No doubt, they
became not only exhausted and war-weary but also sour, discon-
tented and resentful.
became not only exhausted and war-weary but also sour, discon-
tented and resentful.
Cambridge History of India - v4 - Indian Empire
That case is
known as the Kakori case. The trial concluded on April 7, 1927.
It was a mere farce. Pt. Ram Parsad Bismil, Roshan Singh and
Rajindra Lahri were given death sentence. Manmath Nath Gupta
got 14 years and many others got death sentences. Ashfaq and
Suchendra Nath Bakshi were caught later on and were given death
sentence and transportation for life respectively. Ram Parsad Bis-
mil was hanged on December 19, 1927. His mother is said to
have observed thus about her son: “I am greatly proud to have
given birth to a soldier of freedom who laid down his life at the
feet of his motherland. Your country has greater claim on you
than I have. You have fallen for a noble cause and I see no reason
to feel sorry. ” A little before his death, Ashfaq Ullah gave the fol-
lowing message to his countrymen: "We have played our role on
the political stage of our country. Right or wrong all our actions
were motivated by the lofty object of securing independence. I
know my actions will elicit praise from some quarters and criticism
from the other, but as a true revolutionary I am indifferent to such
remarks. One thing I beg to clarify before I die. It never had
been our object to create terror in the country. Our trial has
lasted for such a long time but tell me if ever we tried to shoot down
an approver or a prosecution witness. That is not in our line. My
only wish is that my country-men may, irrespectiv of their
religion or creed, unite like a solid bloc to smash the citadel of
British rule. The British are the common enemies of all the
religious sections of our country. It is the moral duty of every
Indian to dig the grave of the British bureaucracy. I am far from
being a murderer as has been established by the prosecution. I am
rather proud of being the first Musalman to lay down my life at
the altar of India's freedom. ”
The people of India had boycotted the Simon Commission but
in spite of that the Commission visited Lahore on October 20, 1928.
The Hindustan Socialist Republican Party took out a huge proces-
sion against the Simon Commission. The processionists were shout-
ing: “Simon, go back. ” Lala Lajpat Rai was leading the proces-
sion. One Mr. I. P. Saunders gave blows on the head and chest of
Lala Lajpat Rai with his baton and thereby caused grievous injuries
9
## p. 758 (#800) ############################################
758
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
9
on his person. While addressing the public meeting in the same
evening at the Bradlaugh Hall, Lahore, Lala Lajpat Rai declared:
“The Government which attacks its own innocent subjects has no
claim to be called a civilized Government. Bear in mind, such a
Government does not survive long. I declare that the blows struck
at me will be the last nails in the coffin of British rule in India. "
Lala Lajpat Rai died on November 17, 1928, as a result of the
injuries received by him. That was too much for the people of
India and nobody who had inflicted those injuries on Lalaji could
be forgiven. Addressing a public meeting, Shrimati Basanti Debi,
the wife of C. R. Das, observed thus: “My blood boils with rage to
think that Lalaji, who had beer. so aged and so dear to his country-
men, has been beaten to death by that brute English pclice officer.
It is a challenge to the youth and manliness of 300 million Indians.
On behalf of the women of India, I want a reply to my question
whether Indian youths are dead or alive. Is there nobody from
the young generation of India io step forward and respond to my
question? ” The reply was given by Sardar Bhagat Singh and his
companions. It was decided to kill Mr. Scott who had ordered the
lathi charge and Mr. Saunders who had killed Lalaji. On Decem-
ber 17, 1928, when Saunders was approaching the police gate on
his bicycle, he was shot by Rajguru and he was followed by Bhagat
Singh who tore the head of Saunders to pieces by pistol shots. All
the revolutionaries took refuge in the D. A. V. College, Lahore and
then managed to slip away to Simla.
Within 5 days of the incident, the following posters were found
on the walls of the city of Lahore:
"HINDUSTAN SOCIALIST REPUBLICAN PARTY
NOTICE
BEWARE BUREAUCRACY
“This killing of I. P. Saunders was only to avenge fully the mur-
der of Lala Lajpat Rai. It was indeed a sad and shameful episode
that so mean a fellow like I. P. Saunders should dare to deliver
blows on the chest of the old and most respected person worshipped
by a nation of thirty-five crores of Indians. That was indeed an
affront to the nation. By that insult of the Indian Nation, the
foreign power had as if thrown a challenge to the self-respecting
and brave sons of the soil. This reply will surely convince the
people and the foreign power that the Indian Nation is indeed not
yet dead or spiritless to bear such insults. The people of Bharat
have fresh blood flowing in their veins. Young India is up and
## p. 759 (#801) ############################################
SARDAR BHAGAT SINGH
759
ready to guard the honour of the nation even at the stake and sacri-
fice of life.
"Beware, you, Tyrant of Government !
“Do not hereafter try to touch the provoked feelings of the people
that are already exploited and harassed. Hold your devilish
hands! Remember that in spite all your laws and endeavours to
keep us disarmed a flood of pistols and revolvers will always flow
into the hands of the youth of the country. Though it may be
admitted that no armed revolution can be accomplished with a
sprinkling of arms yet they will indeed be enough to wreak ven-
geance for the repeated national insults which the administration
indulges in from time to time. Our so-called national leaders may
condemn and reproach our actions, and the foreign Government
may try their utmost to crush our organisation. But we want to
make it clear here that we shall ever be ready to safeguard our
national honour and to teach lessons to all the foreign aggrandisers.
We shall never permit the cry of revolution to languish even under
the encirclement of oppression and suppression all around; bear in
mind that even with the noose knot of death round our necks, we
shall always shout and cheer 'Long Live Revolution. '
“We are really sorry that we had to kill a human being. But
the man whom we had to shoot down was a part and parcel of
such cruel, mean and unjust administration of a foreign power that
we had no alternative but to overthrow him. This man is killed
only in his capacity as a representative of the British power in India.
British Power is undoubtedly the most tyrannical one in the world.
“We again repeat that we are sorry that we had to shed human
blood. But it becomes inevitable to shed blood on the altar of
revolution, which will end all exploitation of man at the hands of
man.
“Long Live Revolution.
Sd/- (BALRAJ)
18th December, 1928.
Commander: Punjab HSRA. ”
>
Another incident took place on April 8, 1929. After the ques-
tion hour was over in the Central Legislative Assembly in New
Delhi, Sardar Bhagat Singh threw a bomb on the wall which ex-
ploded with a thundering boom. Two bullets were fired to frigh-
ten the Speaker of the House. When the smoke ended, Sardar
Bhagat Singh threw leaflets into the hall and those read thus:
“Bombs are needed to let the deaf hear. ” Sardar Bhagat Singh
could have run away but he surrendered himself to the police.
Sardar Bhagat Singh and his companions were put up for trial and
ultimately condemned to death. In the course of his lengthy state-
## p. 760 (#802) ############################################
760
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
ment in the court, Sardar Bhagat Singh observed thus: “Our sole
object was to warn the listless and to wake up the deaf. Many
others are thinking just like us. The bombs which were thrown
were intentionally so manufactured as to cause insignificant dam-
age, and they were thrown also in such a clear place as to produce
the least injury to anybody. Under the apparent calm on the sur-
face of the Indian mind there is a ceaseless terrible seething discon-
tent on the point of bursting into a storm. Our action is merely
a danger-signal to those who are rushing ahead thoughtlessly with-
out caring for the serious consequences before them. We have, as
if, heralded the end of the era of non-violence, the idealist dream,
about whose utter failure the young generation is now doubtlessly
convinced. We have adopted this course of striking a warning
purely out of our love and good-will for humanity to ward off the
unheard of harassments and hardships. The new spirit, notice of
whose dawn has been just given by us, is really inspired by the
idealism of Guru Govind Singh, Shivaji, Mustafa Kamal Pasha,
Raza Khan, Washington, Garibaldi, Lafayette and Lenin. It was
because the Government and the Indian leaders had closed their
eyes and ears that we had to sound that warning to attract their
attention. . . . .
“It will be readily accepted that we had no personal prejudice
or hatred against any individual in the House or against any one
who had received minor injuries. On the other hand, we emphati-
cally reassert that we hold all human life as sacred beyond des-
cription. Instead of inflicting injuries on any one else, we are
ready to offer ourselves to be sacrificed for the sake of humanity.
The mental attitude of mercenary soldiers in the Imperial armies
trained to mercilessly kill the humanity is not in our character.
When we surrendered, it was purely out of the sole thought to
suffer the atonement of our actions. We wanted to warn the
Imperialist exploiters that they could never destroy the truth by
crushing a few individuals. A whole nation cannot be suppressed
by doing away with a couple of persons. Bastile could not pre-
vent the French Revolution. Exiles in Siberia could not liquidate
the Russian Revolution. The bloody Sundays could noi arrest the
course of Irish struggle for Independence. How could then these
atrocious measures extinguish the flame of freedom burning bright
in the Indian mind? . . . .
“The opponents of revolution mistakenly believe that revolution
means violence with arms, weapons and such other means. But
revolution is not confined to this process. It may be that these
are used as instruments but it should not be forgotten hat behind
them is the solid strength and spirit of the revolution and that
## p. 761 (#803) ############################################
CHANDRA SHEKHAR AZAD
761
strength is the will, the aspiration of the people to demand and get
a change, a revolution in the current economic structure, the shape
and form of political Government of the nation. Our idea of
revolution has never been simply the bloodshad of some individuals.
It is to end the present regime of exploitation of man by man and
to secure for our nation absolute right of self-determination. That
is the ultimate objective of our idea of revolution. Freedom is the
birth-right of man. We welcome any amount of suffering and
sacrifice that might fall to our lot for this idealism and devotion
to it. Long live that Revolution. "
The Tribunal which tried Sardar Bhagat Singh and his compa-
nions gave its decision on October 7, 1930 and Sardar Bhagat
Singh, Raj Guru and Sukhdeo were hanged at Lahore on March
23, 1931. Unfortunately, the dead bodies of these heroes were
taken by the Government to Ferozepore and an attempt was made
to burn them on the banks of the river Sutlej. However, the people
came to know of it and were able to recover the half-burnt dead
bodies. Those were taken to Lahore and cremated there with
great honours.
A reference must be made to the work of Chandra Shekhar Azad,
Bhagwati Charan and Yash Pal. Azad was a fearless person who
was determined to liberate his country even at the cost of his life.
He had a hand in the Kakori conspiracy case but he managed to
escape. He helped Sardar Bhagat Singh in his attack against
Saunders. His efforts to take Sardar Bhagat Singh out of the jail
failed. Efforts were also made to persuade the Viceroy to con-
done the death sentence passed on Sardar Bhagat Singh and his
companions. When all that failed, Chandra Shekhar Azad and
Yash Pal chalked out a plan to blow up the train carrying Lord
Irwin. When on December 23, 1929, the train carrying the Vice-
roy left the Nizamuddin Railway Station near New Delhi, a bomb
exploded and the train was derailed. The dining car was shattered
to pieces. However, Lord Irwin escaped unhurt.
On February 27, 1931, Chandra Shekhar Azad, Yash Pal and
Surendra Pandey assembled at Allahabad to finalize their plans
for getting help from Russia for fighting India's battle for freedom.
Yash Pal and Surendra Pandey left Azad in the Alfred Park to
meet another revolutionary. While Azad was still in that Park,
he found himself surrounded by armed police. He fought bravely
against the police party with revolvers in his both hands. His
body was punctured with bullets. While he used the other bul-
lets on his enemies, the last bullet he used on himself and thus died
a great man who could have helped to solve free India's problems.
Yash Pal was selected the Commander-in-Chief of the Hindustan
## p. 762 (#804) ############################################
762
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
Socialist Republican Army after the death of Azad. The Govern-
ment announced big rewards for information leading to his arrest.
He re-organized the Revolutionary Army and made a declaration
of a general revolt. He was caught by the police because his
revolver did not work. He was sentenced to 14 years' rigorous
imprisonment but was released by the Congress Ministry in March,
1938.
Sir Michael O'Dwyer had been the Lieutenant-Governor of the
Punjab and it was during his regime that General Dyer murdered
innocent Indians in the Jallianwala Bagh at Amritsar. Sir Michael
had also been responsible for various other atrocities on the people
of the Punjab. It was felt that he must be taught a lesson. Sardar
Udham Singh was a great revolutionary. He went to London in
1919 and waited for full 20 years to have revenge against Sir
Michael. On March 13, 1940, while Sir Michael was leaving the
Caxton Hall, London, Sardar Udham Singh fired at him and killed
him with his second bullet. He was put up for trial and sentenced
to death. He made the following statement in the court: “I have
seen my starving countrymen being trampled under the jackboots
of British imperialism. I am not at all sorry for having registered
my protest in this manner. . I am not the least afraid of death.
What after all is the use in prolonging life till dotage. There is
bravery in dying young, in sacrificing life for the country.
There were many causes for the decline of the revolutionary
movement in India. It was confined to a small circle of young-
men and there was no public backing. The terrorist movement
had no central organization to direct its activities. The upper mid-
dle class leadership was not sympathetic towards the movement.
Leaders like Sir Asutosh Mukherjee and S. N. Banerjee asked the
government to take drastic measures against the terrorists. The
emergence of Mahatma Gandhi as the leader of Indian Nationalist
Movement also led to gradual decline of the revolutionary
movement. The Gandhian technique of non-cooperation, civil dis-
obedience and non-violence appealed more to the people of India
than the activities of the terrorists. No wonder, they went into the
background. However, the Hindustan Socialist Republican Party
tried to meet the terrorism of government "with an even greater
terrorism. ” Sardar Bhagat Singh, Jitendra Nath Das and Chandra
Shekhar Azad were the revolutionaries who staked their lives for
the sake of the country. The terrorists also played their part dur-
ing the revolt of 1942, the mutiny of the Royal Indian Navy and
the crusade of the Indian National Army of Subhash Chandra Bose.
## p. 763 (#805) ############################################
INDIA AND WORLD WAR I
763
INDIA AND WORLD WAR I (1914-18)
When the war started, there was great enthusiasm in the country.
The people of India were willing to serve the government in every
possible way. After Marne, there was an increasing demand for
Indian troops outside India. When Turkey joined the Central
Powers in October 1914, Indian troops garrisoned the Suez Canal
and repulsed a Turkish attack. Indian troops fought through the
long campaigns of Macedonia and German East Africa. They
played an important part in the Iraq campaign leading to the cap-
ture of Baghdad in 1917. In this way, they helped to found the
present State of Iraq. They were in the allied army which took
Jerusalem in 1917. All this involved a great effort in India itself.
Eight lakhs of men were recruited for the fighting forces, together
with four lakhs of non-combatants. This resulted in a great ex-
pansion in the Military machine, a greater mixture of classes and
a stronger feeling of self-confidence all around. Indian self-
confidence grew when the magnitude of their effort and the extent
to which it depended upon Indians themselves, were realised.
In the administrative sphere, the British government made a mis-
take in allowing the British civilian officers to serve the forces dur-
ing the war. Many of them never returned and those who returned
found themselves in a strange new mental world to which it was
difficult to adapt themselves. When times grew difficult towards
the end of the war, the Government had only an ageing and tired
cadre of officers to rely upon.
In the economic sphere, the first effect of the war was one of
stimulus. The industrial development of modern India owes
good deal to the demands of World War I. However, increasing
demands and expenditure led to rise in prices and ultimately enthu-
siasm was turned into discontent. Englishmen could be expected
to put up with inconveniences because they felt that they were
fighting for their very existence and their victory was likely to add
to their glory. The same could not be said about the Indians for
whom the War was merely an external affiiction.
No doubt, they
became not only exhausted and war-weary but also sour, discon-
tented and resentful.
The attitude of India towards Europe and its people was altered
radically and permanently. The Indians gave up the feeling that
the Europeans were superior to them morally and technically.
They were regarded now at besi as more powerful. The first War
casualty in India was the idol of Western superiority.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 also had a profound influence
on the minds of the Indians. They felt that if the people of Russia
a
## p. 764 (#806) ############################################
764
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
could overthrow an imperialist regime, the same could be done
by the Indians in their own country. The Fourteen Points of
President Wilson had great influence on the Indians. They also
demanded the rights of national freedom and self-determination of
peoples. No wonder, the Indians demanded self-government in
the name of the fundamental principles accepted by the Allied
Powers.
As regards the effect of war on Muslims, they were very un-
happy. They did not approve of the dismemberment of Turkey,
which was regarded as the sword of Islam. They also did not like
the treatment given to the Arabs who were considered to be rebels
against the Turkish Khalifa. Their princes were regarded as
stooges of the infidel.
When the war started, the Congress was still a middle-class body
of Westernised professionals with some commercial and industrial
backing. It was firmly under the control of Gokhale and the
Moderates. However, all this was changed during the war. Tilak
came back from jail and became a leader of all-India importance.
Tilak gave up the old policy of making prayers to the British Gov-
ernment. His contention was that every Indian had the birth-
right to be free. He laid the foundations for the great anti-
government movement led by Gandhiji in the next few years.
The World War I ended in 1918. The Indians had helped the
British Government both with men and money. They had done
everything in their power to further the war efforts of the British
Government. However, they suffered on account of high prices,
low wages and shortage of supplies. Plague and influenza took a
heavy toll. The liberty of the people was restricted on account of
the working of the Defence of India Rules. The people put up
with the acts of highhandedness of British officers in the matter of
recruitment and the collection of war-funds. After having done
all that, the people were not at all happy at what was given to
them by the Report of 1918. Mrs. Annie Besant rightly stated
that the scheme was "ungenerous for England to offer and un-
worthy for India to accept. ” When India was in this mood, the
Government of India passed the infamous Rowlatt Act in 1918 in
spite of opposition from all quarters. The result was that a wave
of anger spread all over India and even the Moderates joined hands
with other Indians. The Act was a very drastic one. It gave the
Government power to crush popular liberties, to arrest and detain
suspected persons without warrant and to imprison them without
regular trial, Mahatma Gandhi who had been loyal to the British
Government throughout the World War I came to the fore-front
and asked the people to offer Satyagraha against the Act. There
## p. 765 (#807) ############################################
HAPPENINGS IN THE PUNJAB
765
>
to
was great enthusiasm throughout the country. Hartals were ob-
served with great success.
The Hindus and Muslims co-operated
with one another. However, Mahatma Gandhi, all of a sudden,
suspended the Satyagraha movement as there was a clash in Delhi
and disturbances at other places. Later on, Mahatma Gandhi ad-
mitted that he made a "Himalayan miscalculation”, but the mis-
chief had been done.
Great atrocities were committed in the Punjab during the re-
gime of Sir Michael O'Dwyer, Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab.
Sir Michael was known as the iron man of the Punjab. He
had no faith in political reforms and consequently had no sym-
pathy with the political agitators. He refused Tilak and B. C.
Pal
enter the Punjab. The methods adopted by Sir
Michael to raise war loans and to find recruits were very often un-
authorised and oppressive. When the agitation against the Row-
latt Act started, Sir Michael gave on April 7, 1919 the following
warning to the people of the Punjab : “The Government of this
Provinnce is and will remain determined that public order, which
was maintained so successfully during the time of war, shall not
be disturbed in times of peace. Action
of peace. Action has, therefore, already
been taken under the Defence of India Act against certain indivi-
duals at Lahore and Amritsar. The recent puerile demonstrations
against the Rowlatt Act in both Lahore and Amritsar indicate
how easily the ignorant and the credulous people can be misled.
Those who only want to mislead them incur a serious responsibili-
ty. Those who appeal to ignorance rather than to reason have a
day of reckoning in store for them. ” Amritsar observed Hartal
peacefully both on 30 March and 6 April. However, on 9 April,
1919, the Government of the Punjab passed orders for the depor-
tation of Dr. Satyapal and Dr. Kitchlew and their internment at
Dharmsala under the Defence of India Act. On 10th April, 1919,
they were removed by the police from Amritsar. When the peo-
ple came to know of it, complete Hartal was declared in the city.
The people marched in a procession to the residence of the Deputy
Commissioner to demand the release of their leaders. They had
no sticks or lathis with them. However, they were checked by
the police at the railway level-crossing and there was firing. This
infuriated the mob and there was wholesale burning of whatever
fell in their way. Europeans
Europeans were assaulted. Building were
burnt and godowns were looted. When the troops appeared in
the city, the mob disappeared. On 11 April, 1919, the people
were allowed to arrange for the funerals of the dead bodies.
On April 12, 1919, a proclamation was issued by General Dyer,
who had taken charge of the troops the day before, that no meet-
## p. 766 (#808) ############################################
766
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
ings or gatherings of the pople were to be held. However, no
steps were taken to see that the proclamation was brought to the
notice of the people living in the various localities of the city. The
result was that it was announced on 12 evening that there would
be a public meeting on 13 April, 1919, at 4-30 p. m. in the Jallian-
wala Bagh. Neither General Dyer nor other authorities took any
action to stop the meeting. The meeting started at the right
time and there were about 6,000 to 10,000 people present in the
meeting. All of them were practically unarmed and defenceless.
The Jallianwala Bagh is closed practically on all sides by walls
except one entrance. General Dyer entered the Jallianwala Bagh
with armoured cars and troops. Without giving any warning to
the people to disperse, he ordered the troops to fire and he con-
tinued to do so till the whole of the ammunition at his disposal
was exhausted. Hundreds of people were killed. Lala Girdhari
Lal gave the following account of the tragedy before the Hunter
Enquiry Committee : "I saw hundreds of persons killed on the
spot. The worst part of the whole thing was that firing was di-
rected towards the gates through which the people were running
out. There were small outlets, four or five in all, and bullets ac-
tually rained over the people at all these gates and many got tram-
pled under the feet of rushing crowds and thus lost their lives. Blood
was pouring in profusion. Even those who lay flat were shot.
No arrangmeents were made by the authorities to look after the
dead or wounded. I then gave water to the wounded and rend-
ered such assistance as was possible. I went round the people and
saw almost everybody lying there. There were heaps of them at
different places. The dead bodies were of grown up people and
young boys also. Some had their heads cut open, others had eyes
shot and nose, chest, arms or legs shattered. I think there must
have been over 1,000 dead bodies in the garden then. I saw peo-
ple were hurrying up and many had to leave their dead and
wounded because they were afraid of being fired upon again after
8 p. m. ” The contention of General Dyer was that he wanted
to teach the people a lesson so that they might not laugh at him.
He would have fired and fired longer, he said, if he had the re-
quired ammunition. He had only fired 1,600 rounds because his
ammunition had run out. The regime of Dyer saw some un-
thinkable punishments. The water and electric supply of Amrit-
sar were cut off. Public flogging was common. However, the
“Crawling Order” was the worst of all. One Miss Sherwood was
attacked by the people when she was cycling in a lane, and Dyer
ordered that everyone passing through that lane must crawl with
belly on the ground. Al} who lived in the said lane had to obey
## p. 767 (#809) ############################################
HAPPENINGS IN THE PUNJAB
767
that order, although Miss Sherwood was protected by the people
themselves. The issue of third-class tickets on the railway was
.
prohibited and common people could not travel. More than two
persons were prohibited from marching together on side-walks or
pavements. Bicycles, other than those owned by the Europeans,
were commandeered. Those who had closed their shops were
forced to open them or had to suffer severe penalties. Prices of
commodities were fixed by military authorities. A public plat-
form for whipping was constructed near the fort. A number of
triangles for flogging were consiructed in various parts of the city.
Martial Law Commissioners tried 298 persons at Amritsar. 51
persons were sentenced to death, 46 to transportation for life, 2 to
imprisonment for seven years, 10 for five years, 13 for three years
and 11 for a lesser period. 105 persons were convicted under Mar-
tial Law by the Civil Magistrates.
The administration of Martial Law was more intensive at Lahore
than elsewhere. The curfew order was enforced and the people
who went out after 8 p. m. were liable to be shot, flogged, fined or
imprisoned or otherwise punished. Those who closed their shops
were ordered to open them and the alternatives were either to
be shot or have the shops publicly opened and their contents dis-
tributed free to the public. Occupiers of the premises on whose
walls Martial Law notices were pasted were ordered to protect
them and they were liable to punishment if those were defaced or
torn in any way, although they could not stay out to watch them.
Students of the colleges were ordered to report themselves four
times a day to the military authorities. Langars or public kitchens
opened by public spirited people were ordered to be closed. Motor
cars and motorcycles belonging to the Indians were ordered to
be delivered to the military authorities for the use of the officials.
Electric fans and other electric things belonging to the Indians
were commandeered for the use of the British soldiers. Public con-
veyances were ordered to report themselves daily at piaces which
were far from the city. 300 tonga drivers were commandeered.
Those who were allowed to ply for hire were ordered to report
themselves at different places at different times. A M:rtial Law
notice was torn from one of the walls of a college and the result
was that the whole of the staff of the college, including the Princi-
pal, was arrested and taken to the Fort where they were kept for
three days in military custody.
There was bombing at Gujranwala. Major Carbey who was
.
responsible for the bombing, has given the account in these words:
“The crowd was running away and he fired to disperse them. As
the crowd dispersed, he fired the machinegun into the village it-
## p. 768 (#810) ############################################
768
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
self. He supposed some shots hit the houses. He could make no
discrimination between the innocent and the guilty. He was at a
height of 200 feet and could see perfectly what he was doing.
His object was not accomplished by the firing of bombs alone.
The firing was not intended to do damage alone. It was in the
interests of the villagers themselves. By killing a few, he thought
he would drive the people from collecting again. This had a moral
effect. After that he went over the city, dropping bombs, and
fired at the people who were trying to get away. ” Gujranwala,
Kasur and Sheikhupura had their curfew order, prohibition
of travelling for Indians, public and private flogging, wholesale
arrests and punishments by summary courts and Special Tribu-
nals.
The action of General Dyer was approved by Sir Michael
O'Dwyer in these words : "Your action correct. Lieutenant-
Governor approves. ”
General Dyer was given a higher com-
mand in the Afghan War in which he did good service. How-
ever, six month later, a committee was appointed with Lord Hun-
ter as chairman to enquire into the happenings in the Punjab.
Lord Hunter reported adversely on the action of General Dyer
at Amritsar. His view was that the duty of an officer on such
an occasion was only to take measures necessary to save life and
prevent the destruction of property. It was not his duty to strike
terror into the hearts of the people of the province. The view of
the Hunter Committee was accepted by the Government of India
which held that General Dyer had acted beyond the necessity of
the case, beyond what any reasonable man could have thought
to be necessary and that he did not act with as much humanity
as the case permitted. He was also censured by the Secretary
of State for India. The Commander-in-Chief forced him to re-
sign and his action was upheld by the Army Council. However,
the House of Lords and Mr. Justice McCardie in the famous case
O’Owyer v. Nair held that the action of General Dyer at the Jal-
lianwala Bagh was justified and he saved the British rule in
Northern India.
The action of General Dyer was universally condemned. Mr.
Asquith described it in the British Parliament as “one of the worst
outrages in the whole of our history. ” Sir Sivaswamy, President
of the All-India Moderates Conference, 1919, observed : “The
wholesale slaughter of hundreds of unarmed men at Jallianwala
Bagh without giving the crowd an opportunity to disperse, the
indifference of General Dyer to the condition of hundreds of peo-
ple who were wounded in the firing of machine-guns into crowds
who had dispersed and taken to their heels; the flogging of
## p. 769 (#811) ############################################
JALLIANWALA BAGH TRAGEDY
769
men in public, the order compelling thousand of students to walk
16 miles a day for roll-calls, the arrest and detention of 500 stu-
dents and professors, the compelling of school children of 5 to 7 to
attend parade to salute the flag, the order imposing upon owners
of property the responsibilities for the safety of the Martial Law
posters stuck on their properties, the flogging of a marriage party,
the censorship of mails, the closure of the Badshahi Mosque for six
weeks, the arrest and detention of people without any substantial
reason especially of people who had rendered services to the State
. . . . the flogging of six of the biggest boys in the Islamia School
simply because they happened to be school boys and big boys,
the construction of an open cage for the confinement of ar-
rested persons, the invention of novel punishments like the crawling
order, the skipping order. . . . the handcuffing and roping toge-
ther of persons and keeping them in open trucks for 15 hours, the
use of aeroplanes and Lewis guns. . . . against unarmed citizens,
the taking of hostages and the confiscation and destruction of
property for the purpose of securing the attendance of absentees,
the handcuffing of Hindus and Mohammedans in pairs with the
object of demonstrating the consequence of Hindu-Muslim unity,
the cutting off of electric and water supplies from Indian houses,
the removal of fans from Indian houses and giving them for use
to Europeans, the commandeering of all vehicles owned by Indians
and giving them to Europeans for use, the feverish disposal
with the object of forestalling the termination of martial
law, are some of the many incidents of administration of martial
law which created a reign of terror in the Punjab and have shock-
ed the public. ”
Sir Rabindra Nath Tagore was so much distressed by the hap-
penings in the Punjab that he gave up his knighthood which had
been conferred on him by the Government of India. In his letter
addressed to the Viceroy on that occasion, he observed : "The
accounts of the insults and sufferings undergone by our brothers
in the Punjab have trickled through the gagged silence reaching
every corner of India and the universal agony of indignation rous-
ed in the hearts of our people has been ignored by our rulers,
possibly congratulating themselves for imparting what they ima-
gine salutary lessons. . . . knowing that our appeals have been in
vain and that the passion of vengeance is blinding, the noble
vision of statesmanship in our Government, which could so easily
afford to be magnanimous as befitting its physical strength and
moral traditions, the very least I can do is to take all consequen-
ces on myself in giving voice to the protest of the millions of my
countrymen suppressed into a dumb anguish of terror.
of cases
>
## p. 770 (#812) ############################################
770
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
"The time has come when badges of honour make our shame
glaring in their incongruous context by humiliation, and I, for my
part, wish to stand shorn of all special distinction by the side of
those of my countrymen who, for their so-called insignificance, are
liable to suffer a degradation not fit for human beings, and these
are the reasons which have painfully compelled me to ask Your
Excellency with due deference and regret, to release me of my title
of knighthood. ”
A research monograph entitled “Jallianwala Bagh massacre-a
pre-meditated plan" has been published by the Punjab University
and it was released on 13 April, 1969. It is contended therein
that the plan for the massacre at Amritsar was hatched in the
Government House, Lahore on 9 April, 1919, that the chief archi-
tect of that plan was Sir Michael O’Owyer, that almost all the
high British officials of the Punjab, both civil and military, were
a part of that plan and that the Government of India had given
clearance to it. The objective of that plan was that the people
should be massacred at Amritsar on the Baisakhi Day on a large
scale to produce a deterrent effect on the whole of the Punjab.
Even after making every allowance for the terrible dangers sur-
rounding General Dyer, it is pointed out that Dyer committed
three disastrous errors of judgment. The first error was that he
did not give the crowd a final warning to disperse before opening
fire. The second
that he continued to fire too long.
Another error was the issuing of the Crawling order eight days
later.
error was
NON-CO-OPERATION MOVEMENT
Under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian National
Congress decided in 1920 to start the Non-Co-operation Move-
ment. It was truly a revolutionary step. It was for the first
time that the Congress decided to follow a policy of direct action.
Many factors were responsible for this change. Mahatma Gandhi
had so far believed in the justice and fairplay of the British Gov-
ernment. He had given his full co-operation to the Government
during the World War I in spitc of opposition from men like Tilak.
However, the tragedy of the Jallianwala Bagh, the Martial Law
in the Punjab and the findings of the Hunter Committee destroyed
his faith in the good sense of the Englishmen. He felt that the old
methods must be given up. After the withdrawal of the Mode-
rates, the Extremists were in complete control of the Congress and
it was possible for the Congress to adopt a revolutionary program-
The terms of the Treaty of Sevres which was entered into
up. After
me.
known as the Kakori case. The trial concluded on April 7, 1927.
It was a mere farce. Pt. Ram Parsad Bismil, Roshan Singh and
Rajindra Lahri were given death sentence. Manmath Nath Gupta
got 14 years and many others got death sentences. Ashfaq and
Suchendra Nath Bakshi were caught later on and were given death
sentence and transportation for life respectively. Ram Parsad Bis-
mil was hanged on December 19, 1927. His mother is said to
have observed thus about her son: “I am greatly proud to have
given birth to a soldier of freedom who laid down his life at the
feet of his motherland. Your country has greater claim on you
than I have. You have fallen for a noble cause and I see no reason
to feel sorry. ” A little before his death, Ashfaq Ullah gave the fol-
lowing message to his countrymen: "We have played our role on
the political stage of our country. Right or wrong all our actions
were motivated by the lofty object of securing independence. I
know my actions will elicit praise from some quarters and criticism
from the other, but as a true revolutionary I am indifferent to such
remarks. One thing I beg to clarify before I die. It never had
been our object to create terror in the country. Our trial has
lasted for such a long time but tell me if ever we tried to shoot down
an approver or a prosecution witness. That is not in our line. My
only wish is that my country-men may, irrespectiv of their
religion or creed, unite like a solid bloc to smash the citadel of
British rule. The British are the common enemies of all the
religious sections of our country. It is the moral duty of every
Indian to dig the grave of the British bureaucracy. I am far from
being a murderer as has been established by the prosecution. I am
rather proud of being the first Musalman to lay down my life at
the altar of India's freedom. ”
The people of India had boycotted the Simon Commission but
in spite of that the Commission visited Lahore on October 20, 1928.
The Hindustan Socialist Republican Party took out a huge proces-
sion against the Simon Commission. The processionists were shout-
ing: “Simon, go back. ” Lala Lajpat Rai was leading the proces-
sion. One Mr. I. P. Saunders gave blows on the head and chest of
Lala Lajpat Rai with his baton and thereby caused grievous injuries
9
## p. 758 (#800) ############################################
758
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
9
on his person. While addressing the public meeting in the same
evening at the Bradlaugh Hall, Lahore, Lala Lajpat Rai declared:
“The Government which attacks its own innocent subjects has no
claim to be called a civilized Government. Bear in mind, such a
Government does not survive long. I declare that the blows struck
at me will be the last nails in the coffin of British rule in India. "
Lala Lajpat Rai died on November 17, 1928, as a result of the
injuries received by him. That was too much for the people of
India and nobody who had inflicted those injuries on Lalaji could
be forgiven. Addressing a public meeting, Shrimati Basanti Debi,
the wife of C. R. Das, observed thus: “My blood boils with rage to
think that Lalaji, who had beer. so aged and so dear to his country-
men, has been beaten to death by that brute English pclice officer.
It is a challenge to the youth and manliness of 300 million Indians.
On behalf of the women of India, I want a reply to my question
whether Indian youths are dead or alive. Is there nobody from
the young generation of India io step forward and respond to my
question? ” The reply was given by Sardar Bhagat Singh and his
companions. It was decided to kill Mr. Scott who had ordered the
lathi charge and Mr. Saunders who had killed Lalaji. On Decem-
ber 17, 1928, when Saunders was approaching the police gate on
his bicycle, he was shot by Rajguru and he was followed by Bhagat
Singh who tore the head of Saunders to pieces by pistol shots. All
the revolutionaries took refuge in the D. A. V. College, Lahore and
then managed to slip away to Simla.
Within 5 days of the incident, the following posters were found
on the walls of the city of Lahore:
"HINDUSTAN SOCIALIST REPUBLICAN PARTY
NOTICE
BEWARE BUREAUCRACY
“This killing of I. P. Saunders was only to avenge fully the mur-
der of Lala Lajpat Rai. It was indeed a sad and shameful episode
that so mean a fellow like I. P. Saunders should dare to deliver
blows on the chest of the old and most respected person worshipped
by a nation of thirty-five crores of Indians. That was indeed an
affront to the nation. By that insult of the Indian Nation, the
foreign power had as if thrown a challenge to the self-respecting
and brave sons of the soil. This reply will surely convince the
people and the foreign power that the Indian Nation is indeed not
yet dead or spiritless to bear such insults. The people of Bharat
have fresh blood flowing in their veins. Young India is up and
## p. 759 (#801) ############################################
SARDAR BHAGAT SINGH
759
ready to guard the honour of the nation even at the stake and sacri-
fice of life.
"Beware, you, Tyrant of Government !
“Do not hereafter try to touch the provoked feelings of the people
that are already exploited and harassed. Hold your devilish
hands! Remember that in spite all your laws and endeavours to
keep us disarmed a flood of pistols and revolvers will always flow
into the hands of the youth of the country. Though it may be
admitted that no armed revolution can be accomplished with a
sprinkling of arms yet they will indeed be enough to wreak ven-
geance for the repeated national insults which the administration
indulges in from time to time. Our so-called national leaders may
condemn and reproach our actions, and the foreign Government
may try their utmost to crush our organisation. But we want to
make it clear here that we shall ever be ready to safeguard our
national honour and to teach lessons to all the foreign aggrandisers.
We shall never permit the cry of revolution to languish even under
the encirclement of oppression and suppression all around; bear in
mind that even with the noose knot of death round our necks, we
shall always shout and cheer 'Long Live Revolution. '
“We are really sorry that we had to kill a human being. But
the man whom we had to shoot down was a part and parcel of
such cruel, mean and unjust administration of a foreign power that
we had no alternative but to overthrow him. This man is killed
only in his capacity as a representative of the British power in India.
British Power is undoubtedly the most tyrannical one in the world.
“We again repeat that we are sorry that we had to shed human
blood. But it becomes inevitable to shed blood on the altar of
revolution, which will end all exploitation of man at the hands of
man.
“Long Live Revolution.
Sd/- (BALRAJ)
18th December, 1928.
Commander: Punjab HSRA. ”
>
Another incident took place on April 8, 1929. After the ques-
tion hour was over in the Central Legislative Assembly in New
Delhi, Sardar Bhagat Singh threw a bomb on the wall which ex-
ploded with a thundering boom. Two bullets were fired to frigh-
ten the Speaker of the House. When the smoke ended, Sardar
Bhagat Singh threw leaflets into the hall and those read thus:
“Bombs are needed to let the deaf hear. ” Sardar Bhagat Singh
could have run away but he surrendered himself to the police.
Sardar Bhagat Singh and his companions were put up for trial and
ultimately condemned to death. In the course of his lengthy state-
## p. 760 (#802) ############################################
760
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
ment in the court, Sardar Bhagat Singh observed thus: “Our sole
object was to warn the listless and to wake up the deaf. Many
others are thinking just like us. The bombs which were thrown
were intentionally so manufactured as to cause insignificant dam-
age, and they were thrown also in such a clear place as to produce
the least injury to anybody. Under the apparent calm on the sur-
face of the Indian mind there is a ceaseless terrible seething discon-
tent on the point of bursting into a storm. Our action is merely
a danger-signal to those who are rushing ahead thoughtlessly with-
out caring for the serious consequences before them. We have, as
if, heralded the end of the era of non-violence, the idealist dream,
about whose utter failure the young generation is now doubtlessly
convinced. We have adopted this course of striking a warning
purely out of our love and good-will for humanity to ward off the
unheard of harassments and hardships. The new spirit, notice of
whose dawn has been just given by us, is really inspired by the
idealism of Guru Govind Singh, Shivaji, Mustafa Kamal Pasha,
Raza Khan, Washington, Garibaldi, Lafayette and Lenin. It was
because the Government and the Indian leaders had closed their
eyes and ears that we had to sound that warning to attract their
attention. . . . .
“It will be readily accepted that we had no personal prejudice
or hatred against any individual in the House or against any one
who had received minor injuries. On the other hand, we emphati-
cally reassert that we hold all human life as sacred beyond des-
cription. Instead of inflicting injuries on any one else, we are
ready to offer ourselves to be sacrificed for the sake of humanity.
The mental attitude of mercenary soldiers in the Imperial armies
trained to mercilessly kill the humanity is not in our character.
When we surrendered, it was purely out of the sole thought to
suffer the atonement of our actions. We wanted to warn the
Imperialist exploiters that they could never destroy the truth by
crushing a few individuals. A whole nation cannot be suppressed
by doing away with a couple of persons. Bastile could not pre-
vent the French Revolution. Exiles in Siberia could not liquidate
the Russian Revolution. The bloody Sundays could noi arrest the
course of Irish struggle for Independence. How could then these
atrocious measures extinguish the flame of freedom burning bright
in the Indian mind? . . . .
“The opponents of revolution mistakenly believe that revolution
means violence with arms, weapons and such other means. But
revolution is not confined to this process. It may be that these
are used as instruments but it should not be forgotten hat behind
them is the solid strength and spirit of the revolution and that
## p. 761 (#803) ############################################
CHANDRA SHEKHAR AZAD
761
strength is the will, the aspiration of the people to demand and get
a change, a revolution in the current economic structure, the shape
and form of political Government of the nation. Our idea of
revolution has never been simply the bloodshad of some individuals.
It is to end the present regime of exploitation of man by man and
to secure for our nation absolute right of self-determination. That
is the ultimate objective of our idea of revolution. Freedom is the
birth-right of man. We welcome any amount of suffering and
sacrifice that might fall to our lot for this idealism and devotion
to it. Long live that Revolution. "
The Tribunal which tried Sardar Bhagat Singh and his compa-
nions gave its decision on October 7, 1930 and Sardar Bhagat
Singh, Raj Guru and Sukhdeo were hanged at Lahore on March
23, 1931. Unfortunately, the dead bodies of these heroes were
taken by the Government to Ferozepore and an attempt was made
to burn them on the banks of the river Sutlej. However, the people
came to know of it and were able to recover the half-burnt dead
bodies. Those were taken to Lahore and cremated there with
great honours.
A reference must be made to the work of Chandra Shekhar Azad,
Bhagwati Charan and Yash Pal. Azad was a fearless person who
was determined to liberate his country even at the cost of his life.
He had a hand in the Kakori conspiracy case but he managed to
escape. He helped Sardar Bhagat Singh in his attack against
Saunders. His efforts to take Sardar Bhagat Singh out of the jail
failed. Efforts were also made to persuade the Viceroy to con-
done the death sentence passed on Sardar Bhagat Singh and his
companions. When all that failed, Chandra Shekhar Azad and
Yash Pal chalked out a plan to blow up the train carrying Lord
Irwin. When on December 23, 1929, the train carrying the Vice-
roy left the Nizamuddin Railway Station near New Delhi, a bomb
exploded and the train was derailed. The dining car was shattered
to pieces. However, Lord Irwin escaped unhurt.
On February 27, 1931, Chandra Shekhar Azad, Yash Pal and
Surendra Pandey assembled at Allahabad to finalize their plans
for getting help from Russia for fighting India's battle for freedom.
Yash Pal and Surendra Pandey left Azad in the Alfred Park to
meet another revolutionary. While Azad was still in that Park,
he found himself surrounded by armed police. He fought bravely
against the police party with revolvers in his both hands. His
body was punctured with bullets. While he used the other bul-
lets on his enemies, the last bullet he used on himself and thus died
a great man who could have helped to solve free India's problems.
Yash Pal was selected the Commander-in-Chief of the Hindustan
## p. 762 (#804) ############################################
762
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
Socialist Republican Army after the death of Azad. The Govern-
ment announced big rewards for information leading to his arrest.
He re-organized the Revolutionary Army and made a declaration
of a general revolt. He was caught by the police because his
revolver did not work. He was sentenced to 14 years' rigorous
imprisonment but was released by the Congress Ministry in March,
1938.
Sir Michael O'Dwyer had been the Lieutenant-Governor of the
Punjab and it was during his regime that General Dyer murdered
innocent Indians in the Jallianwala Bagh at Amritsar. Sir Michael
had also been responsible for various other atrocities on the people
of the Punjab. It was felt that he must be taught a lesson. Sardar
Udham Singh was a great revolutionary. He went to London in
1919 and waited for full 20 years to have revenge against Sir
Michael. On March 13, 1940, while Sir Michael was leaving the
Caxton Hall, London, Sardar Udham Singh fired at him and killed
him with his second bullet. He was put up for trial and sentenced
to death. He made the following statement in the court: “I have
seen my starving countrymen being trampled under the jackboots
of British imperialism. I am not at all sorry for having registered
my protest in this manner. . I am not the least afraid of death.
What after all is the use in prolonging life till dotage. There is
bravery in dying young, in sacrificing life for the country.
There were many causes for the decline of the revolutionary
movement in India. It was confined to a small circle of young-
men and there was no public backing. The terrorist movement
had no central organization to direct its activities. The upper mid-
dle class leadership was not sympathetic towards the movement.
Leaders like Sir Asutosh Mukherjee and S. N. Banerjee asked the
government to take drastic measures against the terrorists. The
emergence of Mahatma Gandhi as the leader of Indian Nationalist
Movement also led to gradual decline of the revolutionary
movement. The Gandhian technique of non-cooperation, civil dis-
obedience and non-violence appealed more to the people of India
than the activities of the terrorists. No wonder, they went into the
background. However, the Hindustan Socialist Republican Party
tried to meet the terrorism of government "with an even greater
terrorism. ” Sardar Bhagat Singh, Jitendra Nath Das and Chandra
Shekhar Azad were the revolutionaries who staked their lives for
the sake of the country. The terrorists also played their part dur-
ing the revolt of 1942, the mutiny of the Royal Indian Navy and
the crusade of the Indian National Army of Subhash Chandra Bose.
## p. 763 (#805) ############################################
INDIA AND WORLD WAR I
763
INDIA AND WORLD WAR I (1914-18)
When the war started, there was great enthusiasm in the country.
The people of India were willing to serve the government in every
possible way. After Marne, there was an increasing demand for
Indian troops outside India. When Turkey joined the Central
Powers in October 1914, Indian troops garrisoned the Suez Canal
and repulsed a Turkish attack. Indian troops fought through the
long campaigns of Macedonia and German East Africa. They
played an important part in the Iraq campaign leading to the cap-
ture of Baghdad in 1917. In this way, they helped to found the
present State of Iraq. They were in the allied army which took
Jerusalem in 1917. All this involved a great effort in India itself.
Eight lakhs of men were recruited for the fighting forces, together
with four lakhs of non-combatants. This resulted in a great ex-
pansion in the Military machine, a greater mixture of classes and
a stronger feeling of self-confidence all around. Indian self-
confidence grew when the magnitude of their effort and the extent
to which it depended upon Indians themselves, were realised.
In the administrative sphere, the British government made a mis-
take in allowing the British civilian officers to serve the forces dur-
ing the war. Many of them never returned and those who returned
found themselves in a strange new mental world to which it was
difficult to adapt themselves. When times grew difficult towards
the end of the war, the Government had only an ageing and tired
cadre of officers to rely upon.
In the economic sphere, the first effect of the war was one of
stimulus. The industrial development of modern India owes
good deal to the demands of World War I. However, increasing
demands and expenditure led to rise in prices and ultimately enthu-
siasm was turned into discontent. Englishmen could be expected
to put up with inconveniences because they felt that they were
fighting for their very existence and their victory was likely to add
to their glory. The same could not be said about the Indians for
whom the War was merely an external affiiction.
No doubt, they
became not only exhausted and war-weary but also sour, discon-
tented and resentful.
The attitude of India towards Europe and its people was altered
radically and permanently. The Indians gave up the feeling that
the Europeans were superior to them morally and technically.
They were regarded now at besi as more powerful. The first War
casualty in India was the idol of Western superiority.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 also had a profound influence
on the minds of the Indians. They felt that if the people of Russia
a
## p. 764 (#806) ############################################
764
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
could overthrow an imperialist regime, the same could be done
by the Indians in their own country. The Fourteen Points of
President Wilson had great influence on the Indians. They also
demanded the rights of national freedom and self-determination of
peoples. No wonder, the Indians demanded self-government in
the name of the fundamental principles accepted by the Allied
Powers.
As regards the effect of war on Muslims, they were very un-
happy. They did not approve of the dismemberment of Turkey,
which was regarded as the sword of Islam. They also did not like
the treatment given to the Arabs who were considered to be rebels
against the Turkish Khalifa. Their princes were regarded as
stooges of the infidel.
When the war started, the Congress was still a middle-class body
of Westernised professionals with some commercial and industrial
backing. It was firmly under the control of Gokhale and the
Moderates. However, all this was changed during the war. Tilak
came back from jail and became a leader of all-India importance.
Tilak gave up the old policy of making prayers to the British Gov-
ernment. His contention was that every Indian had the birth-
right to be free. He laid the foundations for the great anti-
government movement led by Gandhiji in the next few years.
The World War I ended in 1918. The Indians had helped the
British Government both with men and money. They had done
everything in their power to further the war efforts of the British
Government. However, they suffered on account of high prices,
low wages and shortage of supplies. Plague and influenza took a
heavy toll. The liberty of the people was restricted on account of
the working of the Defence of India Rules. The people put up
with the acts of highhandedness of British officers in the matter of
recruitment and the collection of war-funds. After having done
all that, the people were not at all happy at what was given to
them by the Report of 1918. Mrs. Annie Besant rightly stated
that the scheme was "ungenerous for England to offer and un-
worthy for India to accept. ” When India was in this mood, the
Government of India passed the infamous Rowlatt Act in 1918 in
spite of opposition from all quarters. The result was that a wave
of anger spread all over India and even the Moderates joined hands
with other Indians. The Act was a very drastic one. It gave the
Government power to crush popular liberties, to arrest and detain
suspected persons without warrant and to imprison them without
regular trial, Mahatma Gandhi who had been loyal to the British
Government throughout the World War I came to the fore-front
and asked the people to offer Satyagraha against the Act. There
## p. 765 (#807) ############################################
HAPPENINGS IN THE PUNJAB
765
>
to
was great enthusiasm throughout the country. Hartals were ob-
served with great success.
The Hindus and Muslims co-operated
with one another. However, Mahatma Gandhi, all of a sudden,
suspended the Satyagraha movement as there was a clash in Delhi
and disturbances at other places. Later on, Mahatma Gandhi ad-
mitted that he made a "Himalayan miscalculation”, but the mis-
chief had been done.
Great atrocities were committed in the Punjab during the re-
gime of Sir Michael O'Dwyer, Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab.
Sir Michael was known as the iron man of the Punjab. He
had no faith in political reforms and consequently had no sym-
pathy with the political agitators. He refused Tilak and B. C.
Pal
enter the Punjab. The methods adopted by Sir
Michael to raise war loans and to find recruits were very often un-
authorised and oppressive. When the agitation against the Row-
latt Act started, Sir Michael gave on April 7, 1919 the following
warning to the people of the Punjab : “The Government of this
Provinnce is and will remain determined that public order, which
was maintained so successfully during the time of war, shall not
be disturbed in times of peace. Action
of peace. Action has, therefore, already
been taken under the Defence of India Act against certain indivi-
duals at Lahore and Amritsar. The recent puerile demonstrations
against the Rowlatt Act in both Lahore and Amritsar indicate
how easily the ignorant and the credulous people can be misled.
Those who only want to mislead them incur a serious responsibili-
ty. Those who appeal to ignorance rather than to reason have a
day of reckoning in store for them. ” Amritsar observed Hartal
peacefully both on 30 March and 6 April. However, on 9 April,
1919, the Government of the Punjab passed orders for the depor-
tation of Dr. Satyapal and Dr. Kitchlew and their internment at
Dharmsala under the Defence of India Act. On 10th April, 1919,
they were removed by the police from Amritsar. When the peo-
ple came to know of it, complete Hartal was declared in the city.
The people marched in a procession to the residence of the Deputy
Commissioner to demand the release of their leaders. They had
no sticks or lathis with them. However, they were checked by
the police at the railway level-crossing and there was firing. This
infuriated the mob and there was wholesale burning of whatever
fell in their way. Europeans
Europeans were assaulted. Building were
burnt and godowns were looted. When the troops appeared in
the city, the mob disappeared. On 11 April, 1919, the people
were allowed to arrange for the funerals of the dead bodies.
On April 12, 1919, a proclamation was issued by General Dyer,
who had taken charge of the troops the day before, that no meet-
## p. 766 (#808) ############################################
766
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
ings or gatherings of the pople were to be held. However, no
steps were taken to see that the proclamation was brought to the
notice of the people living in the various localities of the city. The
result was that it was announced on 12 evening that there would
be a public meeting on 13 April, 1919, at 4-30 p. m. in the Jallian-
wala Bagh. Neither General Dyer nor other authorities took any
action to stop the meeting. The meeting started at the right
time and there were about 6,000 to 10,000 people present in the
meeting. All of them were practically unarmed and defenceless.
The Jallianwala Bagh is closed practically on all sides by walls
except one entrance. General Dyer entered the Jallianwala Bagh
with armoured cars and troops. Without giving any warning to
the people to disperse, he ordered the troops to fire and he con-
tinued to do so till the whole of the ammunition at his disposal
was exhausted. Hundreds of people were killed. Lala Girdhari
Lal gave the following account of the tragedy before the Hunter
Enquiry Committee : "I saw hundreds of persons killed on the
spot. The worst part of the whole thing was that firing was di-
rected towards the gates through which the people were running
out. There were small outlets, four or five in all, and bullets ac-
tually rained over the people at all these gates and many got tram-
pled under the feet of rushing crowds and thus lost their lives. Blood
was pouring in profusion. Even those who lay flat were shot.
No arrangmeents were made by the authorities to look after the
dead or wounded. I then gave water to the wounded and rend-
ered such assistance as was possible. I went round the people and
saw almost everybody lying there. There were heaps of them at
different places. The dead bodies were of grown up people and
young boys also. Some had their heads cut open, others had eyes
shot and nose, chest, arms or legs shattered. I think there must
have been over 1,000 dead bodies in the garden then. I saw peo-
ple were hurrying up and many had to leave their dead and
wounded because they were afraid of being fired upon again after
8 p. m. ” The contention of General Dyer was that he wanted
to teach the people a lesson so that they might not laugh at him.
He would have fired and fired longer, he said, if he had the re-
quired ammunition. He had only fired 1,600 rounds because his
ammunition had run out. The regime of Dyer saw some un-
thinkable punishments. The water and electric supply of Amrit-
sar were cut off. Public flogging was common. However, the
“Crawling Order” was the worst of all. One Miss Sherwood was
attacked by the people when she was cycling in a lane, and Dyer
ordered that everyone passing through that lane must crawl with
belly on the ground. Al} who lived in the said lane had to obey
## p. 767 (#809) ############################################
HAPPENINGS IN THE PUNJAB
767
that order, although Miss Sherwood was protected by the people
themselves. The issue of third-class tickets on the railway was
.
prohibited and common people could not travel. More than two
persons were prohibited from marching together on side-walks or
pavements. Bicycles, other than those owned by the Europeans,
were commandeered. Those who had closed their shops were
forced to open them or had to suffer severe penalties. Prices of
commodities were fixed by military authorities. A public plat-
form for whipping was constructed near the fort. A number of
triangles for flogging were consiructed in various parts of the city.
Martial Law Commissioners tried 298 persons at Amritsar. 51
persons were sentenced to death, 46 to transportation for life, 2 to
imprisonment for seven years, 10 for five years, 13 for three years
and 11 for a lesser period. 105 persons were convicted under Mar-
tial Law by the Civil Magistrates.
The administration of Martial Law was more intensive at Lahore
than elsewhere. The curfew order was enforced and the people
who went out after 8 p. m. were liable to be shot, flogged, fined or
imprisoned or otherwise punished. Those who closed their shops
were ordered to open them and the alternatives were either to
be shot or have the shops publicly opened and their contents dis-
tributed free to the public. Occupiers of the premises on whose
walls Martial Law notices were pasted were ordered to protect
them and they were liable to punishment if those were defaced or
torn in any way, although they could not stay out to watch them.
Students of the colleges were ordered to report themselves four
times a day to the military authorities. Langars or public kitchens
opened by public spirited people were ordered to be closed. Motor
cars and motorcycles belonging to the Indians were ordered to
be delivered to the military authorities for the use of the officials.
Electric fans and other electric things belonging to the Indians
were commandeered for the use of the British soldiers. Public con-
veyances were ordered to report themselves daily at piaces which
were far from the city. 300 tonga drivers were commandeered.
Those who were allowed to ply for hire were ordered to report
themselves at different places at different times. A M:rtial Law
notice was torn from one of the walls of a college and the result
was that the whole of the staff of the college, including the Princi-
pal, was arrested and taken to the Fort where they were kept for
three days in military custody.
There was bombing at Gujranwala. Major Carbey who was
.
responsible for the bombing, has given the account in these words:
“The crowd was running away and he fired to disperse them. As
the crowd dispersed, he fired the machinegun into the village it-
## p. 768 (#810) ############################################
768
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
self. He supposed some shots hit the houses. He could make no
discrimination between the innocent and the guilty. He was at a
height of 200 feet and could see perfectly what he was doing.
His object was not accomplished by the firing of bombs alone.
The firing was not intended to do damage alone. It was in the
interests of the villagers themselves. By killing a few, he thought
he would drive the people from collecting again. This had a moral
effect. After that he went over the city, dropping bombs, and
fired at the people who were trying to get away. ” Gujranwala,
Kasur and Sheikhupura had their curfew order, prohibition
of travelling for Indians, public and private flogging, wholesale
arrests and punishments by summary courts and Special Tribu-
nals.
The action of General Dyer was approved by Sir Michael
O'Dwyer in these words : "Your action correct. Lieutenant-
Governor approves. ”
General Dyer was given a higher com-
mand in the Afghan War in which he did good service. How-
ever, six month later, a committee was appointed with Lord Hun-
ter as chairman to enquire into the happenings in the Punjab.
Lord Hunter reported adversely on the action of General Dyer
at Amritsar. His view was that the duty of an officer on such
an occasion was only to take measures necessary to save life and
prevent the destruction of property. It was not his duty to strike
terror into the hearts of the people of the province. The view of
the Hunter Committee was accepted by the Government of India
which held that General Dyer had acted beyond the necessity of
the case, beyond what any reasonable man could have thought
to be necessary and that he did not act with as much humanity
as the case permitted. He was also censured by the Secretary
of State for India. The Commander-in-Chief forced him to re-
sign and his action was upheld by the Army Council. However,
the House of Lords and Mr. Justice McCardie in the famous case
O’Owyer v. Nair held that the action of General Dyer at the Jal-
lianwala Bagh was justified and he saved the British rule in
Northern India.
The action of General Dyer was universally condemned. Mr.
Asquith described it in the British Parliament as “one of the worst
outrages in the whole of our history. ” Sir Sivaswamy, President
of the All-India Moderates Conference, 1919, observed : “The
wholesale slaughter of hundreds of unarmed men at Jallianwala
Bagh without giving the crowd an opportunity to disperse, the
indifference of General Dyer to the condition of hundreds of peo-
ple who were wounded in the firing of machine-guns into crowds
who had dispersed and taken to their heels; the flogging of
## p. 769 (#811) ############################################
JALLIANWALA BAGH TRAGEDY
769
men in public, the order compelling thousand of students to walk
16 miles a day for roll-calls, the arrest and detention of 500 stu-
dents and professors, the compelling of school children of 5 to 7 to
attend parade to salute the flag, the order imposing upon owners
of property the responsibilities for the safety of the Martial Law
posters stuck on their properties, the flogging of a marriage party,
the censorship of mails, the closure of the Badshahi Mosque for six
weeks, the arrest and detention of people without any substantial
reason especially of people who had rendered services to the State
. . . . the flogging of six of the biggest boys in the Islamia School
simply because they happened to be school boys and big boys,
the construction of an open cage for the confinement of ar-
rested persons, the invention of novel punishments like the crawling
order, the skipping order. . . . the handcuffing and roping toge-
ther of persons and keeping them in open trucks for 15 hours, the
use of aeroplanes and Lewis guns. . . . against unarmed citizens,
the taking of hostages and the confiscation and destruction of
property for the purpose of securing the attendance of absentees,
the handcuffing of Hindus and Mohammedans in pairs with the
object of demonstrating the consequence of Hindu-Muslim unity,
the cutting off of electric and water supplies from Indian houses,
the removal of fans from Indian houses and giving them for use
to Europeans, the commandeering of all vehicles owned by Indians
and giving them to Europeans for use, the feverish disposal
with the object of forestalling the termination of martial
law, are some of the many incidents of administration of martial
law which created a reign of terror in the Punjab and have shock-
ed the public. ”
Sir Rabindra Nath Tagore was so much distressed by the hap-
penings in the Punjab that he gave up his knighthood which had
been conferred on him by the Government of India. In his letter
addressed to the Viceroy on that occasion, he observed : "The
accounts of the insults and sufferings undergone by our brothers
in the Punjab have trickled through the gagged silence reaching
every corner of India and the universal agony of indignation rous-
ed in the hearts of our people has been ignored by our rulers,
possibly congratulating themselves for imparting what they ima-
gine salutary lessons. . . . knowing that our appeals have been in
vain and that the passion of vengeance is blinding, the noble
vision of statesmanship in our Government, which could so easily
afford to be magnanimous as befitting its physical strength and
moral traditions, the very least I can do is to take all consequen-
ces on myself in giving voice to the protest of the millions of my
countrymen suppressed into a dumb anguish of terror.
of cases
>
## p. 770 (#812) ############################################
770
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
"The time has come when badges of honour make our shame
glaring in their incongruous context by humiliation, and I, for my
part, wish to stand shorn of all special distinction by the side of
those of my countrymen who, for their so-called insignificance, are
liable to suffer a degradation not fit for human beings, and these
are the reasons which have painfully compelled me to ask Your
Excellency with due deference and regret, to release me of my title
of knighthood. ”
A research monograph entitled “Jallianwala Bagh massacre-a
pre-meditated plan" has been published by the Punjab University
and it was released on 13 April, 1969. It is contended therein
that the plan for the massacre at Amritsar was hatched in the
Government House, Lahore on 9 April, 1919, that the chief archi-
tect of that plan was Sir Michael O’Owyer, that almost all the
high British officials of the Punjab, both civil and military, were
a part of that plan and that the Government of India had given
clearance to it. The objective of that plan was that the people
should be massacred at Amritsar on the Baisakhi Day on a large
scale to produce a deterrent effect on the whole of the Punjab.
Even after making every allowance for the terrible dangers sur-
rounding General Dyer, it is pointed out that Dyer committed
three disastrous errors of judgment. The first error was that he
did not give the crowd a final warning to disperse before opening
fire. The second
that he continued to fire too long.
Another error was the issuing of the Crawling order eight days
later.
error was
NON-CO-OPERATION MOVEMENT
Under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian National
Congress decided in 1920 to start the Non-Co-operation Move-
ment. It was truly a revolutionary step. It was for the first
time that the Congress decided to follow a policy of direct action.
Many factors were responsible for this change. Mahatma Gandhi
had so far believed in the justice and fairplay of the British Gov-
ernment. He had given his full co-operation to the Government
during the World War I in spitc of opposition from men like Tilak.
However, the tragedy of the Jallianwala Bagh, the Martial Law
in the Punjab and the findings of the Hunter Committee destroyed
his faith in the good sense of the Englishmen. He felt that the old
methods must be given up. After the withdrawal of the Mode-
rates, the Extremists were in complete control of the Congress and
it was possible for the Congress to adopt a revolutionary program-
The terms of the Treaty of Sevres which was entered into
up. After
me.
