Remembering Jallianwala Bagh on its Centenary

"When brother spills the blood of his brother and exults in his sin...when he tries to keep the bloodstains fresh on the soil as a memorial of his anger, then God in shame conceals it under his green grass and the sweet purity of his flowers." (Tagore, 1920)

The Jallianwala Bagh (wikipedia)

It has been 100 years. 87600 hours. 36500 days.  10 decades. One hundred years.  In that space of time, India has been governed by 4 monarchs of the British crown (not to mention the hundreds of Princely states with their own rulers),  21 Prime Ministers, 7 British and 14 Indian(15 depending on your count) and experienced multiple social, political, and economic upheavals; been split into multiple states;undergone revolutions of many kinds;and achieved independence; but the event that occurred a century ago was one that occurred within the framework of another movement, but shook the nation by the inhumane injustice it displayed; and it was not forgotten.

In 1914, a new leader entered the political field, M K Gandhi. This lawyer from South Africa began conducting a new type of resistance to British rule, Satyagraha, across the country that left an impact on the leadership. The British brought in the Rowlatt Act in 1919, that extended wartime measures. Protesting this blatant breach of an individuals rights, Gandhi organised a Satyagraha, the Anti-Rowlatt Satyagraha and the Indians supported it. Two men were deported in the ensuing Satyagraha. To protest this, a meeting was held, (though there was a rule on against public meetings). In Amritsar. In the Jallianwala Bagh.

We all know what happens next. Dyer. Jallianwala Bagh. The peaceful public meeting. The tanks. The firing on innocent human beings. And in the end, bodies everywhere.

An issue of Young India, published in 1924, but on the events of 1919-22. describes the Jallianwala Bagh, from a letter written by Gandhi to 'Navjivan', which paints a very clear picture of what it looked like then:
"The name Jallianwala Bagh is a misnomer. 'Jallian' is a surname, and the original owner of the place was a 'Jallian'. The 'Bagh' is today the joint property of about 40 partners. It is not a 'Bagh' or garden but a dunghill. It is hemmed in on all sides by the back walls of houses and people have made it a convenient place to throw house-refuse in from back window's. It is an open space with three trees and a tomb, and is accessible by a narrow lane. General Dyer used this lane to approach the Bagh. The people who were attending the meeting in the Bagh on the 13th April were thus penned up, and had no way of escape except at three or four places by jumping walls. Thousands escaped with their lives by jumping the walls on that fateful day. "
There are bulletholes that can still be seen on those back walls a century later.

The immediate result in Amritsar was that a curfew was brought in, and repressive measures put in place. Martial law was in place from April 15 to June 9 in Punjab. The nation was abuzz with news of the tragedy.
 There were around 20000 people in the Bagh, and "fifty soldiers fired 1600 rounds in 10 minutes". Dyer admits to this.
International media, especially in England, widely reported the incident. However, peoples reactions were mixed.
There was a trial with 4 British men and 4 Indians, headed by a Lord Hunter, which found him guilty. He was sent home and denied pension. Yet some in the House of Lords and many in the House of Commons approved his actions, and he was presented with a purse of 20000 pounds in England, and a sword, inscribed with 'saviour of the Punjab'.
When Gandhi visited the Punjab in October, the Governor accused him of being the cause of Aprils massacre!

The week of the massacre the following year was observed as National week, falling at the time of the Khilafat movement.


In the Young India Issue of August 1920, a meeting in Britain of the Labour party is reported, favouring the freedom struggles in South-East Asia.They condemned the actions in the Punjab and passed a motion to that effect.
Tagore in the same issue calls the massacre "a monstrous progeny of a monstrous wave which for four years had been defiling Gods world with fire and poison, physical and moral" and refers to these "orgies of triumphant powers" , but in the end, he implores people not to retaliate with violence.(Tagore was a strong critic of the massacre, having given up his knighthood in May 1919 in protest.)
In November 1920, they attempted to buy the Bagh, for the nation, at the cost of 5,36,000 in 6 instalments as a memorial. The Jallianwala Bagh National memorial Act was passed in 1951, which made it a national memorial for all.

The important thing about this attack is that it instigated the common Indian against colonial rule. The massacre was one of the most influential reasons for Gandhi to launch the Non-Cooperation movement the following year.

Is there more for us however, at this site? More than the memory of a fateful day? Perhaps, it tells us to remember, that sometimes, though we may face terrible circumstances, rulers who oppress, who deal lightly with massacres, not giving it the importance it needs, diverting blame, in the end we must remember, we have the power, collectively.

 The British government has been requested time and again to provide an apology for the incident. Today it has been one hundred years, but last week, the British PM, Theresa May, did say she "Deeply regret it".  But after so much time and begging is an apology now going to mean anything?

"To err is human and it must be held equally human to forgive....if we...would like...to be forgiven than punished. Nor does this mean that we may not ask for General Dyers dismissal. A lunatic cannot be kept in a position from which he can do harm to his neighbors"
MK Gandhi, 1920, Young India.