How the Jallianwala changed Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi’s maiden visit to the Punjab, in the aftermath of the April 13, 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, transformed him from being an “Empire loyalist” to the “implacable opponent” of British colonial rule, contends a book published on the occasion of the centenary anniversary of the incident.
The book, named ‘Martyrdom to Freedom,’ has several chapters written by scholars, historians, and a former diplomat.
In one of the chapters, historian Ramachandra Guha says Gandhi was shaken after officials behind the massacre were not punished despite his recommendation that “both General (Reginald) Dyer, the Butcher of Amritsar, and the Lieutenant Governor at that time, Sir Michael O’Dwyer, be relieved from ‘any responsible office under the crown’”.
However, the then Viceroy, Lord Chelmsford, euphemized Brigadier General Dyer’s action and gave O’Dwyer a “resounding” certificate of character.
“This whitewashing of egregious behaviour of the Punjab government put an enormous strain on Gandhi’s once fervent faith in British justice,” Guha writes.
It forced him (Gandhi) to launch a fresh movement of protest as he believed that the British could be made to yield under the pressure of non - violent struggle.
“Before 1919, Gandhi had never visited the Punjab. But what he did and saw in the province that year changed him forever. On the political front, it transformed him from an Empire loyalist to an implacable opponent of British rule,” Guha contends.
He says Gandhi was very keen to travel to Punjab in the wake of the “politically conscious” province becoming the centre of the Ghadar movement and its past record of active participation in the Swadeshi movement of 1905 -07.
Gandhi left Bombay for Delhi on April 8, 1919, from where he hoped to proceed to the Punjab. However, he was stopped by the police, so he returned to Ahmedabad.
“When news of Gandhi’s arrest reached Amritsar on the 10th (April), a large and angry crowd collected on the streets. British banks were set on fire and three bank managers murdered...The violence continued through 10th and 11th,” the writer says.
The city was placed under de facto martial law and the charge of maintaining order was given to Dyer.
On April 13, Dyer ordered his troops to open fire on the crowd that had gathered at Jallianwala Bagh as a part of Baisakhi celebrations and to listen to local leaders speaking in protest against the clampdown and Gandhi’s arrest. Hundreds of unarmed women, children and men were killed in the indiscriminate firing.
After denying several such requests, the authorities permitted Gandhi to finally visit Punjab in October. He left for Lahore on October 22, 1919. Two days later he reached Lahore and then went to Amritsar after a week, where he received first hand accounts of what had occurred on that fateful day.