The Warrior and the Saint 157will always be my aim and object,” he promised, “to try and win his
con fi dence[,] for the simple reason that it will be a tragic thing for me
if I succeed in winning the con fi dence of other people but fail to win
the con fi dence of India’s greatest man.”^50
Bose wanted to bury the recent past and shake hands after a vigor-
ous, sportsmanlike contest. He seemed to believe that the controver-
sies during the heat of the electoral battle could be left behind and
an un der stand ing reached with Gandhi, whom he distinguished from
Gandhi’s lieutenants. M. N. Roy had a more acute reading of the Ma-
hatma’s mood. He wrote to Bose that he looked upon Gandhi’s state-
ment as “a declaration of war which may be waged in true Gandhian
fashion, namely, non- cooperation[,] which, under the given relation of
forces inside the Congress, can only be willful sabotage for discrediting
yourself and your supporters.” Gandhi had clearly implied that there
was no room at the helm of the Congress for both Bose and those who
had opposed him. In Roy’s view, the “logical conclusion of that unrea-
sonableness” was that Bose must sac ri fice himself for the cause: the
unity of Congress under Gandhi’s leadership.^51
“Did you rejoice over my victory?” Subhas asked Emilie on February
11, 1939. Gandhi and his lieutenants had “opposed” him and Nehru
had been “indifferent.” “The result of the election is a great victory
for me,” he wrote. “The whole country is full of excitement over the
election, but a terrible responsibility has come on my shoulders.” He
wanted to deliberate carefully on how best to shoulder that responsibil-
ity. He did not wish to split the Congress if he could possibly avoid it,
and was reluctant to move ahead without Gandhi’s support. For some-
one who was usually decisive and sure of his course, he now evinced
great uncertainty: “I don’t know what I should do in the future,” he
wrote to Emilie. “Please tell me what I should do.”^52
Bose headed to Wardha for a meeting with Gandhi. He hoped that a
face- to- face meeting would clear the air, but no breakthrough was
achieved during their talks on February 15. On his way back by train to
Calcutta the next day, Bose fell ill with a high fever. When he asked for
a slight postponement of the Congress Working Committee scheduled
for February 22, Vallabhbhai Patel led all the members—except for
Jawaharlal Nehru and Sarat Chandra Bose—to resign. Nehru issued