The first error was that he
did not give the crowd a final warning to disperse before opening
fire.
did not give the crowd a final warning to disperse before opening
fire.
Cambridge History of India - v4 - Indian Empire
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.
## p. 771 (#813) ############################################
NON-COOPERATION MOVEMENT
771
between Turkey and the Allies were very severe and were resented
by the Muslims of India. The Muslims tried to persuade the Bri-
tish Government to show leniency towards Turkey but they got a
flat refusal. That resulted in resentment among them against the
British Government. The Muslims started the Khilafat Move-
ment and Mahatma Gandhi identified himself with them in that
movement. The result was that Mahatma Gandhi was sure of
Muslim support if the Congress started
started the Non-Co-operation
Movement.
A special session of the Congress was held at Calcutta in Sep-
tember, 1922 under the Presidentship of Lala Lajpat Rai and
Mahatma Gandhi himself moved the non-co-operation resolution.
There was a lot of opposition, particularly from C. R. Das, B. C.
Pal, Annie Besant, Jinnah and M. M. Malaviya but the resolu-
tion was carried by a majority of 1,855 against 873. The pro-
gramme of the Non-Co-operation Movement was clearly stated in
the non-co-operation resolution. It involved the surrender of
titles and honorary offices and resignation from nominated posts in
the local bodies. The non-co-operators were not to attend Gov-
ernment Levies, Darbars and cther official and semi-official func-
tions held by the Government officials or in their honour. They
were to withdraw their children gradually from schools and col-
leges and establish national schools and colleges. They were to
boycott gradually the British courts and establish private arbitra-
tion courts. They were not to join the army as recruits for ser-
vice in Mesopotamia. They were not to stand for election to the
Legislatures and they were also not to vote. They were to use
Swadeshi cloth. Hand spinning and hand weaving were to be
encouraged. Untouchability was to be removed as there could be
no Swaraj without this reform. Mahatma Gandhi promised
Swaraj within one year if people conducted his programme since-
rely and whole-heartedly. Ahimsa or non-violence was to be
strictly observed by the non-co-operators. They were not to give
up Satya or truth under any circumstances.
The Non-Co-operation Movement captured the imagination of
the people. Both the Hindus and Muslims participated in it.
There was wholesale burning of foreign goods. Many students left
schools and colleges and the Congress set up such national educa-
tional institutions as the Kashi Vidyapeeth, Banaras Vidyapeeth,
Gujarat Vidyapeeth, Bihar Vidyapeeth, Bengal National Univer-
sity, National College of Lahore, Jamia Millia of Delhi and the
National Muslim University of Aligarh. Seth Jamna Lal Bajaj dec-
lared that he would give Rs. one lakh a year for the maintenance
of non-practising lawyers. Forty lakh volunteers were enrolled by
## p. 772 (#814) ############################################
772
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
the Congress. Twenty thousand 'Charkhas' were manufactured.
The people started deciding their disputes by means of arbitration.
Mahatma Gandhi gave up the title of Kaisar-i-Hind and his ex-
ample was followed by others. When the Prince of Wales landed
in Bombay on November 13, 1921, a complete Hartal was ob-
served at Calcutta when he visited that city in December, 1921.
The Government followed a policy of repression to crush the mo-
vement. There was indiscriminate beating of the non-co-opera-
tors and the dispersal of their meetings with the help of force.
The Seditious Meetings Act was passed and thousands of persons
were arrested. All the Congress leaders, with the exception of
Mahatma Gandhi, were arrested. Mahatmaji was not arrested
because the government was afraid of the consequences of his ar-
It is estimated that the total number of arrested persons was
about 25,000.
The Congress reaction to this “virulent repression unworthy of
a civilised government” was its decision at the Ahmedabad Session
of the Congress in 1921 to start individual and mass civil disobe-
dience. Mahatma Gandhi was appointed the "sole executive au-
thority. ” On 1st February, 1922, Mahatma Gandhi informed the
Governor-General of India of his intention to start mass civil dis-
obedience in Bardoli and to sanction the no-tax campaign in
Guntur which was in progress since 12th January, 1922. How-
ever, he was “prepared to advise postponement of civil disobedien-
ce of an aggressive character” if all non-violent non-co-operating
persons were released and the government announced non-inter-
ference with all non-violent activities. He gave seven days to the
Government to accept his demands. However, before the period
of seven days was over, the tragedy of Chauri Chauia occurred
which “changed the course of Indian history. ” What actually
happened was that a mob of 3,000 persons killed 21 policemen
and one inspector, some of whom were burnt alive in the police
station. This was too much for Mahatma Gandhi who stood for
complete non-violence. The result was that Mahatma Gandhi
gave orders for the suspension of the Non-Co-operation Movement
at once. As soon as the movement was suspended, there was a lot
of criticism of Mahatma Gandhi and the Government of India
finding him in disgrace, decided to arrest him and prosecute him.
He was sentenced to six years' imprisonment although he was re-
leased in February, 1924 on grounds of health.
The action of Mahatma Gandhi in suspending the movement
was severely criticised from many quarters. According to Dr.
Pattabhi Sitaramayya, “Long letters were written from behind the
bars by Pt. Motilal Nehru and Lala Lajpat Rai. They took
## p. 773 (#815) ############################################
NON-COOPERATION MOVEMENT
773
Gandhi to task for punishing the whole country for the sins of a
place. ” According to Subhash Chandra Bose, C. R. Das was
beside himself with sorrow. ” To quote Bose, “To sound the
order of retreat just when public enthusiasm was reaching the
boiling point was nothing short of a national calamity. ” Accord-
ing to Jawaharlal Nehru, “We in prison learnt to our amazement
and consternation that Gandhi had stopped the aggressive aspect
of our struggle, that he had suspended civil disobedience. ” Ac-
cording to C. R. Dass, “The Mahatma opens a campaign in a bril-
liant fashion, he works it up with skill, he moves from success to
success still he reaches the zenith of his campaign but after that
he loses his nerve and begins to falter. ” According to Polak, “The
Muslims wilted under the blow and it was never again possible to
restore the confidence and fraternity that had united the two com-
munities during this brief period of alliance. ”
However, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru justified the action of Mahatma
Gandhi later on, on ground of practical politics. The incident of
Chauri Chaura was not a solitary one. It was only the last straw.
There was practically no discipline among the volunteers. There
were frequent cases of violence. As practically all the leaders of
the Congress were in jail with the exception of Mahatma Gandhi,
it was not possible to lead the movement on the right lines. To-
wards the end of 1921, there had occurred the Moplah rising in
Malabar with the object of establishing a Khilafat State. How-
ever, it took a communal turn and the Moplahs slaughtered not
only a few British officials but far more Hindu neighbours. If the
movement had not been stopped by Mahatma Gandhi, there was
every possibility of more violence in the country and that would
have given the government a chance to crush the same with a lot
of cruelty. To quote Jawaharlal Nehru, “This would have been
crushed by the Government in a bloody manner and a reign of
terror established which would have thoroughly demoralised the
people. ” It was the action of Mahatma Gandhi that saved the
people from that danger. According to Romain Rolland, "It is
dangerous to assemble all the forces of a nation, and to hold the
nation panting, before a prescribed movement to lift one's arm to
give the final command and then, at the last moment, let one's arm
drop and thrice call a halt just as the formidable machinery has
been set in motion. "
As regards the shortcomings and achievements to the Non-
Cooperation Movement, the movement apparently failed to achieve
its object of securing the redress of Khilafat and Punjab wrongs.
The Swaraj was not attained in one year as promised by Mahatma
Gandhi. According to Subhash Chandra Bose, “The promise of
## p. 774 (#816) ############################################
774
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
Swaraj within one year was not only unwise but childish. ” The
Congress ought not to have identified itself with the Khilafat Move-
ment. According to Polak, the Khilafat Movement "rested on a
wrong foundation. While Indian Muslims were reviving the roman-
tic, old world tradition of an Islamic theocracy, the Turks in
whose interest they believed they were acting, were tossing it aside
as medieval lumber. ” Under Kamal Pasha, Turkey became a secu-
lar State and the institution of the Khilafat was abolished in 1922
and the Khalifa himself was exiled. The sudden suspension of
the movement increased Hindu-Muslim tension. There started "a
series of communal riots which raged, with brief intervals, for many
years and surpassed in bitterness the records of the past. ”
However, there is a lot to be said in favour of the achievements
of the Non-Cooperation Movement. According to Subhash Chandra
Bose, “The year 1921 undoubtedly gave the country a highly organ-
ized party organization. Before that the Congress was a constitu-
tional party and mainly a talking body. The Mahatma not only
gave it a constitution and a nation-wide basis, but what is more
important converted it into a revolutionary organization. Uni-
form slogans were repeated everywhere and uniform policy and
ideology gained currency from one end of India to the other. The
English language lost its importance and the Congress adopted
Hindi as the lingua franca for the whole country. Khadi became
the official uniform for all Congressmen. ” According to Coupland,
"He (Gandhi) had done what Tilak had failed to do. He had
converted the national movement into a revolutionary movement.
He had taught it to pursue the goal of India's freedom not by
constitutional pressure on the government, still less by discussion
and agreement, but by force, none the less force because it was
meant to be non-violent. And he had not only made the national
movement revolutionary, he had also made it popular. It had
hitherto been confined to the urban intelligentsia; it had made no
appeal to the country folk. Gandhi's personality had deeply stirred
the countryside. ” According to Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, “The old
feeling of oppression and frustration was completely gone. There
was no whispering, no round-about legal phraseology to avoid get-
ting into trouble with the authorities. We said what we felt and
shouted it out from the house-tops. " According to A. R. Desai,
“With the section of workers and peasants participating in it, the
nationalist movement which was restricted to the upper and middle-
classes till 1917, got a mass basis for the first time. " The Non-
Cooperation Movement added to the self-reliance of the people.
They were no more afraid of the strength of the British Govern-
ment. The prisons lost their terror and became places of pilgrim-
"
## p. 775 (#817) ############################################
THE SWARAJIST PARTY
775
age for the liberation of the country. Swadeshi became popular.
Khadi became the uniform of the Indian patriots. The Congress
became a mass movement. "
THE SWARAJIST PARTY
Under the leadership of C. R. Das and Motilal Nehru, the
Swarajist Party was set up. Its object was the same as that of the
Congress, viz. , the establishment of Swaraj or Dominion Status
within the British Empire. However, its methods were different.
The Swarajist Party was to follow the policy of “uniform, continu-
ous and consistent obstruction. " Obstruction was the keynote of
the creed of the Party. It wanted to wreck the Legislatures from
within. It wanted to put up "resistance to the obstruction placed
in their path to Swaraj by the bureaucratic government. ” It wanted
to carry non-cooperation "into the very aisles and chance of the
bureaucratic church. ” Within the legislative bodies, its members
were to throw out budgets. They were to reject all proposals for
legislative enactments by which the bureaucracy proposed to conso-
lidate its position. They wanted to introduce all those resolutions,
measures and bills which were necessary for the healthy growth of
the national life of India and the consequent displacement of the
bureaucracy. They were to follow a definite economic policy to
prevent the drain of public wealth from India by checking all acti-
vities leading to exploitation. Outside the legislatures, they were
to give whole-hearted support to the constructive programme of
Mahatma Gandhi and work that programme unitedly through the
Congress organization. They were to supplement the work of the
Congress by helping the labour and peasant organizations through-
out the country. They declared that if they found that it was im-
possible to meet the selfish obstinacy of the bureaucracy without
civil obedience, they would place themselves without any reserva-
tion under the guidance of Mahatma Gandhi.
It cannot be denied that the Swarajist Party rendered a very
useful service to the national cause. It whipped up the enthusiasm
of the people, who were suffering from a sense of frustration on
account of the abrupt suspension of the Non-Cooperation Move-
ment. By throwing out budgets and bills introduced by the Gov-
ernment, they were able to create interest among the people in the
work of the Government. They were also able to discredit the
Government in the eyes of the world. The spirit of resistance was
maintained among the people against the foreign Government. The
passing of the Swarajist Resolution in February 1924 led to the
appointment of the Muddimar. Committee by the Government of
## p. 776 (#818) ############################################
776
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
India to report on the working of dyarchy in the country. The
Simon Commission was appointed two years earlier on account of
the activities of the Swarajist Party. H. N. Brailsford observes:
"To my thinking the tactics of obstruction were justified for they
convinced even the British Conservatives that the system of dyarchy
was unworkable. ”
There was a lot of agitation in the country when the Simon
Commission visited India. At the Calcutta session of the Congress
held in 1928 it was intended to pass a resolution declaring complete
independence as the goal of India. However, Mahatma Gandhi
intervened and Dominion Status was declared to be the goal of
India. Mahatma Gandhi gave the assurance that he himself
would lead the movement for independence if by the end of 1929
the British Government did not confer Dominion Status on India.
It is true that Lord Irwin declared in October 1929 that Dominion
Status was the goal of the British Government in India, but a mere
declaration was not considered to be enough. Hence, under the
Presidentship of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the following Independ-
ence Resolution was passed at the Lahore session of the Congress
on the banks of the river Ravi on December 31, 1929: "This Con-
gress endorses the action of the Working Committee in connection
with the manifesto signed by party leaders, including Congressmen,
on the Viceregal pronouncement of October 31, relating to Domi-
nion Status, and appreciates the efforts of the Viceroy towards a
settlement of the national movement for Swaraj. The Congress,
however, having considered all that has since happened and the
result of the meeting between Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Motilal
Nehru and other leaders, and the Viceroy, is of opinion that nothing
is to be gained in the existing circumstances by the Congress being
represented at the proposed Round Table Conference. This con-
gress, therefore, in pursuance of the resolution passed at its Ses-
sion at Calcutta last year, declares that the word 'Swaraj' in Article
of the Congress Constitution shall mean Complete Independence,
and further declares the entire scheme of the Nehru Committee's
Report to have lapsed, and hopes that all Congressmen will hence-
forth devote their exclusive attention to the attainment of complete
independence for India. As a preliminary step towards organising
a campaign for independence, and in order to make the Congress
policy as consistent as possible with the change of creed, this Con-
gress calls upon Congressmen and others taking part in the national
movement to abstain from participating directly or indirectly in
future elections, and directs the present Congress members of the
legislatures and committees to resign their seats. This Congress
appeals to the nation zealously to prosecute the constructive pro-
## p. 777 (#819) ############################################
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE MOVEMENT
777
gramme of the Congress and authorises the All-India Congress
Committee, whenever it deems fit, to launch upon a programme of
civil disobedience, including non-payment of taxes, whether in
selected areas or otherwise and under such safeguards as it may
consider necessary. "
January 26, 1930, was declared the Independence Day and the
following pledge was taken on that day by the people of India and
the same was repeated year after year: "We believe that it is the
inalienable right of the Indian people to have freedom and enjoy
the fruits of their toil and have the necessities of life, so that they
may have full opportunities of growth.
“We believe also that if any Government deprives the people of
their rights and oppresses them the people have a further right to
alter it or abolish it. The British Government in India has not
only deprived the Indian people of their freedom but has based itself
on the exploitation of the masses and has ruined India economically,
culturally and spiritually.
“We believe, therefore, that India must sever the British connec-
tion and attain Purna Swaraj or Complete Independence.
“We recognize that the most effective way of gaining freedom is
not through violence.
“India has gained strength and self-reliance and marched a long
way to Swaraj following peaceful and legitimate methods and it is
by these methods that our country will attain independence.
“We believe that non-violent action in general and preparation
of non-violent direct action in particular requires the successful
working of the programme of Khadi, communal harmony and
removal of untouchability. We shall seek every opportunity to
spread goodwill among the fellowmen without distinction of caste
or creed. We shall endeavour to raise from ignorance and poverty
those who have been neglected and to advance in every way the
interests of those who are considered to be backward and suppress-
ed. ”
The civil disobedience programme was prepared and launched.
Mahatma Gandhi started his famous Dandi March on March 12,
1930, from Sabarmati Ashram. Thousands of Congress volunteers
were sent to jail. The Government used all kinds of repressive
methods to crush the nationalist movement but failed in its objec-
tive. The Congress boycotted the First Round Table Conference
held in London in 1930, but M. R. Jayakar and Sir Tej Bahadur
Sapru intervened and in March 1931, the famous Gandhi-Irwin
Pact was signed. Mahatma Gandhi described the Pact as a vic-
tory for both the sides. Both Mahatma Gandhi and Lord Irwin
sincerely wanted a settlement and the Pact was a victory for both.
## p. 778 (#820) ############################################
778
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
However, the Pact was criticized by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and
Subhas Chandra Bose.
Mahatma Gandhi attended the Second Round Table Conference
as the sole representative of the Congress. It is true that his visit
to London had profound effect on the people of that country, but
the immediate object of his visit was not served on account of the
attitude adopted by Mr. Jinnah and Sir Samuel Hoare. Mahatma
Gandhi had to leave the Round Table Conference in disgust. As
soon as he reached India, he was arrested by the orders of Lord
Willingdon. Wholesale arrests of Congress volunteers were order-
ed. Leaders were put behind the bars.
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.
## p. 771 (#813) ############################################
NON-COOPERATION MOVEMENT
771
between Turkey and the Allies were very severe and were resented
by the Muslims of India. The Muslims tried to persuade the Bri-
tish Government to show leniency towards Turkey but they got a
flat refusal. That resulted in resentment among them against the
British Government. The Muslims started the Khilafat Move-
ment and Mahatma Gandhi identified himself with them in that
movement. The result was that Mahatma Gandhi was sure of
Muslim support if the Congress started
started the Non-Co-operation
Movement.
A special session of the Congress was held at Calcutta in Sep-
tember, 1922 under the Presidentship of Lala Lajpat Rai and
Mahatma Gandhi himself moved the non-co-operation resolution.
There was a lot of opposition, particularly from C. R. Das, B. C.
Pal, Annie Besant, Jinnah and M. M. Malaviya but the resolu-
tion was carried by a majority of 1,855 against 873. The pro-
gramme of the Non-Co-operation Movement was clearly stated in
the non-co-operation resolution. It involved the surrender of
titles and honorary offices and resignation from nominated posts in
the local bodies. The non-co-operators were not to attend Gov-
ernment Levies, Darbars and cther official and semi-official func-
tions held by the Government officials or in their honour. They
were to withdraw their children gradually from schools and col-
leges and establish national schools and colleges. They were to
boycott gradually the British courts and establish private arbitra-
tion courts. They were not to join the army as recruits for ser-
vice in Mesopotamia. They were not to stand for election to the
Legislatures and they were also not to vote. They were to use
Swadeshi cloth. Hand spinning and hand weaving were to be
encouraged. Untouchability was to be removed as there could be
no Swaraj without this reform. Mahatma Gandhi promised
Swaraj within one year if people conducted his programme since-
rely and whole-heartedly. Ahimsa or non-violence was to be
strictly observed by the non-co-operators. They were not to give
up Satya or truth under any circumstances.
The Non-Co-operation Movement captured the imagination of
the people. Both the Hindus and Muslims participated in it.
There was wholesale burning of foreign goods. Many students left
schools and colleges and the Congress set up such national educa-
tional institutions as the Kashi Vidyapeeth, Banaras Vidyapeeth,
Gujarat Vidyapeeth, Bihar Vidyapeeth, Bengal National Univer-
sity, National College of Lahore, Jamia Millia of Delhi and the
National Muslim University of Aligarh. Seth Jamna Lal Bajaj dec-
lared that he would give Rs. one lakh a year for the maintenance
of non-practising lawyers. Forty lakh volunteers were enrolled by
## p. 772 (#814) ############################################
772
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
the Congress. Twenty thousand 'Charkhas' were manufactured.
The people started deciding their disputes by means of arbitration.
Mahatma Gandhi gave up the title of Kaisar-i-Hind and his ex-
ample was followed by others. When the Prince of Wales landed
in Bombay on November 13, 1921, a complete Hartal was ob-
served at Calcutta when he visited that city in December, 1921.
The Government followed a policy of repression to crush the mo-
vement. There was indiscriminate beating of the non-co-opera-
tors and the dispersal of their meetings with the help of force.
The Seditious Meetings Act was passed and thousands of persons
were arrested. All the Congress leaders, with the exception of
Mahatma Gandhi, were arrested. Mahatmaji was not arrested
because the government was afraid of the consequences of his ar-
It is estimated that the total number of arrested persons was
about 25,000.
The Congress reaction to this “virulent repression unworthy of
a civilised government” was its decision at the Ahmedabad Session
of the Congress in 1921 to start individual and mass civil disobe-
dience. Mahatma Gandhi was appointed the "sole executive au-
thority. ” On 1st February, 1922, Mahatma Gandhi informed the
Governor-General of India of his intention to start mass civil dis-
obedience in Bardoli and to sanction the no-tax campaign in
Guntur which was in progress since 12th January, 1922. How-
ever, he was “prepared to advise postponement of civil disobedien-
ce of an aggressive character” if all non-violent non-co-operating
persons were released and the government announced non-inter-
ference with all non-violent activities. He gave seven days to the
Government to accept his demands. However, before the period
of seven days was over, the tragedy of Chauri Chauia occurred
which “changed the course of Indian history. ” What actually
happened was that a mob of 3,000 persons killed 21 policemen
and one inspector, some of whom were burnt alive in the police
station. This was too much for Mahatma Gandhi who stood for
complete non-violence. The result was that Mahatma Gandhi
gave orders for the suspension of the Non-Co-operation Movement
at once. As soon as the movement was suspended, there was a lot
of criticism of Mahatma Gandhi and the Government of India
finding him in disgrace, decided to arrest him and prosecute him.
He was sentenced to six years' imprisonment although he was re-
leased in February, 1924 on grounds of health.
The action of Mahatma Gandhi in suspending the movement
was severely criticised from many quarters. According to Dr.
Pattabhi Sitaramayya, “Long letters were written from behind the
bars by Pt. Motilal Nehru and Lala Lajpat Rai. They took
## p. 773 (#815) ############################################
NON-COOPERATION MOVEMENT
773
Gandhi to task for punishing the whole country for the sins of a
place. ” According to Subhash Chandra Bose, C. R. Das was
beside himself with sorrow. ” To quote Bose, “To sound the
order of retreat just when public enthusiasm was reaching the
boiling point was nothing short of a national calamity. ” Accord-
ing to Jawaharlal Nehru, “We in prison learnt to our amazement
and consternation that Gandhi had stopped the aggressive aspect
of our struggle, that he had suspended civil disobedience. ” Ac-
cording to C. R. Dass, “The Mahatma opens a campaign in a bril-
liant fashion, he works it up with skill, he moves from success to
success still he reaches the zenith of his campaign but after that
he loses his nerve and begins to falter. ” According to Polak, “The
Muslims wilted under the blow and it was never again possible to
restore the confidence and fraternity that had united the two com-
munities during this brief period of alliance. ”
However, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru justified the action of Mahatma
Gandhi later on, on ground of practical politics. The incident of
Chauri Chaura was not a solitary one. It was only the last straw.
There was practically no discipline among the volunteers. There
were frequent cases of violence. As practically all the leaders of
the Congress were in jail with the exception of Mahatma Gandhi,
it was not possible to lead the movement on the right lines. To-
wards the end of 1921, there had occurred the Moplah rising in
Malabar with the object of establishing a Khilafat State. How-
ever, it took a communal turn and the Moplahs slaughtered not
only a few British officials but far more Hindu neighbours. If the
movement had not been stopped by Mahatma Gandhi, there was
every possibility of more violence in the country and that would
have given the government a chance to crush the same with a lot
of cruelty. To quote Jawaharlal Nehru, “This would have been
crushed by the Government in a bloody manner and a reign of
terror established which would have thoroughly demoralised the
people. ” It was the action of Mahatma Gandhi that saved the
people from that danger. According to Romain Rolland, "It is
dangerous to assemble all the forces of a nation, and to hold the
nation panting, before a prescribed movement to lift one's arm to
give the final command and then, at the last moment, let one's arm
drop and thrice call a halt just as the formidable machinery has
been set in motion. "
As regards the shortcomings and achievements to the Non-
Cooperation Movement, the movement apparently failed to achieve
its object of securing the redress of Khilafat and Punjab wrongs.
The Swaraj was not attained in one year as promised by Mahatma
Gandhi. According to Subhash Chandra Bose, “The promise of
## p. 774 (#816) ############################################
774
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
Swaraj within one year was not only unwise but childish. ” The
Congress ought not to have identified itself with the Khilafat Move-
ment. According to Polak, the Khilafat Movement "rested on a
wrong foundation. While Indian Muslims were reviving the roman-
tic, old world tradition of an Islamic theocracy, the Turks in
whose interest they believed they were acting, were tossing it aside
as medieval lumber. ” Under Kamal Pasha, Turkey became a secu-
lar State and the institution of the Khilafat was abolished in 1922
and the Khalifa himself was exiled. The sudden suspension of
the movement increased Hindu-Muslim tension. There started "a
series of communal riots which raged, with brief intervals, for many
years and surpassed in bitterness the records of the past. ”
However, there is a lot to be said in favour of the achievements
of the Non-Cooperation Movement. According to Subhash Chandra
Bose, “The year 1921 undoubtedly gave the country a highly organ-
ized party organization. Before that the Congress was a constitu-
tional party and mainly a talking body. The Mahatma not only
gave it a constitution and a nation-wide basis, but what is more
important converted it into a revolutionary organization. Uni-
form slogans were repeated everywhere and uniform policy and
ideology gained currency from one end of India to the other. The
English language lost its importance and the Congress adopted
Hindi as the lingua franca for the whole country. Khadi became
the official uniform for all Congressmen. ” According to Coupland,
"He (Gandhi) had done what Tilak had failed to do. He had
converted the national movement into a revolutionary movement.
He had taught it to pursue the goal of India's freedom not by
constitutional pressure on the government, still less by discussion
and agreement, but by force, none the less force because it was
meant to be non-violent. And he had not only made the national
movement revolutionary, he had also made it popular. It had
hitherto been confined to the urban intelligentsia; it had made no
appeal to the country folk. Gandhi's personality had deeply stirred
the countryside. ” According to Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, “The old
feeling of oppression and frustration was completely gone. There
was no whispering, no round-about legal phraseology to avoid get-
ting into trouble with the authorities. We said what we felt and
shouted it out from the house-tops. " According to A. R. Desai,
“With the section of workers and peasants participating in it, the
nationalist movement which was restricted to the upper and middle-
classes till 1917, got a mass basis for the first time. " The Non-
Cooperation Movement added to the self-reliance of the people.
They were no more afraid of the strength of the British Govern-
ment. The prisons lost their terror and became places of pilgrim-
"
## p. 775 (#817) ############################################
THE SWARAJIST PARTY
775
age for the liberation of the country. Swadeshi became popular.
Khadi became the uniform of the Indian patriots. The Congress
became a mass movement. "
THE SWARAJIST PARTY
Under the leadership of C. R. Das and Motilal Nehru, the
Swarajist Party was set up. Its object was the same as that of the
Congress, viz. , the establishment of Swaraj or Dominion Status
within the British Empire. However, its methods were different.
The Swarajist Party was to follow the policy of “uniform, continu-
ous and consistent obstruction. " Obstruction was the keynote of
the creed of the Party. It wanted to wreck the Legislatures from
within. It wanted to put up "resistance to the obstruction placed
in their path to Swaraj by the bureaucratic government. ” It wanted
to carry non-cooperation "into the very aisles and chance of the
bureaucratic church. ” Within the legislative bodies, its members
were to throw out budgets. They were to reject all proposals for
legislative enactments by which the bureaucracy proposed to conso-
lidate its position. They wanted to introduce all those resolutions,
measures and bills which were necessary for the healthy growth of
the national life of India and the consequent displacement of the
bureaucracy. They were to follow a definite economic policy to
prevent the drain of public wealth from India by checking all acti-
vities leading to exploitation. Outside the legislatures, they were
to give whole-hearted support to the constructive programme of
Mahatma Gandhi and work that programme unitedly through the
Congress organization. They were to supplement the work of the
Congress by helping the labour and peasant organizations through-
out the country. They declared that if they found that it was im-
possible to meet the selfish obstinacy of the bureaucracy without
civil obedience, they would place themselves without any reserva-
tion under the guidance of Mahatma Gandhi.
It cannot be denied that the Swarajist Party rendered a very
useful service to the national cause. It whipped up the enthusiasm
of the people, who were suffering from a sense of frustration on
account of the abrupt suspension of the Non-Cooperation Move-
ment. By throwing out budgets and bills introduced by the Gov-
ernment, they were able to create interest among the people in the
work of the Government. They were also able to discredit the
Government in the eyes of the world. The spirit of resistance was
maintained among the people against the foreign Government. The
passing of the Swarajist Resolution in February 1924 led to the
appointment of the Muddimar. Committee by the Government of
## p. 776 (#818) ############################################
776
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
India to report on the working of dyarchy in the country. The
Simon Commission was appointed two years earlier on account of
the activities of the Swarajist Party. H. N. Brailsford observes:
"To my thinking the tactics of obstruction were justified for they
convinced even the British Conservatives that the system of dyarchy
was unworkable. ”
There was a lot of agitation in the country when the Simon
Commission visited India. At the Calcutta session of the Congress
held in 1928 it was intended to pass a resolution declaring complete
independence as the goal of India. However, Mahatma Gandhi
intervened and Dominion Status was declared to be the goal of
India. Mahatma Gandhi gave the assurance that he himself
would lead the movement for independence if by the end of 1929
the British Government did not confer Dominion Status on India.
It is true that Lord Irwin declared in October 1929 that Dominion
Status was the goal of the British Government in India, but a mere
declaration was not considered to be enough. Hence, under the
Presidentship of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the following Independ-
ence Resolution was passed at the Lahore session of the Congress
on the banks of the river Ravi on December 31, 1929: "This Con-
gress endorses the action of the Working Committee in connection
with the manifesto signed by party leaders, including Congressmen,
on the Viceregal pronouncement of October 31, relating to Domi-
nion Status, and appreciates the efforts of the Viceroy towards a
settlement of the national movement for Swaraj. The Congress,
however, having considered all that has since happened and the
result of the meeting between Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Motilal
Nehru and other leaders, and the Viceroy, is of opinion that nothing
is to be gained in the existing circumstances by the Congress being
represented at the proposed Round Table Conference. This con-
gress, therefore, in pursuance of the resolution passed at its Ses-
sion at Calcutta last year, declares that the word 'Swaraj' in Article
of the Congress Constitution shall mean Complete Independence,
and further declares the entire scheme of the Nehru Committee's
Report to have lapsed, and hopes that all Congressmen will hence-
forth devote their exclusive attention to the attainment of complete
independence for India. As a preliminary step towards organising
a campaign for independence, and in order to make the Congress
policy as consistent as possible with the change of creed, this Con-
gress calls upon Congressmen and others taking part in the national
movement to abstain from participating directly or indirectly in
future elections, and directs the present Congress members of the
legislatures and committees to resign their seats. This Congress
appeals to the nation zealously to prosecute the constructive pro-
## p. 777 (#819) ############################################
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE MOVEMENT
777
gramme of the Congress and authorises the All-India Congress
Committee, whenever it deems fit, to launch upon a programme of
civil disobedience, including non-payment of taxes, whether in
selected areas or otherwise and under such safeguards as it may
consider necessary. "
January 26, 1930, was declared the Independence Day and the
following pledge was taken on that day by the people of India and
the same was repeated year after year: "We believe that it is the
inalienable right of the Indian people to have freedom and enjoy
the fruits of their toil and have the necessities of life, so that they
may have full opportunities of growth.
“We believe also that if any Government deprives the people of
their rights and oppresses them the people have a further right to
alter it or abolish it. The British Government in India has not
only deprived the Indian people of their freedom but has based itself
on the exploitation of the masses and has ruined India economically,
culturally and spiritually.
“We believe, therefore, that India must sever the British connec-
tion and attain Purna Swaraj or Complete Independence.
“We recognize that the most effective way of gaining freedom is
not through violence.
“India has gained strength and self-reliance and marched a long
way to Swaraj following peaceful and legitimate methods and it is
by these methods that our country will attain independence.
“We believe that non-violent action in general and preparation
of non-violent direct action in particular requires the successful
working of the programme of Khadi, communal harmony and
removal of untouchability. We shall seek every opportunity to
spread goodwill among the fellowmen without distinction of caste
or creed. We shall endeavour to raise from ignorance and poverty
those who have been neglected and to advance in every way the
interests of those who are considered to be backward and suppress-
ed. ”
The civil disobedience programme was prepared and launched.
Mahatma Gandhi started his famous Dandi March on March 12,
1930, from Sabarmati Ashram. Thousands of Congress volunteers
were sent to jail. The Government used all kinds of repressive
methods to crush the nationalist movement but failed in its objec-
tive. The Congress boycotted the First Round Table Conference
held in London in 1930, but M. R. Jayakar and Sir Tej Bahadur
Sapru intervened and in March 1931, the famous Gandhi-Irwin
Pact was signed. Mahatma Gandhi described the Pact as a vic-
tory for both the sides. Both Mahatma Gandhi and Lord Irwin
sincerely wanted a settlement and the Pact was a victory for both.
## p. 778 (#820) ############################################
778
THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
However, the Pact was criticized by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and
Subhas Chandra Bose.
Mahatma Gandhi attended the Second Round Table Conference
as the sole representative of the Congress. It is true that his visit
to London had profound effect on the people of that country, but
the immediate object of his visit was not served on account of the
attitude adopted by Mr. Jinnah and Sir Samuel Hoare. Mahatma
Gandhi had to leave the Round Table Conference in disgust. As
soon as he reached India, he was arrested by the orders of Lord
Willingdon. Wholesale arrests of Congress volunteers were order-
ed. Leaders were put behind the bars.
