D.R.Bhagat
The outbreak of the firs world war in 1914 necessitated the colonial rulers to use Indian men and material in the war. More than one million Indian forces were fighting for the British Government. At the end of the war in 1918 about 45000 Indian soldiers had lost their lives. Huge resources from Indian soil were also utilised in the war. Ammunition and money was also supplied by Indian princely states. The Indian people were crumbling through many hardships. Deadly flu of 1918 took many lives. Heavy taxes and soaring prices of commodities further added to their miseries. The Indians were expecting some measures towards their betterment in lieu of the services rendered by them in the war. But all went against their expectations. There was no change in the mindset of the British rulers. Their actions were even more crushing as they were worried about the increasing revolutionary activities of the activists of Ghaddar party in and outside India. Rowlatt Bill was introduced in the Legislative Council in March 1919 which was aimed at severely curtailing the civil liberties of Indians in the name of curbing terrorist violence. The bill was passed despite the stiff opposition of the elected Indian members. The Act gave unbridled powers to the Government to arrest and put to prison any suspect without trial for two years. Hartals and violent protests were held throughout the country against this black law.
The events in Punjab were moving in a more tragic direction. Two leaders of Amritsar Saifuddin Kichloo and Dr Satya Pal were arrested on 9th April. On 10th April in the morning a large crowd of Indian people was marching towards Deputy Commissioner’s office to demand the release of their leaders. The crowd was fired upon by the army at different places in which more than a dozen protesters were killed. The mob became violent who attacked the town hall and post office buildings in retaliation. Four Europeans were also killed. Marcella Sherwood, a lady Church of England missionary was also attacked and wounded seriously. To control the situation created due to wrath of the people the civil authorities called the army on the same day. Brigadier General Reginald Dyer who was the commander of the 45th Infantry Brigade at Jalandhar took over the control of the city along with his forces on 11th April. Martial law was imposed in the city and all meetings and gatherings were banned . On April 13 the day of Baisakhi a general meeting was called in the Jallianwala Bagh in connection with the traditional celebration of Baisakhi festival and also to demand the release of their leaders and condemn the brutal actions of the administration on the people.
Brigadier General Dyer came to know about this meeting. He reached the spot at about 5Pm along with an army of about 60 men laced with rifles and ammunition and two machine guns mounted on two separate vehicles. About 15000 people had gathered there who were unarmed. There was only one narrow route to enter and exit from the Jallianwala Bagh. The speakers were speaking against the Rowlett Act and the environment of the meeting was quite peaceful. General Dyer deployed his men at the entrance of the venue and ordered them to open fire on the people present there. The guns boomed. The bullets rained on the crowd. The venue was surrounded by the high walls and the only exit was sealed by the attackers. Some people ran in desperation to walls and tried to climb them to escape but the bullets brought them down. Many of them ran towards a well in the compound and jumped into it to escape the bullets but died due to suffocation. The British army unmindfully continued raining the bullets till the whole ammunition was consumed. They fired on the mob for more than 10 minutes and left the place without giving any help to the wounded persons. The city was immediately placed under curfew which further added to the sufferings of the wounded persons as they could not be provided any medical assistance. The number of persons killed was officially given as 379 but the actual figure was about 1400 dead and around 2000 wounded. It was a massacre of innocents. The news shocked the nation and the world. Rabinderanath Tagore returned his Knighthood in protest and Sir Shankaran Nair resigned from Viceroy’s Executive Council. But this brutal action was praised by the then Lieutenant Governor of Punjab Michae O’Dwyer who in a telegram sent to General Dyer said “Your action was correct and I approve it”. Later an enquiry committee namely Hunter Commission was set up and General Dyer when deposed before the commission said that he has done so to teach them a lesson and he has no regret of his action.
This action had deep effect on the Indian revolutionaries. Sardar Bhagat Singh who was then just over eleven years of age after hearing about the incident managed to reach Jallianwala Bagh from Lahore. He filled a bottle already brought with him with the blood soaked soil and returned home the same day. On enquiring about his absence for the whole day by his mother he showed her the bottle filled with the soil and said “It is the soil of the Jallianwala Bagh sanctified by the blood of my innocent countrymen. It will always remind me of my duty to take revenge on the evil British rulers.”Another revolutionary Sardar Udham Singh who saw with his eyes the dead bodies of innocent Indians and also heard the screams of the injured took an oath that he would take the revenge with those who are responsible for the massacre of the innocent people of his country. He chased General Dyer for a long time to get an opportunity to finish him but he could not get a suitable opportunity. Dyer died in July 1927 with a paralysis attack. Udham Singh became very sad after listening about his death. Now he sought an opportunity to eliminate Michael O’Dwyer who was equally responsible for the massacre. At last he got the opportunity when he heard that O’Dwyer was going to address a meeting on 13th March 1940 at Caxton Hall in London. He sneaked into the meeting with a pistol and killed by firing upon him when he was addressing the meeting. He was tried and hanged on 31 July,1940. A Martyr’s Memorial was raised on the place of massacre which was inaugurated by Dr Rajender Prasad, the first president of India on 13 April 1961. This will keep us reminding about the supreme sacrifices made by our countrymen for the cause of freedom.
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