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Amritsar 1919–2019 introduction = AMRITSAR 1919–2019 Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, 13 April 1919 Inside an open space, surrounded by buildings and a crumbling brick wall, a large Indian crowd of thousands has gathered around a Sikh man, who is addressing his audience from a platform. There is a small dilapidated temple within the square, as well as a few trees, and behind the rooftops the unmistakable onion-domes of a mosque can be discerned. People are mostly dressed in varying shades of white, yet the colourful turbans of the bearded men provide a stark contrast to the drab grey houses behind them. Close around the speaker, the audience is sitting down, while, on the outskirts of the crowd, people are standing or moving about and a vendor is busy peddling his wares carried on a pole across his shoulder. From the balconies of nearby houses people are watching, and a handful of boys are playing in the background. The air is filled with the low murmur of a large crowd, but the earnest words of the speaker resonate with clarity within the square: England is so powerful – its army and its navy, all its modern weapons – but when a great power like that strikes defenceless people it shows its brutality, its own weakness. That is why the Mahatma begs us to take the course of non-violence. Elsewhere in the city, an armoured car emerges from a gate, followed by a military vehicle with two British officers in pith helmets and fifty Indian troops with rifles making up the rear. The vehicles and uniforms are all in the xiii xiv amritsar 1919–2019 same khaki colours, and the slouch hats and pointed turbans of the troops reveal them to be Gurkhas and Baluchis. The rumble of the engines merges with the rhythmic sound of the soldiers trotting behind the cars as the column winds its way through the narrow streets of Amritsar. The commanding officer, the broom-moustachioed General Dyer, is sitting motionless in the car, looking straight ahead, as they drive past local residents, who stop what they are doing and stare at the procession. With unerring precision, the column continues further into the city. Outside the park where the meeting is taking place, the armoured car grinds to a halt as the alley is too narrow. With great agility, General Dyer jumps down and orders the car to back away, signalling for the troops to follow him. He marches through the entrance with great determination, his horsewhip under the arm. The speaker is still busy exhorting the crowd: ‘If we riot, if we fight back, we become the vandals and they become the law! If we bear their blows, they are the vandals – God and his law are on our—’ The hoarse yell of orders being given, and the staccato sound of marching feet as the soldiers spill through the entrance and line up on both sides, brings the speaker to a sudden halt. Here and there, people in the crowd turn around to see what this interruption is, more curious than frightened. General Dyer is standing at ease, right in the middle with his troops to the right and left, surveying the crowd before him with a cold, unmoving, expression. More people have noticed the sudden arrival of the soldiers, and some stand up to get a better view. In place of the speech, the open space now echoes with the order to fix bayonets. The murmur of the crowd grows louder as fear grips the thou- sands gathered. As the first row of soldiers assumes a kneeling position, more people are getting up, visibly worried. The speaker, with less certainty than before, continues: ‘We must have the courage to take their anger—’ General Dyer gives an order to the Havildar-Major, and the double-line of troops lift their rifles to take aim with one synchronised movement. By now the crowd is growing more rest- less and a crying baby can be heard amidst the yelling of people and the clattering of the guns. Everyone in the crowd is standing, facing the line of rifles and bayonets trained squarely at them. Dyer’s ADC, sweating and slightly nervous, asks his superior: ‘Should we issue a warning, Sir?’ With a stern sidelong glance at his subaltern, the General replies stiffly: ‘They’ve had their warning. No meetings.’ A ripple of panic spreads among the crowd, no more than a hundred feet away, as people desperately begin to push back. General Dyer barks the order: ‘Fire!’ amritsar 1919–2019 xv All fifty troops fire at the same time, and the sharp report of the volley reverberates between the walls of the surrounding buildings. Shrill screams can be heard over the report of the rifles, and, as people are hit and tumble over in the dust, the crowd scatter in a chaotic stampede. As those at the front receive the brunt of the firing, and fall by the dozen, the great mass of people surge backwards and to the sides. The erratic firing continues as people run and are felled by shots, including mothers with their babies. As the troops methodically fire and load their Lee-Enfield rifles, the General calmly walks behind his men, his eyes fixed on the slaughter before him. In the chaos of the panicking crowd, the bodies are beginning to pile up. Dyer reminds his men to take their time, and as they repeat the same motions, shooting and loading, over and over, the spent cartridges fall to the ground with a chinking sound. The open ground is now enveloped in a cloud of dust, and amidst the chaos of the dead and the dying, some are trying to carry the wounded to safety. A group of women reach an exit but find it locked by a gate with iron bars and scream in fear as those behind continue pushing. Keeping a sharp lookout, the General notices that some men are trying to scale the wall on the left and he promptly directs the fire towards them, shouting to make himself heard above the din. As the troops swing their rifles towards the wall, people are shot in the back and fall down on top of others. As the firing continues, and with the exits blocked, people are running around aimlessly, some even jumping into a large open well. As Dyer keeps watching, his face devoid of any trace of emotion, more people jump into the well to escape the bullets. Meanwhile the troops keep shooting and loading, shooting and loading, the piles of cartridges growing at their feet. The ground is littered with dead bodies, and a small girl is crying next to the bloodied corpse of her mother. The Hunter Committee, Lahore, 19 November 1919 General Dyer is sitting under a Union Jack hung on the wall, in a large court- room, facing a panel of Commissioners: Lord Hunter, Mr Justice Rankin, General Barrow, a British civil servant, and an Indian barrister. Behind Dyer, who looks somewhat detached, there is a small audience of British officers. Sitting behind the long table filled with legal documents, Justice Rankin asks the first question: ‘General Dyer, is it correct that you ordered your troops to fire at the thickest part of the crowd?’ xvi amritsar 1919–2019 General Dyer stares woodenly at the panel, confirming with just the slightest nod of his head: ‘That is so.’ Slightly taken aback by the attitude of the man before him, the mild- mannered Rankin rubs his hands and reads out from his notes: ‘One thou- sand five hundred and sixteen casualties with one thousand six hundred and fifty bullets?’ Not missing a beat, General Dyer replies with conviction: ‘My inten- tion was to inflict a lesson that would have an impact throughout all India.’ A small murmur arises from the officers behind the General, who nod in approval. Rankin looks at Dyer with a degree of disbelief, but the General’s expression reveals no emotion whatsoever. The Indian barrister asks the next question: ‘General, had you been able to take in the armoured car, would you have opened fire with the machine gun?’ After a slight pause, Dyer responds, barely moving his mouth as he speaks: ‘I think, probably – yes.’ The barrister stares at the General for a moment, then simply lowers his eyes. For the first time, the presiding judge, Hunter, now addresses Dyer: ‘General, did you realize there were children – and women – in the crowd?’ ‘I did,’ Dyer responds, without a hint of regret. Rankin intercedes: ‘But that was irrelevant to the point you were making?’ Dyer seems almost pleased that someone understood his reasoning: ‘That is correct.’ There is an awkward silence before Rankin picks up the questioning once more: ‘Could I ask you what provisions you made for the wounded?’ Clearly stumped, Dyer replies after a moment: ‘I was ready to help any who applied.’ Baffled by what he was hearing, Rankin asks rhetorically: ‘General . how does a child shot with a .303 Lee-Enfield apply for help?’ For the first time, Dyer seems uncertain of himself. This was how director Richard Attenborough reimagined the Amritsar Massacre and the subsequent Hunter Committee inquiry in the Oscar-winning movie Gandhi from 1982.1 This is also how many people today think of what was arguably the bloodiest massacre in the history of the British Empire. While there is an abundance of visual material informing our understanding of key aspects of the history of British India – the viscerally bleak photographs from amritsar 1919–2019 xvii both 1857 or 1947, for instance – there are no contemporary images of the violence at Amritsar on 13 April 1919.
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