Jallianwala BAGH-AN Unforgettable Incident

-- Ridhi Bali, VII,Indian Community School Khaitan

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Alongside a glorious past, rich cultural heritage and freedom earned by sacrificing uncountable lives, there was this ghastly incident that marked the first stage of failure of the British rule in our country. This event happened in the year 1919 in the months of March and April.
This Article focuses on the incident that took place in Punjab in the month of Baisakhi-a traditional festival celebrated in Punjab to mark the season of harvest. It is called the ‘Jallianwala Bagh massacre.’ The British government continued the repression of the nationalists. For them, whenever the crowds gathered on the streets it reminded them of the 1857 sepoy revolt. This was even more frightening for the people ruling India at that time. All their efforts to divide and rule had seemed to fail in front of their eyes.

Punjab was under the oppressive regime of Lieutenant governor Michael O’Dyer. The government gave themselves the power to shut down all political campaigns, meetings, and rallies as per the Anarchical and revolutionary Crimes Act of 1919, known as The Rowlatt Act. On Suspicion, the police could detain anyone for a period of 2 years without trial and appeal. There was a popular saying; ‘NA DALEEL, NA WAKEEL, NA APPEAL.’

Mahatma Gandhiji issued a clarion call for a nationwide civil disobedience strike on 6th of April against the Rowlatt act. In Punjab, people answered the call with unprecedented enthusiasm. This was Gandhiji’s first major Satyagraha (passive political resistance). Two local leaders Dr. Satyapal and Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew led the Rowlatt Satyagraha. The most successful Satyagrahas were held in cities of Punjab as the people there were ready to do anything to gain freedom. Within a week Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr. Satya Pal organised 2 successful strikes in the city.

On the morning of 10th April 1919, the Hindu-Muslim unity had frightened the British and the administration of Lt. Gov. Michael O’Dwyer had decided that Satyapal and Kitchlew had to be arrested and were to be secretly kept in Dharamshala. Satyapal and Kitchlew were called to the Deputy commissioner Irving’s house and they went there expecting a peaceful dialogue with him. However, the two were arrested without notice and this trickery took aback the people who were already in the process of doing the Satyagraha.

On the evening of 10th April 1919, the followers of Dr. Satyapal and Dr. Saifuddin gathered with a request to the deputy commissioner to release the leaders. There was a confrontation between the crowd and the police. They were fired at and around 20 people died. Many people were on the streets and were so angry that they ransacked, looted and burnt buildings occupied by the British. The turning point came during the rioting on the 10th of April 1919 when five British officers were killed and a British teacher and missionary was accosted and assaulted in the street. This drew the ire and anger of the British and the people of Amritsar had to face the wrath of their forces.

On the evening of the 11th April 1919, Brigadier General Reginald Dyer was brought in to control the situation in Amritsar. On the 12th April 1919, Dyer took a round of the city and made a series of proclamations saying that no gatherings will be allowed and a maximum of 4 people can be together at a time. However, these notices were put everywhere except the Jallianwala Bagh where usually public meetings were held.

On the morning of 13th April 1919, there was a palpable tension in the air. Thousands gathered and made their way to the Jallianwala Bagh. Some were there to demand the release of Dr. Satyapal and Dr. Kitchlew and some were looking for a place to relax after offering Baisakhi prayers at the Golden Temple. The reports of people defying the curfew reached General Dyer, who was stationed at Ram Bagh. He left with two armoured vehicles and drove to Jallianwala Bagh. The entrance to the Bagh was very narrow and was impossible for his armoured vehicles to go through. He disembarked and left with his troops on foot. They covered the entry and exit points of the Bagh and began shooting at the crowd mercilessly. The shooting lasted for 11 minutes and people could run nowhere to save themselves. The British figures put the dead around 300 but the Indian national Congress claimed 1500 people deceased.

General Dyer said later that if the lanes wouldn’t have been so narrow he would have taken the armoured vehicles in and would have just shot at them. This showed the callousness of General Dyer. Reginald Dyer went down in history as the Butcher of Amritsar. In the days that followed the massacre, martial law was imposed in the city of Amritsar. Later, Brigadier General Reginald Dyer was asked to step down from the army. This horrific incident of killing innocent people is engraved in the history of our struggle for independence and augmented the hatred against British forces and marked the beginning of the end of the British Rule in India.

Ridhi Bali, class-VII, Indian Community School Khaitan