February 28, 1970 from sympathetic manner. As a matter of fact, midway through, the public took to garlanding the drivers and conductors who were running the buses. When the strike was in danger of fizzling out completely, the CPI(M) leadership sent 10 of its MLAs on an indefinite hunger strike in front of the Secretariat. This, in itself, was an admission of failure. After all, hunger strikes by pro- minent persons are intended to spark off mass action and, therefore, may be found suitable and necessary at the outset of or prior to a mass movement. Such hunger strikes in the midst of the action itself are a clear indication that, at the very least, the action has not ac quired the requisite momentum or has lost such tempo as it once possessed. The hunger strike was followed up by a call to the NGOs to take mass casual leave. Both these actions did not achieve the desired results. And, in the end, the strike (which did not seriously affect the normal running of the buses, except at night) was called off on the "compromise" basis that the dismissals and all issues relevant to it would be referred to a tribunal. The Government had weathered yet another so-called crisis that actually never was.
