If only there were television and social media in the early 20th century, India would have gained Independence at least 25 years earlier than it finally did in 1947. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, which took place on 13 April 1919, would have ensured that, given the magnitude of its brutality. Even Rabindranath Tagore came to know of the monstrosity only a month later on May 22. He renounced his Knighthood in protest of the murder of innocents.
On this day, 100 years ago, the colonialists bared the evil at the core of their so-called enlightened rule. Brigadier General Reginald Dyer ordered his troops to fire at innocent Indians who had gathered in the 200 yards x 200 yards Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar. The people included those who came for Baisakhi celebrations and those protesting against the arrest and deportation of two nationalist leaders Dr Satya Pal and Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew.
The crowd was not asked to disperse. And the main entry of the park was closed. The firing continued for 10 minutes. It stopped only when the British ran out of ammunition. People ran. They tried to escape through narrow outlets, many even jumped into the well in the park. Hundreds lost their lives—including a six-month-old. Bullet marks are still visible on the walls of the park, reminding us of the brutality of the blood-thirsty colonialists.
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre had a certain context. India supported the British in WWI by providing men and materials in the hope of gaining partial autonomy. But anti-colonial militant activities continued in Bengal and Punjab, the frontline states in the struggle for freedom at that time. Defence of India Act was passed in 1915 to prevent the disruption of war efforts.
The Act severely curbed the political and civil rights of Indians. The sedition committee led by British judge Sidney Rowlatt was set up to probe the links between Indian militants and German and Bolshevik revolutionaries. In an earlier escalation of protests, the people of Amritsar were forced to crawl on their knees and even put in open cages. The Montague-Chelmsford reforms of 1917, were found to be insufficient by the Indians and their leadership. Resentment was mounting across India. It was compounded by the fallout from the protracted war.
On the other hand, realising that India can’t be ruled by sheer force, the Raj was seeking to gain legitimacy through so-called progressive laws. Until Jallianwala Bagh happened, the moderate leadership was seeking a larger share for Indians in the administration, leave alone dominion status. But all of this changed with Dyer’s brutality.
The massacre was a major turning point in our struggle for Independence. It was the most impactful since the First War of Independence in 1857. It shattered the faith some people had in the British. In the eyes of the average Indian, the just, fair and liberal Englishman turned into a tyrant who could not be trusted.
Dyer had ordered his troops to fire in a bid to strike terror in the hearts and minds of disobeying Indians and to deter the militant freedom fighters. All of it boomeranged. The Raj had lost the legitimacy to rule. The senseless massacre not only shocked Indians but also some sections of British society and even the world.
The then Secretary of State of War Winston Churchill, not known to be a friend of India termed the massacre “monstrous”. During a debate in the House of Commons on 8 July 1920, Churchill gave a moving account of the massacre and said: “The crowd was unarmed. It was not attacking anybody or anything ... When fire had been opened upon it to disperse it, it tried to run away. Pinned up in a narrow place considerably smaller than Trafalgar Square, with hardly any exits, and packed together so that one bullet would drive through three or four bodies, the people ran madly this way and the other.” The House of Commons then voted 247 to 37 against Dyer. He was subsequently removed from the service thOUGH the House of Lords praised him.
After the massacre, Mahatma Gandhi, who supported the British during WWI, called for non-cooperation with the Raj in 1920. He realised India should accept nothing less than ‘Poorna Swaraj’. A Punjabi youth Udham Singh was among those who witnessed the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and was wounded.
He kept alive his anger for 21 years and shot dead Michael O’Dwyer in London on 13 March 1940. O’Dwyer was the lieutenant governor of Punjab at the time of the massacre and had supported Dyer. Singh was hanged on 31 July 1940. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who earlier termed Udham’s act ‘senseless’ even as it was courageous, said in 1952 as the prime minister: “I salute Shaheed-i-Azam Udham Singh with reverence who had kissed the noose so that we may be free.”
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre stands among the most defining events that led to the exit of British like the Revolt of 1857, Partition of Bengal in 1905, civil disobedience movements, the formation of the Indian National Army and the Quit India Movement. It was indeed a turning point. We will forever be indebted to those who gave up their lives this day 100 years ago so that we could breathe free. The best tribute we can pay to them is to build a New India.