International Research Journal of Management Science & Technology ISSN 2250 – 1959(0nline) 2348 – 9367 (Print) An Internationally Indexed Peer Reviewed & Refereed Journal

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IRJMST Vol 9 Issue 2 [Year 2018] ISSN 2250 – 1959 (0nline) 2348 – 9367 (Print)

ROLE OF LALA HAR DAYAL IN THE GHADAR MOVEMENT Ajit Singh Liddar

Institution: Desh Bhagat University, Mandi Gobindgarh, Punjab.

E-Mail: [email protected]

Dr. Dalbir Singh Dhillon,

former Head of History Dept., Punjabi University, Patiala, and former Chairman,

Punjab Education Board, and presently Director, World Punjabi Centre

Abstract: Role of Lala Har Dayal in the Ghadar Movement has not been property analyzed and determined. Some historians simply state that he was the founder of the Movement while others suggest it otherwise, but none of these was conclusively finalized based on facts. Ghadar Movement was started by the Indian immigrant in 1907 on the West (Pacific) Coast of North America. Within a span of 7 years, at the beginning of First World War, about 8,000 of them left their homes and hearths came to India to free it from the British rule. The Ghadar Movement did not succeed but it sowed the seeds for the future generations of revolutionaries to get motivation from its plans and deeds.

Introduction: Lala Har Dayal was born in a rich family of Delhi; he passed his BA from Delhi and his MA from Punjab University Lahore. In 1905 he won a prestigious scholarship to study at Oxford University. For all accounts Har Dayal was a brilliant student, well liked by his teachers. In 1907 he quit the studies, forfeiting his scholarship and according to some writers he did this to devote himself to the freedom movement. But that view is unrealistic and not based on historical facts. He came to United States of America in 1911 and after venturing into various spiritual and non-spiritual feats, joined the Ghadar Movement in March1913.

Object of the Research Paper: is to assess the real role played by Har Dayal in the Ghadar Movement based on facts.

Research Methodology: I have used scientific methods of gathering data (basic information), analyzed it, weighed the evidence objectively and determined his role.

Limitations: the available sources are satisfactory to factually determine the outcome.

Review of Literature: I have reviewed the literature from 1907 onwards both in English and Punjabi languages. Primary sources are consulted, which are the autobiographies of key Ghadarites and newspaper reports and articles written at the time about Har Dayal and the Ghadar Movement.

Suggestions: No suggestions are offered.

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IRJMST Vol 9 Issue 2 [Year 2018] ISSN 2250 – 1959 (0nline) 2348 – 9367 (Print)

Brief life History: Har Dayal was born in Delhi in 1884. He studied at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi and did his M.A. from Punjab University. He was married at age 17. He passed his M.A. from Govt. College, Lahore and was awarded Govt. of India scholarship to study at prestigious Oxford University. In 1905, he joined St. Stephen College, Oxford. He was not involved in any revolutionary activity to this time. In September 1907 he resigned his scholarship, it is said that he joined the extremist movement. He did not take part in any political activity during 1905-1907 periods, other than writing few articles in journals. In England, he lived in direst poverty there, living on no more than six pence a day.

Har Dayal’s activities from 1908 to 1911: He left England and went to Paris, France in February 1909. July 1909, he left Paris for Algiers, Africa. June 1910, he returned to Paris from Algiers. September 1910, he left for Martinique, a French colony in West Indies. Bhai Parmanand went to Martinique to meet with Har Dayal. Bhaiji mentioned in his book, ‘Story of my Life’, that: “Lala Har Dayal wished to found a new faith and he had chosen this place for preparing himself by discipline and study for his great mission….his life at this time was verily a life of asceticism”. Story of my Life by Bhai Parmanand. P. 44. “When I asked him he said that he wished like Buddha to give a new religion to the world, and he was preparing himself for it”. Story of my Life by Bhai Parmanand. P. 45. In February 1911, Har Dayal arrived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, where he met Teja Singh at Harvard University, who encouraged him to go to San Francisco, California, USA. Har Dayal went to Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, Hawaii (U.S.A.) in 1911 to meditate. “The old ideas, however, again got the uppermost in his mind and he left California and went to Honolulu to practice his ascetic life. I was informed of all this by means of his letters in British Guiana”. Story of my Life by Bhai Parmanand. P. 46. He came back to San Francisco in September 1911 from Hawaii. Activities during 1912:  In 1912, he had an affair with Ms. Frieda Hauswirth, his student.  On the recommendation of Bhai Parmanand, Har Dayal was appointed a lecturer at Stanford University in Indian philosophy, pro bono, from which he was forced to resign because of an article he wrote on ‘Free Love’ in Sept 1912. “During his stay there, however, his thoughts again began to take a new turn and this time it was in the direction of socialism and communism. Lala Har Dayal indeed never occupied a middle position. He was always going from one extreme to another. Almost immediately from communism he had passed to anarchism”. In a short span of time, he was a Hindu Ascetic, a Hindu Philosopher, a Socialist, a Communist and an Anarchist. Story of my Life by Bhai Parmanand. P. 53.  On 13 October t 1912, Har Dayal started a ‘Fraternity of the Red Flag’ and published a folder in which he invited “all4Radical Comrades” to join a communist orientated organization, the

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Fraternity of the Red Flag which he had set up. In a letter to his friend, Van Wyck Brooks, Har Dayal wrote: “Sometime, in the future (about 8 years hence), I will produce something valuable.” Letter to Van brooks, December 23, 1913. Har Dayal was not involved in any substantial revolutionary activity from November 1912 to the summer of 1913, when he was invited by the ‘Hindustan Association of the Pacific Coast’ to assist it with starting the newspaper and managing the Ghadar office. Harish K. Puri confirms the point that: “It was only in the summer of 1912 that Har Dayal began to be identified with nationalist activities. Ghadar Movement - Ideology, Organization, Strategy by Harish K. Puri. P. 65 “He was not directly involved in any organizational activity for India’s freedom loosely organized as Nalanda Club” Ghadar Movement - Ideology, Organization, Strategy by Harish K. Puri. P. 66  He attended the meetings of the ‘Association’ on March 25, 1913 at St. Johns, Oregon, confirmation meeting in April 1913 in Astoria, Oregon and meetings on 31 May 31 to 4 June, 1913 in Astoria.  From 1 November 1913 to 25 March 1914, Har Dayal started and managed the Ghadar newspaper.  25 March 1914: On the instigation of British Government, US authorities arrested and charged him for taking part in Anti-US activities. He was released on bail of $1,000 on 28 Mar 1914; he skipped the bail and left USA in April 1914. Har Dayal’s contribution to the Ghadar Movement during the short period of about 6 months is very much appreciated. His mastery of propaganda through print media and expertise as an orator was impressive. All the elements, which were essential for a revolutionary movement, were present in the Indian immigrants; Har Dayal gave the movement a direction and coordinated those elements into a thread. He named the Head Quarters of the party, ‘Yugantar Ashram’, the name of the newspaper, the ‘Ghadar’. In the process, the more formal name, the Hindi Association of the Pacific Coast, was dropped from use and easier to use and meaningful name came into common use, the ‘Ghadar Party’, from the name of the newspaper. It is worth noting that the decision by Har Dayal to use the names like ‘Yugantar’ and ‘Ghadar’ were deliberately taken to bend the Movement towards ‘Hindu’ base. Summary of Activities: Har Dayal was with the Ghadar Movement about 6 months: Har Dayal was not involved in the Ghadar Movement till 1912, and did not have any achievements in the field of revolutionary arena, despite these facts he is hailed as a great revolutionary and all sorts of stories were spread about his greatness. Time had proved that he was an ordinary man, with some good qualities and many more not so good. That is why it is pertinent to highlight his character, his other personality traits as a man, as a leader, an intellectual and a revolutionary, to properly assess his contribution in the Ghadar Movement. The reason for the British to pop up Har Dayal was to use him as a diversion to underplay the role of the Sikhs and the Punjabi’s in the Ghadar movement. The British did not want to jeopardize the role of the Sikh in the British Indian defense. The above is in the realm of possibility. The British did the same with the role International Research Journal of Management Science & Technology http://www.irjmst.com Page 220

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of the Germany in the Ghadar Movement. The British had a phobia against the Germans and to give them a bad name, exaggerated the involvement of Germany in the Ghadar Movement. It is highly likely that they did the same in the case of Har Dayal. Har Dayal’s activities after leaving USA: He spent 44 months in Egypt and Turkey. 1927-1930: Back in England, did his Ph.D. in Sanskrit from London University in 1930. 1931: legally married Agda Erikson in Sweden (2nd marriage), did not tell her about his first marriage in India and that he has a daughter from that marriage. 30 Dec 1935: Har Dayal renewed his request for amnesty. Oct 25, 1938: a letter was dispatched to him by the British Indian Government in which he was told that permission would be granted to him to return to his native land. 4 March 1939: Har Dayal died of natural causes in Philadelphia, U.S.A. Har Dayal by Emily C. Brown. P. 4 Har Dayal’s life has been full of contradiction and inconsistencies. There is ample proof that he lied to people (Gobind Behari Lal), was deceitful (his Indian wife – he had two), was reluctant to earn an honest living (his life style). He was politically all over the map. He was a revolutionary (though a temporary), a socialist (a temporary) and teacher (a temporary) and a husband (a temporary). He never stuck to any activity or philosophy. He wanted to reform Hinduism, start a new religion, create a new social order, bring in political transformation, and do away with the government. He had no aim, no ambition; he was mentally and physically unbalanced. He did not stick to any plan long enough and he changed plans more often than people change their underwear. He was lost both spiritually and materially who wandered from place to place, in search of something he did not know. He was grabbing n things aimlessly, like a man sinking trying to catch anything to survive.

According to Emily C. Brown, Har Dayal’s biographer: “Although his sincerity was challenged by many (including the British) and he was reviled as a traitor by others”. Har Dayal by Emily C. Brown. P. 5. Volte Face - Amnesty Appeal: Har Dayal wrote: “I shall be much obliged if you would kindly enquire about my legal status as a British subject………… I wish to know if I can travel to England for scientific work without any danger of judicial proceedings against me on account of my anti-British political activities during the years 1908-1918.“I can not travel to England without a formal amnesty….. I have not participated in any anti-British political movement since 1918, and I do not intend to do so in future”. He concluded with a “humble Request”, “Bygones must be bygones”. Har Dayal by Emily C. Brown. P. 23

Role on the Ghadar Movement: Some historians have opined that Har Dayal was the founder of the Ghadar Movement, Harish K. Puri and Emily C. Brown are major proponents of this theory. Puri inserts new elements into Ghadar Movement history by bringing his elitist view of history by stating that:

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IRJMST Vol 9 Issue 2 [Year 2018] ISSN 2250 – 1959 (0nline) 2348 – 9367 (Print)

“The Ghadar movement which was launched in US in the year 1913 was inspired in its objectives and framework of ideas by the dominant ideological thinking (including its contradictions) that prevailed among Indian revolutionary nationalists during the period 1905-1920 A small number of these educated revolutionaries played a significant role both in the evolution of the movement and the direction given to it. Most prominent among them was Lala Har Dayal, who had resigned a prestigious Government Scholarship for studies at Oxford to dedicate himself completely to the nationalist cause.”1 The last point to discuss is the writings of various historians and writers to decide the role played in the Ghadar Movement/Party by student revolutionaries and Har Dayal. Puri states that: “Useful accounts by leading men from the category of educated revolutionary nationalists were those of: Gobind Behari Lal, Pandurang Sadashiv, Khankhoje, Bhupindernath Dutt, Shachindra Nath Sanyal and Bhai Parmanand.” 2 Writing about the formation of the political movement, Jagjit Singh states categorically that the Ghadar Party’s origination had nothing to do with Germany, or for that matter with Har Dayal or any other group or person. 3 Harold A Gould states that, “Har Dayal built the Ghadar Party from scratch…The modus operandi Har Dayal selected was a direct outgrowth of a plan which he had conceived even before his resignation from Oxford.” 4 Emily C. Brown quotes Gobind Behari Lal who states that Har Dayal’s hastening the exit of the British from India was the result of Har Dayal’s patriotism in his young life.5 Ms. Brown elevates Har Dayal by stating that, “but ‘the official records’ tend to substantiate that the meeting at which the organization took form was held at Portland, Oregon, towards the end of May 1913, with Har Dayal presiding.” 6 Brown did not give a citation to support her view. Har Dayal was an invited guest to help run the newspaper and the office; the meetings are traditionally presided by the President and not the invited guests. Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna was the elected President at both, the Portland meeting in early 1912 and the one held at St. Johns in March 1913. And not to leave anything unsaid, she further states that many turbaned Punjabis (the proper name is the Sikhs) went to India in 1914, 1915 to fight the British, all due to Har Dayal’s urgings in the Ghadar newspaper. 7 “Known primarily for his role in the formation of the Ghadar party in California in 1913, Har Dayal had, however, been in and out of extremist politics since 1908 when, as a student at Oxford, he aligned himself with active resistance to British control of India. He was content

1 Puri, Harish K. op. cit., p. 2.

2 Puri, Harish K. Ghadar Movement. P.10, 11.

3 Singh, Jagjit. op. cit., p. 41.

4 Gould, Harold A. Sikhs, Swamis, Students, and Spies. Sage Publications, New Delhi (2006). p. 170, 171. 5 Brown, Emily C. op. cit., Forward by Gobind Behari Lal. 6 ibid. p. 134. 7 Ibid. p. 4 International Research Journal of Management Science & Technology http://www.irjmst.com Page 222

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to blast with words; there were others who favoured dynamite.”8 A very important note: “Har Dayal’s Hindu Association of the Pacific Coast was an uneasy coalition between Hindu intellectuals and Sikh farmers, peasants and lumber mill workers.” 9 The following conclusions are clear for Brown’s arguments:  The Hindus were (are) intellectuals. Capable of creative thinking, leadership roles, managing, guiding, and directing.  Sikhs were (are) farmers, peasants, and lumber mill workers: followers, cannon fodder, un- educated, illiterate. Based on the above assumptions, how can a historian do justice to the latter and write unbiased history. The British started it; Brown and Puri have undoubtedly copied it. Harish K. Puri’s version of Har Dayal’s role is like that of Brown’s. Puri states that Har Dayal was a born revolutionary and was always involved in freedom struggle and knew his mission from his Oxford days and reason for him leaving Oxford was to jump into national struggle. Puri states that some writers, (Gould 10, Brown and Mathur) believe he came to USA with the specific purpose of forming a revolutionary party. Puri, like Brown, believes in the ‘elitist view of history’ and writes that Har Dayal resigned his scholarship at Oxford to pursue national struggle. He was one of few student revolutionaries who handled the formation and development of the Ghadar Movement. 11 My Observation: did Har Dayal devote himself to the nationalist cause from 1907 (year he left Oxford) to 1912? He has written a few articles in the papers, other than that he did not do any revolutionary work. If Har Dayal thought he was going to devote his life to the cause, the historian’s observation would have been that he did not stick to his goals, instead Puri decided to say nothing. A review of Har Dayal’s activities in the 5 years from 1907 onwards, brings out the truth that he did not do any revolutionary or nationalistic activity in that time. There are two scenarios about the writers who suggest that Lala Har Dayal had resigned a prestigious government scholarship for studies at Oxford to dedicate himself completely to the nationalist cause and that Har Dayal knew his mission from his student days in the Punjab, others tend to argue that he quit his studies at Oxford to pursue nationalistic activities, still others think that he always was in the freedom movement of some kind. One must infer that they have not read the story of Har Dayal’s life or they are just lying, plain and simple.

I refute that argument and contend that the Movement was in existence at from 1907 onwards, started by Indian Immigrants. Har Dayal was there in the Ghadar movement for a period of about 6 months but his role was mainly to oversee the running of the Ghadar newspaper.

Har Dayal himself attests to the fact that a revolutionary Movement was in existence for about eight years before his arrival on the scene.

8 Ibid. p. 4. 9 Ibid. p. 140.

10 Mathur L.P. Indian Revolutionary Movement. S. Chand & Co., Delhi, p. 18-19. 152. Puri, Harish K. op. cit., p. 2.

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I quote from the ‘Astoria Daily Budget’ of 5 June 1913, in which Har Dayal in a speech at Finnish Hall in Uniontown, Astoria, said: “The Revolutionary Movement has been gathering forces during the last eight years. It aims at the Abolition of the British Rule”. 12 This quote puts to sleep a few issues:  The Revolutionary (Ghadar) Movement was in existence for 1907 (six years before Har Dayal’ speeches in 1913.  The aim of the Ghadar Movement was to end the British rule. And these put to bed the theory that “Har Dayal founded the Ghadar Movement, Ghadar Party”.  The Hindustan Association of the Pacific Coast was formed in Portland, Astoria, in the summer of 1912 by Indian immigrants. Har Dayal was not even there, nor was the students and no outside Revolutionaries. No one founded the ‘Ghadar Party, it was not a separate or NEW organization.

Conclusions: Har Dayal was in the Ghadar Movement (Party) for less than 6 months. Based on the facts Har Dayal was not the founder of the Ghadar Movement He did play a key role in starting the Ghadar newspaper and running the office the period he was with the Party. He was an excellent writer and had flair of the pen rarely matched.

Bibliography:

Astoria Daily Budget, 5 June 1913. Astoria, Oregon.

Brown, Emily C. Har Dayal - Hindu Revolutionary and Rationalist. Manohar Books, Delhi. 1975.

Gould, Harold A. Sikhs, Swamis, Students, and Spies. Sage Publications, New Delhi (2006). p. 170, 171.

Mathur L.P. Indian Revolutionary Movement. S. Chand & Co., Delhi.

Parmanand, Bhai. Story of my Life. Translated by N. Surendra Iyer and Lal Chand Dhawan. The Central Hindu Yuvak Sabha, Lahore. 1934.

Puri, Harish K. Ghadar Movement. Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. 1983.

Singh, Jagjit. Ghadar Party Lehar.Navyug Publishers, New Delhi. 1956. Singh, Khushwant. Ghadar 1915. R &K Publishing House, New Delhi. 1966.

12 Astoria Daily Budget, 5 June 1913. Astoria, Oregon.

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