Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, 1919:
British Imperialism- Red in Tooth and Claw

A House with a History

Our taxi driver knew where DC (Deputy Commissioner) Amritsar’s office was, but not where he lived. Not to worry, he said, I would use Google Map. Near Customs Chowk, he turned onto Maqbool Road, and easily spotted the gated mansion.

Stepping onto the spacious veranda of the huge bungalow, I observed, more as an aside to myself than to my friend, ‘A colonial house, Victorian architecture!’ We were ushered into the large drawing room where the sofas had been placed across the fireplace no longer in use but serving to remind the ancestry of the building. In the past, this hall had possibly hosted larger gatherings including ball dance parties.

Our host- the young Deputy Commissioner was joined by his spouse, and briefly by his two little daughters. DC had returned from a long day at work, and mercifully, had no other pressing engagement for the evening. His spouse, an All-India Service officer, worked at Chandigarh and the girls went to school there; they had joined him for the weekend. My friend knew the DC from the latter’s recent posting at Jalandhar. Over hot samosha, dhokla, and tea; we had a relaxed chat on diverse matters. Even though Granth Sahib is venerated as the Last Guru, why do the deras, new Babas, and Gurus have such immense following in Punjab, so much so that even convicted and jailed Babas are periodically released on parole, I asked, with a disclaimer that I meant no offence whatsoever, and people were free to choose new gurus if they so liked.

As we got up to leave, I asked, ‘How old is this building?’

‘One hundred and sixty-one years. Built in 1863 at a cost of one lakh rupees, a huge amount at that time,’ said the DC.

‘That makes it a heritage building,’ I observed.

‘Yes, it is. This has been the Deputy Commissioner’s residence since then, though the first DC took charge in 1849.’

As we came out to the veranda, he pointed to the residential office room at the far end to the right. ‘That is where the DC briefly met Dr Satyapal and Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew on 10 April 1919, announced their arrest and despatched them forthwith to Dharamshala, the farthest corner of the Punjab province, two hundred kilometres away, where they would be under house arrest and denied communication with their followers at Amritsar, or anyone else. Jallianwala massacre of 13 April 1919 was an aftermath of that ill-advised arrest here.’

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

Reginald Edward H. Dyer, recently promoted as Brigadier General on ad hoc basis, was posted at Jalandhar. After the firing and subsequent rioting at Amritsar on 10 April, 1919; on oral orders from O’Dwyer, Lieutenant Governor, Punjab, Dyer reached Amritsar.  

In the morning of 13 April, the day of Baisakhi festival, Dyer and Irving (DC) had announced prohibition of assembly in public places; army pickets had been deployed at all key locations in the city, but no attempt had been made to prevent people from gathering in the afternoon at Jallianwala Bagh, which incidentally was a private property owned by Himmat Singh Jallewala, and not a public place per se.

Among the gathering were people demanding the release of Dr Satyapal and Kitchlew, and condemning the 10 April firing upon a  delegation resulting in several casualties.

Without any warning to the crowd to disperse, blocking the main entrance, and preventing people to escape through other narrow exits; Dyer ordered his armed men- 25 Gurkhas and 25 Baluchis- to open fire who fired 1650 rounds.

Jallianwala Bagh Memorial lists names of 492 martyrs who were killed here on that fateful day. Several thousand were injured.

(Image Source: amritsar.nic.in)

In an interview much later, Dyer had said that he would have used the two machine guns which were available; however, the narrow access lane prevented entry of the armoured vehicles carrying the machine guns; or else the death toll would have been much higher.

How Many People Died?

It is impossible to tell how many people died and how many were injured. After the firing, Dyer left the scene, and no district or health official visited the place to count the dead and provide medical help to the wounded. Many who were severely injured crawled outside and were later found dead on the street from excess bleeding. The authorities obtained from the private doctors the names of the injured persons they had treated, and all such persons were prosecuted as secessionists. Families of the dead and the wounded chose to suffer in silence owing to the unprecedented reign of terror that was unleashed and continued for several months. Hunter Committee Report was based on official records and witnesses. Thus, the real facts about the Amritsar massacre were never revealed by the imperial regime.

Jawaharlal Nehru, in his autobiography mentions “… the massacre of Jallianwala Bagh, the long horror and terrible indignity of martial law in the Punjab. Punjab was isolated, cut off from the rest of India; a thick veil seemed to cover it and hide it from outside eyes. There was hardly any news, and people could not go there or come out from there.”[i]

Deshbandhu C.R. Das and Nehru visited Jallianwala Bagh and the ‘terrible lane,’ and recorded eye-witness statements for the Congress Inquiry Committee. 

According to Kishwar Desai, “history belongs primarily to the victor, but only as long as we allow it. The truth cannot remain hidden for all time.”[ii]

Inquiry Committees  and Reports

Dyer submitted his report on August 25! Several months after the massacre, Disorders Inquiry Committee (DIC)[iii] headed by Lord Hunter was constituted in October 1919. DIC, in its Majority Report signed by the British members had criticized General Dyer for excessive use of force, but justified imposition of Martial Law, and exonerated al other officials of any misdemeanour. The Minority Report, submitted by the Indian members, condemned the massacre, and recommended action against Dyer and other officers.[iv]

Indian National Congress boycotted the Hunter Committee, and conducted its own inquiry into the incident. The Sub-Committee was led by Motilal Nehru, and included C.R. Das, Sarojin Naidu, and M.K. Gandhi.

Following censure by the House of Commons, General Dyer was persuaded to resign from the Army, but suffered no other adverse consequence. Till his death in London in 1927, he was unrepentant.

Jallianwala Bagh Memorial, a sculpture in white marble, at the entry gate to the Jallianwala Bagh Museum, and a few metres from the Golden temple, is a stark and sad reminder of that tragic day in the history of Punjab, India, and the sub-continent.

On 13 March 1940 at Caxton Hall in London, Udham Singh assassinated Sir Michael O'Dwyer, the former Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, who had ordered arrest and deportation of Dr Satyapal and Dr Kitchlew, had imposed Martial Law in Punjab on 15 April 1919, and had also justified the massacre.

Amritsar’s Street for Torture

If you visited Amritsar recently, you might have paid obeisance to Guru Granth Sahib at the Golden Temple; honoured the martyrs at the renovated Jallianwala Bagh Memorial; and vicariously suffered the trauma of Partition at the Partition Museum; but even if you are a resident of Amritsar, you may not have been to Gali Kaurianwala, also called Kutcha Kurichan- the street whose innocent residents and visitors including senior citizens, disabled persons, women and children were punished and humiliated through the inhuman ‘crawling order’ by R.E.H. Dyer after he perpetrated the massacre of a thousand or more unarmed and peaceful persons at Jallianwala Bagh on 13 April 1919.

The Crawling Order

The 'crawling order' was imposed on the lane where Marcella Sherwood, the Superintendent of the Amritsar Mission School, had been attacked on 10 April. She was badly hurt, but survived.

“Unfortunately, he chose to apply the punishment to all those who passed through Gali Kaurianwala (Kucha Kuricchan, also spelt as Kutcha Kurichan). The street where the incident had taken place was around 150 yards long. Anyone who passed through it was forced to crawl; Dyer said that the site of the assault was to be seen as 'holy ground'.” (K. Desai)

Dyer posted pickets on both sides of the street from 6 am to 10 pm. Anyone who wished to go into the street or out of it had to go on all fours. He said, 'It could not be helped if they had to suffer a slight amount of inconvenience.' (K. Desai)

Despite the cold-blooded massacre and the cruelty thereafter, Dyer was praised by the House of Lords; presented with a jewelled sword by the British community in India; and the British public, through a campaign led by the conservative newspaper ‘Morning Post’, raised for him £26,000 - a substantial sum at the time, and approximately £1,682,444 in current prices; confirming that the heinous massacre was not the isolated act of a deranged psychopath, but typical imperial strategy to terrorise and coerce the ‘subjects’ through the naked use of fire power.

Citizens of Gujranwala (now in Pakistan) had been bombed by aircrafts. Aircrafts were also sent to bomb Amritsar citizens, if needed. Which other  country has bombed its own citizens?

Regret, but No Apology!

During her visit in 1997, Queen Elizabeth laid a wreath at the Jallianwala Bagh memorial and described the massacre as a “distressing” episode in history.

David Cameron, PM of UK, during his visit to Amritsar in 2013, described the massacre as a “deeply shameful event in British history” and paid his respects at the Jallianwala Bagh memorial. However, he stopped short of a formal apology.

“When Queen Elizabeth visited the Jallianwala Bagh in 1997, followed by Prime Minister David Cameron in 2013, an actual apology was on both occasions studiously avoided.”[v]

Theresa May, PM of UK, in 2019, on the 100th anniversary of the massacre, referred to it as a “shameful scar on British Indian history” and expressed deep regret for the suffering caused. Like Cameron, she did not issue a formal apology.

Rishi Sunak (of Punjabi origin) during his tenure as PM of UK  visited India, but not Amritsar, and he had nothing to say about the Jallianwala massacre.

The British government has issued formal apology and reparations for Mau Mau massacre, and apology for Australia’s ‘stolen’ generation!

Some people suggest that it is pointless to claim victimhood and seek apology, and it is best to work for the present and look to the future instead of being prisoners of the past. That line of reasoning is valid provided the British stop gloating over the ‘white man’s burden,’ and the ‘civilisational’ impact of their colonial empire.  The Empire did everything in its power to plunder India, humiliate and denigrate the ‘subjects,’ and degrade and weaken a great civilisation.

“The atrocities perpetuated at Amritsar have proved that Imperialism run mad is more dangerous, more vindictive, more inhuman, than a frenzied uncontrollable mob.”[vi]

-Lala Lajpat Rai, 5 June 1920

Gandhi and Amritsar

Gandhi had suggested Satyagraha to protest the draconian Rowlatt Act, and the Satyagraha Pledge was drafted at Sabarmati Ashram where Vallabh Bhai Patel, Sarojini Naidu, and others were with Gandhi. Satyagraha Sabha was constituted with headquarters at Bombay and Gandhi as its President, and Gandhi insisted on conducting all meetings in Gujarati only; maybe he was then sceptical about support for Satyagraha all over the country. At Madras upon invitation from Kasturi Ranga Iyengar and Rajagopalachari, Gandhi issued appeal for a country-wide hartal on March 30, 1919 which he later changed to 6 April.

The hartal was a huge success across the country, though there was violence in Delhi, Lahore, and Ahmedabad which Gandhi condemned. Notably, there was no violence at Amritsar prior to the sudden and secret arrest of Dr Satyapal and Dr Kitchlew on April 10.

While Gandhi was on the train to Delhi and Amritsar, he was served an order prohibiting him from entering the border of the Punjab province. He was arrested at Palwal station, and sent back to Bombay.

INC Committee

For an independent inquiry into the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, the Indian National Congress formed a committee which included Motilal Nehru, C.R. Das, Abbas Tyabji, M.R. Jayakar, and M.K. Gandhi.[vii]

The Amritsar massacre was an epoch-making event that changed Gandhi’s view of British imperialism, and put him in the leadership role to steer the Congress and the country in the freedom struggle.

“I must regard my participation in Congress proceedings at Amritsar as my real entrance into the Congress politics.”[viii]

-       M.K. Gandhi

The 34th Annual Session of the Indian National Congress was held at Amritsar during 27 December 1919 to 1 January 1920.

Quick Recap: Q & A

Q: Who ordered the firing at Jallianwala Bagh- Dyer or Dwyer?

A: R.E.H. Dyer. Michael O’Dwyer, was Lieutenant Governor of Punjab and located at Lahore. Udham Singh assassinated O’Dwyer, not Dyer.

This is a common confusion owing to the similar names. Even the Punjab government portal (https://amritsar.nic.in/tourist-place/jallian-wala-bagh/) reflects this popular confusion:

“The memorial at this site commemorates the 2000 Indians who were killed or wounded, shot indiscriminately by the British under the command of Gen Michael O”Dyer on April 13, 1919 while participating in a peaceful public meeting.”

I have requested DC, Amritsar to correct the mistake.

Q: What is the correct rank of R.E.H. Dyer- General, Brigadier General, or Colonel?

A: Colonel. He had been promoted on ad hoc basis as Brigadier General, but lost the rank upon resigning after censure by the House of Commons. He was never a General!

Q: Who decided to arrest Dr Satyapal and Dr Kitchlew?

A: O’Dwyer, on the oral advice of Mr. Smith, Civil Surgeon, Amritsar. Miles Irving, DC, Amritsar merely implemented the order.

Q: When was Martial Law imposed in Amritsar and the Punjab Province?

A: On 15 April, 1919; i.e. two days after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

Q: Since Amritsar was under civil administration till 15 April, should not DC, Amritsar have decided regarding the firing, and how much force to use on 13 April?

A: Yes. Sadly, Miles Irving, DC, simply abdicated his authority; and Dyer took charge without any legal order. Mr. Kitchin, Commissioner, Punjab was interrogated on this issue by the Hunter Committee. Under which Act or Order was Dyer authorised to assume charge and order firing, he was asked? He had no answer.

Q: Why didn’t the wounded seek medical help at the Civil Hospital?

A: Mr. Smith, Civil Surgeon, refused medical help to the few who had reached the hospital, calling them ‘rabid dogs.’

Resources & References

·      Jallianwala Bagh, 1919: The Real Story by Kishwar Desai

·      Jallianwala Bagh: An Empire of Fear and the Making of the Amritsar Massacre by Kim A .Wagner

·      Hunter Committee Reports

·      Indian National Congress Inquiry Report

·      The Story of My Experiments With Truth: An Autobiography by M.K. Gandhi

·      CoPilot

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[i] Nehru’s Word: The horror of Jallianwala Bagh (nationalheraldindia.com)

 

[ii] Jallianwala Bagh, 1919: The Real Story by Kishwar Desai

 

[iii] The Disorders Inquiry Committee, also known as the Hunter Committee, was established by the British government to investigate the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and the subsequent disturbances. The committee consisted of seven members:

British Members

1.       Lord William Hunter (Chairman) - Former Solicitor-General and Senator of the College of Justice in Scotland

2.       W.F. Rice - Additional Secretary

3.       Major General Sir George Barrow - Commandant of the Peshawar Division

4.       Justice G.C. Rankin - Judge of the Calcutta High Court

Indian Members

1.       Sir Chimanlal Harilal Setalvad

2.       Pandit Jagat Narayan

3.       Sardar Sahibzada Sultan Ahmad Khan

This committee’s findings and the subsequent reactions played a significant role in the Indian independence movement.

 

[iv] Gist of the Reports

Majority Report (Hunter Committee) submitted by the four British members

•        Condemned General Dyer’s actions: The report criticized General Dyer for his excessive use of force and lack of warning before opening fire on the unarmed crowd.

•        Justified Martial Law: While condemning the massacre, the report justified the imposition of martial law in Punjab, citing the need to maintain order.

•        No Severe Punishment for Dyer: The report did not recommend severe punishment for General Dyer, which led to widespread dissatisfaction among Indians.

 

Minority Report

The Minority Report was prepared by the three Indian members of the Hunter Committee who disagreed with some of the conclusions of the Majority Report. The Minority Report:

•        Strongly Condemned Dyer: It unequivocally condemned General Dyer’s actions as inhumane and unjustifiable.

•        Criticized British Policies: The report criticized the broader policies of the British government in India, particularly the repressive measures that led to the unrest.

•        Called for Accountability: It called for holding General Dyer and other officials accountable for their actions.

 

Signatories to the Minority Report

These reports highlighted the deep divisions between the British and Indian perspectives on the events at Jallianwala Bagh and played a significant role in galvanizing the Indian independence movement.

 

[v] Jallianwala Bagh: An Empire of Fear and the Making of the Amritsar Massacre by Kim A .Wagner

 

[vi] Jallianwala Bagh, 1919: The Real Story by Kishwar Desai

 

[vii] Congress Punjab Inquiry Report provided a detailed and critical examination of the events and the actions of the British authorities. Here are the key findings:

1. Condemnation of General Dyer: The report strongly condemned General Dyer's actions, describing them as brutal and inhumane. It highlighted the excessive use of force against unarmed civilians.

2. Criticism of Martial Law: The imposition of martial law in Punjab was criticized for its harshness and the arbitrary powers it granted to the authorities.

3. Eyewitness Accounts: The report included numerous eyewitness testimonies that detailed the horrors of the massacre and the suffering of the victims.

4. Call for Accountability: It called for holding General Dyer and other responsible officials accountable for their actions.

5. Impact on Public Sentiment: The report emphasized the deep impact of the massacre on Indian public sentiment, leading to widespread outrage and a loss of faith in British rule.

 

Signatories

The report was signed by the members of the Congress Committee who conducted the inquiry:

1. Motilal Nehru

2. C.R. Das

3. Abbas Tyabji

4. M.R. Jayakar

5. Mahatma Gandhi

This report played a significant role in galvanizing the Indian independence movement and highlighting the need for self-rule.

[viii] The Story of My Experiments With Truth: An Autobiography by M.K. Gandhi