Jallianwala Bagh Day
April 10th, 1919
Ninety three years back in history same day as on
April 13th 1919 it was a bright sunny morning of ‘Baisakhi’ a holy day in Sikh
religion. Over twenty thousand unarmed men, women and children from various
parts of Punjab peacefully gathered at “Jallianwala Bagh”, amidst tense
political situation. They were to attend a public speech about the highly
controversial Rowlatt Act, or as popularly known then and now, as “The Black
Act”, which essentially legalised jailing of Indians on any whimsical or
baseless suspicion.
The soldiers were
ordered to fire the area especially where the crowd was thickest. An important
point to remember is that “Jallianwala Bagh” is fully walled area with only one
gate for entrance which was fully barred by the British Army. People tried to
climb the walls but failed. Many people jumped into the well inside the
compound to escape bullets. Reliable historian quotes that one hundred and
twenty bodies were plucked out of the well alone. The attack lasted for fifteen
minutes, until ammunition ran short.
A band of 90
soldiers armed with rifles and kukris marched to the park accompanied by two
armoured cars on which machine guns were mounted. The vehicles were unable to
enter the Bagh through the narrow entrance.
The troops were commanded by Brigadier-General
Reginald Dyer who, immediately upon entering the Bagh and without the slightest
warning to the crowd to disperse, ordered his troops to open fire,
concentrating especially on the areas where the crowd was thickest. The firing
started at 17:15 and lasted for about ten to fifteen minutes. The Bagh, or
garden, was bounded on all sides by brick walls and buildings and had only five
narrow entrances, most of which were kept permanently locked. Since there was
only one exit except for the one already manned by the troops, people
desperately tried to climb the walls of the park. Some also jumped into a well
inside the compound to escape the bullets. A plaque in the monument says that
120 bodies were plucked out of the well alone.
After the firing
was over, hundreds of people had been killed and thousands had been injured.
Official estimates put the figures at 379 killed (337 men, 41 boys and a six
week old baby) and 200 injured, though the actual figure was almost certainly
much higher (see above); the wounded could not be moved from where they had fallen,
as a curfew had been declared. Debate about the actual figures continues to
this day.
Back in his headquarters Dyer reported to his
superiors that he had been confronted by a revolutionary army, and had been
obliged to teach a moral lesson to the Punjab.
In a telegram sent to Dyer, British Lieutenant-Governor of
Punjab, Sir Michael O'Dwyer wrote: "Your action is correct. Lieutenant
Governor approves." But many Englishmen in India, as well as the
British press, defended Dyer as the man who had saved British pride and honour.
The Morning Post opened a fund for Dyer, and contributions poured in. An
American woman donated 100 pounds, adding ‘‘I fear for the British women there
now that Dyer has been dismissed.’’
O'Dwyer requested that martial law be imposed
upon Amritsar and other areas; this was granted by the Viceroy, Lord
Chelmsford, after the massacre.
Dyer was messaged to appear before the Hunter
Commission, a commission of inquiry into the massacre that was ordered to
convene by Secretary of State for India, Edwin Montagu, during late 1919. Dyer
said before the commission that he came to know about the meeting at the
Jallianwala Bagh at 12:40 hours that day but did not attempt to prevent it. He
stated that he had gone to the Bagh with the deliberate intention of opening
fire if he found a crowd assembled there.
"I think it quite possible that I could have
dispersed the crowd without firing but they would have come back again and
laughed, and I would have made, what I consider, a fool of myself." —
Dyer's response to the Hunter Commission Enquiry.
Dyer said he
would have used his machine guns if he could have got them into the enclosure,
but these were mounted on armoured cars. He said he did not stop the shooting
when the crowd began to disperse because he thought it was his duty to keep
shooting until the crowd dispersed, and that a little shooting would not do any
good. In fact he continued the shooting till the ammunition was almost
exhausted.
He
stated that he did not make any effort to tend to the wounded after the
shooting: "Certainly not. It was not my job. Hospitals were open and they
could have gone there."
The
Hunter Commission did not award any penal nor disciplinary action because
Dyer's actions were condoned by various superiors (later upheld by the Army
Council). However, he was finally found guilty of a mistaken notion of duty and
relieved of his command.
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in the Punjab, during World War I (1914-there was
considerable unrest particularly among the Sikhs, first on account of the
demolition of a boundary wall of Gurdwara Rikabgang at New Delhi and later
because of the activities and trials of the Ghadrites almost all of whom were
Sikhs. In India as a whole, too, there had been a spurt in political activity
mainly owing to the emergence of two leaders Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma)
Gandhi (1869-1948) who after a period of struggle against the British in South
Africa, had returned to India in January 1915 and Mrs. Annie Besant
(1847-1933), head of the Theosophical Society of India, who established, on 11
April 1916, Home Rule League with autonomy for India as its goal. In December
1916, the Indian National Congress, at its annual session held at Lucknow,
passed a resolution asking the British government to issue a proclamation
announcing that it is the aim and intention of British policy to confer self
government on India at an early date." At the same time India having
Contributed significantly to the British war effort had been expecting
advancement of her political interests after the conclusion of hostilities. On
the British side, the Secretary of State for India E.S Montagu, announced, on
20 August 1917; the policy of His Majesty's Government, with which the
Government of India are in complete accord, is that of the increasing
association of Indians in every branch of administration and the gradual
development of self-governing institutions with a view to the progressive
realization of responsible government in India ..." However, the Viceroy
of India Lord Chelmsford, appointed, on 10 December 19l7, a Sedition Committee,
popularly known as Rowlett Committee after the name of its chairman, to
investigate and report on the nature and extent of the criminal conspiracies
connected with the revolutionary movement in India, and to advise as to the
legislation necessary to deal with them. Based on the recommendations of this
committee, two bills, popularly called Rowlett Bills, were published in the
Government of India Gazette on 18 January 1919. Mahatma Gandhi decided to
organize a satyagrah, non-violent civil disobedience campaign) against the
bills. One of the bills became an Act, nevertheless, on 21 March 1919. Call for
a countrywide hartal or general strike on 30 March, later postponed to 6 April
1919, was given by Mahatma Gandhi.
