NAUJAWAN BHARAT SABHA 33 and succeeded in developing a hatred towards and contempt for he British government in the hearts of the youth. The Sabha Spreads Out The Punjab Provincial Naujawan Bharat Sabha held its second session in Lahore from February 22 to 24, 1929,14 with Sohan Singh Josh presiding over it. The conference ruthlessly criticized the Congress demand for Dominion Status. This "conference reflected the revolutionary communist and anti-British spirit of the N B Sabha.'515 By the end of 1929, branches of the Sabha were established in many districts of the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh).16 In the city of Meerut, a branch of the Sabha was founded on October 22, 1929, at a meeting held at the residence of Radha Mohan Garg.17 Similarly, in the province of Sind, the Sabha was formed at Karachi18 which became very active in later years. The Sabha succeeded in spreading its tentacles in far off cities of western India like Bombay and Surat.19 Bhagat Singh, the founder-member of the Sabha and its first secretary, had now become a revolutionary and was an active member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA). On April 8, 1929, he, along with B K Dutt, threw bombs in the Assembly while the members were discussing the Public Safety Bill. They shouted slogans, "Inquilab ^indabad^ and "Down with British Imperialism^ Both of them were arsested on the spot. The Sabha's activities gained momentum after the imprisonment of Bhagat Singh and his comrade. The subsequent hunger-strike by Jatindra Nath Das, Bhagat Singh, Dutt and others in the jail further added fuel to the fire. Several public meetings were held under the auspices of the Sabha to express sympathy with the hunger-strikers and to press the imperialist government to accept their demands.20 To congratulate Bhagat Singh, Dutt and Kidar Nath Sehgal, the Sabha held meetings in Lahore and Amritsar on June 19, 1929. Sardar Kishan Singh, father of Bhagat Singh, was one of the speakers at the Lahore meeting. He said that "he was not sorry his son had been convicted and asked his audience to see that the object for which his son and B K Dutt had been punished was eventually achieved."21 One member of the Sabha, Milkhi Ram, ridiculed the idea that the adoption of Khaddar (hand spun and hand woven cloth) and the boycott of foreign cloth would lead to the emancipation of the country and advised those present to ^wear hats and keep pistols."23