From civil disobedience to quit India (Gandhi and the freedom movement in punjab and haryana-1932-1942)

This is the third volume of our project 'Gandhi and the Punjab' covering the period from 1932 to 1942 during which the people of the area now covered by the West Punjab (Pakis tan), Punjab and Haryana were called upon to participate in the movement launched under the leadership of Gandhi in a manner befitting their resources, energy and During these years this province was confronted with local problems much more difficult than those experienced by any other pro vince in the country that obstructed its efforts to participate in any all-India Congress programme. In fact, the problems of this province were sui generis for two reasons. First, the solution of its communal problem demanded the settlement of the claims made by the three communities into which the population of the province was divided while in the rest of the country this problem had its roots mainly in the fears and ambitions of the two communities. Secondly, the Punjab continually had a non-Congress Ministry since the introduc tion of Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms that had the support of the majority of the Muslim electorate, a section of rural and urban Hindu and Sikh elite and the British bureaucracy. In such a situation it was difficult for any political party to mobilize public opinion effectively against the Government for the attainment of its goal.