The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

The tragedy that fuelled the country's desire for full independence

The rise of Indian nationalism was becoming a threat to the British. The British saw that the movements headed by Gandhiji like the Champaran Satyagraha, Kheda Satyagraha and the Ahmedabad mill strike had created a national impact. Threatened by the growing protests across the country, the British decided to exert more control over public activities. On December 10, 1917, the Rowlatt Committee was appointed to investigate into the revolutionary movement in India. 

On the basis of its report, the Rowlatt Act was passed in March 1919. As per the Act, any person could be arrested on the basis of suspicion. No appeal or petition could be filed.
Soon, several nationalist leaders were arrested and Mahatma Gandhi was stopped from entering Delhi. Angered by this brutal action, people attacked police stations, railway stations and banks. Martial law was established under General Reginald Michael O'Dwyer in Amritsar.
Unaware of the martial law, on April 13, 1919, close to 20,000 people, mostly women and children had gathered at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar to celebrate the spring festival of Baisakhi. General Dwyer came to the ground with 90 armed soldiers and blocked all the exits. He ordered his soldiers to open fire at the defenceless men, women and children.
Local resident Lala Girdhari Lal’s house overlooked the Bagh. So, he witnessed the heinous act.
In a statement given to the inquiry commission headed by Gandhiji, Girdhari said: “Hundreds of people were killed on the spot. At Jallianwala Bagh there were just four or five small outlets. Bullets rained over people and many got trampled under the feet due to a stampede. Some people bled to death. Even those who were lying flat on the ground were shot. As the firing continued, the dead bodies piled up. Girdhari estimated that there were over a thousand bodies.” To save themselves about 120 people had jumped into the well and drowned. 

After the firing stopped, General Dwyer closed the gate and prevented the relatives of the survivors to attend to them. Many died crying out for medical aid and water. General Dwyer wanted the survivors to crawl on their belly, a rule which he had imposed on many streets of Amritsar. Anyone who raised their head was thrashed. 

In the end, General Dwyer's men fired 1650 rounds. Later, he boasted that not one bullet was wasted. He also felt a regret that he was not able to use the remaining bullets in the armoury kept in a vehicle outside. The final count was 1300 people killed. 

Amritsar was terrorised. An eyewitness said that, for more than a week, he was scared to go out of his home to get a doctor to treat his ailing wife. “Which doctor would come home on their belly?” he said. 

The Jallianwalla incident broke the trust that Gandhi had for the British. This was in stark contrast to what he felt earlier. In the collected works of Gandhi, Gandhi says, “I discovered that the British Empire had certain ideals with which I had fallen in love, and one of those ideals is that every subject of the British Empire has the freest scope possible for his energies. I think this is true of the British Empire as it is not true of any other Government.“

But by now, Gandhiji realised how the British had subjugated India by imposing their language, education, bureaucracy, legal system and technology upon Indian's local culture. On October 27, 1920, Gandhi called the British system wicked and like 'Ravanarajya'.

On August 1, 1920, Gandhi wrote a letter to the Viceroy of India where he renounced various titles which had been bestowed on him for his humanitarian services. In the letter, Gandhi said that General Dwyer was unfit to hold the office of the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, and added that the punitive measures were taken by General Dwyer, and other officers, amounted to wanton cruelty and inhumanity which was unparalleled in modern times.

Meanwhile, in London General Dwyer received a hero's welcome. And he was exonerated of his crimes. The commission set up by the British was an eyewash. During this time, the Morning Post newspaper started a fund for General Dwyer. It managed to 25,000 pounds.

Rudyard Kipling, the author of the Jungle book called Dyer “the man who saved India” and initiated the collection of money. The House of Lord failed to call the Jallianwala Bagh massacre as a crime. Gandhiji was shocked by the turn of events. He also mentioned in the letter that he considered this as a shameful ignorance of the Punjab event and callous disregard of the feelings of millions of Indians. He said he felt estranged from the present government.

Soon the country saw the rise of non-cooperation movement. With the coming together of the Khilafat forces, Gandhiji was soon able to shake the backbone of the empire through a nationwide movement. 

(Published in The Making of Mahatma' Supplement, The New Indian Express, south India, October 02, 2019 

Link: http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/1841233/The-Making-Of-Mahatma/02102018#page/4/2