The Warrior and the Saint 151bly during voting on several occasions during 1938, only with the sup-
port of twenty- three European members.^33
Toward the close of the year, a nod from Gandhi was required for the
Bose brothers to attempt the formation of a broad- based coalition gov-
ernment in Bengal with Hindu and Muslim support. Thus, a letter to
Subhas on December 18, 1938, which Gandhi dictated in the presence
of Birla, Sarker, and Abul Kalam Azad, came as a bombshell. Birla car-
ried the letter from Wardha to Calcutta. In it, Gandhi claimed that “we
shall lose much by including Congressmen in the ministry” and made
it clear that he wanted the sta tus quo in Bengal to continue. “Your letter
has given rise to a crisis,” Bose wrote in reply, “in which it is necessary
for me to speak very frankly and I crave your pardon at the outset for
doing so.” Even in early December 1938, Gandhi had given the clear
impression that he supported the idea of a coalition ministry for Ben-
gal. Bose was furious that he attached “more value and importance to
the views of those three gentlemen [Azad, Birla, and Sarker] than to the
views of those who are responsible for running the Congress or ga ni za-
tion in Bengal.” Birla was a fi nan cial patron of the Gandhian Congress,
and carried clout. “It has astonished me,” Bose wrote in reply to Gan-
dhi, “that you did not feel it necessary to even consult me before you
arrived at a decision on such a serious matter.” He urged Gandhi to re-
consider the matter, and refused to be party to a policy he described as
“suicidal” for Bengal.^34
Congress par tic i pa tion in coalition governments in the Muslim-
majority provinces, Bose believed, would strengthen the party in speak-
ing with the British. He clearly spelled out to Gandhi what he saw as
the need of the hour:
While endeavoring to bring about a Coalition Ministry in the remain-
ing three provinces, we should lose no time in announcing our deci-
sion on the various Hindu- Muslim prob lems that would have come up
for discussion if negotiations had taken place between the Congress
and the Muslim League. Simultaneously, we should hold an enquiry
into the grievances of the Muslims against the Congress Governments.
These two steps will help to satisfy reasonable Muslims that we are anx-