Paliwalji gave this responsibility to Shriram. Shriram, instead of suggesting somebody else's name, presented himself before Keskarji. But Paliwalji did not like it. He did not let Shriram stay with Keskarji and got him back after a short while.
"The cost of regret far exceeds the price of discipline." — Dan Green
"Concentrate all your thoughts on the task at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus." — Alexander Graham Bell
"In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins…not through strength but by perseverance." — H. Jackson Brown