132

CHAPTER III

AFTERMATH OF JALLIANWALA BAGH MASSACRE

I

The Pun.iab under Martial Law

The Punjab Government in dealing with the ag i t a t ion

followed i t s old pol icy of repression and coercion and

Martial Law was declared in various pa r t s of the Punjab on

various da tes . Martial Law was declnr ed in the c i t i e s of

AnritBar and Lahore on l5 tKApr i l ,1919 ' Then i t was extended

to other p laces , o" the I6th morning Colonel McRae proclaimed

Martial Law in Kasur and af ter t h e I6th i t was declared in

Wazirabad. Hafiaabad was calm and quiet a f te r the l^th of

April but Martial Law was suddeidy declared there in the

evening of 19th A p r i l , i . e . four days af ter the disturbances

ceased. T i l l the 22nd of Apr i l , Martial Law had been declared

in f ive d i s t r i c t s , namely, Lahore, Amritsar, Gujaranwala, Gujrat

and LyaLlpur.

I t was decided that a l l the o f f e n c e s committed between

30th March and the date of declara t ion of Martial Law should

be deal t with by Martial Law cour ts . But as t h e i r number would

have been very l a r g e , the Punjab Government proposed to the Gover­

nment of India t o e s t a b l i s h Summary Courts to t r y minor cases .

For disposal of such cases o f f i ce r s who had served as D i s t r i c t

133

Magistrates were given powers of punishment equal to those

of a Section 30 Magistrate .

With the declarat ion of Martial Law was inaugurated

a reign of tyranny and ^ p r e s s i o n . The charge of the

Martial Law areas was in the hands of the aimy, and c i v i l

a u t h o r i t i e s had no check over them. An army off icer incharge M

of a a r t l a l Law area was in fu l l charge of administrat ion -

issuing o r d t r s as he wished, without any check, and thus

act ing l ike a d ic t a to r . So the harshness of mar t ia l law

varied from place t o place depending upon the person in charge.

Col.Frank Johnson, of African fame, was in command of the

Lahore Martial Law area from the 1?th of April to Hie 29th

May, 1919'"His a<ininistration was so sweeping tha t i t made

i t s e l f f e l t by a l l c lasses of people, high and low, not

excluding the s tudents , numbering several thousands, studying

i n the various co l leges . The t a l l e s t had to bend before h i s

i ron rule.** Lt . -Col . O'Brien who had adopted s t r i c t measures

to obta in r e c r u i t s was given the charge of Haflzabad, where

he continued h i s old po l icy . General l^rer who had been given

diarge of Amritsar on the 12th April and was responsible for

the Ja l l ianwala Bagh massacre continued to remain in charge

of Amritsar.

''Home Pol A May 1919 7U«108 Tel.No. 103»S.W. dated the 27th Apr i l , 1919.

Congress Inquiry Committee Repor t ,Vol . I ,p ,8o.

13'«

Sweeping a r r e s t s of hundreds of people were made though

many of them were discharged af ter some days without being

t r i e d ; and houses of respectable parsons were searched

unnecessar i ly . Mil i tary so ld ie rs looted some shops and

nobo<2̂ y chedced than and people were afraid t o complain against

them.

L. Girdhari Lai , an important c i t i z e n of Amritsar saidj

•*The pol ice began to a r r e s t people from 12th Apr i l , as far as

I rOTsraber. There was no break af te r t h a t , and people in

every sphere of l i f e were ar res ted from day to day, while

employed peacefully in t h e i r occupations. No charge was

s ta ted . They were then handcuffed at once and put in to the

lock up, for days and months, without being informed what

they wore occused of, and no opportunity was ever allowed them

to see or consult f r iends or r e l a t i o n s . " ^ During t h i s period

"No humiliation was considered too low or no punishment too k

severe to *teach' the rebels a l e s s o n . "

Martial law was declared suddenly and orders were

passed in Lahore and Amritsar d i rec t ing people not to be

in t he s t r e e t s af ter 8 p.m. in Lahore and 10 p.m. in Amritsar.

^Congress Inquiry Committee Repor t ,op .c i t . ,Vo l . I , p .6^ .

Alam Mblmej •Amritsar-The City of Golden Temple* in Modern Review Jan-June,1920.

i35

the order was enforced without making a l l the people aware

of i t , "As far as I know, i t was the ignorant and I l l i t e r a t e

people who were a r res ted : being out of doors a f te r 8 p.m. as

they could r»t properly understand the orders and r ea l i ze the

r i sk they were running, I saw with mj eyes a batch of these

people brought by the po l ice to the publ ic square nenr market,

made to take off t h e i r c lothes and put on a muslin langot i

and were t i e d with ^ i k t i k i and flogged most c rue l ly in the

gaze of the pub l ic . The scene was ghastly and struck t e r r o r

inthe hea r t s of the people and brought t e a r s of blood in to

t h e i r eyes while I saw one or two Europeans were laughing and

enjoying t h i s he l l i sh scene. The people flogged in my presence

were a l l innocent people who did not even understand what 8 p.m.

means, 5

According to Ctol. Frank Johna>n, who was incharge of

Martial Law in Lahore, he had two object ives in i ssuing t h i s

order (a ) by keeping the Indian population indoors during the

night to reduce the s t r a i n in the matter of p a t r o l s and

picquets on troops and pol ice and to b e t t e r insure the

pro tec t ion of the European population in the Civi l s t a t ion

and (b) to give the Indian population a lesson in d i sc ip l ine

and to bring home to them the meaning and power of Martial Law.

^D.I.C.Report Vol.^ Written statements - Pt .Agnihotr i , Proprietor,The Capital Sports VJorks, Lahore.

B.I .e .Report V o l . I l l Written Statements Lt.Gol. Frank Johnson,

13«

Order was published asking people to open t h e i r

shops by a ce r t a in t ime, in default of which t h e i r shops

would be opened by force, and t h e i r property %rould be

confiscated and the owners would be l i a b l e to be fined,

imprisoned and whipped. "An order has been issued by Lt . -

Col. Frank Johnson requir ing a l l shops to be opened by 2 p.m.

today in the Anarkali quar ter . Troops and pol ice have been 7

de ta i led to see tha t t he order i s car r ied ou t . "

"That was the way to make Indian shopkeepers

appreciate the difference between Br i t i sh idealism and f a i r

play and Prussian bru t i shness . The Tenturesome burgesses of

Lahore,who refused t o open t h e i r shops at the bidding of the

m i l i t a r y , had the p r iv i l ege of being o f f i c i a l l y deprived of

t h e i r goods and being publ ic ly flogged in the s t r e e t s . That i s

the way to make loya l and contented c i t i zens of them."

Water and e l e c t r i c i t y supply of the tovm of Amritsar

was cut by the order of the au tho r i t i e s for a number of days

a f te r the disturbances took place on the lo th .

Lt. Col. O'Brien was very severe and used the Martial

Law to punish the people. Wherever he went a pol icy of

oopression and coercion was s t a r t ed . "Even af te r the

^The Tribune April 2U-,1919, o Extract froR I n ^ ^ London dated Friday 23rd

May, 1919 in Home P o l . A " ^ ^ r . 1919 Nbs.M)0-05.

137

declara t ion of Martial Law, things were not very bad. On the

30th Apri l , Lt. Col.O'Brien paid Hafizabad a v i s i t , and

ushered in such a reign of t e r r o r as only a person who was

jpresent i n those days at Hafizabad can r e a l i s e the s te rn

r e a l i t y of the th ing ."^

Martial Law was declared.^iil Kasur on 1 6 ^ April in a

durbar. L. Dhanpat Rai, who had presided over the meeting

which had been held on the 11th April to p ro tes t against

the Bowlatt Act, was a r res ted . Twenty one a r r e s t s were made

on tha t day; on the 17th three more a r r e s t s were made, on the

18th four and on the 19th, I40. Most of the s'lrests on these

th ree days were made on the i den t i f i c a t i on of Europeans and of

the o f f i c i a l s of Kasur. On the 20th, twenty-two a r r e s t s were

made. After that a few a r r e s t s were made dai ly as more

witnesses were ca l led up, e .g . passengers and workmen from

Perozepur t r a i n ,

"Several inhuman punishments were I n f l i c t e d . I

myself saw a Sadhu white washed. . . . At about midnight a deaf and

a dumb poor man was shot dead for h i s being out doors during the

curfew hours and for h is not replying to ttie c a l l of the 10 sent ine l a t the Railway S ta t ion . "

^D. I.C.Report Vol.V, Written Statements- Mr.R.C.Chopra, Hafizabad.

^°D.I.e.Report Vol.IV Written Statements - S.Amar Singh, B.A. ,LL, B.,Pleader,Kasur.

13S

Then on 1s t . May iden t i f i ca t ion was car r ied out in

Kasur to find out the c u l p r i t s . I t was done in a very-

humiliating way —— without caring for the sentiments and

p res t ige of the people. The vrtiole adult male population

was guminoned at the Railway Stat ion ear ly in the morning,

and they had to wait there up to 3 p.m. in the sunshine

without food or drink and had to undergo i den t i f i c a t i on bare­

headed.

Publip n9RF;l"fi

Flogging in publ ic s t r e e t s was one of the punishments

given by the Martial Law a u t h o r i t i e s . I t was resor ted to

even in case of pe t t y offences l i k e being outdoor during

the curfew hours, tear ing of mar t ia l law not ices e t c . "There

i s a good author i ty for the statement tha t in Lahore, men

of means and respectable pos i t ion were flogged in some

of the most cen t ra l s t r e e t s for fanciful or r id icu lous ly

pe t ty offences against the s t r i c t l e t t e r of railitary

regTolations. As a concrete case, My name i s .

My f a t h e r ' s name i s . I am a Khatri by caste and

own a shop in bazar H a t t i . I era a c loth merchant and deal

in English goods to the value of lakhs of rupees which I

import t h r o u ^ Messrs and one or two o the r s .

I am l i t e r a t e and so i s my brother , who i s 33 years old.

He i s a par tner in the firm. Ife are respectable people

139

and thought well of by a l l the people around us . We also pay

Income tax . There was a mar t ia l law order t h a t nobody

should go out i n the s t r e e t s a f t e r 8 p.m. One evening ray

brother went to the door of our house a t 8,15 P»in« with a view to

milk h i s cow which was fastened with a rope t h e r e . The gujjar

who used t o milk the cow had not come tha t evening. My home

i s s i tua ted i n which i s a bye-lane at a great distance

from the main road. The cow was making much noise . The pol ice

p a t r o l came at tha t moment and a r res ted my brother who was

wearing only h i s dhoti . He t r i e d to expla in mat ters to the

po l ice but they would not l i s t e n . Then he asked for permission

to put on his dress , but the pol ice did not allow him t o do

t h a t . The pol ice took him to waterworks where he was kept ELLI

the n igh t . Next morning at 10, he was produced before Col.

Johnson who ordered cuts and fine of Rs. 10. Hy brother

pleaded with the Sahib tha t he was a respectable person and

might be exempted from flogging. He offered to pay a heavier

fine ins tead , but he was rot l i s t ened t o . I t was a t 10 in the

morning when t h i s order was given but i t was 6 in the evening

when the actual punishment followed. From 8.15 the

previous evening to 7 p .m. , the next day, my brother was not

allowed to attend the c a l l of nature and he was not given 11 anything to ea t .

''''none Pol.Deposit Oct. 1919,No.35.

140

In Amritsar flogging was administered for the break

of fort d i s c ip l i ne , and to those who were suspected of

assaul t ing Miss Sherwood. General Dyer wanted to lash

tiie suspects of Miss Sherwood's asaul t i n tha t l ane . "Thus,

s ix boys were flogged on the booth. Each of them was fastened

to the t l k t i k i ( t r i a n g l e ) and given "^0 s t r i j i s , one of then

Sundar Singh, "became senseless , af ter the i+th s t r i p , but ,

a f te r some water was poured into his mouth by a so ld ie r , he

regained oonscdousness for the second time, but the flogging

neyer ceased t i l l he was given 30 s t r i p s . He was taken off

the flogging post bleeding and qui te unconscious. The other

boys were s imi la r ly t r ea t ed , and the majority of them became

unconscious, while they wore being flogged. They were a l l

hand-cuffed and as they could not walk even a few paces, they 12

were dragged by the p o l i c e . They were then taken to the f o r t . "

In Anri tsar the following was the account of whipping. '^

Total number of whipped - 26 cases

Breach of Fort Discipline - 6

Beating drum to i n s t i g a t e disobedience to order - 2

Threatening witnesses - 3

Drunk and Disorderly - if

Grazing Cat t le in Grass Farm - 2

12 Congress Inquiry Comiaittee Report St . 115,St. 117,

St.l88,Vol.I, p.6lf.

''^D,I.e.Report Vol.Ill Evidence Taken before D.I.C.Mr.Miles Irving.

141

Attempt to open Railway gate - 1

Out during Prohibi ted Hours - 2

Refusing t o give t ranspor t • 2

Disseminating fa lse news - 1

Assault on Constable - 1

Abuse - 1

Refusing to ha l t \rfier challenged - 1

Flogging in the s t r e e t s was most resented to by the

publ ic . Gandhiji sent a telegram to the Viceroy, "Just read

Associated Press wire, dated 19th, saying persons ar res ted for

disobeying orders Issued under Martial Law are being whipped

in publ ic s t r e e t s , understand orders have reference to opening

shops. I f p ress wire cor rec t , respec t fu l ly submit t h a t such

whipping vould rouse gravest ind ignat ion ."

During the whole Martial Law period the nunber of

persons who were awarded the punishment of whipping was 255» Lahore D i s t r i c t - 65

Kasur - 79

Khangah Dargah and Shakarpur

Tehsi l (Gujaranwala D i s t r i c t ) - ko

Amrltsar - 32

Gu j aranwala - 2U-

Gu j ra t - 3 Lyallpur - 12

Total 2^5 ''Siome Pol,Deposit May 19l9,No.lf.

''̂ Home Pol. 5 Nov. 1919 No. 139-^ -Ex t r ac t from the Proceedings of the Indian Legis la t ive Council 10th Sept.1919,

142

Most of the sentences were passed by Summary Courts,

which means only for minor offences.

Lahore D i s t r i c t

Khangah Dargah and Shakarpur Tehsfis (of Gujranwala D i s t r i c t )

Kasur

Sheikhupura Subdivision (Guj aranwala)

Amritsar Distt^ict

Gujrat D i s t r i c t

Lyallpur D i s t r i c t

Summary Courts Mar t i a l Law Qorainisslons

65 Nil

UO Nil

79 Nil

19 5

26 6

3 Nil

12 Nil

2Mf 11

The Government of India received a number of

representat ions to the effect that public floggings were .

in tense ly repugnant to Indian opinion, and t h a t i t s public

i n f l i c t i o n was causing great resentment. The Viceroy was not

in favour of t h i s punishment, and he wrote to M.G'Dwyer, " I

wish to point out in addit ion the very grave effect that

these whippings are having on publ ic opinion th2X)ughout India.

I am already to give you my support i n every way, but I

think i t r ight tha t you ^ o u l d know tha t I consider t h i s

p a r t i c u l a r form of punishment should be avoided as far as

143

possible and the least publicity given."

The Secretary of State also expressed disapproval

when he wrote "But on this occasion, according to telegram,

flogging has been used as a punishment for men found out

after hours and tearing down public notices. If we are

challenged it may be difficult to convince public of

17 appropriateness of act ion in these cases .

y^^ S^aynlng Opder

Another humiliating and insu l t ing order was passed

by Brigadier General Campbell, Commanding Brigade in Lahore,

"Whereas i t has come to my not ice that cer ta in inhabi tan ts of

the Gujaranwala d i s t r i c t are hab i tua l ly exhibi t ing a lack of

respect for Gazetted or Commissioned European Civi l and

Mil i tary Officers of His Majesty's se rv ices , thereby fa i l ing

to maintain the d igni ty of tha t Government, I hereby order

t ha t the inhabi tan ts of Gujaranwala d i s t r i c t sha l l accord

to a l l such o f f i ce r s whenever met the sa lu ta t ion usual ly

accorded t o Indian gentlemen of h i ^ social pos i t ion in

accordance with the customs of India. That i s to say, persons

r id ing on animals or in wheeled conveyances w i l l a l i gh t .

Chemesford Papers Viceroy to Lt. Governor Punjab Tel .P.No.M6, 23rd A p r i l , 1919.

''"Home Pol.Deposit May 1919 No.2+ Tel.Kb. 100 dated 38th Apri l , 1919.

144

Persons carrying opened or raised umbrellas sha l l lov/er 18 them and al-l persons sha l l sa lu te or salaam with the hand.

This order was passed on 22nd April and was extended to

Lyallpur on 30th Apri l . The object ive of t h i s order was

tha t "the whole d i s t r i c t must r e a l i s e that i t was no business

of any of i t s inhabi tan ts to show by t h e i r demeanour t ha t

they regarded themselves as the equal subjects of His Majesty.

No, they must bow before every representa t ive of au thor i ty ,

C iv i l or Mi l i ta ry , and thereby acknowledge and r e a l i z e t h e i r 19 p o l i t i c a l serf don;..." ^

Mian Feroz DLn, an Hony. Magistrate, describing the

execution of salaming order , said t "People used to be whipped

for not standing up whilst salaaming the General and Mr. Plomer,

Those who did not salaam were at times a r res ted . I saw a few

cases of such whipping and such a r r e s t s aysel f . The people were

so t e r r i f i e d , that many had to keep standing p r a c t i c a l l y the whole

day, to prejBent any mistake on t h e i r par t to avoid axiy such

punishment. I say " p r a c t i c a l l y " because they had to stand up

every time they heard the sound of motor car . I myself did

so.-20

The Crawling Order

The most humiliating order was the one passed by General

Iyer in charge of the Amritsar Martial Law area. To take the

'̂̂ Hoae Pol.Deposit Oct. 19 19 57 S.K.W. ''^K-D.I^Palaviya OTD.cit. ,p .97 . 20 ^Congress Inquiry Committee Report S t . 2 ,Vo l . I , p .16^ .

14

re-venge of the assaul t on Miss Shervood, a lady missionary

he passed an order t h a t every Indian passing through tha t lane

wil l have to cross i t on a l l fours. The lane in which the

crawling took place was narrow and in a th ick ly populated

p lace , with (fcuble storey buildings on e i the r s ide of i t , and witl

numerous blind a l loys shooting out of the lane and containing

several houses. For the inhabi tan ts of the lane , i f they

wanted to make any purchases or to go to the c i t y , there was

no option but to pass through soiise pa r t of i t , and, therefore ,

to crawl in and out . Sanitary or medical service could only

be rendered on condit ion of crawling. The fu l l length of the

lane in which the order was enforced was about 1̂ 0 yards.

"Al thou^ General Dyer hos cal led i t "going on a l l fours", and

i t has been cal led hand and knee order by the p r e s s , the

process consisted i n the persons lying f l a t on t h e i r b e l l i e s and 21 crawling exact ly l i k e r e p t i l e s .

No piains were taken to make the order known to the

people, I t was enforced suddenly and many such people had to

face the punishment who could have avoided i t otherwise.

Ibllowing i s an example - L.Ishwar Dass i s an a s s i s t a n t in a big

firm i n Amritsar. He had gone to L.Labh Chand's house, on

21 Congress Inquiry Committee Beport Vol.One,p.6o.

1 4 ^

c^\ the l8th;_jl^ril. Suddenly Mr, Plomer came with the m i l i t a r y in to

the s t r e e t . L. Ishwar Das and h is fr iends were looking from

a window Mr. Plomer struck h is hunting Crop at them and

asked th©; a l l to stand up and salaam. Mr. Labh Chand was

asked t o vacate a port ion o f h is house for the acconiEodation

of the m i l i t a r y . "At about h O'clock in the afternoon, says

t h i s witness, Ishwar Dass, Panna Lai, Mela Ram and wanted

to go home I but were refused permission by the po l i ce . Wa

asked pern-is sion a gain, but i t was given on condition that

we vDuia pass the s t r ee t by crawling. So a l lo f us had t o

pass out the s t r e e t by crawling on our b e l l i e s . We could

not go to our houses by any other road(St,10H- p . 163). I t i s

to be observed tha t t h i s was the f i r s t day of tha order wl-iich

had not been made known, whether by word of Kouth or in op

writ ing. I t became known only as i t was being enforced."

Kahan CSiand has been bl ind for the l a s t 20 years . He was

made to crawl and was kicked. -̂

Aifccording to the o f f i c i a l testimony ^ persons v;ere

subjected to t h i s barbarous and inhuman p rac t i ce before the

order was cancelled at the jjnter-vention of the Governjuent

of India .

?? Congress Inquiry Committee Report.St. 10^ p.l63,?ol.I,

pp.62.

^^Ibid. ,Vol.I,p.62,St. 105.

147

A vengeful a t t i t u d e was adopted towards pleaders and

lawyers because of the act ive p a r t i c ip -a t ion of t h i s c lass

in the ag i t a t i on . This respectable c l a s s was subjected

to humility and degradation. "Nearly a l l of them "lawyers),

about 100 ir|nuraber, were enrol led as special constables and

had to p a t r o l the c i t y everyday. Then they were made to c a r r y

on t h e i r shoulders i n publ ic s t r e e t s cha i r s , t a b l e s and

other furni ture for the use of Europeans. They had also to oh.

go to a far off place to answer the r o l l c a l l everydayl'

To keep the p r i ce s of foodgrains fixed. Martial Law

a u t h o r i t i e s t i l e d to secure as much of g ra in as possible

and t h i s was i r r i t a t i n g for the v i l l a g e r s . As soon as they

reached the town t h e i r ca r t was taken away by the Supply and

Transport Department.

Action Against Students

An extremely harsh a t t i t u d e was adopted towards the

students of Lahore, i n sp i t e of the fact t h a t t hey had not

been v e r y a c t i v e l y involved i n the ag i t a t ion .

During the Martial Law days, act ion was taken against

no l e s s than 1,000 s tudents . "Of these the majority were

fined, some were detained and proHibited from appearing

'^^K.D.Malaviyat o p . c i t . p . 9 9 .

u^

at -various IJhiversity exaniinatlons held during l a s t May and

June, . . . Some were put back by one year , some were suspended

for a per iod, some had to deposit cash secur i ty , soma were

expelled for one year , while o thers were r u s t l f a t e d permanently."

Orders were passed tha t students of D.A.V. College must

present themselves dai ly four tiiaes at Bradlaugh Hall for

at tendance.

Notices were pasted on the walls of the bui ldings

and the res iden ts of the bui ldings were to be held responsible

i f i t was found to rn .

One such no t ice was found torn on the Sanatan Dharam

College hoste l bu i ld ing , and a l l the r e s iden t s of the hos te l

had to suffer for \rtiat had happened. " I cannot forget the

scene. I saw when about 60 s tuda i t s of the S.D.B. College

were being marched to the for t with t h e i r heavy beddings on

t h e i r heads and shoulders and guarded by the pol ice on a l l

s ides . This punishment was i n f l i c t e d on them simply because

a not ice or two of Martial Law Noti f icat ion was removed by

some one from the gate p i l l a r s on the roadside, although

I m t o l d by a most r e l i a b l e author i ty t h a t the iwt i f ica t ion

to hold the people responsible for the removal or tear ing

of Martial Law c i r c u l a r s , who res ide in the bui ld ings where

^^The Tribune August 17,1919.

149

such no t ices are put up, came out a f t e r these poor students

vere a r res ted and marched off to the f o r t . "

The table on the following page gives an account

of the pena l t i e s i n f l i c t e d on students of various colleges 27

by the p r inc ipa l s for taking pa r t i n sedi t ious ag i t a t i ons . '

This was the a t t i t u d e adopted towards the students

when they did not take a conspicuous par t i n the movenent.

They Joined processions but t h a t was in a very l igh t -hea r t ed

mood. They had no an t j -Br i t i sh or extremist f ee l ings . "They

(s tudents) were i n no way hos t i l e towards the college

a u t h o r i t i e s , nor did they show any b i t t e r n e s s towards

Governmait with the exception of a few pol i t ica l ly-minded

students; they looked upon the proceedings in a l igh t -hear ted

sort of way, expecting tha t with suf f ic ien t clamour Government 28 would give way.. . "

The Congress, at i t s annual session of December,

1919* condemned the treatment meted out to students by

passing the following reso lu t ionj

"That t h i s Congress records i t s condemnation of the cruel and unjust treatment meted out to University and school students in the Punjab under the d i rec t or i nd i r ec t in s t ruc t ions of Martial Law au tho r i t i e s and hopes t h a t immediate steps w i l l be taken by the

26 D.I.C.Report Vol.U- Written Statenent Pt. Agnihotrl,

Proprietor, The Capital Sports Works,Lairiore. 27 'D.I.C.Report Vol.^.Written Statements Lt.Co.Frank

Johnson, Appendix III. 28

D.I.C.Report Vol.if Mr.A.S.Memmy,Principal,Govt. College,Lahore.

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loca l Governnoit t o cancel a l l punishments awarded against

s tudents without t r i a l . " ^

Curfew was imposed in Gujaranwala and Wazirabad.

School chi ldren were compelled to at tend r o l l c a l l and

sa lu te the Union Jack th r i ce a day. •They were put to

great t rouble , spec ia l ly by walking a long distance in the

noon-day sun. "-̂ ^

Mart ia l law Commissions

The method adopted by Martial Law Commissions to t ry

the accused was also h l ^ l y un jus t i f i ab l e . Pressure was put

on the l oca l o f f ice rs and people to give evidence i n s p i t e

of t h e i r repeated prayers t h a t they had not witnessed them

(the even t s ) . The Inspector and Sub-Inspector of Police

would i n v i t e people and make them s i t a l l day long in the

open and ask them to come again the next morning. This

process continued almost to the end of Martial Law days.

F i l t h y abuses were hurled a t the people in addi t ion to

t h r e a t s . " ^

The Congress Inquiry Committee came across many

people who had been fbrced to give fake evidence which

29 A.I.C.C. F i l e s , Fi le No.Misc. 1/1919 5 ^ a r t s F i l e No.1,

^^Congress Inquiry Committee Report S t .311 ,Vol . I ,p .103 .

^ " • D . I . C . Report Vol.V V^itten Statements- Mr.R.C. Chopra, Hafizabad.

152

they re t raced in front of the Congress Inquiry Committee.

They were usual ly boys of minor age. %j.ij Lai » ^ ^oy

11+ years old , was kept under custody for nine days. After

two days he was made over to Hansraj and was induced to

make a fake statement before the Martial Law Tribunal , which

he re t raced in the evidence before u s . " ^

The Martial Law Commissions appointed in connection

with the disturbances in the Punjab dealt with 11^ cases

in a l l , and the number of the persons t r i e d was 852 of

whom 581 were convicted and 281 acqui t ted . Of those convicted,

351 were convicted for waging war against the king, an

offence for which a Court cannot, under section 121 of

the Indian Penal Codei pass a sentence l e s s severe than

one of t ranspor ta t ion for l i f e and for fe i ture of property.-^^

T r i a l s were summary. The accused did not have an

opportunity of refut ing t he charges brought against

them. The accused were not given suff ic ient opporti;nity

to defend themselves.

Lavyers from outs ide the Punjab were debarred from

enter ing the Martial Law areas and defending the accused.

The Government of India received various p e t i t i o n s from the

outs ide lawyers describing t h i s order as i l l e g a l and praying

for permission to defend the accused. These p e t i t i o n s were

mostly from the Calcutta -^ar. Here i s a telegram sent

•^^Congress Inquiry Committee Report S t .22 ,Vol . I ,p .69 .

^^C.S.M, Gazette Aug. |2,1919.

153

by Mr. C.R.Dass (Calcut ta) to viceroyi ^Messrs. Norton,

Chakravarty, Gregory, J.N.Ray, and myself engaged to

defend various accused including Mangal Sen, Harkishan

^ a l , Jawala Singh, Duni Chand, K.L.Roy and Rambhaj Dutt

before ^ a r t i a l Law Commissioner, Pun;Jab Acininistrator,

m i l i t a r y area has wired refusing permission to en t e r .

Reipectful ly submit order as i l l e g a l as accused have

r ight of being represented by pleaders of t h e i r choice under

the law. Pray for perraission for counsel. So under mar t ia l

law area to defend accused persons. Kindly d i rec t

adjourranent of proceedings t i l l decision of t h i s p e t i t i o n . " ^

Similar p e t i t i o n s were sent to the Viceroy by

Mr. J.N.Ray and Baikunth Nath Sen, President of the Indian

Association of Pleaders . However, the Viceroy refused to

intervene saying t h a t the matter was e n t i r e l y for the

Mil i tary Actoinistrator and the c i v i l authori ty could not

in te rvene .

The Mil i tary adminis t ra tors did not permit the lawyers

i n to the Martial Law areas because they were afraid t ha t

the lawyers would c r i t i c i s e t he mar t i a l law admiAistration

and would e x c i t e public opinion. Moreover, they believed

tha t the purpose of t h e i r coming was p o l i t i c a l . "Many of

the outs ide men vAio applied were extremist p o l i t i c i a n s ,

^^ome Deptt .Pol.B. August,I919 N6.169-22if.

154

whose object in coming hare wDUld probably be a s much

p o l i t i c a l as profess ional , and whose presence would ce r t a in ly

encourage the l oca l e r t r o n i s t s « such men as C.R.Dass, Hasan

Imam, Baptisa, M.L.Nehru, Jinnah and Asaf Ali of Delhi; r

others applied in reg€irdti> vrtiom no such object ion could

be ra i sed - Langford James and Gregory and o thers were

r a the r doubtful e .g . Fardlay Norton. "-̂ ^

The order in question gave r i s e t o a good deal of

c r i t i c i sm in the whole of the country. "The members of the

English Bar p rac t i s ing in Calcutta have met in solemn

conclave and reg i s t e red a protes t against the exclusion of

seven prominent members of t h e i r f r a t e rn i t y . "^

C.F.Andrews wrote to the Government of India

in t h i s connection: "Rectify ,if possible ^Punjab Government's

refusal to admit outs ide counsel defence pr isoners under t r i a l ,

This may inflame country and lead to ser ious consequences."-^'^

There were requests from Duni Cliand, Harkishen Lai,

S. Cardial Singh and Rambhaj Dutt to t r ans fe r t h e i r cases to

some other provinces, but these were re jec ted . Sar la Devi

^^Chelmesford Papers No.if^ M.O. Dwyer to Lord Chelmesford.

^^C & M Gazettee May 2i+,1919

^'^Hoae Pol.B August,19'I9 ?b.l69 -22U-.

l 5 3

CShaudharani, vrf-fe of Rambhaj Dutt vrote to the Viceroy;

" , . . I hiJinbly beg of you to help to allow the t r ans fe r of

h i s (Rambhaj Dutt»s) case to another province or allow

outs ide counsel-s and defence witnesses according to my

own se lec t ion . "^

Resolutions were passed against t h i s policy of the

Punjab GoveiTiffient by the Patna and Allahabad Bar Associations.

The pol ice and the so ld ie rs became -very powerful during

the Martial Law period. They harassed the publ ic and took

br ibes from a number of people to prevent t h e i r threatened

a r r e s t .

The 'Leader* of Allahabad wrote in i t s issue of the

December 1919 "Several responsible Br i t i sh o f f i ce r s admitted

before the Disorders Inquiry, tha t many pol ice o f f i c i a l s

took br ibes during the Martial Law days. The witnesses added

that they rece ived constant complaints on t h i s score, but

tha t as no evidence was forthcoming they could take no

ac t ion . "^9

Michael O'Dwyer Lt. Governor of Punjab, who was the

a rch i t ec t of a l l the re|>ression l e t loose in the province

was to be re l ieved of h is dut ies in the end of Apr i l . He

^^Home Pol.B.August 1919 No. l69-22if.

39Quoted in Punjab Native Newspaper Report.

0 ^

urged upon the Viceroy the necess i ty of staying in the

province t i l l the s i tua t ion was in control of the

Government, ^h is request was conceded and he was re l ieved

of h i s dut ies in June.

Edward Maclagan took over t h e charge from S i r M.O.

I ^ r . He adopted a reconci l ia tory pol icy towards the

public in general , but more p a r t i c u l a r l y towards the

s tudents . A Clommittee was cons t i tu ted by the Punjab govern­

ment, consis t ing of the Vice-ChaJicellor, Mr. H,J.Maynard, O.S.I.

(Pres ident) and Revd.Dr.J.C.R.Irving, C L E . and J.A. Richey,

Director of Public Ins t ruc t ion t o look in to cases of students

who had suffered undue hardship. Pr inc ipa ls of Colleges were

asked to place such cases before the committee for considerat­

ion .

As a r e s u l t of the recommendations of the Comrrdttee,

a l l orders of expulsion from colleges were cancelled and a

number of reductions were made i n other punishments. Ea r l i e r ,

15>9 students had been given major punishments, but a f te r the

recommendations of the Committee, a l a rge nuir.ber of punishments

were t o t a l l y remit ted or reduced. The o r ig ina l major

punishments and punishments af ter recommendations of the Wo

Committee are as follows.

^The Tribune Nov. 911919.

157

Expulsions

Rustication fbr two years

Rustication for one year

Detention and Putting back for one year

Forfeiture of scholarships

Temporary forfeiture of scholar ̂ ips

Refused Readmission

Forfeiture of half fee concession

Original After the Recomme ndat ions

9^ Nil

Nil 12

13 26

V7 17

27 h

16 16

12 If

Total 159 8o

Then he inv i ted ce r t a in journa ls of moderate views

in Bengal, Bombay and United Province to send up representa t ­

ives to see the s i t u a t i o n and promised to give them f a c i l i t i e s

for doing so. He i n i t i a t e d discussion on the

discontinuance of Martial Law in places where there was

no need to continue i t , e . g . , Gujrat and Lyallpur. I t was

l i f t e d from there on 23rd May, 1919* Hov.ever, Maclagan

did not want to l i f t i t from Lahore t i l l the conclusion of

Harkishen Lai case, f o r he believed that i t would crea te

exc i t snen t .

Martial Law was l i f t e d from the r e s t of the Punjab

on 9th June except for the railway lands . I t was not l i f t e d

U-1 Chelmsford Papers No.U^O,From M&clagan to Lord Chelmsford,the Viceroy.

l 5 i

from the railway lands because of the dest ruct ion of the

railway t racks during the disturbances.

Effects of Martial Law

The Immediate effect of Mart ial Law was tha t people

were struck with t e r r o r and/ shocked. Order was res tored at

once and quiet prevai led in a l l the p laces . The following

p ress coBiiriunique issued on/ l8 th by the Punjab goverrment

shows the immediate effect - "Lahore c i t y has submitted

qu ie t ly to Martial Law and i s very quie t . Shops a r e

opening, Attoaipts to dissuade people from going to work

have become feeble. All langarkhanas have been closed by

order . "̂ "̂

Some people even t r i e d to express t h e i r loya l ty to

the Goveriment in order to escape the harshness of Martial

Law. "People are r e a l i s i n g t h e i r fo l ly and t h e i r present

gubmisslveness i s due to fear of consequences of disobedleODe

under mar t ia l law. A fea ture of the a t t i t u d e of the educated

c lasses i s t h e i r su l leness . The c i ty i s quiet and business

i s being done as usua l , the t rading c lasses being obviously

re l ieved by t h i s re turn to normalcy ."^

The people presented memorials of loya l ty to the

Government t o ensure t h e i r safety. "The inhabi tan ts of Mozag,

^The Jribune April 2l+,1919.

^3Press Communique The C & M Gazette Apri l 22,1919.

15^

a suburb of Lahore today presented a p e t i t i o n in which they

professed t h e i r loya l ty and offered Rs. 700 for comforts for

the t roops. The offer has been accepted."

According to Miles I rv ing , D.C. Amritsar - "The effect

of Martial Lav was indeed moral ra ther than ma te r i a l , and lay

in the feel ing of the c i t i z e n t h a t he was under a new

and en t i r e ly strange dispensatioiTn—-very much swifter than

anything he knew and whose act ion was t e r r i b l e because

unaccoimtable, ' '

Though the people were t e r r i f i e d and they submitted to

the Martial Law, a feeling of hatred and i n ju s t i c e rankled

in the i r hea r t s . They had been humiliated and t r ea ted as sub.humans

which they could not forget . "Men of s t a tus were made to clean

the drains i n the bazar , although in some cases the >funicipal

sweeper had already cleaned them," A marriage party was flogged

because they were more than t e n , and many other such punishments

were aeted out to the people. Mr, E,C.Chopra wrote on the

ef fec ts of Martial Lawt (1) People seem to be demoralised and

terror-s tmack by the Martial Law regime; (2) They seem to be

sul len; (3) A strong feel ing of i n j u s t i c e rankles in t he

**Sbme Pol.B.June,1919,No.M)8-if31.

^ D . I .e .Report Vol . I I ,Amri tsar Written Statements Mr.Miles I r v i n g , D.C.Amritsar.

Congress Inquiry Committee Report St,30if,Vol. I , p . 111. Gujaranvala.

163

hea r t s of many persons; (^) A cruel wrong has been done and;

(5) People may be afraid to come forward and t e l l truth.** '

The Government and i t s supporters were very happy

with t h e effects of the Martial Law. '̂ The fact tha t no

fresh disturbances of a serious kind have been reported for

some days, and tha t the au tho r i t i e s are able to claim t h a t

t he s i t ua t i on seems well i n hand, i s a s t r i k i n g proof of the

eff icacy of the necessa r i ly s te rn measures adopted to meet US

the c r i s i s in the Punjab."

The people of Punjab,of course-JDecame sul len and

quie t , but the effect of the administrat ion of mar t ia l law

was seen throughout India . Some measures of the mar t ia l

law period l ike public flogging, salaaming, crawling,

p roh ib i t ion of t h e entry of pleaders and press representa t ives

from the other provinces caused deep resentment throughout

India . The problem of Punjab came to dominate the whole

of India . "The hardening of Indian opinion was one effect

o f the events a t i t o r i t s a r a n d what followed.'*^

The gagging of the Indian press had a very

harmful e f fec t because the people ih other provinces could

not be acquainted with the t r u t h and a l l so r t s of s t o r i e s

and rumours sp»ead. •'The secrecy tha t has surrounded the

D.I.C, Report ^ vol.V, Written Statements Mr. R.C. Chopra,Hafizabad.

k8 C a M Gazette Apri l 2^,1919. ^ P h i l l i p p Woo-druffi The Men who Ruled India.

lot

events of Punjab has given r i s e to much hos t i l e c r i t i c i sm.

The complete gagging of the Indian press has created the

greates t resentment. But the heavy sentence passed against

the accused j{««»80tTs have f i l l e d the publ ic mind with conster­

na t ion . "^°

"The v;hole of India was made to crawl on her belly-

in as much a- a single Punjabi was made to crawl in tha t d i r t y

lane in jtorLtsar; the whole womanhood of India was unveiled

in as much as the innocent women of Mianiwala v/ere unveiled

by an Insolent of f icer ; and Indian childhood was dishonoured

in tha t school where chi ldren of tender age were made to

walk fbur times a day to s ta ted p laces , within the mar t ia l

law area in the Punjab and to sa lu te the Union Jack,

t h r o u ^ the effect of vhich order two chi ldren, seven years

o ld , died of sunstroke having been made to wait in the noon

day sun". ^

These and other s imilar measures created deep-

rooted r a c i a l animosity towards Europeans. The punishments

meted out by the Martial Law a u t h o r i t i e s were not against

the accused but against the Indians, as a race . They ordered

general punishments, vSiich even the Innocent and the loyal

had to undergo which made them anti-Governcent and a n t i - B r i t i s h .

^Chelmesford Papers No. 5^6, M.K.Gan<Sii to Chelmesford 30th May, 19 19.

^ Satvagraha in Gandhi J i ' s Own Words: A , I . C O . , Allahabad, 193 5.

162

The whole town of Lahore had to suffer for want of

water and e l e c t r i c i t y because of a few persons, a l l the

r e s iden t s of the 'crawling ' lane had to crawl, a l l the students

of the col leges had to suffer because some one of them had

torn the Martial Law Notice. The \^ole population not only

of Punjab but of India was f i l l e d with a n t i - B r i t i s h fee l ings .

The students had befin punished and made to suffer

humiliat ion and insu l t for no faul t of t h e i r s . This had a

very bad effect on them and created a feel ing of hatred and

resentment amongst them against the Br i t i sh Government. They

became one of the grea tes t and most en thus ias t ic supporters of

ant i Government movement.

One effect of Martial Law was that even the Government

r ea l i sed that i t was not wise to give the ove r -a l l author i ty

to the m i l i t a r y . " I t would seem that the most important lesson

to draw from the present experience of Martial Law i s that the

execut ive ,control by the c i v i l should never be surrendered to

the m i l i t a r y , otherwise there i s a great danger of something

being done, which wi l l be misunderstood or cause great t roub le . "^

Even the public believed tha t i f i t had not been for the

in ter ference of c i v i l au tho r i t i e s Martial Law WDuld have been

s t r i c t e r and greater a t r o c i t i e s would have been committed.

^^D. I .e .Report Vol.V, Written Statements - Ifr.A.N. Borsworth Smith.

163

The effect of Martial Law can be summed:

"One can easily see that people would not exactly welcome a regime in which the military can commandeer anything they likei including electric fans and lights and the motor car of an Indian Judge; where boys are not allowed to use bicycles; where going out atnight is forbidden, where public flogging took place in the beginning, where the accused are not allowed to get from other provinces the legal advisers whom they want, and cannot get them from their own province, as the lawyers are dreadfully afraid of appearing to take the side of a suspect even in the professional way. If such things are welcomed, humanity in the Punjab must be something different from that elsewhere. n53

The working of the Martial Law al ienated a l l the

sections of the society— r u r a l , urban, s tudents , Hindus,

Muslims and Sikhs. "The e f fec t t h a t Ja l l ianwalr and Martial

Law administrat ion had on the people of the Punjab can hardly be

exaggerated, Sir M.O.Dwyer, who claimed that he had saved the

empire, had in fact dea l t i t the most gr ieviojs blov/ by a l iena t ing

almost a l l Indians, including i t s staunchest supporters - the

Sikhs, " ^

Meetings were held at various places l i k e Rawalpindi,

^3'Servant of Ind ia ' 29th May,1919 in 'Punjab Native Newspaper Repor t ' .

9^ Khushwant SinghtHistory of the S ikhs .00 . c i t . .-0.166.

16'.

Muktsar e t c . where reso lu t ions were passed oondenning the

Pimjab disturbances and assuring government of loyal support.

Though the Mart ial Law was withdrawn, yet the

Government was afraid and had s t i l l applied puni t ive measures.

Kapil Dev, a repor ter of the 'Independent' v i s i t e d Anri tsar

in October and he reported as follows J- " S t r i c t l y speaking

mart ia l law has been abolished, but for p r a c t i c a l purposes,

the so-cal led precautionary or puni t ive measures tha t are in

vogue, serve as an urmlstakable reminder of the ' re ign of

t e r r o r ' tha t was introduced on the 15th, April l a s t . For ins tance ,

even now, I am told thej/rfe are rigorous ins t ruc t ions in force

for people going to the Civi l Lines between c e r t a l n hours

a t n ight . Again, some constables ha^;e been posted at the

far-off canal which i s an unfamiliar inrwvation in the pol ice

arranges en t s of the c i t y . Tliirdly, the ancient gates of the

town are guarded by mi l i t a ry picq^ets and Ram 3agh alone,

where the Europeaii Club i s s i tua ted , contains more so ld iers

than accompanied the processions during the Moharram disturbances

at Allahabad. To cap the climax, a l l the entrances and e x i t s

of the Jal l ianwpla Bagh where the h i s t o r i c meeting of 13W

April l a s t took p lace , have been covered with wooden b a r r i e r s

and plank walls and rendered impassable for intending v i s i t o r s . " ^ ^

^''K.D.Malaviya: o p . c i t . , p . 3 .

163

The Martial Law affected every section of the society.

Following was the account given by a correspondent who v i s i t ed

the Punjab:

"Lahore i s seething with horr ib le memories of the working of Martial Law in the Punjab. Vlhomsoever you meet and have a t a lk on the subject , be he an educated or an i l l i t e r a t e man, he i s fu l l of s t o r i e s of the grossest wrongs done to the people, not necessar i ly by the Martial Law adminis t ra tors , but by a l l and sundry subordinates, po l i ce , m i l i t a r y , municipal and c i v i l . . . . Things may appear to be calmer now on the surface, but at the bottom a deep-rooted hatred for the Br i t i sh Government p reva i l s in the minds of the people, and the Government and t h e i r well~wishers would be en t i r e ly mistaken i f they were t o think t h a t people had forgotten these ugly e x p e r i e n c e s . " ^

fi^yil^ pf Po:t.;l^tlff?l p.j^?

The Martial Law had l e f t the people of Punjab t e r ro r -

struck and i t seemed tha t the re would be no p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i t y

in the province for a long t ime. At such a time enthusiasm

was induced amongst the people of Punjab by leaders from other

provinces and especia l ly from Allahabad. National leaders

l i k e M.M. Malaviya and Moti Lai Nehru worked hard to bring

enthusiasm to the province. M.M. Malafiyafcarried h i s crusade

both outs ide and ins ide the Legis la t ive Council. "His

speeches onthe Punjab a f fa i r s a t t r ac ted the a t t en t ion of many.

There was a suggestion to send a public message of appreciat ion

^Home Pol. B September, 1919, h9^57 Report of the C.I.D. 8th Sept . , 1919.

16^

and gra t i tude from the Punjab for the magniflcient service

which the Pandit Malaviya had been rendering to t he province

in the recent debates on the Punjab affa i rs ." '^ The viceroy-

presided at the meeting, of the Imperial Legis la t ive Council

held at Simla on Wednesday. "Mr. Sarma asked 28 questions

in a l l but P t . Malaviya eas i ly beat him with ^ , the l a t t e r ' s

t h i r s t for infonnation being mainly connected with the Punjab

r i o t s ? ^

Sewa Samiti And I t s Vtork

Under the auspices of the Allahabad Sewa Samiti ,

sewa samities were formed in Punjab. They were found for

r e l i e f work among the families of those who had been k i l l ed in

the disturbances or r̂tio had been convicted,-^

Swami Shradhanand was the Secretary of these Sewa Samities.

He appealed to the people of the country for funds. He wrote

to Gandhi - "There must be 1,000 families in the Punjab which

are l e f t only with t h e i r womenfolk and chi ldren. I t i s our

duty to reach them food and c lo th ing ." ^

Swami Shradhanand indicated the method he adopted to

find out the families which deserved help and succour, in the

following words - "I have had to make, from the very day I came

'̂̂ C & M Gazette, October 8,1919.

^G & M Gazette, September 12,1919.

^Home Pol.Deposit,August, 1919,No.55,Fortnightly Report,31 St. July,1919

60 Home Pol.Deposit,September,1919»No.23.

167

( to Amritsar) strenuous e f fo r t s to a sce r t a in the number of

k i l l e d and wounded at the Ja l l ianwala Bagh, The method

pursued by our volunteers had been to go from house to

house in the c i t y of Amritsar ascer ta ining the names not

only of the k i l l e d , but also of the wounded. I fur ther

arranged t o send out volunteers to v i s i t every single v i l l age

in the d i s t r i c t s of Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Sialkot and Lahore,

so tha t we might give r e l i e f to t h e i r dependents in case of

want. We are also advert is ing in the Urdu euid Gurmukhi papers

of the t'unjab, asking people to communicate to the off ice the

names and addresses of the k i l l e d and the wounded." The Sewa

Samiti did comiiendable work and won the gra t i tude of the people

of the Punjab.

The All-India Congress Committee met on 20th and 21st .

i ^ r i l and urged an enquiry into the Pun;3ab wrongs. A deputation p

consist ing of Mr. V i t t a lbha i a t e l and Mr. N.C. Kelkar was

appointed t o s a i l at once to England, i n view of the seriousness J" of the p o l i t i c a l s i t u a t i o n . They sa i led on the 29th Apr i l , I919.

The Committee appointed to a iqui re into the Punjab wrongs

consisted of P t . M.M.Malaviya, Pt.M. L. Nehru, Fazlul Haq,

G.R.Das, Abbas Tyabji & M.K. Gandhi as members and Mr.K.

Santanam as Secretary. The Hon'ble Fazlul Haq was cal led away

on an important business immediately after h is a r r i v a l . Mr. M.R.

Jayakar of Bombay was appointed in h is p lace .

'̂'Home Pol.Deposit October, 1919,No.31.

16

Pt . M.L.Nehru and Pt , Malaviya were the f i r s t to come

to Punjab in the l a s t week of June, i . e . on the 25th June.

They were followed by others l ike Mr. C.F.Andrewa, J.L.Nehru,

Purshottam Dass Tandon. Gandhi came in October when orders

r e s t r a in ing him from entering the Punjab was/withdrawn. The

presenbe of these leadersiand the work done by them did a l o t

to mi t iga te the e f fec t s of the Martial Law regime. I t created

confidence and enthusiasm amongst the people, and i n t e r e s t in

publ ic l i f e was revived once again.

"The people of Punjab were f i l l e d with panic but confidence came back when Gandhi was present in t h e i r midst.'^' 5-

Vfcen the Committee f i r s t met in Punjab i t seemed that people

would not come forward to give evidence because of fear . Local

Committees were formed at various places l i ke Amritsar,Lahore

and Gujaranwala with the object of co l lec t ing evidence and

encouraging people t o come forward and make statements before

the Committee.

When Gandhi v i s i t e d Punjab in October,1919 he was given

a rousing welcome by the people. The 'Independent' (Allahabad)

of 28th October wrote -

"The doDonstrati n marks the climax of those memorable manifestat ions of Hindu-Muslim uni ty which have been so heartening and so universa l a feature of Indian nat ional l i f e during the past few months. The recept ion aecorded to Gandhi also cons t i tu t e s the Punjab's answer to those who had sought to break her s p i r i t and destroy her morale by encouraging the recent reign of t e r r o r i n that province."/

63 B.Pattabhi Sitaramayyai A History of the Indian

National Congress. I885-193^;Bombay 1935»p.176.

•^Quoted in Punjab Native Newspaper Report.

16J

Gandhi's v i s i t had a great ef fec t i n bringing normalcy.

"Many weeks ago, when I f i r s t came upto Pun;)ab, I had passed

down these same s t r e e t s , a t a time when the fear caused by the

P a r t i a l Law and puni t ive pol ice was s t i l l fresh in people ' s

minds. I had noticed, then, the sullen gloom upon the faces

of the crowd. . . . But the coming of Mahatama Gandhi has effectual ly

broken t h i s e v i l sp«ll and not a day too s o o n . . . . "

The e f fec t of a l l t h i s was increased i n t e r e s t and

p a r t i c i p a t i o n in p o l i t i c a l a f f a i r s . Describihg the p o l i t i c a l

and economic condition for the period ending 1^th December, 1919j

the Br i t i sh Commissioner of Jullundur wrote-

" In te res t in p o l i t i c s amongst a g r i c u l t u r i s t s i s increas ing, also in movements such as may be s t a r t e d by Gandhi and his par ty . Included in t h i s i n t e r e s t amongst those who have i t , i s , I gather , a ve i led h o s t i l i t y to Government. Urban areas are more or l e s s soi led against Government and make no secret of t h e i r h o s t i l i t y and anti-Government fee l ings . There must be someone behind thBm,'*^^

Mr. C.F. Andrews took keen i n t e r e s t in the a f f a i r s of the

Punjab. He iden t i f i ed himself with every sphere sc ru t in i s ing

and overhauling the Sewa Samiti records , taking down statements,

making representa t ions on behalf of the s tudents , r a i s ing voice

against Gujaranwala puni t ive levy, and st imulat ing Congress

^The Tribune Mbvember 7,1919. Mahatama Gandhi a t Amritsar. by C.F.Andrews.

^^Home Pol. Deposit,January, 1920,No.Mf.

i7a

a c t i v i t i e s . Mr. Andrew's v i s i t to Gujaranwala resu l ted in t o t a l

stoppage of a l l payments of puni t ive f ines .

The f i r s t meeting of the people o'f funjab af te r the

Mart ial Law was heiM in Lahore on 17th Novmber to bid farewell

to Mr. Andrews. The speeches were not confined to the

services rendered by Mr, Indrews, but they also dea l t with

important i s sues confronting the country. Describing the

meeting the 'Desh* wrote in i t s issue of l8th November, 1919 -

"Martial Lavr had benumbed t h e i r (Punjabis) hear t s and

they had become t e r r i f i e d and despondent. Some people were of

opinion tha t public l i f e in the Punjab has been thrown back by

5b years . Even opt imis ts shared t h i s view to some extent and 66

ejqpected no meetings to be held at Lahore for some time to come."

Hunter Commission

The people wanted tha t the government should appoint

a Commission to enquire in to the disturbances in the Punjab,

Lord Chelmsford had also announced his in ten t ion to do so.

However, some delay was caused in the appointment of the

Enquiry Commission. Moreover, there were apprehensions

in the mind of the public with regard to t he composition of

the Commissions. People feared tha t i f the Comnission was

appointed by the Government of India and not d i r ec t l y by the

66 Quoted i n Punjab Native Newspaper Eeport.

171

Br i t i sh government, i t might prove to be only an eye wash.

Airing these fears and feel ings of the publ ic , caused re s t l e s sness

amongst the people. P t . Madan Mohan Malaviya, President of

the Congress, cabled to the Prime Minister of Great Br i t a in ,

The Secretary of S ta te for India and Lord Sinha deploring

the delay i n the appointment of the Commission and praying

tha t such a Commission should be appointed d i r ec t l y by His

Majesty's Government and should consist of persons wholly unconnec­

ted with Indian adminis t ra t ion ," ^

At the September session of the Indiai Legis la t ive

Council, Lord Chelmsford announced that a f te r consul tat ion

between the Government of India and the Secretary of S t a t e ,

a Committee had been appointed to enquire into t h e Punjab

disordersj

•The Committee was composed of Lord Hunter as Chairman, Mr.Justice Bankin of Calcutta High Court, Mr. Rice, a Senior Civi l ian from Burma, Major General Sir George Barrow, Slfet Chimanlal Setalvad, a well known moderate p o l i t i c i a n , and sahibzada Sultan Ahmad, a h i ^ o f f i c i a l of an Indian S t a t e . To them were afterwards added as a r e su l t of opinion expressed in the Council, another Indian member. P t . Jaga t ^arain from Lucknow and a non-off ic ia l Englishman Mr.Thomas Smith from Cawnpore, both members of the LO Legis la t ive Council of the United Provinces ."

^'^The Tribune, July 31,1919.

^^L.F.Rushbrookt India in 1919; Calcutta 1920, pp.U2-if3.

17

There was mixed react ion to the Const i tut ion of the

Comralssionj some pra ised i t while o thers were against i t .

Those vAio were against the Commission as i t was cons t i tu ted

were p a r t i c u l a r l y against the inclusion of Mr. Rice and of

General Barrow who had been connected with the Pi;njab a f f a i r s .

The 'Bengalee' of Calcut ta commdmted on the inclus ion of these

two persons. "We regre t that the Government should have, put

on the Commission two members as judges who should have

been there as wi tnesses . " -̂ The TJ.P.Conference passed the

following reso lu t ion : ' 'In the opinion of t h i s Con|ference, the

Hunter Committee as cons t i tu ted i s one-sided in-so-much as

the Government of India i s d i r ec t ly represented on i t , while

the people are ne i ther properly nor su f f i c i en t ly represented.

This conference i s emphatically of opinion that in any event the

Hunter Commission can only be acceptable i f fu l l and suff ic ient

oppor tuni t ies are afforded to the people to present t h e i r own

case and meet the case of the Government whose policy and

action are subject of enqui ry ." '

With theannouncenent of the Hunter Committee of Enquiry

there were three Committees to enquire in to the Punjab disturbances

The'Sewa Samit i ' was working under Swami Shradhanand and Mr.Tewari

of Allahabad, and according to the l a t t e r , i t had no connection

^^Home Pol . Deposit Nov. 19191No.If8,Extract from Bengalee dated Calcut ta 25th Oct. , 1919.

'°Home Pol. Deposit November, 1919» No.**^ Extract from Bengalee dated Calcut ta 2^th October,1919.

173

with the other two agencies for the co l l ec t ion of information,

Swami Shradhanand was inv i t ing r e l a t i o i s of convicts to send

in t h e i r appeal and copies of Judgements to the Sewa Samiti

Office a t Lahore.

The Congress Inquiry Comniittee which had been working

in the Punjab a t the time of the announcement of the appointment

of the Hunter Ciommittee wanted to cooperate with the o f f i c i a l

Connnittee but on the following conditLonsi

(1) tha t cross-examination of witnesses would be

allowed;

(2) tha t one of the judges appointed to e xamine the

orders of the Summary Courts should be a High Court

Judge froK outs ide the Punjab; and

(3) that ce r ta in leading pr isoners convicted in connection

with the disorders should be temporarily released from

j a i l on furnishing adequate securi ty fo r the period of

enquiry.

The f i r s t smd the second points were acceded t o ,

but as regards the t h i r d point the Congress Sub-Committee was

infoimed on 10th November tha t i t would not be poss ible to

accept t h e i r suggestion. If, however, the Committee desired

to hear the evidence of any of the p r i soners , t h i s would be

duly arranged and i f i t was found necessary for Counsel engaged

in the enquiry to v i s i t the pr isoners for purposes of consul ta t ­

ion In connection with the enquiry proper f a c i l i t i e s for such

1 7 i

consul ta t ions would be given.

On NovonTDer 12th the CJongress Sub-Coraiaittee intimated

to Government t ha t in the circumstances i t was not possible 71 fbr i t t o cooperate.

The Amritsar Congress

At the Delhi Session of t h e Congress in December, 1918,

the Amritsar Congress: had invi ted the Congress to hold i t s

next annual sess ion at Amritsar in December, 1919. Immediately-

af ter the disturbances as the people of Punjab were t e r r o r -

s t r icken , i t was thought tha t the holding of the Congress session

in the Punjab and espec ia l ly in Amritsar would have adverse

e f fec t . So in "^une the Amritsar Eeception Committee passed a

resolut ion against the holding of the Congress Session there .

But the presence of leaders from other provinces in

connection with the Sewa Samiti work or the Congress Enquiry-

Committee work changed the atmosphere in favour of holding the

session in t he Punjab. They pressur ised the Amritsar Reception

Committee -to re- i ssue the i n v i t a t i o n .

The Al l - India l eaders were keen to hold the Congress

session at Amritsar, and i f that was not poss ib le , then a t l e a s t

i n the Punjab. P t , Malaviyawas not very anxious to hold

71 '̂ 'Home Pol.Deposit Dec, 1919» No.5, Fortnightly Report

15th November, 1919.

175

ttie Congress session at Amritsar and even wanted i t to be

postponed on the ground that the people of Amritsar and Lahore

vjho were to do a l l the vrork connected with t h e session should

divert t h e i r a t t en t ion from the enquiry. But Moti Lai Nehru

was not i n favour of t h i s postponement.

The people of Punjab were also keen to hold the

session at Amritsar. A reader wrote to the Tribune "I feel

i t would be nothing short of disgrace for the whole of the

province of the Punjab i f we l e t the next 4i«ssion of the Indian

National Congress to be held in any other i rov ince , simply because

we in the Punjab are too g r ie f - s t r i cken to r a i se our head and

take the respons ib i l i ty of holding the session in our mids t . " '

At i t s meeting on 23rd Sept^ber,1919« the Amritsar

Reception Committee rescinded i t s e a r l i e r decision of June

not to hold the Congress session at Amritsar. I t was resolved

tha t "the previous decision of the Reception Committee arr ived

at on the I5th June, under unusual conditions then ex i s t i ng ,

about the i nadv i sab i l i t y of the next session of the Congress

being held here be rescinded, and i s hereby rescinded at the

e35)ress wish of thousands of Amritsar c i t i z e n s . Resolved

further tha t as circumstances have since changed, the Reception

Committee reaffirms i t s determihatlon to hold the 35th Session

'̂ ^The Tribune,August 1^1919*

17'.;

of the Indian National Congress here and to abide by the

i n v i t a t i o n extended by Amrltsar a t Delhi t o the best of i t s

power and a b i l i t y , and earnes t ly requests t ha t a l l p a r t i e s wi l l 7-5

cooperate to make the session a complete success ." -̂

The •Desh' in i t s issue of the 19th September,

commented In connection with the proposed session at Amritsarj

"The people i n every par t of India must bear in mind that a spec ia l duty devolves on them in the mat ter , namely, to see tha t representa t ives of every c lass of Indians p a r t i c i p a t e in t h e s e s s l o n regardless of differences of opinion. There i s no d i s t inc t ion in t h i s province between the moderates and the extremists and the Punjabis consider i t t h e i r foremost duty f a i th fu l ly to serve the country a nd the nat ion in p o l i t i c a l mat te rs . This being so, even those people who held themselves aloof from the r e l h i session.ought to take p a r t i n the ensuing 9ession. This i s the way in which the Congress meeting can be made a success i n the Punjab. "̂ ^̂

Having issued the Inv i t a t i on for the Congress session,

some members of the Reception Committee proceeded on propaganda

campaign to Rawalpindi on the 8th and 9th, A s imi lar deputation

v i s i t e d Ferozepur and Lahore, to e n l i s t members and secure

donations for the Reception Committee funds.

The holding of the Session at Amritsar r e a l l y f i l l e d

the Punjabis with enthusiasm which oDuld be seen from the

recept ion accorded to the various l eader s who came to a t tend

the session}

''•^The Tribune, September 23,1919.

' Q u o t e d in Punjab Native Newspaper Report.

1 7 '

"•It was a magnificent reception which i tor i t sar gave today to the Pres iden t -e lec t of the 3^th Session of the Indian National Congress, the Hbn»ble Pt.M.L.Nehru. I t was a reception which a king m i ^ t well envy t h a t the uncrowned king of the people received from Amritsar. The c i ty presented a spectacle today the l ike of which i t had seldom witnessed. I t was something g lor ious , something unique. 'U^

B.C.Pal and Tilak came for the f i r s t time to the

Punjab a f t e r the order banning t h e i r entry in to t h e Punjab

was withdrawn, and they were given a warm welcome, "^iet another

great recept ion and granti pageant iUnritsar witnessed to-day

was when Tilak arr ived at midday i n a special t r a i n from Poona

with several hundreds of delegates amidst unparal le led scenes

Of enthusiasm."'^

There was a great rush at the Congress session. "Every

avai lable inch of the space within the pandal was occupied

and the corr idors were overcrowded by those who could not find

s i t t i n g room. Nearly, 3,000 people were standing in the

cor r idors . There must have been near ly 20,000 people ins ide the

pandal. Several delegates were obliged to remain outs ide for

ifant of space. Consequently an overflow meeting had to be 77 held o u t s i d e . " Large nianber of persons came from Lahore,

'^%ie Tribune, December 27,1919.

' T h e Tribune, December 30,1919.

' '^Ibid.

173

Jul lurdur and adjoining places - espec ia l ly from the

p laces where Martial Law had been declared. The 'L ibe ra l '

of 5th January, 1920 wrote - "The i tor i t sar Congress beat

a l l previous records . The attendance at every s i t t i n g

of the Congress was the l a rges t tha t -has ever been witnessed"'^

"There was no sign of any fear amongst the people.

I t was a fu l l pandal and the people were fu l l of l i f e and

enthusiasm.'^

Since Sir Edward Maclogan took over the charge of

the province a conc i l ia tory pol icy was adopted by him. He

reviewed the sentences with mercy. On the occasion of the

Peace Celebrations i n August 1919, IOU9 male convicts of

the 'general offenders ' type were released and others

received special remissions.

In continuation of t h i s pol icy the Punjab Goverranent

proposed the re lease of a la rge number of p o l i t i c a l p r i so r« r s ,

including the Amritsar and Lahore leaders - Satyapal,

KLtchlew, Rambhaj Dutt, Harkishan Lai and asked for immediate

orders so as to enable them to attend the Congress session.

On 25th December, 1919 the Br i t i sh Government issued a Royal

Proclamation in which the government exhibi ted to desire

to develop cordia l r e l a t i ons between the ru l e r s and the ruled.

78 Quoted in Punjab Native Newspaper Report.

'^^Oral Transcr ip t : Bhlmsen Sacchar.

17^

A ooncl l ia tory pol icy was to be adopted but a s t a r t was to

be made by the re lease of p o l i t i c a l p r i soners . On 31^»

Deconber orders were issued for the re lease of a l l pr isoners

connected wit the disturbances, who were undergoing

sentences of two years imprisonnient or l e s s numlBcring M+8

in a l l . The orders required that pr isoners under sentences

of five should not be re leased u n t i l the payment of t h e i r

f ines , but on the othy January furtherprders were issued

requir ing the re lease of pr i soners for whose re l ease orders

had at any time been given, whether the f ines were paid or

no t . On the 6th January orders were issued for the re lease

of 55 other persons including a l l but a few of the pr isoners

undergoing sentences of three years r igorous imprisonment -, 8o or l e s s .

In accordance with the Royal Proclamation the

prominent leaders of the Punjab were released from

Lahore j a i l on the 27th December,1919. This further over­

whelmed the people of Punjab with joy and a most en thus ias t ic

recept ion was arranged for them. The news of the re lease

of Punjab leaders and t h e i r impending a r r i v a l in Amritsar

spread l i ke wild f i r e in the c i t y . "As the t r a i n (Congress

Special carrying re leased l eader s ) steamed into the s t a t ion

°^Home Pol.B. Apri l , 1920 Nos.70-75 Chief Secretary, Punjab to Secretary to Government of India , 7th January,I919.

1^0

the re was loud and repeated cheering from a crowd of over

10,000 people for the released l eade r s , who, as they 81 a l ighted , looked dieerful and healthy. '*

Amongst the most important reso lu t ions passed by

the Congress were those r e l a t ing to Punjab a t r o c i t i e s . The

Resolutions condemned General Dyer,daaanded the suspension of

O'Dwyer preliminary to l ega l action and immediate r e c a l l

of Lord Chelmsford, the viceroy for having completely for fe i ted

public confidence. In addi t ion the reso lu t ions regre t t ed

sudden mob frenzy and excesses under grave provocation.

The congress also expressed horrors and indignation a t the

a t r o c i t i e s and the massacre of innocent men and chi ldren

without a p a r a l l e l in modern t imes. " Referring proclamation

Congress respec t fu l ly thanked King emperor, welcom^ announce­

ment of Prince of Wales v i s i t to India and demanding fu l l e s t

ef fec t be given to amnesty clause by wholessile re lease go

of p o l i t i c a l p r i s o n e r s . "

Mahatama Gandhi dominated the Congress. "Whatever

the ve rd ic t of p o s t e r i t y be upon the resolu t ion about the

^''The Tribune, Dec.23,1919.

®^A.I.e.C.File No.Misc. 1/1919.

I B I

Refonns at Amritsar, there i s no Eianner of doubt whatever

t ha t the whole Congress was a triumph for Gandhi. He had

already impressed Congress with his pe rsona l i ty , h is point

of view, his p r inc ip le s of philosophy, h i s code of e t h i c s ,

h i s cu l t of t r u t h , and non-violence."

The Amritsar session of the Congress was a complete

success. The 'Parkash* of J tor i tsar in i t s i ssue of ifth

January, 1920 wrote -

"The ^ r i t s a r Congress was a sort of t e s t , and MB are glad to be able to say tha t not only the Punjab but the whole country has emerged successful from the ordea l . E i ^ t months back nobody, could have said tha t any one in t h i s province would even mention the word ^ p o l i t i c s ' in future. But people saw and heard uiBxpected th ings at J tar i tsar on the occasion of the Congress. There was a day when they concealed themselves through fear , but they assembled in thousands at the Congress meetings and l a id t h e i r demands before the Government in a fea r less manner."g^

The Congress did a lo t to infuse enthusiasm in those

who had been la id low by the Martial Law. Apart from

other cons idera t ions , the Congress achieved i t s main

object of giving t h e people a sense of secur i ty and r e l i e f .

A very old c i t i zen remarked - "Vfe look upon the Congress as

a "God-sent th ing" . People of Amritsar wi l l now have the 81+

courage to look at each o t h e r ' s f ace . "

^ P a r k a s h , Vth Jan. 1920, quoted in Punjab Native l^ewspaper Report, I918-20.

^\he Tribune, December 27,1919.

is:

Simultaneously with the Congress session the Sikh

League and the ^fusliln League also held t h e i r sessions at

Amritsar. They were grea t ly influenced by the Congress

and the reso lu t ions adopted by than showed the same s p i r i t .

Sardar Bahadur Gajjan Singh, the Pres iden t -e lec t of the

Sikh League welcomed the RoyeuL proclamation as the Magna

Carta of India. But he pleaded for extended spec ia l

representa t ion of Sikhs and demanded tha t one member

out of three i n the Governor General 's Council should be

a Sikh.

As regards the Muslim League, the attendance was

smaller, though the same sort of a n t i - B r i t i s h s p i r i t reigned

supreme and dominated i t s whole sess ion . -̂ The Muslim

League came wholly under the influence of the Congress.

The 'Leader ' , a moderate paper of Allahabad commented on

t h i s point - "The Muslim League i s en t i r e ly under extremist

influence and has become a mere echo of the Congress,

repeating with addit ions most of i t s reso lu t ions regarding

the Khi lafa t . "

By the beginning of 1920 Punjab had returned to

normal l i f e . People had great ly changed. They were now

fu l l of the s p i r i t of nationalism and were ready to p a r t i c i p a t e

in nat ional movements. Lajpat Rai noticed t h i s change

^Home Pol.Deposit ,February, 1920.No.52, Weekly Report of the C.I.D. for January, 1920.

1S3

a f t e r landing in India . Lajpat Rai» popularly known as

•Lion of Punjab' returned in February, 1920 to India . He

approved of Gandhi's method of Satyagraha against the

Rowlatt B i l l s and believed t h a t the re has been a r ea l

effect of the events of 1919 on Punjab. Describing t h i s

change he wrote to h is friend - "The change i s i n the 86

psychology of the man in the s t r e e t . "

After the disturbances were control led the Government

s t a r t ed thinking about posting puni t ive pol ice in j tor i t ser ,

Lahore aid other towns and v i l l a g e s where disturbances had

occurred, in order to punish the people of those places and

given them a ' lesson* for the fu ture .

However, there was strong opposit ion from the public

on the post ing of puni t ive pol ice before the Hunter Committee

had submitted i t s r epor t . 'The Tribune• wrote in t h i s

connection in i t s i s sue of December ^,1919, as followst "The

Imposing of a puni t ive pol ice in areas where mar t i a l law

was declared I s In a sanse dependent on the findings of the

Hunter Committee. At Lahore, as a matter of f ac t , the

mob was not gu i l ty of excesses in the way of committing

a s s a u l t s , the burning of p r iva te or publ ic bui ldings

and the l i k e . This view i s also borne out by the evidence

86 N.S.Hardiker Collectloni Lajpat Hal to Hardiker

March 10,1920.

194

SO far tendered by o f f i c i a l witnesses who have appeared before

the Disorders Inquiry Committee. Under the circumstances

i t appears to us proper t ha t the Local Government should

withdraw puni t ive pol ice from Lahore, i f not permanently,

as suggested by the ^funicipal Committee - at any r a t e

pending the publ ica t ion of the report of the Hunter Committee."

The following tab le shows the number of puni t ive pol ice

posted i n Punjab during 1919-20:

"ear Number of pu n i t i v e DOst Nev; Old

1918 17 18

1919 ^ 9

1920 5 0

FroK February,1920 the Government s tar ted withdrawing

the puni t ive po l ice and they were completely removed by

April 1920.

I t had also been decided to impose an indemnity on the

c i t i zens of p laces where there had been disturbances and to

charge from the c i t i zens the damage done by them and the

cost of maintaining order . "There was strong pro tes t against

t h i s proposal . V/hen the re la ted B i l l was introduced in the

Legis la t ive Council on l8th September,I919, a c r i t i c a l

87 '̂ The Tribure I ecember l+,1919.

185

debate took p lace . The opposit ion was led by Pt.M.M.

Malaviya, viio proposed an amendment to postpone the

b i l l t i l l the Hunter Committee gave i t s r epor t . He said

when the very foundation whether ^ a r t i a l Law was j u s t i f i e d

or not was going to be re-examined, what reason was there

to indemnify o f f i ce r s before the very foundation i s

proved to be true.**^ However, the amendment was l o s t

and the B i l l in i t s o r ig ina l form was passed.

Mr. G.A.Natisan wrote in t h i s Connection in the

Modem Review - ''And so the Indemnity B i l l has been

passed. The p r o t e s t s of a l l sect ions of the publ ic have been

in vain . I t i s but the barest t r u t h and i t would be wrong

to canceal tiie fac t that the Indounity B i l l has rudely shaken

the fa i th of the people in the Br i t i sh sense of j u s t i c e . "

The people were against the levy of indemnity and the

posting of puni t ive pol ice and there was deep resentment

against these actions of the Government. However, the

government viewed the i ssues in a di f ferent l i g h t namely -

"The indemnity levied on Amritsar, Gujaranwala and other

places and the cost of addi t ional pol ice which has also been

imposed on those c i t i e s i s also being exploited in the

i n t e r e s t s of the extremist p o l i t i c a l propaganda. As there

^%he Tribune September 23,1919. ®^Indian Re view. Vol. 20, July-Dec. 1920.

IBG

are l o t s of persons who took no par t In the disttirbances

of i ^ r i l l a s t but ^ o are being ca l led upon to pay,

the task of mischief-makers i s rendered easy. People who

had nothing to do with the disturbances and who even

sustained losses in t h e i r business na tu ra l ly think i t hard

t h a t they should be required to pc^ the indemnity and the 90

cost of the police,**

Public opinion wanted that fu l l expression be given

to the Royal proclamation, " I t i s never theless desirable

t h a t the beitefit to persons vAio were no worse than t h e i r

n e i ^ b o u r s but B»rely had the bad luck to be iden t i f i ed as

members of r io tous mob and against whom there i s no evidence

t h a t they took a personal pa r t in murder or other r e a l l y

ser ious crimes of violence. There possibly are many such

persons i n the Punjab who might be released with safety,

and the Government of India would be prepared to extend

merely even to such of them as were ooncerr»d in the work

of destroying or attempting to destroy railway and te legraphic

communications, when such a t tanpts did not have any serious

r e s u l t s . I t i s poss ible your Government has already

considered cases of t h i s nature but we do not know how far

you have gone and think i t desirable to l e t you have t h i s

^^Home Pol,B.October,1919.No,360-63.Weekly Report of the Director Central In t e l l i gence dated Simla 20th October, 1919.

187

91 expression of opinion, in case i t may enable you to go fur ther .

The Sikh (Lahore) of the I6th May,1920 wrote -

"The s i t u a t i o n i s again get t ing worse and worse and we

hold the government said the people both responsible for i t .

The wrong done through the Bowlatt Act, the Martial Law and

the au tocra t ic ac ts preceding or connected with t h a t , e t c .

could ea s i l y have been neglected and forgotten i f the Royal

proclaDiatlon had been carr ied out i n i t s fu l l meaning and

i f the Hunter Committee had duly avai led thanselves of the

aeeis tance of the Congress Committee. But no , the Govern,

ment of India has been anything but l i b e r a l in carrying out

the Royal clemency, for thouj^ many of the p o l i t i c a l offenders

have been re leased, many others are s t i l l r o t t i n g in J a i l s ,

or suffering t h r o u ^ intertmentor o ther r e s t r i c t i o n s placed

on t h e i r moveoents, while the re i s absolutely no evidence

t h a t the re lease of any one of their, would jeopardise

publ ic safety. "^^

minter Committee Report

The Hunter Committee published i t s report on 28th May,

1920 and tha t also in England and not i n India. This caused

d i s sa t i s f ac t ion and disappointment. Mr. Duni C'nand, the

Secretary t o the Indian Associatlo^Lahore, sent a cablegram

to ' I n d i a ' ( the Congress Organisation in England)and

said there i s a great d i s sa t i s f ac t ion at t h e non-publication

of the Hunter r epor t i n t h i s country and urges thet the

public should haye an opportunity of discussing the findings 9lH0!ne Pol.A,J^ril,1920,no.75^76.From Secretary to the

Govt.of India to Secretary to the Government of Punjab. 92The Sikh I6th May 1920 quoted in Punjab Native Newspaper Repc

1B3

and reconunendatlons of the Hunter Commlttte before act ion

i s taJcen against o f f i c i a l wrong doers ."

Added to i t was the d i s s a t i s f ac t i on with the

Report i t s e l f . The Report was not unanimous. There was cqpparent

difference bet we en/. Indian members and ^Bri t i sh . The

difference centered around the issue whether the outbreak

in the Punjab was a premeditated revo l t o r an accidental

outburs t . The English members took the former view and

Indian: the l a t t e r . Accordingly, the Indians thought tha t

the Martial Law was not required. Moreover, they assigned

the cause of the outbreak ^ as O'Dwyer's 'awlum' in co l l ec t ­

ing money and r e c r u i t i n g so ld i e r s . Govt, accepted the view

t h a t "the administrat ion of Martial Law was marred in

p a r t i c u l a r Instances of undue sever i ty and of improper

punishments and orders during the P a r t i a l Law regimof and

ins t ruc ted the Government of India t o see that t h i s

dlsiqpproval "was unmistakably marked by censure or oth«r

act ion upon o f f i ce r s responsible fbr them.** Hr. Montague,

however, ronariced t h a t "(Sieral Dyer ac ted to the best of

h i s l i g h t s and wltii a s i nce r i t y of purpose, but t h a t he

committed an e r ro r of judgement.**°-^ The r e p o r t did not

hold O'Dwyer responsible for the outbreak and was acqui t ted

free of charge. The people were disappointed at t h i s

for they considered him t o be the person who was r e a l l y

responsible for the t roubles and disturbances of the

^•^B.Pattabhi Sitarammaya op.Gi t .p .168.

IS':)

Punjab. T h ^ aLao wanted the r e c a l l of Lord Chelmsford, tb8

Viceroy. The majority repor t generally evoked c r i t i c i sm .

The 'Bande M a t a r ^ of Lahore wrote in i t s i ssue of

May 29,1920 - "Poor General Dyer has been made a scapegoat

in the r epor t . The r e a l author of a l l the cruel ac ts

committed, namely, S i r M.O.Dwyer, has not only been acqui t ted

on a l l counts but has also been granted a c e r t i f i c a t e . The

majority report i s very unsa t i s fac to ry , but i t would have

been absurd to expect t h e Br i t i sh members of the Committee

to consider every question from the Indian s tan i^o in t .^

In general , i t was f e l t by the public t h a t Br i t i sh

statesmen had l o s t the best opportunity of r e -es t ab l i sh ing

t h e i r l o s t p r e s t i g e . I t was further f e l t t h a t the repor t

had ripped open old sores scid deepened estrangement between

the ru l e s and t h e ru led .

Meetings were held giving vent t o feel ings of disapppoint

roent and anger at the repor t . Sarla Devi \^o presided a t a

meeting of about 6,000 persons held in Ludhiana c r i t i c i s e d

the majori ty report of the Hunter Committee, describing i t

as a farce , following the tragedy of the Ja l l ianwala Bagh

massacre - a p r a c t i c a l Joke played by Englishmen with the

Indians. She fur ther said t h a t the report was nothing but

a white-washing document based on r a c i a l b i a s . " ^

^S.N.N.R.

^^The Tribune, June 17,1920.

190

The Rallvay Strlkg

In the l a s t wiek of Aprll|1920 a s t r ike occurred in

the North-Western Railway (N.W.R.) which created a general

feel ing of unrest smongst the pub l i c . The s t r i k e began with

the dismissal on April 21 s t of seven men in the Carriage and

Wagon Shops, Lahore. The s t r ike rapidly assumed large

poDpOrtlons under the guidance of North Western Railway

Association - a body control led by an e3&-guard, Mil ler , and

the S t r ike r s began to v e n t i l a t e other grievances, more

• spec i a l ly those r e l a t i ng to pay, e t c .

There was wide publ ic sympathy with the s t r i k e r s .

Dr. Satyapal wri t ing in t he 'Partap* (Lahore) of 12th May,

1920, es^ressed sa t i s f ac t ion at the awakening v i s i b l e amongst

the people of the c lasses to which the s t r i k e r s belonged.

He suggested tha t since the matter concerned as many as

20,000 persons, i t was inadvisable for p o l i t i c a l workers to

hold themselves aloof from i t . He asked the public to

hslp the s t r i k e r s - both by intervening and by donating money

for the s t r i k e r s during the period they remained unemployed.

One serious effect of t he s t r ike was a steep r i s e

in p r i c e s . "Traders are already r a i s i n g p r i ces and prof i t ee r ing

must follow in the wake of the r i s e . Stocks sure being

prevented from going out and coming i n . Perishable goods

are being sold a t oomparativelylow pr ices to prevent

19 ^il

de te r io ra t ion i n consequence of the lock-out of goods

t r a f f i c and r e s t r i c t i o n on other t r a i n se rv ices , but other

commodities, which were regular ly imported, are dai ly

r eg i s t e r ing h i ^ p r i c e s for the sazae reason. This , j u s t

at the time when things were beginning to s e t t l e down

again and a r e tu rn to ches5>er r a t e s had j u s t cominenced 96

in many markets."^

L.Lajpat Rai took keen i n t e r e s t i n the s t r i ke and t r i e d

to br ing about a oompromise between the s t r i k e r s and the

a u t h o r i t i e s .

By May 20, 30,000 workers of the North-western Railway

went on s t r i k e , A l o t of inconvenience had to be faced by

the publ ic . The Commercial Union, Lahore, passed the

following reso lu t ion - "That the Commercial Union respect ful ly

draws the a t t en t ion of the Government and the railway

a u t h o r i t i e s to the serious s i tua t ion that has been created

by the N.W.R. s t r i k e which i s causing great inconvenience

and harm to the Commercial Community and the pub l i c , and i s

of the opinion tha t immediate steps should be taken to

bring the s t r i ke to a speedy conclusion. ""'

The s t r ike s t a r t ed having wider repercussions.

"The railway s i t ua t i on i s in i t s e l f not so serious as i s

^^•C & M, Gazette',May 12,1919.

^^The Tribune June 3,1920.

v^^

the • f f«c t of the s t r lkB, and I t s acoompanying effect on

labour generally in Karachi, The s t r ike fever was extending;

ca rpente rs , masons and cool ies were also joining the s t r i k e .

"Meetings of Municipal c l e rks , of the employees of

the E l e c t r i c Ciorporation as well as of the Railway s t r i k e r s

have taken place during the l a s t few days and there are

rumours of the l ike l ihood of trouble amongst Municipal and oft

Port-Trust labourers.'*^

The Railway s t r ike and the ag i t a t i on which accompanied

i t have given the malcontc^.1: s t h e i r chance of s t i r r i n g up

t rouble and the r e s u l t i s undoubtedly a good deal of general

unres t .

Thus in one year the province of Punjab had experienced

a l o t , although noraal conditions returned within the year.

There had been great publ ic awakening as a r e s u l t of the

Martial Law excesses, and people were fu l l of hatred and

contempt for the Bri t is i i Government, and ready to t ake par t

in any wida-based na t iona l mov^ent to end foreign rule and

win freedom for the country.

^ HoKe Pol.Deposit Ju ly , 1920,No.13, Weekly Report of the Director Central In te l l igence 21st June.