The arrest of the noble ladies produced a profound impression throughout the city. Crowds of volunteers began to pour in, in order to continue Congress and Khilafat work and to court arrest in the act of doing that. The students of the Colleges struck and enrolled themselves in hundreds and in thousands as National Volunteers. Even low class people responded to the country's call. The national work went on with a redoubled velocity. Srijut Das issued the following appeal to the people of Bengal:--
"Fear of Jail, fear of assaults and fear of being shot down--these are three fears which every worker must conquer before we can get Swaraj. We have conquered the fear of Jail; we are about to conquer the fear of assault. It depends on the Bureaucracy when we shall succeed in conquering the fear of being shot down. In the mean-time I charge every one to remember that our success can only depend on non-violence so real and so perfect that all God-fearing men must come over to our side."
In the mean-time His Excellency the Governor invited Chitta Ranjan to discuss with him the present political situation of Bengal. The points of view of Chitta Ranjan and his party and also those of the Government were freely discussed, and criticised but no actual result came out of it. The Government decided to take the strictest possible measures and arrest all the prominent leaders. Leaders of other places outside Bengal--leaders like Lala Lajpat Rai, Pundit Motilal Nehru, and others were arrested and tried summarily. On the 10th of December at 4-30 P. M. two Deputy Commissioners went to the house of Srijut Chitta Ranjan Das and there arrested him along with Srijut Birendra Nath Sarmal, while they were taking tea. Srijut Das kept up a dignified and smiling appearance all through. Srijuts Das and Sasmal were taken to Lalbazar in two Motor-cars. The ladies commenced blowing conches and crying _ulu_. A large crowd had assembled on the road and shouts of "Bande-Mataram", "Gandhi Mahatmaki joy", "Deshabandhu Das's joy" went up from them. The following is the last message sent to his countrymen by Deshabandhu Chitta Ranjan Das, on the day of his arrest:--
"This is my last message to you, men and women of India! Victory is in sight, if you are prepared to win it by suffering. It is in such agony as that through which we are passing that nations are born; but you must bear this agony with fortitude, with courage and with perfect self composure. Remember that so long as you follow the path of non-violence, you put the Bureaucracy in the wrong; but move by a hair-breadth from the path which Mahatma Gandhi has mapped out for you, and give away the battle to the Bureaucracy. Swaraj is our goal, Swaraj not in compartments not by installments; but Swaraj whole and entire. Now it is for you men and women, to say whether we shall attain the goal for which we are striving.