Life of Ahmad — Page 275
as THE PHARISEE OF BATALA 275 debate Ahmad as immediately stole into a carriage that was waiting for him at the door and hurried away so that his friends had to get into the carriage while it was moving. The fact of the matter was that the carriage belonged to M. Mir a Ĕ Bakhsh, who had come to the meeting in it, and it was he who rode back in it. Ahmad as walked home through the town (Khar a dio Ĕ wala Bazaar, Chaura Bazaar and via Sunahr i Masjid) in the ordinary way along with his friends, who numbered about 30. Muhammad Husain invented other falsehoods and excited the ignorant and illiterate masses against Ahmad as. The whole town was agitated, because Muhammad Husain fanned the flames of hatred and bitterness. Therefore, he was ordered by the District Magistrate to leave the town. A breach of the public peace might have occurred if he had not done so. As a mere precaution, Ahmad as also considered it best to leave the town for a short time. He went to Amritsar for a few days. His enemies took advantage of this opportunity and circulated a rumour that Ahmad as was also turned out of the town. Therefore, Ahmad as wrote a letter to the District Magistrate of Ludhiana to find out if there was any objection to his staying in Ludhiana. In reply, he was informed on August 16th, 1891, that he had every right to stay there as a peaceful citizen and that Ahmad’s as presence was not in any way dangerous to the public peace as was the case with Muhammad Husain. Therefore, Ahmad as went back to Ludhiana,