The British administration in India was initially dismissive. Rumors of a widespread industrial shutdown, spearheaded by a charismatic but relatively unknown figure like Subhas Chandra Bose and backed by the "Adav Steel" prodigy, were met with typical colonial arrogance. They saw it as another ill-fated nationalist demonstration, easily quelled by a show of force. But they underestimated Adav's meticulous planning and Bose's growing organizational prowess.
From the second week of July 1914, Punjab and Bengal went silent. Not with riots or violence, but with an eerie, unsettling stillness. Factories ceased production, their chimneys standing cold and smokeless. Railway lines, choked by the absence of goods, fell silent save for the occasional British troop train. Ports, usually bustling, became ghostly quiet, their docks empty of stevedores. Farmers in the countryside, though harder to organize, found their access to markets cut off, their buyers absent.
This wasn't a spontaneous outburst of anger; it was a disciplined, coordinated economic chokehold. Adav's "Ghadar agents," disguised as union organizers and community leaders, worked tirelessly. They ensured that families had provisions, that no one starved during the shutdown. They maintained strict order, preventing any act of violence or provocation that could give the British an excuse to intervene with force. The Codex's [Social Analysis] module provided real-time feedback on sentiment, allowing Adav to adjust messaging and support networks, ensuring the people's resolve remained unbroken.
The British government, initially defiant, soon found itself in a quagmire. Their colonial administration relied entirely on the continuous flow of goods and taxes. The economic paralysis was costing them millions of pounds a day. Calls from London, demanding answers and a swift resolution, grew more insistent. Lord Hardinge, the Viceroy, was furious but increasingly helpless. Every threat of military intervention was met with the same silent, unmoving wall of human resolve. It was a protest entirely devoid of the violence the British knew how to counter, making it all the more terrifying