74 HIS MAJESTY’S OPPONENT
Congress toward a bolder articulation of its aims. The Indian National
Congress met in Calcutta for its annual session in December 1928. It
was by far the largest gathering in the his tory of the or ga ni za tion, and
all the arrangements were made on a massive scale.
Subhas had by now moved into Sarat’s new home at 1 Woodburn
Park, which became the headquarters for his or ga ni za tional work. He
formed a Congress volunteer corps to run the Congress session
smoothly. It was an unarmed and peaceful body with cavalry and mo-
torcycle units and a women’s wing; its members were trained in mili-
tary discipline and put in uniform. When Bose appeared as general
commanding of fi cer of his corps, in a resplendent military uniform, it
was not so much a spectacle as an evocation of his vision for the future.
The young Subhas elicited reverence from his admirers. A mother told
her young son, later one of India’s most renowned historians, as they
watched that impressive fig ure standing on the running board of a car
moving in a pro ces sion along Calcutta’s College Street: “There goes
Subhas Bose—fold your palm and salute him, my child.”^59 Mahatma
Gandhi was unimpressed by the display, likening the volunteers to per-
formers in the Bertram Mills Circus. Undeterred, Bose proposed a
more radical alternative to Gandhi’s po lit i cal program.
At the open session of the Calcutta Congress, Subhas sponsored an
amendment demanding “complete in de pen dence” instead of “domin-
ion sta tus,” in opposition to Mahatma Gandhi. He simply did not be-
lieve that there was any “reasonable chance” that the British would
grant “dominion sta tus” within twelve months, as demanded in the
main resolution. The resolution on “complete in de pen dence” would
help to foster a “new mentality,” overcoming the “slave mentality” that
was at the root of India’s po lit i cal degradation. While meaning no dis-
respect to the elders, including Mahatma Gandhi and Motilal Nehru,
Bose opted to give priority to “respect for principle.”^60 His amendment
was defeated by 1,350 votes to 973. Gandhi promised that if the year
1929 did not bring dominion home rule, he would himself become an
“in de pen dence- wallah.”
During 1929, Subhas Chandra Bose preached the ideal of universal
freedom for the individual and the nation. His audiences of students
and other young people responded enthusiastically. Speaking to the